The Day of the Wanderer: Birthdays and Planet News

If Your Birthday is Sept. 24
The Day of the Wanderer | Pre-order pre-order the 2019-20 Libra Astrology Studio | All Other Signs

Bold thought, backed up with action, invokes aid from forces mightier than oneself, to borrow from Goethe. Think big; your vision and sense of what’s possible are lit with a fortunate ray. This is a year to explore new conceptual terrain, and capitalize on a new level of heightened mental acumen. Communications of all kinds are especially favored: writers take note. The more discipline you bring to bear, the more you’ll take advantage of opportunities that open up. Reread that line twice. Allies in your community can play an especially helpful role in this process. Make a list of your fans and engage.
— by Victoria Emory

Do you have your Sun, Moon or rising sign in Libra? If so, your sign is directly aligned with the single most significant astrological event beginning 2020. Eric will walk you through the most effective ways to approach your year in the 2019-2020 Libra Astrology Studio, now available for pre-order.

Written in the Planets

Do you tend to express yourself differently in your family of origin compared to your other relationships? If you said yes, are you sure about that? Today’s square between the Libra Sun and minor planet Quaoar in Capricorn appears to be pushing the issue.

Notice if you feel some inner tension around the patterns you see playing out in your interactions today. Watch for anything resembling the ‘dance’ you experienced as a young child: how people responded to you, and how you responded to them. What ultimately feels more balancing: actively ‘making nice’ in a situation because that’s the familiar/safe narrative; or letting a sense of inner equilibrium guide your actions, even if it goes off-script or causes some initial friction?

On a different but related note, there appears to be some symbiosis between female relationships of the ‘lover’ variety and those of the ‘mentor’ variety. This does not mean you should go sleep with your teacher or with a student. It’s more that there may be an opportunity today for some kind of exchange — such as creatively tag-teaming on a project; or relaying wisdom and affection, and receiving the same in return. It need not play out with a woman, either — everyone has ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ facets of themselves. Where do you notice an opportunity to receive combining with the instinct to nourish?
— by Amanda Painter


My readings offer a place of refuge, an opportunity to suspend self-judgment, and my careful reading of the charts. I offer you reasons to be motivated, and strategies for handling the strange complexity of society at this time. To this work, I bring all of what I have learned as a journalist, editor, astrologer, spiritual student and man of the world; and I offer it to you for an affordable price. Read more here.

Now available for instant access!

In These Times graphic

Planet Waves Daily Oracle for Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019

Today’s Oracle takes us to the Gemini daily for February 13, 2018.

oracle

Be careful evaluating what information comes to you from others over the next few days, especially if it’s in the form of a complaint. Rather than believe or disbelieve, take what people tell you and put it on hold for a while, awaiting further confirmation, or the lack thereof.


My readings offer a place of refuge, an opportunity to suspend self-judgment, and my careful reading of the charts. I offer you reasons to be motivated, and strategies for handling the strange complexity of society at this time. To this work, I bring all of what I have learned as a journalist, editor, astrologer, spiritual student and man of the world; and I offer it to you for an affordable price. Read more here.

Now available for instant access!

In These Times graphic

The Day of the Breakthrough: Birthdays and Planet News

If Your Birthday is Sept. 23
The Day of the Breakthrough | Pre-order pre-order the 2019-20 Libra Astrology Studio | All Other Signs

Think in terms of what you want to birth into the world. In a little over a year, a major new cycle focused on your personal creativity clicks into gear. This impacts you directly and, if approached with intention, can propel you far — in terms of both vocation and self-identity. Prepare the ground by tending to old business relative to aspects of your past or your home. All creations need a space within which to grow. That process inevitably creates an internal pressure that may register as anxiety or fears on a subliminal level. Fortunately, you seem to have just the kind of nurturing guidance that you need, and closer than you may realize.
— by Victoria Emory

Do you have your Sun, Moon or rising sign in Libra? If so, your sign is directly aligned with the single most significant astrological event beginning 2020. Eric will walk you through the most effective ways to approach your year in the 2019-2020 Libra Astrology Studio, now available for pre-order.

Written in the Planets

Today is the Libra equinox: the start of Northern Hemisphere fall (spring below the equator). At 3:50 am EDT (7:50:02 UTC), the Sun entered Libra to herald the new season. You can think of each seasonal shift as a kind of natural check-in point throughout the year: a moment to consider what has developed over the previous three months (or six), where you seem to be headed now, and how you’d like to recalibrate your trajectory. The equinoxes in particular — and perhaps Libra especially — focus the question of balance: through the visible, palpable equality of day and night at this time.

In early Libra, the Sun meets up with an interesting cast of minor-planet characters: Bacchus, Hidalgo, and a galaxy called M87 in Libra; Quaoar in Capricorn; and waiting just inside Aries, Chiron and Salacia. One theme coming through this cluster is the idea of being some kind of ‘maverick’, or of setting yourself free in some way.

After a year partially shaped by the expansive, slippery natures of Jupiter and Neptune, where are you beginning to recognize a bubble in your life that only you can pop? Does it relate to sex and relationships, family patterns, career or vocational calling, creativity, some deeper sense of self? All equinoxes and solstices represent a tipping point: either toward more daylight or less. Yet even though today’s ingress of the Sun into Libra represents the solar balance tipping toward more night than daylight (in the Northern Hemisphere), there’s no reason — and few excuses — to stay in the dark about yourself.
— by Amanda Painter


My readings offer a place of refuge, an opportunity to suspend self-judgment, and my careful reading of the charts. I offer you reasons to be motivated, and strategies for handling the strange complexity of society at this time. To this work, I bring all of what I have learned as a journalist, editor, astrologer, spiritual student and man of the world; and I offer it to you for an affordable price. Read more here.

Now available for instant access!

In These Times graphic

Planet Waves Daily Oracle for Monday, Sept. 23, 2019

Today’s Oracle takes us to the Capricorn weekly for October 5, 2004.

oracle

Jupiter has recently moved to an exceptionally strong position in your life, and traditional astrology says this will be exceptionally good for your career. There are likely to be some big changes on the job front in the coming weeks, and you need to ride them out like the professional you are. Remember that every change is really an opportunity. Know that no matter how weird things get, and they may get awfully strange, you are well protected. Stand to the side of the drama, not at center stage; your opportunity for leadership will have your name written in bold, clear letters.


My readings offer a place of refuge, an opportunity to suspend self-judgment, and my careful reading of the charts. I offer you reasons to be motivated, and strategies for handling the strange complexity of society at this time. To this work, I bring all of what I have learned as a journalist, editor, astrologer, spiritual student and man of the world; and I offer it to you for an affordable price. Read more here.

Now available for instant access!

In These Times graphic

From the Bubbly to the Gritty

Monday’s Libra Equinox chart contains two plot lines that converge at this crucial turning point of the year.

Planet Waves

Analemma by Anthony Ayiomamitis, at the Temple of Apollo in ancient Corinth, Greece. Full caption here.

Since early January, we’ve been under the influence of Jupiter square Neptune. This unusual event — Jupiter in its native sign Sagittarius, and Neptune in its sign of modern rulership, Pisces — has been like living in a bubble.

Jupiter square Neptune happens about every eight years, though it’s the sign placements of the planets this particular time around that make it unusually nebulous.

The Jupiter-Neptune square has that bubble-like feeling, of being in a separate reality where it’s not easy to tell what is real from what is not; what is worth doing from what is worth letting go of; what is idealistic and what is truly helpful.

You might not have even known you were there — that’s one of those Neptune things.

Continue reading

Get Ready for Get Real

Tomorrow — Monday, Sept. 23 — the Sun enters Libra, heralding the equinox. It’s the beginning of a new season (autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, spring in the Southern Hemisphere), and therefore a natural check-in point.

Planet Waves

A student at the Portland, Maine, Climate Strike last Friday quoted teen climate activist Greta Thunberg. Photo by Amanda Painter.

As such, the Libra equinox is arriving as a pointed contrast to much of the energy that has colored recent weeks — and, really, much of the past year.

We’ve essentially been living the life of Jupiter in Sagittarius square Neptune in Pisces this entire time: those two gas giants made their first exact square on Jan. 13, the second was June 16, and the third and final exact contact was yesterday (Sept. 21).

Continue reading

Monday Morning Horoscope #195 for Sept. 23, 2019

Aries

Aries (March 20-April 19) — You need to frame your reality in terms of how hurt, offended, or uncomfortable you feel. Chiron in your sign will, at times, have a tendency to emphasize the most challenging elements of your awareness. Then you may be inclined to “identify with” them. The thing is, you would need to have something better, more interesting or more useful to identify with, as an alternative. Or, you would need to get bored or annoyed with emphasis on the negative. On one level this is a matter of emotional attachment. On another, it’s a matter of framing. A close partner may have a better idea for how to understand your reality: a better, more humane frame in which to conceive of yourself. This may come through direct participation in the relationship, or you may be offered an example of a more compassionate way to think of your reality. It is time for an upgrade. Get your full Aries reading by Eric here.

Taurus

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — The way to evaluate everything is, first, based on its beauty and elegance. A sense of order and organization will serve you well. Mostly this will be visual, but ultimately how all your senses make you feel. Apply this to work, to physical environments and to people. Feng shui is about energy flow, and also about the organization and presentation of physical space. Notice this wherever you go, whatever you do, and in how you present yourself. This is about more than appearances. It is about more than the visual sense alone; I am talking about noticing your relationship to your environment, what it does to you, and what you do to it. The relationship is more dynamic (mutually influential) than you may recognize. You are emitting plenty of energy, thought and feeling, and you’re ultra-sensitive to your surroundings. Tune in and useful information will come to you. Get your full Taurus reading by Eric here.

Gemini

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — The Sun joins Mercury and Venus in your 5th house — the one about pleasure, play and adventure. Most people use the potential of this house for entertainment and diversion. I suggest you do something more substantial and nourishing, and do something creative that challenges you. If your chart means anything, your whole being is calling out for a way to express beauty and ideas. This is the opposite of being a consumer. Rather, the thing you will thrive on is some experience of changing the world in some small way, by expressing yourself. You still might be in the mood for domestic maintenance — digging in and cleaning, and that would be good use of this energy, as long as the result is a more beautiful place. But at the moment, the full spectrum of earthly delights is summoning your attention. Choose what you want the very most. Get your full Gemini reading by Eric here.

Cancer

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — You will feel more grounded, balanced and even-keeled when the Sun enters Libra on Monday. You will have many opportunities to tidy things up, resolve old business and tie up the loose ends. It will be much easier to make a decision that has been nagging at you for a few weeks. This is likely to be about setting yourself free of the small details and seeing (and feeling) the bigger scenario for what it is. The message of the planets, as I see it, is to think holistically. Consider your whole situation, the direction of your life, and what you want to create, and ask yourself what facilitates the creation of that environment. It’s important to recognize that the world seems to be descending into deeper chaos by the day, though most of this is mental and emotional rather than physical and tangible. Your reality begins and ends with you. Get your full Cancer reading by Eric here.

Leo

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — If you have something to say, then say it. You’ve been thinking about it long enough. The open question is how you would express your thought or idea, and you have a lot of possibilities. If the matter is personal, then a one-on-one conversation is probably the most appropriate. Take a gentle approach, and one where you do one third of the speaking and two-thirds of the listening. If your statement is some a public or community comment or artistic expression, consider the best vehicle of expression. Think about how you want your message to be received. Consider the idea you are conveying but mostly, consider the way you want your recipient to feel when the message is delivered. Some feelings are best conveyed in paint and others in audio. Sometimes a photograph works, and sometimes video is better suited. Take up the role of the person receiving the message and test the different approaches. Get your full Leo reading by Eric here.

Virgo

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — You may feel like you have a lot of priorities to get in order, though that will be easier if you have a guiding principle. For example, if you want to have more free time, then you start by eliminating anything unnecessary from your schedule. If you want to have more money, you eliminate needless costs (of which there are many) and find ways to enhance your income. In both of these scenarios, there is a guiding principle around which you organize your decisions. Problems may arise when you have a conflict; for example, you want to do more and also have more free time. Notice when that is happening; you will be able to tell because you feel the strife within you. That’s the time to step back a little and do some meta evaluation. You might go to the level of need rather than of desire. Part of evolving spiritually means being able to make a determination between the two. Get your full Virgo reading by Eric here.

Planet Waves

Astrology Studio for Libra: Short Pre-sale!

It’s not easy feeling safe these days; it’s not easy feeling like you belong anywhere, though astrology has some ideas for you. You’re invited to the pre-sale for the Libra reading, which will be ready Monday evening. Therefore, the $33 pre-sale price will last about 24 hours. This reading will cover your process of grounding yourself in the wild world of the Digital Age. You need some physical reality, and my reading of your chart will suggest where to look for it: primarily at home. I will have much to say about stabilizing your relationships in the chaos of the internet, getting some traction in your career, and most of all, how to frame your own reality.

Pre-order price is $33. Increases to $44 Monday night and $55 on Friday. Reading includes an hour-plus astrology session, a tarot session and a special astrology extra, Self and Society.


Libra

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — The Sun enters your sign Monday, at long last. This happens in a conjunction with the asteroid Bacchus (the Roman rendition of Dionysus). He is not just about grapes and wine; the deeper concept is liberation. So the question to ask in this season of your birthday is, what sets you free? Be mindful of the ways that relationships in particular do or do not liberate you. Do you find yourself entering a maze of confusion when you’re with someone, or are you lifted out of the labyrinth? We live in a time when people wear their injuries on their sleeve, but often don’t do anything about healing them. So one factor to evaluate is whether people are more attracted to their pain or to their healing process — and what your role is in either case. You might ask yourself the same question, in part based on what you see reflected back to you in your most intimate relationships. Get your full Libra reading by Eric here.

Scorpio

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — You may be figuring out that the only thing you actually have power over is your mind — and even that seems to have a life of its own. And if that is true, you would be well-served to become more familiar with that quality, which is in truth your inner life. The more you emphasize others and what they do, the less you will feel in control of your experience. The more you draw your awareness inward, the easier it will be for you to coexist with everyone — especially with yourself. To that end, you may use any friction that manifests in your social or intimate interaction as a guide to your inner life. This is a kind of mind experiment. What role do you see people playing? Who do the various actors and actresses in your life represent? If you were writing the script, what would you have them say? Get your full Scorpio reading by Eric here.

Sagittarius

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — This week brings the Libra equinox, which is a rather bold invitation for you to re-emerge as a social being. On a subtler level, something else is happening: Jupiter has completed its square to Neptune (which happens about once every eight years, and rarely with Jupiter in your sign). This will result in a gradual clearing of the air, a potential increase in your ability to think straight. The could you have been surrounded by is some form of delusion, illusion or confusion, and you may have spent considerable time wondering how you even got there. That question is still worth a good think-through, but significantly, where to go from here is the more important matter. However, that starts with recognizing exactly where you are and what you are doing. Many people allow themselves to be confused or deceived because it seemingly offers a pass from confronting actual existence: your potential, your problems, your life. Get your full Sagittarius reading by Eric here.

Capricorn

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — The planets in your sign are beginning to move in direct motion. Saturn has resumed forward progress; Pluto is soon to follow. Gradually, these planets will reach critical mass, culminating in their conjunction this coming Jan. 12. Said simply, the time has come to take action, in particular, to act on the decisions you made long ago. You have had time to work out your plans and to consider your options, and the bell is now ringing. Start with the most elementary practical matters first. Yes, there is deeper material; there are true matters of growth, and of making contact with the core layers of your being. Yet the practical choices you make will lead you out of where you do not belong, and to where you do belong. What counts as “spiritual” is not a separate matter. It is related to everyone and every experience. Soul is not a thing; it is not a destination. It is a process involving absolute honesty, and you are beholden to it whether you want to be or not. Get your full Capricorn reading by Eric here.

Aquarius

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — An inner shift is taking place; you may have noticed it. It might have felt like part of your brain squirmed into place; or perhaps you had a dream that symbolized some kind of release from bondage. Yet this is only the beginning; you have many more steps to take along this journey. You are working your way toward inner reconciliation, which might be said of the whole human race, though you are in a moment of special focus. The key to your freedom is refusing to accept that you are a victim of circumstances, particularly of your family. There’s plenty else to be victimized by, which is advertised on television and the internet, and you don’t want any part of it. That very thing is what got you and many of the people around you into the situation you are in. It may be that you are the first and perhaps only person in your immediate sphere who will be responding to this particular calling; you may face considerable pressure to accept your supposed lot in life. Get your full Aquarius reading by Eric here.

Pisces

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — You are beginning to see the light of day on a number of crucial issues that will in many ways shape your future. Yet you are the one doing the shaping, and before you make any decisions you cannot easily reverse, you must be as certain as you can that you’re seeing matters as they are. And you must be equally confident that you know your own mind, and your own feelings. But more than that, you must know what you want. That is the thing to focus on. I don’t mean this in some intermediate sense of the idea; I mean what you actually, ultimately, and sincerely want for yourself. You are in a rare moment of gaining awareness at the same time your horizons are opening up. Be aware that this may come with a measure of fear, which is (in our current environment) a “natural” response to experiencing your potential. Yet this is upon you, and the moment of decision is approaching. Meanwhile, it would be wise to bide your time and use it well. Get your full Pisces reading by Eric here.

The Day of Restless Drive: Birthdays and Planet News

If Your Birthday is Sept. 22
The Day of Restless Drive | Order 2019-20 Virgo Astrology Studio | You can also pre-order the 2019-20 Libra Astrology Studio | All Other Signs

There is a time for work, and a time for play. You can surely rely on your innate sense of responsibility to carry out what has to be done. The chances are you would benefit from erring on the side of pleasure, hobbies and social contact. Make a point of setting aside regular periods to relax and recharge. Spend lots of time with friends who get you laughing from your diaphragm upwards and, if you so desire, lovers who bring you delight in even more places than that.
— by Amy Elliott

If your Sun, Moon or rising sign is Virgo, you are heading into a most unusual solar year, set up to do the thing Virgo is designed for: integrate the elements of your being, find your direction and purpose, and act on it. Eric lays it all out in your 2019-2020 Virgo Astrology Studio, now available for instant access.

Written in the Planets

With the Sun in the last degree of Virgo (it enters Libra for the equinox tomorrow), notice whether there’s any sense of ‘edginess’ to the day. That can sometimes be a feature of the Sun in the last degree of a sign, especially at the end of a season. If you’ve been plotting and planning and trying to get some vision off the ground, know that we’re moving toward a time of initiative and enactment. But you might not be quite at the starting line yet.

Keep tying up loose ends, and checking your plan against what steps you’ve actually checked off your list so far. Small moves will likely count for a lot today and for the next couple days, as the Sun is square Pholus in Sagittarius. The Moon entering Cancer around midday EDT is another description of initiative — though it might actually be helpful for once to make like a crab and think in terms of lateral movement toward your goal. Often being indirect is an impediment, but it does have its uses — such as when you need to slide by your own resistance to fulfill a desire or responsibility, or when a clear move forward is not apparent yet.

With Mercury in Libra square Saturn and the lunar nodes in Capricorn, there might be some help in working out the practical details of your plan. You may have a choice between putting mental effort toward the unknown, or letting pessimism (or difficult communication) keep you in a holding pattern. Familiarity of that sort is rarely the entire picture. So why settle for it or let it bog you down?
— by Amanda Painter


My readings offer a place of refuge, an opportunity to suspend self-judgment, and my careful reading of the charts. I offer you reasons to be motivated, and strategies for handling the strange complexity of society at this time. To this work, I bring all of what I have learned as a journalist, editor, astrologer, spiritual student and man of the world; and I offer it to you for an affordable price. Read more here.

Now available for instant access!

In These Times graphic