“Pegasus” by Christine Yates.

Dear Friend and Reader:

For the past two months in this series [see part one, and part two], we’ve been looking at the outer planet transits that take hold in 2018 and last years into the future. Saturn entered Capricorn on Dec. 19, which will be followed by Chiron entering Aries on April 17 and Uranus entering Taurus on May 15.

Just these three events, in such close proximity, describe a rapidly changing world. Distant outer planets describe the energy coming from the ground, as in figure-ground. They’re a background environmental factor that gradually manifests in tangible ways — or as the case may be, instantly.

“A blessing” by Christine Yates.

To give two particularly stunning examples, the day Chiron entered Pisces in 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, leading to one of the worst oil spills in history. The day Uranus entered Aries in 2011, there was an earthquake that took out the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, resulting in several total meltdowns and the mess that followed.

Of course, most of the news that gets reported is bad news: by definition, that’s what news is. We don’t know what breakthroughs or discoveries happened those days. We don’t know what ideas were born. At least these two events put us on notice to pay attention to the sign changes of slow-moving planets.

While Saturn is not an outer planet, it’s the keeper of the edge between the inner and outer solar system; a reference point, boundary divider and the lord of chronological time. Saturn’s three-year run through Sagittarius ended Dec. 19 when, for the first time in a generation, it returned to a sign that it rules.

Because Pluto is also in Capricorn, Saturn’s ingress begins something called the Saturn-Pluto conjunction, associated with an even bigger event, the Pluto return of the United States. Pluto, which takes 250 years to orbit the Sun, entered Capricorn in January of 2008, retreating briefly into Sagittarius for the summer and election of Barack Obama, then returning to Capricorn after the election, where it remains today. Pluto is now close to its natal position in the chart for the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Capricorn is the sign that represents (among other metaphors) industry, government and society’s major institutions. So when we combine transiting Saturn, transiting Pluto and the natal position of Pluto in the U.S. chart, that’s going to move some energy in the world around us.

Here’s something novel: for the 2020 election, planets in Capricorn will include Quaoar, Pholus, Pallas, Jupiter, Pluto and Saturn. Pallas is an asteroid named for the goddess of law and politics. Quaoar and Pholus are rather different from asteroids; I’ll come to them in a moment when I introduce the idea of a minor planet.

Now that Saturn is in Capricorn, it’s fair to say we’re in a new era of history. In a recent New York Times interview about this astrology, I said that, “We are entering the biggest point of reckoning in American history since the Civil War.”

With Saturn in Capricorn as our foundation, let’s check out the minor planets.

Chiron: The Original Minor Planet

First, a distinction between a visible and an invisible planet. You might think of objects that can be seen with the unaided eye as being part of ordinary consciousness. That includes the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Under very rare conditions, Uranus and the asteroid Vesta can be seen without a lens. Occasionally comets show up, and if you look back at the old books, they made astrologers of the past exceedingly nervous.

“Capricorn and Paperwhites” by Christine Yates.

Besides that, all other orbiting objects are invisible without the use of special equipment, and can be considered part of non-ordinary consciousness. In fact most objects are invisible without a telescope, and that includes all of the minor planets.

Technically, a minor planet is anything with a catalogue number from the Minor Planet Center, also called an MPC number. Currently there are about 750,000 known bodies orbiting our Sun, which are either in the catalog or close to being entered. This catalog includes a wide diversity of types of object.

A minor planet is not minor in the sense of the minor leagues in a sport, where seemingly less important things happen, or a minor role in a film. It’s more like a minor key in music, which is in no way a thing of lesser importance in music theory or musical history. Arguably there are more memorable, moving songs written in minor keys than in major keys. This is also true of the minor planets, though they are largely ignored by established astrology; this fact largely accounts for its bland flavor and inert quality.

The first solar system object discovered that eventually became a minor planet was Ceres, which was seen on Jan. 1, 1801, the first day of the 19th century. Ceres was first classified as a potential comet, then as an asteroid; then in 2006, it was given the new designation “dwarf planet” (along with Pluto and Eris).

From an astrological standpoint, the concept of a minor planet emerges with the discovery of something called Object Kowal in 1977 — that became Chiron. Chiron is a small body, about the size of an asteroid, but it is made of ice like a comet, with a tail like a comet, and with an atmosphere; and it has an odd 51-year orbit of a kind that nobody had ever seen before. What the first astrologers who danced with Chiron discovered is that it was astonishingly potent, especially for a small object, and it represented elements of psychic development and of healing that had not been seen before in astrology (but were well known in other fields).

In the broadest terms, Chiron represents the holistic principle. In the natal chart, Chiron represents a place where we seek wholeness. We may have sustained an injury there, though that point remains alive and active and often has a way of concentrating some unusual talent, gift or strength.

Sometimes Chiron manifests as a point of defeat or, psychologically, as the feeling of an injury that will never heal or a problem that will never be solved. However, I have found that through conscious process (particularly, working with one’s lifetime Chiron transits), the gift can almost always be claimed.

There will often be what homeopaths call a “healing crisis” involved: a seeming mishap or series of them associated with the process of mounting the healing journey in a conscious way.

“Milagros” by Christine Yates.

Chiron is about to enter Aries. This is happening in an era already dominated by astrology in this sign, particularly the epic Uranus-Eris conjunction of 2016-2017 that is one of the outstanding astrological monuments of a very long era.

Eris, the goddess of discord, is the standard-bearing minor planet of our time. This conjunction is largely about the digital age and the supremacy of technology — and what it’s done to our identity (Aries, collective and individual identity).

Quoting Prof. Eric McLuhan yet again: “The body is everywhere assaulted by all of our new media, a state which has resulted in deep disorientation of intellect and destabilization of culture throughout the world. In the age of disembodied communication, the meaning and significance and experience of the body is utterly transformed and distorted.”

What he’s saying is that this assault on our minds is really pushing us out of our bodies, or distorting our relationship to them, and that’s messing not just with individual identity but also with collective identity.

Chiron in Aries will precipitate or ignite a healing process that helps us address this very troublesome state of affairs. Just remember, as the old song goes, waking up is hard to do. It’s a lot easier if voluntary — if we want to be conscious, which means admitting that some other state preceded full awareness.

Summing up Chiron in Aries in a phrase, this is about coming out of denial, no matter how difficult that might be — and thereby finding something better.

And what might that be? Notably, when Chiron enters Aries, one of the first things it does is make a conjunction to a slow-mover called Salacia, which is hovering around the first degree of Aries this year. The mythological wife of Neptune, Salacia (a dwarf planet candidate) has an unusual 271-year orbit. She’s also the root of the word salacious. While astrology does not usually draw such a direct line of etymology to the meaning of a planet, we’ve seen quite a bit of that lately with Salacia sitting on the face of the ‘personal is political’ Aries Point for many seasons.

In my happy dreams, Chiron conjunct Salacia is going to be about the conscious claiming of not just sexual identity but of actual sexual being. The “sexual revolution” we need is one associated with holistic healing, and an understanding of the relationship between sex and existence.

Pholus and Quaoar in Capricorn

Pholus was the second planet designated in the centaur group, discovered in 1992. Pholus orbits the Sun in 92 years. The discovery of (5145) Pholus opened up a floodgate of centaur and Kuiper belt discoveries, now numbering more than a thousand.

Welcome to the energy of Pholus, which comes in two main forms: the uncontrollable, uncontainable reaction, and the small cause with a big effect. Pholus is involved in the seemingly nonstop revelation of sexual misconduct. Alternately, if someone takes a single dose of a homeopathic remedy, and that helps a person heal from an illness, we have an example of the small cause with a big effect.

“In and Out of Consciousness” by Christine Yates.

Pholus enters Capricorn on Jan. 20, 2018, which plunges it into the realm of corporations and government. Isn’t it amazing that with all the infinite varieties of corporate exploitation and criminal activity, all we’ve heard about anytime lately is sexual transgression? We may be hearing about a lot more than that as this transit develops.

Ten years after the discovery of Pholus, an object called Quaoar was discovered way out in the Kuiper belt, past Pluto.

Named for the creator god of the Tongva people (who used to inhabit what is now the LA-area), its technical classification is “cubewano.” Originally called 2002 LM60, it was considered such an important discovery that it was given the designation (50000) Quaoar. It takes just over 287 years to orbit our Sun.

Now that you know all of that, here’s the news: Quaoar was discovered in Sagittarius, where it was until mid-December, when it entered Capricorn. At its essence, Quaoar is about family patterns. And now it’s in the sign of corporations and governments — and one of the signs most associated with family.

Note that Quaoar in Capricorn is square Salacia in Aries. This is bringing the most impersonal corporate and governmental realms into the personal, individual ones. Yet the underlying message is that this is about the family, and what happens there.

For all the taboo associated with the subject, we will discover that sexuality is a family affair, and that everything we experience and see in society is a dramatization of the sexual business within the household and the tribe. All of the sexual misconduct that has been revealed since early October has its origin in the household and in early childhood — along with every other form of sexual reality. And if we’re going to be free of this blight, that’s where we need to go for our answers.

It is true that the minor planets often represent the subjects neither society nor astrology want to address. Too often we relegate these issues to the courts. However, from where we stand today, ignorance, inaction and deferring to the government are no longer options. It’s time to get over ourselves: our shame, embarrassment and guilt; and let our life force out into the open.

Lovingly,

New Features Added:
Understanding Key Life Transits of Saturn, Chiron and Uranus

Dear Friend and Reader:

The Art of Becoming is your 2018 annual reading. This is my 20th time at the rodeo! And that’s a good thing, because to write about the transits of the coming year will take experience. If you’re new to the discussion of this project, I’ve linked a letter in the last paragraph.

Eric Francis.

I’ve added three new features to The Art of Becoming, for those who pre-order all 12 signs: videos that cover Chiron in Aries, and Aries Chiron returns; Uranus in Taurus, and Uranus oppositions; and Saturn in Capricorn, including those two Saturn return groups (first and second). These cover many age groups and sub-generations.

Particularly regarding Chiron, the astrological profession for a while was starting to figure out this planet, which was discovered 40 years ago this month. Now astrologers seem to be forgetting or losing interest. I have not.

I have been a student of Chiron every day since early 1995, and will share what I have learned both from study, and from reading the Chiron transits of countless hundreds of clients.

These videos are included if you pre-order all 12 signs. Then they will be spun off as separate products. They will not be included with post-publication orders, or single-sign orders. Each will be offered separately for $37.37 each.

I’ve wanted to do transit readings like this for years! One distinction about my astrological career is that rather than predicting transits, I’ve been listening to my clients tell me the stories of their transits for more than two decades.

The current pre-order price is $99, which includes written readings for all 12 signs, plus the Saturn, Chiron and Uranus video presentations. Those will be published before the written readings, by the way.

Delivery is expected in January. That’s the time estimate, based on 20 years’ experience doing this project. If you’re curious to read more about The Art of Becoming, here’s a detailed letter describing how I do the readings and what they contain.

And if you have not read your 2017 reading, you may do so here at no charge.

Sign up today. The next price increase will be soon!

Thank you for trusting me as your astrologer, and for participating in Planet Waves.

With love,

The Solstice, Saturn, and Mercury Direct

By Amanda Painter

It feels almost as though the world is catching on fire. Between the far-reaching GOP tax bill, Trump shrinking the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, the continuing wave of sexual harassment and assault accusations, and even actual forest fires in southern California, much seems to be burning in one way or another — and that’s just in the U.S. It can be hard not to feel overwhelmed, but the astrology offers some clues for how to handle it.

Photo by Amanda Painter.

Right now, there’s significant activity in all three fire signs — especially Sagittarius.

In Aries, we’re still under the influence of the Uranus-Eris conjunction, joined by asteroid Pallas.

Leo is hosting the lunar North Node and asteroid Ceres.

All of those objects and points are in conversation with a whole stable of critters in Sagittarius: Venus, the Sun, Mercury, centaur Pholus, and Saturn — plus others. Several of these planets and objects are making conjunctions to the Great Attractor (a powerful deep-space phenomenon) and the Galactic Core, which is the center of our Milky Way galaxy and a ‘cosmic homing signal’.

In other words, there’s an astrological image of a great, swirling fire that is mirroring one of the prominent sensations of our daily lives right now. You might be wondering whether to look for a bucket of water; or to stop, drop and roll; or to run away screaming. It’s like everyone wants to call a metaphysical version of 9-1-1. But who would the firefighters be?

In a sense, we all are. Each of us holds some personal responsibility to engage with the world for the good of all. The question is often “How?” You might need to pull on your personal oxygen mask and take care of yourself first.

Yet, if you’re someone who’s feeling ‘fired up’ rather than burned out or choking on smoke, it could be that you can take a slightly different role. Fire can be very useful when handled carefully, and some people have a greater affinity for it and skill with it than others. Other just need to learn some basic safety tips to join those ranks.

Read more…

One More Day (of Mercury Retrograde)

By Amanda Painter

What’s the difference between having one more day of something and having an extra day? Potentially quite a lot: it’s one thing that we have one more day of Mercury in retrograde motion before it stations direct in Sagittarius. It would be another thing to find out the cosmos had suddenly just added an extra day of Mercury retrograde.

However, online language translators are not always so adept with nuance. Especially when you mess with them.

To wit: singer Malinda Kathleen Reese has created an entire YouTube channel devoted to renditions of popular songs (especially those from Broadway musicals) whose lyrics have been run back and forth through Google Translate a few times. As you might guess, things get…interesting. And funny as hell. And who couldn’t use a good laugh when Mercury’s tricks and holiday stress start to pile up (or anytime at all, really)?

My introduction to Reese’s project came in the form of “Google Translate Sings: ‘One Day More’ from Les Miserables.“ Not only is it wacky (Inspector Javert’s lines get especially weird), it’s also beautifully sung by Reese and her friend Patrick Brady, who play all the roles. Don’t worry: there are subtitles of the oddness they are singing, and supertitles of the original lyrics so you can see how far Google strayed. If, that is, you can stop laughing long enough to read them all.

This week on Planet Waves FM:
Interview with Rachel Marco-Havens

Dear Friend and Reader:

We’re in that mysterious week of Saturn’s sign change, the winter solstice and Mercury direct, all within a few short days. This week’s episode of Planet Waves FM [play edition here] first looks at that astrology, and the surrounding current events.

Then I have an interview with Rachel Marco-Havens, whom you first met last week when I read her letter. This is an extended conversation, which will work for both active and passive listening.

Rachel’s website describes her work:

With a strong focus on women’s leadership, youth empowerment and bridging intergenerational connections, Rachel inspires us to connect the silos of social, environmental and spiritual justice movements in creative ways.

“If we are honoring our creative expression in a deep way, advocacy can be an inspiring avenue for artistic expression. For those of us who are artists first, creative approaches are the only way to stay sane and keep up morale in this work.”

Fostering the expansion of young leaders wherever she travels, Rachel works closely with youth-driven activation, mentored by creative young leaders from across the globe.

PROGRAMMING NOTE: Next week’s edition will be published on Christmas Eve, and will be a music-focused show featuring a retrospective of Bob Dylan, presenting his work up to 2017. I’ve designed a program that takes you off the beaten path of his popular work; maybe you’ll recognize two or three songs, unless you’re a serious fan. But I promise you’ll love what you hear.

The result is a guided tour of some magnificent songwriting, musicianship and American musical history that will open doors in your mind. We’ll check in with Bob’s telling of the Billy the Kid story, hear a glorious rendition of the American traditional “Shenandoah,” sample some of his best work from the Christian era, and hear selections from Bob’s 2017 album, Triplicate.

Lisa Finnie, host of The Bob Dylan Hours, helped me make selections from Bob’s work in the 21st century.

Enjoy the show, and thanks for tuning in.

With love,

Monthly Horoscopes and Publishing Schedule Notes

Your extended monthly horoscopes for January are published below in this issue. We published your extended monthly horoscopes for December on Wednesday, Nov. 22. Please note: we normally publish the extended monthly horoscope on the first Friday after the Sun has entered a new sign.

Aries (March 20-April 19) — Freedom and discipline go hand in hand. That will be a happy discovery for you, as you embark upon a momentous phase of your vocation in the coming seasons. Note that I did not say career or profession. A vocation can become those things, though it starts someplace else: with a calling. It’s a calling so deep it could be considered spiritual, or one’s true dharma; and the fulfillment of the purpose is more important than success. This will take everything you’ve got, and you’re ready to offer that up. You will need to address any authority issues you have, whether they involve being responsive to others in power or wielding your own. This will be an ongoing process that will largely entail internalizing your sense of responsibility. You will need to work with time, which means pacing yourself; neither being in a big hurry nor willing to wait forever. You’ll need to have faith in yourself, and to persevere, in times when you’re doubting your mission or when things don’t seem to be going well. At the heart of your life plan must be some concept of home. That’s the most dependable way to provide grounding not just for your success but also a place where you can rest and connect with others. Just remember, all true collaboration depends on intimacy, and is fed by passion. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — Integrity is the very essence of your nature, and you possess a keen awareness of right and wrong. You’ve also figured out by now that you must bring your flexibility into every situation. Nothing is carved in stone or set in concrete, especially where your personal ethics are concerned. You can afford to evaluate every situation on its own merits. You’ve learned many times that this is better than having inflexible rules, though you might say that strict adherence to the law is a kind of temptation for you. However, you can now look at the world with fresh eyes, which also includes taking a more benevolent view of your own past. You don’t need to judge yourself or anyone, nor does whether you agree with something or not need to be your standard of reality. You are bigger than nearly all that you perceive. You’re bigger than your parents, your family, and anyone who has held authority over you. If you keep an open mind, and set orthodoxy aside, these next few years of your life will provide you with some beautiful and original opportunities to learn about yourself and the world. Regarding the question of scale, what you may figure out is that you’re bigger than all you survey. This is a temporary state of affairs; it’s a useful perspective to take, for the time being. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — You’ve just been through one of the most — what’s the word? Ridiculous? Exciting? Challenging? — phases of your life, and whatever that was, whatever you’ve been through, is over. Time has given rise to something else, as if you’ve been transported to another dimension of your own existence. I don’t think this will be subtle, though it’s possible to live in the past. If you’re living in the present, you will see that the nature of your commitments has evolved into something more tangible, even solid. This will facilitate the building of relationships and associations of all kinds, whether their purpose is making home, making money or making love. It’s likely that you’ve been so enamored of your need for freedom that you missed the privileges that come with having a stable structure around you. However, when you feel commitment coming from inside you, rather than something you feel is imposed on you, you’ll appreciate its beauty. It will be helpful if you’re less enamored of an abstract concept of your freedom and refine that into something you can actually express. You may need to be specific; for example, decide consciously whether you want a relationship to be live-in or not; monogamous or not; financially intertwined or not. Determine the role you want to play in any business partnership, and know the places where you’re flexible or open to compromise. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Saturn has entered your solar 7th house of relationships, the sign Capricorn. The most recent time this occurred was 29 years ago, perhaps before you were born. It’s entered Capricorn along with an impressive collection of other planets. The upshot is that where you may have felt like you were living on the frontier, you will now be joined by settlers, who might become colonists. Remember, though, that the spirit of a pioneer is different from that of someone who wants to build a town. You would benefit from those possessing both qualities: those who are undaunted by new territory, and who also want to build something familiar. Saturn’s three-year run through your relationship house will help you clear unnecessary or outmoded relationships, and it will help you develop something entirely new. For many long years, you’ve been deconstructing the rules and traditions that have not served your sensitive and original nature. This has not been easy. Remember that you still have some ground to cover there; and meanwhile, it would be helpful to remove some of the debris that’s been left behind from your various demolition projects. Beware of old ideas, ungrounded expectations, the fear of abandonment and jealousy. The more you give language to these feelings, the easier they will be to work through in a conscious and loving way: the way of the lover. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — It’s essential that you balance work and wellbeing. You’re one of the hardest-working people you know, and one of the most willing to sacrifice your personal needs and your health for the sake of getting the job done. However, it’s time to live under less Spartan conditions. You still have plenty to accomplish, yet taking care of your body and your mind must come first. One way you can maintain a balance is by learning something that I’ve seen is rather difficult for those born under your sign: how to delegate work. In doing this, you might follow a simple rule. Only assign tasks to those who do them better than you do. This might take a little time to find, though you need to have total trust when you let go of a task. And that would be worth seeking over time and, if need be, waiting for. In any event, collaboration is an art form. This skill will be worth developing. How you structure your time is also vitally important. You must see time as your ally, and use well the time you have. Think in terms of efficiency, making actual decisions about what is and is not necessary, and how much energy certain projects or goals deserve. Yet the first of these must be structuring a life in such a way that you can take care of yourself. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — You simply must keep a positive attitude, because you have so much to live for. What’s changing the most rapidly is your approach to your work. You’ve made great strides on this self-improvement project, and now you’re ready for another step: doing everything you do with the passion of an artist. There are those people who would do their work for free (and many who do) only because they love its purpose so much. Whatever job you may have, this is not a thing of the future. Before you get to the “do what you love” phase, you must go through the “love what you do” phase, whatever that thing is. This will cultivate the state of mind that emphasizes both quality, and your recognition that you exist in a network of people who are, ideally, all working toward the same end. Part of your work is the task itself; yet equally important is your influence on your coworkers, colleagues, clients and people in leadership. Whatever you may do, your primary purpose is dharma: acting as if to hold the world together. The “as if” part is important because it takes pressure off of you. You’re not actually responsible for holding the world together; you just have to make every decision on that basis. One last hint: the past weighs on you far less than you may think. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — Many factors in your chart point to grounding: in your home, in your feelings, in your body and in your local community. This follows a phase of being somewhat all over the place, both mentally and physically. You’re now able to focus your mind, as if you’ve just woken up from many days of feverish dreams and could suddenly speak and think clearly. For the foreseeable future, your primary task is to strengthen your foundations. This could pertain equally to home, family and the most personal aspects of your career. Take tangible steps every day to organize your physical space, and your emotional space will follow. Saturn moving through your 4th solar house is about clearing out the clutter, such that you can see the walls and floors of the basement and make any necessary repairs. When cleaning a closet, empty it out entirely first. You will find, through this process, that you need far less than you think; and, further, that you will place a greater value on what you choose to keep. Finally, there’s the matter of your relationship to your family. You’ve reached a point where you must handle this consciously, and not allow anyone to make assumptions or presumptions about you. If you want more space to yourself, and you feel guilty about that, count this as proof that your desires are correct. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — You have the perfect blend of drive and discipline going for you now. Take advantage of this and get your year started off right. Just be aware of one thing: you cannot content yourself with being little. You are past being willing, or able, to make yourself small for the sake of others. Your role is not to bow to their insecurities, nor to worry about how they’re supposed to handle someone who wants to live fully, and strives to do so. As you do this, you may notice the extent to which people seem determined to shrink themselves, to diminish their goals and talents, or to thrive on boredom (which is really a mask over anger). You may feel pressure from peers to conform to this odd way of living. Don’t waste your time wondering whether you can, or whether this is the right thing. And while you may feel the lure of analyzing why people choose to live this way, you would be better served to ask yourself why you ever did. There’s a fear running loose that when we connect with our desire, passion, love or sex drive, that we’re going to go out of control. After all, society could possibly not handle everyone being in contact with their power, living honestly. But here’s the question. How would anyone even know? For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — Taking care of your finances will get you a long way in life. The time has arrived: whatever you may want to accomplish, being grounded, realistic, and resourceful will be your vehicle for doing it. Money flows toward structure, and you need to build that gently around yourself. Start with full awareness of your income, your expenses, your debts, and your needs for future growth. Then, use your skills or get help to build a model you can live in. One way to work is to make long- and medium-range plans for development projects. It’s vitally important, in our current version of the world, that you phase out obsolete equipment and phase in the fully serviceable gear you need to get your work done. This is a matter of planning. Keep all your options open for how to do this — and remember, the world is awash with gear that nobody is using. Take leadership, learn how to pool resources, and get that process going. Remember that your most valuable asset is your talent: what you can do and, in particular, what you alone can do. Set a higher price on that than you ever have; at the same time, you must be bold about demonstrating and even proving your abilities before expecting people to pay. You have the abilities and the discipline to make this happen. And it’ll be worth it, too. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Capricorn Birthdays 2018
A Blessing from the Cosmos

“The Capricorn 2017 Birthday Reading was expansive and mind-blowing, and absolutely on the money in everything. You helped me immeasurably as I change and change and grow, and change some more. What a time!”

— Linsey

Dear Friend and Reader:

Tuesday night, your ruling planet Saturn entered your sign. Some people fear Saturn; but for you its arrival so close to the solstice is a blessing from the cosmos.

If you’re someone with a Capricorn Sun, rising sign or Moon, Saturn in your sign the next three years is a reminder that if you set a goal and are willing to work toward it, nothing is out of reach. It can be hard to feel that way in this day and age, but now you have a powerful ally in your corner.

One of your most meaningful tasks for the coming four seasons is defining yourself in a way that’s not dependent upon tribal identity. How exactly do you do that? Eric will be covering that — along with the opportunities, challenges and essential mission of Saturn in your sign — in your 2018 Capricorn Birthday Reading.

He’ll also cover 2018’s other major planetary sign changes in your reading (Uranus into Taurus, your zone of play and creative risk-taking; and Chiron into Aries, your zone of home and the emotional landscape) — plus additional aspects throughout (and beyond) the year that add nuance and offer creative opportunity.

Eric crafts these readings with the best of his life-coaching, cheerleading and problem-solving skills; the sensitivity of his therapy training; his uncanny knack to help you see challenges from a more empowering perspective; and with the kind of everyday, practical inspiration you can use immediately.

“Your work has always offered me food for thought, options to consider and clarity when needed. Thank you very much for what you do and how you present it.”

— Victoria Bouet

You get two 30-minute astrology segments and a separate tarot reading for your year. When you pre-order your Capricorn reading, you secure the lowest price we offer: only $33. This price increases as we near publication, and then it increases again when it’s ready.

Happy Birthday, Capricorn!

Yours & truly,

Amanda Painter

P.S. The 2018 Capricorn Birthday Reading is distinctly different from the Capricorn written reading available in the upcoming Art of Becoming annual project. It covers your key astrology in a different format and emphasis, capitalizing on Eric’s more intuitive, improvisational skills. The Birthday Reading also makes a fantastic gift for a loved one!

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — Saturn’s return to your birth sign describes a sense of completeness you have not felt for a very long time, if ever. Take a moment to collect yourself: a week or two of reflecting on your goals and preparing your mind; and get ready to face the challenges you’ve been avoiding. You now have the perspective and the strength to step up to your life as a full participant. To this task, you will bring all of your resources. You can no longer hide or camouflage yourself. It’s no longer viable to live in a state of limbo, or suspended animation around your commitments — and it never really was. You can no longer disappear, from your own life or anyone else’s. Practicality must take precedence over ideology. What is right is what works for you and for the people you associate with. Perhaps your most daunting challenge is taking responsibility for communication. You are the person who must guide that process, and strive for clarity on behalf of everyone. You can no longer blame people for what you don’t understand, particularly if you have questions you haven’t asked or sought answers to, or if you’ve ignored available information. Commitment means commitment to yourself; and if you’re able to do that, you’ll notice that you come through for others because you want to live up to your own potential. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — The concept of an inner life is elusive to most people. By inner life, I mean the world that you contain, your conscious growth process, and your relationship to your past. How this could elude anyone, I don’t know; but it seems to, in the same way people’s dreams deliver them messages that seem cryptic or incomprehensible and, therefore, not even worth thinking much about. The combination of Venus, the Sun and Saturn entering your adjoining sign Capricorn is about you awakening to who you are inside. Here’s the thing. Doing this involves encountering what psychologists describe as shadow material. That might include your fears, your regrets, and emotions on the embarrassment-guilt-shame spectrum. One’s inner life also includes one’s deepest desires, especially including what the Vedic astrologers call “the pleasures of the bed” — one’s secret fantasies and most profound needs, which are both erotic and emotional. The supposed reward for avoiding awareness of your inner life is the convenience of not having to address any of these things. The actual reward for entering and fully embracing your inner life is being a whole person. Your capacity for intimacy will deepen. Through understanding yourself and your motives, you will be more curious about the inner lives of those you care about. Yet this will also have a way of filtering out superficial relationships. You just won’t be interested. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — The time has arrived to reap the rewards of your success. You’ve done much to establish yourself in recent years, and have risen to the occasion of many challenges. It’s now time to collect. That doesn’t mean resting on your laurels, but rather focusing less on aspiration and more on connecting your efforts to direct benefits. From the look of your solar chart, those might come in many different forms, financial gain being one of them. Some rewards might arrive in the form of increased social and professional standing, which grant you privileges you’ve never had before. You’re due for a time dividend, which means the benefit of time that is your own, like profits delivered after all taxes have been paid. The key to this will be designing your life structure, and then honoring it. It’ll be easier than during many recent seasons, when the emphasis has been on success-at-all-costs Saturn in Sagittarius. The posture to assume at this stage of your life, described by Saturn in Capricorn, is a calm confidence: somewhat reserved, but standing firmly in your self-assurance. People will notice how much experience you have, and will likely be somewhat daunted by it. You can humanize this by being willing to help as you can, whenever someone needs you. Demonstrate going from vision to action with no need to check in with any authority higher than yourself. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.