Dear Friend and Reader:

As you’ve no doubt heard by now, five Roman Catholic men on the Supreme Court determined that for-profit corporations can have religious views, but only when it comes to women’s reproductive rights. Hobby Lobby won its lawsuit, and now corporations have the “religious right” to deny women health insurance that covers certain kinds of contraceptives, if the corporation’s owners think they’re sinful.

The Court of Emperor Frederick II in Palermo by Arthur Georg von Ramberg. Frederick was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors, most of whom were defenders of Christianity, armed and ready for war.

All nine justices of the court agreed that Hobby Lobby’s religious views were sincere, despite the fact that the company has $75 million invested in companies that manufacture the kinds of pregnancy prevention and abortion drugs that the owners claim to object to the most.

Were I writing this in a novel, I would be pleased with myself for coming up with something so ironic, witty and daunting, but this is not fiction. It’s another warning of where our society is headed.

The good news is that the decision came out just one day before Mercury stationing direct, which happened this morning at 8:50 am EDT (12:50 UTC). I’ll have more to say about the Hobby Lobby ruling and the current astrology in an edition of Planet Waves FM that will post at about 5 pm EDT (21:00 UTC).

In a little while, I’m about to wrap up recording the Cancer birthday reading. That will be ready Wednesday. It’s still available at the pre-order price of $29.95 (included with All-Access Pass memberships). Speaking of, we are currently offering a six-month All-Access Pass for half price.

And speaking of reduced-price readings, The Mars Effect (12 signs of audio and written astrology, for Sun and rising sign) is currently available for half price till Friday (but it retains its full value, as the readings are every bit as relevant now as they were back in January).

Next week I’ll be back with information about new classes, community meetings and some fun astrology products for the summer.

I’m going to keep this letter short today — I have some additional reading to do from the Hobby Lobby decision, particularly from the dissent by Ruth Bader Ginsberg, which is a masterpiece. In Thursday night’s edition I plan to have a reading of the United States Sibly chart, something of an annual tradition at Planet Waves, and your weekly horoscope.

For Planet Waves FM listeners — catch you at about 5 pm EDT (21:00 UTC).

Lovingly,

Planet Waves (ISSN 1933-9135) is published each Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon in Kingston, New York by Planet Waves, Inc. Annual basic subscription rate: $99/year. Core community membership: $149/year. Editor and Publisher: Eric Francis Coppolino. Business Manager: Chelsea Bottinelli. Web Developer: Anatoly Ryzhenko. Copy Editor: Jessica Keet. Research, Writing and Editing: Planet Waves is produced by a team consisting of Amy Elliot, Elizabeth Michaud, Amanda Moreno, Amanda Painter, Casey Smith, Carol van Strum, Len Wallick and Chad Woodward. Special thanks to the Fact Checkers List, which goes over each edition on Thursday night — and to our main astrology fact-checker Alex Miller, and Amanda, who goes over all their suggestions.

Dear Friend and Reader:

Casey Kasem, the voice of “American Top 40” (and one of the most recognizable voices in American radio) died Sunday, and I’ve prepared a reading of his chart in tonight’s Planet Waves FM. His chart is focused on what most people find to be the most challenging house to read, or to live with — the 12th, which seems to exist behind a veil but also sometimes magnifies things to larger-than-life proportions (Madonna is another example).

Mithra-Varuna, the pre-Vedic deities, are associated with the minor planet Varuna, covered in today’s edition of Daily Astrology.

In current astrology, I check in with Mercury retrograding into Gemini (where it will be through the remainder of the retrograde), the Sun and Mercury opposite many planets in late Sagittarius, and the Cancer solstice.

In today’s Daily Astrology, I’ve written about Jupiter conjunct Varuna, an event that has not happened since 2002. Varuna is a protector of the righteous and those who uphold the proper functioning of the universe and everything in it. This reminds me of the concept of dharma — acting as if to hold the world together; it’s connected to a much older concept not of correct action, but of upholding the natural order of existence.

In the human realm, that includes honoring contracts, keeping promises and being good for one’s word.

Speaking of the sign Cancer, we are now offering the Cancer birthday reading at its lowest pre-order price. That price is good through Thursday night. I plan to have the reading done early next week.

As the Sun moves through these last degrees of Gemini, there are serious matters brewing in the world. Iraq is once again descending into intra-Muslim civil war, made possible by the United States destabilizing the country when it went to war against Saddam Hussein in 2003.

I learned a new word this week: caliphate, which is an Islamic state led by a supreme religious and political leader. The concept is that it can transcend national boundaries, and that official governments don’t matter. From what I am reading, this is the goal of the current uprisings in both Syria and Iraq.

Hobby Lobby lobbies for a hobby.

It’s also the goal of some religious activists here in the United States. We have a Supreme Court decision due, perhaps today, in the Hobby Lobby case (Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.). That’s the one about how corporations allegedly have the religious freedom of individuals, and should be able to prevent their female employees from having health insurance policies that cover birth control because it’s presumed by them to be a form of abortion.

(This, apart from the fact that the Hobby Lobby corporation has substantial retirement fund investments in drug companies that manufacture birth control and abortion drugs.)

This is an example of a systemic attempt to take ownership of women’s bodies and reproductive freedom on religious grounds (there are no other grounds that could be used to argue this point). The conservative bloc on the Supreme Court has several reasons to go for this, including its tendency to grant personhood rights to corporations and its desire to kiss up to the Christian right wing that put it into place.

But they also know they are opening the door to something really strange if they decide that companies can impose their supposed religious values on one class of employees. We’ve been tracking this case closely for months and are eager to read this decision, whatever it may say.

It’s going to be an interesting week in the run-up to the solstice, which is Saturday. I’ll have more for you when I return with a new edition of Planet Waves on Thursday night.

Lovingly,

Planet Waves (ISSN 1933-9135) is published each Tuesday morning and Thursday evening in Kingston, New York by Planet Waves, Inc. Annual basic subscription rate: $99/year. Core community membership: $149/year. Editor and Publisher: Eric Francis Coppolino. Business Manager: Chelsea Bottinelli. Web Developer: Anatoly Ryzhenko. Copy Editor: Jessica Keet. Research, Writing and Editing: Planet Waves is produced by a team consisting of Hillary Ghee, Elizabeth Michaud, Amanda Moreno, Amanda Painter, Amy Silver, Carol van Strum, Len Wallick and Chad Woodward. Special thanks to the Fact Checkers List, which goes over each edition on Thursday night — and to our main astrology fact-checker Alex Miller, and Amanda, who goes over all their suggestions.

Dear Friend and Client:

Seek and you shall find are among my guiding words for astrology. This quote comes from Matthew 7:7. Here it is, in the familiar language of the King James version: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”

Photo by Eric Francis.

I translate this into astrology as an approach to the client and the chart. You will find in either what you’re looking for. Look for trauma and you’ll find trauma. Look for past life commotions and you’ll find those. I prefer to search the chart for gifts, for talents, for distinctive individual qualities. I seek strength and passion, and unlived dreams that are seeking expression now — and usually I find them.

The energy of “seeking” is embodied in Mercury, now retrograde, trine centaur planet Nessus, which I covered in last week’s edition. You may still be getting used to Mercury reversing apparent directions. Mercury will make another trine to Nessus before ingressing Gemini one week from today.

We’re approaching another centaur event — a Full Moon overnight Thursday that’s conjunct centaur planet Pholus. The centaurs almost always act as doorways to new experience, or to unraveling old experience. Pholus in particular is a key to understanding ancestral material. The Full Moon in Sagittarius is also close to a point called Quaoar, which is about one’s family pattern — the dance and the rhythm into which you were born and may take for granted, till you learn to see and hear it.

Our ancestors leave us problems and they bestow gifts. When a centaur is involved, the two will be closely related, and located nearby one another. You will need to be alert for the gifts, and seek them consciously. I’ll have more to say about the Full Moon in tonight’s edition of Planet Waves FM, when I’ll tell the story of the myth of Pholus. This will be an interesting follow-up to last week’s discussion of Nessus (the two myths happen in sequence — though the Pholus story is the prequel).

And I’ll give the Full Moon event one last look in a specially scheduled edition of Planet Waves that will be published Thursday night EDT, a few hours ahead of the exact Moon-Sun opposition. Note, at this time, I anticipate publishing the Friday edition on Thursday evening.

Photo by Eric Francis.

Before that happens, there’s an event to be aware of — the Moon-Saturn conjunction that is exact today. Here is a brief post about that aspect pattern. The upshot is that today, inner material may be as significant as anything in the outer world. Do your best to keep your emotions light, being aware of this potentially heavy influence.

Tuesday evening (tonight) there will be a conference call associated with the Gemini birthday reading. Now each of my birthday readings comes with time to converse with me and share stories with others who have your sign affiliation. The Cancer birthday reading is up next —  and I’m eager to hear your suggestions and questions for what to cover. If you’re born with Cancer Sun, Moon or rising, please email me your thoughts about what you would like to see addressed.

In the next week or so, I’ll be hosting a group conference for Core Community members — our new level of service — to which I will be inviting all subscribers. The theme will be focused on the current Mercury retrograde: How to talk about the impossible. Look for an invitation in your inbox.

On a similar theme, I would call your attention to a discussion thread that’s developing on our main blog called An Introspective Question, asking people to share their stories of healing methods that have worked for them, whether as a practitioner or as a client. That is an invitation to use what we know. Many people have studied healing, self-awareness and the mysteries for many years. Now is the time we need to bring our gifts forward and make them available to one another.

The Moonshine horoscope is scheduled for today. There’s been a change in personnel on that column and I have not had a chance to read it. When I do, I’ll send it out in a special mailing.

Thanks for tuning in.

w/ love,

Planet Waves (ISSN 1933-9135) is published each Tuesday and Friday morning in Kingston, New York by Planet Waves, Inc. Annual basic subscription rate: $99/year. Core community membership: $149/year. Editor and Publisher: Eric Francis Coppolino. Business Manager: Chelsea Bottinelli. Web Developer: Anatoly Ryzhenko. Copy Editor: Jessica Keet. Research, Writing and Editing: Planet Waves is produced by a team consisting of Hillary Ghee, Elizabeth Michaud, Amanda Moreno, Amanda Painter, Amy Silver, Carol van Strum, Len Wallick and Chad Woodward. Special thanks to the Fact Checkers List, which goes over each edition on Thursday night — and to our main astrology fact-checker Alex Miller, and Amanda, who goes over all their suggestions.

Dear Friend and Client:

On tonight’s Planet Waves FM, I will be doing a long-planned program on the impact of advertising on our society and on your life. With the Gemini Sun still square Neptune and approaching a square to the Chiron-Borasisi conjunction in Pisces, this seems like the perfect time.

Tonight on Planet Waves FM — UMass Amherst Prof. Sut Jhally, commenting on “Advertising and the End of the World.”

After covering the current astrology — including Mercury about to station retrograde — I will be sharing the work of Sut Jhally, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst whose theory of advertising culture inspired me to create a media organization that’s free from commercial advertising.

His theory is simple. Long ago, advertising stopped promoting the qualities and uses of the product being sold and switched to a tactic of promising love, fulfillment, prestige and magical powers (often associated with sex). Of course, you can’t get those things from beer, perfume or cars, but those promises have become the central narrative of our culture. It infests our consciousness and — like it or not — takes over the narratives of our lives. You can stop that, though you have to be aware of it first.

Part two of the theory involves how advertising is used to compensate for an abundance of material goods created by the capitalist system, things that must be sold to keep the manufacturers in business. These are products that most people would not buy unless they were pitched to in ads. So in two ways advertising is destroying the world: it’s fully invaded our psychic space with its false promises and fake images of life, which we think we must live up to; and it’s driving a cycle of consumption and waste that has now come to threaten the Earth’s ability to sustain life.

Laurie Anderson, Gemini with Capricorn Moon, turns 67 this week. I’ll be looking at her chart on Planet Waves FM.

I’ll also be looking at the birth chart of the magnificent Laurie Anderson, who turns 67 this week. I usually post the program by Tuesday at 5 pm EDT. We will send out a reminder shortly after the program posts, or keep an eye on my Facebook page, which tends to be Planet Waves comm central.

In the daily astrology series, I’ve been covering the Mercury-Nessus trine — I’ll be covering that tonight on PW FM as well. In written form, this is in two articles — Mercury Storm, Trine Nessus, and If You Lie, I’ll Swear To It — Or Not. 

In today’s edition, I wrote, “There are many people who live in and on denial; who live in wholly fictional worlds of who they might be and who others should be. This is isolating. Mercury stationing retrograde feels like a point of reckoning. Neither Cancer nor Pisces give up their secrets easily, if only because they’re not easy to translate into words. One thing that might help this process along is the use of I-statements.”

This is an old technique from therapy and the spiritual community. We are still in a radical projection phase, with Mars, the ruler of Aries, in its opposite sign Libra. It is easy to accuse, it’s easy to point fingers, and it’s easy to make into a target those who reveal their inner reality, their pain, their desire.

It’s more challenging, and closer to healing, to speak for yourself, to reveal your own pain, your own desire, your own challenges. In that spirit, I’ve posted an excerpt from an article out of the archives, How To Be Your Own Lover.

I plan to have more about this in this week’s Friday edition.

Lovingly,

Planet Waves (ISSN 1933-9135) is published each Tuesday and Friday morning in Kingston, New York by Planet Waves, Inc. Annual basic subscription rate: $99/year. Core community membership: $149/year. Editor and Publisher: Eric Francis Coppolino. Business Manager: Chelsea Bottinelli. Web Developer: Anatoly Ryzhenko. Copy Editor: Jessica Keet. Research, Writing and Editing: Planet Waves is produced by a team consisting of Hillary Ghee, Elizabeth Michaud, Amanda Moreno, Amanda Painter, Amy Silver, Carol van Strum, Len Wallick and Chad Woodward. Special thanks to the Fact Checkers List, which goes over each edition on Thursday night — and to our main astrology fact-checker Alex Miller, and Amanda, who goes over all their suggestions.

Dear Friend and Client:

There are occasionally moments that open up a new phase of Planet Waves community history, and this past Sunday night we experienced one of them. I want to extend my thanks to everyone who participated in the first worldwide call-in edition of Planet Waves FM, providing our first chance to listen to one another in a kind of town meeting.

Me in the Planet Waves FM studio during Sunday’s program. This was my first time hosting a live call-in program since I was host of Radio Navigator on Radio Woodstock in 1998. Photo by Daniel Sternstein.

Going from pre-recorded programming to a live format was like stepping into another dimension. It’s been a while since I did my late-night program on Radio Woodstock. I was nervous for about the first five minutes, then found my bearings and the program went beautifully.

At its peak there were more than 300 listeners, and about 100 more who passed through. We heard many different points of view, and the emails I’ve received have mostly been on the theme of how reassuring it is for my listeners to discover that they are not alone in their experiences of life or astrology.

That is one of the central purposes of Planet Waves. You may listen to the recording here. This links to my studio side of the recording.

The next community call-in will be June 1, on the subject of the Mercury retrograde that begins a week later. I’ll also be announcing a special class called Introduction to Your Natal Chart. Check your email for both of those announcements.

During Sunday night’s conference we introduced a new, expanded concept of Planet Waves membership that includes daily updates, text message service and a diversity of other resources. You’re invited to check that out, and get on board with early renewal.

In Astrology News

At long last, Mars has stationed direct. Now Mars will proceed forward infused with the energy of Venus. Mars will slowly trek forward through Libra, for the third time repeating its square to Pluto and its opposition to Uranus in a slightly different pattern. Then in late July Mars will ingress Scorpio, and on Aug. 1 it will meet up with Jupiter, newly in Leo — bringing the grand cross officially to a close. I will have coverage of this in Friday’s SKY section.

For gearheads or the curious, audio for Planet Waves FM is run through a PreSonus USB interface into a Macintosh, and a headphone mixer for in-studio guests (both behind the mason jar of green tea). Musical instruments, when present, are integrated through an 8-channel Mackie mixer, as are studio monitors. The mic is an Electrovoice RE20 dynamic broadcasting mic run through a Cloudlifter preamp. I called in via Skype on one Mac and organized the caller queue through another Mac. I use the same system to record your birthday readings and projects like the Spring Report. Photo by Dan.

Tuesday at 10:59 pm EDT, the Sun ingresses Gemini. Before that happens, the Sun remains void of course. Sun square hypothetical point Transpluto says be on the lookout for self-critical attitudes that threaten your peace of mind.

I’ve introduced the topic in today’s edition of Daily Astrology, though I will be going much deeper in your Book of Life chapter with Friday’s edition. Alice A. Bailey describes Gemini as being one of the most important signs of the zodiac at this time in history — influencing every other sign of the zodiac. I’ve been planning this article for a while, and I’m excited about sharing it with you.

For those born under the sign Gemini or Gemini rising, I am about to do your birthday reading. You may listen to the preview here, complete with a new composition by Daniel Sternstein. You can get the lowest pre-order price on that now, just $19.95 through Thursday night, when it’ll go up to $24.95. The reading includes a live question and response section where you can get some personal attention to your astrology. This is an amazing package and I would encourage you to take advantage of it.

Finally, tonight’s edition of Planet Waves FM is a magnificent one — featuring an in-studio interview with Blair Glaser, a relationship and organizational consultant. We talk about the theme of leadership skills in relationships, and the need for relationships to have a defined and agreed-upon purpose.

My musical guest is the incomparable Upgrade, a hip-hop artist who has described in intimate detail his bout with mental illness and his struggle to fit into society — and how music basically saved his life. This will post to Planet Waves FM by 5 pm EDT; meanwhile there is plenty to listen to there.

I’ll see you Friday, though you’re invited to check in at Daily Astrology as well.

Lovingly,

Planet Waves (ISSN 1933-9135) is published each Tuesday and Friday morning in Kingston, New York by Planet Waves, Inc. Annual subscription rate: $99/year. Editor and Publisher: Eric Francis Coppolino. Business Manager: Chelsea Bottinelli. Web Developer: Anatoly Ryzhenko. Copy Editor: Jessica Keet. Research, Writing and Editing: Planet Waves is produced by a team consisting of Hillary Ghee, Elizabeth Michaud, Amanda Painter, Amy Silver, Carol van Strum, Len Wallick and Chad Woodward. Special thanks to the Fact Checkers List, which goes over each edition on Thursday night — and to our main astrology fact-checker Alex Miller, and Amanda, who goes over all their suggestions.

Dear Friend and Reader:

At long last, Mars stations direct Monday, after being retrograde since March 1. This is a turning point event in our astrological year, and what promises to be a revealing moment of the 2012-era (which we are still in — the energy shift associated with 12/21/12 is still taking hold). What makes this moment so meaningful are the gender-related themes, and relationship themes, of Mars retrograde in Libra, which have emerged repeatedly during the retrograde.

Pre-register for the live open forum at this link.

In honor of Mars direct, I will be hosting the first-ever Planet Waves community forum at 8 pm EDT on Sunday, May 18. This 90-minute event, available by phone, Skype and web, will morph a teleseminar and a live, call-in edition of Planet Waves FM.

Chelsea and I have been setting up and testing the technology, and are verging on giddy about opening up the airwaves and getting a chance to listen to one another. Bring your thoughts and your questions.
Live radio is one of the great pleasures of my life, and I look forward to meeting you there.

This event is free, though it requires pre-registration at this link. After you sign up, you will receive an email with instructions for participating by telephone, Skype or Internet a day or two before the event. Note, it is easy. Despite most appearances I have a technophobe streak, and this is certified friendly.

We’ll be experimenting with open forums in a number of ways, including tonight’s event that is open to all Taurus birthday reading purchasers. The live, one-hour question and answer session about 2014 Taurus astrology will be tonight, at 8 pm EDT on Tuesday, May 13.

Dr. Eric Berne will be featured on tonight’s edition of Planet Waves FM.

In the near future, watch for other live conference events, including a beginners’ astrology class and an introduction to the minor planets.

Speaking of Planet Waves FM, tonight’s edition covers three topics — the first is the Scorpio Full Moon, and Venus passing through the grand cross.

In the second section I look at the work and the astrology of Dr. Eric Berne, innovator of transactional analysis.
This is the 50th anniversary of the book Games People Play, and Dr. Berne’s 114th birth anniversary was this past weekend on May 10.

In the third section I look at the astrology of the millennial generation, in particular people born between 1983 and 1999. I anticipate having that posted to Planet Waves FM by 5 pm EDT.

Today we also have the Moonshine horoscope by Genevieve Hathaway, focused on the Scorpio Full Moon.

I am tracking events day-by-day in the new-format daily astrology feature, which will always reside at the top of the Planet Waves main website or at this category tag.

I think that about covers it, except for this fantastic interview with Jaclyn Friedman that I would call to your attention.

Lovingly,

Planet Waves (ISSN 1933-9135) is published each Tuesday and Friday morning in Kingston, New York by Planet Waves, Inc. Annual subscription rate: $88/year. Editor and Publisher: Eric Francis Coppolino. Business Manager: Chelsea Bottinelli. Web Developer: Anatoly Ryzhenko. Research, Writing and Editing: Planet Waves is produced by a team consisting of Hillary Ghee, Elizabeth Michaud, Amanda Painter, Amy Silver, Carol van Strum, Len Wallick and Chad Woodward. Special thanks to the Fact Checkers List, which goes over each edition on Thursday night — and to our main astrology fact-checker Alex Miller, and Amanda, who goes over all their suggestions. Our editions are also proofread and fact-checked by Jessica Keet.