Tag Archives: Mercury retrograde

Mercury on the Move

Dear Friend and Reader:

But before we get into that — overnight Tuesday to Wednesday there was a positively huge coronal mass ejection, which is to say, an explosion on the Sun. The image below is an actual photograph of the event (taken from video shot by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory). The Sun is illustrated by the small circle at the center; the solid blue ring is blacking out the zone that’s too bright to photograph, and the burst to the upper left is the ejection before it got very large.

Solar flare, which eventually expanded to engulf the Earth this week. The size of the Sun is shown in the small white circle at the center of the image. Photo by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory — your tax dollars doing something besides paying for another war.

In fact it got so large it washed over the Earth. Under the right circumstances, one of these things can take out part of the power grid; it’s happened before. The solar radiation storm triggered by this ejection was rated as an S3 class — “mainly a nuisance to satellites, causing occasional reboots of onboard computers and adding noise to imaging systems,” according to SpaceWeather.

If you could hear it, all that energy would sound really cool crashing into the magnetic pickups of an electric guitar. I often wonder about the effect of solar storms on consciousness. So far, I haven’t been able to discern anything stranger than normal in human behavior, compared to what I observe with many planetary events, but anything that can fry a power plant on Earth or a satellite-based computer has to have some influence on the brain. When I imagine how that might feel, the aspect Mercury conjunct Uranus comes to mind, which happened to be exact at the time of the solar burst and is still in effect now.

That conjunction is an exact alignment of Mercury, the Earth and Uranus, so think of it as a direct line of energy bringing all three ideas together, focused through Mercury — the planet of mind. It could feel like a not-so-subtle jolt of energy, sustained long enough to notice it. In Aries, there is a kind of aggression involved, and there does seem to be some hostility reaching a new peak lately. I’ll come back to that in a moment — first let’s look at the current Mercury retrograde cycle, which includes a series of three Mercury-Uranus conjunctions.

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Mercury Retrograde — March 12 through April 4

Mercury stations retrograde in Aries Monday at 2:49 am EST. Currently it’s in what some astrologers call ‘storm phase’ — when it slows down and changes apparent directions. Mercury retrograde in Aries is a warmup for the vernal equinox on March 20, when the Sun will enter Aries and join retrograde Mercury, plus Uranus, Vesta, Eris and Ceres.

Artist’s conception of a view of Uranus as it might appear from from one of its many moons. Uranus does not have land masses and the Sun is drawn waaaay too large for that distance, but it’s an evocative image and gives a cool sense of perspective. The image is from free wallpaper, and a high-res copy is available.

No wonder (borrowing a phrase) there’s all this loose talk of war; bombing Iran is being sold to us as an inevitability. Yet I guess what you hear depends on who you’re listening to. Better ideas than war are not only possible but inevitable under this series of conjunctions, which seem designed to keep as many people awake as possible. If nobody notices, it would not be the first time humanity has slept through the alarm clock.

Uranus, the first planet discovered by science, is a slow-mover, taking 84 years to go around the Sun. It’s movement produces noticeable effects. That’s the planet that ingressed Aries (and thus touched the Aries Point) the very day of the Fukushima earthquake, last March 11. It’s the quicker-moving side of the Uranus-Pluto square, what I’ve been calling the “2012 aspect” that lasts from this year through 2015 (really, with effects lasting much longer). Uranus-Pluto aspects shake the world, and in many ways, recreate it. (You can learn more at my free audio, The Top Five Events of 2012.)

Think of Uranus as representing the creative breakthrough, or alternately, an erratic quality. It can represent the idea that’s ahead of its time; it can just seem weird. You know your reaction to someone who lacks a well-groomed Uranus: there’s something charming about them, but the quirky, pushy quality can turn you off, they can be a bit too reactionary and they don’t know when to chill out. Think of the person who is shamelessly convinced the CIA is following them from the pizzeria to the taco place to the record store.

When Uranus is expressing itself effectively, the result can be a nonstop fountain of ideas, innovative perspectives and an inventive mind that can have a similar eccentric quality, but now it’s useful and friendlier if still a bit high-strung. Yet in Aries, this can take on a militant quality. We can see this clearly in the tenor of the current political discussion, which is all full of Marsy piss and vinegar that the wannabe fascist fringe is directing mainly at women these days.

Mercury makes two additional conjunctions to Uranus in Aries: the next is March 18 with Mercury retrograde, then the third is April 22 with Mercury direct. Think of this as a process of evolving an idea, and in Aries, an idea about yourself. Mercury retreats from hot, brash Aries into the cooler, softer waters of Pisces, letting go of some of its heat before stationing direct. Then it re-enters Aries and makes its third conjunction to Uranus — and a few days later, makes a square to Pluto. April is when we really start to feel the fact that it’s 2012, and Mercury passing through the Uranus-Pluto square will make this extremely obvious — especially as a media event. But there will be a sobering quality as Mercury finally makes its square to Pluto on April 25.

About What Martha Said

Let’s consider how this might feel, and how we can orient ourselves on the process. Remember that old idea from depth psychology about how when shadow material is not consciously acknowledged, it will wreak havoc below the surface, causing chaos and disease? On the other side of that, when we contact, feel and express some of that darkness, authentic healing is possible.

Our colleague Martha — no wait, it’s the renowned Elly del Sarto; postcard c. 1910.

Last week, Martha Lang-Wescott described Uranus square Pluto as “unbidden empty narcissism surging from the depths of Pluto and all of its psychological scars. People can get distracted by the twinkles and the erratic behavior of Uranus and overlook Pluto,” which addresses deeper material and is a more urgently necessary agent of growth. That erratic behavior includes the conduct of various political movements that want, in effect, to ban women from being people and who are creating a huge distraction in the process.

“There is the show and the excitement of Uranus [in Aries], and then there’s this underbelly of the concealed drives of Pluto [in Capricorn], such as greed. Uranus presents as the perfect distraction — all this technology stuff — when Pluto is often acting invisibly. There’s also the attraction to the dangerous element of Pluto charisma. Nessus accents that quality of Pluto.” [Nessus is the minor planet at the midpoint of the Uranus-Pluto square; I covered this in last week’s issue].

Hence, the argument about Rush Limbaugh’s verbal attack on Laura Fluke (who testified about birth control before congress, and who Limbaugh called a prostitute and a slut) is the side show. His comments and all the controversy they create are a distraction from actual issues, when the more important developments are represented by whatever is taking place over at the Pluto in Capricorn side of the equation. This would include the deep psychological scarring that’s beneath all of the fire and fury, as well as subversive activity on the corporate-government front. (I’ll come back to this soon, but when Mitt Romney or the Supreme Court says that corporations are people, that’s a very serious problem; it’s the essence of the problem.)

Capricorn in this context can represent the disproportional influence of so many institutions that try to run our lives. It can represent unresolved family baggage that we know we’re dragging around. Pluto’s movement is trying to get us to do something about it — and to see the connection between our family material and how susceptible we are to deception by corporate entities. The movement of Pluto can represent the deep inner drive to bring some life back into those regions of ourselves. Yet be aware Pluto will wreak havoc when it’s not worked out consciously and given an opportunity to express itself in a healthy way — and that is part of what we’re seeing right now.

Several readers have suggested that this latest cycle of misogyny and pleasure-bashing is really just an old idea being exposed and thrashing around before it dies. Perhaps, but the only thing that can replace it is getting the discussion of sex out of the political arena. The political arena provides a shield for people who are both hateful and those who are on the ‘correct’ side of the issue who don’t want to speak about sex in anything other than a defensive way. [I cover this in the new edition of Planet Waves FM.]

Once we find a home for the discussion outside of the news, a congressional hearing or the committee room of some backwater state legislature, we will need to talk about healing the sexual and emotional injuries we’ve sustained after being exposed to a society that seems bent on sex-negativity; we’ll need to make contact with sexual desire as being part of an impulse to grow and evolve; and we will need to challenge the veil of guilt and shame and open up about the pleasure aspects of sex. Sex and the relationships that support it cannot be themselves if they are constantly shamed. They will be shamed until we realize that the shaming and guilt are a fraud, and until we claim our right to be alive.

Mars is Still Retrograde

Mars has been retrograde since late January and it will remain so through April 13. We need to work this energy carefully. When Mars is retrograde and tries to act like it’s not, it can shoot itself in the foot. Apropos of Mars retrograde in Virgo (a sign illustrated by a young woman, called jungfrau in German), one historical fun fact is that the last time we had an all-in-Virgo Mars retrograde was in 1965 — the year the Supreme Court ruled in Griswold v. Connecticut, which legalized birth control. Now suddenly that decision is being questioned — granted, by a bunch of religious nut cases who get a lot of airtime on TV.

Microscopic photo taken by Opportunity rover showing a gray hematite concretion, indicative of the past presence of liquid water on the planet’s surface. The rover has been operative on Mars for nearly 3,000 days, though the original specs called for a 90-day mission. The project is organized by Jet Propulsion Lab at Caltech.

There have been other Mars retrogrades partly in Virgo, but the last one entirely in Virgo happened the last time this issue came up for discussion. In true retrograde fashion, we are getting a visit to the past, a review of ideas we’ve seen before, and an opportunity for introspection.

Mars in Virgo has that element of healing desire. The desire part comes from Mars and the healing piece from Virgo. The retrograde feels like making contact with all of the psychological complexities associated with desire. Think of how ‘uncomfortable’ people can get when you want them, or how ‘uncomfortable’ you can get when someone expresses desire for you.

What’s that about, anyway? Despite all of our protestations, do we want sexy without the sex (i.e., nothing but a constant tease), sex without the intimacy, intimacy without the risk, and deep experiences without them having any real influence on us? Sometimes that’s what it seems like.

We might well ask what it is that we’re avoiding with this whole dance. Lots of people would prefer to suppress an entire culture or the whole world just so they don’t have to deal with their own biology, their own feelings, their unresolved problems. That’s what I believe is happening when we see politicians go on their rampages, and we watch them get away with it. This drama serves anyone on any side of the issue whose deeper goal is to avoid some inner truth. It’s easy to scream and yell. It’s more challenging to be with your own pain, or to admit the pleasure that you want, and to confront the possibility of what you might do if you weren’t constantly distracted from your creative potential.

Yeah — what would you do?

Lovingly,

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The past day or so we’ve been experiencing the Full Moon. One interesting thing about that is that the whole world has one experience, a consequence of it being a celestial event; something beyond the Earth. We, as in all of us here, have also been awash in the remnants of a solar storm that took place overnight Tuesday to Wednesday, resulting from a mass coronal ejection from a sunspot, with the energy bursting out to many times the size of the Sun.

Vesta photographed from the Dawn probe in 2011.

And that energy rains all over us. As fast and as uncontrollably as our technology is moving, or the speed of our minds or activities, the Sun in all its passion and Moon in all its silence embrace the Earth between them and there is some collective awareness that something is happening, happening to all of us, in the background though it may be. A burst of energy comes from the Sun, and we’re reminded that our power grids can be taken down in a matter of moments.

Because the Sun is in Pisces — the last sign — this was the last Full Moon of the astrological year. The Sun is now moving through the last 10 degrees of Pisces, called a decanate or in older terms, the last face of the zodiac. The astrology to watch is how close Mercury is to stationing retrograde — in Aries. It’s in a bold part of the zodiac, the first few degrees, and Mercury is conjunct two other points — an asteroid called Vesta, named for the goddess of fire; and Uranus, representing a kind of fire of his own — the fire of the mind.

Continue reading.

As the far-Right’s War Against Women heats up, the backlash is getting feistier, too. Mother Jones writer Hannah Levintova has compiled a list of tongue-in-cheek bills proposed by legislators of both sexes aiming to show just how absurd — though no less dangerous — the attacks on women’s health are getting. For example, Georgia state Rep. Yasmin Neal wrote a bill outlawing most vasectomies because they leave “thousands of children … deprived of birth.”

On a more grave note, Democracy Now! reports that there have been a number of developments in the Republican-backed campaign against reproductive rights nationwide. Virginia’s Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell has signed into law the controversial bill forcing women seeking abortions to have an ultrasound. The Georgia state senate has approved measures that would ban abortion coverage under the state employees’ healthcare plan and prevent employees of private religious institutions from demanding contraception coverage under their insurance.

In New Hampshire, legislators passed a similar measure to exempt religious institutions from including contraceptive coverage in their insurance plans. And Utah lawmakers have passed legislation that would make their state the first to ban public schools from teaching contraception as a way to prevent pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease. The measure would also bar teachings on homosexuality or other issues of human sexuality, with the exception of abstinence before marriage.

One question for you: Isn’t it strange that this is happening now?

In Wisconsin, state senator Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) is proposing a bill (Senate Bill 507) that would formally consider single parenthood — “nonmarital parenthood” — a contributing factor to child abuse and neglect if passed into law. The bill’s language therefore also takes aim at same-sex and unmarried couples. Grothman is an ally of Republican Governor Scott Walker, against whom procedures for a recall election are still underway following his actions last spring to strip collective bargaining rights from unions. According to Grothman, being a single mother is a choice women make, and he says, “we should educate women that this is a mistake.” Grothman also commented of ‘unwanted’ or ‘mistimed’ pregnancies that “I think when you have an epidemic of this great proportion, people are not so dumb that it’s surprising when they get pregnant,” and, “I think people are trained to say that ‘this is a surprise to me’, because there’s still enough of a stigma that they’re supposed to say this.” Opponents are quick to note that one of the articles in the bill states that 41% of children in the U.S. are born to single or unmarried parents. According to Human Development and Family Studies Professor Dave Riley, however, family type has far less impact than the family process. This is something that polyamorous people have noted for decades. What counts is an environment respectful of children and with some semblance of stability. Marriage per se is no guarantee of that.

Mercury stations retrograde on Monday. This means that in your intimate contact with others, you’ll want to listen carefully, stop and think before replying, and if something doesn’t quite make sense, back up a step and ask about it. Mercury in Aries dancing around Uranus may be game for some new ideas; be bold and propose something.

Fire Goddess Vesta.

Mercury and Vesta, conjunct in Aries, are making a fire trine to Juno in Sagittarius. Let’s start with Mercury and Vesta together. The brightest asteroid, Vesta is named for the goddess of the hearth, though there’s a deeper layer to the story. The flame she’s tending is the core creative and sexual flame, giving this asteroid a connotation of erotic priestess.

Core sexuality is usually a veiled dimension, but Mercury is coming along and picking up the subject, and delivering it like a message. Note the proliferation of sex in the news right now, and though it’s been a bit warped, there’s still awareness — and something bigger in the air, and that something has a touch of taboo. One core expression of Vesta is devotion, which can be to pleasure, to healing or to holding space.

Uranus is in the equation — it’s right next to Vesta and Mercury is making contacts with both over the next week or two. Uranus brings the factor of the unexpected, the unusual, the spontaneous — and in Aries it’s glowing with the idea of self-awakening. This will come through the exchange of words, so keep your ears on and your mind open and be willing to say what you’ve never said before.

Juno in Sagittarius is trine this conversation. Madame Jealousy herself is in harmony with something original happening, and she’s in Sagittarius, in full expression in her more dignified role as the Queen of Heaven.

The fiery temperament of the moment is grounded by the physical expression of Venus and Jupiter in Taurus. Stay close to your senses, and follow them as you tune in to the deeper psychological material of Pluto in Capricorn, which is calling for some love and healing; and a source of healing waters in Pisces, coming from Neptune and Chiron. The beauty of riding with the current is that you stay in the moment.

Buddy Up at UAC With Planet Waves Readers

If you’re planning to be at UAC and are looking for a roomie, we may be able to help, by connecting people who are interested in sharing a hotel room. Drop a note to info@planetwaves.net and we will put you in contact with other people who reply.

Featured Class of the Week: Donna Woodwell, my co-presenter for the astrology marketing intensive, May 23 (extra fee, very good information, more info here):

Using the Internet to attract clients and build your astrology business

That’s Donna!

Not only is the Internet a great place to meet new clients, it’s getting easier (and cheaper!) to use successfully. Astrologer and Internet entrepreneur Donna Woodwell will demonstrate free and low-cost ideas to use social media and other online tools to increase traffic to your website and convert those visitors into clients.

During this three-hour workshop, you’ll learn techniques and tools you can go home and implement immediately, including how to:

• Discover your authentic voice and use it to build your unique marketing niche

• Build remarkable websites with enticing content that attracts readers

• Engage clients in social media including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and more

• Add sizzle to your content with audio and video media

• Harness free Internet advertising resources such as Yelp, Google Places and Amazon

• Spread the love with your email marketing newsletter

• Measure your marketing success with Google Analytics and other tools

Whether you’re just starting your astrology business and looking for clients, or are a seasoned pro who wants to learn more about the web, this workshop contains something for you.

Pisces 2012 Extended Birthday Report Ready

Dear Friend and Reader:

This week I recorded the 2012 extended Pisces audio birthday report. I just started doing these in 2010, and this completes the first full run of all 12 signs. In addition to Pisces Sun, it will also provide good guidance for those with Pisces rising and Moon. The presentation is one hour of astrology in two sections, plus a 20-minute tarot reading. (Capricorn and Aquarius came out last week. Note, if you have an All Access pass, it works for each of these reports.)

Fish Boy Arlo, photographed by his mom — Chelsea.

In this report I cover the recent arrival of Neptune and Chiron in your sign, and describe the energetic shifts of having these two distinguished, slow-moving points in your sign for the foreseeable future (Chiron till 2019 and Neptune until 2025). My intent with this reading is to help you orient on the new quality that you’re likely to experience both as an inner journey and as many shifts in your outer environment. This report both elaborates on the Reality Check annual edition and enters new territory.

These are deep influences that will, over time, transform your life and your perception of yourself. They’re distinctly different from the energy of Uranus in Pisces, which ended one year ago, after seven years.

Chiron and Neptune in your sign will help you bring out your true nature, and establish a kind of inner contact that you may have read about in books on spirituality. Yet there is a cautionary note: Neptune in Pisces will influence you to exist in a world apart. Fortunately, the realistic, high-focus energy of Chiron in your sign for the next seven years will provide an access point to both your quest and your healing mission.

I also take a close look at Mars retrograde in your opposite sign Virgo, which is leading you to rethink the way you do your relationships and the role that others have in your life. The retrograde is an extended question that will help you make decisions about what you want, what is appropriate and how to arrange your boundaries. What’s beautiful is the sense of inner strength that you can now bring to the table; the feeling of substance and a new measure of stability, regardless of what others are going through.

I also look at the Uranus-Pluto square as it will influence your financial dimension of existence — both planets are passing through different sectors of your chart associated with money and the flow of resources. The revolution of this aspect is how you think of, acquire and use all forms of material resources.

There is more; no need to go into it here. The reading comes with resources including the Pisces ingress chart, a photo of the tarot spread, and access to the 2011 annual (Light Bridge) for Pisces, so you can review certain factors from the recent past that may have a bearing on your life now.

Here is the link to order. The fee for this product is $19.95 including everything, with unlimited access (it never expires) and you can download the audio sections as an archive so you can listen in iTunes.

Lovingly, your Pisces astrologer

How (and How Not) To Talk About Sex

In this week’s edition of Planet Waves FM, I look at the Virgo Full Moon, and some of the material that might be associated with this event in your life. I relate it to Mars retrograde in Virgo, which to me is about the healing of desire.

One thing we’re getting with this Mars retrograde is plenty of opportunity to do just that — particularly as sex keeps getting run up the flagpole day after day in the midst of the Republican primary race. I propose, however, that having the discussion of sex in congressional hearing rooms, the news and the Supreme Court is a huge distraction, and I recommend ways we can get the conversation into more intimate settings. At the end of the program I announce an essay contest that anyone (or rather, everyone) can win — check for details. The prize (for the first 10 coherent entries) is a copy of Betty Dodson’s new DVD.

I mention a sex education website — SoloTouch.com — where you can read 50,000 stories that prove that you’re not weird. I recommend a book, Eros Denied by Wayland Young, and I suggest you peruse Betty Dodson’s site, not for the end of the sex conversation but rather for an excellent point of beginning.

This section also includes the upcoming publishing schedule! The March monthly horoscope (long edition) was published Wednesday evening, Feb. 22. Inner Space Monthly was published Tuesday evening, Feb. 28. We published Genevieve Hathaway’s Moonshine Horoscope for March on Tuesday, March 6. The next Planet Waves monthly will be the April edition, which will be published on the evening of Wednesday, March 21. This will include coverage of the spring equinox. There will not be a regular Friday edition that week; Priya Kale will stand in for Eric Francis for the weekly horoscope of Friday, March 23.

Friday, March 9, 2012. Weekly Horoscope #894. | Eric’s Zodiac Sign Descriptions

Aries (March 20-April 19) — Mars is still retrograde. You seem to have been reminded of that fact boldly this week, as some arrangement didn’t quite turn out as planned. It seems like everything in your life comes back to a reminder to pay closer attention to the kinds of details that you normally can take for granted or overlook. In fact though your reputation casts you as dashing and inattentive, focused only on the future, one of the reasons why you can be so bold is that you do have a knack for making sure the finer points are covered. Yet now there seems to be no limit to the number and variety of details that the universe is capable of producing. You may as well slow down. Although all those small elements seem so effective at holding up progress, in reality each question, issue or puzzle that you resolve is specifically an element of progress. The solutions will arrange themselves into something you recognize, and if you look carefully you may discover that this is the constellation of thought you were missing — the one that holds the answer that was right there all along but which you couldn’t see. The name of the game is pattern recognition.

Revolution. Revelation. Reality Check. has been published and is available. It is still available at the special subscriber discount price for all 12 signs, or the order price per sign. This year’s annual offers an extended written report plus 90 minutes of audio for each sign and rising sign. You will love it.

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — You may be getting the message to be yourself; in fact it’s never been easier. Yet there’s a second theme coming through, which is the experience of being yourself and then experiencing some fear or backlash of guilt as a result. That’s unlikely to stop you, though you obviously would prefer that reaction not be there. Where it comes from is another question, and knowing the history may help you resolve the matter. However, it really comes down to a decision about what part of your mind you want running your psyche — and you do choose. Uncomfortable as this may be, I will say this. There are plenty of people who get cocooned into a crypt by that reaction of every surge of real self being met by some shadowy reaction. It’s enough to make most people stop proceeding in the direction of their reality just so they can avoid the discomfort of doing so. At the moment, anyway, you don’t need to have that problem. I think you’re discovering that opening up your options is better protection than shutting them down.

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Now is the time to be a politician, and I mean that in the best sense of the word: someone who can work any situation for maximum benefit, who can work the crowd and who is in control of their image. I suggest you boldly advertise what you think is your best idea, and give those discussions time to propagate. Gradually certain specific goals you have will gain popularity, and those will in turn fit a larger pattern that will follow the scheme of bigger plans. If you’re working with others, don’t delegate the part of your plan that involves public contact. You’re the one for that; you’re the one with the charm and the charisma. In particular you have the gift of being able to engage anyone in any conversation, which has a way of building trust. More to the point, you’re the one with the idea. Even if someone tries to persuade you to have second thoughts or give equal weight to alternatives, trust where you’re going. The so-called alternatives will make handy places from which to adapt improvements and enhancements to your far-superior plan.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — In the current political debate over sex there is the underlying assumption that sex isn’t spiritual. Have you noticed that? Making pleasure a moral issue in any way denies not only that it has some inherent right to exist, but that you’re somehow questionable as well. That might be true were we to define ‘spiritual’ as ‘that which does not approve of sex’ (or the emotion of desire). But if we define spiritual as ‘all that’s natural and real’ and factor in the spirit of freedom that’s supposedly our guiding principle as a society, that would clearly point to other conclusions. You’re someone for whom these connections are inborn, intuitive and interesting — sex is so much better when the natural associations are allowed to be what they are. There are all kinds of control agendas afoot right now, and your role is to subvert their action within your own life. Whether you tap into the highest levels of ethics or the most elementary common sense, liberty means leaving one another be. It also means you’re free in the midst of any debate, and not merely free to be powerful; I mean free to choose your pleasure.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — Others are far less inscrutable than they seem. The feeling that you’re looking at someone who has the capability to transform or change their appearance does not change the underlying substance of who they are. Take that as guidance to bring out the most authentic qualities you have, including your goals, and use every tool at your disposal to put your plans into action. Think through your highest goals, particularly in a professional situation. The seemingly most ambitious and valuable ones are those most likely to succeed; that’s the way your chart is set up right now. You may have to override some annoying inner message in order to think big, though it’s clear which one is true. If you want to give any nagging fears a voice, cut back on waste and do one last check-over of the details, thank your anxiety for doing its job and go back to arranging the world on the largest scale you can imagine. Your best plans aren’t really individual; many will benefit from your success, which I know you find appealing.

Introducing the Planet Waves 2012 Spring Report by Eric Francis

Note: We plan to have this report ready for distribution by this evening. If you’ve purchased, please check your email for the note.

Spring 2012 is the wildest season I’ve ever seen in 18 years of doing around-the-clock astrology [listen to short audio preview here]. It fits the 2012 pattern of ‘everything, all at once’, even making that sound like an understatement. I am working on the report even as we edit this issue, and it’s coming out beautifully — every sign is coming through loud and clear and distinctive.

We have retrogrades of all three inner planets involved — Mercury, Venus and Mars. There is a rare Venus transit of the Sun — an exact conjunction of Venus and the Sun that you will be able to see if you have a clear view during daylight hours (you will need special equipment to protect your eyes). There are eclipses of the Sun and the Moon. And then, just four days after the Cancer solstice, we have the first exact square of Uranus and Pluto.

In honor of putting all this action to work for you, I’m preparing a special Spring Report for all 12 Sun signs and rising signs, as well as an introduction to the astrology that will be useful to everyone. This is a package of all 12 signs for one price. I’m designing it so that you can actually put many of the signs into use — for example, Virgo will be able to use the Gemini report as a career reading. Pisces can use Virgo’s report as a relationship reading, and so on. I give suggestions at the end of each sign, and will do a detailed description so you can get maximum use from this product.

We’re offering it at a special pre-sale price for current subscribers and customers — all 12 signs for $19.95. Once the report comes out, it will go on general sale for $24.95. The report will be ready later tonight, well before the spring equinox — and it’s amazing. Here is the link to pre-order. Thanks for signing up.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — You cannot change your beliefs as easily as you can choose to believe what you know is true. This converts the matter to one of choice rather than something you’re subject to. As you do this, feel the power of your authentic passion as you crack open the influences that were inflicted on you in the past, and notice what’s inside them. Beneath all the control drama is what that control was supposed to be keeping in check — your drive, your independent spirit and your sense of autonomy. Remember that if you ever happen to feel any guilt about being, or wanting to be, autonomous. Notice whether you can trace any emotion to some religious value or teaching — and keep that thought conscious. You might ask yourself how it happened that someone else’s belief became so influential in your life, if only to serve as something that prevents you from taking action. On the deepest levels, this really is about control. You’re taking back control of your life from those who would try to constrain not just you, but everyone. This happens one person at a time, and it has to start from inside, which means with you.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — Recent losses, episodes of stress and various disruptions may now be revealing themselves for the gifts they contain. Yet you may not quite be trusting yet, so take your time and listen carefully. It’s true that one or perhaps many aspects of your relationship situations is a work in progress. Yet beneath that is a stable foundation you can build on, and depend on. Make sure you notice this, because it’s the real gift of your involvements with others — the ways that are a demonstration of your common ground and the common values that you share. If you have one reason to feel safe despite the looming sense that one change after the next is acting on you, this is the one. Be confident that your addition to the environment is wholly positive, and is perceived that way by the people you care about. Simply put, you can ignore your doubts and treat your fears merely as psychological or spiritual subject matter to work through and learn from. Whether you’re accepting the gifts that come to you or viewing any changes as an adventure, there’s neither room nor need for fear in your life.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — The thing to go for is not acceptance or approval — it’s the full indulgence in your creative process. There is no audience, or you don’t need one; what will serve you best is the spirit of experimentation. Imbibe experience as if it’s a form of nourishment. Embrace your mistakes as turning points that can send you in new directions you never would have noticed otherwise. While you’re exploring, you may notice there’s a critical voice in your mind, that seems to be shining on you like a projector, complete with soundtrack. However, I would propose that if you notice the critics in your mind, remember that’s exactly where they are. You cannot necessarily silence them, but what you can do is make a conscious choice what voices you listen to. Meanwhile, others around you are available to offer their full support — not as an audience but as peers and potentially as collaborators. Their perception of you is more likely to be the accurate one. I doubt you could think of any ulterior motive they could have, other than to endorse your happiness and affirm your existence.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — Your work speaks for itself, that’s true, but don’t expect that to be persuasive when it comes to others investing in you. Far from being ‘not worth it’, the issue is that people rarely recognize quality when they see it. As the one who is being true to your values, make sure that you’re the one who is the dependable investor in yourself. Think of this as a process of building the image and the reality of self-sufficiency. While it’s true that there is no actual autonomy, there does exist a state where you’re more dependent on in-house resources than you are on those external to your direct influence, and that is the longterm direction your life is taking. Obviously resources will flow in your direction; that’s the nature of business and art. Yet the ones you want are the ones you don’t have to pay back. What you’re creating is yours outright, and I suggest you embark on a Buddhist meditation of seeing the value of what you do from a detached place, so you have a chance of recognizing that more objectively. When something turns into cash from any other form, that is a conversion of energy — the actual ‘making’ of that value is what happens long before that.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — One dimension of Pluto in Capricorn is that energy of concentrated lust and soul reaching deep into you and turning over fresh, humid and fertile parts of your psyche. That crust you used to live in just doesn’t fit anymore, though the better news is that you figured out it simply isn’t practical. Now that you have freedom of mobility and a craving for life, look at what’s being offered to you. Notice the opportunities for creative pleasure that you’re drawing to yourself. Don’t misread that one; they are not merely ‘coming your way’ — rather, your inner momentum and willingness to explore a different facet of yourself every day are acting like an energy magnet. Therefore you can trust what’s traveling in your direction, and you never have to give up your power of choice whether you want a certain experience or not. Remember that nothing is stopping you, there are no shoulds or should nots — only action and its results. At the moment, your astrology says that pleasure is prudent.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — It’s good you’ve pulled back from the edge, and that the last few weeks seem to have gone without serious incident. Regardless of how unstable your life has been for how many weeks, seasons or years, this is a moment of settling down for you. Do what you can to make your home more your own; that will be a therapeutic exercise because it involves experimenting with a commitment. You might also open your mind to decisions about where the right place to live is, if you’re not in love with your present location. Whatever it takes to build your confidence, security and sense of grounding, I suggest you do. Time in the kitchen will be more restful than sleep. Make a list of your favorite foods, and go out and get them. This kind of grounding is good for your soul, and it’ll be good for your productivity. One discovery you can get into your body is that when you feel good, your life is easier. That’s easier than the other way around, and gives you clear direction where to invest your energy.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — The beauty of this time in your life is that you have the strength and experience to stand up to even the most complicated or pushy people. That they might have ‘good intentions’ no longer distracts you from your strength and focus, which by the way have their roots in your learning from past mistakes. I don’t think you’ve ever been clearer with yourself that errors in your history are no longer necessary to repeat. Your feeling that you have substance to work with, and to give you a distinct feeling of presence, validates something real, something you suspected. I suggest you proceed as if you expect people to take you seriously. Assume your ideas will be given real consideration. Remember that you’ve been through very nearly everything, and have repeatedly solved issues and learned to turn any circumstance to your advantage. That was then. What you have now is an abundance of both creativity and focusing power. Just remember to use them both at the same time, and to apply them to everything.

A Moment of Transparency

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Dear Friend and Reader:

So here we are in the thick of Mercury retrograde, with that giant magnet passing between the Sun and the Earth. The effect has nothing to do with superstition. The brain is an electrical device. The Sun is an electrical transmitter. Add a hunk of iron the size of a planet into the mix and there can be some weird effects that affect both your Flash player and where you thought your keys were.

Photo by Eric Francis.

We’re also approaching a total lunar eclipse in Gemini on Dec. 10, which is making all kinds of aspects to complicated psychological planets (centaurs Pholus and Hylonome, and a deep space point) that nobody really understands. The approaching eclipse might feel like a bubble growing inside you that refuses to burst, every minute leaving you wondering when it will. Or you might feel like you’re on a big adventure that’s on the verge of going out of control half the time.

From what my readers and clients are telling me, responses to this astrology range from “feeling compelled to clean my desk off completely and organize everything, everywhere, and be in charge of my own existence” to what one described as a “huge spiritual crisis, massive internal overhaul” in her partner. She added, “I feel like my world has turned upside down. So much going on. WHEN does it get easier?”

Someone wrote to me and said it seemed like every person in New York City was horny. Now that would be an adventure.

In the Northern Hemisphere late autumn is always a high-pressure time of year, accentuated by the very short days that seem to compress time. The Earth and Sun gradually aligning with the Galactic Center (a supermassive black hole) provides another kind of acceleration effect, as does the mundane fact of the calendar wrapping up another year. Plus we’ve just had an eclipse of the Sun, and that’s making it feel like the river is moving a little more swiftly than usual.

The forthcoming Dec. 10 lunar eclipse is a clear release point, as will be Mercury stationing direct three days later. Yet I don’t suggest you merely wait these things out, hoping your life will calm down and you can get back to normal. That is not the point at all. These moments of high intensity can be uncomfortable, but they are rich with information and potential growth. In particular, Mercury retrograding over two centaur planets this past week (Pholus and Hylonome, referenced above) can be opening up a wealth of inner information. The North Node is right there and that is about opening you to new territory and experience.

Toss your concepts of ‘spiritual’ and go right for discovering the missing data and exploring new or missing experiences. This will be revealed through inner sources, contact you initiate with family members, things that just happen, and subtle things you notice in your environment. The key to this is not letting your mind run past the best information. We’ve all had the experience of noticing some interesting detail (or person or critter or building) a few steps from our house, something that we’ve walked past many times a week for years but somehow mysteriously did not notice. That is how psychology often works. Vital information can be right in front of us, but we just don’t notice, or make the connection. It’s like looking everywhere for your reading glasses, when they’re happily parked on your nose and ears.

Photo by Eric Francis.

This is the time to make the connection. Mercury retrograde comes with a powerful inward tug. That tug may be making you feel like your life is waaaay too busy. It’s also pulling you in the direction of what you can think of as a direct ancestral energy line — a kind of bridge to the core, leading right into your ancestral history. Is that too heady or ‘out there’?
Consider what you’re experiencing now, in terms of the deeper material you’re noticing. If something comes up as an ‘issue’, ask yourself what it’s really about and wait for the answer.

You can quite literally decode crucial aspects of your childhood under this astrology. You may gain some clarity into what was so weird about certain people who could not tell right from wrong, and why so many other people tolerated that. But there is a bigger mission implied, which is opening up the adventure of your life mission. Sagittarius is all about the adventure of life (just ask one) and this astrology is a calling for everyone.

See if you can develop this into a conversation. These are deep, brave aspects going by right now — faster than you may think, if they’re getting to you — and while they last you could learn a lot.

What do you do with what you learn? You might discover something that resolves an old (and I mean very old) issue. These things happen; there are moments when learning something actually changes you. It’s deeper than ‘insight’, which can feel more like popcorn. When a missing key shows up, it can arrive with a solid sensation, such as release or actual clarity. Don’t forget the feeling that comes with the discovery. Ask how your life can be different, now that you’ve made this connection.

Personal Healing, Going Global

We’re in a moment when personal healing is unlocking the potential for global healing. One little problem with the upheavals of the 1960s was that working out our most significant troubles was not really on the agenda. Feeling good was. Standing up to power was. Great music, drugs, sex, sure. But the deeper work was generally left out of the picture. Well, it was included if you were doing Primal Therapy, but for the most part people brought their baggage with them, and kept hold of it. That’s why so many hippies ended up as stock brokers.

Photo by Eric Francis.

We are now in a moment not only when we have to take world issues personally, but when we must recognize that taking real steps toward personal healing and growth are vital steps toward world healing. In our era, we often make the mistake of stopping on the personal level and not reaching for the next step.

However, Uranus in Aries is shocking many people out of their self-absorption, and if that is not doing the trick, the ongoing earthquake of Uranus in Aries square Pluto in Capricorn is providing some shock therapy in the form of a world changing in ways that are very difficult to understand. Such as, where are the jobs and the opportunities? The unemployment rate is technically 9% but that does not include the under-employed, people who have given up and those who are on public assistance — which means that about a third of the country is in or very close to poverty. Many people are painfully aware that they could be next. With Uranus-Pluto focusing from Aries to Capricorn, this could mean a huge (and well-deserved) uprising against ‘the system’.

Why does it look like the euro and numerous European governments may all go down? Why have there been vicious crackdowns on Occupy movements across the country? Let’s pretend it has something to do with the issues they’re calling to light, such as the biggest bank robbery in the history of the world. We are literally living through the expression of unchecked corporate abuse that could put millions of people onto breadlines overnight. The personal side of this is, we could be casting ourselves into roles as victims — or as protagonists who rise to the occasion. That might be because you have nothing left lose, and it might be because you have no choice in the matter.

Knowing that, we have the options to pay attention or bury our heads in the sand. Fortunately, the ostrich maneuver is getting old and paying attention to what is obvious is becoming compelling. And one thing that’s obvious is that pretending it doesn’t matter to us is just that — making believe.

Photo by Eric Francis.

Pluto in Capricorn is ripping through global systems and institutions like Lord Shiva himself. It’s also up-ending our beliefs, our sense of stability, our relationship to the past and how we perceive the world around us.

Uranus in Aries is providing the individuality, inventiveness and a calling to wake up and take advantage of the changes the world is going through, whether you want to or whether you have to. You might be asking if you’ve woken up too late. I would say that between the two is what you decide to do when you notice your awareness is coming on. That is a sensitive moment, when you could proceed in one of many directions, some more productive than others.

You will have the opportunity to test what you believe about yourself and about life. It could be an extremely vulnerable moment. That’s the spot we’re reaching for — self-honesty beyond judgment, a moment of truth and of necessity. You could say, a moment of transparency, when the mirror suddenly goes clear.

Lovingly,

P.S. Since sending out last night’s audio on 2012 aspects, we’ve had a lot of requests from subscribers how to purchase the product. Here is the page about the 2012 annual (Revolution. Revelation. Reality Check.) and here is a direct link to the product page.

Mercury is still in retrograde motion in Sagittarius, and today it is conjunct the lunar North Node and Great Attractor. The peak of the Mercury retrograde cycle happens Sunday at 4:52 am with the interior conjunction of Mercury and the Sun. At the same time, Mercury will square both Mars in Virgo and an outer planet called Borasisi. Venus is pulling away from its conjunction with Pluto in Capricorn, and forms an earth trine with Mars on Monday. This time of year the Sun is heading into a conjunction with two deep-space points — the Great Attractor (on Dec. 6) and the Galactic Core (Dec. 19). Between those two events, we are approaching a total eclipse of the Moon in Gemini. Though it’s a little early to be talking about the Full Moon, this is an eclipse and we are currently under its influence now (please see article above).

The Moon is moving slowly across Pisces, which is delicate terrain. This is accentuated by the presence of Chiron in early Pisces and Ceres just past the midpoint; the imperative is for sensitivity to one’s own feelings and those around us. As it moves through Pisces Friday and Saturday, this porous, receptive and introspective Moon will make squares to many points in Sagittarius, which may have a provocative effect on many people. Efforts to treat this rationally will be complicated by Mercury retrograde, so some extra care will be required. Shy away from disagreements and keep conversations light if necessary. Gauge whether others display any self-understanding and respond appropriately. Saturday evening at 9:51 pm EST the Moon enters Aries, immediately forming a conjunction with Uranus — that will make for an interesting Saturday night, especially on the heels of all this inner-seeing and inner-feeling of the prior two days. The fiery moon will come with a boost of confidence, and potentially false confidence. Continue to proceed with caution, check your facts and especially check your opinions.

The recent Venus-Pluto conjunction seemed to have half the world hot and bothered, determined to express their sexuality in some direct way. The conjunction, though now growing wider, is still having an influence as Venus works its way into a trine with Mars in Virgo. Blending Venus and Mars in earthy signs is a calling to guide one’s feelings into the body, though Mars in Virgo is about expressing the exact nature of desire — and that calls for words. Mars in Virgo has very specific desires, and everyone will have more fun if these are identified, expressed and explored playfully. There is an interesting alignment involving a number of points that center on the asteroid Photographica, the planet Neptune and something called Admetos. This is about exploring the dark side of one’s visual imagination. More people are curious about this thing called ‘porno’ than are willing to admit to it, but admitting your curiosity to yourself is a great place to start. It is not a fact that ‘men are more visual than women’. Many factors demonstrate the opposite — explore and decide for yourself, though be aware that the current astrology is pointing to the darker, more transgressive side of visual expression.

Democaracy Now! is reporting that the total number of arrested in the raids on Occupy encampments in Los Angeles and Philadelphia early Wednesday morning has now topped 350 people. Nearly 300 were arrested when around 1,400 officers raided the Occupy LA site at city hall. Fifty people were arrested when Philadelphia police cleared the protest camp at Dilworth Plaza. To date, more than 5,000 people have been arrested in Occupy Wall Street crackdowns nationwide. That is about 5,000 more than were ever arrested in Tea Party protests.

Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the richest man in the city by the way, boasted to an audience at MIT Tuesday night that the New York City Police Department is his own personal army. Bloomberg said, “I have my own army in the NYPD, which is the seventh biggest army in the world.” The mayor has been accused of using New York City’s massive police department as his own private force to clear out Occupy Wall Street protesters from their home base in Lower Manhattan and to execute scores of arrests throughout the city. Now we may have an answer to the question once posed by Radiohead, “You and whose army?”

While Occupy movements continue to be evicted from their camps, there is an equally important issue to watch: the suppression of voter rights. Half of the states have passed or are considering laws suppressing voter rights, which include stricter ID requirements, cutting down pre-election day voting time and figuring out how to keep the young, the elderly and minorities away from the polls. We need to meet this with determination and appropriate indignation. It used to be said that if voting got results, it would be illegal — and that is precisely what we see happening now. Here is a Wikipedia article that outlines the issue. This is definitely in the “think globally, act locally” category — it’s a national issue but it’s possible to take local action, which begins with registering to vote and getting your friends to do the same thing.

“On Nov. 25, two days after a failed German government bond auction in which Germany was unable to sell 35% of its offerings of 10-year bonds, the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, said that Germany might retreat from its demands that the private banks that hold the troubled sovereign debt from Greece, Italy and Spain must accept part of the cost of their bailout by writing off some of the debt. The private banks want to avoid any losses either by forcing the Greek, Italian and Spanish governments to make good on the bonds by imposing extreme austerity on their citizens, or by having the European Central Bank print euros with which to buy the sovereign debt from the private banks. Printing money to make good on debt is contrary to the ECB’s charter and especially frightens Germans, because of the Weimar experience with hyperinflation.” Read more at Global Research.

Eclipses, Mercury and Thoughts on Occupy

This is the new (regular) edition of Planet Waves FM. In the first half, I cover the current astrology: Mercury retrograde, the approaching lunar eclipse, and Venus conjunct Pluto — the aspect of lust. In the second half of the program, I discuss some issues involving the Occupy movement, relaying some information I received from C.T. Butler, a previous guest on Planet Waves.

Here you’ll find the full archives and a downloadable zip file. They’re also available on iTunes.

P.S. Check Planet Waves FM Special Edition: Top Five Events of 2012.

Friday, Dec. 2, 2011. Weekly Horoscope #883. | Eric’s Zodiac Sign Descriptions

Aries (March 20-April 19) — Your rational ideas may be coming into conflict with things to take for granted or on faith. If you’re in any conflict, I suggest you check where these two seemingly different levels of reality are trying to establish the truth of something, or vying for supremacy. This kind of tension can be uncomfortable, particularly if you find yourself questioning cherished beliefs that you don’t want to let go of. It would be worth your time, however, to ask yourself why you believe what you believe. It would be just as worthwhile to inquire whether your ideas about life stand up to the available facts, and for that matter, a few other facts that you are currently digging out. The good news is that baseless beliefs don’t really provide you with any comfort, and the even better news is that facts don’t always add up to the truth.

Aries, your birth sign or rising sign, is getting a transit from the planet Uranus — which is a wild wakeup call, and a bold creative influence. I’ve recorded an hour of astrology and a tarot card reading for you. Learn more by visiting this page.

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — You may feel like you’ve gone through a transformation of some kind, perhaps right down to the cellular level, which has left you feeling raw and vulnerable. At the same time, you’re in a highly structured environment, which you may think is limiting you but which is really providing you with a measure of stability as you go through some deep and necessary changes. Therefore you can focus on your growth, trusting that you’re supported in that experience. Whether you feel safe is another question, but I suggest you treat vulnerability as an opportunity rather than as any kind of threat. All of the finer things in life — love, sensuality, desire, self-expression, learning and friendship, are facilitated by your being open, receptive and in harmony with your environment. You may have the feeling that your surroundings are not supportive of these things, but your astrology suggests that you have some excellent opportunities for authentic contact.

I’ve recorded an hour of astrology and done a tarot reading especially for you. It’s information that will help with your relationships, your professional life and your personal growth. Visit this page to find out more.

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Anger is a controversial emotion among spiritual types, most of whom would prefer to outlaw it or at least banish it to the dark side. However, the fact is that anger exists, and it has many causes. Whether it’s a productive emotion in the long-run is another question, but in the immediate timeframe it is calling your attention to something that you should pay attention to. The danger of anger is festering on it or turning it inward. Another danger is projecting it outward in ways that are not healthy or respectful, but it’s probably better to err on the side of expression rather than suppression. In any event, your attention is being called to a truly significant issue, and you know that you will need to take action sooner rather than later. There is no rush, however; I suggest you investigate your feelings and the history behind them for a while before you make any final decisions.

Gemini is one of the most misunderstood signs — and as someone born under this sign, part of your role is to hold a mirror to the world. I’ve recorded an hour of audio for you, plus a 20-minute tarot reading. You can get access to these by visiting this page.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — This is a good time to consider what you owe the world, or what you absolutely want above all else to give the world. You may have a significant debt that you are here to pay off in some form of selfless service. Or, you may have noticed that you’ve been doing that for a long time and need to think of it in a different way. You may be someone who has never considered the concept of world service. It’s time to give that idea a thorough and introspective investigation and find out what it means for you. You are formulating a deep relationship to this idea, and something akin to being a spiritual disciple is awakening in you. Whatever the karma behind this awakening may be, you are receiving a deep inheritance. True, you may not think of gaining an inheritance as ‘taking action’, but what you have is the privilege of authentic participation.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — You have a creative opportunity to make a lot of money, with the emphasis on creative first and money second. This will require you to take some specific, carefully chosen action, which I suggest you think of as an experiment. You can wait for ‘something to happen’ but you would benefit from knowing your goal, planning your approach and making a move to see how it goes. An old friend or colleague may be involved, such as in the role of reminding you of an old idea you had, or providing you with some resources or inspiration. During this Mercury retrograde, you may find yourself digging up undeveloped ideas, dreams or desires that serve a diversity of purposes — and which will enrich your life if you follow up on them. If you’re discovering an abundance of these, pick from the ones that you think will make you the happiest. There will be many other benefits.

The 2011 Leo birthday report is 70 minutes of in-depth astrology plus a 20-minute tarot reading for you, exploring relationships, personal growth and your professional life. Visit this page for additional information.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — You are gaining confidence, but it seems to be a delicate walk because losing your courage is only a thought away. The good news is that reconnecting with your courage is only a thought away. But here is a clue: Being rebellious is not enough to get you there. Rebellion in itself is a tool, not a value, and I suggest you be cautious where you apply it. The uprisings that worked for you as a child no longer work today; the things that got the attention of your parents will no longer get the attention of anyone in authority now. Anyway, there is something else you want from your predecessors, which is the example of their authentic relationship to the world. You will gain confidence by being fully in your environment, and by proceeding if not with a sense of entitlement, a sense of belonging to the human family. You are not an outcast. You are a fully vested participant in life on the planet.

The 2011 Virgo birthday report is ready! I’ve recorded 70 minutes of astrology plus a tarot reading for you, exploring how you’re working through family material, your use of spirituality, some new energy in your relationships and your professional goals. Visit this page for additional information.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — I suggest you acquire some political skills, or refine and enhance the ones you have. Politics is the basic game of human society. It’s influenced by many things: privilege, sex, strength, resources and the propensity of certain individuals to violence — but at the end of the day, to be a skilled player you need none of that. You merely need an understanding of the game and why it is important. I am suggesting this not to get you further entrenched in an idea or an institution of some kind but rather to help you find some freedom. Getting along with others, learning to get your agenda going, and having some skill in give and take, are all essential talents worth developing. In any situation where politics is a necessary art, the antithesis is to stay in touch with your sexual desire. When you lose that vital contact, the game can become dangerous indeed.

Your Libra birthday audio for 2011 is finished. Created outside next to an open fire, this reading covers the astrology for your sign in about 70 minutes (looking at career, relationship, home life and the many influences to change you’re now experiencing). It also includes a Voyager tarot reading. Visit this link for additional information.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — You may be inclined to push a financial deal, but you had better check the details carefully before you sign anything. There is promise and potential here, and possibly the chance to realize a very specific dream or desire. Yet the combination of a stellar Mars aspect (driving you forward) simultaneously with Mercury retrograde (potential misunderstanding or misinformation) is the cause for concern. You could do a handshake deal now, and finalize the real agreement in the last two weeks of the year, after Mercury stations direct and become privy to certain levels of information that you may not be aware even exist. The details count for a lot, and I suggest you invest your time finding out what is going on below the surface. Chances are you will be able to use the information well, and resolve your lingering questions — but those questions have to come to the surface before you can do that.

Hello Scorpios! Your 2011 Birthday Report is ready. It’s about an hour of astrology, plus a 20-minute tarot reading. It’s hot with transformational energy. I focus on your ruling planet Mars, your imagination and desire nature, and a phase of solid achievement. Please check this page for more information.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — You had better make sure your opinions are backed up by some data. It would be adequate to be able to say, “In my opinion, such and such is true, for the following three reasons.” I don’t mean to undermine your confidence in what you know is right, but rather bolster your confidence when it comes to knowing you’re not always right. I would give yourself extra points if you or anyone else spots an error in your thinking, particularly an error of interpretation. This may come from someone who you are sure is inexperienced or uninformed; don’t let that stop you from fact-checking if someone nudges you. At the heart of the matter, though, is a lingering question about something you believe and are inclined to hold onto at all costs, despite your doubts. You may think you’re a brave holdout, but I would say check the freshness date.

Sagittarius Birthday Audio Report

Dear Friend and Sagittarian:

I’ve just finished your Sagittarius birthday report and tarot reading. Sagittarius is encoded with a sense of cosmic mystery, and as I’ve written in many recent articles, there is a lot going on in your sign right now. I’ve broken this reading down into two parts: the first is about relationships and the second is about career and creativity — though the two are closely related.

Whiskey and Owen. Photo by Beki Herrbach.

The current Mercury retrograde and the upcoming lunar eclipse in Gemini will offer you the experience of relating to people you wouldn’t normally relate to. Think of this astrology as taking you on an introspective journey where you are able to make real contact and truly experience the “other” within yourself.

Your birthday report includes an hour of astrology that covers some of the more meaningful astrological influences that will bring you through to your next birthday, including the partial solar eclipse that occurred over the weekend and Mercury retrograde in your sign over the next few weeks.

My birthday readings all come with a tarot session, using the Voyager tarot by James Wanless. I include a 20-minute tarot reading (many people’s favorite part of my birthday products), which looks at your life using a tool that speaks in pictures. A photo of the spread is included, as are some supplemental articles.

The whole package is just $14.95 — priced to be affordable. It’s posted to a permanent link which you can play as many times as you like, or download into iTunes. I include the chart and the tarot spread for reference.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — I am pretty sure you have not heard of the Red Goat incident in the little town where I live. This consisted of two artists tagging these brand-new, certifiably ugly white tree planters with a stencil of red goats. A little street art caused one of the biggest uproars of the year. Everyone (including me) was suspect in what amounted to a two-week police dragnet. The mayor took it so personally he nearly had an aneurysm. The masses were rallied for a fantastic cause. It was great fun — and the symbol of the unintentional revolt was a goat, just being him/herself. Over the next few days you’re likely to have a similar kind of impulse power, causing reactions you could never have predicted and getting results you were not expecting. This will be fun, if you keep your eye on the effects you’re having. For one thing, you have some luscious, charismatic sex appeal working for you. Lest you’re in doubt — people are noticing.

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) — The deepest core of your psyche has gone from spitting out demons, to the sensation of angels flying out the windows of your soul. I would dare say there have likely been a few spaces in between, when you wondered just what it was you were possessed by. All of this is part of a necessary catharsis that will extend into early next year, when Neptune leaves your sign and enters Pisces. This is a phase of resolution; of tying up the loose ends and making sure that you’re being honest with yourself, and with the people around you, before you move onto your next major adventure. What feels like madness or turmoil in your soul will connect you to your deepest and most authentic creativity. It only feels like angels and devils when it’s suppressed. Then it has a way of turning into art, music and celebration.

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) — The emphasis of your charts is focused on your career — and I suggest that’s where you keep the emphasis of your energy flow. There is more happening there than you recognize, and despite a few things that could be going better than they seem to be, you will have energy to spare as long as you moderate your pace and keep your communications clear. This is a seed moment for you, a time when you will make decisions and act on long-delayed plans. But don’t stop there. You are under rare astrology that is about expanding your vision and making forays into the world that you might have deemed impossible just months or weeks ago. Part of the emphasis is on partnership; the people you encounter now could prove to be truly significant collaborators. Strive for clarity and you will get clear results.

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

Your Astrological Guide to Thanksgiving

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Dear Friend and Reader:

Before we get into the month-ahead themes, the astrology of the next few days is so interesting that it calls for some special focus. For many people, Thanksgiving (in the United States, held the last Thursday in November) is a family holiday, and family environments are often emotionally challenging. This may literally involve brain function: encounters with people in our family of origin tend to light up old neurological pathways, and grown adults can have reactions similar to small children when they encounter their relatives. This can be confusing, because you might feel like one person before you walk into the door and another person standing in the front foyer. In fact, for some this is so intolerable that they either avoid their family, or have grown so far from their beginnings that no meeting is possible. This thing we call ‘drifting apart’ is often a truly healthy thing.

Artist’s rendition of what we think Thanksgiving is supposed to be like. This never really happened, and these people never actually existed.

Our moment of astrology could shake up many longterm patterns, fixed concepts and beliefs, and we’re standing in one epicenter of that process right now. Mercury stations retrograde at 2:19 am EST Thursday morning, so it will be halfway between standing still and taking its first slow steps backward for a retrograde that goes through Dec. 13.

When Mercury stations, it’s like a mental reversal of magnetic poles. All your brain cells thought that one direction was the positive pole and the other one was the negative pole, and that can reverse. The result can be an extended moment of disorientation. If you know it’s happening, that puts you at a psychological advantage over someone who has no idea at all.

I keep hearing that the topics most people avoid discussing with their family involve religion, politics, sex and money: your basic taboo subject matter. Those rules just might be thrown to the four winds. So if you’re dreading seeing family members, this holiday might be a lot more fun than usual. Even the most ordinary social environment could become wildly interesting.

This Mercury station in fast and loose Sagittarius looks like a case of astrological Tourette’s Syndrome: a moment when it’s possible to open your mouth and state the truth. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself saying what you really think, not caring what anyone else might have to say about it. I suggest you skip the regrets and instead focus on how funny or meaningful it is that you (or someone else) just blurted something out, because it was the thing to say. If you’re not hanging out with others today or this weekend, it’s an excellent time for an introspective adventure. Whether you’ve got a full social calendar or nothing much going on, I suggest you consciously make some time to be alone. Sagittarian energy is always an invitation to adventure; even a seemingly modest trek somewhere could be a lot of fun.

Mercury stationing is followed up by an eclipse of the Sun in Sagittarius. This takes place at 1:09 am EST, less than 24 hours later. Thanksgiving dinner is sandwiched between these two events. An eclipse can have the feeling of pressure building, needing to be released. There is invisible tension in the air, and often the sensation that you want it to burst. This can distort perceptions and your sense of proportion — be sure to do a little reality check. Perceptions are just that; they don’t always represent the truth.

The social and political environment is rather amazingly different than it was this time last year. Traveling back in time, in November 2010 we had just gone through the midterm election, wherein the Tea Party had grabbed a bunch of congressional seats and governorships, and it looked like old-guard conservatism was finally going to save the world. That was before the Tucson shooting, Fukushima, Arab Spring, the uprisings in Wisconsin and Ohio, a wave of government defaults across Europe, the Occupy movement and a haze of pepper spray drifting from coast to coast.

What a difference a year makes. Today, there are protests in the streets, a sense of social upheaval and no promise that economic conditions are getting better. Yet to the extent there are going to be improvements, we now have permission to believe that we might have an influence, and that individual change counts for a lot. The time has come for a new conversation, and the astrology of the next few weeks is all about that — no matter who you choose to have that conversation with. Remember, you can learn a lot from the people you agree with the very least. So keep your ears open and remember, no matter how asinine an idea someone utters, there’s always someone else who thinks it’s brilliant.

In true Sagittarian spirit it would be a good idea to have a thick skin and your sense of humor ready. I don’t suggest you try to convert anyone; rather, the times are more appropriate for being yourself and seeing how that feels. That always makes an interesting experiment.

Lovingly,

Note to Readers: There will not be an issue Friday in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday for our staff. We will return Tuesday, Nov. 29.

A Month For Ideas With Lives of Their Own

We begin the last month of 2011 in transition: between eclipses on the Gemini/Sagittarius axis, with Mercury retrograde in Sagittarius, and many planets cautioning against mental obsession or overload. The energy in the sky is pouring in from the mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces), which are all about ideas in motion; in this setup, ideas that seem to have lives of their own.

Photo by David Shankbone.

Here’s how that looks. Through Dec. 13, Mercury is retrograde in Sagittarius, which is challenging many conventional beliefs, religious concepts and notions we may have about the world. This is happening at a time when the world itself is changing fast.

Anything with strong Sagittarius in its astrology is going to want to make its point, whether that point makes sense or not. If ideas are truly meaningful to you, if concepts matter to you, it would help if you check your evolving ideas against the available facts. Mercury will retrograde past many slow-moving points (most of them newly identified by science) and every day could come with a new sense of discovery.

Following the Sagittarius partial solar eclipse of Nov. 25, there is a total eclipse of the Moon in Gemini on Dec. 10. This might come with a few too many words to make sense of anything much. It would be a great idea to conserve your words and not talk away your intentions. If you have something to say, focus on writing; if you have important conversations, make sure you take notes, or all the information could evaporate. (Note, with many planets hanging around the Galactic Center, this ‘evaporating idea’ phenomenon may be in full force.)

Your best ideas (which would include longterm plans, or a full-on revisioning of your life) will take on a life of their own, if you cultivate them carefully and consciously. What’s growing on the vine are not your garden variety notions of what might be possible, but are more like high-potency hydroponic philosophies that will have extra influence.

Mars is a longer visitor in Virgo, where it will be through early July. On Friday, it’s in a close aspect to the eclipse, which is suggesting that you take the time to get your facts straight, know what you want, and subject your own ideas to some scrutiny. That doesn’t mean analyze them to death (which is a possibility with Mars situated as it is in Virgo) but rather that you ask questions and do your best to answer them. Mars in Virgo square the Lunar Nodes is deeply introspective and it cautions against harsh self-criticism. Try not to worry whether an idea or plan is good enough. Rather, relate to it consciously and see where that takes you.

One thing to study carefully are interconnections of any kind. There is something about the charts these days that suggests that looked at one way, anything could seem like a conspiracy, or looked at another way, it’s obvious that all life and all people are connected. Look closely at the ways people support one another in ‘failure’ and in the futile resistance to evolving their knowledge and beliefs. If you’re surrounded by people who seem stuck and are affirming one another’s stuckness, note that carefully and see where you fit into the pattern.

Zuccotti Park the night of Oct. 1, 2011. Photo by Eric.

To what extent are you either relying on unproven assumptions, or unconsciously holding onto assumptions? Whose example are you following when it comes to being a ‘better person’? Does your drive to ‘improve yourself’ do just as much to drive you nuts? Among other topics, theses are some of what come up for review.

We are alive in a revolutionary moment. We know that this is long overdue. Quite literally anything could change, and many things we’re not expecting will happen before our eyes. Remember that this will not be a pleasant process for everyone. For many, their sense of safety is the direct result of clinging to what they believe. When facts come along that challenge those beliefs, the result can be a bunch of conflict.

At the moment, this is optional, and you can get the hang of reassessing your beliefs as a voluntary experience. As we move through the next six months, this will have an increasingly compulsory feeling, as the beliefs that no longer serve us collapse on themselves. You can avoid this by continually updating your files, and asking yourself whether what you believe 1) serves you and 2) is actually true. Most of our dysfunctional beliefs come in the form of ‘I’m not good enough’ or ‘I’ll never get it right’.

You can go far beyond this struggle, however. Keep your focus on your inner source of inspiration, and notice what demonstrates itself to be valid and real for you over and over again. The truth does not need any help from us to be itself. But it helps a lot if we get out of the way.

Mercury Retrograde — Eclipse in Sagittarius

The new edition of Planet Waves FM is ready. This week I describe our exciting week of astrology, which features Mercury stationing retrograde and an eclipse of the Sun, as well as our current moment wherein the Sun has just entered Sagittarius and is making all kinds of aspects to big planets.

I sort through this astrology with you, and then look at the accompanying world events — much of which has been focused on the Occupy movement and most recently, the UC Davis OC gas (pepper spray) incident that is shaping consciousness right now. What does this say about the nature of our moment in history, and the nature of our human reality?

Extended Monthly Horoscope for Dec. 2011 | Eric’s Zodiac Sign Descriptions

Aries (March 20-April 19) — Many factors have been pushing you to change your mind. I don’t mean make a new decision about something, but rather understand your way of thinking and then revise key elements of your thought process. You do have a way of getting split down the middle; different points of view can have the same apparent value, when really that’s not true. Over the next few weeks, you’re likely to have experiences that point out this fact specifically: there was something you were missing, and you’re going to get a good look at what that was. This comes with a clue. An issue you were stuck over, which seemed to be on the level of your mind, turns out to be about an emotional hang-up. By that I mean an attachment to the past of some kind, which was obscuring your view of the present. Once you get your emotions out of the way and can assess the situation from a mental or analytical point of view, you will suddenly see a distinction much more clearly, and understand the ways your attachments to how things were was blocking your perception of how things are. In short, the time has arrived for you to participate in a larger world, on adult terms, rather than a small world following the rules of a child. Look around and notice how many of your peers still live by the rules of the schoolyard, a condition you can no longer abide.

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — The time has arrived to tighten up your act. I mean your whole act — there is no point practicing your singing if you don’t also work on your dancing. The issue may manifest initially as a desire to get your financial life in order. That’s a kind of ruse. What you’re waking up to is that you have two separate value systems that are in conflict with one another, and it’s time to make some choices. It could be something as simple as the conflicting belief pattern that on the one hand believes you want more money, while simultaneously thinking that money is evil, or that people who have money are evil. Both of those beliefs cannot be together in the same room, and you may have a few of those. While you’re working that one out, there is something unusually powerful in your chart right now that describes putting your whole identity into whatever you do creatively. Your creative process is not about choosing one thing at the expense of others, but rather about an ethic or method whereby you put your whole self and all of your talent into everything you do. Again the theme is about getting away from the sense of having a divided character, which is the sensation of any one part of your life competing with any other part of your life. You are one person, experiencing one whole existence. Experiencing this potential may seem daunting, though it’s simply a true fact.

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — This is a special time in your life, though you do have a tendency to forget. The focus seems to be on your relationships. Yet most of what we describe as relationship issues are almost always personal material that is projected into the relationship. It’s easy, indeed, too easy, to get confused by this, and a number of factors could lead you down this path over the next few weeks. The question of why you want relationships, and the role of other people in your life, is a deeply personal one. In truth, it has nothing to do with other people; the conversation begins and ends with you, and through that conversation you set the terms of what you want to share with the people around you. In fact, that’s a great way to state the question: what do you want to share with them? Ideally, that would be your most absolutely real self, even as this changes and evolves day by day. The most significant thing you’re sorting out is what I will call the mutual fantasy issue. Often, people have relationships not with actual others, but with a character they’ve made up who is based on someone they are with. The first step in getting out of this is presenting yourself to others as you are. The second step is doing your utmost to perceive who someone else is, then working with the basic facts that this presents. Just remember, this is not about a relationship — it’s about you.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Everyone has what seems to be splits in their psyche, at least until they get a handle on that illusion. Many times, you live in a polarized world, where there are two sides of the story, two ways of looking at life and sometimes where you seem to inhabit two (or more) separate worlds simultaneously, which have little to do with one another. Underneath that sensation is an underlying emotional reality, which dates back to some experiences that shaped your perceptions in very early childhood, or while your mom was pregnant with you. These memories are veiled; they exist in one of those ‘worlds apart’ that slips into your awareness from time to time. Pay attention to those experiences this month, including what comes through in very early memories, stories you hear from others about your distant past, and what comes through an especially thin veil between dream consciousness and waking consciousness. Be on the lookout for memories associated with your medical history, which in the industrialized world begins with birth and early visits to pediatricians. If your family was into faith healers, notice your memories and feelings around them. Meanwhile, as you dance around these realms, you may be flooded with the sense that you have outgrown your own mind, which would be a beautiful development. Your consciousness is expanding, your perception is encompassing more and more, and the present moment will eventually swallow the past like a puff of smoke disappears into the air.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — You can finally forget what you think other people think and explore your own creative ideas and erotic desires. There’s a reason why it doesn’t matter what other people think, which is that everyone has their own version of what is too weird to talk about. You can be confident of this. What stands on less solid ground, indeed, more of a swamp, is how comfortable others are with their own ‘weird’ side, but this isn’t your concern. Stretch into your most creative reality, going past the taboo threshold and into space that feels new and daring. One way or the other, most creativity or passion starts in the mind; we experience most things in consciousness first, and then follow up in the ‘real’ world. Notice if you run into the notion that ‘this makes a great fantasy, but I don’t have to do it in real life’. It may be true that you don’t have to experience something, but do you want to? And if you do, what’s stopping you? Chances are it will be some form of, what would Mother think? That’s a great place to get, because once you’re there, you’re standing at the point of transcending someone else’s idea of who you are and directly entering the space of who you are. You’re not a child. Your consciousness is yours to guide as you wish. Often we don’t find that out until we do something about it: something daring and fun that’s supposed to be a little embarrassing.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Does the past ever go away? It does, when we have a more interesting vision for our lives, but even then the past can be one of the most important teachers there is. If you find yourself caught in old emotions or beliefs when what you want more than anything is to move forward, I suggest you stop and make the process fully conscious. Perhaps instead of resisting the past you can take yourself there fully. This might be an easy time to do that, with the holidays coming up. If you have any commitments or plans involving family, turn it into a fact-finding expedition rather than an expedition. Bring your camera and digital recorder. Notice the things you normally overlook. Even if you don’t have family contact during the holidays, I suggest you go exploring the places and if possible, the people of prior decades. The place to pay special attention is your father’s side of the family. In the lives of many Virgos this is an especially critical area of life to resolve, and it’s been burning up the planets lately. I would propose to you that the past does not stay the same. Our perception of it changes, there are things we don’t know, and subsequent events (and generations) influence the meaning of things that seem long since gone. So I suggest you probe as deeply as you can, with an open mind. One message of your charts right now is that the way to the future is backwards.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — Most of what we hold onto, or what holds back our progress, is rooted in the emotional level, but sometimes it goes deeper. You might think of that as the karmic level, where the patterns of the very distant past are held. These are the patterns that keep repeating, the ones you cannot seem to control. They might feel like wheel ruts or grooves worn into stone where water collects and flows. Freeing oneself from these kinds of patterns can feel extremely vulnerable and disorienting, which is why we don’t do it. Yet you’re reaching a point of inevitability. You’ll know you’ve arrived there when you feel a sudden shift in your environment, which you may experience as the sensation of density or feeling trapped in a home situation or emotional state. That may be followed by the impulse to liberate yourself, potentially something so impetuous that you care about nothing else. You may not have time to even consider that reaction. Then there is one last step, which is coming to terms with the pattern as something within you that needs to change. The way this process looks is like an evolutionary fire. You might feel the sensation of having your identity totally consumed, something like a caterpillar feels like in its cocoon before it melts into the substance that becomes a butterfly. There is little point fearing something that is inevitable; the question is how you can facilitate your experience as you transform yourself from one who crawls to one who can fly.

Your Libra birthday audio for 2011 is finished. Created outside next to an open fire, this reading covers the astrology for your sign in about 70 minutes (looking at career, relationship, home life and the many influences to change you’re now experiencing). I then do and offering a tarot reading that looks at other subjects from a the different perspective that tarot offers. Visit this link for additional information.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — The word is precision. To be precise, that’s the word between now and July 3, 2012. Precision applies to three things mainly: desire, decisions and emotions. Your quest is to find out precisely what you want. At all times, know what your options are, and count as a good day any day where you have at least two choices in any matter. Finally you must direct your emotions with precision, at the right temperature, particularly toward friends and associates — but especially toward yourself. All of this would fall under the general heading of intentions: knowing them and using them with discretion. That said, it would be a mistake to be too much of a hard-ass, and that is a real risk. Many of the most nourishing and profound developments in life come from a mix of discipline and creativity. While Mars, your traditional ruling planet, will soon be retrograde in Virgo, Chiron is in Pisces, a water sign similar to your own. That means indulging the part of your mind that moves in three dimensions; that engages with the world intuitively; that goes beyond the facts and details into a kind of visionary space where your mind creates something new. As Neptune enters Pisces early next year, that becomes even more meaningful. Precision is therefore the vehicle, but your ultimate destination is disciplined creativity. Keep contact with how much flexibility, gentleness and authenticity are necessary to handle actual, original ideas — and in the coming months, count on giving birth to lots of them.

Hello Scorpios! Your 2011 Birthday Report is ready. It’s about an hour of astrology, plus a 20-minute tarot reading. Prepared with the Sun in still in Scorpio, it’s hot with transformational energy. I focus on your ruling planet Mars, your imagination and desire nature, and a phase of solid achievement. Please check this page for more information.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — Most authority is a matter of self-mastery. Just about anyone who has succeeded in the world has figured that out, and for those who have not, we understand why some have said that nothing fails like success. You may feel a diversity of impulses to be the best at what you do, to have control over your affairs and to assert your authority in your profession. This may drive you to a new level of competition as you become a taskmaster and push your influence and your reputation. I suggest you not get too carried away with this; for example, if you have the feeling (or the suspicion) that you’re losing your emotional grounding, that’s the time to change approach. You need sleep and food; 25 pounds of laundry is too much. You might have experiences where you disconnect from your sensitivity, come close to the notion that the ends justify the means. Success is worthless if you lose contact with your humanity. Ultimately, you want your drive to come from a mix of inspiration and motivation; problems are solved less by attacking them and more by thinking them through. Yet life is not a problem. It’s more often a human equation. Therefore, I suggest that while you’re taking care of details and taking care of business, you direct most of your energy inwardly, into the emotional and intuitive places within you. And remember as Jerry used to say: the storyteller’s job is to spread light and not to master.

Sagittarius birthday report coming soon! Meanwhile, to order Light Bridge, your full-length 2011 go to this link.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — You’ve opened new territory inside yourself, but you may be wondering whether it’s enough to have the experiences you want. You may be wondering if you’ve pruned away enough of the old dross in your life for new growth to sprout. What’s important is not how far you’ve gotten but rather that you have begun a challenging process, and that you’re proceeding in earnest. While there are likely to be more challenges along the way — that is life, especially when you’re in an intense growth phase — arriving at the point of actual commencement is the most important step, and you passed that point a long time ago. You cannot be sure when your deep personal exploration is going to open up into a whole new world. That could be at any moment. One thing about your life for the foreseeable future (and I do mean for years) is that the moments of breakthrough will be sudden and unexpected, and they are not necessarily going to arrive when you feel the most confident. Remember that, because you might be inclined to use your insecurity as an excuse for not being ready. Therefore keep your focus on the present. Be aware of any paradoxes you encounter. They are like atoms that contain a lot of energy. One such paradox is likely to be the experience of bold determination, which then morphs into the sensation of total instability. Hint: don’t try to divide these factors, but rather, multiply them.

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) — You seem to be in a highly unusual moment of clarity. It’s as if everything you ever learned is organizing itself into a pattern where you can see and access it all. You may also be a little overwhelmed, as ‘it all’ encompasses wide psychic territory, long spans of time and deep history. This clarity may be arriving with the sense of the big lessons of your life and how they are coming up now not for practice but for actual mastery. Most significant among them appears to involve confronting the idea of sacrifice. My spiritual training is specific on this topic, and I will pass it onto you: stop and question everything the moment that concept arises. You know the particulars; I can speak in generalities. There are two definitions of sacrifice. The newer one is to give something up for the sake of another. The older one is to perform a sacred rite. Which of these two established definitions would you prefer, and which seems the more inevitable? Consider that for a moment. The next issue is, to what extent does your current situation involve dealing with consequences of your past actions, or past actions that were done to you by others? There is a psychological component here, and there’s likely to be a sexual one.

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) — For you, everything comes back to how you feel. When you feel good you can conquer the world, and when you feel depleted or divided, it’s hard to get anywhere. Therefore, focus on how you feel as your first priority, rather than on any specific goal. It’s not that you don’t have big stuff happening — indeed, from the look of your solar charts, you may have some of the biggest stuff ever going on. The next month is going to present you with some challenging opportunities, and while you may be tempted to think your way to success, or work your way there, I suggest you work backwards from the place of embodying the feeling of the success you want. How do you do that? The experience of fully engaging life has a sensation to it. You’ve felt it before; you can envision it now. That sensation involves how it feels to be in your body walking around on the planet. And it involves how you wield your vision. The word ‘wield’ is usually associated with things like swords and light sabers; consider your vision a power tool. This includes your communication skills, your ideas and your message. Timing is everything. For the next month, some important matters may seem to be delayed and others will feel like some kind of invisible partition over your head opened up and started letting in this really interesting kind of cosmic sunlight you’ve never seen. The world will look different, and seen in this new light, it’s one vast opportunity.

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

Inner Space Horoscope – August 2011

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Dear Friend and Reader:

Mercury is retrograde through nearly all of August, from today at about 11:49 pm EDT until the 26th. The theme of this retrograde is, pay attention to what matters. The retrograde begins in Virgo, then Mercury walks back into mid-Leo. It then stations direct and works its way back into Virgo on Sept. 9. This is the layering process I’ve been describing — Mercury working the line between Leo and Virgo, as if starting in our ideas and concepts about who we are (Virgo), then moving deeper into the core reality (Leo). Looked at another way, this is the imaginary line between work and play. It’s also known by some astrologers as the sphinx point, where the cat (Leo) meets the woman (Virgo).

The Tuthilltown Gristmill in Gardiner, NY operated as a flour mill between 1788 and 2002. It is now a restaurant. Photo by Eric Francis.

Mercury retrograde has garnered a reputation for being something to dread, a time when all hell breaks loose. But this is as much about how we perceive things as it is how they actually are. You might think of the total effect as your mental projector being out of focus. The image — the message, or your perception of it — isn’t clear, and that can lead to misinterpretation, frustration and ultimately ideas that take you off course. This is part of what has lead to lists of “don’ts” favored by many astrology resources regarding Mercury’s apparent backward motion: don’t spend money you don’t have to spend; don’t expect communication to go well; don’t count on getting to your destination smoothly; don’t fix or replace things that break until after Mercury moves direct; and so on. Usually this advice works because your own perception is likely to be a little out of sorts; you might overestimate a need, or worry too much about something that appears to be a problem but really is not.

But then the projector comes back into focus. These are the moments that provide a worthwhile opportunity to dive deep into your own psyche. While your outward vision may often be distorted during this phase, working with the sense of backwardness/inwardness is a way to flow Mercury-style and actually get somewhere new — and feel good about it. Like any trip undertaken during this phase of Mercury’s orbit, the internal one requires a little extra patience and preparation, mostly of your attitude and expectations. You’ll want to pay attention to all the inner scenery and signposts that come into view, and keep an eye on your psyche’s dashboard: when you start to rev high or overheat or run low on gas, it’s time to stop. Let things cool down; refill your well; slow down the mental chatter and your reactions to others until you’ve found a little perspective. The idea is to learn about yourself, and that’s hard to do if you’re speeding down the highway yelling at the other drivers. It’s easier if you’re involved in some creative or contemplative activity, but in any case, you would need to apply a little self-observation.

One reminder is — figure out what matters, and when you don’t know, pause. Early in the retrograde, there is a temptation to rebel against something, though you may be working with incomplete or incorrect information. Rather than stage an insurrection against someone who has your best interests at heart, who is devoted to you and helpful, I suggest you take your time and make sure you know what you’re talking about.

Lovingly,

Additional writing: Amanda Painter.

Promo by Chelsea.

The Planet Waves Mercury retrograde report is ready and exploring the Internet. I’ve recorded an introduction and about 25 to 35 minutes of audio for each of the 12 Sun signs and rising signs. The audio introduction to the Mercury retrograde phenomenon in general is available to all readers, in which I give a primer on the basics and describe key details of this one. The product itself is the sign-by-sign interpretation, which I offer in clear, easy to follow language. As you may know, I reach for the point of sanity in the astrology, the solution set to what sometimes seems like an overly complex puzzle. I trust these readings will bring you some comfort, clarity and a few good ideas to work with in these wild and unusual days.

Find out more here.

Revised and Updated! Click for Eric’s Zodiac Sign Descriptions

Aries (March 20-April 19) — If you don’t feel like getting dragged into all kinds of emotional dramas this month, I suggest you proceed slowly and carefully. Make sure you know who has what agenda — and closer to the point, make sure you know your agenda. One potential trap for you is falling prey to your own insecurity, then over-reading into something you don’t understand, which turns out to be based on your own confusion and misunderstanding. It would benefit you greatly to look at your life, and the world around you, through the widest possible lens. Try to see the whole picture, so that you’re less inclined to take things personally when they’re not directed at you. You will have one occasion after the next to realize that what’s happening in your environment is not all about you — which will come as a great relief.

Aries, your birth sign or rising sign, is getting some of the most potent transits of them all right now. I’ve recorded an hour of astrology and a tarot card reading for you. Learn more by visiting this page.

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — This is a time to stretch, to open up new territory in your life, and most of all to widen your circle of friends. You are changing; it’s time to surround yourself with people who reflect the ways in which you’re growing. Whatever your social role has been in the past (group coordinator, token shy person, the reasonable one) you’re likely to be taking on a new position among the people who are closest to you. To many you will seem like you’re becoming a revolutionary by refusing to put up with the same ridiculous social rules you might have thought were wonderful just a year ago. Don’t make excuses for why you want to take more liberty. Remember, anyone you think deserves to be impressed is unlikely to be worth the effort.

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — You know it’s time to make some changes at home, but in truth there is no rush. Make sure you understand what you want to rearrange and why, and carefully consider your options for doing so. You may discover somewhat larger goals than redecorating; you seem to be reaching a psychological limit of some kind. But over the next month, you will be able to see your situation a number of different ways. What seems so dire today may seem a lot less important a month from now, but by then you will have clarified what it is you want to accomplish. Let the impulse phase pass; pay attention to what you keep telling yourself you want to change.

Gemini is one of the most misunderstood signs — and as someone born under this sign, part of your role is to hold a mirror to the world. I’ve recorded an hour of audio for you, plus a 20 minute tarot reading. You can get access to these by visiting this page.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Mars enters your sign the first week of the month, which will provide plenty of energy for you to pursue your goals. But I have a few words of temperance and caution, one of which is to make a special effort to get along with women. By that I mean, stand your ground but avoid unnecessary conflicts. Generally you will see people go to one extreme or the other — for example, push people around for the sake of it (not a good idea this month) or back down when they really need to stand their ground. Part of growing involves making sure that you hold open the space to be yourself with the people around you — no matter how powerful they make themselves out to be, or how influential you may perceive them as being.

Hello Cancerians! Your birthday report is ready. It’s more than an hour of astrology plus a 20 minute tarot reading. Please visit this page for more details.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — What seems to be a financial issue is likely to be nothing of the kind. It may start there, but once you get past the illusion that money is the actual matter, or that money sets a limit of some kind, you’re likely to discover that you have many more options and a lot more freedom than you previously thought. Life really is a matter of deciding what is important to you and then being determined to make it happen. Reciting the mantra of a bad economy or bad job market does not create opportunity, it merely blinds you to it. If you find yourself giving yourself negative messages (which are often excuses for not daring to make an effort), there’s always time to stop, think and decide what you really want.

Hello Leo! I’m now working on the birthday report for your sign. Watch this space for additional information.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — How can you be sure if a loved one is telling you the truth? Or similarly, how can you be certain that someone you’re interested in is worth the effort? The answer is that it usually takes some time, making conscious observations and then checking your perceptions. Most of the time when we go wrong with someone else, we ignored information that would have served us well. We learn things about people over time, and we don’t use it — and this counts for both the ways in which people reveal themselves to be deceptive, or alternately, loving and supportive. In the immortal words of my old therapist Joe, the thing to do is use what you know. Don’t pretend; don’t ignore; track your thinking and test whether you were noticing the obvious, and whether you’re putting it to work.

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) — This is a beautifully ambitious moment for you, but timing is everything. You might not be able to act on your plans immediately, for a number of reasons (unusual delays, everyone is out of town, the so-and-so business doesn’t do anything in August, etc.). That said, you will want to be ready when the time comes to take action, so no matter how sleepy or disorganized ‘the world’ seems to be this month, make sure you’re getting your ideas in order, and using your time to understand your most authentic goals. That said, you may find yourself encountering unusual opportunities over the next few weeks, and I suggest you be open to them. But please don’t sign anything or make any big promises until Mercury stations direct on Aug. 26, preferably holding off till a few days later. Till then, count everything as a bold experiment.

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) — This is going to be an interesting month — promise. Your life will be full of intrigue, surprises and challenges, but I suggest you practice a little healthy detachment. It’s possible to have experiences without getting caught up in them; it’s possible to meet and experience people without getting overly involved. Be cautious of any form of negativity that creates attachment. This is one of the most alluring, dangerous emotional traps going. If you find yourself in an emotional environment that’s not healthy, make a decision and move on. The more you do that, the easier it will be to open up to the flow of positive energy. Intensity, by itself, is not a ‘good’ thing, but it can be an addictive one. Love is gentler, easier and more nourishing. Keep deciding which you really want, and you’re likely to have more of it.

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) — You don’t need to set your professional goals aside — you just need to know what they are, which will tell you where you actually stand. You’re doing a lot better than you think: you’ve made more progress than you think, and attained more visibility than you’ve noticed — if such is meaningful to you. There is an aspect of your design scheme that needs to be reviewed, the basis for which is making sure you’re not trying to live up to your parents’ expectations, or compensate for their perceived failures. Let them free, and set yourself free. They have no place in the life that you’re living now. What you may discover is some of your most annoying hang-ups are not actually yours, and when you discover that, you’re never far from letting them go entirely. You just need to want to.

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) — You may feel like you’ve met your match — but I suggest leaving fantasies of combat, confrontation or even competition out of your diet. There are two main influences driving you now — one is somewhat aggressive (which may feel like someone is being aggressive with you) and the other is about mellowing out. You’ve been wound a little tightly lately, and you can afford to relax. I don’t just mean relax and take a day off; I mean relax your mind, and your approach to existence. Any time you feel yourself trying to plan out your whole life, or get control over every situation, remember, you have alternatives. They’re not substitutes — they are better possibilities than pretending to have power that you don’t have. The opposite to control is exploring your options. You have many.

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) — Take a breath; the pressure you’ve been under for the past few years is over. Part of what you were addressing were the constant demands of circumstance. Now, you have the option to focus your energy inwardly. In fact it’s more than an option — it’s a basic necessity of growth, because from this point on, your growth will develop from the inside out. This method doesn’t work for everyone, I know. Most people need to be bullied by their external environment, by people close to them or by encountering worldly limits in order to have the courage to make changes. This is not a luxury you need; in fact it’s not a luxury at all. The more you cultivate and develop inwardly, which includes facing your fears, the more the world will hold out 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) — This is a creative, experimental time for you — and that includes exploring your erotic nature. But how do you explore in a way that’s responsible? How do you address guilt, fear and other forms of negativity? The answer is yes. You are able to respond (that’s what responsible means) and it’s possible to call negativity what it is. Ask yourself: what emotion do you elect to lead the way? I nominate curiosity, with creativity as campaign manager. Let your curiosity guide you. It’s okay to want to know who someone is, how something feels, or to discover how you’ll grow or change as a result of having a certain experience. It’s okay to have that experience rather than just think about it. You’re under no obligation to be a prisoner of fear, and you have plenty of passion to share.

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

Faith, Credit and Flexibility

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Dear Friend and Reader:

Back during the Cheney-Bush administration, I used to have this notion that there was an astrologer working in the White House who was taking it upon himself to sabotage everything they tried to do. For example, they invaded Iraq with the Sun in the last degree of Pisces, when they could have waited one day and had it in the first degree of Aries, honoring the god of war and drawing on fire instead of water. But with their late Pisces military action, they got a toxic, unnecessarily deadly and expensive bog that seems to work for no one except military contractors.

The sprawling Caloris Basin on Mercury is one of the solar system’s largest impact basins. Created during the early history of the solar system by the impact of a large asteroid-sized body, it spans about 1,500 kilometers and is seen in yellowish hues in this enhanced color mosaic. The image is from the recent flyby of the MESSENGER spacecraft. Till that mission, we didn’t have such amazing photos of Mercury. Photo: NASA & Johns Hopkins Univ.

More recently, the Obama administration has been saying that the last day that the United States will have money to pay its bills is Tuesday, Aug. 2. Therefore, the debt ceiling must be raised so that the government can cover basic services and make interest payments on prior debts. That happens to be the day that Mercury stations retrograde.

You don’t need to know that much astrology to see the potential problem with this. The last few days leading up to any Mercury retrograde can be chaotic. Murphy’s Law often seems to be in full effect. These days, sometimes called the Mercury storm, don’t lend themselves well to complicated projects, and even if you make progress leading up to them, all of a sudden Mercury switches directions and you can be back to step one. While most astrologers would avoid making arrangements with Mercury retrograde, just about every astrologer will at least tell you to wait out the storm and do things while Mercury is moving solidly one direction or the other.

Plans seem to be unraveling over and over as divided Republicans in the House of Representatives cannot get clear over what to do. There are divisions between the Tea Party Republicans and the older more traditional Republicans; and there are big divides within the Tea Party itself. They all seem to agree that (in theory, anyway) taxes won’t go up, and tax loopholes won’t be closed. Yes, the Christians refuse to render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s. What they can’t agree on is how much damage to do to Social Security. This is on one level a conversation about taking from the poor and giving to the rich. And Obama seems to be playing along with it.

But there is a deeper game going on. Republicans want Obama and the Democrats to give them cover for their votes earlier this year to kill Medicare. In other words, they want to get Democrats to vote for Medicare cuts (even small ones) so that they can say, “But the Democrats voted for Medicare cuts too!” in the 2012 campaign. If instead it becomes a point of contrast between the parties in the upcoming election and Democrats choose to campaign on it, we’re looking at another big wave election that gives Democrats huge majorities in both houses and an Obama landslide. The polls are extremely clear on this point, but this is going to take guts and commitment that we have not seen coming from the Democratic party or its leaders any time recently.

Meanwhile, the fundamentalist fringe movement is pushing the country toward both default and a drop in the United States (as of today) AAA bond rating. Either or both events would drive interest rates up for all Americans and American businesses, which would likely trigger an even bigger global recession. This is being done in the name of lower taxes and saving the economy. It reminds me of hanging themselves so they can’t eat so much — therefore they will lose weight. There are a large number of congressional representatives (nearly all of them Tea Party-types) who say they will refuse to raise the debt ceiling under any circumstances. In other words, they are intentionally pushing the government into default. Many want to see the federal government hobbled; others seem not to understand that there’s a problem; the majority are using this as an opportunity to damage or destroy what they think of as ‘socialist’ programs — Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. This attempt to dismantle traditional government structure is an interesting image of Pluto in Capricorn in a wholly destructive manifestation.

Chart for Mercury stationing retrograde Tuesday night in the US, early Wednesday in the UK and Europe. As Mercury stations retrograde, Mars makes its way into Cancer, joining the cardinal cross and setting off the 2012 aspect of Uranus square Pluto.

And all of this is happening in the few days leading up to Mercury stationing retrograde on Aug. 2, suggesting that little (or nothing) will get done, or that it won’t go according to plan and will need to be done over. Mercury stationing retrograde, especially in a mental sign like Virgo, can also represent people changing their minds. For reasons I will describe in a moment, that would indeed be a miracle. Here we have people claiming to have sworn to uphold the constitution and who have made a big show about it (remember the Republican stunt of reading the Constitution out loud at the beginning of the congressional session earlier this year?), threatening to default on the full faith and credit of the United States.

There’s one other astrological current event that qualifies as A+ interesting. In an article from earlier in the year called Here at the Edge of the World, I described many charts that have an important element at 28+ Gemini. Those include the main chart of the Sept. 11, 2001 incident (the Moon); the Indonesian earthquake and tsunami of Dec. 26, 2004 (the Moon); WikiLeaks (the ascendant); the Fukushima quake, tsunami and meltdowns of March 11, 2011 (the South Node); and Japan (the Moon). Mars is currently approaching that degree of the zodiac.

It will arrive Sunday morning, setting off all of those charts at once, giving this moment something distinctive in common with many of the weird things that have happened the past 10 years. As the Republican/Tea Party/conservative coalition in the House of Representatives starts to flake apart, we have yet another image of an unraveling power structure. We get another opportunity to see things how they really are. This seems to be just one more way the veneer is being torn off of so-called conservatism, the most recent (and ongoing) example being the still-unraveling Murdoch media empire. Though it’s out of the headlines in the United States for the moment, there was a development yesterday: the mother of another murdered child had her phone hacked by News of the World, sparking a new wave of outrage in the UK this week.

Mercury Retrograde — Aspects to Neptune and Transpluto

Mercury will be retrograde for most of August, between the 2nd and the 26th. The effect ripples out for about two weeks before and after the exact retrograde (called the shadow or echo phase). Mercury begins its retrograde in Virgo. It arrived there Thursday, creeping along in direct motion. It will station back into Leo on Aug. 9, and spend most of its time retrograde there. After stationing direct the 26th, Mercury will remain in Leo till Sept. 10, when it re-enters Virgo in direct motion.

Closeup of Mercury stationing retrograde on Tuesday. Mercury is the green critter with horns in the center of the alignment. Right next to it is the hypothetical point Transpluto (circle with a slash), which can represent self-judgment and narrow-minded thinking. Mercury making a series of conjunctions to Transpluto is reminding us to be aware of when we back ourselves into a corner with self-judgments and fixed ideas.

Said simply, during this retrograde cycle, Mercury changes signs between Leo and Virgo several times. This is one of the lines adjoining our ideas of work and play; between a serious attitude and a more passionate one; between the creative force and the intellectual one. One way or another, we will all be working out some of the calculus regarding this important boundary.

Now, it happens that there is a big planet right in the first degree of Pisces — that would be Neptune. And there is an odd little point right in the last degree of Leo, called Transpluto. After being in Leo since 1937, this hypothetical point (a theoretical planet, used only by astrologers) is now transitioning into Virgo. Seventy-four years is a long time for any point to stay in one sign, so this is a transition worth paying attention to. And while it’s making this transition, it’s exactly opposite Neptune, and getting a series of conjunctions from Mercury.

The themes of Transpluto include raising awareness of rigid concepts, self-judgments and harsh or strict emotional treatment of oneself or others. As an influence in Leo for many generations, I believe it describes some of our problems with self-esteem. It’s like a narrow, judgmental thought form that we act out first on ourselves, then on others. And I would say that this concept tends to operate ‘unconsciously’ or is considered part of a normal personality. It can be associated with normal emotions such as vindictive jealousy, competition between mothers and daughters, and a variety of other feelings that manifest subtly or not so subtly.

When Mercury makes aspects to something, that’s about awareness. So we get an opportunity to see how rigid we can be, and maybe do something about it. I’m confident that under this astrology, we will have direct experiences of being exactly as intransigent as we are. What is normally unconscious will become more available to awareness. You can think of it as consciousness, or an idea, passing through a narrow space; this aspect reminds us that we may be witnessing the birth of a new paradigm.

Mercury is also making a series of oppositions to Neptune. The opposition between these two planets is saying pay attention, be realistic and consider what is true and what isn’t. It’s a classical setup for a lack of integrity unless you work diligently to have some. There is something here calling out for intellectual honesty; there is the reminder that every deception takes two parties, the one who deceives and the one who allows themselves to be deceived.

These themes of psychological narrowness, deception and rigid ideas can be applied easily to the ongoing political situation. For example, we’re being told over and over again that tax cuts for the rich create jobs (were that true, there would be lots and lots of jobs available right now) and that cutting government spending during a recession is a good thing (no serious economist believes that). Tax cuts for the wealthy (for whom the Doublespeak jargon is now ‘job creators’) tend to go into investments or to pay back debts, and the money stops circulating. Paychecks, unemployment checks and welfare benefits immediately circulate into the real economy, helping many people and businesses along the way.

The Cancer Miasm and the Tea Party

Wednesday night I had dinner with a friend who’s an experienced homeopath and teacher, helping me fill in some gaps in my studies. He was describing what homeopaths call the cancer miasm: that is, the whole thought form and energy pattern associated with the disease cancer. We Americans live in what may be the most carcinogenic society on Earth, and homeopathy proposes that this is as much about our mentality as it is about toxins in the food and water. Even mainstream medical practitioners note that one thing many cancer patients have in common is the habit of suppressing their emotions, but homeopathy is describing something other than an individual state. And it is describing how individual states of mind are an aspect of the larger culture.

They might look like trees on Mars, but they’re not. Groups of dark brown streaks have been photographed by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on melting pinkish sand dunes covered with light frost. The above image was taken in April 2008 near the North Pole of Mars. At that time, dark sand on the interior of Martian sand dunes became more and more visible as the spring Sun melted the lighter carbon dioxide ice. When occurring near the top of a dune, dark sand may cascade down the dune leaving dark surface streaks — streaks that might appear at first to be trees standing in front of the lighter regions, but cast no shadows. Photo: NASA.

My friend described the cancer miasm as being about a psyche gripped by intractable ideas; that is to say, a mind that will not budge. This is the essence of fundamentalism, a mode of thinking that currently has the United States Congress and thus the world economy by the throat. Everyone on the majority side in the House of Representatives pretty much agrees that any raising of additional revenue is out of the question, and that they’re going to cut benefits from people living on government pensions they paid into for decades. Note that I am talking about a psychic state described by homeopathy and not conventional medicine; there is some relationship, and it’s not necessarily direct (though it can be). It influences everything from our politics and social behavior to our food production methods. We all struggle with the miasms of our whole society and our family, not just the individual ones we have. We live in a carcinogenic society that produces cancer in nearly half of all people. This is territory not embarked on by conventional medicine, which deals only in dose-response relationships and only rarely addresses mental or emotional states — or their effects. Within the fundamentalist movement, there are fixed ideas about sex (don’t talk about it), abortion (murder in all instances), birth control (now also considered murder) and homosexuality (no way, Jose). All unions are bad, government is bad, taxes are bad, regulations are bad, and on and on, ad nauseam. Note carefully (it is not that hard to see) that nothing is being created except chaos. There is no plan to make, to build, to improve, to develop; the only goal is to control people (mainly through sex and private relationships) and eliminate the government’s role in the process of creating civilization. This philosophy of government is a disease process: cancer of the mind. There is something — you might call it a spiritual presence — lacking at the center of people and organizations who think this way which leads the way to aggressive religiosity. The Grand Canyon is really 6,000 years old and there were dinosaurs around when Jesus was alive. Who cares about science? There’s no such thing as evolution. (Go figure!) Like the often aggressive medical condition known as cancer, this mentality also facilitates aggression in general: multiple wars, a five-fold increase in prison population, numerous, ongoing accounts of police brutality (including the frequent abuse of Tasers) and so forth — and note that it seems to be ‘untreatable’ and out of control.

In the midst of all of this, there’s a rule that says absolutely no compromise. Do not bend. Never give in. Never flex. Have you wondered about this? Pres. Obama politely pointed it out in his speech Monday night — the part about compromise being a dirty word. We saw a lot of this operating in the days when Karl Rove was in the news. One of Rove’s most basic plays is never back down. The people currently holding Congress hostage are so convinced they’re right that they’re willing to let the whole economy crumble before they consider some other possibility.

I don’t think a majority of people think this way, but this style of thinking is certainly all the rage in politics right now. “If they budge on their position, they fear they will collapse,” my friend said of those gripped by the cancer miasm. “They reject all rational arguments in order to maintain their insanity.”

What would it be like to climb a hill and look out over Mars? That opportunity was afforded the Spirit rover earlier this month as it rolled to a high perch in the Columbia Hills. Peering out, the rolling robot spied the interior plains and distant rim of Gusev Crater, beyond an outcrop of rocks called Longhorn. Spirit continues to find evidence that many rock shapes have been altered by ancient water. But we have no idea what happened. When we look at Mars, I suggest we consider one potential fate of the Earth. Photo: NASA.

This condition has three main psychological roots. One is the compulsive need for control over themselves and their immediate environment. This extends into the environment as the desire to control others, but the real struggle is for self-control. That can be projected out into fantasies of total control over everyone and everything.

Second is the wobble factor: there is no stability to this type of psyche, and the prior characteristic is an attempt to compensate for this. With this comes the fear of being attacked, which would precipitate both lack of stability and loss of control. Intellectual process is replaced by superstition and belief in ‘out there’ notions.

Third is a lack of centeredness. There is no sense of the core of their being, of an inner reality. Everything gets pushed out to a rigid surface of the psyche — what Wilhelm Reich called personality armor. This leads to loss of sensitivity, loss of contact with the world, and a sense of isolation from people and from reality. It’s like having a thick shell that allows for no compassion or human sensitivity.

This condition describes many of the people we see in modern politics, as well as the people who support them. The crazy thing about the Tea Party movement is that it’s not really possible to discuss the issues. Everything comes from a predetermined place. The framework of the discussion is fixed far in advance and can never change, except to become more rigid. What people with this picture need is to develop some psychic mobility and a sense of flow — but that feels really dangerous.

But what about the rest of us? What about the people who don’t start this way, but who eventually fall for it? My friend described another energetic picture, described by one of the homeopathic remedies: that of being divided against oneself. It’s the way of thinking wherein, ‘this may be true, but that may also be true. Maybe there isn’t really a truth. Who knows?’ It’s not really possible to come to a conclusion; the truth does not really exist. Then the left and right sides go into battle, or as is often the case, the upper and the lower (mind versus body, for example).

Cancer cells appear during the oncological process. There are equivalents on other levels of reality. In homeopathy, what is called the ‘cancer miasm’ is associated with a state of mind in addition to a biological disease process. The state of mind influences society on all levels with its rigid thought systems and suppressed emotions, as well as its physical environment that encourages carcinogenic behavior, such as routinely eating toxins.

This condition is described by another homeopathic concept — a remedy called Anacardium. It is made from a tropical plant; note that in homeopathy remedies have complex pictures that emerge over many years of use. The word means ‘without heart’. Anacardium tends to describe the majority of people who don’t want to commit to a position, who consider themselves middle of the road. It’s a lot like the situation of an abused child whose parent will not let them make any decisions, such as what clothes to wear. If they digress, they will be punished cruelly. So they behave well, but underneath that facade is the sense of being disgusted with themselves. That describes the weakened condition of the American public rather succinctly.

In a column Wednesday, Paul Krugman of The New York Times explained that the mentality killing the United States is not right-wing extremism. Rather, he proposes, “the cult that I see as reflecting a true moral failure is the cult of balance, of centrism.”

He notes correctly that news reports portray a situation “in which both sides are equally partisan, equally intransigent — because news reports always do that. And we have influential pundits calling out for a new centrist party, a new centrist president, to get us away from the evils of partisanship.”

“What all this means is that there is no penalty for extremism; no way for most voters, who get their information on the fly rather than doing a careful study of the issues, to understand what’s really going on,” he said. “The ‘both sides are at fault’ people have to know better; if they refuse to say it, it’s out of some combination of fear and ego, of being unwilling to sacrifice their treasured pose of being above the fray.” He ends somewhat ominously: “It’s a terrible thing to watch, and our nation will pay the price.” What he is saying is that the pre-existing heartless middle of the road position makes us susceptible to fundamentalist abuse.

Let’s review the two concepts. The cancer miasm that infects fundamentalist politicians is about being overcommitted to one side and totally intransigent. In this state, flexibility is death — leading to death. The Anacardium position suffered by most voters (who cannot seem to discern good from evil, or who vote for the politicians who openly want to take away their privileges) is about refusing to commit to anything at all, lacking any confidence. It is the product of abuse, and subject to abuse and opportunistic disease (such as cancer). The two are a dangerous combination because those who are overcommitted will find it easy to push around the people who are not committed at all.

Mercury Stationing in Virgo, Mars Entering Cancer

Mercury stationing retrograde in Virgo on Tuesday is the perfect image of changing one’s mind. Virgo is a mutable sign, and it has a mental quality; Mercury rules Virgo, and it’s intelligent, mentally agile and adaptable. And this agility is not always merely an option. Mercury stationing can create situations to which we have to adapt whether we like it or not. Think of it as a decision you make in your healing process because you want to be well. So in the midst of all this intractability, we have a teaching moment that’s likely to reveal it really does help to be able to think things over and do what’s right. Mercury stationing retrograde in Virgo is about discernment.

Crescent Mercury photographed by MESSENGER spacecraft. Photo: NASA.

But something else interesting happens the next day. On Wednesday, Mars enters the sign Cancer. Concurrently with the retrograde of Mercury, Mars makes aspects to nearly every slow-moving planet. This includes the T-square on the cardinal cross (Uranus in Aries, Saturn in Libra and Pluto in Capricorn) — so we’re going to get an approximately four-week spell when the 2012 alignment (the cardinal T-square) is fully activated and becomes a grand cross. On Aug. 17, Mars will cross over the degree of the July 1 solar eclipse, reminding us what that was about. (It was a big eclipse, as we are now discovering.)

As it moves through the sign Cancer, Mars makes what are called hard aspects to Saturn, Uranus and Pluto — indicating the potential for some hotheaded, reactionary and yes, rigid emotions (the sign Cancer principally expresses itself emotionally). This is a good time to get beneath the shell (associated with the crab) and defensiveness of this sign, and open up to the deeper empathy we’re all capable of. And we will have help.

As Mars moves through Cancer, it does something else: it makes trines to Neptune in Pisces, then Chiron in Pisces. A trine, considered a soft aspect, is an aspect of flow, and this is a trine involving two of the water signs. Mars is alternately making hard and soft aspects, suggesting that water will have the opportunity to take the path of least resistance — the experience of flow and flexibility. Water signs are involved: this is creative flow, with a feeling of empathy, and creative results.

While the Mercury station in Virgo gives the opportunity to be mentally flexible, make decisions and use our intelligence, the Mars aspects give us the choice to express rather than suppress our emotions. The two are related; both describe becoming unstuck, but in both instances, it’s a conscious act — the healing process (as humans experience it) is a conscious choice. These aspects suggest we will have lots of options, if we choose to explore them.

Lovingly,

Additional research by David Kramer. Photo research by Sarah Bissonnette-Adler.

Coming Soon: Planet Waves Mercury Retrograde Report

Dear Friend and Reader:

I just finished the Cancer birthday report, which is getting good reviews. Here’s a link to the description, for those who have Cancer Sun, Moon or rising. The sign reports are designed to work for all three placements. The first four signs (Aries, Taurus, Gemini and Cancer) are available for 2011. To find them all, you can visit this link.

Analemma & the Tholos, Delphi, Greece. Photo: Anthony Ayiomamitis.

This week I began recording a Mercury retrograde report for all 12 signs. As of Friday morning I am just about finished with this project. Even though there are three mercury retrogrades per year, I get to this report once a year, gradually expanding the available database of knowledge about this rather mythologized but routine event. The report is coming out great so far; I’ve done the introduction and the first nine signs and I expect to have it ready Friday afternoon.

One thing about this particular Mercury retrograde is that it crosses the line between Leo and Virgo. We get the first such crossing in direct motion on Thursday, then retrograde on Aug. 8, then in direct motion again on Sept. 9. Some astrologers describe the Leo/Virgo line as the sphinx point — where cat (Leo) meets human (Virgo).

It’s also the line where play meets work; where self-expression meets service; where passion meets the details of creative process. For each of the 12 signs I will be exploring that relationship. You will find out what this means in your chart — whether you know your birth time (and hence your rising sign) or not. This report will be brimming with personal guidance, strategy points and hints that will help you benefit from this retrograde, based on my experience covering (as in writing about) the past approximately 51 Mercury retrogrades.

If you’re vaguely interested in studying astrology, all 12 signs will be worth listening to because I will go over all of the house cusps in one place. The house cusps are each a special zone of their own, each having unique qualities (like an extra 12 houses).

This will be a one-purchase-gets-all-12-signs product. Look for the official announcement soon!

Lovingly,

PS, Chelsea just called and said she has set up the routine for the Mercury retrograde report. You may pre-order by going to this product page. We will send you an email when the whole thing is finished, assembled and ready to go. — efc

Planet Waves FM: Crime in Progress

In this week’s edition of Planet Waves FM, I look at the issues surrounding the debt ceiling battle that really amounts to an economic and political power grab: a kind of false flag collapse of the economy. It’s happened before — the banking crash of 2008 was both avoidable and intentional, and many people profited to a degree that the public has no concept of.

There are several theories about what’s happening at the moment, one of the most cohesive coming from one of our commenters who is fairly close to the action — you can read his assessment here. By any analysis, the conduct of legislators in Washington ranges from irresponsible and deceitful to blatantly insane; and while Obama is doing his best to maintain his public image, he is offering up Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid to the flesh-eating monster of the conservative movement.

I briefly discuss the Oslo attacks but I don’t discuss the chart — that you can see on a post from this weekend. I have a few comments about Amy Winehouse and what an extraordinary chart she had — unfortunately time did not permit.

I cover this in a streamlined, one-hour program featuring musical guests the Grateful Dead. Monday would be the 69th birthday of Jerry Garcia, so we have two hot folk-blues numbers for you, lovingly selected from a pretty good collection.

To listen to today’s edition of Planet Waves FM in the old player, or to view the archives going back more than a year, check this link. If you listen to Planet Waves FM in iTunes, please check this letter to iTunes listeners.

Thank you!

Weekly Horoscope for Friday, July 29, 2011, #869 – BY ERIC FRANCIS

Revised and Updated! Click for Eric’s Zodiac Sign Descriptions

Aries (March 20-April 19) — If you have the impulse to help someone, make sure your resulting gesture is actually going to be helpful — in advance. Perhaps go one step deeper and question your motives, and your perception that anyone in particular needs your assistance. If those checks tell you to proceed, I suggest you then call the person up and ask if there is some way you can help, rather than just taking it upon yourself to do so. Meanwhile the focus of your life really needs to be you right now. You’re entering a phase ideal for inner questioning, and seem to be seeking the resolution and completion of certain stories that have gone on seemingly forever. Your first impulse to cut yourself off from the past may be followed by the recognition that you have yet to do precisely that, but remember what you’re seeking is not ‘cutting off’ but rather emotional closure.

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — Pay attention to the conditions at the beginning of any story or circumstance to get a sense of how it’s likely to work out. Pay attention to the presence of unresolved material from the last cycle, because it’s likely to be carried over into the next one. Aspects of yourself that you think of as inherent or unable to change are the ones that are caught on this treadmill. It can, at first, take an enormous amount of will power (conscious intention, followed up by action, with the results reinvested in intention) to get out of a cycle wherein history repeats itself. But there is something else at work. It’s about belief. Usually, belief is an unconscious process; the decision to accept something as true or not is rarely preceded by actual thought and contemplation. I suggest you watch this process in action — particularly when it comes to what you believe about yourself. It’s not all true.

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — You seem to be focused on the distant past. I suggest you sort out the difference between your opinion of things, and how you feel about them. Your mind seems to be overrunning your emotions, and your emotions are trying to come to the surface. One way to work with this is to set aside your opinions and stick to the basic facts of any situation. Given that certain key parts of this scenario are related to the history of your life, and the history of your family, that may take some research, though that will serve a few purposes. One will be to correct any misconceptions you may have; incorrect facts have a way of leading to frustrating or useless opinions. Second, you’ll get a chance to be a bit more detached about your situation, which will allow your perceptions some space to take in the nature of reality. Remember, the ‘nature of reality’ is best explored as an experiment in perception. You don’t need to come to any conclusions; anyway I don’t think they will help you, because what you’ll benefit from most is an open mind.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — There are two really good ways to work with money. One is to treat it as a science. The flow of wealth has certain properties that are rather unrelated to what you may have been brainwashed with as a kid. Careful study of people, of how they conduct transactions, and where you fit into the equation will tell you a lot. The second way is to treat money as energy, which can flow or get stuck. You can have a lot of energy, and it can get hung up; you can have relatively little and it can flow nicely and you feel successful. Yet the thing that will prevail over both is how you feel about yourself. This is the one essential thing that will have a way of dictating all the terms of your existence. No matter what else you may feel, believe or be up to, how you feel about yourself is both cause and effect; origin, journey and destination. Question your judgments. Embrace and share your gifts.

Hello Cancerians! Your birthday report is ready. It’s more than an hour of astrology plus a 20 minute tarot reading. Please visit this page for more details.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — This weekend’s New Moon in your birth sign is the harbinger of great beginnings. I suggest you take the long view, however, and not let any questions or doubts get in your way. Keep them on your shelf, where you can see them, but you don’t have to take them down and play with them every 20 minutes. It’s true that to ‘succeed’ means being on the brink of failure; to ‘have’ is right on the edge of not having. It is this line that so many people fear getting close to, opting instead for the supposedly safe ground of mediocrity. That is not your fate, though the coming few weeks represent a time of re-evaluation of your goals, your plans and more than anything your deeper sense of purpose. You were given the talents that you have; what do you plan to do with them, and more significantly, for what purpose? You are in a time in your life when great things are possible, and perhaps when you’re experiencing more truly positive developing than you give yourself credit for.

Hello Leo! I’m now working on the birthday report for your sign. Watch this space for additional information.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — It is sad but true that most people who pass through our planet don’t go much deeper than the surface of who they are. One tradition I respect describes this as “the fear to look within,” which emerges from one thing — the fear of what we think we will discover. Borrowing from Christian terms, we fear that we will find sin. Translating that from Latin, we fear lack of some kind. In modern psychological terms, there are a great many people who are terrified that they are empty inside, and therefore spend their lives existing on the shell of their psyche. There is really only one way to find out the truth, and that is to dive inside. Yes, there can and often are challenges associated with entering unknown inner territory. But much like diving into water, the fear is all in the anticipation. You have recently embarked on some kind of unusual inner journey. Yes, this is real; and so far as I can see, once you pass through the narrow gap of self-judgment, you have nothing to fear.

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) — It is amazing how different your perception of yourself can be from how you’re perceived by those around you. I would say that on the whole, most people have a much higher opinion of you than you do of yourself. You might doubt them, but that doesn’t mean they’re wrong. It also doesn’t mean that you can live by allowing your friends to shore up your self-esteem. You can, however, make careful note of what you observe outside you contrasted with what you observe inside you. You can notice the filter through which you’re seeing yourself, and through which you are perceiving what others say about you. On a good day, you will simply trust. The notion of whether you’re a ‘good person’ or a ‘bad person’ is made irrelevant by something, for example, like trusting the love that you feel. That said, if you have anything for which you want to make amends, now would be a great time. Acknowledging where you feel you have fallen short commands something more important than the respect of others: and that is self-respect.

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 strongly suggest you go out of your way to play fair the next few days, and while we’re at it, keep that as a goal for the next month. One hint that you may need an ethics check is if you’re perceiving differences between yourself and others that are translating into rationales for how you, in turn, might act toward them. The operative device here is rationalization. Listen for moments when you are stating reasons to yourself, which you then build into strategies. Others don’t have to be wrong for you to be right, and further, they are entitled to be wrong and you don’t have to do anything about it, or even have much to say about it. Part of why this mode is so problematic is because in getting into the ‘me vs. them’ state of mind, what you’re really doing is cutting yourself in half. If you approach the world from a whole state of being, you will see a lot less conflict, and the conflict you do see will mean a lot less. And for you to succeed, nobody has to fail.

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) — The professional move you’re contemplating is going to come in three phases, the first of which you seem to have embarked upon this week. Consider this the test phase of a new project or journey. Note carefully your environment, including what influence you seem to have, and what influence you lack. Check carefully the extent to which certain details need attention, and what practical matters fall into place. Then, get ready for a total reassessment of your plan. At this point it does not matter whether you seem to succeed or fail. Stick to your vision, indeed, nourish it and let it nourish you. The relationship between your vision and any particular outcome is like the relationship between the Earth and a tree. The tree is rooted in the earth; it grows from the Earth, but the planet that that supports it, where those roots sink in, is something far greater. Then, let that guide you through the next few phases of your movements.

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) — You may be feeling a kind of anticipation anxiety, as if something big is about to happen. The way the world is, I would not call you paranoid; the current structure of consciousness is all about something big happening, to which we all respond like criminals when the lights are turned on, then we go back to sleep. In this environment, anticipation anxiety can be a real problem, a kind of lurking psychic sensation that something is about to pop up. I suggest you channel that feeling directly into a creative outlet of some kind. That could be anything from making music to listening to it; express some wholesome indulgence in pleasure; get around some people you love and trust and make food. The kind of fear you may be processing is a lot more poignant if you think you live in a vacuum, and if your creative energy gets bottled up. And it’s likely to vanish entirely among trusted friends and when you take part in any form of play or loving communication.

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) — You need to figure out a way to vent some pressure. Obviously, make it constructive, though I can tell you from your charts that this is the deep underground kind of pressure, unlikely the kind you can work out with a stroll in the park. I suggest you work your way down to that level gradually, but steadily. This is one of those psychic equations where there is always a little deeper you can go, so I suggest you just move inward toward the direction of any tension you might feel. There comes a moment when the energy you’re holding starts to release. Then you can relax into a new layer of yourself and keep going. As you explore and experience, notice how your relationship to existence changes. Notice what happens to your tension level, your anxiety level, and your perception of your problems. Notice how you think others feel about you. Notice, more than anything, changes to your sense of what you think is possible.

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) — Mars is about to enter your sympathetic water sign Cancer. That’s another way of saying how much fun you have will be matched by how much fun you think you deserve. While Pisces has a reputation for being hedonistic, I have found that more often the opposite is true: those born under your sign who are obsessed by ethics plunge themselves into service. This may be a defensive reaction of some kind. It may also be a common-sense response to existence in a world that, frankly, needs a lot of help. Anyway, I would propose experimenting with a new kind of common sense, the one about you experiencing some of the pleasure and nourishment you want. The key word here is want rather than need; needs are great, but that concept seems to be a hedge against the guilt typically associated with desire. I’m suggesting you jump over the hedge and go right into the garden.

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

Chiron Files: Spring Cleaning

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Dear Friend and Reader:

Cleaning is healthy activity for humans, particularly here in the Western world where our lives become cluttered with both stuff and activity. The word less often means ‘restoring a hygienic condition’ and more often means getting rid of what is no longer needed. This month there is an unusual surge of Aries energy as Mercury, the Sun and Mars join slow-movers Jupiter, Uranus and Eris.

These Aries placements represent an exuberant burst of energy that might be directed at throwing away the past, embarking on new enterprises and asserting oneself in just about any possible way — those six planets cover a lot of subject matter. However, there’s a distinction that must be made between throwing off the past and embarking on the future. Aries is all about new beginnings, and Uranus — which has arrived to stay for the next seven years — is one of the most revolutionary and forward-thinking planets of the lot.

Yet consider this: Mercury is retrograde between March 30 and April 23. Mixed in with all this burst-forward energy we have a reminder to consider the past. That reminder may come in elements or ideas of the past that persist; and it may come in the form of hesitancy about moving forward because we have those ideas. In either event, the result may be the sense of a frustrated beginning.

This month, anyway, patience is going to be a virtue. Lack of patience could have a weakening effect, and there is a real risk of bad decisions that could have lasting results. I strongly advise delaying important decisions — and even seemingly minor decisions — until after Mercury is direct on April 23.

The challenge will be that because of Jupiter’s presence, there will be an exaggeration effect that makes things seem more important than they are. This will have a few hotspots, including April 11 and May 11 (give a three-day range for each date), which might have roots back to something you did on or around March 15.

Here is how to make this astrology work for you:

• Consider the past as an active process. There is likely to be something there that will benefit from your understanding. You may have a misconception, false information, exaggerated information or some significant missing bit of data that you need to know about. Delays in progress or any setbacks in commencing a new project are opportunities to do this. If you find yourself stuck, go on a hunt for the missing information. It may be looking right at you.

• You may be coming up against a past idea of who you are that conflicts with the growth or progress you’re making. An outdated self-concept may be the problem. In order to address that outdated self-concept you would have to know what it is. So take the opportunity to find out. You have time; on the short-term scale, there is no rush. Mercury retrograde is a short (if challenging) useful phase of review.

• Consider the differences between how you perceive yourself and how others perceive you. Self-understanding is basic to being a self. With all this new energy moving into Aries, self-actualization is going to become all the rage, just as if it never went out of style. I’m not sure it was ever in style, but back when Chiron was in Aries in the late 1960s and early 1970s, it was definitely something that was available. A book like Games People Play could sell hundreds of thousands of copies.

• Speaking of Chiron, its presence in Pisces continues to be a meaningful counterbalance to all of this expressive, me-conscious energy coming from Aries. Chiron in introspective Pisces is a continuous invitation to explore one’s inner awareness and every now and then consider that there exists a world other than the one you can see.

Yours & truly,

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

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.

Mercury Retrograde: A Change of Mental Perspective

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Dear Friend and Reader:

Mercury stations retrograde on Wednesday. This is a little like turning up the volume on our mental environment.

Poster by Kevin Paulsen. Photo by Eric Francis.

And that environment has been overwhelming lately. Monday’s news that plutonium is leaking from one of the crippled nuclear reactors at the Fukushima nuclear plant is a reminder of what you might encounter on an hour-to-hour basis, if you pay attention. For more than two weeks, events at this fairly typical nuclear plant have been spinning out of control — the latest in a very long series of developments that are reminding us how close to the edge the world really is. Since Sept. 11, 2001 we have lived through a decade of one calamity after the next. Just how many of the ‘one of the worst earthquakes ever’ can we have in a few years?

Heck, we’ll go back merely to the first week of January, when the prevailing news was birds falling out of the sky by the thousands and fish floating to the surface of streams. If that seemed a little ominous, it actually was; the day after we reported that, the shooting happened in Tucson. Then there was a wave of revolutions across the Middle East and North Africa. Then the corporate puppet Teabag party governor tried to shut down the public unions, leading to three weeks of the most massive U.S. protests since the 1960s. Some governments gave in; others started shooting at their people (Bahrain, Syria, Libya). Then came the quake and nuclear crisis in Japan, which, by the way, is every bit as serious as it was the first day; the threat of a meltdown is just as great. Radiation is leaking into the atmosphere, the groundwater, the oceans and has spread across half of Japan. Then the US, NATO and its allies went to war in Libya, with no plan to get out.

So, let’s be clear. While the world needs attention and its systems need updating and rethinking, and while things fall apart, those who have taken over society are spending most of their time making war and taking money. The two are related. And one way or another, this is affecting all of us: energetically, emotionally, spiritually, economically. If you happen to know people in Japan, you will be feeling that personally. If you’re one of many people who loves Japanese culture for some inexplicable reason, you are feeling this. If you live near a nuclear power plant, you’re feeling how vulnerable we are. You have probably never had to abandon your home and the pattern of your life as a refugee, but the way the world is, you may be able to relate to the feeling.

I don’t care how deep a person has their head stuffed in pillows as the alarm clock goes off again and again: everyone is feeling the global call to awakening. For some this is exciting, for some it’s annoying and for others it’s literally terrifying. As you watch videos of that tsunami sweeping away cars, tractor-trailers and warehouses full of goods, you realize the power of the natural world to impact our lives; the order of nature becomes apparent, and I think that’s liberating.

Everyone’s favorite nuclear power plant operator.

It is easy to lose context in the midst of all of this; to lose connection with the greater scheme of existence. It’s also possible to be brought into connection with that greater scheme, with others who care, with others who want to grow and make a difference rather than freak out. I would remind you — maybe I don’t have to — that plenty of people are actually, genuinely scared. By that, I mean certain people among your coworkers, friends and neighbors, who are feeling the potential for everything to fall apart, or maybe even yourself. I mean kids who might have a clue what’s going on in the world, yet not fully understand or have a way to process the information.

One morning about 10 days ago, I woke up, looked out my bedroom window and saw the rain dripping from the neighbor’s roof. I was grateful it was not radioactive rain. Here is the truth. We may not be able to say that for long, and in fact there is a large, densely populated part of the world where rainwater is carrying elements like cesium and iodine. Tap water as far as Tokyo is contaminated, and radiation has turned up in many crops. Plutonium has escaped from Unit 3 and has been found outside the plant. Remember that there are numerous nuclear plants with the same design currently operating in the United States. I would note also that while actual increases in radiation are not apparent everywhere, there are some individuals who can feel an energetic breach like this, or an injury to the Earth, no matter where they are.

And here is something else: there may be a lot of people who just don’t care. Part of the skill of being alive now is not letting the zombies and the green, three-eyed space aliens get you down. Part of how you do that is by maintaining a sense of who you are. Note that this is not usually experienced as certainty but rather as an active question. Once you become comfortable with the question, you will be a lot more comfortable with who you are. If you keep asking the question the same way, you may get frustrated. Therefore events and astrology come along to shake up the whole matter — and that is what Mercury retrograde in Aries is about.

Here is a short summary of that transit, which goes from March 30 through April 23.

Mercury represents the mental environment. It is not merely the ‘theme of communication’ or ‘the mind’, but rather where consciousness intersects the world around us. The two patterns overlay one another and create a totally unique pattern within our minds. Because it’s so compelling, and dominates consciousness so thoroughly, we tend to associate this pattern not merely with what we are experiencing, but also with who we are.

Chart for Mercury stationing retrograde.

Aries, where Mercury will be retrograde, has lots to say about who we are and who we think we are — and at the moment Aries is the scene of a revolution. When Mercury stations retrograde Wednesday there will be six major points collected there — the mean lunar apogee (Black Moon Lilith) on the Aries Point, Uranus one degree away, the Sun, Jupiter, Eris and Mercury. Not shown on any commercial chart is a point you’ve read about here — 1992 QB1.

Here are a few highlights:

Mercury is making a series of conjunctions to Eris. The furthest known planet from our Sun, Eris represents the personality chaos that marks our era in history. It’s the obsession with not knowing who we are. There is a lot of freedom in over-emphasizing that ‘you don’t know’ — such as being liberated from the need for authenticity. Once you tune into who you are, the next logical step is to stop bullshitting yourself and anyone else. Awareness of self implies commitment. You can gradually become powerful in that way that you always struggled with not being. Mercury is stationing retrograde very close to Eris. It’s just made a conjunction and over the next five weeks as the retrograde works out (the process is longer than the actual 24 or so days that Mercury’s apparent motion is in reverse), there will be two more. This is an opportunity to see your issues for what they are, and to assemble the seeming pieces of yourself into a cohesive idea.

Mercury is close to a conjunction with 1992 QB1. This is the planet that helps us get past the notion that ‘death rules’. I suggest we take a look at how deeply and unconsciously we accept that. In our current version of the world, whoever has the power to kill is the boss. Have you ever considered this one? Oh, Mr. Policeman has a gun. My husband might beat the snot out of me (and kill me). That nuclear power plant might blow up — we better treat the guy making millions off of poisoning our kids as a god. Taking that to another level, we are fond of the phrase, ‘death and transformation’. Oh, doesn’t that just make the notion of change sound like a wheelbarrowful of fun? 1992 QB1, as the first planet [ever] discovered beyond Pluto, offers another notion of change; another idea of transformation. Its energy feels more like gradually slipping into orgasm than someone coming along and saying, ‘change or die’. The thing is, this requires willingness.

Tags on the wall, Kingston, NY. Photo by Eric Francis.

Mercury is making a series of conjunctions to Jupiter and oppositions to Saturn. This sounds like an experiment in understanding the difference between willingness and resistance. Human consciousness is not merely dualistic; it requires contrast to be able to sense distinction. People who either blur everything into one gray mess or see the world hotly polarized in stark black and white are not seeing the subtle shades. Jupiter and Saturn are more similar than most astrologers acknowledge, representing complimentary rather than contradictory energies. It just helps to know the difference between the way the water feels and the way the edge of the pool feels, and Mercury getting into the opposition of Jupiter and Saturn is here to offer us the sensation of that contrast.

Part of the contrast is the difference between self and other. Oppositions imply relationship. On the most basic level of astrology, Aries represents self and Libra represents other and our relationship to other. We now have a kind of revolution happening in the sign of self, complete with the planet of revolution (Uranus) right there. But we tend to get stuck in out-moded concepts of relationship and then caught in the confusion of not understanding why we feel so trapped. Conventional wisdom holds that there is no other way, except to seek self in other and then get stuck there. But at the moment the influence of self-awareness is so strong we’re likely to figure out that we don’t need another to be who we are; we can be who we are and relate to others if we want.

One last. The Moon is conjunct Neptune waaaaaaay at the end of Aquarius. There have been more than 150 Moon-Neptune conjunctions in Aquarius over the past 12 years or so, and now there are just a very few more before Neptune takes up residence in Pisces in 2012; and just one more before Neptune visits Pisces starting next week. Cutting a long story short, the conjunctions in this last degree of Aquarius are an opportunity to help us transform our emotional body into a living instrument tuned to subtle energies (rather than the sticky, heavy thing that we so often experience it to be). Most of what we think of as growth, transformation and healing involves our emotional body, which is the thing that tends to get stuck in the past no matter how smart we are. However, part of the challenge is about doing this at a time when there is an enormous emotional strain on the world, indeed many; it is daring to open up and let yourself feel at such a moment.

Mercury retrograde offers us many chances to shift our mental perspective as an experience and not merely as an intellectual concept. As you take this ride you can actually experience different sensations based on seeing the world differently, which is another way of feeling your own existence differently. That starts with consciously exploring with curiosity and willingness rather than resistance and judgment. Those are your basic choices. And in them more is contained than you may think — for example, we are actually face to face with the potential to spark a global awakening.

Catch you Friday with a weekly horoscope.

Yours & truly,

PS, looking at the minor planets, there is also a triple conjunction of three asteroids — House, Hera and Memoria. It’s time for something other than jealousy, shame and control drama to rule the roost. True, one has to have some authentic confidence to allow in another idea. It’s possible, and it’s easier if we’re willing to consider the alternatives.

PPS, here is the article about the most recent Mercury station direct, in early winter. And here is the article about the corresponding Mercury station retrograde three weeks earlier.

Check this audio announcement for information about Eric’s

new e-book, Light Bridge: The 25-Year Span.

Attention Light Bridge Subscribers: Light Bridge audio readings are now available for half the signs — the rest are coming soon! If you have not signed up yet, you may do so here. Everyone is invited to read the articles on the Light Bridge blog, which will update periodically. Customer reviews of Light Bridge are collecting here. Don’t miss the free audio introduction to the project that explains how I created these seven-year readings. To everyone: thank you for your patience while we completed the written phase of Light Bridge.

Light Bridge: The 25-Year Span

Dear Friend and Reader:

Planet Waves has just completed a digital compilation of my writing about 2012 dating back to 1987. It’s called Light Bridge: The 25-Year Span. The span extends from the Harmonic Convergence through to the winter solstice of 2012. [Here is an audio introduction. Here is the purchasing link. Note that this is a different project than the Light Bridge annual edition.]

The articles in the collection are drawn from a number of sources, including Planet Waves and our various annual editions, as well as blog entries, my notebooks and one from an earlier book called 313. The book begins with a new piece that covers the history of the Harmonic Convergence and its possible influence on world events. I then present a retrospective of writing describing events that fit the pattern, either historic or philosophical, of how we approach the topic of irrevocable change. Even if you’ve read some of this writing before, the pieces will now come together when you see the ideas in context.

I have consistently treated the concept of 2012 as something we are creating now, even as time accelerates and we race toward the future. Different articles offer perspectives on the Mayan day count as well as the Western astrology associated with 2012. I am not making predictions; rather, my intent for all of these articles has been to focus our minds on the present moment and enter the future through immediate awareness. I am describing the process of opening up to the moment.

The book is beautifully illustrated with Mayan-inspired glyphs created by Carol McCloud.
These are like no artwork you’ve ever seen before. Light Bridge: The 25-Year Span comes with a separate file of historic charts. We have done our best to leave links to other sources embedded in the text.

As you may have read, Jose Arguelles, who created the Harmonic Convergence and first called attention to 2012, died Wednesday. According to his website, before he departed he said to his apprentice, Stephanie South, “I have done all that I could on this planet. I am being called to assist in the closing of the cycle from the Other Side.”

Arguelles was the author of The Mayan Factor: Path Beyond Technology, which became a kind of platform for creating the Harmonic Convergence. He was also author of Dreamspell: The Journey of Timeship Earth 2013 which was a book and a game that came out in 1990. Dreamspell is an interpretation of Mayan daykeeping that teaches one to use the Mayan calendar in a practical, accessible way. Arguelles was the father of the current movement to adapt Meso-American calendar systems and other alternative models for considering time. In a sense, what we think of as time is really a prison that locks us into a time/money orientation of consciousness.

I was never Jose’s student, but his ideas have touched my life and informed my astrology through different teachers, friends and colleagues. We think it’s an intriguing synchronicity to be making this work available when so much attention is being given to Jose’s ideas.

Here is ordering information. Delivery is instant. The format is a downloadable PDF with images solid enough that they will print nicely.

Thank you for your interest. I think you’ll love this project. It’s been a lot of fun to create.

It’s only change —

A Homeopathic Moment: Mercury Retrograde

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Dear Planet Waves Reader:

Earlier this morning, Mercury stationed retrograde in Capricorn, conjunct Pluto. Mercury will be retrograde until Dec. 30, a span of time covering an eclipse of the Moon and the Northern Hemisphere winter solstice, as well as the holiday travel season. Mercury will dip back into late Sagittarius, treading in reverse over the Galactic Core, then after stationing direct make another conjunction to the core early next year. Before I get into a few other details of this astrology and what it may say about our most personal lives, I have several points of follow up on last week’s article about WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange.

Image from the video calling card of the activist group Anonymous, which has declared war “against all enemies of Julian Assange.” The group this week took out the websites of MasterCard, Visa and the Swiss bank that froze Assange’s funds. The full video is a masterpiece of zeitgeist, capturing the spirit of global chaos mingled with technology. Other videos on the YouTube channel provide a closer look at the organization’s philosophy.

The two are closely related, as I will describe in a moment, though I would state straight out that Mercury retrograde is often a tipping point when it comes to the truth of some underlying matter being revealed. If that pattern holds up, we ain’t seen a thing compared to what we’re about to discover during the next few turbocharged weeks. Though this involves certain factors that are local to this moment (eclipses and Mercury retrograde), in the biggest sense, the world as it is becoming now is in the full throes of the Uranus-Pluto square that is the centerpiece of 2012-era astrology.

For astro-historians, this is part of the same cycle that gave us the 1960s, which were sparked by the Uranus-Pluto conjunction in Virgo.*

So far as I can tell, the WikiLeaks revelations are the most significant historical event since whatever happened on Sept. 11, 2001. Though the effect is subtler (so far), what has happened the past two weeks has taken government, the media and the public over a threshold of confronting actual truth. We are seeing confirmation of things that politically alert people have known for many years — but it’s finally coming up now, being brought to much wider awareness. You might even say coming up for healing. This is a homeopathic moment for world managers and media gatekeepers, who are now being given a dose of their own medicine. The concept of homeopathy is that ‘like cures like’. WikiLeaks is delivering, in potentized form, what they have been holding onto and not letting go of. The result of a successful remedy is often a healing crisis, and this is precisely what we are seeing.

The public is discovering what our ‘leaders’ have been up to, as the media is being compelled to report stories that it has systematically ignored or obscured for decades. I cover this and related topics Wednesday in my weekly podcast, where I describe how actual documents are the only thing that ever advance an important news story.

As a result, a new kind of war has broken out on the Internet — the first ever — between entities that would seek to censor WikiLeaks and a diversity of hackers, free speech advocates and legal experts who are coming to its defense.

The Mercury connection involves its current contact with Capricorn, Mars and Pluto: could we have a more fitting image of this situation than the combination of these energies? Mars and Pluto in Capricorn are taking us to the depths of what governments and corporations are really about. We get the picture as the foreclosure crisis grows and the rich try to write themselves a check for half a trillion dollars in the form of renewed tax cuts that they plan to borrow from China. Mercury is telling us a few things, such as: there is power in knowledge; strength in awareness; community in communication. There is power in knowing some history — illustrated by the retrograde (past emphasis) in Capricorn (where we find information about the goings-on of the past, and about corporate entities). This is blended with the compelling lunar North Node (dharma, true calling, current life challenges), also in early Capricorn. This, in turn, picks up the Aries Point because it’s early in one of the cardinal signs, drawing in millions of people who are affected around the globe. Mars so closely in the mix adds passion, and we are certainly seeing some of that.

Seemingly unstoppable forces are being revealed for what they are, how they think and how they work, all with the force of Pluto that is digging into the soil of existence and turning it over — particularly in the sphere of government and corporations. Looking at this another way, we see that the personal is indeed political (Aries Point theme) as Assange, an elemental force on the global political stage, is being held prisoner in relation to subjects emanating from his most private life. I cover that subject closely in this blog comment.

Assange turned himself in to a London court Tuesday morning, was denied bail and is still in custody, pending a hearing on extradition to Sweden. He was wanted for questioning in connection with two relationships he had over the summer, and in an unusual move, a high-level Interpol warrant was issued last week.

Notably, he hasn’t been charged with a crime by any country; given that his role is political, it would be fair to call him a political prisoner. From what we can tell after analyzing many accounts of the charges, these were consensual incidents that were later recast as something else, with the two separate ‘victims’ acting in collusion with one another to ‘seek advice’ from the police. This is a maneuver in Sweden that allows someone to implicate a person without actually making a false complaint. One involves the allegation of a condom breaking or sex without a condom, in a country where in such a case the male partner can be charged with a crime. The details of these allegations are so wrought with issues — both personal and legal — as to be an embarrassment. While it seems that Assange was not a perfect gentleman, it also seems that the prosecutor is testing out some new ‘feminist’ legal theories. There is a discussion of this subject matter at this blog post on Planet Waves.

Assange will be represented by the renowned Australian/British human rights attorney Geoffrey Robertson, who will begin by helping him fight extradition to Sweden. Robertson, considered one of the brightest legal minds in the world, is said to be one of the few attorneys who is both a specialist in free speech cases in England and in extradition cases involving Scandinavian nations.

Even as it scrambles to recover from the damage caused by the leaked documents, the U.S. government has gone to war against WikiLeaks, though neither Assange nor his organization has been charged with any crimes associated with the release of the cables. WikiLeaks, under pressure from the U.S., has had its .org domain taken away, it’s been kicked off of its American servers under pressure from Sen. Joe Lieberman, and has lost access to cash flow through MasterCard, Visa and PayPal. The Swiss, who served as the central bank for the Nazis, for innumerable members of the Mafia and other notorious international outlaws, have closed Assange’s bank account there. That is remarkable in itself.

There were protests in London and Sydney on Thursday supporting Assange and WikiLeaks (plus massive demonstrations in London related to education budget cuts and increasing fees, wherein students reclaimed Parliament Square as a protest space for the first time in a generation).

About 1,000 websites around the world posted mirrors of WikiLeaks, making sure that the site is impenetrable against censorship. The collective Anonymous vowed revenge “against all enemies of Julian Assange” and its many hackers this week began in earnest, taking down the websites of MasterCard, Visa and the Swiss bank that froze WikiLeaks’ funds.

Speaking of hacking, a purported birth time for Assange has been found, or rather a few of them all close to 2:05 pm. The sources range from “a close family friend” to an informant in the bureau of records or hospital where Assange was born. The data, published by The Mountain Astrologer magazine, seems solid. The chart gives Scorpio rising and a 12th house Scorpio Moon (illustrating the ‘secret dossier’ and one who might find it) and places his powerful Chiron/Eris conjunction in the 6th house — he is a revolutionary who has aimed his arrow at the military itself. I cover this chart in my current podcast.

Meanwhile, the leaked cables are continuing to emerge, though the central issue — the content of the cables — has lost some steam in the mainstream press. The Guardian in the UK continues to be the leading voice, with the latest revelations involving the fiasco surrounding the Venezuelan oil business. And we are learning more about how the United States’ presumed closest Arab ally, the Saudis, are providing money for Iranian terrorists and promoting extremism in their children, while goading the United States to bomb Iran.

Speaking as one who has covered many scandals and has followed world events night and day for more than 20 years, here is how this feels. Time after time, we have seen world leaders, particularly Americans, act with impunity against nations and their people. Bucking the overwhelming majority of world opinion, Iraq was blamed for Sept. 11 and invaded and disastrous war was begun. By modest estimates, the war in Iraq has killed more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians (some estimates go 10 times that high; in either case it is tantamount to genocide). More than 5,000 American families have suffered the loss of a loved one in the military, and tens of thousands of vets are returning with severe brain trauma, only to find inadequate, underfunded or nonexistent support services.

Billions of dollars have been stolen from the federal treasury, from banks and from millions of people whose homes are being foreclosed. The world economy is faltering, and the wealthiest people, many of whom made their fortunes profiting from war, feel they are entitled to lavish tax breaks, with no plan to pay for them.

I’ve been waiting for the other shoe to fall, for someone or something to resist this onslaught — and for the first time, this feels like it. WikiLeaks has sparked not just an antiwar movement, but wide-scale exposure of the crimes of war — and this arrives not a moment too soon. What we are seeing is an actual consequence of the crimes that have been committed against the people and the Earth. I don’t suggest anyone look for a neat and clean ‘outcome’ to these events. Though you’re unlikely to see anyone say this on cable news, I believe that this moment of radical honesty has inaugurated a new era in world history. It’s the first real penetration of the seemingly insurmountable wall of deception that we know has characterized awareness for so long.

Mercury Retrograde in Capricorn

Let’s focus in on the astrology. To sum up, this Mercury retrograde is going to do for our personal lives what WikiLeaks is doing for the world. If the government and corporations keep secrets from us, we do a fine job of keeping secrets from ourselves, and creating family systems that are based on deceit and its inevitable power dramas. This retrograde phase can be a refreshing change of pace.

To recap: Friday morning, Mercury stationed retrograde in early Capricorn, in a close conjunction to Pluto, and quite close to Mars and the North Node. This counts as an Aries Point event because everything is in the early degrees of a cardinal sign, talking directly to the first degree of Aries — the one that emphasizes the connection between what is private and what is public, going in both directions. Private matters are having an influence on global events, and the changes of the world are having a direct influence on our individual lives. This often comes with the sensation of the world crashing into the living room, or being subjected to vast forces of which we have no control.

Planet Waves

Chart sample for the moment Mercury stationed retrograde, at 7:04:26 am EST. The chart, set for New York, features yet another appearance by the Pholus-Great Attractor alignment in Sagittarius (marked by the little pink flag). The Sun is approaching the Galactic Center (not shown in chart, but close to 27 Sagg), as is the asteroid Pallas (which represents political and legal affairs that are dominating the news). Four points are shown in Capricorn: Mars, the North Node, Pluto and Mercury. Mercury will now retrograde over each of the planets shown with the exception of Pholus, before stationing direct on Dec. 30.

Consider the combination of energies: the background energy field is Capricorn (corporations, government, family and the lingering influences of religion, such as guilt). This is connected to the world stage via the Aries Point. The North Node is right there, inching its way toward 00 Capricorn, with a total lunar eclipse about to fully energize both nodes. The North Node pulls us into unfamiliar territory and has a feeling of confronting the unknown. The South Node, where the eclipse happens, grants a release point from the past and a break in continuty. Mars, meanwhile, has just arrived in Capricorn, it’s about to make a conjunction to Pluto, and Mercury is about to retrograde over the whole arrangement.

Setting aside all the mythology connected to Mercury retrograde, such as lost keys and electronic gadgets acting strangely, let’s remember that Mercury is a planet associated with messages, communication and the mind. It is a personal planet (close to the Sun), so it speaks directly to/from us; and its influence is now being combined with a variety of forces — from the very personal energy of Mars (desire, will, anger, aggression) to that of Pluto (soul energy, evolution, world karma) and the North Node (which can also be described as dharma — or acting as if to hold the world together).

Mercury is giving a voice to this diversity of themes, and it may be confusing and personally overwhelming as all this new information pours in.

That is to say, inner material is arising rapidly. With Mercury, Mars and Pluto involved, you can be sure that some of this subject matter is sexual. Indeed, you may find yourself wanting to admit to yourself or state out loud what you have never before been willing to reveal. Using the life of Julian Assange as an example, we have a window into how unresolved material in one’s personal life can create a disproportionately large effect in a public life — and we all have a public life. The message of this Mercury retrograde is: clean closets.

You may finally be willing to make inquiries on subjects you’ve avoided for decades. This may involve family secrets (a domain of Capricorn) that you’ve wondered about or dragged around for years. And, what you learn will have the power to change your life, or said another way, you can take this as power to make changes. Looking at this in the most intimately personal way, the overriding theme is the paradox of guilt and desire. Where sex is concerned, many feel ‘damned either way’, or live in some form of a no-win, double bind or paradox.

We are now heading into an eclipse of the Moon on Dec. 21 that stretches from the last degree of Gemini to the last degree of Sagittarius. It’s a total lunar eclipse that happens right on the solstice, which multiplies (rather than adds together) the effects of the Aries Point, the eclipse and all the high-voltage planets loaded there.

About two weeks ago, just prior to the WikiLeaks revelations, I commented on a New Moon in the last degrees of Taurus/Scorpio: “This sequence of events has the feeling of something coming out of the background. It’s as if the Moon-Sun opposition happens in the wings off to the side of the stage, just out of sight — then suddenly it becomes obvious what’s going on.”

Well, what happens next may not be entirely obvious to everyone — but what we are witnessing and experiencing are the birth contractions of personal and global change that are the defining theme of what we call 2012. Part of that change is the raising of awareness about what we have so blithely denied about the world, about ourselves and about the place where the two meet.

Yours & truly,

*This is covered in my earlier series Born in the Sixties, as well as by Richard Tarnas in his article Epochs of Revolution, posted in Cosmic Confidential.

PS: For homeopaths in the audience, if this is a homeopathic moment, what remedy is described? I have a guess. Write to me with yours (dreams@planetwaves.net) and I’ll reply.

Judith Gayle’s Political Waves will now appear Saturdays on Daily Astrology & Adventure — the Planet Waves blog. She also has her own blog, called Political Waves.

Weekly Horoscope for Friday, December 10, 2010, #843 – BY ERIC FRANCIS

Aries Confidential

I suggest you call it a year on working toward any sort of professional advances or job searching, and shift the focus of your energy inward. The light is shining in your inner world and it’s rather complicated in the angles of your chart where you have to relate to society in a responsible way — so complex as to be counterproductive. Therefore with Mercury retrograde in that sector of your chart, devote your energy to closing up the business of the year and tying up any loose ends. Your inward focus will be far more productive toward anything you’re striving for than what amounts to pointless busy work. Yes, check your email and your voicemail and respond selectively to what is important. Yet the juicy fruit is in your stoking your imagination, creating your vision and nourishing your dreams. If you’re getting sick of hearing about the recession, unplug the television and turn on the Beatles.

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

Taurus Confidential

Now is the time to start a fire and burn any beliefs that you don’t want as a joyful year-end, decade-end sacrifice. By now you know what most of those beliefs are. You also know that most of the time, it seems difficult to change what seem like your fundamental ideas. It won’t be difficult now, on many accounts; what is usually hidden from view is now out in the open, for one thing. For another, you’ve seen the negative effects of believing what is not true or what doesn’t really apply to you. One problem with getting rid of old beliefs is that it really helps to have something to replace them with. Usually the new beliefs displace the old ones, though at the moment your mind is a dynamo of invention — that’s all the restless energy. In case you need guidance, here is how I would sum it up. Replace guilt with the absolute freedom to feel. Replace expectation with what you want to offer the world or those you love. Replace the concept of “God” with the reality of Self.

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

Gemini Confidential

Keep it simple, and beware what you commit to. The usual advice of Mercury retrograde is “don’t sign, don’t buy.” With Mercury retrograde in your 8th solar house (contracts, investments, taxes) then, it would be prudent to back off from all such business until it stations direct, or preferably, after the solar eclipse in early January. You will know more then than you do now. You will know more about the people you are dealing with — which brings me to the ways that the current series of aspects may be reflected in your personal relationships. The theme translates to commitment in that zone where sexual relationships overlap with financial ones. That usually translates to marriage-like relationships. You will need to be an excellent listener through this phase, so that you really have a grasp where the people close to you are coming from. It may not be easy to avoid taking things personally, but a little detachment will go a long way.

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

Cancer Confidential

There are times when fast communication works, and times to let discussions go on for weeks. Now would be an excellent moment for the latter approach. I suggest you make no attempt to finalize arrangements, opinions or intentions; rather, observe and deduce. Mercury retrograde is an interesting phase for people with Cancer or Cancer rising because it engages you with so much of what you’ve tucked away in the hidden corners of your mind (that’s the natural relationship between Cancer and Mercury). As you discuss anything with another person, you’re getting a window into either what you believe, or what you don’t want to believe. As the conversation evolves, move slowly, as if you’re moving underwater. Remember that you’re relating to some of your deepest material. Be gentle with everyone and you will learn a lot — and open the door to a hidden dimension of pleasure.

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

Leo Confidential

Put a little extra emphasis on your health. That includes getting enough movement to stay flexible, and making sure you don’t over-exert yourself, say, shoveling snow if you live in Buffalo and you don’t exercise regularly. Get enough rest. Make sure that the floor stays dry and that you not only drive with caution, but also get in and out of the car with caution. As for your mind, the thing that runs the body: any stress management, or reduction, techniques you can put to work these days would be a good idea to warm up now. Remember, you can only do so much work, and only so much work is necessary. There is a long list of things that can wait till after January 2nd, and I suggest you keep that list current. Focus on what needs attention now, and when you’re not focused on something, let your unconscious work on it quietly in the background.

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

Virgo Confidential

Sexual adventures have a way of becoming something else. We know this, whether they morph into friendships, enemy-ships, love affairs, entanglements, scandals or actual loving relationships. But the thing to remember is that they tend to transform, and there is an old expression that ‘sex changes everything’. It transforms us. All of that said, I suggest you focus on observing and participating consciously in that process of transformation. Part of that is going to involve monitoring your language. Are you speaking the language of peace or of power? Are you hearing words that invite or repel? In an odd way, your reality will follow the words you choose. I suggest you choose carefully, and listen just as thoughtfully. Ultimately this is the test: are your experiences creative? If so, that is where you want to be. If not, then gradually guide yourself to a new place, remembering as Adrienne Rich suggested: words are images; words are maps.

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

Libra Confidential

Whatever may be going on with you now, look for the emotional roots of the matter. Everything physical, spiritual or mental will — for now — come back to an emotional state that is influencing the rest of your reality. Your feelings will likely be grounded in your domestic situation, which may in turn be magnified by any encounter with your family of origin that is imminent as the holidays draw near. How does this translate, in practical terms? I suggest you spend plenty of time alone, getting a sense of your interior weather. Adjust your commitments according to how you actually feel rather than how you think you should feel. Take extra measures to take care of yourself, and follow the healer’s guide, ‘take care of yourself before you take care of anyone else’. This goes against the conditioning of our culture, especially for many women. If there is a ‘lesson’ in what you’re experiencing, this may be it.

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

Scorpio Confidential

Beware of head-trips — the kind you inflict on yourself, and the kind that others inflict on you. In fact I suggest you do your best to avoid all conversations of ‘issues’ with anyone you think has issues. If it sounds like I’m saying make nice and keep things superficial, you’re correct, and it’s probably the first time you’ve ever heard me say anything to that tune. Yet with the energy you save, I suggest you carefully investigate the inner ties that are binding you to your situation. This is likely to be a matter of your mental outlook, though that has many constituents, which include believing things that were perhaps true at one time but are not true today. Or, they were true for someone else but are not true for you. Be aware that you may be feeling particularly sensitive to what others are feeling, which could qualify as empathy or which could coax you into codependency. You’re your own person — live that way.

The Scorpio Audio Report is now done. This reading includes more than an hour of astrology and 20 minutes of tarot custom created for those with Scorpio Sun, Moon or rising. Priced at $14.95, it makes a useful and economical gift. Use this link for instant access.

Sagittarius Confidential

Make some fast decisions to slow down your outward flow of cash, and quickly return to more creative matters. Your chart is full of mixed signals at the moment, and if you listen to them, you’ll get in the way of your ability to manifest the abundance you know is on its way. Therefore, I am suggesting you focus on something else, on something that feels good and creative and that leaves you with a sense of belonging and participation. While you’re doing this, a deep level of instincts will take care of your survival, instincts that are likely to be confused when you translate them into concepts. Mozart is said to have asked his wife to read to him while he composed music, so as to distract the ‘word’ part of his brain and leave the rest of it free to create music. In a similar way I suggest you distract yourself from facts and figures, and spend your time in the abundantly lush territory of your creative life.

Sagittarius audio coming soon!

Capricorn Confidential

By the way, in case you haven’t noticed, there’s a really interesting alignment in your chart right now. Capricorn plays by different rules, though this still may be playing a tad of havoc with your head. Yet somehow you’re in your element. You don’t need to work harder or think deeper — you’re looking for the key idea that’s going to unlock a puzzle and set your energy free. The way this is likely to work is in layers, and each layer will have its access point. Unlike most humans do these days, I suggest you remember the phases of this journey, because as you collect these revelations, they will add up to more than the sum of the parts; or said another way, you add up to more than the sum of your talents, your ideas and your good deeds. A lot more. Happy discovering that fact.

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

Aquarius Confidential

As you know, you’re not the cool, logical person that the world perceives you to be, and that you love to be when you can. Particularly lately, you’re an intricate, complex and inwardly focused critter, always preparing to leap off the next psychic cliff. What is really interesting, and exciting, is that you’re losing your intimidation about exploring your own labyrinth. You’re fully aware that there is a vast dimension to you that has no adherence to logic, no loyalty to being rational, no need to make sense all the time. What you would benefit from is clarifying your relationship to the past. It still seems more solid to you than it really is. I suggest you consider the idea that the past is an interpretation. And as you look at it differently, that interpretation will change — and as you see the past in an original way, you will create an interpretation that favors you.

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

Pisces Confidential

Focus on who you are — not who others think you are, or who you think others think you are. That is entirely their business. It would, of course, be a triumph in the life of a fish to not take personally what others seem to think of you personally, but it’s a huge distraction, and besides, you would be surprised how little many others think of anyone besides themselves. I say this because you’re visible at the moment — it’s that time of year. If what you do in life is designed to reach out, trust that you’re doing just that. Yet remind yourself that you’re not really reaching — you’re emanating a vibration. I suggest you focus your awareness on tuning that vibe like a guitar. Harmonize with your desire, and very quietly be who you are and nobody else. That is your point of influence and indeed of power.

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