Category Archives: Horoscopes

Pluto

GENERATIONS of astrologers were trained that Pluto — properly, the Pluto/Charon system, because it’s a binary — was the edge of reality; the bottom line. For time immemorial through the pre-scientific ages it was Saturn; then Uranus was the first planet discovered by science, in 1781, and for a while (as science rose to prominence), it was considered the edge; then came Neptune in 1845 ((Neptune was discovered in 1846)), and for a while it was the last planet out. During most of these years, astrology was in decline, and was not a particularly popular art form like it is today. We view these historical markers in retrospect.

Today, every living Western astrologer who writes or practices was taught that Pluto (discovered in 1930) was the furthest known planet and thus represented the edge of consciousness or reality as we know it. In astrology, the location and speed of a planet (particularly the last planet out) are important metaphors for its psychological and historical meaning. As the farthest known planet, the connotation was that Pluto represented, in a sense, the most fundamental concepts that the human race or individual person had to confront — and for decades this was true.

Pluto in the mythology of the Romans is the king of hell, or of the underworld. As a planet, its discovery coincided with a long phase of history — beginning with Hitler, then proceeding with Stalin and finally picked up by the Americans — that could be summed up in two words: death works.

Genocide was the dominant theme of the 20th century, often the product of war. This tradition continues into the 21st century but with perhaps less vigor. The genocides of the 20th century (from Auschwitz to Cambodia to Kosovo to Rwanda) were in turn fueled by the cresting of industrialism, massive growth in global population and a struggle for world resources. It was the Age of Oil. On a global level, all these themes contain important references to the astrology of Pluto.

The atomic bomb was first used 15 years after Pluto’s discovery, and plutonium was named for a heavy, extremely toxic, artificial metal created to quadruple the power of the bomb. This may not seem like a personal issue, since we are seemingly unlikely to find ourselves under a mushroom cloud. But every person alive today has grown up under the shadow of the bomb; its presence has influenced our thinking, our world view and our cosmology, and our perception of ourselves. We all know, on some level, that it could all be over in 15 minutes — a fact that is a product of the age of Pluto.

Early in the Pluto era we also had the wide scale acceptance of psychology as a kind of religion or dominant mental paradigm, and with that came the vague awareness of and to some extent acknowledgment of the unconscious. Like psychology, Pluto is pervasive and ubiquitous, but largely invisible. For example, while we may not think of psychology daily, we can be sure that the advertising creators who impregnate or in truth seize control of our minds with their ideas and images think about it every minute.

(Notably, Both psychiatry and modern fascism had important roots in Austria and Germany, an interesting set of coincidences.) The unconscious is a region of the mind akin to the underworld, and thus a logical topic for the astrological dominion of Pluto. The unconscious is presumed to be preoccupied with sex and death, vividly Plutonian issues; it has no boundaries, and is shared by all people; and like Pluto of mythology, it can kidnap you and take you down there as its prisoner — of insanity, perversion, greed or cruelty. Oh, and death.

In working with Pluto, it is vital to not take the shadow side as the only side there is, and to not completely overlook the shadow side. In other words, we need to keep a balanced view. It helps — a lot — that we now have the more awake and aware qualities of Chiron to at least inform our astrology, even if we don’t work directly with it. If awareness is an attribute of successful experience with Chiron, it certainly is an attribute of mastering the energy of Pluto.

Evolutionary Astrology

In the mid-1980s, someone named Jeff Green brought out a book called Pluto: Evolutionary Journey of the Soul. This book, the second one ever on Pluto and the first in the English language (the first, many years earlier, was in German and has never been translated), posited that Pluto is a kind of spiritualizing influence, which Green proposed represented “the soul itself.” Despite all the other connotations of Pluto, this idea was intuitive.

A similar idea had already been proposed by Isabel Hickey in the late 1970s in a short pamphlet that later became part of her seminal book, Astrology: A Cosmic Science. Hickey proposed that there were two sides to Pluto, the second of which she associated with Athena/Minerva: wisdom and protection. She suggested this double nature, and its implied choice and its responsibility for integration, before science had discovered that Pluto was a binary planet.

Green’s book was accepted with enormous energy by the astrological community, and he in turn became a cult figure (first in Seattle, then beyond) and the father of a kind of religion called Evolutionary Astrology.

In his book, Green argues that Pluto’s natal position represents the prior impulse of the soul from past lifetimes as it expresses in the current one. This influence works closely with the lunar nodes and the planets that rule the lunar nodes, such that Pluto, the nodes and their rulers function as one integrated system in the chart.

Green suggested that opposite Pluto was a “polarity point” that indicated the current lifetime’s evolutionary impulse. Green, throughout much of his research, was unaware of Chiron and the fact that Chiron was opposite Pluto through much of the 1960s, thus giving that polarity point a more-than-theoretical existence. [He told me that at the time of his initial research, he was not aware of Chiron when I asked him about it at the 2002 UAC conference in Seattle].

From a technical standpoint, Evolutionary Astrology can be summed up thusly. Pluto, the South Node, its house and its sign ruler, represent the past impulse. The polarity point (i.e., the point opposite Pluto), the North Node, and its house and sign ruler, can be summed up as the new territory, the current life impulse. There are special cases, such as when one of the node rulers is conjunct one of the nodes or square its axis, and different interpretations of the “evolutionary state” are offered.

While presenting itself as a modern theory, Evolutionary Astrology served to focus attention on the meaning of the houses (which, Pluto-styled, were a place of obsessive focus). It commenced a genre of books about planets that organized themselves by house and sign. Green called attention to the function and importance of the lunar nodes as an influence (until that time, largely ignored or overlooked), and it helped astrologers recognize the importance of the planets ruling the lunar nodes.

On two counts, Green embraced the idea that the chart functions as a device to help us reconcile polarities — Pluto and its opposition point; and the nodes.

The technical method works pretty well overall as a chart reading tool. Perhaps most important, it views Pluto in the context of other chart factors. Evolutionary Astrology itself is loaded with doctrines, including an imposed belief in reincarnation, that are not inherently related to astrology and might not be so helpful to astrology students.

According to his ex-wife Laurie Burnett, Green’s work was influenced by and to some extent guided by Paramahsana Yogananda (Mukunda Lal Ghosh, one of the founders of the American spiritual movement), by that time acting out-of-body (he had died in 1952 and Green encountered him in a dream vision around 1980). The influence of Yogananda accounts for Pluto taking on the themes and colors of Vedic astrology, with its emphasis on the nodes and reincarnation. Notably, however, Vedic astrology does not concern itself so much with the conscious growth of the soul but more with its purported destiny.

In any event, because of this one book, when Pluto finally took on some popular currency, it was associated with spiritual growth and the urgent development of the soul. In this context, we could view this philosophy as an attempt to embrace the shadow of all the subjects historically associated with Pluto. It was also a way to put into context some of the extremely difficult experiences that people sometimes have around Pluto transits — one of the usual functions of religion: a platform for the idea that suffering is not meaningless.

Notably, the first popular book on Pluto and the first popular book on Chiron appeared within about one year of one another in the mid-1980s. It is noteworthy that both entered the consciousness of astrologers at about the same time, representing a polarity of related concepts. Both included the idea that the chart is a kind of growth tool and that pain is your teacher.

In her Chiron book, Barbara Hand Clow notes that while Pluto represents a largely unconscious process, Chiron represents a conscious process (not always true, but more often than Pluto). The two create a kind of polarity and, when the natal chart, transits and the client’s biography are studied, will often seen to be acting in tandem.

Interestingly, Chiron (discovered in 1977) was a discovery made in the interior of the solar system rather than the next planet out. The discovery of Chiron, while generating some excitement, was not given much credibility by mainstream astrology and still lacks that credibility today. The action of Pluto is undisputed and seemingly understood.

When finally a new planet was discovered in 1992 beyond the orbit of Pluto, it was entirely ignored by astrology, and to this day remains omitted from nearly any discussion on avant garde astrology lists, even those dealing with new discoveries. That planet was the still unnamed 1992 QB1. Perhaps everyone was still processing all this Pluto and Chiron stuff; perhaps it was because QB1 was never announced outside the astronomy community; perhaps it was because it never got a name — but QB1 has not quite become the depraved, debauched worldwide cult I once envisioned.

Pluto as Dionysus

In his 2006 book Cosmos and Psyche, Richard Tarnas presents the idea that Pluto is the representation of the collective id. The id is the instinctual ground of nature. It’s often described as the uncontrollable, primal aspect of the psyche that is not constrained by boundaries or ideas. This is the aspect of the psyche that, in theory, must be contained in order for society to function or even exist at all. Indeed, stuffing down the id is what we mean by “civilized.” It is not surprising, then, that our civilizations, having denied this energy, perpetuate so much mass-scale violence.

Tarnas says that Pluto can be compared to Dionysys, the Greek god of grapes and divine madness. Dionysus liberates us from our ego structure and sets free the primal urges and needs we carry around.

For a basic summary of Dionysus, we can look to Wikipedia, which describes him as the “Greek god of wine, [who] represents not only the intoxicating power of wine, but also its social and beneficial influences. He was also known as Bacchus and the frenzy he induces, bakcheia. Bacchus is ‘manifestly non-Greek’, Burkert asserts (1985:163). He is the patron deity of agriculture and the theatre. He was also known as the Liberator (Eleutherios), freeing one from one’s normal self, by madness, ecstasy, or wine. The divine mission of Dionysus was to mingle the music of the aulos and to bring an end to care and worry. There is also an aspect of Dionysus on his relationship to the ‘cult of the souls’, and the scholar Xavier Riu writes that “Dionysus presided over communication between the living and the dead.”

He writes of Pluto, “Observations of potential correlations with Pluto by astrologers in the subsequent decades [after the discovery] suggested that the qualities associated with the new planet in fact bore a striking relevance to the mythic character of Pluto, the Greek Hades, and also to the figure of Dionysus, with whom Hades-Pluto was closely associated by the Greeks. (Both Heraclitus and Euripides identified Dionysus and Hades as one and the same deity.) Closely analogous to Freud’s concept of the primordial id, “the broiling cauldron of the instincts,” and to Darwin’s understanding of an ever-evolving nature and the biological struggle for existence…embodying the powerful forces of nature and emerging from nature’s chthonic depths, within and without, the intense, fiery elemental underworld.”

In other words, Pluto is the tap into the deep unconscious, with its unspeakable needs, its lack of respect for authority and structure, and its connection to liberation from the ego whether through intoxication, transformation or death. When we work with Pluto consciously we can express the energy in constructive ways, and in some instances, master it. When we suppress Pluto, it becomes a shadow energy that haunts us as death, the fear of insanity, insanity itself, or the sense that our sexual desires will destroy the structure of our lives. When contained in shadow form, Pluto tends to manifest as oppression, genocide and warfare.

When expressed in conscious ways, it manifests as passion, the drive for deep connection, and the power to change oneself and to an extent, society. Pluto may be accessed through mind-altering substances, but also through inner work at the time of a Pluto transit. It is the Plutonic force that is responsible for what some call “ego death” that occurs in many such situations, leading to a common keyword for Pluto, transformation.

The ‘Is Pluto Really a Planet?’ Controversy

After the discovery of the Kuiper Belt with 1992 QB1, we had the emergence of archetypes beyond Pluto.

The most famous one was discovered in 2005 and became Eris. It was not until that discovery that anything in the Kupier Belt made much of a difference to much of anyone at all. However, during the late 1990s and into the 2000s, a debate silently brewed over whether Pluto was really a planet, or rather merely another thing in the Kuiper Belt. In light of these mounting new discoveries now known to exist around and beyond it, a preponderance of opinion in the astronomical community began to weigh against Pluto being considered a planet.

There was some dim awareness that Pluto was at least the king of the Kuiper Belt, but as with nearly all new discoveries, most astrologers presumed that the meaning of the other, newer Kuiper objects either did not exist, or could not be grasped.

As far as mainstream astrology was concerned, the debate over Eris was the only publicly accepted clue that things were about to change. Pluto was no longer the edge; the edge was getting fuzzy, indicative of a breakdown of our concept of personality and our notions about both death and the unconscious. The unconscious was no longer a void; gradually, a collection of at-first nameless archetypes began to collect in the form of planetary discoveries.

There were now additional objects that might be factors in defining the edge, and the inner solar system was being populated by dozens of Centaur planets whose actions seemed to resemble Pluto’s in many ways. It seemed inevitable that astrology would need to confront the issue of a ‘minor planet’ — particularly since Pluto itself was taking on more and more of the astronomical characteristics of a minor planet. It is an orbit crosser; it is a small, icy body (though not all minor planets are); there were many new discoveries in its region; and it had always been somewhat controversial, difficult to discern and was long ignored.

In August 2006, the International Astronomical Union met in Prague and made the following decision: Pluto, Ceres (at the time an asteroid) and 2003 UB313 (Eris) would be grouped as Dwarf Planets. There were at the time more than 50 other planets that qualified for this designation.

While it’s popularly believed that “Pluto was demoted,” what actually happened was that a new grouping was created; and that the mainstream astronomy community finally recognized that minor planets had to be accounted for in a coherent way. Ceres, which had originally been designated a planet, was recognized again and her name became recognized by many who had not heard of her before. Pluto being classified as a dwarf planet opened the way to recognition that other dwarf planets could be equally influential. Eris did her job of upsetting the known order of things, and pointing to the fact that the edge, the concept of the personality and the nature of the solar system are works in progress without clear boundaries, indicative of the postmodern nature of her being.

Because mainstream astrology takes its lead from science, this pried open astrology’s and the public’s mind — if just a little — and put the astrology community on notice that it, too, would have to reckon with minor planets. It is interesting that astrology is not embracing this with more energy, though it’s also clear that into the high 90th percentile of astrologers were caught off-guard by the development regardless of how many years it was in the making.

Notes from prior articles

More are on the Talk page, with references cited.

“Pluto is a particularly sharp knife; a hot torch; a point in the personality where there may be focus to the level of obsession. This can be self-obsession, or an extreme focus on a viewpoint, or on growth. It can also emerge as celebration and revelry, or the drive to get rid of the old and change ourselves, or society, for better. Pluto represents the brightest light of soul, and some of the deepest shadow of psyche. But it does not grant, or remove, integrity. Our decisions do these things. Astrologers need to be particularly sensitive to the fact that while the planets shape our personalities and may reflect our karma, everyone really does have a choice in what they do and how they respond to existence.

“Admittedly, the kinds of dimensions that Pluto usually represents are not the ones that people commonly do well with, inherently, or as they express themselves as passion, sex, power and the extremely strong personality type. Face it, the Western world is pretty milquetoast, and these days, the solution to everything is to ignore it or stuff it. But we are still learning about the Pluto archetype.”

Finally, in 1930, we have the outermost conventional planet, Pluto (now demoted to “minor planet” status), discovered at the Lowell Observatory in the United States. My Zimmerman mythology dictionary tells me that Pluto is, “The Greek name for the king of hell, or for hell itself; his other names are Ades, Aides, Aidoneus, Hades and Pluton.” It’s clear that this was hardly an inviting or tempting energy for astrologers to want to dabble in casually. And, first came Pluto, then came Hitler, who came to power in February 1933 and started the Holocaust, or all-consuming fire (holo = whole, and caust = burn, like in caustic), a hellish enough image to make the point.

But Pluto, as he works astrologically, is not so simple. His primary function or effect is to drive evolution forward. Pluto, akin to Shiva the Destroyer of Hindu mythology, does indeed burn off old karma, remove old situations, and get to the heat of the matter. People with strong Pluto placements are able to cut to the truth, and push others to do the same. But Pluto rarely manifests as an entirely welcome energy. He is difficult to take all by himself, far more difficult than the other outer planets, none of which are especially easy to accept, comprehend or work with alone. They are all forces far beyond our control, greater than we are, affecting millions of people and compelling us to deal with the ultimate realities of life and death. Pluto takes what seem to be the most negative forces and possibilities and, with awareness, transforms them into constructive experiences and learning. But this is often extremely difficult because the further away planets are, the more difficult their energy is to grasp or comprehend.

Mythology and astronomy cast Pluto as the lord of Hell, but astrology tells another story. No astrologer, it is safe to say, underestimates Pluto or takes him for granted, or none does so for long. Largely thanks to the work of Jeffrey Green and his spiritual mentor, Yogananda, we recognize Pluto as the evolutionary engine in the astrological chart. While society may twist and crumble, and while emperors may rise in power, on the inner level, Pluto is the ultimate influence we cannot deny. Anyone who has consciously gone through a Pluto transit have seen and this at work: Pluto is the uncompromising force for change, the catalyst for growth, and the slowly moving point of no return. Once Pluto has been through our lives, and it does not happen often, nothing is quite the same. There are people who need to be told that Pluto is not a force that one can resist safely. Attempting does not count for valor, and does not help anyone; and by the time Pluto shows up, it has been clear for a LONG time that change is necessary. In the best world, we feel the changes both as they are necessitated and as they are approaching, and we work with them. But often, Pluto is what ultimately saves us from being stuck.

The thing with Pluto transits is that they are not structural, or transformational in the way that Saturn transits (for example) are. It is more like they are cellular. It is not the form so much that changes as the substance, but the form comes along for the ride. Pluto to Sun is a transit that involves the core fiery self; the expressive aspect of the self; something more real and essential than the personality (which is represented more often by the Moon).

The limitation Pluto imposes has less to do with adhering to outer structure, expectations, or following a programmed sense of inner responsibility (like Saturn), but rather imposing the necessity to follow one’s evolutionary path. This is to say, under Pluto’s guidance, we are compelled to respond to the necessities of our soul’s journey. To do this, we are presented with circumstances that teach us we indeed have a soul, and that it actually has a mission. However you may feel, these ideas turn out to be beyond the grasp of most people, who simply wonder why they are in pain and don’t get what we now call the lesson. For this reason, we can get a sense of why the world so often feels like it is devoid of soul energy, of the expression of meaningful inner truth. And we can see why so many people require incredibly painful experiences in order to grow or wake up.

Speaking of waking up, Pluto deals with the subject of sex on the hormonal, orgasmic and control-based levels, the ones we usually prefer to ignore, or to ignore the power of. These issues will come up as real-life circumstances; we get to choose how we handle them.

Pluto experiences, including sex and relationships, are more or less painful to the extent that we are able to embrace the inner truth of who we are. They will be extremely difficult if we ignore our reality totally, deny that we have feelings, deny that our actions have consequences, and pretend that our lives have no impact on others, or that others do not touch us. Some people, under Pluto experiences, manage to cling to denial to the point where they do not survive in their current body. But in a similar way, when Pluto moves through sensitive parts of one’s natal chart, the sense of reincarnation can occur within the current life: we end up somewhere else, and somehow, someone else.

There are a few ways that Pluto transits typically feel. All the different expressions can show up, but sometimes one dominates. — A long, endless push — Obsessive tendencies in the self or with partners — A series of changes over which one seems to have no control — Drive for control and power, and some struggles as a result — Isolation — Need for solitude — A lot of sex energy, intense like you’ve never felt it before — Sense of purging and regeneration — A super potent, fairly long spiritual test — Some kind of disaster that frees you instantly

Not everyone experiences all of these with a Pluto transit. It depends on you, and on your chart.

Pluto is what Pluto represents. It is not just a planet; it’s an archetype, and one that is extremely active in the human story. When you check history going back 2,000 years, you see the Pluto cycles like you see the New York City skyline landing at JFK. That archetype inherently represents that which we tend to deny the most and what we need the most for both individual growth and evolution as a culture. But we seem to be in even deeper denial than usual these days, which is largely due to fear, and also that we’re being confronted with so much change so fast, and so much manipulation.

Denying Pluto would be saying, in effect, that “it’s okay to not deal with this stuff.” We could, of course, find it in ourselves to be more outraged about war and torture, and the lying and conniving of our “leaders” that got us there. Instead, we tend to revel in images of war on television. Then in the United States, ever increasingly, like many places dominated by religion, we teach our children “abstinence” instead of teaching them about their feelings and their bodies. Hate and prejudice are open season; discussion of love and erotic subjects are still often felt to be taboo, scary and wicked, something not done in polite company. And we wonder why everything is so weird.

There is so much to reflect on here. And it is all so interesting. But let’s start with two pretty basic ideas. Just because the International Astronomical Union voted to take away Pluto’s “status” as a planet (like the Boy Scouts revoking the Eagle rank of a scout who later in life comes out as gay, hmm) does not mean we can erase the history of science. As Mike Brown, the discoverer of Xena and many other “dwarf planets” was find of saying before last week, Pluto is a cultural planet — it is accepted by society, school kids, and apparently NASA (which is spending billions on a space probe now en route to Pluto). The technical definition is something else.

Planet Waves Weekly Horoscope, July 30 – Aug. 6

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Aries (March 20-April 19) — What you’re seeking is something within yourself. You may have the temptation to search in the world around you, though that’s not where you’ll find what you’re looking for. I believe that this is an engineered issue that in effect pits people against themselves. Turning this quest around, by which I mean inward, is one of the great achievements in anyone’s life, and what we might call the inner/outer issue is surely a meaningful one for you. The question translates to whether you’re a complete entity unto yourself. The outer search is a way of convincing yourself that you’re something other than whole and fulfilled. You might begin by pausing that; by giving your relationships a break; by at least committing to developing your inner journey. You might even remind yourself that you have one, and that it’s likely to be a longstanding commitment, often distracted by relationships in particular. You have what you need. You are what you need.

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? New Horizons of Self: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — You’re probably figuring out that the way to access your true brilliance and what some call talent is to go with your creative flow. Just let yourself be yourself and do what you feel like doing and you will come up with great ideas. The challenge, as you’ve encountered many times, involves this thing that is described as the inner critic. If not for this, you and many other people would be much happier and more productive, and access their flow of ideas with greater ease. You have more control over this than you may think. You could go a long way toward subverting this insidious thing by getting your hands into your work. By this I mean your hands rather than your mind. Your hands have no comment about how good or bad you supposedly are. Once you put your body into the material you’re working with, the problem is just about solved. You can supplant the after-the-fact qualitative assessment by counting what you’ve learned from any project, including the subtle points.

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? New Horizons of Self: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — You’re being called to fulfill your mission in life, though that might be the nature of your crisis at the moment. You have so much going for you, and you know it. You have a genuine desire to succeed — and not only that, to do what you must do in order to succeed. Yet it would help if you focused your vision. Make an effort to be specific about what success would mean, and what it would entail. There seem to be two major forces at work here — one that is offering you clear ideas, and another that’s offering you an inspired but vague vision. The clear ideas come with questions, perhaps about your capabilities. The vague ideas are difficult to grasp and are easy to get lost in. So you might forget the whole idea of a goal for a while, and invest your energy gaining confidence in what you do, by doing more of it. I believe that the real issue is that you feel insecure, and this would undermine anyone. Therefore, practice — and keep your ears open for the sound of opportunity.

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Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Friday’s Full Moon in Aquarius streaks across the resources angle of your chart — that is, your personal resources (Sun in Leo) and those that you share (Moon in Aquarius). It would be easy for you to overextend yourself. Therefore, even though you’re probably in a state of relative abundance, I suggest you conserve what you have, and more to the point, put it to work for yourself. Others are not as needy as they seem, or as they make themselves out to be. You on the other hand are both resourceful and generous with your resources. So take care of yourself, and as a general guide, take care of those who take care of you. If others invest in you, return the favor. But keep this all as close to home as you can. You are likely to have a diversity of needs and desires of your own that you have not attended to lately, and this would be a fine time to do so. Yes, you may seem to be under some pressure, which is the nature of the Full Moon. Clean sheets, a bath and a meal you cook for yourself will go a long way.

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Leo Birthday Reading 2015: Stoke Your Fire

How can this chart be for all Leos, when you nailed each important event, prompting, frustration and calling of my personal life all in this one reading? OMG. — CM

Dear Friend and Reader:If you have a Leo Sun, Moon or rising sign (or you love someone who does), you should know that Eric will be finished with your 2015 Leo Birthday Reading soon — and the price will increase after it publishes. This year’s reading focuses on Venus’ retrograde phase, and its extended visit to your sign.

Venus has been in Leo since early June, and with one brief exception it will be there until early October. That’s a lot of Venus, and it points to your getting the message about some important mission on which you must now embark.

For you this represents a glorious opportunity to reconnect with the ultimate essence of you: your core values, your integrity, and your personal brilliance. If you’re looking to strengthen your self-esteem or to reconnect with your personal flame and boost your courage for this year’s mission, Eric will have plenty to say in this reading to guide you there.

Your Birthday Reading includes two sessions of astrology of at least 30 minutes each, a tarot reading using the Voyager Tarot deck by James Wanless, and an extended written description of your astrological sign. Eric will provide images of the charts and tarot spread he uses, so you can follow his ideas if you wish. You’ll also receive access to last year’s reading, so you can review your year as Venus backtracks.

You can pre-order the Leo Reading now for only $24.95; note that the price will increase after the reading publishes. So why wait? We’ll let you (or the gift recipient) know as soon as it’s ready.

Love and Light,

Amy Elliott
Planet Waves Client Services

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — Venus is now retrograde in your birth sign, a rare and beautiful theme. We could say many things about this, though the one overarching theme is: identify with your purpose. Embody what you do, and when you take action, let yourself be moved by the deepest core of who you are. That’s the intersection of Venus, the ruler of your 10th house, and your sign. I know that many people would have no idea what I’m saying, though your calling to do this is so clear and so bold that clearly you get it. What you’re doing is a combination of taking on your true mission and, at the same time, allowing yourself to identify fully with that mission. Work is not about going to work, doing something and leaving. For you, work must be a direct expression of your existence. While you can apply this to any activity, you might recognize along the journey of this Venus retrograde that you really need to do something more personally meaningful. And you would thank yourself for the rest of your life, if you chose that.

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? New Horizons of Self: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — It’s as if something is trying to be born through you, but has retreated back in the direction of the cosmic womb. Instead of pushing harder, you might want to follow that thing in the direction that it’s headed — toward what some call the unconscious. Thing is, that’s far from the right word for this place, this source of so much vitality. I suggest you use the birth metaphor and consider the story of your own entry into the planet. What were the basic facts? What was the environment prior to your birth, and around the time of your emergence? This is called the ‘birth script’ — and in many ways it reveals the story of one’s life so far. This story has a way of repeating itself until it’s identified, worked with and resolved. Over the next few months many aspects of who you are will be emerging, one by one, from the cosmic womb into the light of day. It will be worth every bit of focus you put on relaxing and allowing this birth process to happen.

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? New Horizons of Self: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — You often walk a fine line between being a someone who is well-respected and well-regarded in your community, and not giving a toss what people think. I would propose that the two are aspects of the same personal quality that you possess. Your independence is one of your most endearing qualities, and thanks to Venus retrograde you are getting an opportunity to explore this. I would propose that it’s pretense in any form that leads to people feeling uncomfortable or out of place in any social situation, or in a relationship. It’s pretense that eats at confidence, and that makes almost any conversation seem unwieldy. It’s the feeling of judging yourself that leads to the sensation of others judging you. In the coming weeks, you will have a series of glorious opportunities to burst through this whole realm of existence. In the end, what you’ll learn is how to get out of your own way and let your light shine. When in doubt, be bold — or said another way, a little bolder than you think you can.

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Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — By all rights this should be a time of achievement for you, and of being recognized for what you’re the best at. Yet there seems to be something holding you back; possibly something in a relationship, or more precisely, something you’re holding onto involving a partner or collaborator. On one level this is a complex situation, though ultimately the way to resolve it is to go beyond the past. But here’s where the plot thickens: What past, exactly, are you trying to go beyond? In other words, how far back does this go? Track your current scenario as it’s manifested other times before. Once you see that this is a pattern, you’re likely to un-snag yourself of that one lingering insecurity. That, in turn, will help you remember and claim some key achievements of that past. These will remind you that you’ve been through this territory before and come out on top of your game.

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Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — You may be wondering when the time is right to put your plan into motion, and if so I would say right now. It’s true that you may be experiencing some kind of complication. Yet in truth it’s an opportunity to make your way in the world. Yes, this may be disguised as a riddle or a paradox of some kind. Yet you are headed in a clear direction despite this appearance. Whatever you’re now experiencing is a reminder to attend to the details of your work, and of your life. You cannot delegate that which absolutely must be done correctly. Even if you’re being assisted by some kind of professional, you must take full responsibility for every step of the project. Even as you put your inner control freak to work, it’s essential that you do one thing even better — take command of your vision. You are in a rare, formative moment where you get to accept full responsibility for your life, in the happiest possible way.

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Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — You seem to be in a position when you must make use of someone else’s resources — be they of your family, of another person, or of the community. But I don’t believe you need as much help as you think. It would help immensely if you were to apply your considerable ingenuity to the situation. You’ll likely figure out that some form of cooperation is in order, though that’s been true all your life. You are resourceful only to the extent that you can cooperate, collaborate and co-create with others. You may have the idea that you can ‘go it alone’, though that’s not true of any individual or any economy. Ask yourself questions such as how you can be of support to the people around you, and how they can be of support to you in a way that is mutually beneficial. This counts for everyone in your life; everyone you encounter, or who encounters you. Indeed, it’s a central question of your existence.

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Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Friday’s magnificent Full Moon in your birth sign is offering you some unusual ability to spark or initiate events, with very little effort on your part. You might say you live in a moment of the small cause with the big effect. Therefore, be conscious, and a little cautious. Understand your intentions and consider the law of unintended consequences. By all of this, I mean apply your power gently, including the power of thought and of reasoning. A little goes a long way. Rely on the power of suggestion rather than of persuasion. Assume others know you’re right without having to say so yourself. Politely inquire what others know rather than telling them what you know. Remind others of the authority they have rather than the authority you have. You can afford to do this, as you hold considerable sway over the situations in your life. Though many things are moving around you, you remain stable, and it would be wise to remind yourself of that fact.

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Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — You can turn any situation to your advantage. In fact, that situation is likely to turn to your advantage, if you let it. For this to work you need to keep in a positive state of mind, and not be deterred by others who might be polarized in other directions. Positive, in part, means focusing on the present. There are people in your environment who cannot get their heads or their feelings out of the past. This will not work for you; it never did. Yet focusing on what is happening now, and on who people are now, and what they say now, will provide all the information you need. Proceed from moment to moment, individual to individual, circumstance to circumstance, and you cannot go wrong. You have, if you tune in, a kind of clairvoyance available, which will tip you off to just about any situation where you need to understand the dynamics. Pay attention — to your senses and to your mind.

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Moonshine Horoscopes — Aquarius Full Moon Edition

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Dear Friend and Reader:

Friday, July 31, 2015, is the Aquarius Full Moon, exact at 6:43 am EDT (10:43 UTC). You may view the full chart here.) This is the Moon in Aquarius opposite the Sun in Leo.

To read these horoscopes, it helps to know your Moon sign (where the Moon was at the moment of your birth), which you can find out by entering your birth data into Serennu.com. If you know your birth time, that will ensure accuracy — but often you can still be sure of its sign even if the exact degree is fuzzy. You can also read these horoscopes for your Sun and rising signs for additional insight.

By Len Wallick

Aries (March 20-April 19) — The choices you make over the next 12 months will make you proud many years from now. Provided you make good choices, that is. To help your decision-making process, make a point of taking a step back away from the fray periodically for the rest of this year. From the perspective of your occasional retreat into sanctuary, look back to the beginning of this century (2001), and review each year since. Specifically, see if there is a pattern that differentiates the even-numbered years from the odd-numbered. As arbitrary as that exercise may seem, there’s a good possibility you will learn something to help you make the best choices of your life, especially next year. — By Len Wallick

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Taurus (April 19-May 20) — Sometimes the truth is hard to take. With time, however, what’s true will always serve to liberate you, so long as you align yourself with it. Assuming you want it, there is a way for you to attain just such an alignment. The way will begin with getting clear on just what validity actually is. Odds are you already have a feel for the nature of truth inside and out, but may have lost your touch to a greater or lesser extent. The first thing to be aware of is that becoming an intentional partner with veracity will be a process of remembering what you already know. The next thing to note is how your memory is more likely to be found in your body than in your mind. — By Len Wallick

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Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Resolving the mysterious often requires considerable patience. Sometimes you have to sit with a dilemma. Other times you need to sleep on a paradox. Being busy, distracted or tired is not helpful. Provided you see a confounding or urgent conundrum in your life right now, you will also probably recognize that simply moving on will not do you any good. It will be most efficacious if you cuddle up with your enigma as though it were a good book. If you perceive nothing inscrutable in your life at this time, it’s probably because you are overlooking it. Should that be your case, cultivate your curiosity. It’s far better to find a puzzle than to have it find you. — By Len Wallick

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Cancer (June 21-July 22) — If you have not been yourself lately, don’t worry. If you have recently had a dream that made you wonder aloud where it came from, don’t be disturbed. It’s natural to discover something new about yourself every once in a while. As a matter of fact, such internal disclosures are more likely (and more necessary) for you than for many others. Often such insights come during times of crisis when you realize a capacity, strength or talent you didn’t know you had in you. It should not be necessary, however, to go through stress to find yourself more thoroughly. Now is a good time to try previously unexplored forms of fun in order to get your revelatory needs met. — By Len Wallick

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Leo Birthday Reading 2015: Stoke Your Fire

How can this chart be for all Leos, when you nailed each important event, prompting, frustration and calling of my personal life all in this one reading? OMG. — CM

Dear Friend and Reader:If you have a Leo Sun, Moon or rising sign (or you love someone who does), you should know that it’s time to pre-order the 2015 Leo Birthday Reading. This year’s reading focuses on Venus’ retrograde phase, and its extended visit to your sign.

Love and Light,

Amy Elliott

Planet Waves Client Services

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — What do you actually own? What can you really call yours? You are at a point in your mental, emotional, spiritual and even physical evolution when it’s appropriate to contemplate possession and being. Start with the water that constitutes most of your body weight. Where did the water go that was present in your body a year ago? Where did the replacement water come from, and where had it been? Extend the inquiry to other components of your body and all your material possessions. Then, ask something of the same questions about your choices, decisions, affinities, skills, beliefs, needs, hopes, dreams, aspirations and affections. Where among those things are you, and only you, to be found? — By Len Wallick

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Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Change is often like a swinging pendulum. Things usually go as far as they can in one direction, then the other way to repeat a complementary process. You can see that process in the cycle of seasons. Every season reaches its peak, then yields to its complement six months later. The same pattern evinces in many other ways. The trick is to know where or when the turnaround will come. You could consult an oracular method (such as astrology) to understand where you are relative to change. Indications are, however, that it’s time to try your hand at being an oracle. To get started on the right foot, remember that oracles never know. They only show.
— By Len Wallick

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Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — Something that has recently been out of sight or mind is about to return to your field of vision or consciousness. Whatever it is that’s been off your radar for a while is intrinsic to you. It’s a trait you don’t identify with, even though many who know you can see it plainly. Fortunately, the impending refreshment of your self-awareness will almost certainly be a pleasant and gratifying realization. That’s because you appear to have recently lost track of something about yourself that compels others to like and even love you. You will know you have regained sight of this lost trait when you begin to like and love yourself better. After that, it will be a matter of not losing track again. — By Len Wallick

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Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — You know the feeling: you get ill and one of the symptoms (such as a cough) persists long after you are otherwise well. Or you suffer an injury that remains tender long after it has otherwise healed. There is likely a similar sense of lingering for you now. It’s something of a previous experience that has integrated into your being as a constant reminder from your past that has nothing to do with your present. If you recognize part of you in these words, begin thinking now whether it’s in your interest to keep it as part of you. If this horoscope does not ring a bell, ask around with those who have known you for a long time and see if they can tell you what it is. — By Len Wallick

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Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — It doesn’t matter whether or not a new ‘school year’ is soon to start in your geographical vicinity. If that were the case, however, it would be an interesting synchronicity. That’s because those of you born with the Moon in Sagittarius are about to resume your education in some way. Therefore approach the next month or so as if your long school holiday were in its final weeks. Rather than exhausting yourself by packing too much activity into too little time, look to rest and relax. If you know where you are going, get there early and settle in. Instead of being nervous or sad about what is soon to end, focus on and be glad for what’s about to begin. — By Len Wallick

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Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — Don’t let criticism from others bring you to doubt yourself. You have a better idea than most of who and what you are. You also appear to have finally allowed your limits to define, rather than depress, you. Yet you are also still a work in progress, and therefore impressionable, even vulnerable. Thus, it’s important for you to protect yourself from challenges originating in your immediate environment. How you protect yourself is even more important. Aggressive reactions will only set you back. Work instead to constantly be conscious of, present with, and grounded in your priorities and values. Then show that very consciousness, presence and grounding in your every action. — By Len Wallick

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Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Your long process of intentionally seeking and laboriously finding revelations has reached a crucial point. You can now describe something you have been working on all year. Even so, your work is not over. In addition to creating form around that which you can finally name, you should also bring yourself to be aware of some unfinished business. That business originated long before the beginning of the efforts for which you now have a name or definition. What you are now avidly pursuing appears to have rooted no more recently than 2007, and as far back as 1995. To firmly anchor your current aspirations, you will need to find and connect with those roots again. — By Len Wallick

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Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — The true depth of your emotional intelligence has probably never been as apparent as it is now. Indeed, it seems as if you have finally gotten over, past, around, under or through some issues that flummoxed and stunted the full maturation of your parents, and probably your grandparents. That’s good news for you. Even so, you need to be aware of how the example set by your ancestors can no longer guide you. Your challenge henceforth will be to proceed with no guide other than your own judgment. Don’t underestimate that challenge. Proceed with a clear intent to create a legacy of your own that will serve to sustain rather than sabotage your own posterity. — By Len Wallick

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Marie Claire Horoscope for August 2015

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ARIES — You’re at your most passionate this month, willing to dare in ways that exceed even your usual courageous approach to life. Yet you may confront moments of hesitation just when you’re about to go beyond your limit. You must get out of your own way and allow your higher self to take over. Fear is merely a distraction. Passion is a way of life.

TAURUS — Venus, the planetary patron of Taurus, will be retrograde throughout the month, which is calling you inward. Honor that, and listen to your inner voice. Spend more time than usual at home. Yet that is not the only direction of travel. New horizons and, in particular, some advancement in your work, will keep you busy. Stay in close contact with your emotions at all times.

GEMINI — You can see through all the illusions of the world. Nobody can fool you; no pretense can distract you. The most important thing to remember is that your honesty is more important than that of anyone else. It’s also the only thing you have any control or even influence over. You want only people who are bold and authentic in your life, and in this you have the power to choose.

CANCER — You’re likely to discover some new ways to convert your talent into money. This has two elements: how confident you are, and how productive and helpful you can be. You have an abundance of ideas; that much is obvious. Now figure out the most efficient way to convert them into something tangible, useful and solid. The key to financial success is doing work of lasting value.

LEO — Emerging astrology this month will do wonders for your self-esteem. You are embarking on a phase of making many self-discoveries, particularly about the depth of your intelligence. Just remember: use it or lose it. Apply your wits to real problems and you will stay sharp. There are few better things in the world that will help you feel good about yourself than being the source of an innovative solution.

VIRGO — Jupiter enters your sign this month, which will open your mind and open doors. You may discover the miracle of being able to not only see but also feel the perspective of others, which will give you profound insight into your relationships. That, in turn, will open the way to unusual and long-delayed success. Take things slowly and get used to this new energy day by day.

LIBRA — Don’t be afraid to dance to the beat of your own drummer, or for that matter, to get out your drum and make some noise. Speak your true opinion and do your own thing. You may experience some hesitancy at first, but you can learn to step out of your own way. You will never know the benefits of this until you actually try.

SCORPIO — You will be called to take leadership in a professional situation. This theme has been developing over the years, and now it’s time to step up and be your boldest and most compelling. You must, however, be in tune with your environment and recognize the complexity of the situation. The opinion of someone you trust will factor strongly; listen carefully and grasp where they’re coming from.

SAGITTARIUS — Pay attention to the details if you want to succeed. This you can do, with a newfound talent that will allow your mind to expand to cover all facets of whatever you’re working on. Dive right into the technical side of things, and remember: it’s essential to approach that area of life with some creative passion. Don’t leave too much to the experts, and make sure you understand everything they do.

CAPRICORN — You’ve discovered the power of holding a steady course, and it’s about to pay off. To do things your own way, you must do them well. Typically you must be far better than others who have not taken an original path, so you might say that the price of innovation is excellence. If you persist in using this method, you’ll discover the true meaning of success.

AQUARIUS — This month’s planetary alignments favor all kinds of relationships, whether personal, professional or creative. Indeed, the three levels seem to merge, and the alchemy of human contact can lend itself well to some unusual developments in the career or artistic areas of your life. Remember, everyone is a person with needs and desires, especially the need to be loved and accepted. That one idea will get you far.

PISCES — You will have many unusual encounters with others this month, including with people you look up to and whose work you respect. You may not think of them as your peers, though I suggest you take that approach in a subtle way. You don’t have to feel yourself equal to their past accomplishments; but you are equal in potential, so learn everything you can while you have the chance.

Planet Waves Monthly Horoscope for August 2015

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Planet Waves Monthly Horoscope for August 2015, #1059 | By Eric Francis

Aries (March 20-April 19) — To express oneself boldly and freely does not always feel free. Often there is work involved. Yet this is different from ordinary toil or effort, because it’s possible to experience time in a much lighter way — to get lost in one’s work. Really that expression is the opposite of what it means, which is to find oneself in one’s work. That’s what I suggest you do, and what I think your soul is calling for. Remember as well that expression is introspective, at least initially. That thing you’re expressing is yourself, which calls you into yourself to make contact with this seemingly elusive aspect of existence. You may decide that there’s something specific you want or need to do. There may be a connection between your impulse to heal yourself and to have an experience of yourself and also to make or say something. Follow that focus. As you do, you may encounter the specific resistance, judgment or deception that has, in the past, prevented you from feeling, being or speaking what you truly are. This may feel like something that was ‘installed’ in you, and getting yourself free may feel like bypassing or, better still, dismantling or uninstalling it. The mere fact that you are allowing yourself to try means that you don’t have full faith in its power to control you. Keep unraveling, and feeling, and expressing.

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Taurus (April 19-May 20) — Your central question seems to involve your relationship to risk. This may show up a few different ways, but mainly I mean creative and sexual risk. Let’s start by admitting that anything either truly creative or sexual involves taking a chance. You might say that’s the sensation of authenticity — dancing with a measure of uncertainty and potentially with fear. Most of this is a head-trip. Just about everything is uncertain. Nearly all the time, fear turns out to be unfounded. So these concepts are mostly psychological, especially when we’re talking about an idea or a loving experience rather than, say, jumping off a building with a parachute. That would be an entirely different kind of fear or uncertainty. But it’s funny how expressing or even thinking about an idea can come with a daunting sensation. In this way, we’re taught to confuse that which is perfectly safe with what is allegedly dangerous. Yet that sense of an energy charge attached to something perfectly safe is the feeling I suggest you court. Use the sensation of risk or of taking a chance as an attractive force. Be mindful of your points of resistance, of concern, of aversion. Consider the worst-case scenario. Ask yourself if it’s really plausible. Consider the best-case scenario. Is that a direction you would like to go? Consider, above all, that you’re actually safe.

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Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Hang out with people who make you feel good about yourself, or said more accurately, people around whom you feel good being yourself. I recognize there’s something unusual going on with the mutable quality of self-assessment or inner emotional sensation — how fast it can change, and the forces to which it’s subject. I suggest you go with this particular flow rather than resist it, and hang out where and with whom you feel good being alive and, closer to home, feel good being yourself. This would include feeling positive when you cut loose or have some peak experience; when you experiment with who you are; when you experience an obsession of some kind. In a few words — the whole spectrum. This same astrology describes your susceptibility to taking on the emotional material of others. You’ll be able to tell what’s going on there by how you feel about yourself in their presence. However, speaking of the material of others, there’s some residue from one particular recent ancestor — a parent or grandparent — that has a way of choking off your happiness. You may only notice that when you start to feel positive and it suddenly stalls out. I don’t think this is about you. I think this is someone else’s self-image caught in your DNA or emotional body. It’s time to flood the valley and wash that out.

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Cancer (June 21-July 22) — It’s time to consider how resourceful you are. By that I mean how actually resourceful you really are. Monetary resources are often extolled and valued at the expense of many other forms of energy, though I’m including money in this statement. Let’s start with all resources; that is, the possibility that everything on Earth, at least potentially, is available for some purpose you might have. Many people have figured this out (various artists, authors, industrialists and others), whether they apply the idea on a large scale or a small one. You are figuring it out now. This involves an evaluation of who (and what) you think you are, and to a real extent, why you’re here. I suggest you think in big and bold strokes. Imagine what you consider your best or most scaled-up potential — and ask if that’s really describing what you feel. Notice how the value you place on yourself is reflected in the world you see. If you’re experiencing your worth as worthy, you will see more of the world as being available to you, like you’re on an equal plane with your environment. If you’re experiencing a contraction or lack of worth, you’re likely to feel like everything is better than you — and even worse, not available. What I suggest is that you take over and mediate this entire process from within yourself; from within your own awareness.

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Leo Birthday Reading 2015: Stoke Your Fire

How can this chart be for all Leos, when you nailed each important event, prompting, frustration and calling of my personal life all in this one reading? OMG. — CM

Dear Friend and Reader:

If you have a Leo Sun, Moon or rising sign (or you love someone who does), you should know that it’s time to pre-order the 2015 Leo Birthday Reading. This year’s reading focuses on Venus’ retrograde phase, and its extended visit to your sign.

Love and Light,

Amy Elliott

Planet Waves Client Services

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — Venus will be retrograde in your sign through early September, which represents one of the great developments in your life. Or better said, it can, if you align yourself with the mission that it’s describing. That mission is to fully identify with your purpose. Taurus is associated with the 10th house of your solar chart — your highest-level work, what you’re known for, what you absolutely must accomplish. Identifying with your work and your purpose is the central theme. There is no room to hesitate, though the retrograde describes a retrieval process — a reclaiming of something inherent about yourself. It may be an early vision you had for yourself, perhaps the first one. What was that thing? What was the very first thing you wanted to be when you grew up? What is the thing you’ve worked at the most consistently over time, even if you have not necessarily been a ‘success’ at it? I suggest you do your retrieval and reclaiming and then merge with that thing, that purpose, until it’s fully melted into your daily experience of life. This is the kind of commitment that sets you free, because it’s an inherent expression of yourself rather than an external promise. You are committing to what you already are. You may also need to fully un-commit to someone, some mom- or dad-like figure, telling you that you could not be that thing.

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Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — You seem to be seeking some missing element of yourself, but don’t drive yourself nuts along the way. What you’re looking for is right with you, though it seems to be obscured by a narrow view of yourself. Get that out of the way. It’s a little like a billboard blocking the view of Lake Tahoe from your deck — then staring at the whole scene through backwards binoculars. You would not leave the billboard there. You would chop it down and burn the pieces, and turn the binoculars around. You’re now getting a taste of where your potential meets your perspective. If you think you have the ability to do something, imagine that you’re really capable of a hundred times more. The thing that stands between you and this awareness is a form of perfectionism. Virgo is already famous for this, without the added influence of a strange, slow-moving point called Transpluto that happens to be unusually active right now. It’s like you’re seeing and feeling yourself in miniature. You don’t have anyone to impress with what you’re not capable of. You will not betray anyone by being brilliant, loving, creative or whatever it is that you want to be. Many forces are conspiring to open you up — you, your imagination, your curiosity, your passion and much else. Please join the conspiracy.

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Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — You don’t need to fit yourself into a small space — especially for anyone else’s benefit. Yet that would be one of the few reasons you might try to do it, and this is worth careful thought. Obsession over what other people might think has long been a problem, though never so much as today, when nearly everything we do has the potential to be published or publicized. Yet the sanitized, purified public relations version of oneself is a form of trying to fit into an impossibly small space. If you’re feeling cramped, or like you cannot be yourself, try revealing more of who you are. I know this might sound like a contradiction, however it’s essential that you make room for yourself in the world, in your home, in your work, in your relationships and just about anyplace else you can think of. You cannot expect people to move over and make room for you voluntarily. So far as I can tell, that’s not how this plane of reality works. You must take your space, which is another way of saying, stretch into your own existence. This will necessarily involve being different and demonstrating your differences; that’s the whole point. This takes some time and it takes practice, though the result is an experience of getting to live your life your way. It’s not always easy but it’s worth the effort.

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Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — This is the time to think about large goals, and to take steps toward accomplishing them. As you do this, remember that great achievements are always the condensed results of many small efforts and experiments. It’s also true that often the real direction of events or developments is not knowable until much later in a creative process. That said, it’s vital that you include all of the known major elements into your plans, concept or design scheme. For example, you might include adequate space to work, childcare and an assistant or other help. Only you will know the specifics, though I am suggesting you be careful about not leaving anything out, that you know you want to include. This will take some thought and some leadership on your part. Mostly you will need to demonstrate initiative — which is the art of initiating what you want to do. No matter who gives you permission, money, space, a promotion or an idea, you are the sole source of your own initiative. You are the energy source that sets the works in motion, and you sustain what you create.

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Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — There’s that old adage about the spirit of the law and the letter of the law. You need to honor both now, in a balanced way. In any discussion, particularly involving your professional affairs, there are no absolutes; there’s no room for purism. But there’s enough space and mental bandwidth to balance the most important details and particulars with the overall intent and the central idea of what you’re doing. Sagittarius is an interesting mix of ‘spare me the details’ and ‘I must have creative control over what I’m doing’. It all depends on what project and what phase of the project — and how much you care about it. I suggest that you work only on the projects that really matter to you — let’s get that out of the way. Then take total accountability for them. You need enough contact with the details that you actually have a grip. Right now the details matter more than ever, and they will for the foreseeable future. So now’s the time to wear your managing editor hat and make sure that everything is up to spec. Yet this cannot be at the expense of your broader vision — that is, the spirit of what you’re doing — or else there is no point. Therefore let the details boldly describe your purpose, and let your vision be expressed with care and craftsmanship through all the fine points of what you do.

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Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — The space you’re trying to hold open is emotional space, which is inner space. Your current project is not about your social standing, though it may feel that way. Nor is your life about getting what you deserve. So far as I can see, what you need is to hold open territory within your own feelings that has long been encroached on by influences that have seemed beyond your control. To the extent that this is about something within you, that control means everything, mainly meaning having a sense of your own boundaries. That might be enough. Yet it would be incorrect to decide that this is about ‘the world’ or whether you fit in. Rather, consider whether you give yourself space to be yourself, to feel what you feel and to express the many things you want to say. If you assign outward blame, you’ll miss the simple point that only you can give yourself permission to exist. If you can get to the space where you say yes to yourself, you’re likely to see your options open up, and to have a far greater sensation of belonging in the world. As far as your associations with others are concerned, here is the essential piece: you must relate to those who have an inner life, which they are willing to share with you. Yet that will only have meaning proportional to the inner life you share with them. Intimacy is introspection that we share.

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? Caring for Your Soul: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Is everything in the world really about contracts and agreements? From the highest courts in the land to the most intimate encounters, we’re told this again and again — and I’ve said it a few times myself. Yet we seem to live in a time when people tend to honor only those agreements that they want to honor. If someone wants to worm out of something, they usually do. I cannot speak with authority on the longterm karmic consequences of this, though I think that for the sake of sanity and overall spiritual health it’s better to keep your promises or make a conscious agreement to get out of them, and I imagine you do as well. Presently you’re in a review phase regarding your relationships and the various ways that commitments have been kept or not kept. Notice that on the social level, people tend to do what they want to do, and this is an entitlement that seems only to be gaining momentum. You would be wise to work with this principle, and surround yourself with people who want you, and who want to be of service to you. This will work brilliantly the other way — make sure the people you devote time, energy and money to are the ones you really and truly want to support. Your review of various past scenarios is likely to demonstrate the validity of this idea.

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? Caring for Your Soul: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Your relationship environment is a kaleidoscope these days, with influences and personalities changing shapes and colors day by day. If you look, you’ll observe many things you’ve never seen before. This kind of change will work to your advantage, and to make the most of the energy, I suggest you dance with the movements and the developments. Try to let go of what is not in sync with the rhythm you’re hearing and slip into step with what is. The idea of loss is now being washed away by that of change, and change is gradually being replaced by progress. The single most meaningful thing you can do for yourself is to continue to live well, to live from your heart, and to be generous with yourself and with others. Many, many factors of our lives make this difficult for people, and it remains something of a challenge for you — though less than usual, and you seem to be way ahead of society on the theme of sharing who you are and what you have. But you truly must master the art of being generous with yourself, in particular with devoting your precious time to what nourishes you. You may need to do this like yoga practice, or music practice. However, if you focus on this wellbeing project for the next month or so, it’s likely to stick, and deliver excellent outcomes.

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? Caring for Your Soul: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Planet Waves Weekly Horoscope, July 15 – July 23

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Planet Waves is running a membership drive.
Read more in Solstice Fire and the Art of Service, by Eric Francis.

Weekly Horoscope for Wednesday, July 15, 2015 #1058 | By Eric Francis

Aries (March 20-April 19) — Stand your ground. I don’t mean fight, and I don’t mean in a defensive way. I mean define your boundaries, your territory, your state of mind, and claim these things as a kind of basic entitlement to existence. There seems to be the shadow or specter of some parental authority that you’re feeling, which is clearly an element of your past. It’s too often true that such influences leave people feeling like there’s no space on the planet for their feelings, their desires, their needs or even their body and possessions. I am here to tell you that there is room for you, though you need to stretch into it. You must establish your entitlement within your own consciousness, and then spread that into the world. If you feel guilt, persist. If you feel fear, persist. Take these as signs that you’re on the right track, since guilt in particular is evidence of claiming back internal emotional territory. As for fear, you simply don’t need that. You have far more creative things to do with your energy.

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? Caring for Your Soul: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — You will be amazed how persuasive you are, if you have any persuading to do. You don’t need to be forceful; you merely need to be clear. Your own inner clarity will lead to the possibility of directness of a kind that you may notice is unusual for you. What you’re experiencing is the reality of having more than your mind made up, and more than a little wind behind you. You now have the full force of the currents and tides propelling you. Therefore, you don’t need to exert too much energy. You just need to choose your words carefully. It would also be wise never to meet force with force, or anger with anger. Always stay 10 degrees cooler than your environment, and make sure that you interpose some delays between thinking, speaking and acting. Slow down your mental clock speed; you’re likely to want to move quickly. Take the extra time and listen, look, feel and otherwise pay attention. You are reaching for precision, so look for your opening and make your moves when you feel in your body that the time is right.

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? Caring for Your Soul: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Now is the time to take action on financial matters, which under this astrology is likely to include both a plan to earn more, and an equally important plan to take inventory and organize your resources. By now you recognize that you’re looking at income potential that is as yet unrealized. You must be wondering what it will take to get the gold out of the ground. What it will take is carefully devising a strategy, then knowing when to stick to it and when to modify things. You may also need to temper your generous nature, for the sake of self-care and the ability to be supportive of others in the long-run. But you don’t need to make any excuses for being fully willing to support, sustain and nourish yourself. It would be abundantly healthy for you to focus that as a primary goal, with bold determination and actual happiness. Also notice any interference you may be getting from any voices in your mind or perhaps from those in your social circle. You don’t need to justify yourself and you would be wise to sidestep the temptation to do so. Just proceed with your intentions and plans with as little discussion as possible.

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? Caring for Your Soul: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Celebrate the Cancer New Moon With Your Special Reading

Dear Cancer Sun, Moon or Rising:Tonight at 9:24 pm EDT (1:24 UTC), the Sun and Moon conjoin in Cancer for a New Moon. The chart for this particular event signals a complex start to this lunar month — especially for anyone with a strong Cancer signature in their personal astrology.

Last week, I finished and published the 2015-2016 Cancer birthday reading — and the astrology has burst to life in the recordings.

This is bold astrology with real ideas and a sense of potential. I follow up the two sections of astrology with a rather blazing tarot card reading in the third section, which includes astrology afterthoughts on Mars in Cancer.

It’s perfect if you’re Cancer Sun, Moon or rising — and is a nifty, modestly priced gift that someone will remember for years. In addition to this clear, practical guide to working with your astrology over the next four seasons, you get access to an extended sign description and last year’s reading so you can review your progress.

Your astrology in the coming year describes your overall role in the world, as a leader, as a creative force and as one contributing to solutions — and much more. I look forward to hearing what you (or your loved one, if you give the reading as a gift) take from it.

Lovingly,

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Wednesday’s stunning New Moon in your birth sign is a reminder that it’s time to live your life your way. You can afford to take this a few shades beyond what you might normally think of as your personal prerogative. It’s true that you have considerable responsibilities, though you’ve come a long way in your ability to fulfill them in style. Therefore, lean on your talent and your ability a little more than you might, as a way of creating some space for creation and recreation. Indeed, you might consider bringing that creative/recreative viewpoint into everything that you do. There are those times when your work flows, and when your creativity carries the day. If the past two years of your life are an exercise in anything, it’s about how to tap into that quality. It’s a talent of its own, and to get there you have to be willing to take a chance or two. But more than anything you need the willingness to do what must be done, when it must be done, without hesitation.

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? Caring for Your Soul: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — Jupiter and Venus in your birth sign are offering you protection and a hint as to how much abundance is possible. It’s as if events of the past year have been preparing you to experience your own independence. Yet what you now must do is maintain your flexibility and an open mind. More than anything you need to cultivate the habit of stopping yourself when you doubt your own potential or talent. If you find yourself in self-effacing mode, or trying to talk yourself out of your desires, pause, and see if you can get a handle on where that influence is coming from. It’s your job to make up your own mind about who you are and what you’re capable of. This doesn’t mean the world owes you anything. Rather, potential translates to the option you have to work for what you want, to focus real goals and to make yourself useful to others. There’s a significant difference between your personal gifts and using those gifts in some form of commerce. Once other people are in the scene, you must focus on the relationship above all else.

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? Caring for Your Soul: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Venus is working its way toward your sign, where it will do something interesting — it will stay put in early Virgo for nearly two weeks. The way that looks, you may at once feel like a vastly gifted person, though at times racked by fits of insecurity. This is an opportunity to address both — what to do with your gifts, and what to do with your insecurity. The two don’t cancel one another out. But you will ultimately choose one or the other. Remember this basic equation: You cannot be self-possessed and reject yourself at the same time. You cannot love yourself and doubt yourself at the same time. Self-possession is acceptance and love means surrendering your doubt to some other force in your personality that will guide you in the direction you want and need to go. More than anything I suggest you learn the talent of generosity with yourself, rising above any influences to the contrary that may well have run your life until now.

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? Caring for Your Soul: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — For a Libra you sure are in an ambitious, even conquering, mood. It’s about time, too. Focus your goals and connect them to the sense of resolve that you’re feeling. Notice the elements of why you feel the way you do. One of them is confidence in yourself. You’ve come to this observation before — when you have that, you can do anything. You might ask yourself where it goes when you don’t have it; I would say that some clouds from the past block the light of the Sun. Now you can see clearly and feel the heat, which is really your own energy radiating from inside you. Even still, be wary of doubt. Notice when you have the vaguest, slightest hint of doubt in yourself. Try to identify whose voice it is. Much that we think we do to ourselves is really the residual toxicity of what was done to us in the distant past. You have the choice to reject those influences, though you would need to replace them with the clear sensation of who you are, not in the past but right now.

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? Caring for Your Soul: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — ‘Spiritual’ is often a byword that describes subject matter that can be emotional, psychological, sexual, physical or on any other subject. In this case, ‘byword’ means language that avoids real subject matter. In our culture, so influenced as it is by New Age thinking, we have this idea that there’s a spiritual solution to everything, and that even the ancient Egyptians levitated the blocks in the pyramids with their third eye. But one might better speculate that really, it was engineering and hard work that got the job done. It’s true that you’re feeling influences that might be described as spiritual or religious or mystical. But I suggest you focus your mind, your intentions and most of all your resolve, and get the real work done. In my experience, we get the best results from spiritual agency when we’re willing to make an authentic effort. Part of that involves developing a sincere vision for your life, and having an authentic relationship with your own notion of commitment. You must know what you want and what you’re willing to do to make it happen. Undoubtedly, you know that involves actual change.

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? Caring for Your Soul: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — You must set the terms of your agreements. It may seem that it doesn’t matter who proposes the arrangement, or writes the contract, though I’m here to remind you that it certainly does. Take control of your language. This includes business arrangements as well as the words and ideas you use to express your feelings and your desires. Be abundantly clear in everything, and make sure you notice the places where you’re inclined to leave out a detail, or to make a compromise without being asked. Regarding your professional goals, I suggest you be as specific as you can about what you want or what you intend to do. As you do this, be mindful of any tendency you have to judge yourself, or to set some limit on what you think you’re capable of. This is very difficult for most people, who tend to inflict on themselves the same ridiculous limits that were set on them by early caregivers and authority figures. The very theme of the coming months is for you to identify and exceed those limits.

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? Caring for Your Soul: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — It’s time to get a handle on relationship matters. You seem to be living in a retro world where only the past matters, or alternately, you’re struggling in some way to find the present moment and get real. The only thing the past has to offer at this point is a map of what you don’t want, and some information about some errors in judgment, particularly about your own power. It appears that others are willing to be direct with you, which you may find disorienting. Directness is about the moment. You will find this worthwhile, as others respond to you with generosity and equanimity. The real factor that’s mediating your experience is your willingness to receive. This is likely to be more challenging for you than you’re willing to admit, though that would be a good start. You may have this idea that expressing your vulnerability (which you must do to accept anything offered to you) gets you into some kind of overcommitment. What is that about? Is it really true? Remember, you gain more influence over your life by making decisions than by avoiding them.

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? Caring for Your Soul: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — You are forming bonds now that may last a lifetime, and that certainly are influencing your world right now. Remember that any real connection is a form of collaboration. I know there’s some skepticism about working with people you love, but the truth is that any loving relationship that is based on something real is indeed a form of working together. You in particular need close bonds with your colleagues. Aquarius is not as chilly a sign as astrology books make it out to be. Far from it, in fact; but you need, in many situations, to express your affections in practical ways. Pay special attention to the people you work with. Reach for, and feel, the undercurrent of trust that is essential to any productive encounter with other humans. While you’re doing that, in all ways seek to improve your life, and those of your friends (which to you often amount to the same thing). Be bold about this. You are at a vital, potent point of beginning on all of these subjects.

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? Caring for Your Soul: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Your astrology is pulsating with creative and sexual energy. You must be feeling this, and it’s likely that others around you are. The thing to do is express, express, express. Well, that and notice the world around you. Notice the beauty, notice the conflict, notice whatever there is to be seen, felt or experienced. You have an open invitation to involve yourself in existence, and a wide latitude for how you interpret things. That is the true nature of art. As for expressing — that is the opposite of things like repressing, suppressing and depressing. If you notice guilt, brush it away like a fly. Guilt only has the power over you that you give it, so start investing in love and beauty. I mean aesthetic and sexual, specifically both. Let whatever and whoever turns you on, turn you on. I know there are rules and by now you know that most of them are bullshit. You exist, you have a right to see and look and feel and encounter people, and ideas, and the whole universe for that matter, boldly and directly. Call that and nothing else being alive.

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? Caring for Your Soul: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Planet Waves Weekly Horoscope, July 9 – July 16

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Planet Waves is running a membership drive.
Read more in Solstice Fire and the Art of Service, by Eric Francis.

Weekly Horoscope for Thursday, July 9, 2015 #1057 | By Eric Francis

Aries (March 20-April 19) — Doors will open for you, if only you would actually express what you’re feeling. You have plenty going on in there, and it’s an unusual blend of confidence, fear and desire. But feeling is not enough. Emoting is not enough. What you need is actual expression. The way you know you’re doing that is you feel like you’re taking a chance — and as a result you feel good. Sex is involved. You might be inclined to convert all of your hormonal impulses into some form of sentimentality, nesting instinct or a drive for security. That has next to nothing to do with what I’m describing; indeed it may directly contradict, in that currently embracing the feeling of taking a risk is essential to your happiness. I don’t mean bungee jumping or parasailing. I mean expressing something you ordinarily would never say or otherwise offer to the world, in a way you would never typically do it. Note how much of what we do these days is designed to be free of any risk, including a moment of going off script. Start there — burn your script and feel the heat.

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? In the Spirit of Service: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — You may be in a tight emotional squeeze of some kind, or feel as if some authority is cramping your style. This is an old story, however, I suspect you’re onto it. Astrology offers the following clues: Some factor out of the past may be masquerading as a presence in your life currently. For example, your mother’s tendencies might be showing up in the form of a partner who doesn’t even remind you of your mother. That points to an internal situation, though it’s one that you’re not only ready to address — you have already done so to a significant degree. I suggest you feel this squeeze consciously and get a sense of its emotional contours. Notice how you’re affected; for example, what exactly do you hesitate doing, or do you feel constrained from doing? This scenario does not affect every aspect of your life. Some things are immune, some things are especially vulnerable. Get a handle on this. You can, and you’ll be happy you did, as more interesting astrology offers you more productive challenges to meet.

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? In the Spirit of Service: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Mercury has spent more than two months in your sign. It’s now ingressed Cancer, bringing a welcome change of emphasis. It’s as if you can now get on with what really matters. But what exactly were you busy doing all these weeks, especially during the Mercury retrograde of May and June? I suggest you go back over that and see if you can, at least, get a look inside what may seem like a time capsule and determine what you were so concerned about. That will help you order your priorities and claim what you’ve learned. At the moment the emphasis is on the money angle of your chart, and I suggest you catch up with anything related to your finances. You’re in an excellent position to strategize, turn up the energy on some money-making projects and squeeze some extra profits out of your efforts. This is not just an option — it’s essential that you take this opportunity to be especially clever with money and your other personal resources (such as your talent), which count for more than cash.

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? In the Spirit of Service: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Your Cancer Birthday Reading Is Ready!

Dear Cancer Sun, Moon or Rising:

Earlier this week, I finished and published the 2015-2016 Cancer birthday reading — and the astrology has burst to life in the recordings.

Lovingly,

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Mercury has entered your sign after spending many weeks in a blind spot in your chart. If you’ve come through the challenges of the past two months with any clarity at all, count yourself fortunate, and give yourself credit for your persistence. You now need to be realistic about every issue, question and subject that seemed to evade your understanding. If you hesitated or struggled for directness, now is the time to be confident and straightforward. Matters of relationship and partnership are building to a head, associated with next week’s New Moon in your sign. You’re in a much stronger position than you may imagine, which means you can afford to take care of your own interests and also be fair and generous with others. As you go through the next week or so, remember this: understate your case, your point of view and your needs. Others are not nearly as powerful as they seem, and you don’t need to give them any undue influence over you. Be true to yourself and you will be true to your entire circumstance.

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? In the Spirit of Service: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — Your astrology is describing the necessities and requirements of your life. And it’s describing your abundant talent and resourcefulness. Wherever you encounter the necessity side of the equation, open your mind and you will discover the needed resources to meet that need. It’s true that this is my guiding principle when I write this column; astrology never describes a problem without also describing the solution. It’s just that you’re in an unusual situation to discover just how much you have, in contrast to what you may seem to need. Make sure that you’re extremely realistic about your professional obligations. There’s no getting around this. Just remember that if you feel pushed into a corner or like there is something unfair going on, you have plenty of energy to make it right. It’s you, however, who must rise to the situation, not the other way around. At this point, your reputation is something you must build rather than something you can bank on.

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? In the Spirit of Service: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — It’s clear that your professional life has been in some chaos, as you’ve dealt with slippery floors, slippery people and way too much unreliable information. You may need to cut your losses on plans you’ve determined will not come to fruition. You also need to distance yourself from, or cut loose, others who have proven to be in any way deceptive. I know there have been some hard lessons here, and some annoying ones. Yet it makes sense to surround yourself with trustworthy and reliable people as the first order of your life. Those would also be the people around whom you can be real and say what’s on your mind without fear of judgment. So the moment you start feeling like you may be judged, or like you have to shut up, you know you’re not among friends. By the way, in my opinion, blood relatives are not granted an exemption. They must be held to the same standards as others. That may be a challenge, but you’re up to it

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? In the Spirit of Service: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — You may be wondering if the deck has been stacked against you, or if you’re embarking on a fantastic winning streak. As for the first, I don’t think so. What you’re being confronted by is the need to tidy up certain emotional and financial matters so that you’re free to live your life your way. Unresolved business from the past will surely deter your progress, but you’re the one who has the power to get that right. As for the winning streak you suspect may be coming, this is entirely a matter of how you position yourself. You must collaborate with others; indeed, with everyone in your environment, and build a winning team. You’re the one with the strategy, however; don’t count on anyone else for that. You’re the one who must set the goal and you’re the one who must make the plan for how to get there, although others will offer some brilliant ideas that you must fit into the plan. Note that certain people who feel erratic or a bit odd may in fact be the ones who will come through the most reliably, even if just this once.

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? In the Spirit of Service: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — Notice your own tendency to resist — whether that be progress, your own desires, your own feelings, or your own needs. Resistance is the result of thought forms that are specifically designed to mess with progress, desires, feelings and needs. In essence, resistance is denial. It’s the denial of yourself, and the denial of certain obvious facts about your existence and existence as a whole. So what’s this about? You may have come through a long period wherein you thought you addressed this. You may have decided you’re loose and chill and easygoing — though if you find yourself saying that, I suggest you question whether it’s true. To be easygoing you need to be easy with others and with yourself. If you put others in a position to push against you, where they must somehow struggle for what’s simply theirs, or for what you promised them, I suggest you pause and ask yourself why that has to be. By the way, it doesn’t.

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? In the Spirit of Service: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — Today Amanda Painter dug a quote out of an old astrology book I love, which offered this image: a grand fire trine is like having a million dollars stuck up on a shelf in your closet, but which you don’t use. Currently there’s an astonishing grand fire trine in the sky — Uranus and Eris in Aries, Venus and Jupiter in Leo and centaur Pholus in your own sign. That is quite a setup. If you want to take some of that million dollars off the shelf, here’s how to work with it: You are the activating agent of your life. First, remember that all the time. Pholus in your sign suggests that you’re the small cause that can have a big effect. Therefore, you don’t need to do much — though what you do must be intentional and directed carefully. For example, choose one project that you believe in or just simply love and get it going. Choose that one person you’re really, really interested in and introduce yourself. Your influence is potent right now, and you only need to use it in measured amounts — but you must do at least that much.

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? In the Spirit of Service: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — Your strength is in your clarity. Your integrity is in your honesty with yourself. Your love is proportional to your transparency with others. You seem to be caught in some kind of time warp, confronted by what you thought you had resolved long ago. Rather than struggle against that, notice what you need to resolve and get busy doing so. Instead of seeing yourself as being at odds with others, consider that they’re your friends and allies who want only to help you be who you really are. Just remember that you will see them as you think they are, or perhaps closer to the point, as you think you are. You may have a tendency to overestimate your own power or influence and then underestimate theirs. Rather than estimating, I suggest you be genuinely realistic, which means saying what you mean, and taking others at their word. I can assure you that any problem, issue or challenge you face can be resolved quickly and efficiently by practicing this essential version of the Golden Rule.

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? In the Spirit of Service: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — You may feel like you need to regain authority or a position in your professional life that you somehow lost due to circumstances outside your control. Yet it would make much more sense to work in the moment, with your new opportunities, rather than referencing your idea of success in the past. You must have figured out that the past is nothing to aspire to. You’ve come through many struggles that you really need to leave behind. The one point of resolution, the one thing it would really help if you do, is to claim authority over yourself. This is not about others. If anything, people around you are holding out many opportunities and forms of support that you actually have available to you. But if you’re not your own master (which translates to, if you’re not the one making your own decisions on your own terms), then what you’re being offered won’t amount to much of anything. Live day to day, taking each stretch of road as it comes. What is available will manifest for you clearly and visibly. Then, open up to receive.

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? In the Spirit of Service: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — There are so many planets moving in your favor that you have nearly every option open to you. You would go a long way toward fulfilling your desires by keeping your promise not to doubt yourself. Others may be hesitating; others may be unsure; others may not see the potential in their own lives, or be frightened of it. Don’t let them influence your opinion of what is possible for you. Rise above that kind of herd mentality for which humanity is so famous — especially now that anything and everything is used as an excuse for fear. You’re on a path of growth and self-realization that few others around you understand. Put yourself in the presence of those few, and set the example of being fearless about your own potential. Set the example for yourself of being willing to work for what you want, and to live well. Each verges on meaningless without the other. Be bold and saucy in your personal life. Be clever and strategic in your professional life. Remember: as David Bowie once said, small moves mean a lot.

Have you looked at the Planet Waves Catalog yet? In the Spirit of Service: Planet Waves Readings and Classes

Marie Claire Horoscope for July 2015

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Hello Readers! I started writing the Marie Claire horoscope for the American edition in March. I’m now confident enough in the column to share it with you. It will be a free feature on the Planet Waves page, once we figure out where to post it. — efc

ARIES — You’re at your most romantic, and your most imaginative. That sets you apart, and you know it. Don’t let anyone get in the way of your fun. In fact I suggest you become a subversive and lure people into your idea of a good time, because it’s gonna be really good. If you’re an artist or even vaguely creative, you’re on fire this month.

American edition of Marie Claire, July 2015.

TAURUS — If you’ve been wanting to make improvements to your home, this is the month. You will astound yourself with your creativity, sense of style and your ability to economize. Having a beautiful home, a place where you’re truly comfortable, will do wonders for your confidence at work. At the moment, that’s all about how good you feel, so do what it takes to feel good.

GEMINI — You have the power of words this month — and quite a power it is. Both your speech and your writing will be eloquent, passionate and most of all, compelling. Therefore, use this tool to your advantage and that of the people you work for. You’re good at this nearly all the time but now you are a force to rival the great poets.

CANCER — You have so much to offer, and the more generous you are, the wealthier you will feel. By wealth, I mean that you have many resources available at the moment, along with some unusual earning power. This quality will serve as a magnet for good things, though you will greatly enhance your experience of life by sharing with others, beginning with your love and wisdom.

LEO — With Venus and Jupiter joining forces in your sign, you’re at the height of your charm and charisma. What are you doing to do with it? Experiment with a plan you’ve wanted to try for a while. You’ve been waiting for the right time, and now it is as good as it gets. Assert yourself and your ideas and you will make a splash.

VIRGO — It’s as if you have guardian angels working for you, but don’t tempt fate. Rather, do the right thing and know that you will be supported and your efforts will bear fruit. You may be called upon to take leadership. You may be the bearer of a message. In any event, you may need to make yourself visible — and you will shine.

LIBRA — Every now and then there’s a moment when you light up every room you enter, in some truly unusual way. You’ll have many such days this month, and you must use that gift well. Accept every invitation, though I suggest you take the initiative and host an event of your own. Make it special. Set a theme and invite the world.

SCORPIO — Take charge. I don’t mean kind-of-sort-of take charge, I mean go all the way. People see you as a mix of bold, beautiful and intelligent, and they will do what you ask them to do. Others have total confidence in you, though this seems to be for some long-awaited purpose, to get a nearly impossible result. You can and you will.

SAGITTARIUS — You may feel some pressure ease off this month. Yet at the same time, you’re being drawn more deeply into yourself than you have been in quite a while. Follow that inward direction and you will make some significant discoveries about who you are and what you want. Far from being an inconvenience, this is a rare opportunity, which if you honor it will produce equally unusual results.

CAPRICORN — You have the ability to see around corners and through walls. I am speaking metaphorically, though in fact you will be privy to information, and are likely to have some hunches that could qualify as spooky. Use that information carefully. You must seek some confirmation of your ideas by worldly means, though there may be one occasion where you will take an authentic leap of faith. Trust yourself.

AQUARIUS — You’re in a phase where you’re revisiting what you didn’t complete in the past — and I suggest you take every opportunity to tidy up whatever that might be. There’s likely to be a professional matter that you can now button up with a few weeks of focus. Do that and you’ll be able to proceed boldly into the new territory you’ve been craving for so long.

PISCES — Despite so much activity, your mind is a clear window with a view. You can see yourself and others honestly, and this will build your confidence. Continue your project of making brave moves. You want to choose the most creative path, which for you is the most practical as well. This is something that might only work for a Pisces, though it will definitely work for you.