Tag Archives: Lunar Nodes

Full Moon Door: Across the Nodal Axis

Dear Friend and Reader:

Full Moon events often feel like a threshold, though Saturday’s Full Moon in Capricorn is a psychic gateway to another phase of existence. It’s a transitional event between eight months dominated by planets in all four of the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn), into a new phase of the dream that will be initiated by Mars in Scorpio and Jupiter in Leo.

Although pyramids are associated with Egypt, there exist 16 examples of pyramids across Greece! Perhaps the most well-preserved example of a Greek pyramid is that at Hellinikon, situated approximately 155 km southwest of Athens and less than 10 km from legendary Argos. Photo by Anthony Ayiomamitis.

Events will proceed rapidly from this last burst of energy from the cardinal grand cross. Mercury is about to leave shadow phase and re-enter Cancer. Venus will be close behind. Jupiter ingresses Leo on July 16 and Mars ingresses Scorpio on July 25. Only two of the main players will remain in cardinal signs — Uranus and Pluto.

Their ongoing square aspect is the backbone of the cardinal grand cross. Uranus-Pluto aspects have at least one thing in common — they come with an onrush of history and an especially intensified experience of life. You could say that life always feels like this. Yet these are distinct periods of time where things happen that in retrospect seem unbelievable or at least are recognized as being highly improbable.

Uranus-Pluto aspects throughout history are well documented by Rick Tarnas in his book Cosmos and Psyche. [Here is a fantastic interview with Rick conducted by Shelley Ackerman and published by Planet Waves.]

The last major Uranus-Pluto phase was the mid-1960s (the conjunction). That was obviously a distinct period of history where many unprecedented things happened. As The Eagles said in the song Hotel California, “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.”

They were referring to the Sixties, which in many ways did not end — what was counterculture became official culture (for example the gay rights movement), and the exponentially increasing chaos kept increasing exponentially until so-called reality started to seem like a psychedelic dream with few tangible reference points.

There was a miniature peak of this energy with Uranus and Pluto making a semi-square (45-degree angle) in the early 1980s — a very exciting time for some, and also a preview of what would happen in our era, which was the dawn of a kind of conservative revolution.

Since 2008 we’ve been living with the effects of the Uranus-Pluto square (the 90-degree meeting), one of the major events in the Uranus-Pluto cycle. Both of these planets are slow-movers, so their mutual aspects last a while.

Detailed chart for the Capricorn Full Moon, used to write the horoscope below. This is a typical chart from my notebook, with a number of extra planets penciled in, and with the ascendant set for where I am in upstate

New York. The main events in the chart are written as a series of aspects across the top, and 1006 is the horoscope ID number.

As I’ve mentioned before, there will be a total of seven square events between Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn, the first of which was in June 2012 and the last one being in March 2015. But just like we started feeling the effects four years in advance, the square will take time to cool down, and we will see some of the most interesting expressions in 2015 and beyond.

Notice how quickly this phase of history has gone by. True, it’s far from over, but it seems like just yesterday that Pluto entered Capricorn and Uranus entered Aries. Now both Uranus and Pluto are hovering around the midpoints of their respective signs. In our time of history, even the planets that used to be considered inchworms seem to cruise along.

What we experienced in the first part of 2014, actually starting with the Capricorn New Moon on New Year’s Day, was a peak of the Uranus-Pluto square. The peak was created by inner planets coming along and amplifying the energy of the outer planets. By inner planets I mean the Moon, the Sun, Venus, Mars and Jupiter. Mercury has also passed through the Uranus-Pluto square a few times (it’s about to do so again).

But for the most part, the long-standing grand cross has been Uranus in Aries, Jupiter in Cancer, Mars in Libra and Pluto in Capricorn. Now Jupiter has moved on to late Cancer, and the Sun is taking its place in mid-Cancer. Mars is moving along in Libra but it’s still within close range of Saturday’s Full Moon. Pluto is having an influence from Capricorn, and then the Moon comes along, makes a conjunction to Pluto and reaches full phase on Saturday (Sunday in Australia).

Notably, the grand cross came with a grand trine in the water signs, and this is in effect now. The Sun has replaced Jupiter in this pattern, and is forming a trine to Saturn in Scorpio as well as the Neptune-Chiron-Borasisi group in Pisces. [For more about the grand cross/grand trine, see the article A Matter of Trust.]

The grand water trine continues to provide the potential for some emotional grounding, and presents many options for how to handle watery energy — one option per planet, and then various combinations. A wide spectrum of potential frequencies of feeling is being offered right now, from the most solidly physical (Saturn in Scorpio) to the most etheric (Neptune in Pisces).

The Aries-Libra Axis — Aries First

There are some rich details in this chart. For one thing, the Aries-Libra axis is becoming extremely interesting. Let’s take those signs one at a time.

In Aries, we currently have three main points — Uranus, the South Node and Eris. If you recall, Eris was the planet discovered in the mid-2000s that was responsible for the ‘demotion’ of Pluto. Now Eris and the South Node are in a close conjunction. Eris has a diversity of meanings, from the kind of identity chaos that is so representative of our times, to the subversive way that so many people relate to one another.

Tidy version of the Capricorn Full Moon chart. You can see the grand cross in the red lines (with the Mars-Eris-nodes configuration in the purple lines). The grand water trine is indicated by the light green lines, not as easy to see. There is also a compound trine from Venus and Mercury to the Mars-Ceres-Vesta pattern. See glyph legend here.

While the South Node can have a feeling of “I’m through with this thing,” (whatever it may be) it can also represent something that is stuck to one’s consciousness or life pattern — and keeps showing up. We live in a time when many, many people are having a hard time getting a grip on who they are. Some are figuring out that if they set aside the pretense of who they are it’s a lot easier to get to the real thing.

People who don’t lie as a way of existence naturally live closer to the truth. Those who don’t participate in dishonest transactions find it easier to engage in the honest ones. Being real often seems to be more a matter of what one does not do than what one does.

Uranus in Aries may be serving as a huge distraction more than anything. Uranus can act as a chaos generator. Aries is an assertive or even aggressive sign, named for the cosmic warlord Ares, who also goes by the name Mars.

In contrast to the prevailing group value of the Sixties (let’s take care of one another, styled by Uranus and Pluto in Virgo), we now live with a kind of victory-at-all-costs militancy. This is fueled by testosterone and does not have the quality of humanitarian service that was so easy to access when the energy was in the feminine (and eminently thoughtful) sign Virgo.

Revolution in the style of Uranus in Aries is, “Religious freedom means imposing my religion on you.” It no longer seems to mean, “I believe what I believe, you believe what you believe,” (that was the Sixties).

Uranus in Aries is also creating a massive distraction with technology. All these devices are feeding a drug-like haze which is doing what drugs often do — isolate people from one another, and induce people to bury their feelings.

Here in the Anti-Sixties, many activists come out to demand that other people should be denied a constitutional right. However, in this rare photo, a group of unusual people are protesting last week’s Hobby Lobby decision. Photo by Doug Mills for The New York Times.

Technology is a vast consumer enterprise (think of the iPhone case industry) that is almost always packed with advertising. Advertising sells more than products. It sells self-image, it sells values and it sells cosmology. [I cover this in a recent edition of Planet Waves FM, one not to miss.]

Between the South Node, Uranus and Eris, we have a lot of Aries in the sky right now. In fact it’s time to start thinking about the Uranus-Eris conjunction, which is technically exact in 2016-2017, but the way these outer planets work — as we have seen — there is a long warm-up. I recently figured out that Uranus conjunct Eris will be one of the defining astrological events of our era, and it is now within orb. This will present us with the best opportunity yet to get an understanding of what Eris really is about.

At its best, Uranus-Eris in Aries could be a mass awakening to individuality. Such an awakening would take us out of the mass-consciousness haze and provide an opportunity to be self-aware, which is always available of course. But it could also represent the rise of toxic egotism, which is already a serious problem.
If there’s one thing our society does not need, it’s more narcissism. The problem with narcissism is that it gets lonely, and humans are inherently social. At a certain point it may collapse on itself as people break down and realize that they want and need to be close to others.

And Then There’s Libra

Over on the other side of the dial, or rather the solar system, is Mars in Libra, still working its way out of the degrees where it was retrograde (also called shadow phase). Mars in Libra has definitely had its relationship themes. There are many relationships that could not endure this kind of emphasis — the long review of the retrograde, one or more partners asserting themselves, and the many contacts of Mars with Jupiter, Uranus and Pluto exaggerating the effect.

Society sells an idealized image of what a relationship is supposed to be, without a lot of information about how to handle ourselves or one another. Our culture’s concept of relationship does not usually account for change, or for the extent to which so many people struggle with themselves and lack basic self-respect. Many relationships are based on projection of the masculine or the feminine onto a partner, rather than on balancing and integrating the energies. Until we internalize both male and female properties, feelings and consciousness, there will be contention in our relationships — and lots of room for projecting shadow onto the other.

Mars has had some work adjusting to an extended stay in Libra, and once it leaves, it will carry its experience there forward.

If you pay attention you may find that if you’re a woman you’ve integrated masculine energy into your bio-psychic field, and there are many men who have made contact with their feminine side under this extended transit.

If you’re having trouble finding those men, check inwardly and make sure you’re expressing your own masculine energy in a healthy way. Really get a feeling for how you express your inner man. If you’re a man, this is also an invitation to check in with how you express your inner woman. If we want to deal with projection — including the projection of sexual violence — this is an essential step.

Mars is currently exactly opposite Eris. This alone is a standout aspect, representing a kind of confrontation. This could work many ways, but it seems to be a comment on who people try to be in relationships versus who they actually are. It is also a comment on how so-called ‘passive’ aggression comes back to people as overt aggression.

Once a long time ago I walked into my then-therapist (now mentor)’s counseling room and asked, “What is passive aggression?” In his usual wise and witty way he said, “You’ll understand it a lot better if you leave off the word ‘passive’.” That is why I prefer to call it covert aggression, which can take many forms, and those seem to be preferable because it’s easier to get away with for a while.

We do a lot of projecting in our human encounters. People often attribute aspects of their own personality to others, and they take on what others claim about them. In the haze of contemporary life, with all its public relations efforts (profile pages, personal ads, Facebook, blogging, Instagram, etc.) we can easily get lost in the haze of who we are or might be.

Photo by Eric Francis / Book of Blue.

Mars is closely conjunct three other points: Ceres, Vesta and the North Node. This is interesting — and too complex to fully delineate. But let’s say that Mars and the North Node are lending some compelling authority to the goddess energy of Ceres and Vesta. There is the potential to balance out feminine energy with Mars, something that rather desperately needs to happen.

The dominant theory of gender is that male energy is running out of control. There is another theory that says feminine energy is also out of control. The answer here is not control but rather balance. That need for balance is indicated by the lunar nodes so prominent in the chart picture.

Saturday’s Full Moon crosses the axis of the lunar nodes — it makes a close square to them. The Sun and Moon square the nodes represents a turning point, and this seems to be one associated with the story of our relationships. At the same time, it
makes a square to all the planets that are involved — Mars, Vesta, Ceres, Uranus and Eris.

If this aspect says one thing to me, it’s “wake up and pay attention.” If it says one more thing, it’s “the way things seemed to work in the past may not work now, it may be failing entirely and we need some new ideas and new values to create a new way of life.”

Of course this is always easier if you’re motivated — and nothing says motivation like the Capricorn Full Moon.

Lovingly,

Planet Waves (ISSN 1933-9135) is published each Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon in Kingston, New York by Planet Waves, Inc. Annual basic subscription rate: $99/year. Core community membership: $149/year. Editor and Publisher: Eric Francis Coppolino. Business Manager: Chelsea Bottinelli. Web Developer: Anatoly Ryzhenko. Copy Editor: Jessica Keet. Research, Writing and Editing: Planet Waves is produced by a team consisting of Fe Bongolan, Brendan Merritt, Amy Elliott, Judith Gayle, Kelly Janes, Elizabeth Michaud, Amanda Moreno, Amanda Painter, Casey Smith, Carol van Strum, Len Wallick, Lizanne Webb and Chad Woodward. Special thanks to the Fact Checkers List, and to our main astrology fact-checker Alex Miller, and Amanda, who goes over all their suggestions. Aunt Josie Forever!

Good as Gold: the 2014 Midyear Reading for All 12 Signs

If you have not already noticed, 2014 is really two years in one, with version 2.0 beginning right about now. With all of the inner planets direct, Jupiter entering a fire sign and Mars coming home to its native Scorpio, a whole new concept of life and of astrology is reaching out to us. I will be unfolding this brand-new aspect pattern for all 12 signs and rising signs in my midyear reading, called Good as Gold.

Good as Gold will explore the relationship between self-esteem, creativity and money. The three are so closely interwoven that in a successful person they are indistinguishable. While you’re on the way there, these elements need to be understood one at a time, as specific concepts, goals or challenges.

I will provide ideas, strategies, motivational rants (my speciality) and ideas I’ve learned in therapy to get the blocks out of the way, access your courage, and invoke your vision for yourself. Jupiter is about potential, but that also means that the human part of the equation is making that potential real.

How do you manage the transition out of something old that is not really working and into something new, with the simultaneous demands of a learning curve, balancing yourself financially and staying inspired? These and other things are what I will be exploring.

Good as Gold is available for pre-order now. We’re introducing this at $39.95 for all 12 signs. As usual, we start with the lowest price for all 12, gradually raise the price, then sell one reading for about what we were initially asking for all 12. The first price increase will be Monday. So now is the time to get the best rate on the whole package, so you can listen to your Sun, Moon and rising signs, and check in with the readings for your collaborators.

Moon Conjunct Rabble Rousers in Sagittarius

Between now and July 10 at 11:24 pm EDT (July 11 at 3:24 UTC) when the Moon ingresses Capricorn, it will be transiting the corner of the sky with numerous centaurs, slow-moving outer planets and two deep space points — the Great Attractor and the Galactic Core. Since the Moon often represents emotional and physical sensation, this may present challenges to some whose density leans toward the solid end of the spectrum.

Rabble rousers: the friendly punks of The Outsiders.

Yet Sagittarius itself is psychically buoyant and it’s possible to reach some of the subtler levels as the Moon makes a series of conjunctions — first to the Great Attractor and asteroid (3811) Karma between now and midnight EDT, then some hours later to Ixion, Pholus, Charkilo, Amycus, Quaoar and Hylonome. These are not asteroids but rather planets closer to what you might recognize with energy similar to Chiron and Pluto — the deeper sort of contact, demanding attention and focus and calling forth the intention of healing.

Each of these planets one by one, very, very gradually, is making a conjunction to the Galactic Core, which serves as a spiritual homing signal. The meta theme is take care of what troubles you. Admit that change is possible, no matter how stuck you may feel. Recognize that there are means of healing not recognized by the people who control the systems of the world, and not endorsed by any conventional form of science or religion.

The Moon is strong and bright now, gaining momentum as it builds toward full phase, exact early Saturday (EDT). This pattern is an invitation to look below the surface, below the level of the story (your own, or the ones people tell you), and below the level of ordinary social interaction, and reach for the deeper contents, motives and themes of your own consciousness.

The Sun is in Cancer, which relates to the Moon, cycles, mothers and nurturing, the home and domestic concerns, and (you guessed it) breasts. You, too, can celebrate solar Cancer (and challenge hypocrisy) with the TaTa Top. Photo by Michelle Lytle.

Don’t Be a Boob — They’re Just Illustrations of Nipples!

By Amanda Painter

Spurred two years ago by a story of two gals from Amsterdam being told by a lifeguard in Chicago that they couldn’t swim topless — that “in America, you cannot show your nipples” — while he stood there shirtless, Robyn and Michelle Lytle realized there needed to be a fun, harmless, funny way to alert people to the hypocrisy. And then to begin desensitizing ourselves (and others) to the idea and sight of women’s nipples bared in public.

They came up with the TaTa Top™: a string bikini top printed with a cartoon image of bare nipples.

“You look topless…but you aren’t, and therefore, are not breaking any laws,” they write on their blog; “It really calls to attention what is being legislated.” Insightfully, they ask, “Who is this law protecting and what are they protecting them from?”

After all, in some cultures, it’s not a big deal. What exactly are people in the U.S. so hung up about?

The TaTa Top is currently in limited production with a patent pending, and Robyn and Michelle plan to expand the product into more sizes, skin tones and designs (such as nipple piercings) once things get off the ground. Best of all, $5 of each purchase supports a variety of organizations on a rotating basis — so you can do good while you look good, all while challenging perceptions.

Capricorn Full Moon, the Last Hurrah of the Grand Cross,

the Void of Course Moon and the Progressed Horoscope

Planet Waves FM is presented without commercial interruption, sponsored exclusively by our subscribers and our Core Community members — that would be you.

The new edition of Planet Waves FM covers the Capricorn Full Moon and the last stand of the cardinal grand cross, as well as an astrology lesson on the void of course Moon and reading progressed horoscopes. Don’t skip over that too fast — explanations of the progressed horoscope are few and far between. You are lucky to find even one! This is a pretty good one, too.

Your Monthly Horoscopes — and our Publishing Schedule Notes

We published your extended monthly horoscopes for July on Thursday, June 26.
We published your extended monthly horoscopes for June Friday, May 23. We also published an Inner Space horoscope for July Tuesday, June 24. Please note, we normally publish the extended monthly horoscope on the first Friday after the Sun has entered a new sign.

Weekly Horoscope for Thursday, July 10, 2014, #1006 | By Eric Francis

Aries (March 20-April 19) — Focus your ambition on actually getting something done, and you actually will. It’s easy to make plans and to spin out ideas. It requires a little something extra, such as focused effort, a game plan and one other thing — the desire to make it happen. You can have all the other ingredients, and they add up to nothing without the desire to make it happen. This weekend’s Full Moon in the angle of your chart associated with success and recognition will give you a boost of confidence, and the contact with Pluto will help you focus your determination. I suggest you stop talking about your plans and put all your energy into taking the concrete steps to completing something that you know is meaningful, necessary or potentially urgent. Focus on quality but not at the expense of getting hung up. Appearance is important but in the current equation it could be a serious distraction. Stick to integrity.

The sky is finally opening up for the second half of 2014, and now is your chance to embrace the opportunities coming your way. Through Monday only, you can pre-order the Good as Gold Midyear Readings for the lowest price — only $39.95 for all 12 signs. You get access to your Sun, Moon and rising sign, plus readings for loved ones, all for one low price.

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — From the look of your solar charts, you’re getting a lot done, though you seem to be feeling edgy about something, such as money. I would not be surprised if there are moments when you get a bit panicky for no special reason. The deeper story of your charts, however, is about your commitment to living differently from how previous generations in your family did. If you do, of course, they may think you’re weird and some people will express vocal disapproval. You may have an inner attachment to approval. Be determined to let none of these things stop you, or sap any of your confidence. Indeed, I suggest you draw strength and confirmation from any disapproval you might encounter, or that you may fear. Be aware of how many generations of tradition you may be breaking with your determination to do what is right for you, and to love in the way that is right for you.

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — You can afford to feel better about yourself. Better would mean less worried about what other people think and what they do, and more focused on what you want to do, and what you want to share with others. You’re working with a potential emotional distortion, which might manifest as difficulty expressing your needs and your feelings. Complicating things somewhat is the fact that you seem to feel two different ways, which are likely to conflict, so you’re never fully sure that you are expressing a true need or feeling. There is one absolutely safe one that you can explore — express love, gratitude and care. It’s always appropriate to share your appreciation and your loyalty, particularly since so few people do it in words. Support people in whatever they want. Set them free from your expectations and attachments and you will set yourself free from those same bindings. Then, love is possible.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — This weekend’s Full Moon in your opposite sign Capricorn will shine the light on how much potential your relationships have, and how far you’ve come redefining yourself in the context of partnership. Having Capricorn as your relationship house is not easy, because it places an emphasis on structure in our already over-structured concept of what it means to share an experience of love with another person. But Pluto has been doing its work in this angle of your chart, and you’ve cleared out a fairly large space where it’s possible to be yourself. This might include having relationships on common ground much closer to your own terms; sorting out the extremely annoying and usually false differences between friend and lover; and not living like you owe some debt to the past five generations. If you owe them anything, it’s being happy in ways that they could not or did not consider possible.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — If you are concerned about a matter of health, I suggest you guide yourself away from worst-case scenarios, and keep a focus on taking care of yourself. Self-care is the theme of your life these days, which comes with many different dimensions. One of them is finding that space where your work is integrated in a healthy way with the rest of your existence. For a while it may seem like you’re resolving a paradox, which is true. You may have to experiment with one end of the equation for a while, then the other, in order to find not only the right balance but also the point of integration you’re looking for. Jupiter ingressing your sign next week will give you more energy and better ideas to work with. You will have a bolder idea of what success is, and what it means to you. That will give you a goal you can work toward, and that you can feel good about. In healing, in work and in every facet of life, motivation is everything.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — In all matters professional, keep your strategy in mind. You are likely to have your goal in mind, and there is a chance you will put your goal above everything, which will not get you any closer to that goal. Part of your strategy must involve an extreme helping of diplomacy. You must present the right demeanor or posture to the appropriate person, and be aware at all times to whom you are speaking. Your solar chart cautions that you could be perceived as authoritarian or driven by jealousy — which are unlikely to be true (however, I suggest you do a careful check-in with yourself on these matters, since it is possible). I suggest you strive for consistency with people, which is a sign of maturity and your respect for them. And be cautious at the least thought that others do not care about you, or don’t respect you. That is a trap, and it’s unlikely to be true.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — Mars in your birth sign, combined with a variety of other factors, describes you in a situation where you may have to push an issue that you don’t feel comfortable doing. The sensation will be something like exceeding your authority, and possibly feeling guilty about it — but knowing intuitively that you’re correct in doing so. This might also come with the feeling of claiming some space to exist that you might have previously abandoned. Be aware of the fear of others wanting to get revenge or acting against you subversively — this is more of a feeling than an actual probability, but the feeling is what counts, because it has the power to dominate your reality. Said simply, the time has come to pluck up the courage to run your own life. That means being direct with others, which means speaking up, not festering on your own secrets till they ferment into resentment.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — Saturn in your sign is the original symbol of enforced growth. Saturn is saying, “It is time.” It’s true that most people experience Saturn as a depressive influence, as a burden or as a limit — though this is a limited perspective, and it most likely does not take into account the essential factor of maturity. Saturn in your sign is saying you need a structure to your life that embraces all of the functions you want to fulfill as an adult with the freedom of choice. Your life is not about recreation. It’s not about self-fulfillment. Those are ingredients in a whole life, but not the whole purpose of life. In a word, your current purpose is fulfilling your function; taking up elements of why you came to this planet at this time. One measure of purpose is your creative work product. It’s about what you make, which is an expression of your purpose. The key here is tangibility — the actual substance of achievement, not merely an abstract concept of growth.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — Your ruling planet Jupiter is about to change signs, and this means it’s time to focus your energy and your intentions. There is enormous potential in this transit, but you will need to be clear, apply energy and follow through on what you start. For the past month or so it’s been possible to run a little wild, to skimp on commitments and to let yourself be dominated by your emotions rather than on what actually makes sense logically. At the same time, you’re seeking real creative freedom and solid collaborations. And, I would remind you that you’re working with real creative power — which comes with responsibility, and connecting your creative power to an actual purpose that serves humanity. Jupiter in Leo will boost your creative confidence, and make sure you get to live out the connection between creativity, passion and fun — but when you get to the essence of Leo, it’s about responsibility to the community. Leo puts work above play, and above money. Look after these details. You are well respected but this will raise the stakes — your integrity is on the line.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — This weekend brings an extraordinary Full Moon in your birth sign, and with that will come a surge of confidence and energy. Mixed in with that might be some bouts of insecurity, which may have you wondering which side of the equation is really true — your strength or your fear. This is a situation where the presence of fear serves a useful purpose, which is to alert you that you’ve entered (or are about to enter) some new personal territory. You may think of this as alerting you to actual, external risks. The real risk, it would seem, is to your dependency on structure, on following past patterns, and on the fear of venturing into unfamiliar territory — in a word, your ego. But don’t think of ego as an identity, rather as a set of attachments that hijack your identity. Your job is to get it back. Recognize your attachments and focus your courage. You asked to be set free from your past and this is your chance. You asked to do something different, and this is your opportunity.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Inner vision provided by this weekend’s Capricorn Full Moon will show you just how much space in your mind you’ve cleared out. Space translates to additional energy, room for your own thoughts and freedom from worry about what other people think. Space means freedom from the burdens of others, to an increasing degree. You’re not totally liberated, but it’s as if you realized you were living in an ancient mansion that had been passed down from generations before you. You took over one wing of the house, cleaned it out and started decorating and furnishing it the way you want. You have made it your own, which translates to many large and small developments in your life. This progress would not have been possible without all the inner clearing and renovation that you’ve been involved with. Consider this a good start. The light of the Full Moon will reveal how much further you can take the same basic idea.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Use your allies. Or perhaps better said, count on your friends and your closest colleagues. You have some influential or even powerful friends, and you share plenty of common ground with them in terms of a desire to accomplish what is right and what is true. I suggest you be bold about making proposals and exploring your options for partnerships and associations that are not only mutually profitable but also beneficial to the wider community. Though Pisces has a reputation for lacking structure and direction, you do the best when you work with and within an organizational group of some kind, and you would be the likely person to initiate that. It’s not merely that you have that particular talent. You have something else going for you, which is the ability to go beyond the cynicism and defeatism that is so popular right now. Your Pisces vision can show you what is possible — and if you open your eyes and look you will see that means anything.

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With Love From Borasisi

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Dear Friend and Reader:

Anyone who works with ideas in a public forum figures out sooner or later that most people will believe anything, particularly if it’s not true. I’ve learned as much from writing satire as I have from writing about astrology or being an investigative reporter. I’ve noticed that many readers will readily accept something cut from the whole cloth of fiction, no matter how absurd, as long as it looks sort of good. There seems to be this crack in consciousness through which very nearly anything can go.

Seven Deadly Sins window curtain in the bathroom of Taco Juan’s, where I write many of my articles and horoscopes. The owner is actually named Bobby — he’s a dyed-in-the wool Scorpio with a sense of humor to match. And great tacos. Photo by Eric.

Those whose intentions are more sinister than humorous will easily convince most of us that Al Qaeda is under the lid of every trash can and that Saddam Hussein has nuclear bombs he’s ready to use on us. You could look at this as a complex process involving many layers of psychology and incestuous relationships between the media, the government and the companies that profit from war; or you can look to that odd little property of consciousness where if you repeat something often enough, people tend to think it’s true — especially if they’re scared.

This also works with loving intentions. I like to play a game based on this theory with dogs. When I meet a dog for the first time, I’m a stranger. We sniff one another and get acquainted. When I meet the dog again 15 minutes later, we’re old friends. People are not that different. Familiarity breeds trust. More than looking for reasons to be suspicious, I think that most people are actually looking for reasons to trust and will take any opportunity. Con artists, drug manufacturers and politicians know this, and exploit it happily.

Pisces New Moon and a New Planet For You

Today is the Pisces New Moon. It’s exact at about 3:46 pm EST (12:46 pm in California, 8:46 pm in London and early Saturday morning in Oz). Usually, the Moon and Sun make a conjunction in Pisces just once a year, and this is the one. It’s also the last New Moon of the astrological year; we’re just two weeks from equinox, and a pretty hot equinox at that.

There’s a lot of action in Pisces right now: Chiron has recently arrived, beginning an eight-year trek; Uranus is about to make its final exit after seven years on March 11; and we have more transient visitors, with Mercury and Mars present at the moment.

Religion makes a lot more sense when portrayed in science fiction. Bokononism in Cat’s Cradle is one well-done example. So is the Church of the Second Chance in the Riverworld series by Philip Jose Farmer, a story wherein a whole bunch of people are trying to figure out how and why they all reincarnated on a huge planet along the banks of a river. The first book in that series is To Your Scattered Bodies Go. Photo taken on Route 28 in Ulster County (the road to Woodstock) by Eric Francis.

There’s a longterm visitor I haven’t mentioned much — an outer planet discovered in 1999, called Borasisi. This friendly bit of ice and rock is located out in the Kuiper Belt, a region of space that was first discovered when Pluto made its arrival in 1930. Nobody knew it was the Kuiper Belt at the time; that wasn’t confirmed until 1992, when Jane X. Luu co-discovered something called 1992 QB1 and we had evidence that Pluto was not alone.

Pluto has an orbit of 248 years, as do many other small planets orbiting our Sun (known as Plutinos); 1992 QB1 has an orbit of 289 years, which puts it in a slightly different class (classical Kuiper Belt objects). One interesting thing about QB1 is that despite having its orbit confirmed and being assigned a minor planet number (15760), it hasn’t been named by its discoverers. (I’ve proposed Radharani, a name for the supreme goddess of Hinduism. I propose that she offers an alternate concept to the death and transformation that we typically get from Pluto.)

Five years later, two of the same astronomers discovered Borasisi in the same region of space. Traditionally the discoverer(s) get to name what they find, and they chose to name this one after something from a science fiction novel called Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut.

This is unusual. Under naming guidelines, planets in this class are named for gods of creation or resurrection. Borasisi is a name for the Sun in the fictional religion central to Cat’s Cradle — Bokononism. In the novel, the Moon is known as Pabu, and the binary companion of Borasisi has been given that name.

Astrologically, to understand Borasisi we need to look to Cat’s Cradle, a wonderfully complex novel that addresses the themes of truth and lies, and technology and religion. One theme is that technology without conscience is very dangerous — a central theme of our lives. At the center of the story is what Vonnegut described as a whiz-bang sci-fi device: a substance called Ice Nine, water that is frozen and stable at room temperature. It’s a crystal that can teach any water with which it comes in contact to be frozen and stable at room temperature — including ocean water. If you eat just a speck, you turn into Ice Nine.

Is the Ouija board real, or is it a crock? It’s sold as a game — but we all have our stories. I have been researching the history of the word ‘compersion’ and I have learned that it came out of a Ouija board. Photo by Eric Francis.

Vonnegut got the idea when he was working as a PR man at General Electric in Schenectady. The concept came from a GE scientist who had the job of entertaining H.G. Wells (author of The Time Machine and The Invisible Man) when he visited GE’s labs one day. Wells didn’t do anything with the idea; many years later, Vonnegut did.

As someone who has covered GE’s escapades for many years, I cannot think of a more apt metaphor than Ice Nine to describe the company’s products or its lack of conscience. I am familiar with PCBs, which were the Big Deal — as in miracle of modern science — at the time that Vonnegut was in the PR department. These highly persistent toxins spread through the environment and the food chain, but the problem is you cannot dilute them. No matter how low the concentration, they still have a biological effect, and then, wherever they end up no matter how small the concentration, they move right up the food chain and concentrate again.

PCBs are scary. They are described in the press as ‘potential carcinogens’, which is extremely polite of them. They are hormonally active, toxic to DNA, immune suppressing and yes, carcinogenic. But I’ll tell you a secret. If I were to call up the GE public relations department right now and say, “Hello, I’m a reporter. Are PCBs toxic?” they would fax back a press release that says they’re no more toxic than table salt. That is GE, and this attitude — along with all the lies connected to the atomic bomb — is what propelled Vonnegut to write Cat’s Cradle. He says so in this interview.

One of his comments is that science is supposedly interested in pursuing ‘the truth’, but doesn’t care what happens with the results of its discoveries. In the interview, he gives the example that ‘the truth’ is what exploded over Hiroshima.

Lies of Religion, Truth of Science

While Cat’s Cradle addresses the damage caused by technology’s pursuit of ‘scientific truth’, there is a deeply personal dimension, which Vonnegut addresses in the religion of Bokononism.

While GE was telling us how we could get 10 hours of comfy cool breeze for the price of an ice cream cone, the company was busy installing an electrical grid insulated with chemicals called PCBs, which sickened many, polluted the Earth’s entire environment (up to the Arctic) and caused countless billions of dollars in damage.

Bokonon is a god who lives among his people. There is a Book of Bokonon, of which the first line is, “All of the true things I am about to tell you are shameless lies.” So it’s a ‘truthful’ religion in that it admits that it’s totally a lie; then it goes on to make up even more lies, designed to make its adherents feel better about their horrid existence.

This is a satire on the religions of the world that offer stories we are told, then which we tell ourselves, that make us feel better. You know, how Jesus died for our sins and how we have our little place in heaven and the Lord delivered the Jews from Egypt and all the animals visiting Buddha under a tree and this guy Arjuna being driven around in a chariot.

These are not usually understood to be stories or allegories; they are taken by most religious people, and taught to kids, as the actual truth, as God’s actual word and as infallible law. In fact they are nothing of the kind. Indeed they are usually hooked into a deeper layer of social psychology designed to do little other than get control of people who would be too scary to those in power if they could actually think independently. Almost every organized religion systematically oppresses women. Nearly every religion is used, at one time or another, as an excuse to go out and kill a lot of people. In fact, the day he ordered the bombing of Hiroshima, Harry Truman got on the radio and said that God told him to do it. Then they tell us that God is love.

Perhaps you’ve noticed that nearly all religion is rooted in the fear of death. There would be no use for religion if people were not scared of what happens after this existence seems to end, and then religion comes along and fills up the whole question with all kinds of stories and theories and things you’re supposed to do in order to go to heaven, be forgiven for sins you’re accused of (by religion), or be loved by God (who is available only from religion).

Vonnegut challenges his readers with the idea that these lies are actually fairly harmless contrasted to the ‘truths’ of science. He’s not exactly offering any commendations to either, just showing us the contrast. The lies lead to people being temporarily happier. Truths lead to mushroom clouds and Superfund sites so large nobody knows how large (such as GE’s contamination of the Hudson estuary system, which killed off fishing as far as the Long Island Sound).

But speaking of the Hudson, no amount of contamination could stop the 21st Annual Shad Festival, which is sponsored by none other than Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the Hudson Riverkeeper. Just keep eating those fish if you want some evidence that the river is perfectly clean.

Sweet Little White Lies — and the Core Delusion

People tend to tell small lies for a few reasons. One is convenience, such as to smooth over the social environment. In order to avoid conflict, which most people don’t like, we are allowed to lie enough to camouflage our missteps or potentially offensive acts. It’s also convenient to believe that a drug is safe or that food is clean or that a politician is honest. Everything will probably be fine, right? As for politicians, for most of them, up until March 4, 2011, lying has been merely a way of life.

It seems like you can’t have a cat food ad these days where the kitty isn’t on LSD. Advertising is full of the lies that we think make us feel good. It is the core Bokononism of our day.

Another is most people tend to lack the courage to tell the truth, or to hear it. It takes some guts to say what you really think and feel. And it takes some courage to call out someone you know is lying to you. Many people will live with a lover or spouse having an affair for years, with both parties ‘pretending it’s not happening’. So we live with a diversity of lies that simply go over the top of the maximum courage we can usually muster up.

Finally, people lie to keep a sense of control that they don’t have in real life. According to one of my grad school professors at Rutgers, James Joyce once said somewhere that he couldn’t understand why everyone doesn’t want to be a writer, because you get to play god in your own little universe. Lying, which means making up stories, is a form of playing god.

The actual events of the world we cannot control; fiction we can control. Some people enjoy (or are addicted to) lying simply because it gives them a sense of power in a world where they feel they have none. If you haven’t achieved much, you can make up a resume or tell a story of accomplishment to someone on a first date. In this sense, lies can also fulfill the expectation of what we’re ‘supposed to be’, which is itself a lie. If you do a little therapy or a little homework, you can figure out what these lies are, who told them to you and what effect they’re having. Those are the first steps toward growing up and moving on.

To science, homeopathic remedies are a dose of absolutely nothing (unless you study them with nuclear magnetic resonance). To a homeopath, they are a potentized, nontoxic form of the original substance. Stock photo image.

The thing about lies is that they work two ways. Like dioxin (which is a kind of lie that circulates in our endocrine systems, and which is another product of GE) the receptor is as important as the chemical. Those who want to see accurately will sooner or later do so. Those who are committed to being deceived will be deceived till they change their mind about that. And those who get by on telling themselves lies about existence — and to some extent, we all do — we can do that as long as it’s convenient.

Here is the problem, though. This state of deceived/deceiving is a root of many, if not all, diseases. This works on the physical level (dioxin, as mentioned, is the great deceiver of the endocrine system, sending all kinds of weird messages) and it works on the energetic level. What we withhold, and refuse to reveal, can make us energetically sick, and that can make us physically sick. Deception, particularly self-deception, can and does keep us ‘trapped’ in situations that make us sick. Many healing processes begin with admitting the truth to ourselves or our loved ones.

This is why homeopathy, a branch of medicine I mentioned recently, is so concerned with identifying what some call the core delusion. It’s necessary to locate that place where people hold their deepest self-deception or mistaken belief so that the root of disease can be addressed. You don’t need homeopathy to do this; you just need some awareness and willingness to grow. One thing my favorite homeopath, Rajan Sankaran, suggests is that one clue to delusions can be found in one’s sense of humor (and I would add, lack thereof). As a writer who thrives on satire, I am familiar with this — the first place I go in doing a parody designed to unravel an injustice is straight into the delusion, and turn the thing inside out with a little joke. If you’re wondering how to apply this to your life or your healing process, I would start with considering what you cannot laugh about in yourself. That probably points to a hangup you would feel better if you addressed.

As for Borasisi

Now we have a planet that addresses this thematic matter. It’s fitting that Borasisi is a longterm resident of Pisces in our era — the sign of delusions and illusions, as well as beauty and creativity. This gives us an opportunity to see this territory for what it is. We have the power of consciousness to distinguish truth, lies and stories. Where we might have made up lies, we can also make up a story or tell the truth. There is plenty of strength in that moment of choice. I think what Vonnegut is saying is that the real distinguishing factor is the motive. What I am suggesting is that the distinguishing factor is integrity.

Chart for the Pisces New Moon set for Kingston, NY. The chart has a cluster of planets across Aquarius and Pisces. Uranus is about to leave Pisces. Neptune is about to enter. So we can look for changes in the whole field of reality expressed by Pisces. The deeper question is: how does astrology work? Skeptics are correct in saying that it’s an elaborate web of lies, but that critique lacks the very imagination by which we actually succeed at creating our lives.

When a potent lunation happens very close to a newly discovered point, we get a kind of ‘proving’ (by which I mean demonstration) of some of the implications of that point. I would note that Donald Rumsfeld is out on the media circuit making up stories about his made-up stories about why we are (still) at war in Iraq. We can also take a look at the films that are currently showing or are about to come out right around now for additional information. There’s one I keep seeing an ad for about all those guys chasing this other guy because they’re in charge of his destiny. And I keep thinking, that’s a heck of a lot of work. Anything with a theme of illusion, deception or image is fair game for consideration.

We can look to our relationships, and see the investment we have in being perceived a certain way because we have a certain partner; or how we want our partner to perceive us. One of my photo models this week used the term ‘honest woman’ to describe herself, as someone who is too modest to admit how much she likes sex. She is deeply invested in that image (meanwhile it’s a challenge to look at her and not think of sex). Many people want to be perceived as a good boy, even though they might be a criminal. This is a theme of Borasisi: the lies we tell ourselves in order to feel better. Yet remember, most of those ‘necessary’ lies are the result of guilt, which is an artificial toxic contaminant created by the industry of religion — particularly where sex and relationship values are concerned.

There is another dimension of Borasisi that I’ll get into another time, which involves nothingness. My friend and co-planetary delineator Tracy Delaney reminds me this is considered “to be the highest ‘spiritual truth’ of what we are, e.g., in Buddhism. So we perhaps have a cosmic equivalent of The Fool here — the zero that can be first or last, deeply ignorant or enlightened.” She notes that science vs. religion is “a false dichotomy. You can’t fight nothingness; you can’t fight something that has no opposite, which is why spirit is invincible.” These are the kinds of ideas she connects with Borasisi. We have scientific ‘truths’ of our era that suggest that a vacuum is not empty and atoms are not solid, which have implications for how we think and relate to existence.

Detail of the Pisces New Moon. Borasisi is not shown; it’s at 12+ Pisces, about one degree from the Sun and Moon.

Friday’s New Moon is square a thing called the Great Attractor. It would take another thousand words to describe that — I will point you to my audio from earlier in the week, which tells the story. To sum up: the connection from the New Moon to this high-potency point in Sagittarius is about the intersection not only of two belief systems (such as science and religion) but of two entirely different orders of reality. And that intersection contains a whole lot of energy.

We have a lot of action developing in Pisces right now. Chiron has just entered this sign, which is pulling things into focus — things many people would rather not see, or have seen about themselves. As I write on Thursday, the Moon is conjunct Chiron. Uranus is about to make its exit, which is going to shift the whole vibrational field of Pisces, if you believe that even exists, and in a little while Neptune is about to dip in.

To me, Chiron provides the most clarification of what the whole Borasisi thing is about: Chiron is insisting that we get some clarity here in the world of maya. Notably, Chiron makes a conjunction to Borasisi in Pisces between 2014 and 2016. For those two years we will have a gradual merging of those energy fields, calling us to be clear about what we say and why we say it. It will be interesting to go back through history and look at the conjunctions, and see what they tell us. Here is a list, programmed by Tracy. (Gee f*cking whiz, the creation of the U.S. Constitution comes up as one of the very few dates listed.)

There is something in Borasisi about the use of creativity and narrative for constructive manifestation. There is also something about the conscious use of interpretation as a means of improving our lives. An entity named Abraham I am fond of suggests that we keep telling ourselves better and better stories about who we are and what we’re capable of — and eventually they will come true.

Yours & truly,

PS, Here is a poem for you: The Good Go Down by Marge Piercy (my reading).

Rahu, Ketu Change Signs (or, Cause and Effect are Never Separate)

The Lunar Nodes changed signs yesterday, from Cancer/Capricorn to Gemini/Sagittarius. Many astrology students consider the nodes so difficult to interpret they don’t bother. While I don’t have the bandwidth available today to do a full treatment, you’ve read about them every time I write about eclipses. The nodes and eclipses are directly linked; where the nodes go, eclipses follow — approximately. The nodes therefore have an eclipse effect all year long, even though eclipses are concentrated into intense periods that occur twice a year.

If you’re paying attention you noticed that the nodes changed signs backwards. The overall direction of the lunar nodes is retrograde. They have brief intervals of direct motion, but calculating their position is a matter of mathematical theory. As I understand it, the nodes represent a hypothetical point of intersection where the Moon would contact the ecliptic if it were there at that moment. When an eclipse happens, it’s usually anywhere from two to 15 degrees away from the nearest node. That is why I say it’s a theoretical thing.

The old time Vedic loremasters associated the lunar nodes with a dragon — and our past lives. Dragons usually look a little grumpier than they actually are. They have seen so much and the world seems a bit old and worn out to them. But they’re always looking for an adventure and love making new friends. Digital art by Kaek.

The nodes take about 18 months to go through a sign. The full cycle is about 18 years. But every nine years, they are in their reversed position; that is, about nine years ago, the nodes were in Gemini and Sagittarius, but in the opposite direction, with the North Node in Gemini and the South Node in Sagittarius. They always travel in an exact opposition. The direction of the Mean Node is an average; it is always retrograde. The direction of the True Node switches between retrograde and direct, but the overall direction is retrograde.

The nodes have a life of their own; they are interpreted differently than eclipses and nearly every description of their meaning that I’ve read omits any discussion of eclipses — something that has always struck me as weird. It’s not that eclipses are involved in the whole interpretation; but they do have a connection, and the presence of an eclipse emphasizes the node, draws on its influence. In an article I wrote many years ago, I describe them as ‘a different kind of thing’ — made of nothing, but seeming to be emanating a lot of something — information, energy, tendencies, needs, habits.

The nodes are connected to our concepts of the past and the future, which translates more to the distant past and what we do now that creates the future. In a natal chart, the South Node or Ketu (sometimes called the Dragon’s Tail) seems to show tendencies that in some astrological systems are associated with the results of actions we took and things we learned before we arrived in this incarnation. Ketu is often associated with ‘past lives’, though I think that only an approximate reading is possible, most of the time. We need other data to refine that, and if you must know, there are a heck of a lot of past lives to consider. Humans seem to take a while to wake up. So in most readings, Ketu will more tend to represent a general tendency in this lifetime of what we are comfortable with or depend on, perhaps a bit too much. Some call this karma.

The North Node is about pressing into the unfamiliar. It is about the action we are drawn to take and might be hesitant about; it represents a potentially unfamiliar point of consciousness, or somewhere we need to go. It is about the actions we can take now that point us to what we are creating in the future. The North Node represents the future that begins now. The South Node represents the past that began a moment ago, and which goes all the way back. The thing about reading your nodes is that once you figure out what is going on, it seems brutally obvious and you might wonder how you missed it all along.

This is the chart for the true node changing signs on Thursday. The direction of the mean node pair is always reverse, as it represents an average. The direction of the true node pair is overall retrograde, with brief intervals of direct motion. Note the Moon-Neptune conjunction at the moment the nodes changed signs.

The nodes bind together two opposing signs, and help us understand the ways in which integrating opposites is a vital part of astrology and of life. Note that in astrology there are six pairs of opposites. There is not merely ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ or ‘dark’ and ‘light’. We get this six ways — and note as well that opposite signs are of the same gender classification (for example, Gemini and Sagittarius are both considered masculine signs). Adjoining signs are of opposite gender (such as Aries and Taurus).

So we have something here about parental reality (Cancer and Capricorn) giving way to something more fraternal and/or cousin-like or ovuncular (involving aunts and uncles). These are mellower relationships. Gemini and Sagg are also more concerned with information than tradition. I plan to say more about this as the eclipses approach.

When the nodes change signs, the eclipses do not always follow suit immediately. For example, later this year, we have a fairly unusual situation where there are partial solar eclipses two months in a row. One is in Gemini and one is in Cancer. The corresponding lunar eclipse is in Sagittarius. Here is a list from Serennu.com, programmed by Tracy Delaney. Note that the list also includes special planetary eclipses called occultations.

One interesting thing about the nodes shifting into Gemini and Sagittarius is that those are the signs associated with the nodes in ancient astrology. If you look on the Table of Essential Dignities that was all the rage during the Greek Empire, you find out that the the North Node ‘rules’ Gemini and the South Node ‘rules’ Sagittarius. Now they are in their opposite positions, but from what I hear that’s not a very big difference — the nodes have an affinity with these signs.

Two things I would point out for those who are working with the nodes in their natal chart is:

1. The house placement is more significant than the sign placement. The sign is definitely important, but the house has a lot to say about where the tendency indicated by the sign shows up. The houses give the location or situation in which the situation manifests.

2. The sign placement tells you what planet is associated with that node. For example, let’s say you have the North Node in Cancer. To find out more about how that node manifests, you would study the Moon carefully. You would also have the South Node in Capricorn; thus you would study Saturn carefully. To find out more about how the nodes relate, you would study the relationship between the Moon and Saturn.

Following this idea, when the transiting nodes change signs as they are doing now, we have a different pair of planetary rulers to consider. For the past 18 months we have been focused on the mommy/daddy world of the Moon and Saturn; now we get to have a long conversation with Mercury and Jupiter.

As I suggested a moment ago, many people work on charts for years and feel like they have no clue what the nodes are about. One reason the nodes are problematic for us here in the West is that we don’t understand cause and effect. We think that things just happen for no reason and that things we do have no effects. The nodes are here to remind us that cause and effect are never separate.

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Weekly Horoscope for Friday, March 4, 2011, #851 – BY ERIC FRANCIS

Eric’s Zodiac Sign Descriptions

Aries (March 20-April 19) — You may have some wild dreams, and most of them are possible. Yet as you activate your potential you’re also likely to activate your fear. Here is something to consider: Fear showing up in the same approximate gesture as desire is one of the main excuses for people to deny what they want and to stuff down their potential. You’re in an extended phase when nearly all of your potential becomes available. At the same time you’re going to encounter your shadow material. You will make use of your potential by consciously processing your fear, guilt and denial. At the moment things may arise in a mixture that is challenging to sort, though the main character traits you will depend on are willingness and faith. When you’re wondering which is true, your potential or your fear, ask yourself: which do I want to be true?

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) — You are more than a detached bystander; you’re a direct participant in whatever game you’re playing, whatever goal you have or whatever process you’re part of. I suggest that rather than deny your influence or the value of your experience, affirm these things regularly, and go on learning. Talent is not a destination, it’s something that you keep on growing and developing. That’s to say, it’s not about a goal, but rather an ongoing process of becoming. When you make this shift, you take yourself out of a linear process. That will save you from going in straight lines, as well as straight up hills, and it may go a long way toward preventing you from running in circles. Think of yourself as rippling out from a pond or exploring a labyrinth. Be alert for when you — or anyone else — thinks something original.

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) — There are times in life when you have to take authority, and this is one of them. I suggest, however, that you not announce this fact, but rather allow it to be. There are many people involved, and some of them think they’re more experienced or have more authority than you do. Everyone needs to be treated differently, that is, uniquely; and in every case I suggest you honor who they think they are rather than who you think they are. This is Politics 101, and it helps to go into the game with a plan. The implication is to know both your perceptions and the self-perceptions of the ones you’re in some way dealing with. When it comes to matters of authority, power and politics, perception is most of the game. That includes when people underestimate you, which is precisely what will serve to your advantage. Just be sure of one thing — that you don’t overestimate yourself. With the South Node now in your sign, your own past might become a factor. Therefore, be humble, and work for the common good

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) — You may believe that what you want is far away in space or in time. I would say it’s closer than you think, and if you can tune your feelings to reflect that, you will get some confirmation. By tune your feelings, I mean feeling a sense of faithful anticipation, pleasure or attractiveness. Allow yourself into the possibility that the circumstances of your life are working together to help you manifest your desire. You can feel your desire to accelerate that, and I suggest you feel the pleasure of contact a little in advance. Visualize in all your senses, and in detail — you certainly have the imaginative power at the moment, only it’s about a lot more than ‘mere’ imagination: what you are experimenting with is the process of conscious manifestation, which always begins with a vision of some kind. Once you have the vision, you’re close to the reality.

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) — Belief is taking on a particularly powerful role in your relationships, be they business or deeply personal. Mostly this is about the belief in commitment and how this manifests as commitment. You get to start by having faith in the people around you. One property to the evolution happening in your life is how all of your meaningful relationships are essentially in the same category: that is to say, meaningful. These are the ones that you have an unusual ability to shape with your ideas about them. Once you discover this property of thought, that’s a good time to express a vision for the relationship. A vision would be anything that you want, anywhere you want to go, anything you want to do. It’s true that this is influenced by the people with whom you share energy. But in the first instance, I suggest you be honest about what you want and see who shows up or rises to the calling.

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) — Well, you don’t need me to tell you that your relationships are showing up in a whole new way. You may need to filter out some static to get to the music: people you don’t quite want but who want you; desire that comes in an unappealing form; those who don’t give you enough space. Move through those factors quickly and efficiently so you don’t miss the good stuff: the people who are willing to dare, the ones whose desire speaks to you emotionally, in a specific way. There may be more than one person, by the way — and if you need permission, you have it. Be receptive to what the wildly diverse human race has to offer and closer to home, be open to the different ways you want to relate to others. Some will speak in words, some in feelings and others in a method or approach to life. You will know who you can relate to by how you feel in their presence.

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

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — Do you have this sneaking feeling that you’re being asked to give up something so that you can have a secure home? That’s what it looks like. If you remember that you can have a secure home anyway, you won’t feel so compromised. That could make a big difference; acting voluntarily rather than feeling in any way coerced. You may also be aware of how honoring your deep nesting instinct requires you to live a certain way, within certain constraints — but I would propose that you have more flexibility in this mode than you may have guessed previously. There’s also more respectability than we tend to think is available to those for whom home and relationship are authentic life priorities. It’s true that you have other ways that you express devotion and service, and part of what you’re learning is the necessity for creating balance among the most meaningful facets of your life.

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) — I have been emphasizing the theme of erotic experience. Mars has now made its way into Pisces, which is the lush, imaginal, erotic angle of your solar chart. Chiron arrived a few weeks ago, so you have a combination of energies that is driving your desire and your curiosity. The interesting thing about sex in our era is how much of it happens with digital assistance. These transits are encouraging you to use your own imagination (rather than that of some producer somewhere), your senses and your body. Chiron is reminding you that the way to free up healing energy and pleasure is to allow yourself to be inquisitive and to approach all matters of sexuality as if they’re an experiment. You can think of what you don’t know, and what you don’t know about yourself, as your friends. Imagination and reality are closer than they’ve ever been, though I suggest you lean gently into the physical world of contact and sensation.

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) — I pay close attention to the kids in my environment; it’s part out of fascination with human nature and part about being protective. Here is what I’ve noticed: Kids truly appreciate being acknowledged as people. Noticing their existence in a non-patronizing way, such as simply saying hello to them, is meaningful — more than you may have imagined. That is, unless you remember those who acknowledged your existence when you were young and so many people treated you as if you were invisible. You are in a phase of your life where you’re embarking on a kind of second childhood. This is about experimentation, creativity, pushing boundaries and enjoying the freedom of curiosity. While you’re on this journey, notice who notices and acknowledges your existence. When you’re in an open and loving state, those are the friends you need.

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) — What do you make? If you want a question by which to guide your career, that’s the one. Think deep on this. What is the product of the work you do? Let’s pretend you’re a lawyer. You could say your product is legal briefs and arguments, or you could say your product is justice (or at least satisfied clients). If you’re an artist, you could say you make paintings, but you also help co-create the responses that people have to your work. Your career is a generative process. That is the thing to remember: you will always be making something. No matter what you do, there’s a product. Do you like what it is? Are you a friend to the one who ultimately benefits? The law of karma is working particularly strongly in this area of your life. You’re likely to reap what you sow; therefore choose your seeds well.

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) — Your imagination is taking you somewhere specific. You may feel like you keep having the same fantasy or the same idea over and over again. May I suggest that you not worry about that, if it happens to be true? If it’s something you don’t want, or that you know might hurt you, that does lead to a question, but if we’re talking about something you’re curious about or fascinated by, you get to indulge yourself. If there’s a message involved, it’s likely to become obvious fairly soon. Here’s the thing to remember at this rather unusual moment of your growth: you can become anyone you want to be. You can use the power of your imagination to recreate this entity known as a ‘self’ into whatever turns you on. All you need is the vision and to focus on it. On our planet, those are two fairly big prerequisites for some, but I don’t think they will be for you.

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) — Have you ever wondered why same-sex relationships and erotic contact are considered taboo? I know the Bible has a few things to say about that and eating shellfish. I mean have you ever really tried to figure it out? I suggest you give it a try. Why is it considered the unholiest of things, to the point where constitutional amendments get passed by freaked-out voters? Bisexuality can become an issue in hetero couples, people can have misgivings about their bi fantasies, and there is often considerable fear and shame about any of this being known. But — why? That’s the question of the week. It may be the question of the month and indeed of the century. I have my theories, which I will share with you in a future entry. For now I want to hear yours, particularly regarding what comes up during the Pisces New Moon today and this weekend.

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

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Eric Francis, the founder and editor of Planet Waves, is an astrologer and investigative journalist. He was working in his first job as a municipal newspaper reporter when he discovered that his editor also owned an astrology bookstore. This began a long relationship between astrology and journalism, which has taken Eric through the pages of many newspapers as a horoscope writer, including the Daily Mail and the Daily Mirror plus numerous other venues. Today, Eric covers global turning point events through the lens of astrology. He is a specialist in newly-discovered planets.