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Eric has now completed the first four signs of his 2018 Autumn Reading, Empathy. This will be a 12-sign audio reading covering Venus retrograde and beyond. Order all 12 signs now for just $88 — we will increase the price soon.
This year’s Libra equinox was accompanied by an extraordinary aspect to Chiron, and will be followed in less than two weeks by Venus retrograde. Find out what potential this offers for you or the Libra you love when you order the 2018-19 Libra birthday reading by Eric. Check out more recent and new readings here.
Dear Friend and Listener:
In tonight’s first segment, I tell the story of the first few years of my work as a professional astrologer, when I was introduced to the grief of women: their experiences of transgression and personal loss, and how I learned to work with them.
Thom Yorke performing recently at Madison Square Garden. Photo by Eric Francis.
In the second segment, I look at the current astrology, including Venus stationing retrograde. Then I move on to a discussion of what happened last week at the Senate Judiciary Committee, followed by a detailed reading of the chart of Thom Yorke, followed by a short Tantra Studio.
Planet Waves FM is run on a nonprofit, noncommercial basis and is supported exclusively by your generous donations. Our publisher is Chiron Return and we are part of the Pacifica Radio Network.
If you listen to this program regularly, please chip in a dollar or $10 or whatever you can afford, to help us pull this program together. Thank you to all of you who make monthly donations and for the many generous one-time gifts we’ve received.
It is truly my pleasure to create this space to hang out each week, with space to think, and with no commercial interruptions and no special agenda except to look honestly at the world within us and around us.
With love,
Dear Planet Waves Reader:
Nearly every client who comes in has questions about their intimate relationships — any astrologer will tell you that. Over the years I’ve been doing this work, though, I’ve made an observation: astrology is terrible at predicting the outcome of relationships, but excellent as a tool for analysis.
Prediction is dicey in any event; are we creating what we predict? Yet as a method of understanding what is so, I’ve found astrology to be of excellent assistance, something that can help you solve puzzles and communicate with yourself more effectively.
Eric Francis.
With Venus about to go retrograde, there are questions of unspoken needs, unresolved emotional material, and an invitation to be more honest with oneself. I am reading Venus retrograde in Scorpio as an invitation to look within, what you might call the ultimate spiritual gesture.
And this week, I’ll be finishing a set of astrology readings designed to help you do just that. My Empathy series of readings look at the light and shadow sides of Venus. I am looking at the recent Mars retrograde, and its connection to Venus.
I also devote time in each reading to discussing Chiron’s transition from Pisces to Aries, and look ahead at what that might be about.
These transits align with our unusual, somewhat tense moment of how the genders relate to one another, our culture-wide identity crisis, and the quest for some sane direction. Only my approach is personal, in the spirit of an individual reading.
The first four signs are done; I am scheduled to wrap the rest by the time Venus goes retrograde. We are delivering signs as I complete them. Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn are done. Tomorrow I plan to do Taurus and Scorpio.
My readings are easygoing, gently paced, and in human language rather than astrologese. They can be downloaded or played on any kind of device, and will keep giving new information with each playing. And for astrology fans, they are perfect for binge listening.
You only need one purchase per household! You may share them with the people you care about. You may get all 12 signs here, still for the preorder price of $88, or individual signs here. Be sure, at least, to get your Sun sign and rising sign.
You may purchase by phone at (845) 481-5616.
Thank you for your business, and for trusting me as your astrologer.
With love,
PS — Each reading comes with original music by Vision Quest. We are including the charts used for the reading as well.
[Very long one, sorry]
OK – seriously, I have always called myself a feminist ever since I understood the concept – which for me is and always has been equality of the sexes, and us all getting along. Good men being afraid to be themselves is absolutely not one of my goal, political or personal. This is a serious problem.
We need to start drawing some lines here. Failing to do sufficient spot checks during a consensual encounter – barring very obvious signs – is in no way in the same category as criminally culpable acts, like rape. Even insensitivity isn’t exactly heinous. It can make for a pretty terrible experience, sometimes; but it can also be a good lesson for either party in the practice of clear communication and establishing boundaries.
Also, the problem goes beyond the individual: it’s about what we’re taught. Many men are raised in this society by both precept and example to expect to get what they want, and/or to expect compliance from women. That might sound pretty arrogant, but it’s what the world shows us. Men are taught that they are the centre of their story. Women are more often than not taught that they are adjuncts, sidekicks, accessories. We’re also taught to step aside for others, to give way and to keep quiet. These matters take generations to change fully.
I have trouble communicating my needs, let alone my desires. But I’m working on that, and I want good men to know that they can feel safe around me. I am sure the same is in fact true of most other women. We might feel the need for a good rant online sometimes but on the whole I’m convinced the majority of women and men are loving souls who want only the best for everyone in our lives, regardless of their gender.
Edit: in addition to the above, it’s occurred to me (and I’m sure I’ve seen this argument made somewhere) that fostering a society in which accusations are taken seriously by authorities, and properly investigated, would help protect both survivors and those unfortunate enough to be falsely accused.
I think this is really what was originally meant by the phrase “believe women”; not to do so blindly or without regard to finding the truth, but to trust their word as fully as one might trust a man’s, which is a relatively new concept. We should remember that there are still some places where the two are actually weighted unequally by law. Unfortunately, perhaps owing to the lack of nuance in the internet environment, “believe women” is now losing its subtlety as a concept. “Trust women” might be more accurate.
If women – and indeed any survivor of sexual assault or abuse – could be assured that due process would actually be followed in every case; if it were clear that claims would be listened to and not dismissed out of hand; if we could finally dispense with victim-blaming as an all too frequent resort both of police and in the courtroom, then abuse victims would get justice, and those falsely accused might be spared injustice.
There would probably need to be other systemic changes in order to bring this about. Unrestrained capitalism is making life overall harder on the majority of people. The lack of universal healthcare, decent sex education, legal aid and other such supports facilitates the lack of therapy and care available, and it makes justice harder to come by. We need a kinder culture, one that overcomes patriarchy not by denigrating men, but by raising women and the feminine to an equitable level of respect.