Tag Archives: Libra

Me, Myself and I: Note from Aries

Dear Friend and Reader

The Moon reaches full phase in Libra this weekend. A Full Moon dependably shakes up the emotional and psychic energy, and at the moment there is plenty shaking. With many planets in Aries, including Mercury retrograde brewing like a vat of cider, we’re likely to be feeling a bit extra shuffled with an urgently curious, confused and polarized sensation.

Planet Waves
Photo by Eric Francis — Book of Blue.

I would remind you how much we’ve been processing all year. It’s like we’re living a month or two every week, and yet time seems to be going by so fast nobody can keep track of it. I’ve been trying to figure out this seeming contradiction for a while, to no avail yet. In practical terms, I suggest you check in for potential exhaustion/depletion and take action to address that. We have all been processing a lot.

I would remind you that we had an indication this would be a very strange year when we started seeing news about birds falling out of the sky in late December and early January. Everyone remember that?

Full Moon in Libra means the Sun is in Aries; the Moon and Sun are always in opposite signs for this phase. Aries is a yang sign — it’s all about action, what we think of as ‘male’ energy. Aries makes statements, takes territory and charges forward. Two of the hottest, most fiery planets of the lot are now in Aries — Mars and Uranus, along with Mr. Hot and Dry himself, the Sun. Jupiter is there, as are Eris and retrograde Mercury.

If Aries is the sign of the self, then all this activity is boldly declaring: who the heck am I?

There’s so much going on in Aries and it’s all so very potent, and now the Moon is going to come along and hold a mirror up to it from Libra. The currently installed mirror is Saturn, which is not so reflective, and it’s retrograde. This may have us feeling like despite all of the self-awareness stuff in Aries, a concept of a relationship seems to be holding us to who we were yesterday. Not just a relationship per se, but rather a concept of who we are supposed to be for the purpose of our relationships, such as an identity designed to meet expectations of acceptability.

Planet Waves
Photo by Eric Francis — Book of Blue.

The Moon is silvery and glistens, and it resonates with feeling. In Libra, it will be giving us a kind of projection screen onto which we can sort out all of these feelings and ideas that spend so much time in our heads. This is a fleeting glimpse. The Moon is a fast moving object, so it never keeps one perspective for very long. What we can easily observe this weekend will be obvious only briefly.

While this is happening, Pisces is soaking us in soul juice. The most yin sign, cool and moist, Pisces is about introspective awareness, dreaming, feeling and receiving. It’s the sign of doing bong hits and then painting, making music or writing in your journal till it gets light out. Then your phone rings and it’s your old lover, the one you really dig. You meet up, go for a walk and then crawl into bed. Pisces is now home to Chiron and Neptune, increasing the presence of this sign in our lives. This may be arriving as a rising tide of inner awareness, clairvoyance or dream activity. Strong Pisces is an invitation to accept anything and everything about ourselves.

Have we considered how much better life might be if we didn’t spend so much energy convincing ourselves how pure we are? That’s a form of fear. I am not saying that radioactive rainwater isn’t starting to tumble on roofs across the United States and many other parts of the world; I am saying that we have options other than being uptight. Further, I’m suggesting that uptight is so normal we don’t even know what it is anymore. It seems to offer some proof of purity. This is not a recipe for happiness; it’s a form of torture. Self-knowledge would go a long way to helping that cause. One sure way to self-knowledge is curiosity. It works just about every time. Curiosity is the distinct feeling that you cannot control what you’re about to find out, and you like it that way. Now, turn that on yourself.

I’ve noticed something in the charts lately that I thought I would share with you. A few times before I’ve referenced a book called Esoteric Astrology by Alice A. Bailey. The most recent time was an article last spring called The Greatest Aries Point Show on Earth.

Esoteric Astrology proposes alternate sets of planetary rulers for the signs. Just about everyone knows that if you’re an Aries then your ruling planet is Mars. That’s the kind of thing that makes it into The New York Post horoscope. However, Bailey proposes that there are two other ruling planets for all of the signs. These alternate rulers work on different levels than the traditional one, and help you think of the sign a different way.

Planet Waves
Photo by Eric Francis — Book of Blue.

Mars as the ruler of Aries drives desire. That, however, tends to become a kind of self-centered ego presence; it’s a notion of self wherein the existence of anyone else seems questionable. Mars in Aries is notoriously insecure. The ‘me’ consciousness of Aries can be so insecure that it gets lost through polarizing into relationship to someone else. In so doing, it can lose its distinct identity, disappearing into that relationship. I mean, think of how often we subvert our own desire for the sake of a relationship.

What is called the esoteric ruler, for Aries, is Mercury. We normally associate Mercury with Gemini and Virgo. Mercury in Aries is a picture of self-awareness, that is, the presence of the mind in the sign associated with self. It’s less about what the mind, or the self, can do, and more about what it perceives. Taking Aries in its Mercury expression, your awareness tells you that you’re an individual perceiving the world from your own point of view. That includes your thoughts and your ideas. On a good day, Aries is associated with originality, and I think we see this described in the Mercury association. What’s also interesting is that Mercury is androgynous, and it can be a relief to have a gender-balanced planet connected to Aries.

Bailey then proposes an additional planet for each sign, what she calls the hierarchal ruler, and for Aries this is Uranus. The quality of the hierarchal ruler is available on a level that’s usually beyond awareness. It’s like those parts of your computer that only programmers are supposed to know about. Uranus does not rule any sign in traditional astrology, though in modern astrology it’s come to be associated with Aquarius. Associated with Aries, it serves like a guiding principle that you can detect if you’re truly devoted to evolving consciousness. It’s like the version of self you get when you see behond yourself.

At times we experience Uranus as inspiration, as initiative and as the power to really stand out and achieve something original. Uranus connected to Aries can offer a sense of self that is connected to the whole rather than merely being ‘an individual’. It will offer confirmation that your presence on the planet is truly unique in the sense that everything created out of the infinite is unique.

Here is the interesting part: All three rulers of Aries are currently in that sign. Mars is trekking across for a while; Mercury is making an extended visit because it’s retrograde there; and Uranus arrived recently for a seven-year spell.

It’s also noteworthy that for the moment, the Sun is present, and in traditional astrology the Sun is the exalted planet of Aries. So we have every planet associated with Aries right in that sign.

Planet Waves
Photo by Eric Francis — Book of Blue.

One possible interpretation: every dimension of self is available right now. We are free to access ourselves on any level we want. All our options are open.

This will take some enhanced inner awareness to notice. It helps to declare the freedom of self. It helps to crave self-knowledge.

Here are a few more thoughts:

Mars is saying it’s healthy to want what you want — and to know what that is. Desire has been so co-opted by advertising and social conventions that for many people it seems difficult to discern. Ever ask yourself that question, ‘What am I supposed to want?’ And often ‘what we really want’ or even the feeling of seeking that is corrupted by guilt. Here is a clue — if you desire something and then you feel guilt, that suggests you’ve figured out what you actually want. Address the guilt not as a sign that you should not have that, but rather that there is some interference coming from someone who has tried to control you. The presence of guilt is usually the relic of a control mechanism, not a sign of being wrong. When we’ve done something ‘wrong’, usually we respond with sadness or remorse.

Mercury is saying it’s healthy to inquire about who you are. The retrograde adds the hint that self-awareness is indeed introspective. There is a hint here that there is self-concept at work, as much as self-awareness. The key is to get beyond self-concept, and start asking questions that are framed in such a way that they yield information. The thing about self-concept is that it’s 1) often confused with self and 2) it often comes from others who project it onto us, particularly when we’re young. Mercury retrograde may be taking you on a trip through a sequence of old self-concepts, so that you can let them go and find something that is a little more useful to you now.

Finally, Uranus is asking a few different questions. One is, where do you look for inspiration? What lights you up and motivates you to do something beautiful? There’s also the question, what tribe do you identify with? I mean really identify with, in the sense that you can really be yourself when you’re among them, or at least that you’re drawn in with the desire to give it a try.

One last thing: the lunar apogee is in Aries, and it will be for a while. It’s currently conjunct Uranus. That suggests that the fears that come up, including the actions of the inner censor, will be revealing. It’s not so much that the inner censor is a bad thing, as much as it is something we will get plenty of good information from observing. What exactly gets blocked, and who does it feel like is doing the blocking? If you follow those clues in, they will inevitably lead you to the very thing they would obscure.

Lovingly,

Eric Francis

Check this audio announcement for information about Eric’s new e-book, Light Bridge: The 25-Year Span.


Planet Waves

Light Bridge: The 25-Year Span by Eric Francis is the story of irrevocable change told through the lens of astrology, history and self-awareness. This is a carefully selected set of articles and essays by Eric written since 1987, which take you through the transition of the millennium into 2012. The essays are a continuing meditation on the experience of confronting global changes from long before anyone was certain they would really happen. It begins in a spiritual community in 1987 and comes to the present day, including a look at the astrology of the 2012-2015 era. Included are Eric’s best essays on sweeping world changes, relationships and maintaining some sense of one’s inner life in the midst of it all. The book, available as a printable PDF, is 174 pages and is illustrated by Carol McCloud. It’s just $14.95. It’s the perfect companion to Light Bridge, the 2011 annual edition of Planet Waves. Purchase your copy here.

Planet Waves

Weekly Horoscope for Friday, April 15, 2011, #856 – BY ERIC FRANCIS

Eric’s Zodiac Sign Descriptions

Aries (March 20-April 19)

Aries (March 20-April 19) — If you focus on one specific goal now, you’ll have a better chance of accomplishing much else besides. Choose what you want to do the most, the thing you want to express, initiate or complete, and pour your energy into that. It is the sensation of applying your creative power directly to an idea that will connect you to your inner source. You may not personally feel all that focused; in fact you may be getting a sense of just how multifaceted you are, and be experiencing various challenges collecting yourself in one place. Setting a seemingly external goal will allow you to access a level deeper than the confusion you may be feeling, and demonstrate that you can draw out your creative power and use it to make something happen. Yet it will help immensely if your motivation is desire, blended with a touch of obsession.

To order Light Bridge, your full-length 2011 reading including written and audio segments for Aries, please go to this link.

Taurus (April 19- May 20)

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — The Sun is about to enter your sign, and in these last few days before that happens you may be feeling particularly edgy. For example, I see an image in your chart of being angry but not understanding why; uncertainty about whether you’re making progress; and an exaggerated sense of your (often typical) feeling of shortcoming. I have an idea: try to not take it seriously. Watch it go by without letting it take over your mind or your identity. The whole sensation may be exaggerated, so this provides the opportunity for a useful mental exercise in detachment. There is plenty in your environment rich in scent, color and feeling. You will be surprised how quickly your mental drama evaporates when you tune into the sensory world and indulge in the rich nourishment you find there.

To order Light Bridge, your full-length 2011 reading including written and audio segments for Taurus, please go to this link.

Gemini (May 20- June 21)

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — You may find yourself in a complicated social situation this weekend, though the complexity originates from some form of misinformation, gossip or deception. Jealousy appears to be at the root of the issue, and it is toxic. Once started, whether haplessly or by intent, the matter might threaten to run out of control. Now I have a question for you: when will the world, the people of the world, and you, get sick of this kind of nonsense? This really is a conscious choice, when it happens. That choice will often come with the simultaneous discovery that not only is something else possible, but also necessary or inevitable. One way of being shuts down creativity; the other opens it up. One way of being is about tearing apart the fragile tapestry of society. The other way is about weaving integrity and sincerity into our social interactions. The choice is yours, and people are watching your example.

To order Light Bridge, your full-length 2011 reading including written and audio segments for Gemini, please go to this link.

Cancer (June 21- July 22)

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Play along with how things are going for you professionally, including the various mix-ups and the contradictions. Make your moves slowly, based on available information, and as you make each decision keep the door open for the next opportunity. For example, I suggest you not make any ‘permanent’ agreements that would prevent you from making another commitment in a couple of weeks. Don’t get lost in the temptation to think that you’re not getting your message out, or that you’re not visible. Actually you’re being noticed more than you think; you’re in a blind spot where you can’t quite see that. So keep your performances sharp, check your facts and proceed at what seems to be the natural pace of things. Once things start coming to fruition after Mercury has stationed direct on the 23rd, you will be happy you did — and you’ll see the connection to doing things well these very days.

To order Light Bridge, your full-length 2011 reading including written and audio segments for Cancer, please go to this link.

Leo (July 22- Aug. 23)

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — You may feel so caught up in the moment that you cannot even think of making long-term plans. Yet if you’ll notice your thought patterns, you’re actually in a reassessment of your plans, and as you determine that certain things are not working, you’re likely to discover some things that you know will work for you rather well. I suggest that you focus on removing from your agenda that which doesn’t suit you; the obvious benefit of that will be having the sensation of room to move, and a clear enough space to leave you free to include new ideas. Once this process picks up energy you will discover that there is a lot of energy behind you, and that will provide a sense of both power and freedom to make decisions that anytime sooner you might have feared would upset not only the apple cart but the whole fruit and vegetable aisle.

To order Light Bridge, your full-length 2011 reading including written and audio segments for Leo, please go to this link.

Virgo (Aug. 23- Sep. 22)

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — You may be tempted to renege on an agreement or break a commitment during the next few days. If you’d be doing this because of a sense of injured pride, or if you’re angry about something, I suggest you cool off for a while before you make a move. Once you get your mind in order and the situation sorts itself out in a week or two, you will see that you were upset over what will seem like nothing. You may decide that you gave up some excellent opportunities in the process. Making a decision from a calm place is not the same thing as selling out. Being true to your promises is not the same thing as being a slave. Being authentically who you are does not mean asserting your individuality with a tinge of rage blended in. Indeed, you don’t even need to ‘be yourself’; you already are yourself.

To order Light Bridge, your full-length 2011 reading including written and audio segments for Virgo, please go to this link.

Check this audio announcement for information about Eric’s new e-book, Light Bridge: The 25-Year Span.

Libra (Sep. 22 - Oct. 23)

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — You seem to be in an emotionally heavy or cluttered situation that you want to rid yourself of. I suggest you figure out what that’s made of. Once again I would point you to the emotional source of any seemingly physical disturbance; you are under some pressure, and you may be reacting to a new presence in your environment. The question to ask yourself is whether you consider it a helpful or toxic influence, and why you come to the conclusion that you do. You will need to make this assessment rather than pretend you don’t care, though the good part is that you have some new tools at your disposal for contemplating this kind of subtle question. One of your lifelong missions is to learn how to respond to your own feelings, and by that I mean make decisions and get some control over your environment.

To order Light Bridge, your full-length 2011 reading including written and audio segments for Libra, please go to this link.

Scorpio (Oct. 23- Nov. 22)

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — This weekend’s Full Moon has the look of an event that starts unsettling or uncomfortable and then slips into a more emotionally grounded and satisfying state. The discomfort is likely to start as a sense of pressure, but the odd part is you’re not likely to notice that pressure till it’s already started to pass; it has a ‘what was that?’ kind of feeling to it. What you may not have figured out yet is how much you have available in the way of emotional resources that were not there a few months ago and for that matter had gone missing for a long time; and now a new well has opened up. You may feel hesitant about tapping into that depth; you may not have trust that it’s there, including the fear that your imagination is going to run out on you right when you need it. Nothing of the kind, Scorpio.

To order Light Bridge, your full-length 2011 reading including written and audio segments for Scorpio, please go to this link.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 - Dec. 22)

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — I think I may have already written the horoscope about those happy creative accidents; you know, the seeming errors that lead to the stroke of genius. Even if so, I’ll say it again, a different way: take a chance on being wrong. Try the idea that you think might not work, but which seems appealing anyway. You might reverse your position spontaneously or based on a frustrating experience; if so, go with it and see what happens. True, there are risks, but the rewards of tapping a deeper level of creative mojo make it more than worth the risk. By deeper level I mean closer to who you are. You may be figuring out that your identity is a creative process, and that your creative process is intimately about who you are. The quality to follow is that slight sense of risk, taking everything on a dare.

To order Light Bridge, your full-length 2011 reading including written and audio segments for Sagittarius, please go to this link.

Capricorn (Dec. 22- Jan. 20)

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — Your insecurities may be at an all-time high, coupled with moments of feeling like you’re on emotional steroids. They are the same thing; this is one of those ‘the brighter the light, the darker the shadows’ moments. You have a few choices, one of which is to take the manic ride, enjoy the high and then deal with the anger and guilt you might feel on the other end; or ground out (literally, sit on a big rock somewhere and make some skin contact with the thing); or work out (something aggressive, but be careful of your head and neck). You’re likely to confuse mental and emotional impulses right now. I would say focus your mind and your feelings will follow. Focus your mind on what? I suggest you write an autobiographical essay about the most troubling aspect of your childhood. Tell the story — leave out the judgments and stick to the plain facts.

To order Light Bridge, your full-length 2011 reading including written and audio segments for Capricorn, please go to this link.

Aquarius (Jan. 20- Feb. 19)

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — What is original? There is such a thing, but it’s not what most people think. One helpful version of original is applying an existing thing or idea to a new situation or problem. Another is seeing a longstanding problem a new way, and the shift in perspective advances your thought process in an unexpected way. Another kind is considering what the world perceives as a problem, and figuring out a way to turn it into a benefit or resource. Would any of those possibilities fit your current situation? One thing I suggest is that you’re pushing too hard against a seeming obstacle. If that is true, then a version of original that would help you quite a bit is the kind where you figure out you were looking at an easy solution all along, and you just happened to notice it was right there.

To order Light Bridge, your full-length 2011 reading including written and audio segments for Aquarius, please go to this link.

Pisces (Feb. 19- March 20)

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — One of the top issues of your chart at the moment seems to involve finances, but the question is really one of resources, and in truth it’s not so much a question as it is about conducting an assessment. I sometimes call this a resources inventory. The more you stoke the awareness of what is available to you, the less you will emphasize what is not available. The more you will then utilize what you have rather than strive to acquire more. That said, you do seem to be in a tight spot; however this argues well for focusing on the positive, which by the way includes people who affirm themselves and their purpose. Anyway, this whole endeavor is likely to yield some surprising results, and the discovery that the whole amounts to far more than the sum of the parts. Or to borrow another old expression, it’s not what you have; it’s what you do with it that counts.

To order Light Bridge, your full-length 2011 reading including written and audio segments for Pisces, please go to this link.

Check this audio announcement for information about Eric’s new e-book, Light Bridge: The 25-Year Span.

History, Turning on a Phrase

“We don’t want freedom. We don’t want justice. We just want someone to love.”
— David Byrne / Talking Heads

Dear Friend and Reader:

The recent Libra New Moon quietly marked a threshold in world history, if you use astrology as a way of keeping track. We know that the 9th anniversary of the Sept. 11 incident was last month. Our culture is obsessed with anniversaries, but nature works on a little different schedule. Astrology points to its own moments of passage, and we happen to be at one right now. During the New Moon of Thursday, Oct. 7, the Sun and Moon were conjunct within two arc minutes — that is, 1/30th of a degree — to the ascendant of the chart for Sept. 11, 2001.

World Trade Center 7, or the Salomon Brothers building, shortly before it collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001. Most people don’t know that a third tower of the Trade Center complex fell down that day. Photographer unknown.

In the nine years since that incident, yesterday’s was the closest New Moon to the chart’s ascendant, and the only one occupying that degree, and it was close. My impression is that we have a rare moment of transparency around an event that shaped our lives, changed the world and, more significantly, reaffirmed something about human nature.

For those unfamiliar with the concept of the ascendant, it is also called the rising sign. In every chart there is a sign rising — that is, a section of sky, represented by a zodiac sign, rising above the Earth’s horizon in the east. In this case, Libra is the sign rising. There is also a degree rising, which is like the precise address of the chart and what it represents. Every chart with an exact time has a rising degree, including your natal chart. It’s a good thing to know. On Sept 11, precisely when Flight 11 was flown into the North Tower, that degree was 14+ Libra — remarkable because Mercury was precisely rising at that moment. Mercury in the exact degree rising gave the chart emphasis, and an ominous quality, part of which was ‘this is an event with a message’. (Let’s refer to this as the North Tower chart.)

Libra is an astrological way of saying ‘good show’. The events of Sept. 11 were compelling, even convincing, and they riled up our desire for justice, a Libra quality. But Mercury is the trickster. Behind the elegant image of Libra were a series of layers that remind us that things aren’t always what they seem, and that appearances can deceive.

I consider the North Tower chart to be a world horoscope. The event was used to reshape geopolitics. Several wars were started as a result of the attacks, which have yet to end, and the concept of the ‘post 9-11 world’ was born. So in a sense we have one of the birth charts of the 21st century: what some had thought would be the New American Century. The conservative think tank by that name argued for the new rise of a dominant American military, in a plan that called for waging a multi-front war early in the century. But in September 2000, one year before Sept. 11, it said that “the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event — like a new Pearl Harbor.”

Mercury is a reminder to depend on documentation as a way of keeping track of the facts. Who exactly was in the New American Century group of thinkers? Those who signed onto the New American Century manifesto included Dick Cheney, Scooter Libby, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Jeb Bush and Dan Quayle — a Who’s Who of neoconservative politics.

The North Tower Chart

I’ve written a number of articles about the North Tower chart, most of them focusing on Mercury rising. Using classical methods of interpretation, Mercury in Libra was the planet associated with the secret enemy who perpetrated the attacks (the planet that rules the 12th house). It’s a perfect description of someone stealthy, clever, able to focus on an image and use images, and who understood how to use the media. Sept. 11 was one of the most spectacular Mercury-type events ever, broadcast on live television, orchestrated by someone with a stunning gift for creating spin.

Chart for the North Tower impact on Sept. 11, 2001. Note that Mercury is the planet in the ascendant on the left side of the chart. Click here for a larger version of the chart.

The planet representing the official government, the Moon (ruler of the 10th house), was void-of-course at the end of Gemini, indicating the government was asleep at the wheel. The other planet for the government — by default, Saturn, representing the ruling structure of the country, and also what you might call the homeland (as the ruler of the 4th house) or shadow government — was in Gemini. That’s also a representation of the twin (Gemini) structures (Saturn) involved and an image of the two faces of the government.

Now here is where the chart starts to reveal its secrets. Mercury is the planet of Gemini, and Saturn is the planet exalted in Libra: they are in reception: that is, they occupy one another’s signs. And they are in a perfect (to the degree) trine aspect, indicating cooperation.

That’s another way of saying that they can switch places. The secret enemy and the homeland government look like they’re functioning as one entity. From the first moment, we had an early warning that something was up, serving as an astrological notation of the many issues that would be raised by researchers and analysts in the decade to follow.

In particular, the relationship between Mercury and Saturn hinted at the government’s foreknowledge or involvement in whatever happened. The idea that ‘Bush knew’ was circulating widely, even in the news, by the spring of 2002. Two years later, the CIA, under public pressure, declassified something called the Presidential Daily Brief of Aug. 6, 2001. Just one month before the attacks, the administration was warned by the CIA that “Bin Laden [was] determined to strike in the US,” outlining a number of current terrorist threats. Notably, this was the first time ever that a PDB was released to the public.

Detail of Thursday’s Libra New Moon. Note the Sun and Moon at 14+ Libra, two arc minutes from the ascendant of the North Tower chart, and conjunct the infamous Mercury rising.

Even the official 9/11 Commission report said that the “system was blinking red” that summer.

Many writers and researchers have published on these and related issues, ranging from engineers asking how it was possible that the two towers collapsed at all, much less within 29 minutes of one another, to whether there was actually an airplane crash at the Pentagon. And with the thousands of planes intercepted by the Air Force for as little as veering off the course of the pilot’s flight plan, how was it even vaguely possible that these four hijacked flights — an unprecedented event — were not intercepted? Fifty-nine minutes elapsed between the crash at the North Tower and whatever happened at the Pentagon. One would think that an hour was enough time for the Air Force to stop an attack on the military headquarters of the free world.

The problem with these questions does not involve their validity. I’ve looked into them all, and they all have a value worth considering, raising significant questions lacking easy answers. The real problem is social: it involves what others will think of you, or the fear of what others will think, when you start asking. People tend to either get scared or accuse you of being a conspiracy nut. Some become openly hostile if you propose that anything but the official version of events is possible. A few will affirm that actual questions exist. Many polls indicate that the public is suspicious. More than half in one 2007 Zogby poll wanted Bush and Cheney to be investigated for their involvement in 9/11 and in the same poll more than 30% sought their immediate impeachment.

Even if the Mercury-Saturn relationship in the North Tower chart describes only the perception of the event, that perception has come with enormous pain and then a good dose of skepticism on the part of the public, and a lot of activity on the part of policy makers.

In retrospect, what did that look like? In The Shock Doctrine, published in 2007, author Naomi Klein describes “the intersection between super-profits and megadisasters” in which “the preferred method of advancing corporate goals [is] using moments of collective trauma to engage in radical social and economic engineering.” Essentially, the process breaks down to two parts: 1. Create or exploit a shock; and 2. Use the confused and chaotic aftermath to push through/assert a corporate and/or political coup with no threat of backlash from a traumatized public.

Klein proposed that, “This feat required two stages. First, the White House used the omnipresent sense of peril in the aftermath of 9/11 to dramatically increase the policing, surveillance, detention and war-waging powers of the executive branch — a power grab that the military historian Andrew Bacevich has termed ‘a rolling coup’. Then those newly enhanced and richly funded functions of security, invasion, occupation and reconstruction were immediately outsourced, handed over to the private sector to perform at a profit. Although the stated goal was fighting terrorism, the effect was the creation of the disaster capitalism complex — a full-fledged new economy in homeland security, privatized war and disaster reconstruction tasked with nothing less than building and running a privatized security state, both at home and abroad.”

The Chart for World Trade Center 7

There’s a second Sept. 11 chart that I haven’t written much about yet, timed for the spontaneous collapse of World Trade Center 7 on the afternoon of Sept. 11. Most people still have not heard that a third tower of the World Trade Center collapsed that day — a 47-story building with an impressive list of tenants. This building was not hit by any airplanes; it ‘simply collapsed’ at 5:21 pm. Notably, the 9/11 Commission did not look into how or why WTC 7 collapsed, so it came to no conclusions.

Segment of the chart for the spontaneous collapse of WTC 7 at 5:21 pm on Sept. 11, 2001. Note that the chart has Neptune (the blue trident) two degrees from the ascendant, indicating that the situation is veiled in deception and denial, and suggesting that the truth may never be known, and that if it is, it’s subject to being refuted by denial. The full chart is here.

First let’s take a look at the chart, which is for the moment the structure fell in its footprint in about six seconds. Having sustained no impact by an airplane and with several relatively small fires, we are told that a concrete and steel skyscraper fell straight down, on its own, at freefall speed.

Here’s the whole chart in a separate window; to the right is a picture of the ascendant, the most significant piece. In this chart, like the North Tower chart, there is a planet rising — but this time it’s Neptune.

Neptune rising presents a mystery. It’s also a beautiful image of how WTC 7 was a kind of non-event; it was invisible. Neptune is like a veil of fog, and that veil can indicate deception, denial or delusion (words that begin with the letter D tend to attach themselves to Neptune, including Drink, Drugs and Drama). In a public chart like this, one that potentially involves a crime, Neptune rising suggests we may never know the truth, or that the truth will be obscured or seem confusing. The sign involved is Aquarius; in fact the public (one of those Aquarius things) was so confused that most people have no idea that WTC 7 even existed, much less that it mysteriously fell down at 5:21 pm.

There are a couple of other interesting features to the chart. In the 11th house (a public place) there is a lot of activity. In particular, we have Mars in Capricorn on the South Node. In the shorthand notation of astrology we have an old story (South Node) about militarism (Mars) and the corporate/government system (Capricorn) — and we have this in the 11th, right where anyone can see it. In other words, what this aspect describes is happening in plain sight.

In the same house, Ceres is conjunct Nessus in Capricorn. This will be fed to people like poison food, with them convinced it’s some form of nourishment.

Opposite all of this, the Moon is in Cancer, on the North Node and opposite Mars: the people in their everyday lives, their home lives, taking care of themselves and their families, get caught in the mess. The Cancer Moon opposite Mars suggests the public can get emotionally swept away by a perceived enemy and security threat and thus lose track of the intellectual level — and most of us did.

What Larry Silverstein Said, and What BBC Predicted

Larry Silverstein was the developer of WTC 7 and its owner, and he held the lease on the twin towers (WTC 1 and WTC 2) as well. On Sept. 11, 2001, he was the landlord of the whole WTC complex, which included several other buildings. One year after the attacks, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) aired a program called America Rebuilds. As part of a somber, comprehensive documentary that was fitting for the one-year anniversary, the producers interviewed Silverstein.

Larry Silverstein, owner of WTC 7, said in a PBS interview that he told the Fire Department that, ‘”The smartest thing to do is pull it.” Screen shot from PBS.

In that interview, he told the story of what happened to WTC 7: “I remember getting a call from the Fire Department commander, telling me that they were not sure they were gonna be able to contain the fire, and I said, ‘We’ve had such terrible loss of life, maybe the smartest thing to do is pull it’. And they made that decision to pull, and we watched the building collapse.”

In other words, he is saying that the building was intentionally demolished. You can watch this on video here. I recently purchased a copy of the DVD from PBS to verify that this segment is actually in the documentary, and it is there in proper context.

Now, what is interesting is that it takes weeks and sometimes months to prepare a building for demolition. If we are to believe the landlord’s statement to PBS, this preparation was done in less than a day — and that a demolition team was brought in through the catastrophe at Ground Zero, consulted architects and engineers familiar with the structure, then working extremely efficiently, rigged the building with dynamite and took it down. Either that or it had a preinstalled self-destruct mechanism.

The building was occupied by Salomon Brothers, as well as American Express and a couple of other banks and insurance companies. In addition, it had as its tenants the CIA, Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), the Secret Service, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the IRS, the Defense Department and the New York City Office of Emergency Management. Like the other World Trade Center buildings, evacuation began immediately when the first plane hit, before 9 am. So the officials in all of those agencies, including many federal officers, had no chance to clean their desks, take copies of disk drives or do anything before the building fell down later that day.

BBC World reporter Jane Stanley announces that World Trade Center 7, also known as the Salomon Brothers building, has fallen down, even though it’s standing up right behind her. It’s the building to the viewer’s right of her head. To the left is the smoke from WTC 1 and 2. Photo: Screen shot from BBC World.

More interesting, BBC World, the international edition of BBC, broadcast that the building had collapsed at 4:54 pm EDT, 27 minutes in advance. This was also announced at the same time by BBC in the UK. In this video, you can see the reporter, Jane Stanley, saying that the structure has fallen down while it’s shown in the frame. We’re really talking ‘in plain sight, but might as well be invisible’ here. WTC 7 is easily identified by its location, and by the little notch at the top, next to the penthouse.

This bit of prescience has been explained away by claiming there was a lot of erroneous news reported on Sept. 11, 2001. Except for one thing: this turned out not to be an error. It was accurate, just a little early.

Indira Singh, a private pilot and EMT who was volunteering as a rescue worker at Ground Zero that day, said that by 1 pm the word was out on the street that the building would be demolished and people in the area, such as volunteers and emergency workers, were backing off and retreating toward safer ground.

“By noon or one o’clock they told us we had to move from that triage site up to Pace University, a little further away, because Building 7 was gonna come down or being brought down,” Singh said in a widely-reported 2005 interview on KPFA in Berkeley. She continued a bit further in, “There was another panic around four o’clock because they were bringing the building down and people seemed to know this ahead of time, so people were panicking again and running.” [Read the full interview here, and listen to it here.]

Apparently BBC was not the only network with a well-tuned crystal ball that day. About a minute before WTC 7 fell down, FOX 5 News in Washington, DC broadcast that a third building had fallen down while WTC 7 is shown in the frame. They are speculating that the smoke actually rising from the heap of WTC 1 and WTC 2 is from that third building that has supposedly already fallen. Then — while they are discussing this — WTC 7 collapses live, on the air.

That Turn of Phrase

The available facts add up to something a little weird, something that does not jive with the official story: controlled demolition was used to take down WTC 7, with all its highly sensitive contents in a rather sensitive moment. That this happened in a day is incredulous, particularly with the chaos of that particular place and time. The implication is that, if the building was indeed demolished, it was planned and set up in advance. If that’s true, the entire story of Sept. 11, 2001 — such as the surprise attack by Osama bin Laden — falls in its footprint at the speed of freefall. And this has both historical implications, as well as psychological ones.

The new WTC 7 has a smaller footprint and environmentally friendly features. It was the starting point of reconstruction of the WTC complex. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.

There are some obvious questions here, such as why would Silverstein admit this? My theory is that the way he phrased his statement was a plausible alibi. He claimed the Fire Department pulled the building that day, for immediate safety. Who knows how long it takes to prepare a building for demolition? Who knows that the Fire Department does not do the work of demolition teams? It sounds true enough. Yet there has literally been a decade-long debate over what Silverstein meant by “pull it.” Or rather — what he meant by “it.” Clearly he meant pull something, but what?

When the time came to backpedal on his statement, Silverstein’s office claimed he meant pull the rescue operation — not the building. So let’s pretend that’s what he meant, and reconstruct the sequence of events using that scenario.

The following is a fictionalized, alternative version of events to test the theory.

The attacks happened just before 9 am, WTC 7 was evacuated, and WTC 1 and WTC 2 (the familiar North and South towers) both fell down by 10:30 am. WTC 7 was damaged by debris from the North Tower and there were some fires, but it was a modern steel and concrete skyscraper with numerous safety features, so it was expected to hold up. After all, it supposedly took direct hits from fuel-laden jet planes to knock down WTC 1 and 2.

However, the Fire Department commander was concerned about the fires and the stability of the building. So he called the landlord to check whether he should get his own firefighters out of the building, fearing it might collapse. This insinuates that the Fire Department needed the permission of the landlord, a civilian, on an immediate tactical decision in the face of some imminent safety issue.

Silverstein said, “pull it” [the search and rescue operation]. With that, the firefighters walked out, and everyone watched as the building mysteriously fell to the ground. [End of fictional scenario.]

You would be impressed the lengths to which some have argued — relentlessly, for years — that this is what he meant by “pull it.” Wikipedia has been a particularly intense battle ground, and administrators, for example, have reserved the right to ban users who question this point of view in edits to encyclopedia articles. Others have argued vehemently that as a developer, Silverstein could not be expected to know the terminology of the demolition industry; he merely builds the buildings. However, he does so in a city that’s the demolition capital of the world.

Referring to Silverstein’s use of the term “pull it,” one Wikipedia editor wrote to me, “Any other interpretation of this quote is a fantasy manufactured to fit a preconceived narrative.”

When there is a controversy over what a word means, I learned a while ago to look it up in the dictionary. “Pull” is defined by the American Heritage Dictionary as to remove a fixed object from its place, and the term “pull down” is noted as meaning to demolish a building. Ontario-based independent journalist Jeffrey Hill called up Controlled Demolition, Inc., a demolition industry leader which was called in by the federal government to clean up the mess at Ground Zero, and the company told him that the term “pull it” means to demolish a building.

Selma the Pullet, who may hold the key to the mystery of WTC 7. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.

Remember — Neptune is rising in the chart for the building falling down. There is a veil of confusion and deniability. Even the Wikipedia editor refers to “fantasy,” a pure Neptune keyword. And the 11th house is packed with action in this chart. Whatever is happening is going on in plain sight, such as on BBC World, even if it seems difficult to see. By the way — in 2007, BBC’s editors finally issued a statement.

“We’re not part of a conspiracy,” they reassured the public, writing on the company site. “Nobody told us what to say or do on September 11th. We didn’t get told in advance that buildings were going to fall down. We didn’t receive press releases or scripts in advance of events happening.”

However, they added, “We no longer have the original tapes of our 9/11 coverage (for reasons of cock-up, not conspiracy).”

Oh, I’m happy it was just a cock-up. I would dread to think that BBC could be part of a conspiracy, or that they might delete their files to cover for such an odd occurrence that just happens to unravel so much of the official version of events. But if they reported that WTC 7 had already fallen down, and then it did so 27 minutes later, that just proves my theory that Brits make the best astrologers and psychics. And we should definitely put Jane Stanley to work covering the stock market.

I don’t like conspiracy theories, but in this case, I have my own. Silverstein was actually talking to his wife in that call, and she said, “Larry, what do you want to have for dinner?”

A devoted chicken lover, he said, “Pullet, pullet.”

Yours & truly,

 

 

Beyond Astonishing

By Judith Gayle | Political Waves

In his New York Times opinion piece, That’s Where the Money Is, award-winning journalist Bob Herbert turned a phrase that gave me pause. “It’s beyond astonishing,” said Herbert, that John Boehner has a chance to become Speaker of the House. While many citizens haven’t the slightest idea who the House Minority Leader is, the notion that they might awaken in November to find him leading the nation’s lawmaking institution is, to me, beyond astonishing indeed. Mincing no words, Herbert went on to describe Boehner as “sleazy” and a “slick, chain-smoking, quintessential influence-peddler.”

Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, center, has used his business ties to become a leading fund-raiser for Republicans. Photo: David Lassman / Post-Standard.

Herbert’s candor surprised and pleased me. Frank assessment of Boehner’s leadership should not be confined to the opinion page. Mainstream media has sidestepped its obligation to denounce views that go over the top, leaving truth-telling to risk-takers like Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone, who recently reported on a Palin meet-up that, “The dingbat revolution is nigh.” This is not just an ideological war of words. This is a moment of enormous instability attended by a perfect storm of human petulance, paranoia and neurosis. Orchestrating that movement is a party interested in nothing less than complete power, which makes them, ultimately, ruthless. Mr. Herbert hit the nail right on the head. It’s not too much to name the current leadership of the GOP an extremist movement.

Baggers — the people who earned Taibbi’s comments — have sold themselves to the world as ‘real Americans’, the purest defenders of American values and liberty. They have impressed us with their fury at big, taxing government and captured the media with their passions. Those who are sincere allow an opportunistic political wing to exploit their simplistic idealism. In a reasonable political world, where opposing philosophies wrestle each other to a standstill in round after round of electoral prowess, it would be comforting to think that this season’s minority voter has a taste for something other than snake oil. I am not comforted.

Continued at this link…

 

 

Weekly Horoscope for Friday, October 8, 2010, #834 – BY ERIC FRANCIS

When you reach a communication impasse, that’s the time to take a new approach. It helps if one declares the impasse. That means admitting you’ve reached a place where you cannot pass through. It’s a kind of stalemate, which is an interesting word as well. The planets look like you’re at such a point, and the best strategy that I see is a change in the overall direction. This might seem like a reversal, but what is described is a reorientation that takes into account elements of the past and needs of the future that are factors in your current get-serious moment. The obstacle is not insurmountable. In fact no matter how heavy or loaded with gravitas the issue may seem, it will yield to communication if both parties can agree on a common goal and a couple of common values. Start there.

Aries Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

The theme of applied creativity continues this week. It’s one thing to ‘be creative’. It’s another to put the creative mind to work in a constructive way. One thing that will help is shifting your perception from seeking insight into the psychological level of a partnership to the emotional level. The concept applied means that once you have an understanding of how things are, you put that to work right away. That may take some persistence and focus, but it will pay off fairly soon. You may face the perception that you’re up against something much larger than yourself, which will fade once you start to consciously explore the situation for what it is. What seems like a limit or a boundary is really the key to exploration and adventure — and a way to balance your life.

Taurus Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

The key to easing an emotionally challenging situation is by not being so emotional. I’m not suggesting you be cool or chilly, but rather that you take a full-spectrum approach to the question you’re facing. Let’s start with money. What role does that play? Then there is the question of how you handle the impulse by another person to be emotionally independent. Does that turn you on, does it make you insecure or do you have mixed feelings? And how do you feel about having a little more autonomy? One other matter to investigate is how your relationship to authority is influencing your feelings. You may be bringing past feelings about one of your parents into a relationship that wants equanimity and level ground. The power relationship is actually a lot more level than it seems.

Gemini Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

You seem determined to break free of emotional patterns that have served their use. This in turn is leading to a revolution in how you experience yourself, and how you perceive yourself. Granted, it’s a subtle revolution, but there’s no doubt that your perception of yourself is thawing, and as the ice melts, what is emerging is a deeper level of emotional confidence. This may initially be the confidence to stand on your own, and to honor feelings and desires that you’re pretty sure aren’t espoused by most other people. Yet you feel what you feel, and you’re beginning to understand what matters to you. There is little point in trying to convert anyone to your cause. Be available and you will notice that the people who understand are available to you.

Cancer Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

It’s all about ideas. Labor counts, the time you invest counts, but the ideas you have count for a lot more. I suggest you pause if you keep having the same ideas over and over, or if the new editions of the old concept don’t do what they’re supposed to do. There is an ease factor involved, and this is true no matter how large, old or insurmountable a problem seems. Extremely challenging situations sometimes have elegantly simple solutions. I suggest, in exploring the possibilities, that you be driven by your sense of fairness, and that you remember what you’ve learned in the past. It seems that you need to take into account some prior experience or lesson and make sure you extract every bit of value that you can.

Leo Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

Venus retrograde is suggesting that you account for the ways in which you try to hide your feminine side. For a woman this could mean trying to conform to male values or rules, or to the desires of early caregivers who wanted a boy. For a man this could mean the ways in which so much as being aware of your feminine side can threaten people. If you find yourself asserting your authority, power or sex drive, check for the equal and opposite reaction. For example you may be trying to veil your passivity or desire to be dominated. More likely, you feel two distinct ways: a profound submissiveness and a potent sense of drive. That may be a contradiction you don’t want to talk about, but it’s as natural as the blue sky and the green sea.

The Virgo Audio Birthday Report is available. In the format of all the birthday audios, this offers more than an hour of astrology for Virgo and Virgo rising, covering the cardinal T-square from a personal perspective. I’ve also included a 20-minute tarot reading using the Voyager Deck. For instant access, order here for Virgo and Virgo Rising. Only $14.95, this also makes a meaningful and economical gift.

You seem unusually willing to admit something that you cannot usually get a grasp on. Yet for whatever reason, you’ve now got a handle on what it is. It’s almost like catching a dream in a net, or dropping a screen in front of a movie projector. What you have now that you may not have had lately is contrast. This is providing the opportunity to discern what is and is not pleasing to you, and to make some decisions based on what you’re noticing. Contrast is a useful tool, though it implies an exaggeration in perception — so be aware that things that seem off-putting are not as weird as you’re experiencing them, and things that seem appealing are not quite as potent as they appear — but overall your perception is accurate enough to make better decisions than you have in the past.

Libra birthday audio is coming soon.

What are you obsessing over? It seems like you can’t get your mind off of a mistake you’ve made several times in the past, and that you fear you’re making again. You may be wondering when you’re finally going to learn how to stand up for yourself, or how to change your mind when you find yourself doing something self-destructive or exerting too much energy for very little return. The current episode may be exaggerating your sense of isolation. Yet there is a simple enough lesson available, which is that when you assert yourself, you help yourself get what you want. Asserting yourself is another way of saying that you’re committed to what you want, as evidenced by taking action. Yes, part of you still wants to hesitate, but you cannot do both.

There are certain people who may not agree with you, though I suggest you go mellow on any authority trip and keep a flexible position. Someone you’re in contact with, or are about to be, has an idea, and they want to share it with you. I suggest you not take the role of the older and wiser one who knows more, but rather the wiser one who listens to people with ideas and those who are willing to express them to you. This person could become a good friend, and have a positive influence on your financial fortunes as well. Whether you agree with what you hear or not, I suggest you listen carefully, take it on board and consider what you hear. What’s interesting is that this person isn’t as influenced by certain biases as you are and is likely to be presenting an aware, intelligent point of view.

Take assistance as it’s offered, and as it comes to you. You’ve got a lot of responsibility and you’re handling it beautifully, but you will do better with the right assistance. This is likely to come in the form of information about how to handle a technical matter that you may not be familiar with. On anything involving an international situation, I suggest you get advice about the customs of the country you’re dealing with. What you learn in the next day or two can influence you to alter your longterm plans and expectations, and that would be a positive change. The whole point of knowledge is to take action. There are some parts of your plan that are going brilliantly and others that need revision. Remember not to delay things that are going well, and to take control of whatever you want to reevaluate.

Capricorn Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

You’re looking for the balance between what you want and what you must do; between what you inwardly desire and what you’re driven to achieve. This is an emotional state that’s pulling you in a few directions. It may take some time to work this out, and I suggest that you not take any perceived split in your feelings too seriously. You actually have some immediate situation or opportunity to work with, and it may be particularly exciting or a fresh twist on what you can do if you want. The thing is, you may be hesitating because of this emotional split. I suggest you consider the opportunity that seems appealing, and let your deeper stuff work itself out over the next couple of months. Life is an experiment; anything new that you try will give you valuable experience and information, if it feels right at the outset.

Aquarius Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

The most interesting aspects in your solar chart — Venus and Mars in Scorpio, and lots of activity in Libra — describe your rapidly evolving ideas around sex, commitment and religion. I suggest that there’s no limit to how thorough you can be evaluating these attributes of your life, because you want to be clear on all of them: such would facilitate your happiness. You need a working concept of relationship that embraces all three and that evaporates the concept of guilt having any value at all. Guilt is merely toxic. As such it is menacing. You have much better alternatives available now, and you have the option to recover parts of yourself that you’ve lost to these useless internal power struggles. Your existence is right. Your relationships are mutual. Desire is beautiful.

Pisces Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

The Mighty Equinox

Dear Fellow Traveler:

What a year it’s been. I am personally grateful to have astrology as a metric to understand history, and to see where it intersects with my own life trajectory. Some might say that I’m using astrology to force a measure of sensibility onto random events that really make no sense. But long before I had ever opened an ephemeris, I had read and loved these lines of T.S. Eliot, from the poem Burnt Norton: “We move above the moving tree / In light upon the figured leaf / And hear upon the sodden floor / Below, the boarhound and the boar / Pursue their pattern as before / But reconciled among the stars.”

The September equinox of 1994, the crew of the shuttle orbiter Endeavour recorded this image of the Sun poised above the Earth’s limb (where the curve of the earth meets the blackness of space). Photo: Astronomy Picture of the Day.

All year long we’ve been living through astrology called a grand cross, taking place in the cardinal signs. As described in prior columns, this is made up of many different events, some of which are in the past (a series of Saturn-Pluto squares; a series of Saturn-Uranus oppositions) and some of which are currently unfolding (the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction; the Chiron-Neptune conjunction). This has brought the ever-escalating feeling of tension, drama and near-madness that some people are thriving on, that others are confused by and that others are simply being worn down by.

Kudos to anyone who has the courage to stand up and try something new, to experiment with manifesting a dream, or to make a decision based on something they authentically desire.

While we could say ‘this too shall pass’, that is only part of the point. Mostly, when we go through an extended spell of high-tension astrology like this (the current astrology is rooted in events of 2008, and extends well past 2012, so it counts for ‘extended’), the alignments and what they represent leave us as changed people. It may be nice that what doesn’t kill you leaves you stronger, but only after it’s over. While you’re in the midst of the changes and the challenges, you get to make up the story as you go a long. To the extent that you don’t feel that way, you have the meta-challenge of shifting your perspective from that of passive to active participant in your own life.

We’re about to go through another peak of energy during the next week. This is a fast set of moves, mainly by the Sun and the Moon, which activate, or precipitate, long-standing patterns in the slow-moving planets that make up the psychic backdrop. I’ll go through both for you and give examples of how they might feel in both an individual and collective context.

Next week, the Libra equinox arrives on Sept. 23, simultaneously with a Full Moon in Aries. This is a combination of a solar event with a lunar event. Both involve the Aries Point, the intersection of the individual and the collective. Notice the tenor of the news. Notice the amazing extent of how the political rhetoric is going down everyone’s pants. The party identified with supposedly small, unintrusive government seems more interested in private policy than public policy.

Christine O’Donnell addresses supporters after winning the Republican nomination for Senate in Delaware on Tuesday. She is one of five candidates currently running for Senate who opposes abortion even in the cases of rape and incest. She believes that masturbation is adultery and considers herself a “secondary virgin.” When this kind of purity mentality is injected into political discourse, that has special meaning. AP Photo by Rob Carr.

Here is where we need to put our finger on the pulse of our own responses and reactions. Is it in some way comforting to see someone rise to a position of national attention who has recently admitted in an interview that she would stop all unmarried people from having sex, even with themselves? If you think through what this would mean, brought to the level of national policy, what do you get? And why is this coming to the surface now? What is the feeling behind it?

Now once again we have the Aries Point back in the spotlight. It’s been quite a year of this, and many of the major planets are in the process of ingressing cardinal signs, which emphasizes the phenomenon. The equinox, by definition, is an Aries Point event because the Sun opposes the first degree of Aries. The simultaneous Full Moon is occupying the first degree of Aries as well. We have the clue that something is up, something extra just out of the line of sight is brewing. This equinox-Full Moon is an impressive synchronicity: and it’s a textbook example of the kind of astrology that shakes out things that have been building, accumulating and waiting in the cosmic wings. I am sincerely happy that Dick Cheney is not in power for this one.

In the days before this double jackpot, the late Virgo Sun opposes a rare event in late Pisces — the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction. We’ve heard of this one, though we met it last June when it happened in Aries. When slow planets align in conjunctions, they typically meet three times in a little cluster. Jupiter and Uranus meet every 14 or so years. But these meetings come in unusual patterns. The current cluster of three started in early Aries and then is moving back to nearby Pisces. There hasn’t been a Jupiter-Uranus conjunction there since 1334. This is happening when Jupiter is making a close pass to the Earth — great for people with telescopes or even powerful binoculars.

Jupiter-Uranus in Pisces is some of the most creative, inventive, beautiful astrology anyone could dream up. Many brilliant ideas that manifest over the next decade will have their genesis in these weeks. I would love to know what is being invented and what patents are being filed. I would love to know who is meeting for the first time — some of these encounters will result in collaborations that change the world. On one level this is a source of the madness and insanity in the political landscape: the ongoing invention of a fantasy world because the reality we’ve created is too painful. At the same time, there is an idea in there that works: the only thing that’s going to get us out of the bind that we’re in is creativity. Creativity, however, demands clarity. Looking to late Aquarius, we see that Chiron and Neptune are making a near-exact conjunction right now. That is about filtering out delusion and leaving the essence of an idea.

Passengers on the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island ferry, summer 2010. Photo by Eric.

Here is where the Sun and Moon come in. The late Virgo Sun opposes the late Pisces conjunction between Sept. 21 and Sept. 22, shining some light on the whole circus, or sea of potential, that it represents. At the same time it makes a quincunx to the Chiron-Neptune conjunction, calling for a series of refinements and adjustments as part of the creative process. Then the equinox-Aries Full Moon comes on like a storm the next day, just after the Moon passes through late Pisces and turns Jupiter-Uranus into a triple conjunction. Does something happen? Well, this Full Moon represents a peak of tension and then a sudden release. We don’t get a lot of those lately; more often it seems the tension just builds like a thunderstorm that won’t let go and rain.

Or is that who we are becoming? The times we’re in demand that we hold it together. It’s like we get to fall apart for an hour at a time, at best — then we have to get back on the job. Adults who are managing to pay the bills and parents who manage to attend to their kids have a lot of responsibility on their hands, and everything seems so dire; so crucial.

There rarely seems to be a time to let go, to experiment with moving with the flow. Our relationship to time seems to be increasingly packed into a linear format, even as we hear of new dimensions opening up. For many, their day planner is packed tighter and tighter; everything is planned and there is no room for spontaneity. This is the thing we have to watch: our relationship to time and to potential. Basically, we need to exercise choice in every single moment, and at every opportunity we have.

The planets that are stretched out in this cross in or near the cardinal signs are bringing that tension into each and every one of our natal charts, which means our mental sensation of life. There is a feeling, perhaps in the background, not so distinct or identifiable, but a feeling. There is some sense of urgency implied, and it takes many forms. One of them is a sense of uncertainty about the future.

Whatever you may believe about 2012 or the Age of Aquarius or the rapture, humanity knows that we are passing through a series of energy checkpoints that address issues like sustainability, the ability of our systems to hold up, and our relationship to the Earth and to one another. We need a revelation, but more to the point, we need to allow that revelation to change our relationship to existence.

The simultaneous Libra equinox and Aries Full Moon and the events that immediately precede them are a flash of awareness, to those who are willing to look and see.

Yours & truly,

Battle of the Dueling Narratives

By Judith Gayle | Political Waves

The Democrats are in a lot of trouble, depending on whom you talk to. The Republicans will sweep the midterm election, no question about it. The President is a one-term failure, an enemy of the business community. Anger with the establishment has hit a crescendo, and the Tea Baggers have seized the zeitgeist, running the board of primaries and positioning themselves to take over the Congress. Obama’s big-spending government is targeted by those who will stop the hemorrhage of money in unrestrained entitlements, turn back the clock on wasteful programs, and bring back “America’s honor” as Glenn Beck would have it. The Baggers are the wave of the future.

Really? Is all of this true? Is any of it true? Are we destined to be a nation led by those who want a repeal of the 14th amendment and absolute adherence to the Ten Commandments, who believe communal bike paths and community gardens lead to socialism and that Girl Scouts are fledgling feministas preparing themselves for abortions? Does the rise of the Tea Party signal the advent of a social order reminiscent of the John Birch Society, or is it just a typical backlash against Democratic politics? In short, is this as bad as it looks?

Backlash yes, but typical, no. We’ve discussed the astrology often enough that you know how critical is this period in history. It’s true that the Tea Baggers are leaving traditional Republicans in the dust at their primaries, which reflects growing disdain of both the establishment and incumbents, considered political insiders. The GOP, who funded the movement to start with, has had to embrace these radicals as their own, leaving their moderates behind. Having fostered the Bagger anger, Republican old-timers are scratching their heads at having lost control of the narrative. They’ve been forced to jump on board this moving train and, as Bill Clinton said recently, this new group of candidates makes George Bush look liberal.

It’s also true that Wall Street has issued an energetic “you’re dead to me” memo to Obama, despite his relatively gentle handling of their corrupt dealings. When progressives curl their lips at the weakness of Obama’s reforms, they should read between the lines of that memo. Obama has pissed off Wall Street. The joyous news that he will appoint middle-class advocate Elizabeth Warren as presidential advisor to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should make big bankers tremble as well. Installing Warren in an advisory position allows Obama to bypass a congressional stonewall of her appointment, putting her to work immediately. If that doesn’t encourage you, my progressive friend, nothing will!

Continued at this link…

 

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Please click on the page and “like” us. This used to be called “join” but Facebook changed that recently. Also — there is another option, to invite your friends, and I’d appreciate if you spread the word by doing just that.

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PS, I also have a personal page and you’re invited to “friend” me. I promise not to get sucked into Facebook! But it would be great to see you there.

PPS, In this recent edition of Astrology News, I publish an interview with one of the big gaming websites about my feelings on Facebook. I thought I would share it with you — it’s the second article down, at this link.

 

 

 

Weekly Horoscope for Friday, September 17, 2010, #831 – BY ERIC FRANCIS

You may not understand what is inspiring or motivating you, but I suggest you go with it. Over the next few days, the sky heats up to a fast boil as Jupiter and Uranus form a conjunction in the angle of your chart associated with your dreams and your imagination. Then comes the annual Full Moon in your birth sign. The result feels like a lightening of a heavy relationship situation that you have vowed many times to adjust or move on from but which has been more persistent than you imagined it would be. You can create a hybrid of honoring the responsibility and commitment of relationship while opening yourself up to the potential that comes with authentic contact. The catch, if you want to call it that, is that this might not arrive in the form that you think, or with the person you think. Plenty of things work better than expectations.

Aries Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information. 

Several developments next week will bring some relief from the convoluted mental and emotional experiences you’ve been through for the past month. The good part is that you got a look at where your creative energy goes: into needless obsession. Part of this was obsession with the past, or involved getting waylaid in some of your less-appealing childhood traits. You actually do have the power to be forward thinking, but I suggest you ask yourself if you really want to be; that is, if you think you’re sacrificing anything by letting go of what you believed yesterday or this morning. It won’t be your beliefs alone that make you feel better, but they will help; as the Sun moves into the health, well-being and work angle of your chart, you will shift your attitude and remember that responsibility is something that actually turns you on.

Taurus Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

For now, your thoughts come from your feelings; your ideas are the result of emotional impulses, and those impulses are not always correct. For that reason, you need to be careful — the translation process will happen fast, and have results that extend beyond anything you were expecting. For the next few days, I suggest you be especially careful what you say or do where alcohol is involved in any way (including merely being present in the environment). Don’t be fooled by the notion that you already thought things through carefully — many factors call not only for rethinking but also for reinvention. Even as the pace of certain events picks up radically into the early part of next week, I suggest you take this rethinking/reinvention process slowly. There will come a moment where you think you’ve ‘got it’ and then you’ll need to run it through the hopper one more time. So — steady as she goes.

Gemini Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

Next week’s Aries Full Moon reveals something that has been hidden — for example, how much you’ve accomplished, most of which you forgot about or decided was not important. You chalked it up to experience without quite recognizing that it was actually a work in progress. Meanwhile, events seem to proceed on two fronts: one is some potentially dramatic development, revelation or recognition; the other is a subtler, more introspective breakthrough of thought that is actually more potent than anything that happens visibly. Remember this; while outer developments will no doubt be welcome and bring some recognition for all that you’ve done, the more significant matter involves the way you direct your mind, and how you process your ideas into action. Good things are happening, but the best is yet to come.

Cancer Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

You are starting to set certain things in order that have been resisting your best efforts and your lack of awareness. You’ve learned to pay attention, and to take action when you notice something needs attention. The decisions you make this week, particularly about your finances, will have effects that reach far into the future, and influence things you’re barely aware of today. So it’s vital that you make those decisions carefully, consciously and most of all, applying the full power of your intelligence. You cannot see all the potential repercussions or outcomes; you can only work with what you know, though your intuition might be telling you something. One missing factor has been a level of cooperation with those who have more resources than you do. You hold one piece to the equation, which is a concept. Someone else, or a group of others, has another piece: resources of a certain kind. Remember that the two are equal, or at least equivalent.

Leo Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

Mercury, which recently turned direct, will be in your sign through early October; this will add up to more than two months of your ruling planet in your sign, including one of the most psychologically challenging retrogrades in recent memory. For the next three weeks, Mercury is going to cover the territory that it has already covered twice — first in direct motion, then in retrograde motion, and now again in direct motion. This is a layering process. That is how nearly all discovery, learning and healing proceed. They are less about moments of huge, dramatic breakthrough and more about gradually penetrating to the core. In a similar way, establishing new patterns, goals and a vision for our lives also happens in a way that resembles layering — the gradual building and development of what you might call inner technique. So take the time to build and grow carefully, intentionally, beautifully.

What do you love about yourself? You have some discoveries at hand. Qualities that in the past you may have doubted or thought of as weaknesses you can now consider to be some of your best assets or strengths. Other qualities that you may have previously considered to be your most redeeming assets may be the things you doubt the most. Yet in truth, all of these things make up who you are. The opinions you hold of yourself will change, and it’s helpful that they do; shifting your viewpoint about yourself will help you observe who you are in a holistic way. To be a whole person you need to be friends with all the different aspects of your psyche, or at least be aware of them and at peace with their existence. This is a learning process, and you’re in it now. I can tell you this: at the end of the day, and for that matter first thing in the morning, inner harmony is more important than popularity.

There is a fantastic dance of Venus and Mars going on in your birth sign right now. Okay, fantastic to some — those who love to visit with their seeming contradictions, for example, or who are curious about the inner exploration of gender. Beneath every discussion of sex, sex role, marriage preference, relationship style, gay or straight, dom or sub is the truth that we contain all of those polarities within ourselves. You don’t hear about this on the news, like you hear about the wild controversies about who in the minds of some should be allowed to get married, and who should not. But many of us know it’s true: a human being is inwardly multivalent. We’re all part man and part woman. We can all experience desire in the form of estrogen, or in the form of testosterone; and more often as is the case, a sublime mix of both.

Your fantasies say a lot about you. One thing they reveal is how emotionally driven you are. Nearly every description of Sagittarius that you read will defy this idea; Sagg is supposedly the sign of ‘don’t crowd me, give me my space’, and ‘I’m so detached, I don’t need you’. Which works fine, as long as you forget how prominent Scorpio and Pisces are in your chart — creating the deepest elements of a vast, oceanic sub-personality that is all about feeling, sensation, closeness and contact. These signs are brimming with energy right now. You have Venus and Mars in Scorpio, the angle of your chart that describes your deepest erotic drives, your dreams, your vehicle of escape. And there is a conjunction involving Jupiter and Uranus in Pisces, right on the line where your emotional security meets your desire to take the greatest risks. The planets suggest that this is the time to explore, to envision and to experiment.

This week, Pluto began to move forward again in your sign, after being retrograde since April. One implication for you is the opportunity to see what you’ve accomplished in your most intimate personal growth. For a while you get to go over territory you’ve covered before, but to experience it in a new way, with considerable experience. Then at a certain point you will enter new territory; you will open up inner subject matter that you haven’t considered in this lifetime, or anyway not for a long time. Remember that you’re setting the agenda as you go, and I suggest that agenda include honoring the pleasure-seeking aspect of who you are. That’s the part that will feed you, motivate you, and inspire you. Pleasure is what nourishes you, and allows you to have something to offer others. So when you think of growth, think of fun. I know this can be a challenge. But it’s a good one.

The Capricorn Audio Birthday Report is now ready. This is more than an hour of astrology for Capricorn and Capricorn rising, covering the cardinal T-square from a personal perspective. I’ve also included a 20-minute tarot reading using the Voyager Deck. For instant access, order here for Capricorn and Capricorn Rising. Only $14.95, this also makes a meaningful and economical gift.

You live in a moment of relative freedom and flexibility. Freedom is always relative; it’s always a direct function of how we feel and what we think, not whether we can physically walk out the door. So what, exactly, is holding you back? Well, I would propose that you’re spending more time trying to understand what isn’t true than you are celebrating and taking advantage of what is true. You may also be trying to strike a compromise, but there is no such thing as ‘partial integrity’. So my question is, what would you need to consider yourself in full integrity? There seems to be a question involving a very specific point in a relationship. Not the relationship as a whole, but something precise and challenging in a specific way that you have not necessarily named, or if you have, you come in and out of awareness of the issue. My question is, how much more awareness do you need, and how do you want to get it?

Aquarius Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

We are now on the verge of an event that has not happened in Pisces since 1334: the conjunction of Jupiter and Uranus. For our world, that is unprecedented. I suggest you let this be a reminder that extremely rare things happen, and that they can happen to you. There will be an element of surprise with this development. But from the dimension of metaphysics, here is something I can offer you. Whether you feel ready for an improvement in your life will count for a lot. Readiness is not about being desperate, but being open. It’s not about feeling you deserve something but rather knowing with all your heart that it’s available. And it’s not about ‘having’ or ‘getting’ but rather about being. So I suggest you practice being the change you want in your life. This can be challenging if you’re feeling challenged, so I suggest taking any steps you can to set that feeling aside and embrace a space of being open and receptive.

Pisces Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.