A lightning strike captured over Phoenix, Arizona, over a thirty-second exposure. Photo by Vex5.

You may not be thrilled to hear that Tuesday’s Capricorn Full Moon represents a peak of the events since the Sun ingressed Cancer three weeks ago, though that’s just what it is. Things seem to be peaking every day, though reading the astrology modestly reveals that we’re just getting going.

For one thing, the Uranus-Eris conjunction — the engine behind everything we’re seeing, at least symbolically — has just begun. It describes an era that will take us well into the early 2020s, when Pluto squares Eris.

Table Mesa, Arizona (evidently the Lightning State). Photo by Shredex.

So to put this into a wide context, it’s as if the 2012 aspect — Uranus square Pluto (2012-2015; remember that old friend?) — now has added to it a major new outer planetary factor (Eris) and is being drawn out for as long as Eris keeps taking aspects from either Uranus or Pluto.

That starts to trail off at the end of 2020, with much fanfare around it.

There will be no avoiding this, though for a while you get options on what role you want to play; how you want to use this amazing time in history, when so much will change so fast. As someone who follows astrology, you get to be on the leading edge of this wave.

Sticking to the immediate moment: In this week’s Planet Waves TV, I briefly summarize the action of Mars, which for the past six weeks has been hanging out in a narrow degree of the zodiac, setting off Uranus-Eris. Yet the same astrology that describes violent incidents is also describing something in all of us emotionally and psychologically.

For many people, already stressed, depleted and world-weary, this may not be so easy. We’re going to be pushed to rise to the occasion. This is not about ‘being the best person you can be’ in theory. It’s about hearing what you’re called to do, and doing it.

If we look at these same aspects as an inner phenomenon, they’re making it difficult to go back to sleep. It’s some of the most potent wake-up astrology I’ve ever seen, and it mixes long-term events with unique, immediate ones (what Mars is doing) and rarely-seen ones (Chiron square Pholus, bringing the healing qualities of the centaurs into the equation).

Photo by Skyseeker.

As for the Full Moon, it happens at the end of the Sun’s run through Cancer, just as the Sun is getting ready to enter Leo. So we get a peak or crescendo of all that’s happened since the solstice. Try to think all the way back to mid-June, right before the Sun ingressed Cancer, and notice what you were doing, and where you were at emotionally and mentally.

Notice how events and scenarios have developed. Try to get a pulse on what is unresolved, stuck or at an impasse. You can use the Full Moon to precipitate resolution to these situations.

In any event, this Full Moon will peak quickly over the next 48 hours, and take many people by surprise. Try to stay on your own good side, and steer clear of people who are having a typical reaction to this aspect (making life difficult for servers and retail people, or turning everything into a confrontation).

Do your best to go with the flow, keep your emotions as far from your interpersonal transactions as possible, and respond proportionally minus one half. That is, understate even your most modest responses to what people say and do, and let this aspect clear like a thunderstorm.

I read the chart in detail in this week’s Planet Waves TV, and I’ll have more for you on Tuesday on Planet Waves FM.

Good morning. It’s Monday. After last week I would not be surprised if you’re not that excited about starting this week. Some astrology might help.

All this chaos the past week looks like Mars still hanging out with Uranus-Eris. The two are sparking one another up. But this is not an exact polarity; it’s a quincunx, an odd-feeling aspect halfway between a square and a trine.

Rock balancing is a delicate art. This rather astounding specimen is by Leandro Inocencio.

This aspect is moving very slowly and that’s giving it extended influence. We’re not used to Mars acting this way, so a spate of unusual feelings are likely to be coming up, along with unusual events.

Those events are described by the disruptive and chaotic nature of Uranus conjunct Eris, and the powerfully individualistic movement of Mars in Scorpio.

Just remember that Mars in this scenario is not interested in ideology. It’s interested in the reality described by one’s inner experience. If you’re feeling fear, pain, chaos or exhaustion, or have a headache, I suggest you turn your awareness inward.

If you’re keeping your head above water, you have an opportunity to reach into yourself in new ways and make discoveries you’ve never made before.

One comment about the quincunx, which is the 150-degree aspect between the big conjunction and Mars. This is an aspect that allows all parties to the discussion to see one another’s viewpoint clearly. Take advantage of that. This is not a “black and white,” us-versus-them type of situation: it’s one requiring true understanding, movement and compromise.

Mercury, moving faster than Mars and now gathering speed, is square Eris and Uranus. That might be provocative. Remember to drive your mind rather than let it drive you.

Finally, the Moon is now in Libra; this could well foster a calm and measured perspective and a renewed sense of balance, especially as it approaches opposition to Uranus-Eris early tomorrow, July 12.

One of the great gifts of Libra is its devotion to harmony and peace. We could all use a bit more of that just now. It’s certainly important to maintain the flame of your inner truth and keep a healthy skepticism; but with that caveat in place, I’d suggest you soak in whatever friendly vibes or energy you can, making them where there are none.

Many people are exhausted and frustrated; many people feel as if they’re running on a treadmill and cannot get off. You may be in a lot better shape than the people around you. Cut them some slack and do what you reasonably can for them. Be prepared to listen well, open your mind and treat other points of view with diplomacy. The benefits of doing this may surprise you.

Happy Independence Day! (I’m British, but I don’t care.) I hope you are all having a delightful holiday weekend — and this year, you’re not just getting fireworks. This morning at around 7 am EDT (11:00:57 UTC) there’s a New Moon in Cancer, and it’s accompanied by some thoroughly pleasant astrology.

As Eric told me in an email: “There’s not much you can say about a new Moon in Cancer, conjunct Venus and Mercury, that’s not positive.”

This may well include a real sense of family and/or human contact (perfect timing).

In addition, it’s possible you’ll experience creative urges and sensual desires or pleasures. If ever there was astrology authorizing you to relax, enjoy life and take it easy for a while, this is it. Whatever your favorite pursuit is, make sure you do some of it today.

Eric continued: “As the week develops, there are some surprises from the outer planets. The Sun opposite Pluto on July 7 takes things deeper. Venus square Uranus and Eris on July 6-7 suggests riding with unexpected changes in relationships and making the best of them. These two outer planet factors will work together.”

This might mean that if you initiate a project of any kind this New Moon, be prepared for the possibility that you may be sticking at it for a while, and that it could take you further than you currently imagine. Therefore, choose wisely, or even passionately.

NASA’s Juno mission (not to be confused with the asteroid) was launched on Aug. 5, 2011. Its purpose: to study the planet Jupiter more thoroughly than ever before.

Tonight (Monday), at about 11:18 pm EDT, the solar-powered space probe is due to fire its main engine, beginning a 35-minute burn that will place it into orbit around Jupiter.

Image by NASA/JPL-Caltech

The mission website describes the purpose of the study: “Although we have pieced together the basic story of Jupiter’s origin, some important questions remain, and Juno’s mission is to help us answer them.

“Exactly how early was Jupiter born? Jupiter might have formed at its current orbit, but some evidence also suggests that it could have formed farther from the sun before migrating inward.”

In Planet Waves FM on Tuesday, Eric will examine the launch chart for this intriguing mission, and discuss what is happening as the probe heads for the big planet. Planetary Radio, our fellow Pacifica affiliate station, covered the Juno mission last week in their show, titled “Countdown to Jupiter.”

I’m taking an hour from my one-week retreat to send a few thoughts your way about Mars stationing direct in Scorpio on Wednesday (at 7:38 pm EDT or 23:38 UTC). We’ve put significant resources into covering this event all year, so I trust you’re familiar with some themes or know that it’s happening.

Continue reading →

The astrology of the moment is a beautiful trifecta. The Moon is full on Monday morning in Sagittarius for the second time in 29 days. The Sun is at northern solstice — it’s the beginning of summer season up above, and the beginning of winter down below.

And Mars is stationing direct (that is, the 10-week retrograde is soon ending). Currently Mars is moving just a few arc minutes a day, and will be going a little slower each day for the next week; nearly as slow as Pluto. Of the three events, I think that the Mars station is the most relevant to inner focus and alignment. So let’s go over that one first — and there will be more details in the short video linked above.

Position of Mars day by day as it approaches the moment when it goes direct. Notice that it’s only moving a fraction of a degree each day.

Mars in Scorpio is a potent symbol of aligning with what is so. It’s like stacking your awareness, your intentions and your motivation to action in one place. That place can be experienced physically, emotionally or psychologically.

Often the three levels or experiences are intertwined, though you might want to check with each of them individually.

The purpose of this Mars event seems to be about connecting with your desire honestly. Mars and Scorpio are involved. There is a subtle or not-so-subtle reminder that time on our plane of reality is finite; Mars is about making up your mind and taking action while you can.

This could be about anything, any topic of life, though there is something biological about this combination of factors. By biological I mean that it’s physical down to the level of scent, of hormones, of pheromones. It’s about that distinctly human contact point between the emotional realm, physical attraction and a sense of your own psychology being fulfilled.

Were you to skip all the rationales about what you are and are not supposed to do, and what is supposedly appropriate, how would you answer the question: who do you want?

Remember that Mars stationing direct is directly connected to the now triple conjunction of Ceres, Uranus and Eris — some vast cultural process that is affecting every single person. There is something here about claiming true identify back from the Internet. Think of it as down to earth as connecting with your own body odor as your absolutely unique identifier in the universe.

As for this Full Moon into solstice maneuver: we get an odd Full Moon in that it’s the second consecutive one in Sagittarius, and it happens right at the end of a pair of signs (Gemini and Sagittarius are involved). Then both luminaries rapidly enter cardinal signs.

This Full Moon has momentum, it has the power to resolve anything that’s currently at loggerheads, and it is promising to lead to fruitful action. The Sun joins Venus in Cancer, and this is about loving what you do, loving existence, loving who and what you nourish, and taking care of yourself. By that I mean the usual food, rest and recreation — though really, I mean seeking the pleasures that you want, and calling that life.

Given the astrology of recent weeks, what happened in Orlando on Sunday morning is not surprising. Intense pressure from the Jupiter-Saturn-Neptune alignment has created a kind of background of intensity. Mars is slowing down to its station-direct, and the retrograde is getting old and deep.

One by one, there are triggers that release the energy. When a huge event like this happens, it seems to be blowing off energy for the collective. We deal with a lot of repressed rage in our society (American, in particular). This is compounded by repressed orgasm. To many the violence seems normal and sexual expression seems perverse.

From the Three Scorpios Series, Book of Blue. Photo by Eric Francis.

It would seem that in the case of the Orlando shooter, there was a contact to his personal chart that got him to take action.

Mars was moving retrograde over his natal Sun in Scorpio, square his natal Sun in Aquarius. He was under a lot of pressure, emotional tension both from within and from without.

His chart and its alignment to the current astrology speak directly to the well-known equation: repressed sexual energy turns violent. In this case, he directed his rage at a gay club, and given his natal Mercury and Venus retrograde in Scorpio, he clearly had questions of his own. It’s easy to forget that sexual orientation is existential. Consider how weird it is for you to step outside your declared and tested gender pattern.

Now add the pressure of religion (he was having his Saturn return in Sagittarius). Saturn is now in Sagittarius for all of us, applying the same pushing-down for all of us to some extent, and raising the question of what to do about how nearly all organized religion so copiously, casually and effectively makes sex and women bad in one gesture.

By that logic, we’re all doomed sinners; that is, until anyone stops and asks what’s going on. We’re now embarking on the last couple of weeks of Mars retrograde in Scorpio. Mars will move slower and slower, gearing down to the pace of Pluto and then seeming to stop. So we might expect these themes to come up.

The question is what to do when they do. We’re all good at pushing them down. It’s our most basic training as a human: hold in excrement, push down sexual feelings. That’s the level we’re being engaged with by something so prime and primal as Mars in this unusual condition in Scorpio.

With this comes, by default, some form of the question of death. Of course it’s always a personal question; to contemplate the death of anyone is to contemplate your own.

And to contemplate or empathize with the sexuality of anyone, or even the vaguest idea about it, is to make contact with your own. Why wouldn’t someone want to do that, except for the desire to appease some phantom mother- or father-figure?

We’re past the point of being able to decide which kind of repression we like better, or which is less worse (everyone knows both cause problems). Any person on a conscious path of growth, evolution, personal integration or whatever you might call it, doesn’t have the option to choose between them. Life is one reality; you are one person.

The Orlando shooting and its clear, bold astrology remind us that it’s time to address the facts of life, so that we may get on with living — or perhaps try for the first time.

While the peak of this past weekend’s Gemini New Moon has happened, the message remains — as does the main grand cross aspect pattern. As a society and for many individuals, we do a lot of pretending, avoiding and dodging reality these days.

We do a lot of hiding out in being too busy, too wounded, or too distracted to bother. These excuses have never seemed more pallid. Imagine how the world would be if we all plucked up just a little more courage; just a little more willingness to dare.

The combination of many planets making a massive square in the heavens around us is a call to reality. It is a call to action. It’s an invitation to get real, to wake up and to make up your mind.

Saturn square Neptune, to name one aspect that this pattern contains, is serious astrology. Saturn-Neptune aspects have historically arrived with developments that include the hydrogen bomb.

They breach known reality, and provide an opportunity (difficult as it is) to redefine what you know to be true. When you think of a performer with the full impact of Saturn-Neptune, remember Sacha Baron Cohen, the master shapeshifter, mindfucker and actor known for his incredible artistic discipline (famous for Ali G and Borat).

It is not enough to blame your circumstances. This is a square: ultimately its reality and its point of action are to be inwardly found. I did not say easily; think of it this way. If you want to be a writer, then write every day, like you mean it; like it might be your last statement.

If you want to be a musician, practice every day, then twice a day. If you want to change the world, focus one goal and make it happen. Futility is not an excuse and tomorrow never knows.

Right now the world is drowning in good intentions. It’s drowning in people who want to be the best person they can be, which usually means waiting a long time before taking a chance. And the world is being consumed by rage in many forms, but one in particular stands out: a political system that is out of control, driven by a combination of blazingly ignorant and, in other quarters, well-meaning people who would seem to have little in common. I don’t think these are viable options, nor is the seeming standoff.

I suggest you not be distracted by it.

While you may not feel drawn to get involved in something on the national level (it might even take persuasion to get most people to vote), every single day you see things that you want to change, you see situations calling for honesty, you meet people who could use just a little justice in their lives.

Every day, you know you want to make a difference in your own life.

It’s now up to you.