Figuring Out Where You’re Coming From

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Dear Friend and Reader:

In the astrology readings below, you have my interpretations for November, a month with two turning-point events in our mini-era of personal history. These are the main events on which I’ve based your readings.

Here is a bit of life as art: Pres. Obama ordered the White House illuminated as a rainbow the night that the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is a fundamental right. Photo: SF Chronicle.

The first is a conjunction of Venus and Mars in Virgo; this is the third conjunction between these two planets this year. As I described in many signs of Cosmophilia, the 2015 annual reading, this series of Venus-Mars conjunctions tells a story about relationships and one’s orientation on relationships.

It was only this past June that the Supreme Court ruled (in a decision that was surprising for many reasons) that it’s a fundamental constitutional right for same-sex people to marry. Yes, this had been in the works for many years — millennia, if you count the intolerance (spanning from shunning to execution) with which same-sex companions have been treated through history.

With just a little perspective we could see how huge this really is. I don’t think we’re quite there.

Now that this is resolved legally, at least for our society (following behind many other Western nations), we get to process the basic fact that same-sex couples exist and that their affections are presumed healthy. Whether subliminally or in the plain light of day, that is a comment about all people and all sex. What was so recently considered a moral outrage, a disease and a crime is now given the full protection of our legal system.

From here, we can focus some attention on a neglected topic of human relations — values in opposite-sex relationships, the ones we take for granted every day. These three conjunctions (the first in Aries, the second in Leo and the third about to happen in Virgo) describe a process of figuring something out.

Planet Waves
Satire really is the pinnacle of journalism. I don’t know who did this spoof on the cover of Cosmopolitan, but they sure are funny. I immediately sent it to my editors at Marie Claire.

The setting and style have gradually moved from Aries (on the Aries Point), followed by Venus retrograde, then on to Leo. These are two of the more glamorous signs of the zodiac, especially where sexual and relational themes are concerned. The third conjunction is in Virgo, a sign that is practical, critical, inward-seeking and slower-moving. It is dedicated to healing, to service and to the growth and preservation of food.

Notably, Virgo is ruled by Mercury, an androgynous planet. While it’s the sign of the ‘virgin’ goddess, the gender-morphing quality of Mercury is an interesting comment (and one of many little puzzles left to us by the inventors of astrology).

I believe that gender relations underlie nearly all issues in society. When you include homophobia, misogyny, jealousy, rampant insecurity, possessiveness and treating people as property, and loneliness and sexual frustration, it’s possible to develop scenarios that explain most forms of suffering, misery, attack, greed and war.

From what I can tell, most people think they have fixed positions on most issues. This includes one’s sexual and emotional orientation, responses to past injuries, opinions of the opposite sex, and most important, one’s ethics. There are some schools of psychology that say we’ve made up our minds about everything of any actual importance by age three. That’s the time when the limbic system, which organizes memory and processes emotion, has taken form.

Obviously, to function in society, our viewpoint must change as we get older and discover ourselves in new situations requiring new approaches to life. But the mind, which one might think is the most flexible thing in the world, turns out to be one of the most rigid. At the same time, it seems that most people are so confused about their own views that it’s difficult for them to muster up a clear yes or a clear no.

This leads to the other watershed event of our era, the Saturn-Neptune square. We’ve been getting this in little waves since late last year, when Saturn dipped into Sagittarius for a few months.

Planet Waves
We live in the age of the inversion — “your access to birth control violates my religious freedom.” Do we get how convoluted that ‘logic’ is?

Now Saturn is back in Sagittarius to stay, and we have a sequence of three Saturn-Neptune aspects: one on Nov. 26, the next on June 17 and the last on Sept. 10. Most astrologers will tell you how challenging Saturn-Neptune aspects can be, but the question is why?

Saturn and Neptune seem to represent opposing principles — one of formation, the other of dissolving. That might explain it. In a 90-degree aspect, they intersect one another at right angles. When this aspect happens, all kinds of crazy, impossible inventions and developments can emerge. This can work personally as well.

Saturn in Sagittarius can represent the idea of a solidly formed principle of some kind. Sagittarius is the sign of isms — spiritualism, fundamentalism, globalism, terrorism, scientism, imperialism and so on.

Sagittarius can (and prefers to) hang a little looser than that, but when you add Saturn, there is going to be a tendency to harden concepts into things that seem solid enough to use as the basis for a crusade. And that is the time in which we live. Recently, Pluto was in Sagittarius (1995-2008), and it was during this phase that all the ism stuff really started to become obsessive. The peak event was the Sept. 11 incident, leading to the ultimate Battle of the Isms. Even though Pluto left Sagittarius seven years ago, we are still living with the momentum and consequences of that era.

Now Saturn is pointing out the obvious — we live in a time when it seems most people have hardened beliefs, which are not really ever subjected to questioning or any process of verification. And Saturn is about to meet Neptune in a series of encounters lasting a long time.

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Stranger Than Science Fiction: “As the fathers are making these vows and promises, they present a purity ring (or other item) to their daughters. These daughters are then under their father’s guard and protection until they are married and replace their purity ring with a wedding ring. The daughters promise their fathers that they will stay pure.”

Neptune in Pisces, for its part, would seem able to dissolve anything. Neptune is a slower-moving planet than Saturn (165 years for Neptune and 29 years, six months for Saturn). It’s associated with Pisces for a number of reasons.

Though not a planet from the classical era of astrology, Neptune has well proved itself as something that has the power to melt away existing forms, similar to how the mythological god Neptune could change the world with floods, earthquakes and tsunamis.

If Sagittarius represents religion and belief, Pisces represents the direct experiences of these things that resist expression in just about anything except art and music. In other words, what starts out as mystical experience in Pisces seems to work backwards through the signs and show up as a moral, religious or spiritual concept in Sagittarius.

For most people, most of those concepts go unquestioned most of the time. That’s a polite way of saying they’re hardly ever questioned. They are just taken for granted, as if one mutters to oneself, this is what I believe, all day long. This muttering usually goes on in other scripted speech and action — that is, how we respond to life, how we treat others and in the decisions we make without thinking about them.

Planet Waves
Making a decision involves more than rolling the dice. Actual thought is required. Scientific American has covered the issue.

What is right and what is wrong, for me? What do I believe and why do I believe it? Am I responding from conditioning or from an idea of my own? We don’t usually come to these questions until there’s a crisis of some kind.

And that, I believe, is where we’re headed with Saturn in Sagittarius square Neptune in Pisces: a mass-scale run-in with countless unquestioned dysfunctional beliefs. There is no assurance that tangible questions will form, much less be answered, on a cultural level. You may find that you’re the only one doing any questioning and answering.

The way you’re likely to get there is by running into a belief you had that was not working. But first you’ll have to figure out that’s what’s happening, since it may not be obvious. Then once you tune into that, you can work the issue out by defining the problematic belief as such.

That, of course, will take honesty and awareness and the willingness to first see then question your own ethical position. On our planet, that is special. It’s easier to go back to sleep, but you don’t want to sleep through Saturn square Neptune.

Here is one clue — the most problematic beliefs imposed by religion involve sex and death. Religion has co-opted the foundations of existence and consciousness, basically claiming a monopoly on them. It has no right, no standing, no basis in truth, to do that. These supposedly sanctimonious beliefs are rarely questioned or even noticed for what they are. Remember that.

Lovingly,

Planet Waves (ISSN 1933-9135) is published each Tuesday and Thursday evening in Kingston, New York, by Planet Waves, Inc. Core community membership: $197/year. Editor and Publisher: Eric Francis Coppolino. Web Developer: Anatoly Ryzhenko. Designer: Lizanne Webb. Office Manager: Lauren Gdovin. Astrology Editor: Amanda Painter. Astrology Fact Checker: Len Wallick. Copy Editor and Fact Checker: Jessica Keet. Client Services: Amy Elliott. Media Consultant: Andrew Marshall McLuhan. Eric’s Assistant: Whitney Beecroft. Research, Writing and Editing: In addition to those listed above, Planet Waves is produced by a team consisting of Fe Bongolan, Judith Gayle, Kelly Janes, Amanda Moreno, Carol van Strum, Len Wallick.

Scorpio Birthdays 2015: Sun, Moon and Rising
What Vision Drives Your Life?

“What is the vision that drives your life? What is the promise that you intend to fulfill?” — Eric Francis in Cosmophilia (2015 reading) for Scorpio

Dear Reader with Scorpio Sun, Moon or Rising:

With the words above, Eric began a section of your annual year-ahead Scorpio reading in January to describe Saturn in Sagittarius. Now your opportunity to meet the bright, hot light of yourself is truly beginning — and you are more ready for this phase of the journey than you might think. Eric will explain how it works in your 2015 Scorpio Birthday Reading.

Planet Waves

By Lizanne Webb.

The last couple years or so have likely given you a workout as you reinvented your sense of self, your self-esteem and your sense of self-mastery. Saturn in Scorpio was urging you to strengthen your metaphorical bones, to become self-directed in a way that perhaps was previously foreign to you. Saturn’s lessons do not always come easily, but when you get them, they are yours for life.

With Saturn now in Sagittarius (where it arrived on Sept. 17), you’re being offered a chance to see and feel just how broad and strong your wings are. First, however, you must allow yourself to see that they exist; rather than denying your inherently spiritual nature, you are being asked to focus on a spiritual path that is personal, though structured.

Eric will be taking up the question of Saturn in Sagittarius in your 2015 Scorpio Birthday Reading — along with several other standout facets of your astrology for this next solar year.

Are you ready to soar with Planet Waves?

“The relentless, challenging, exhausting push energy coming at me and through me for the past four years seems to be finally, finally, finally lessening into a kind of lovely resolution. Thank you for being a wayshower and light in the dark. Your example is exceptional.” — Meghan O’Connor

You can pre-order your 2015 Birthday Reading now at the discounted price of $24.95. We’ll let you know as soon as it’s ready.

Then you’ll see for yourself why Eric’s readings, featuring two full segments of audio astrology plus his unique-in-all-the-Internet tarot reading for your sign (using James Wanless’ Voyager Tarot), regularly receive responses like this:

“I want to thank you for such a spot-on reading. Everything mentioned was so accurate to my life and what has been unfolding that when I was listening last night I almost felt you knew me and my inner struggles, goals, etc. Woke up with a new vision. I am ever so grateful. Namaste.” — Felio

Yours & truly,

Amanda Painter

Planet Waves

Planet Waves

“Homeland is watermelon” (al watan bateekh). Watermelon is a word often used to indicate that something is a sham or not to be taken seriously. Although “Homeland” receives deserved praise for its critique of U.S. government ethics, it still feeds Western hysteria concerning all things Muslim.

The Subversion Has Been Televised

By Amanda Painter

Here on the cusp between Libra and Scorpio, you might ask: how do justice and subterfuge harmonize? They are unusual, uneasy partners — though social activism often blends them together to arresting effect (think The Yes Men).

Case in point: Anyone able to read Arabic who happened to be watching last week’s episode of award-winning TV show “Homeland” received a message protesting the racist, anti-Muslim and misleading way the show depicts Arabic cultures. But the producers and crew of the show had no idea it was there.

Planet Waves
“Homeland is racist.” Image: video still.

As graffiti artist and scholar Don Karl (known as Stone) describes in this video, and as Egyptian artist Heba Y. Amin explains on her website, they (along with fellow Berlin-based graphic designer Caram Kapp) initially were offended by the call to help dress the set of a supposed Syrian refugee camp, being constructed on the outskirts of Berlin.

Then they realized the opportunity they had: with the set designers working under a tight deadline and focused on other details, and with very loose guidelines on the graffiti’s content (including the inherently offensive suggestion that, “writing ‘Mohamed is the greatest’ is okay of course”), it would be no problem to decry “Homeland” within the show itself.

A sampling of messages masquerading as random graffiti: Homeland is a joke, and it didn’t make us laugh; This show does not represent the views of the artists; and even: #blacklivesmatter.

Given the black-and-white way that “Homeland” caricatures the Middle East, it’s questionable how many viewers could read the subversive messages. Now, however, we’ve all been let in on the intervention.

Writes Amin: “In [the show’s creators’] eyes, Arabic script is merely a supplementary visual that completes the horror-fantasy of the Middle East, a poster image dehumanizing an entire region to human-less figures in black burkas, and moreover, this season, to refugees.”

The website Hyperallergic notes that the public statement issued by Homeland “acknowledges the protest action but skirts addressing its intention”:

“We wish we’d caught these images before they made it to air,” co-creator Alex Gansa said. “However, as ‘Homeland’ always strives to be subversive in its own right and a stimulus for conversation, we can’t help but admire this act of artistic sabotage.”

Subversive in its own right? How about portraying a more balanced view of Arab culture to begin with? Now that would be subversive in American television.

Planet Waves

Libra-Scorpio Cusp, Asteroids Ceres & Vesta, and DNA Meets Astrology

This week’s edition of Planet Waves FM is rich with astrology: themes of the Libra-Scorpio cusp, the secrets of Scorpio as told in the book Sex and the Origins of Death, discussions of asteroids Ceres and Vesta, and a bit about Saturn square Neptune. I read some of my recently received letters from Scorpio readers as well.

Planet Waves
Tica Douglas.

I also reference an article series called It’s Not About Sex, It’s About Self.

My musical guest is the magnificent Tica Douglas (originally from Portland, Maine, now in Brooklyn), from her 2015 CD Joey. Tica performed at the O+ Festival here in Kingston two weekends ago — one of the talented women artists who were invited to share their music at the event. Here is an excellent review of Joey.

You can learn more about Tica through her website or purchase her album here. It’s available as vinyl plus a high-resolution MP3 download.

In the last segment I talk about Vision Quest, the 2016 annual edition of Planet Waves. Here is an invitation to contribute to Vision Quest, and here is a history of the Planet Waves annual tradition, now in its 17th year. There are two annuals not covered in this letter — The Mars Effect and Cosmophilia.

Planet Waves FM is sponsored by your Core Community membership to Planet Waves. If you listen regularly or tune in and like what you hear, please consider being a member. We do the program without advertising or corporate sponsorship — you are our sole supporters.

Thanks for collaborating with me to make this program possible. It’s a great honor to spend this time together with you every week.

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What’s your vision?

Planet Waves

Your Monthly Horoscopes — and our Publishing Schedule Notes

We have published your extended monthly horoscopes for November below in this issue. Your extended monthly horoscopes for October were published Thursday, Sept. 24. Your Moonshine horoscopes for the Taurus Full Moon were published Tuesday, Oct. 20. Please note, we normally publish the extended monthly horoscope on the first Friday after the Sun has entered a new sign.

Planet Waves Monthly for November 2015, #1072 | By Eric Francis
Aries (March 20-April 19)

Aries (March 20-April 19) — There are two main aspects to this thing we call spiritual. One is the visible part, which involves bodies of ideas, teaching and learning those ideas in the world, the organizations people take part in to facilitate that, and more formal institutions and their various rules and laws. It’s in this area of life that someone may strive to be a better person, to accumulate knowledge, to attain purity, and so on. Then there is the invisible dimension — the one that lurks and lingers behind everything, occasionally finding its way to the front of awareness. It’s a parallel world, which can be visited through direct experiences: dreams, journeying, direct exploration of awareness, transcendent erotic experiences (such as through tantric practice), near-death experiences, and those vast moments of personal revelation that cannot be planned. It’s easy to see why Carl Jung said that religion (the first group of concepts) interferes with religious experience (the second). For you now, the conceptual and pre-programmed level of spiritual life is about to be dissolved into the direct, authentic experience. This will take some time — the next year or two — though it’s beginning now, as you read. Therefore emphasize your actual journey — what you feel, and who and what you experience. Put less into books and concepts and ‘practice’. The rehearsal is over. You are now the instrument, the musician and the audience.

As you journey into new experiences, don’t forget the essential guidebook that is a Planet Waves reading. Empower and Embrace yourself.

 

Taurus (April 19- May 20)

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — For any individual in possession of talent or desire to accomplish something, there is a phase of learning about how the quality of your work and the audience response are two different things. This could be said about any phase of life, though let’s focus on the work you do: the thing you want to be known for, and what you feel is your true gift. One reason people hold back developing their talents (we all have them and in my experience, just about all people are aware of that fact) is out of fear of how they will be received. I would remind you that some of the very greatest artists and thinkers have received initial responses verging on insulting. To give one hilarious example (which I will come back to soon): the Wright brothers were busy flying an early model of their airplane around a field in their hometown of Dayton, Ohio, but the local newspaper refused to send a reporter. I could rattle off dozens of these tales from memory. The message of the story is that your work must proceed regardless of what you think people will think, what they actually think or whatever the heck else. This includes your friends, your ‘friends’, your family and so on. Ultimately you must resonate with your own creative core. Be true to your vision, come what may.

Trouble connecting with the artist in you? Let our superb Midyear Reading help unleash your creative power. Order The Art of Living here.

 

Gemini (May 20- June 21)

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Beware of anything that someone claims is both a moral and a medical issue. Said another way, how you feel is not a matter of some external opinion, and neither is how you seek your wellbeing. Gradually you’re breaking down your old, mostly inherited beliefs of right and wrong. An ethical person must be in command of their own understanding of their personal truth. You recognize that people do what they do, and you will do what you do. There’s actual freedom in that, because when you recognize that you have a choice in any matter, you’re more likely to exercise that choice honestly. So I could start this horoscope over by saying, beware of any situation where you seem not to have a choice, or where someone tries to convince you of that. Or: be aware of your options. If you seem to run out of them, ask yourself, what would I do if I didn’t feel some authority was breathing down my back? What would I do in a world where judgment and grudges were not such an issue? Incidentally, if you’re at some crossroads where the choice seems to be either relationship or career, you might start by asking yourself who set that up and why it is you would have to choose one over the other. There are potential reasons, though it may not be true.

Our excellent readings are just the thing to help you figure out your personal truth and way of living. Empower and Embrace yourself with us.

 

Cancer (June 21- July 22)

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — The feeling of risk is not the same thing as actual risk. The notion that ‘this feels like I’m about to jump off of a cliff’ is not the same thing as standing at the edge of a mountain precipice with the wind blowing and condors gliding around. Make sure you understand the difference, because where your creative (and sexual) process is taking you is in the direction of a personal boundary. You might say that’s the place where you will decide to keep it real, or to choose some other alternative. Why would you do anything but be real? Well, you might feel out of practice. You might think it’s scary, mistaking a personal edge for an actual thing you can fall off of. This zone I’m talking about is the place where you can make contact with your vitality. I know this seems to spook or freak out those who are easily frightened. Many people think there’s such a thing as too real or too alive or too free or whatever. That simply must be their problem. You have reached a point in your development when nothing but actually being — and feeling — alive will suit you. This truth or necessity or bottom line (as you wish) resounds through all areas of your life, which are not really areas at all. Part of being alive is embracing how all of your existence is indeed your existence.

If you need a bit of friendly help to guide you in a new direction, Planet Waves is here for you. Empower and Embrace yourself with us.

 

Leo (July 22- Aug. 23)

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — You must remember what you’ve learned and are still learning about how to handle your finances. First of all, I reckon you’ve gotten the message that the details matter. Second, it looks like you’ve figured out that the bigger scenario matters — and that these two things must align into a unified whole. However, there is deeper information in terms of understanding what your assets really are. Whenever you make or earn money, you are converting something into it. That might be your time, it might be your ideas, it might be your labor. Probably it’s a mix of all three. In terms of really understanding your assets, I suggest you consider what blend you’re currently using, and how you would like to change that in some way. Less time and labor requires having better ideas. Not caring so much about ideas means more effort over more time. The thing to remember is that you actually do have personal assets, a fact which may be asserting itself many ways at the moment. It would be wise of you to keep track of what you know about what you have to offer. Yet more significantly, it’s in the experience of actually offering your gifts that you make them real. Be generous. Measure with a cup and not a spoon. Measure by the week rather than by the hour. Or perhaps don’t measure at all.

A Planet Waves reading or class could be all you need to recognize the true gifts you possess. Empower and Embrace yourself with us.

 

Virgo (Aug. 23- Sep. 22)

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — You are learning how to get out of your own way. This is a lifelong theme for you, though recent developments have made this a necessity rather than some kind of luxury. Virgos are the experts at outsmarting themselves. That’s the first of many seeming skills that you will get to dismantle on the way to accessing your true purpose and gift. Another is the thing about trying to convince yourself of something, such as whether it’s true or false. You could more easily do an assessment, review the facts and make a decision based on what you actually observe. A third thing is the concept that you are less than anything or anyone. That’s something that seems to prove itself, though that’s why you really need to subject it to some scrutiny. Now, as for what is actually true — it’s very likely that at your core, you live to be in service. That can work against you. It will, unless you choose consciously to make it work for you — which directly implies a kind of plus-plus symbiosis with your environment. Getting out of your own way is about seeing the relationships you have with others. Mostly it’s about understanding that you exist both as an independent entity and also as one who is interdependent with others around you. That is a fact of existence, and it’s beyond reproach. Put it to good use.

Learning to take charge of your full potential is not always easy. Our excellent readings will help you move forward. Empower and Embrace yourself.

 

 

Libra (Sep. 22 - Oct. 23)

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — Venus returns to your sign in a week or so. This happens about once a year, though it’s still a beautiful thing, coming right when you need it. It was only recently that Saturn (another planet that represents you) moved out of Scorpio, which signals a loosening up of your resources. If you have not noticed this, you can use the Venus principle to help get things moving. In a word, that’s about attraction. But attraction doesn’t mean standing around looking cute, seeing who offers you what. Libra and Venus in Libra are self-assertive. The image in the planets is about having the confidence to present yourself to the world in an open and accepting way. There’s a serious confidence issue in our society right now, crippling many people. Our obsession with spectating is a direct expression of lacking the courage to dare. You now get some direct relief from any such shortage. You still must present yourself to the world, start the conversation and practice the art of mingling with the human race. It’s just that you’re likely to be feeling better about yourself, as if you’ve somehow found yourself after having lost track of who you are. Thing is, your current experience of finding is likely to bring a real discovery. Keep your sense of wonder right where you can feel it.

Your 2015 Birthday Reading holds the key to uncovering your true self. Unlock the energy that makes you the ‘human blowtorch.’ Order your reading here.

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Scorpio (Oct. 23- Nov. 22)

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — After sending an email query to all the Scorpios in my database, I got an earful one weekend in late October, hearing what many have been through during the past two years of Saturn in your sign (that ended in mid-September). Saturn is usually experienced as lessons learned or struggled with. The purpose of Saturn is to convey the authority principle, inviting you to make your own decisions, rather than having the rules imposed on you from the outside. You’re now in a delicate position of having to step up to this challenge. Look around and you’ll see that it’s clearly more than most people can handle, hence the extreme over-reliance on government, family and corporations. Saturn in Sagittarius presents similar, but subtler, challenges. Do you believe what you believe because you were told to, or did you actually determine that it was true? A rare aspect (Saturn square Neptune) describes some of your most cherished opinions being challenged. This in turn calls for a total reassessment of your reality. It’s not enough to believe something because you always believed it, or because someone presented it as the only option. Where this really comes home is your self-worth. Your opinion of yourself must be balanced and realistic, and usually that means recognizing that much of what you were told simply was not true. When you get there, it’s a profound and stunning revelation.

Empower yourself to be your own authority with your 2015 Birthday Reading, now available for pre-order at a special low price.

 

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 - Dec. 22)

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — Saturn’s journey through your sign will have many plots and themes, and each will feel like a distinct phase of your personal history. A new one is about to begin. The immediately prior phase involved accountability (that was Saturn square Nessus). That was the message about how it’s easier to take responsibility than it is to blame. It’s better to have a personal code than be subject to the laws of others. Now we have the first of three Saturn square Neptune events, which extend through 2016. This describes the challenge of certainty, which so often seems nonexistent. You may have heard the term ‘moral relativism’, a fancy name for the idea that we decide what is right for us. That’s exactly what you must do, but the challenge is honoring the wider context in which you live. You can and must do what is right for yourself, though for that to work you need a fairly wide definition of self. What you will be exploring is the intersection between you and the connection you have with others, who to some degree are also part of your ‘self’. That’s not a fixed line. It’s barely visible. It will change based on context. Remember, there are no absolutes; there are no proscribed definitions. You must apply these ideas with each decision you make, and learn something from each experience.

 

Our accurate, informative readings will help you explore your connection to the broader world. Empower and Embrace yourself with us.

 

Capricorn (Dec. 22- Jan. 20)

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — You might be wondering what you’re pushing against, or what you’re running into. It’s something that’s there but which you can neither see nor feel easily. Trying to describe it to others is akin to describing the logic of a dream, which doesn’t even make sense to you when you try to consider it rationally. You must start this phase of your life being the only one who understands who you are or what you go through. Because so much is in motion, it would not be helpful to declare, “There, I get it!” Rather, I suggest seeking the kind of understanding that comes in layers. Remember, though, that we’re in the territory of dream logic. That implies a unique point of view, and at other times a state of isolation. When you find people who actually understand something you say or feel, spend some time with them. When you encounter someone who cares enough to listen, pay attention and share in any way that feels appropriate. You have one special responsibility right now, and it may be difficult: to be absolutely honest with yourself, even when you’re uncertain what the truth is. If all you know is that you don’t know, that’s a good place to start. Your other quest is doing something with fear. Running, hiding and avoidance have outlasted whatever use they had, which was not much to begin with.

 

Trouble fitting together the pieces? Our readings will give you a step-by-step guide to your inner landscape. Empower and Embrace yourself.

 

Aquarius (Jan. 20- Feb. 19)

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — The Sun, and soon enough Mercury, will be in your 10th solar house of getting things done. Whether you use your solar chart (as I’m doing here) or your natal chart, it’s helpful to follow the Sun’s journey through the various seasons of your year. The 10th house is about visibility. It’s about being seen but, moreover, making sure you’re known for what you want to be known for. Reputations, properly established, take time to be built. The returns can seem minimal, even over long years. But you are starting to accrue some experience, and to make some progress on the issue of personal power and influence. Still, I suggest you seek to establish yourself with your good work rather than try to collect. The world is in an extremely confused state right now; the wars and violence seem never to stop, and we get very little in the way of pleasure that doesn’t come with corporate sponsorship or a high-priced admission ticket. Therefore, keep your focus on what is right. Remind yourself that you’ve cleared out enough psychological baggage from your internal space to have a clue who you actually are. Not everyone has made this investment; most people have kept filling their attic while you were busy cleaning up yours. You are therefore in a distinct position of leadership. You can actually see, feel and breathe.

As you take up the mantle of leadership, we can stand at your side and help you move forward. Empower and Embrace yourself with us.

 

Pisces (Feb. 19- March 20)

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — You’re in a period of achievement — though it may not feel like that, or at least not every day. Such a phase is different in that it’s not so much about preparation as it is about the results of the work you’ve already done. Of course, you’re always still learning, and this is essential to maintain as a daily yoga. Your current project is about working on the perfect hybrid of what you do and who you are. (I originally typed that as ‘who you do and what you are’, also accurate.) We see a lot of problems arise in the world when people try to split their character. By that I mean they have a reputation for one thing, and then conduct themselves in a way that entirely contradicts that. For you, Saturn square Neptune is about being one with yourself, which you will get to do on a moment-to-moment basis. The more you do ‘out in the world’, the more you will need to reconcile that with who you are, and who you are becoming. This is saying a lot, given that the end of the year is the busiest time for your professional activities. The underlying theme is about never losing touch with your humanity. But it works the other way too — the closer you stay to your core truth, the more you will achieve.

Let a Planet Waves reading help you to reconcile who you are with who you are becoming. Empower and Embrace yourself with us.

4 thoughts on “Figuring Out Where You’re Coming From

  1. Pisces Sun

    “You may find that you’re the only one doing any questioning and answering. The way you’re likely to get there is by running into a belief you had that was not working. But first you’ll have to figure out that’s what’s happening, since it may not be obvious. Then once you tune into that, you can work the issue out by defining the problematic belief as such. That, of course, will take honesty and awareness and the willingness to first see then question your own ethical position.”

    Good point.

    I have been on this path for quite some time questioning the propositions, theories, and actions behind belief systems. I have found that it takes a lot to show someone his or her belief system. Since it is a system, so much rests on its foundation and once you remove a few of the basic premises, the foundation begins to collapse. Not good for any unstable individual or institution since it will create a vacuum and if the person or institution is weak, whatever is most powerful will find its way into the life or lives of the void thus created. Revelation works best when it is self-revealing and that occurs when the theories supporting the basic premises are probed and exposed. Sometimes it is a very slow, methodic etching but always it is a matter of framing and timing.

    The gay rights movement was successful because it was waged over 2 decades in a grassroots state-by-state movement. In the end, it successfully re-framed the notion of marriage by expanding the definition of love and family.

    As with any belief system a key factor is issue definition, and in order to define a problem one must recognize that there is a problem in the first place. I commend PW in assisting us in identifying the problem relating to sex and religion. So often belief systems are intertwined with who we are that we are unable to divorce ourselves from the belief until someone, like you, is willing to use your platform to write about the issue.

    I know for me, I hadn’t thought about the issue until I began reading PW. Now I believe I think differently about this issue. Sex, of course, is a form (if not the main form) of self-expression, which is counter to organized religion. It is also affiliated with many “woes” of society: sexually transmitted diseases, illegitimate pregnancy (either not the current husband’s or born to a teenager)- all classified as social burdens of society and thus subject to government’s control.

    So in response to these “problems” we have sexual conduct regulated by religion and government. How do you counter their concerns? Self-expression might be the easiest- you recast self-expression as something holy; but the social burden concerns are more difficult.

    As your picture of the child and father encouraging and accepting abstinence illustrates, families have also entered the picture by addressing the social burden (and perhaps the religious philosophy against self-expression).

    Another alternative is to educate and provide protection for the teenager’s use, as a friend of mine did (condoms and birth control to the 16 year old after two clinic visits discussing sex). Either way, it was personal and the family’s choice. The family’s rationale: they didn’t want to suddenly find themselves grandparents.

    We live in a society where our children are still children but their bodies are mature and able to produce children before they are able to sustain a living. This is a huge societal burden. Add STD and AIDS and parents are understandably concerned, very much so in a protective state with their children.

    It will be interesting to learn/see what Neptune and Pisces will bring as a shake-up to the world experience and belief systems. Climate change will likely bring the Apocalypse that many of the world’s religions are predicting. When the world begins to fight over water, a basic element, everything taken for granted in our lives changes, especially our belief systems.

    1. Biren Shah

      my bows in delight and veneration, pisces sun… for this:
      “… Since it is a system, so much rests on its foundation and once you remove a few of the basic premises, the foundation begins to collapse. Not good for any unstable individual or institution since it will create a vacuum and if the person or institution is weak, whatever is most powerful will find its way into the life or lives of the void thus created. Revelation works best when it is self-revealing… “

  2. Amy Elliott

    The purity movement is utterly sick. There is probably a great deal of allure in the concept of a purity ball (so like a wedding) for the kids involved: as Eric has said, we don’t have enough healthy rites of passage as a society. But this is so like a wedding that it’s incest in all but the act, and it dangerously reaffirms the old trope that children, and girls in particular, are their fathers’ property. The girls taking part are too young to understand this, and all too often they don’t realise what they’re promising.

  3. Len Wallick

    Eric: Thank you for an absolutely magnificent lead article that will (i’m sure) stand the test of time to become a reliable reference in the coming years. Neptune, especially, is notoriously difficult to discern, much less interpret, and your example of how to do so here once again cements your status as a truly world-class astrologer.

    And, of course, the best horoscopes on Earth.

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