Tag Archives: News

About that Rapture (or, What is a Sex Scandal?)

Dear Friend and Reader:

As I write today’s issue, the Gemini Sun is moving into an exact square with Chiron, still in full effect Friday, and this has been stirring up a lot of hot air and tales of wounded men. Through today and into the weekend, the Sun then aspects Pluto (a quincunx from Gemini to Capricorn) and through the holiday weekend makes a trine to Saturn. That’s a lot of contact between the Sun and outer planets, nearly all of which are concentrated at the beginnings of astrological signs.

Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain — here, in the form of a twister photographed by a NOAA storm chaser in 1973. There were 80 tornadoes in the United States Wednesday; even the Hudson Valley where I live, a mountainous region, is under a tornado watch as of Thursday night. Credit: NOAA.

While that tumultuous Saturn-Pluto square seemed to be behind us, it’s still within just five degrees of orb — just fine to have a strong effect. Saturn is getting ready to station direct, so it’s all charged up with piss and vinegar (and Libra-styled, impeccably dressed).

It’s been another week of sex scandals coming out into the open; and it’s been another week of environmental disasters. The world didn’t end last Saturday. Followers of ‘prophet’ Harold Camping, who had predicted the Rapture for 6 pm on May 21, were disappointed — but I just don’t get why. Wednesday, there were 80 tornadoes in the United States, including a massive one that came through Joplin, Missouri; 232 are missing, and the death toll is uncertain.

This comes on top of the most massive floods since the 1920s (much of the Mississippi River Valley is still underwater), which came on the heels of another week of ultra-high-powered tornadoes, including the one that ripped through Tuscaloosa, Alabama. These, by the way, are not any ordinary tornadoes that might take out part of a block or one side of the street. They are part of massive storm cells that defy comprehension, leveling entire neighborhoods. I personally doubt these are natural events. As I deduced in an article earlier this year called Here at the Edge of the World, these could well be manipulated events using nearly century-old technology created by Nikola Tesla.

There is some video going around featuring one of Wednesday’s tornadoes shredding a tractor-trailer as it speeds down the highway. To see the video you would not believe anything (such as a germ) survived, but the driver landed someplace with just a fractured shoulder and lived to tell the story, albeit a bit stoically.

As rescuers arrived in Joplin to find what one described as a “smoky, barren wasteland,” Eric Cantor, the leader of the Republicans in the House of Representatives, said that disaster relief funds could be approved for Joplin only if another item were cut from the federal budget, so as not to add to the federal budget deficit — this, as people search the ruins for their loved ones. The same people, I might add, whose taxes pay Eric Cantor and his colleagues.

This is a little like making sure your phone bill is paid up before you dial 911 to report a fire. They never say that when they bomb somebody. “Yes, general, you can have these cruise missiles, as long as we cut from the aircraft carrier budget.” (You know how there are those people who make your cat hunch down, bristle and make that weird, low growl when they come within 100 feet? That’s how I get when I see Eric Cantor. Out of curiosity, I checked his chart the other day, and it’s every bit as pleasant as breaking glass. Perhaps I’ll do an edition titled, “Just What Exactly is an Asshole?” Aaah yes, my brother and fellow child of God.)

Meanwhile, Congress is getting ready to cut the tornado forecasting budget, which could reduce by half the accuracy of those predictions — which by the way save a lot of lives because the few minutes of warning provided by the tracking system helps many people get to a safe place before their home is splintered.

In other news, straight from the Sun square Chiron files, Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb general accused of ordering the massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica in 1995, was arrested this week after a 16-year hunt.

And in the midst of this, we still have time for appreciating sex scandals. Let’s see, John Edwards, the charming guy who was a presidential contender in 2004 and 2008, may be facing charges for using campaign funds to bribe people to keep hush about an extramarital affair. Arnold Schwarzenegger kept a relationship and child with a household employee secret from his wife (and the American people) for 10 years. Newt Gingrich is all over the news with his $250,000 line of credit at Tiffany’s; a true man of the people. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former head of the International Monetary Fund, is free (under house arrest) on a $6 million bail package after allegedly raping a woman who came to clean his hotel suite [we have been covering this on the Planet Waves blog].

Sen. John Ensign resigned his senate seat earlier in the month after bribing people to keep quiet about one of his affairs; his case has been turned over to federal prosecutors. Ensign is the guy who said in favor of the Federal Marriage Amendment, “Marriage is the cornerstone on which our society was founded. For those who say that the Constitution is so sacred that we cannot or should not adopt the Federal Marriage Amendment, I would simply point out that marriage, and the sanctity of that institution, predates the American Constitution and the founding of our nation.”

This all sounds very Sun square Chiron — the wounded male/father figure, whose injuries are displayed in public. Sun-Chiron contacts call to attention the plight of men. The plight of men is not understood by our culture. I say that boldly. The emotional and spiritual progress of men is also not acknowledged in our culture. And notably, we don’t generally display alleged female adulterers and ogle over them these days, only the men. We can still watch this parade of alleged nogoodniks and think that this has something to do with all men. It does not, but we at least have more fantastic reasons never to take moral advice from a politician.

In her 2000 book Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man, Susan Faludi describes the plight of men in the 20th century. It’s a revealing documentary of what our fathers went through, emotionally, professionally and economically. You didn’t really know; he probably never told you — or your mom.

To understand the plight of men, you either have to be observant, or read books. If you hold judgments against men or think they are at some special advantage in society, I suggest you read a book called Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man by Susan Faludi. She portrays just what happened to your father during the 20th century. And if you think you hate men, or if you think they are inherently untrustworthy, I suggest you read a book called Iron John: A Book About Men by Robert Bly. Far from inherently being cocky power-mongers, we learn from these books that men deal with many of the same insults and injuries inflicted on women, sometimes much worse, with relatively little in the way of refuge offered by women. The men who do abuse power are products of the environments that not only reward but necessitate that abuse. It is a kind of conditioned last resort.

When we look at a sex scandal, though, I would remind you we’re looking at two things. One is the private life of a human being, distorted by the media; the other is our response to that private life when it’s paraded across television screens everywhere. We may get the impression that the underlying theme of all these sex scandals is how men in power abuse that power. I believe the underlying theme is that we have a morbid association with sex. Indeed, it goes far beyond that; sex scandals are about an obsession with death. That’s partly why we watch them on the same TV programs where they talk about wars and holocausts.

Understanding this deeply conditioned obsession is what you might call a spiritual step. It stems from a worldview that existence is divided into good and evil, and that sex is on the evil side. This is an idea that has its roots in Orthodox Christianity and manifests in nearly every sect of that religion; the Christians have always been particularly hateful toward sex, while fascinated by it at the same time. Yet this is an idea with a complex history that has roots in deeper (all but forgotten, but still influential) Persian religious views.

An author named Wayland Young, one of my favorites of all time, explains in Eros Denied how there are mainly four items on the list of things that perpetuate sexual repression, and by that he means the free expression of love and pleasure. It is at first painful to recognize the ways in which we assume sex to be inherently evil, wrong, sinful, dangerous and deceitful — not as an interpretation but based on what we think of as an inherent fact. It takes both an examination of history and some deep self-reflection to see this, but the result will help set you free, in case you’re interested in that. We can learn a lot from our fascination with scandal.

So, those four modes of sexual repression. They are: accident, absence, scandal and suicide — and the first three are merely substitutes for the last one. Basically, every so-called love story we read or see in a movie is infused with one or more of these obstacles to love, and from that we decide that the nature of love is morbid and that death rules over it at all times. This is an option. There are other views of love, but they are not the romantic view, that is, the one certified by the Church of Rome. Romantic love is love associated with death, death usually manifests as accident or suicide; absence manifests as death or its potential in warfare; scandal is often punished by death, or is considered a fate worse than death. Remember that scandal thrives in an environment of loneliness and repression, and is direct evidence of these things.

Young explains something we are familiar with: the church always tells us that it’s more important to love God than to love one another. Yet to most people God is entirely abstract and our fellow mortals are what are real to us. Further, Jesus and others taught that to love one another is to love God. Still, love is considered evil (that is to say, potentially scandalous) because it might lead to sex. If we love one another, we anticipate often the worst and we expect punishment or betrayal. And we don’t count the cost of these fears, much less challenge their validity. Young explains that we don’t need to follow church dogma to imbibe these views; we merely need to be entertained — in particular by romance, of which he describes European literature as “one big example.”

Dido, about to kill herself for no reason at all.

He uses as an example the story of Dido and Aeneas, a late-17th century opera by English composer Henry Purcell, based on the epic written by Roman poet Virgil in 29-19 BC. It tells the story of the Queen of Carthage and the Trojan hero, and is described authoritatively as, “A monumental work in Baroque opera, remembered as one of Purcell’s foremost theatrical works.” In the story, Aeneas leaves Dido when he goes off to found a new kingdom, and then she kills herself.

Young asks: “Now, why do we find the story noble, and why is Purcell’s chaconne [the sung finale of the opera], in its setting, so moving? On the surface, the story is ridiculous. There was nothing in heaven or earth to stop Aeneas taking Dido when he went on to follow his destiny and found Rome. Neither was married, both were young, royal and eligible; a dynastic alliance with the old state of Carthage would have been an advantage to the new state in its formation. But no; off he goes, for no reason, Dido for no reason climbs singing onto her suicidal pyre, and we are all left in tears. Why? Why not giggles?

“Simply because there is no reason. There never is.

“In the Dido and Aeneas legend, there isn’t even a pretense of one, and that is why it moves us; because of its integrity, its refusal to compromise with likelihood. It moves us in the same way it moves us to see a skeleton. Stripped of the lively and interesting flesh, the bare bones make us gasp and say: ‘So that’s what makes us stand up’. Stripped of all invention and incident and especially all excuse, Dido makes us gasp and say: ‘So that’s what makes our feelings stand up’. And mixed with our amazement, there is, as there is with skeletons, pity and a touch of ridicule. St. Augustine liked Dido. Pelagius did not.”

St. Augustine, of course, believed in Original Sin. The less familiar Pelagius, a Celtic monk and an accused heretic, did not. What Young is saying here is that romantic love is regarded as the only true love, and this is regarded as the only suitable format for sex. It is obsessed with death, and out of that obsession, we get many obstacles to love, and with which love is obsessed: and these are primarily accident, absence, scandal and suicide.

Wayland Young, author of “Eros Denied,” Grove Press, 1964. Illustration based on a photo provided by the publisher.

Just flip through the TV channels, browse a magazine rack, stroll around a bookstore or tune into the nearest opera, and this is just about all you see. We might think these things don’t influence us — but they are very nearly all that do.

Novel after novel that purports to be about love is really a story about suicide. Any story not ending in marriage (as comedies do) must be a tragedy (and then all love affairs of romantic literature are doomed). It’s as if we know no other stories; no other plot line. No wonder polyamorous people are terrified to tell people how they live. No wonder so many folks are terrified to love; we are told — and shown — over and over again that the wages of ‘sin’ is death. In essence, this morbid notion has contaminated the whole realm of human love. And a lot of us want it back.

Scandal is only a slightly milder shade of this same sickness; it’s the partially decomposed corpse of love, rather than the bare skeleton. The mere fact that we are fascinated by it, indeed, that we love it, spend money on it, expect it to happen and moreover fear it in our own lives, tells us something about our notion of love. How many people believe that sex must have a victim, and that when we make love, someone must always be betrayed? How many feel that to love is to risk ruin? It’s not that our fears lack some justification; I would question how that justification got there and what beliefs led to its existence.

And all of this — all of it — comes down to the notion of sin, which is based on the religious notion of good and evil. Then sin is always mixed up with sex and murder. We think nothing of this, and it’s so commonplace that we barely even notice; but you really do need to notice if you want to be free of it. Only through noticing can you start to wean yourself off this obsession, which includes most forms of gossip.

Next is to stop being impressed by how supposedly pure you are. Forget it; it’s not true — it’s just what the press release says. Existence is not about purity or perfection, and expecting it to be only leaves us feeling impure and imperfect. John Edwards and Arnie do not make any of us any better as people. They only make us more paranoid and mistrustful, and that does not help love at all.

It helps a lot to allow the people around you to live their truth. We can hardly blame people for keeping secrets when we don’t let them tell us about what they really want, what they really do, or who they really care about. We cannot be honest in an environment where we fear judgment. The more you allow others to live their truth, the more free you will feel to do so. This will gradually shift your environment, and your state of mind, which are closely related.

And at a certain point we must become more fascinated by life, creation and beauty than by loss and disaster. A Course in Miracles puts it succinctly: “Accept no compromise in which death plays a part.”

Oh — and about that rapture thing. It’s not the kind of belief or activity that emotionally fulfilled or creatively driven people take part in. You would have to be pretty frustrated to take that seriously, or to push it on others. Yet that frustration, even in its subtler forms, is starting to add up to something that it would really help if we understood.

Yours & truly,

Weekend Astrology: Sun and Moon On the Move

The Moon entered Aries Thursday night at 8:36 pm EDT, promptly making a conjunction to Uranus at 4:19 am EDT Friday. That conjunction will be stirring the pot all day as the Moon makes a square to Pluto at 10:46 am EDT. So this is an emotionally intense overnight and morning, and the Moon is going to be vibrating with this energy for a while. Then at 6:10 pm EDT, the Moon opposes Saturn. I know this sounds complex. Let me see if I can make it super simple. There are three planets aligned in what is called a T-square, which is behind much of the mischief and turmoil of the world right now. And in our current stretch of time, the Moon sweeps through that T-square, knocking all three of those planets like cue ball on a pool table, stirring up all kinds of deep feelings, past and present fears, insecurities and so on.

Meanwhile, as we mentioned yesterday, The Gemini Sun is making a series of aspects as well — to Uranus, Chiron and then Pluto. This is serving up a similar kind of intensity, only of a solar nature: that is, on the level of ego, expression, pride and confidence. The Sun clears that last aspect on Saturday morning. Sun-Pluto in a quincunx (150-degree aspect) is like enforced growth and maturity. It’s less abrupt and shocking than a square, but not quite the easy opening of a trine. It represents a series of situations, most of them what you might call ‘everyday’, that compel ongoing awareness of one’s evolution. So there may be the exaggerated feeling that situations mean more than they do, or that there are ‘lessons’ involved. So ease on through this sensation and take some notes on how you feel.

This is all unusual activity for the Sun. Now, there is some relief when the Sun clears Pluto and approaches a trine to Saturn. This is like a release, and though the Sun is going to be in aspect to Saturn, there’s a sense of ease; think of the Sun and Saturn resonating from one air sign to another (Gemini to Libra). That trine will be applying all weekend, and the trine is exact Wednesday, June 1 — just a few hours before a partial solar eclipse (the Gemini New Moon). I’ll have more to say about that early next week; but I suggest you keep in mind that an eclipse is approaching, and this can come with a sense of pressure. Indeed, the next three lunations are eclipses: a partial solar on June 1, a total lunar on June 15, and another partial solar on July 1. This is to say we’re taking a little ride on an accelerated sky (as if things aren’t going fast enough at the moment). This whole sequence of events may take a little breathing into (as Len Wallick suggested Thursday). I’ll have more to say about the use and experience of eclipses in Tuesday’s edition.

Planet Waves FM: Looking For Ourselves Everywhere

This week’s edition of Planet Waves FM includes a discussion of “the end of the world,” the most interesting explanation of Gemini you’ve ever heard, a long rant about advertising and a 70th-birthday shout out to Bob Dylan. Bob, you have something rare: you’re one of the most fantastic artists and chroniclers of your decades — and we all know. The first song break happens at about 29 minutes, with talent provided by Dave Harnetty. Right after that music break is potentially a good time to pause the action if you need to. Here it is in the old player.

Weekly Horoscope for Friday, May 27, 2011, #861 – BY ERIC FRANCIS

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

Aries (March 20-April 19) — Listen for the sound of the future calling you. I mean that literally — the information is going to come through your ears. It might be spoken, it might be music, it might be some sound in an urban landscape, or it might be the sound of a natural event — but keep your ears open. That would include the things you hear in dreams, and what is known as clairaudience, a kind of ultraviolet dimension of hearing that some consider a psychic phenomenon. In any event, listen. Listen until you understand what someone is saying, not what you think they’re saying — there is a difference, we all know there is a difference, and we often ignore it. The reason we ignore this feeling of not really knowing is halfway between being lazy and not caring. Repeat back what you’ve heard, and what you think you understand, till you’re sure that you really grasp it. I will pass along my one sentence of advice for young journalists, which is know when you don’t know.

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

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — There is a longterm visitor to your sign named Sedna, one of the strangest known objects in our solar system. These visitors that can spend decades moving through one sign tend to color our whole experience of that sign, and Sedna has the theme of nobody is ever good enough. In our world of things, that would translate to nothing is ever good enough. I am not suggesting you settle for second best, or that you suppress the hunger that is so essential to both surviving and thriving on the hotly competitive physical plane. Rather, I am suggesting that you notice how much you have, and how good your life is, rather than making endless lists of all the ways you need to improve. Yes, there are few key areas that are calling out for improvement, and you would do well to focus on them as longterm projects. Yet especially where people are concerned, notice who is around you. Notice the fact that they are taking an interest in your life. Stay open that way.

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

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — You seem to have the impulse to rise up against something without being entirely certain what it is. When you’re going to rebel, make sure that you know what you’re rebelling against. The deeper you look, the deeper you will see. For example, you might think you need a revolution in a relationship, which could be true at the same time you’re working through an issue that involves one of your parents, particularly your father. If someone sets an impossibly low standard, you may be holding everyone else to an impossibly high standard. If you find yourself insisting that the people around you wake up and get real, the easiest solution to that is to be real yourself and notice what happens in your environment. You might discover that you’re in the wrong place, and notice somewhere better that you can be. Don’t ‘work to reform the system from within’. Figure out what you want to do, and do it.

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

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — You are starting to figure out something about your career path — and the information is arriving neither too soon nor too late; this particular FedEx is right on time. For quite some time, you’ve been under what has seemed like external pressure to change and evolve. True, there have been elements of that, but you also know that outside influences have been pushing you to make long overdue changes that you might not have made otherwise. Now, the time has come to go on the offensive. You need clear goals, and that’s going to require that you have clear boundaries, particularly involving your use of time and space. And you will need to be clear with yourself that there’s a limit to how much you can let your mood influence your efforts on any given day or week. In the immediate moment, you are getting some clear sense about the direction you want your life to take. Envision that future, and begin taking the necessary steps.

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

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — There is about to be an eclipse in your 11th solar house, which for you is Gemini. This house is about fitting into your environment, and making the most of that environment. It’s also one of the most visionary houses of the 12. Because you have Gemini in this house, there always seem to be a lot of people involved with your future plans. They always seem to influence you, with their ideas and with their physical presence. Now, however, I suggest you let your own creativity dominate your agenda. You have the power to tune out what may even be an exceptionally loud or demanding influence of some kind. You have the ability to take risks that they might not be willing to take, for benefits that they might not be willing to see. Therefore, listen to yourself. Pay attention to what you know is right, and set the terms of your own existence. I think you will be pleased with the results.

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

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Have you figured out that the division between religion and sex is a fraud? Now would be a good time. Most people underestimate the extent to which they’ve been influenced by religion, whether it’s the pressure to get married, the notion of sin, or the idea that you must strive for the same type of family structure that your parents tried to have (whether or not they succeeded). Looked at one way, you’re at a moment where you can break away from the influences of the past, mainly by making a single decision. The characteristics of this choice are, you know it’s right, and then when you make a move, you feel daunted, guilty or otherwise frightened. This second layer — the fear/guilt layer — is the enforcement boundary that religion has installed. It’s like one of those invisible fences that keeps dogs inside a perimeter that you no longer need to activate once the dog has had a few shocks to the neck. It’s time to take off the collar, look both ways and cross the road.

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) — Remember that while there may be two sides to every story, there is only one version of the truth that’s going to work for you. I suggest you make that the one you know is true, rather than the one you hope is true. The one you know is true will work a lot better for you, even if you like it less; at least you have something solid you can work on and develop. One thing that may be affecting you is the expectation that something you actually recognize as the truth will turn out to be wrong, or based on deception. For a long time, it seemed, any time you took a chance on someone’s word, when it came down to practical matters of experience, facts later came out that proved you wrong. You’re now in a new phase of cultivating trust in both people and situations, but that really amounts to trust in yourself. As you learn to do that, remember to check your instincts against the available facts, and back again.

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) — Most — and by that I mean well over half — of humans are not monogamous, but we are all expected to be, or at least pretend. So why don’t we adjust our expectations to match reality? Aaah, that is a very good question. That question has answers, and those answers point to the need for some other adjustments of our minds to reality. Your solar chart suggests you have a number of options open. Further, I see some clues that you actually like it that way. I suggest you not get down on yourself for failing to live up to some standard of the right kind of person who wants the right kind of relationship and is capable of only that. Rather, it would come as a relief if you would embrace who you are, and who you’re attracted to. It helps to know a mental construction when you see one, such as ‘you’re supposed to be this way’. While ‘society’ may send messages, ultimately we send them to ourselves, and we’re the only ones who can stop.

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) — We are now in the last days of Jupiter in a fire sign, Aries. Its next home will be Taurus. Both of these are passionate signs, but they have a different pattern of how both events and creative impulses unfold. Aries wants everything, right now, but of course this rarely happens. Taurus is willing to wait so long that things sometimes never happen no matter how much we may want them. But Aries has real ideas, and Taurus is a passionate energy, capable of real persistence. For the next year, your task is to combine spontaneity with passion and persistence — the best of all worlds — and proceed steadily. Don’t worry about fast or slow; focus on steady, dependable, documentable progress. Know what you want to do at the beginning of every day, and know what you accomplished at the end of every day. The two may not always match; indeed, they may rarely match — but you will have a dependable marker of progress, and there will be many happy accidents.

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 like your professional life is all work and very few rewards, and that is partly the result of the demanding and complex times we are living in. But you’re also at the end of a fairly long spell where you’ve had to handle many serious responsibilities, and this has taken an emotional toll on you. You also haven’t fully backed yourself away from the sensation that you live on the edge of a cliff, even though you’re a lot further from that edge than you were, say, three years ago. It’s true that anything can go wrong at any moment, but as Lou Reed said, you can’t count on the worst always happening. And frankly if you don’t act like you’re always expecting the worst, you will live with a sense of potential that starts to feel stronger than your sense of paranoia. Potential means living with a sense of what is possible in the best sense of the idea; that is closely connected to your creativity, which thrives on love and appreciation rather than on fear.

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) — Some longterm plan that has been on hold for a while is now ready to start moving, maybe for the first time. Going back to around late 2008, this idea has been beset or delayed by factors outside of your control. Now that you’ve addressed them, however, you’re unlikely to have a sense of control; rather, that you need to gradually acquire. If you want to accomplish some of your bolder visions, your ability to be disciplined and focused needs to keep pace with your ability to come up with ideas. Remember that any initial idea usually needs to be grounded, developed and evolved over a period of time before it manifests. When it does, it will usually take a form different from the original. Therefore, having good ideas is not enough. You have to work those ideas like clay, see how they look in a new form, and then see if they make it through the kiln. This is the creative process, which is radically different than this abstract thing we call creativity.

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) — You are starting to discover that you’re in financial territory different from what you’ve ever been in. You face many of the same issues as you have in the past, but something is different, and I have an idea what it is. You are beginning to see that your ingenuity and inventive nature are your best financial resources. For these to reveal their full value, you must access them, and use them, and depend on them, every day. For a while this will feel like you’re constantly reinventing yourself, which is actually true. Your sign is one of the most adaptable of them all, so this will be easier for you than it will be for nearly everyone else. The solutions you seek are not one-offs that instantly get you to a new place; rather, you get where you’re going one step at a time, only to discover that certain steps turn out to be quantum leaps. Get used to the fact that you cannot predict these in advance. Just let one moment of clarity or small accomplishment lead to the next, and the next.

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

Uranus in Aries

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Dear Friend and Reader:

Later today (overnight Friday in some time zones), Uranus leaves Pisces and enters Aries to stay for the next seven years. As the astrology picture of 2012-2015 assembles, this is one of the biggest pieces — the presence of Uranus representing the energy surge; the impulse to enter the future. This has been warming up for a few years, but now is the moment we go into warp speed. In the words of Richard Tarnas, Uranus is Prometheus, the awakener.

The two sides of the planet Uranus, as viewed in this composite image, by the Keck II Telescope at near infrared wavelengths. These new images of the seventh planet from the sun promise to help scientists unravel the mysteries of the weather on Uranus. Photo credit: Courtesy Lawrence Sromovsky, UW-Madison Space Science and Engineering Center.

Bringing Uranus into such a prominent place as the first degree of the zodiac amplifies its influence, and Uranus is already pretty hot: its characteristics include fast, surprising developments; future-oriented thinking; moments of revolution; and shocking surges of awareness. As Uranus approaches its first exact square to Pluto in June 2012, we’re only going to see this whole process accelerate, bring in more communities and wake up more people. In a phrase, 2012 is about everything, all at once.

For some the awakening associated with this aspect will be extremely uncomfortable, challenging their old ways and pushing many out of their comfort zones. To do this astrology fully, it’s necessary either to challenge or break away from everyone who is not. For many, the developing energies will be the most exciting thing that’s ever happened, the moment of real involvement and participation. A lot of others will watch and shake their heads at how crazy the world is going. I reckon a good few will feel alienated and wish they could do more, having no idea how to.

Uranus in Aries actually began warming up its act last year, when Jupiter and Uranus briefly visited Aries and made a conjunction on June 8. That conjunction was in the first degree of Aries — the Aries Point itself, the first degree of the astrological wheel. The location of the conjunction was one of those clues that our personal lives and the seemingly inaccessible, usually abstract realm of public existence were going to merge rapidly and in a large way. We had a clue that the effects would be international — that was the presence of Jupiter. Sure enough, it has all happened.

I’ll tell you this, though. Whenever I write about politics, I’m fully aware that for most people their contact with government consists of parking tickets, filing taxes and possibly watching television (which is the new scholarship).

Handcuffs on the doors in the state capitol building attempt to lock out protesters. Photo by Robin Davies.

Most of us neither understand nor appreciate what happens in the wider society, and we’re pretty confused about it, too. How are we supposed to tell what’s important when there’s always a lot of action on TV? From what I could tell there were as many photographers outside Lindsay Lohan’s 10-minute hearing Thursday as there are in Madison, Wisconsin, where we have a revolution brewing. The fiasco at the Lohan court appearance (for a troubled rich girl attempting to steal an expensive necklace, to me representing all that’s wrong with the world) is part of a dumbing-down process that either creates distractions or makes us not care about what really matters.

It was fun watching Contessa Brewer on MSNBC Thursday afternoon get openly, vocally pissed off at her producer — talking through her earpiece — who informed her that she had to describe Lohan’s dress because people care. The obvious question is does anyone care, or are they brainwashed into thinking they care?

In Wisconsin, right now, we are witnessing a struggle over the future of the American labor movement, which is the only voice in politics large enough to compete with what can be understated as a right-wing corporatist movement: that is, banks and corporations taking over everything. Labor unions, which are traditionally very powerful in Wisconsin, are the backbone of the Democratic Party, the American equivalent of the Labor Party in other countries. When despotic right wing legislators want to gut the right of unions to exist, they’re saying they want all the marbles. And in a word, having all the marbles is tyranny.

When we look at the mess in politics (which primarily involves how sold out to corporate interests so many politicians are), any person with a shred of sensitivity will be repulsed; merely seeing the face of Scott Walker, the Tea Bagger puppet governor of Wisconsin (whose boss is a multi-billionaire oil and chemical guy from Texas), makes me a little nauseous. That, too, is part of the assault on common sense, empathy and humanity. What we’re witnessing in Wisconsin is supposed power that will stop at nothing. We are also witnessing an agenda. And we are seeing it everywhere, as an old concept of might makes right tries to hold on in a world that is about to deliver only change.

You may not have heard about this, but in Michigan, the state legislature is now passing a law that would allow the state government to enter a fiscally stressed municipality or school district, kick out the elected officials, take over — and strip union rights. Gee, what a coincidence.

Protesters in Madison carry a picture of Gov. Scott Walker as the masked man/bandit/sidekick a la Robin. Walker is a puppet of the Koch brothers, the oil and chemical billionaires from Texas who funded and helped create the Tea Party movement that swept a bunch of right-wing pseudo Republicans into office last November. People who voted for them in good faith are starting to realize they got duped. Photo by Robin Davies.

Other places, on seemingly less important matters, public officials are digging in their heels and pushing their will on people, lying to them, often successfully convincing them that they’re powerless and basically doing anything to convince themselves they actually have power over others. This seems to be on the level of sport; something done for its own sake. In my own city I’m involved in an issue and one of the most perverse things I’m seeing is certain members of the community gloat that they are getting over on others — or so they think.

One problem with having a politically illiterate population is that hardly anyone can see the larger agenda. In fact most would deny there even is one — that all this movement in, shall we say, certain political directions is kind of a coincidence. People who espouse most of Ronald Reagan’s views today would be considered liberals (they are not).

We here in the United States have put up with a lot during the past 30 years that the Neoconservative movement has been rising to power, and we have said so very little. There has been war after war, and giveback after giveback (civil rights, privacy, standard of living, reproductive rights). There was a fraudulent presidential impeachment, two stolen elections and a false-flag attack that has been used to justify anything anyone feels needs some justification.

The U.S. is sitting on $14 trillion in public debt (nearly all of which went into private hands) that our children will either pay back or default on. Just about all the manufacturing jobs have gone to Indonesia and Mexico and China. We have seen the treasury looted again and again. Banks that were bailed out and profitable are sitting on trillions that they won’t lend to businesses. Four hundred people have as much wealth as half the U.S. population.

There is a faction of American politics that will not be satisfied until every real job is shipped overseas, till everyone works at Wal Mart, till nobody has health care, and until women’s rights are gutted entirely. What we’re seeing in Wisconsin is, in two words, resistance to that agenda, and progress toward the new.

Police in Madison escort a protest march. Our reporter in Madison says that with rare exceptions, the cops have been extremely cool. Photo by Robin Davies.

Yet all of this can still seem so abstract. I ask you — why are so many people on antidepressants? Why do so many resort to fundamentalist religion? Why are so unbelievably many people drunk so often everywhere in the world? Why is there so much rage? Why are relationships so fragile? All of this relates to the political environment. Cause and effect are never separate; I cannot tell you which is causing which — but there are many connections.

In case you’re wondering about 2012, have a look around, and a look inside. Consider what is going on in your own life and see if you can discern a relationship to the wider world. That really is the exercise; at this moment, that’s one point of growth. Deeper in, there is, as I’ve suggested, a ubiquitous need for emotional healing that may affect every single person on the planet.

Meanwhile, outer circumstances keep getting our attention. Perhaps you have been, or will be, affected by a layoff, a foreclosure or a bank failure. You may have lost a loved one in one of these disgusting, illegal wars, which would certainly shape your worldview. You may personally be experiencing the effects of climate change.

Maybe your Social Security or disability will be cut because someone wants a new yacht, or holds in disdain those less ‘fortunate’ than themselves. You may be eating Corexit with your shrimp chow mein. Probably, though, your personal point of contact to the wider world will come in forms that differ slightly from someone you see interviewed on the news. (Then again, what you think of as the news may be coming to your town, your street or your living room any day.)

Some kind of a protest thingie in Madison that sums up the feeling of Uranus-Pluto aspects. Photo by Robin Davies.

Maybe you know you’ve contributed to the problem over and over by not speaking up every time you’ve known you wanted to; every time you saw injustice — on whatever scale, including right in front of you — but decided you were powerless or that you didn’t want to bother. I promise you it’s not too late to care, and to take action on whatever level feels right. One thing that will make this easier is that others around you will be getting involved. You won’t need to feel like you’re the only one who cares.

For most people, the revolutionary surge of Uranus square Pluto — the epicenter of 2012 astrology — will arise as a sense of restlessness, as the awakening of conscience, as the desire to influence the world in a creative way. Maybe that, in turn, will be about growing into some of the potential you keep feeling, that keeps calling you, begging you to respond. You may wake up one day and decide the truth really does matter: on whatever level you take that concept. Apparently the people of Wisconsin heard the wake-up call.

“I never thought I’d be covering a pro-democracy movement in the United States, much less in my city,” said Elizabeth DiNovella, an editor for The Progressive. “I think people here really have this awareness of how money has spoiled politics. Even today a lot of people at the protest were chanting, ‘The banks got bailed out; the people got sold out’.”

The protests by far have been some of the most vibrant and sustained in the United States since the 1960s, with tens of thousands of people in the streets day after day, and an occupation of the capitol lasting for three weeks.

Warm and sunny in Madison, WI? Fox News shows scene of police and protesters scuffling, claiming that it’s in Madison, WI. The only problem is that it’s warm, sunny and there are palm trees. The footage was shown in a segment with Bill O’Reilly whining about how people say Fox News is lying about the protests. The palm trees were spotted by some of those professional leftists who of course have a keen eye for trees.

DiNovella said that the whole experience has taught people a lot. “The propaganda of the right no longer works on the people of Wisconsin. People are aware of what’s going on and they recognize that something is wrong.” She gave as one example how Fox News, during a rant about how the protests were being staged by “professional leftists,” showed footage of violence at a union-related protest purportedly in Madison. The problem was that there were palm trees in the frame.

“Now people are carrying inflatable palm trees at protests,” she said. “The energy here has been so positive and people have been so creative.”

DiNovella has helped with protest movements in many parts of the world. “I’m so glad I didn’t have to build a low-power radio station. Compared to other places, we already have the infrastructure.” She said that recently the pipefitters union gave away 14,000 bratwurst and hot dogs, feeding hungry protesters — many of whom have spent days on end out in the cold.

“Wisconsin has its own progressive tradition, especially involving unions, that is part of the American fabric. It’s funny watching these reporters coming in from out of town who are surprised that this could happen here, including in the independent media,” she added.

Uranus square Pluto is not just about addressing external oppression. It’s also about an inner revolution over dark mother and dark father: the oppressive forces that we’ve internalized over the years, and from which we seek freedom. It’s about breaking free from the structures that merely eat energy and feed negativity. Revolution is about getting out from under the shadow of the past, from guilt, and from the urge to suppress every creative or erotic or loving impulse you feel. Revolution is about figuring out you’re actually alive, and doing something about it.

Yours & truly,

Tsunami waves in Japan earlier today. Photo: Reuters.

Biggest Quake in 140 Years Hits Japan at 8.9;

Tsunami Warning Issued for 20 Countries including U.S

Uranus in Pisces is certainly going out with a bang. It’s been rippling through the political spheres for weeks. Today a magnitude 8.9 earthquake struck near the city of Sendai, just north of Tokyo on the northeastern coast of Japan. This is being called the most powerful quake to strike Japan in 140 years. A debris-filled wall of water as high as 30 feet has washed over some cities and farmland.

Chart for quake off the coast of Sendai, with the coordinates corrected for the actual location off the coast. Note the packed 8th house, including Chiron, Mars, the Sun, the Black Moon Lilith, Mercury and other points in Pisces (the 8th house by whole sign houses). Centaur Nessus is prominent in this chart — it’s angular on the 7th house cusp.

There are no known death tolls at this time; it’s impossible to estimate so early in the situation. One witness said the quake was so intense that it was impossible for him to stand up. First he and his wife clung to the outside of their house, then they had to curl up on the ground. Major aftershocks are expected. Train lines are down in Tokyo, a city of 13 million, and highways are closed. The quake happened in the mid-afternoon local time, with many people away from home and children in daycare centers.

Witnesses say this was an unusually long quake, with tremors lasting several minutes. It’s being called the 5th largest quake in the world since 1900, rivaling the Chile quake in 1960, Prince William Sound, Alaska in 1964 and the Sumatra quake of 2004. Remember that the Richter scale, used to measure quakes, is logarithmic; a 5.0 quake is 10 times more intense than a 4.0 quake. This increases proportionally as you go up the scale such that the energy increase from 8.0 to 9.0 is much greater than from 4.0 to 5.0.

There are four nuclear power plants in the area. CNN is reporting that one of the plants has a fire and one has a shutdown of the cooling system. CNN is also reporting that the International Atomic Energy Agency has said that the plants where shut down safely, so this is a potentially conflicting report.

Tsunamis have already reached Taiwan, and warnings are out for as far away as Hawaii, the entire West Coast of the United States and Canada, and coastal Chile. But only small waves are expected in these outlying areas. Due to the prevalence of video cameras, there are astonishing videos of both the quake and the waves in Japan. CNN is reporting that there are evacuations underway in coastal areas of Hawaii. Images of piles cars sitting in a harbor, an explosion at a refinery and other vivid images of devastation are being broadcast on television.

These are the planets on a 90-degree dial aligned approximately with the Mars-Borasisi conjunction. In other words these are the points that are conjunct, square or opposite the conjunction.

Let’s take a look at the chart. We see a powerful 8th house in Pisces — with Chiron, Mars, Black Moon Lilith and Uranus present. Sometimes astrological symbolism can be glaringly literal; the 8th is the house of the ’cause of death’ and here we have many planets involved with a water sign, including three of the higher-impact ones — Mars, Chiron and Uranus. With Uranus just 3 arc minutes from Aries (where it arrives later today), this is an Aries Point event. Such a potent 8th house speaks to the possibility of both loss of life and economic impact. There is a lot of concentrated wealth and industry in this part of Japan, so the impact is being felt in markets and will be experienced by the insurance and reinsurance industries. (Reinsurance is an insurance policy held by an insurance company.)

The ascendant for the Japan chart comes up arc minutes from the degree of the total solar eclipse of Aug. 11, 1999 — demonstrating that eclipses can be active for many years after the event. This eclipse was also present in the Sept. 11, 2001 chart — Venus, the chart ruler was there.

In addition, the Moon’s South Node in the Japan chart, as mentioned in last week’s edition, is now in Gemini and in this chart is conjunct the Moon’s position in both the Sept. 11 chart and the Banda Aceh chart. The prevalence of this degree in global-scale disasters is pretty weird; I covered it in a recent article on Wikileaks.

The Moon phase is first quarter, which is unusual for such a large quake; they happen more often at new and full phase. The Moon had just entered Gemini and was in a close square to Chiron at the time. Last week we read about Borasisi; at the moment of the quake, Mars was (and remains for the moment) in a close conjunction to Borasisi.

Both points are square the Great Attractor, which is a force that magnifies the influence of whatever comes in contact with it and is associated with far-reaching effects extending beyond what can be readily perceived. Looking at a list of minor planets, we see the a concentration in the mutable signs around Mars-Borasisi, including Hopi, something that speaks of events with a rapid onset. One description of the quake that I heard a little while ago included the unusual sound of thousands of buildings creaking simultaneously. The asteroid Siwa, right in the mix (opposite the Great Attractor), is associated with sound.

Attention Light Bridge Subscribers: Light Bridge written readings are now available to those who pre-ordered. 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.

Weekly Horoscope for Friday, March 11, 2011, #852 – BY ERIC FRANCIS

Eric’s Zodiac Sign Descriptions

Aries (March 20-April 19) — Self is not static. Indeed, it’s about the most dynamic element in nature. It would help if we could distinguish self-concept from self. The thing that tends to get stuck is our idea of who we’re supposed to be, which has some relationship to who we were yesterday. I don’t suggest you get lost in the theory of this, except to remember that what tends to seize is an idea and what tends to flow is your actual being. With Uranus entering your sign today, you can pretty much forget the past and get ready for some nonstop motion. It will help if you allow your idea to be free, so that when the actual person you are finds itself in the midst of sudden progress, you can minimize inner conflict and go with the flow of existence. You’re unlikely to have any choice in the matter of whether your life takes some giant steps, though you have plenty of influence over what direction you choose.

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

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — To the extent that this is a moment of inner awakening for you, it’s also a moment of seeing what you’ve been missing. You’re being presented with an inner view that may be shocking, strange or feel like something to celebrate. It will help if you remember that what you’re experiencing is indeed an inner experience. Most of the people you meet every day have neither affinity for nor attraction to this thing sometimes called an inner life. If they do it’s often dressed in the garb of outer life: situations, personalities, physical objects, goals, etc. There is another inner life that is attached to none of those symbols. You could think of it as the clear essence of being; as pure energy; as your sense of presence within the universe. It’s what we think of as ‘alive’ the moment that concept has any meaning at all. To experience that on our planet at this time can be pretty shocking.

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

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — One good idea will lead to the next. One interesting encounter will point the way to the next, and the two are related. You’re being invited to feed your imagination on people: on their presence, what they say, and those to whom they introduce you. But don’t wait around for that; don’t be shy. Make your presence known, and pay attention to your environment. You’re in an unusual space where your circle of friends is growing outward and reaching into unfamiliar social patterns. People you never would have expected are positioned to reach toward you. One thing you might notice is that you’re no longer the weirdest person in your environment. Indeed, you may think you have some competition, but fortunately your life is more about collaboration than contest. If you keep that perspective you’re likely to make some very good friends over the next few days.

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

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — This is a particularly brilliant moment for your professional life. Do your best to set aside the sensation of ‘too much’ and put your intelligence to work making the most of the volume of events and of energy flow. Then open your mind to some of the possibilities that you actually have considered but have never quite given yourself credit for being up to. At the moment, just about everyone else thinks you are. You don’t need to do much except get out of your own way and not send yourself your usual litany of negative or questioning messages. Cancer is a yin (feminine, receptive) sign by nature; you are now embarking on one of the most yang phases of your life: a time of expression and what looks like wild innovation and creativity. The most important thing you can do is stay emotionally grounded: not stuck, but present in your feelings, even as they move at their unusual current pace.

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

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — As the next few days unfold, feel yourself approach a tipping point in a financial or partnership situation. This is a moment when the balance of inertia shifts toward being a thing in motion rather than a thing at rest; toward clarity rather than the soupy fog that has enveloped some aspects of your life; toward the future rather than lingering in the past. A doorway is opening for you, and it’s opening a lot wider and into a more interesting space than you may realize at the moment. You may feel like your horizons are widening, but what is really expanding is your idea of who you are and what you’re doing in the world. When that particular perspective takes on its full dimensions, the world itself seems to change. Remember, and remember again: it’s you who is bursting into full color. The world has always been this wild.

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

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — I’m here to remind you once again that everything is negotiable. I know that hardly anyone lives this way except for a few billionaires and con artists, but I’m telling you that — with rare exceptions, which probably have many exceptions — everything is up for discussion. That includes every agreement or commitment you ever made; every seemingly intractable situation; your entire concept of your finances; and the way you project yourself into the world and seek identity in the people that you meet. How they see and experience you is entirely up for grabs, and you get to set the terms of the discussion. One last — you’re not alone. There’s that old song that says two is the loneliest number, after one. This moment is your opening to meeting many kindred spirits, as long as you are authentically, unequivocally yourself.

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) — You’re being a gem with someone you work with who may be getting on your nerves or going through a difficult emotional time. You have a way of channeling your energy into creative directions, which really is the name of the game. And you actually have a life. Yes, there may be a lot of movement, unpredictable developments and perhaps a bit more energy than you would prefer, but in actual fact you have a rich existence and I think you know it. That provides you with both reassurance and a cushion. But I suggest you stay as far outside of your safe zone as you can, because that’s where you’ll find your maximum creativity. You tend to like stability and you’re thriving on it at the moment; events may seem to conspire to draw you out of your comfort zone and into what may feel like an entirely unfamiliar place. The way your chart is set up at the moment, you can have both.

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) — You may have to assert yourself against someone close to you. This person’s reluctance to speak up, live up to a commitment or respond to your needs has been a cause for concern. I would caution you against exerting too much energy their way; a little is all it will take. There are many other influences that are sending the same message in his or her life, and I assure you that this person feels like they’re in a bit over their head. There are aspects to their life that you don’t know about yet. I would not go so far as to say that they’re actually living a double life, but there is likely to be an element of that. Because of your proximity, you’re likely to be someone to whom they respond. So I suggest you make your feelings known in the form of a direct request rather than a hint of some kind, and then listen to what you hear. Leave the door open.

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) — Many things exist in potential: talent, ideas and your ability to project yourself into your goals. What makes the difference is action, and on that particular score I can give you a clue: you may never quite feel ready for what you want to do, or what you plan to do. You may never meet all the prerequisites, have enough knowledge or be certain enough. And you know what? That doesn’t matter. You’re not exactly unprepared at this point; in fact you have far more experience than you think, and that experience is worth more than you imagine. Still, you may think that makes little difference when you don’t have the certainty or the confidence that you need. It’s true that some of the most worthwhile accomplishments in the long story of humanity have happened when they were good and ready. Most of them seized the lives of people who had little preparation and no idea what they were getting into.

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) — Your astrology offers several different images for what might be coming. One is you transform your basement into a laboratory and start working on those inventions you’ve been planning all these years. Or, the Cirque du Soleil arrives in town and you’re the host to the fire-eaters and sword swallowers, who stay for at least three weeks; while they’re living with you, they teach you all their tricks and you join their troupe and go on the road for seven years. Or you buy an old summer camp in your area and found a special program for child prodigies. In any event, expect some new energy to come into your home; reconsider what it means to feel safe in a time of rapid change. At the very least, consider redecorating, remodeling or moving to bigger digs. And if you currently live with your family, get ready to consider some much better options.

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) — Having the life you want is suddenly no longer a matter of power or resources; it’s a matter of people, and you’re person one. Normally we think of success as being upwardly mobile; for you it’s more about being able to extend yourself among your peers. You practice a kind of lateral success, which is another way of saying weaving community. You may have a sense that you’re at the center of that community, but that’s only true from a limited perspective. You’re participating in a much wider cosmic project of re-weaving the human family. I am sure you’ve noticed how fragmented our communities are and how alienated so many people feel. I promise you, you’re one of the people who feels less estranged. That’s a special distinction. And you don’t have to let on. Just keep weaving.

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) — With everything else going on in your sign (and thus your life), you might not notice that Uranus is slipping into Aries this week, ending a seven-year spell of rampant whatever-it-is that you’re probably sure is not over. However, I have a question: Have you ever had one of those revelations wherein you realize the one thing you need to do is relax, cease from exerting so much effort and energy, and allow ‘pure mind’ to get your results? That is, to allow consciousness to be the potent activating agent that it is, and then experience the universe responding in its quantum way? I thought so! Well, it may take you a few weeks to get there. You can start by making the conscious choice to gear down, even if your life doesn’t respond in 10 seconds. Obviously many things would be easier if you had no concerns about where money was supposed to come from, and if one aspect of life is poised to respond to the whole quantum mind-power thing, that’s the one that’s gonna happen first.

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

Egypt: For Now, the People are in Charge

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Dear Friend and Reader:

After yesterday’s very strange day in Egypt — beginning with early reports by numerous supposedly reliable sources that Mubarak would resign and ending with him transferring power to Vice President Omar Suleiman, but keeping the title of president — nobody can say for sure what is happening in Egypt. Today is expected to be the biggest day of protest since the demonstrations began 18 days ago.

Chart for the military stating that it had convened the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which has not met since 1973. The chart shows a situation delicately balanced on the military but with the people in charge of the country.

Outrage at Mubarak’s refusal to actually quit has pushed the country to the point of explosion.

As we go to press Friday morning, it seems like everything rests in the hands of the military, which is holding space between the Egyptian people and Mubarak, whose ouster they are demanding. His refusal to step down seems calculated to push a showdown between the people and the army. Though the military is in a sense neutral, “That neutrality helps the crowds and hurts Mr. Mubarak,” historian Juan Cole said on Thursday night’s Rachel Maddow Show.

This morning there were news reports that ‘Al Arabiya television reported that Mubarak and his family had left Cairo to an unknown destination from a military airbase in the suburbs’.

A heavily armed contingent of Marines has moved into the American embassy in Cairo and has been maintaining a perimeter from the inside for several days. Egyptian security forces are guarding the embassy from outside. After considerable research last night we could not confirm reports that American warships from the 5th fleet had moved into the Suez Canal, which connects the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

Most sources on-scene are saying that the Egyptian military — while divided in its support for Mubarak, who has ruled under a state of emergency for 30 years — is not going to open fire on the people. Thursday, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces issued what it called Communique #1, at 5 pm Cairo time, confirming this. The Supreme Council has convened only twice before: during the wars against Israel in 1967 and 1973.

“In affirmation and support for the legitimate demands of the people, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces convened today, 10 February 2011, to consider developments to date,” an army spokesman declared on state television, in what was described as communiqué No. 1 of the army command, “and decided to remain in continuous session to consider what procedures and measures that may be taken to protect the nation, and the achievements and aspirations of the great people of Egypt,” The New York Times reported.

The chart for communique #1 seems like a decisive moment, or at least a turning point, at the end of a really weird day. It’s an interesting chart, which illustrates the stance of the military as stated in its letter. Here is what I see.

The Moon is the highest planet. It’s in the 10th house of government, extremely strong in Taurus (its sign of exaltation). The Moon represents the people, who are solid in their values — the generals, as they have said, perceive that the people are in charge and that they have legitimate issues. Cancer (which the Moon rules) is on the 12th house, so the Moon comes out of the vast and overwhelming 12th — the Egyptian public, the most populous in the Middle East. The 12th is an intangible; the Moon’s presence in Taurus gives it a more solid form.

Notably, Mubarak, born in early May, has become the brunt of a good few Taurus jokes, based mostly on his tenacity in the face of extreme resistance. But he does actually appear to be going through a transformation. The ruling planet of that midheaven, Venus, is currently conjunct Pluto and Vesta. He has given up something, namely the powers of the presidency.

There is a massive crowd showing up in the 7th house, shown by all those planets on the right side of the chart. That would be the opposition movement. Leo is rising, which tells us about the matter in question — the military’s statement. And the military (the Sun, ruler of Leo) is aligned with the people in Aquarius, opposite the sign rising. So far, so good. [A second indicator of the army, the ruler of the 6th house (which is Saturn) lands in Libra, retrograde — another sign of restraint.]

There is, however, something that indicates how fragile the situation really is. Though you cannot see it clearly in the chart, when you look at the numbers, Mars is exactly (to within one degree) halfway between the Sun and Mercury. Mars, always a co-ruler of the military in a public chart, is also conjunct Nessus, a centaur planet of karma coming back through a cycle of events. Nessus also indicates an injury based on psychic abuse of some kind; it would seem the armed forces have also struggled under the dictatorship.

That midpoint is tricky and a little unstable, and if there is peace it’s a delicate state of affairs. In addition, the Sun — the military and its ideas — are headed toward Neptune. There may be a loss of the apparent solidity of the Sun: a message gets lost, its power gets lost in a fog, or there is a deception going on. And there is stuff they don’t understand and that they don’t know. Obviously Mubarak is concerned that there could be a military coup — that is more likely than the army firing on the people.

My sense is that the military is not entirely trustworthy. While they are not opening fire on the public, there have been reports of disappearances and torture. We also see this untrustworthy quality in the natal chart for the Republic of Egypt, which we covered last week. There is something two-faced about the beloved Egyptian army, in which people have so much faith.

The real tension point in this chart is that the Taurus Moon is about to make a series of square aspects to all those Aquarius planets in the 7th, starting with Ceres, Mars, Nessus, the Sun and last, Neptune, ending this chapter of the story. As the Moon makes these squares, it will push the situation closer to the edge, and it may seem like it’s bent well past the breaking point. If the sides or the meaning of events are unclear or uncertain today, they only seem headed for greater uncertainty as the Moon waxes toward full phase and popular momentum gathers.

There is plenty we don’t know about that is not being reported by the U.S. media. For example, the Global Intelligence blog reported last week that, “US intelligence sources disclosed that exactly a week ago, on Jan. 29, an attempt was made on the life of Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman in central Cairo as his convoy left the presidential palace. He had just been sworn in by President Hosni Mubarak as Vice President. Suleiman escaped unharmed but two of his bodyguards were killed. The sources said the attack bore the marks of professional, well-trained hitmen. The attack was denied in Cairo but US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton confirmed it in Munich when she said the assassination attempt was a sign of instability in Egypt.”

We will update the Planet Waves blog with details as we learn them.

Yours & truly,

Be My Valentine

Note to Readers: This week’s article is an expanded version of my February column in a regional magazine where I live, called Chronogram.

Dear Friend and Reader:

When I first started writing for Chronogram, an arts and culture magazine where I live in the Hudson Valley, I once succeeded in causing a controversy.

Photo by Eric Francis.

Oh really? you say. And how was that?

Well, I wrote a three-part series on polyamory — that is, on what some call ‘responsible nonmonogamy’ and others call ‘open relationships’. I guess this was around 1997. It seems like so long ago. I started the first of the three articles by coming out to my readers as polyamorous; I thought it was a good idea to get that fact out of the way. I love relationships and the art of relating, and I like to connect with whomever feels right to relate with, in whatever way is mutually agreeable.

(Trust me, those terms and conditions don’t leave a lot of room for the anarchy you may think is brewing.)

I described my motivations and a bit about my experiences, and mentioned that there exist a significant number of people who either are polyamorous or want to be, but who don’t quite feel comfortable speaking up. Sometimes, though, just learning the word has a way of setting someone free — I’ve heard that a lot. Other people, though, can get defensive, as if the one and only legitimate form of relationship is being compromised. Jason Stern, one of the founders of Chronogram who was then its editor, said that he was hearing from readers and advertisers about the series from people even five years later. Five years! You know, the usual complaints about how his writer was going to bring down Western civilization and so forth.

As of today, the topic has been covered by everyone from Newsweek to Huffington Post and appears as a regular feature on the website of Psychology Today.

Polyamory has been discussed on the pages of The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe and The Independent (UK). There exists a very nice blog with archives going back to 2005 that is devoted to keeping up with all the news coverage and analysis polyamory gets. It’s called Polyamory in the News and it will come up with Google’s ‘I’m Feeling Lucky’ option. There are so many published news and website references to polyamory that it’s both impressive and funny. The archives are brimming with this open secret, this thing that’s so taboo nobody can bring themselves to talk about it anywhere but at a polyamory conference. I’ve found that most of the news stories are fairly balanced, describing well-adapted adults making choices about the structure of their families.

I have my reasons for suspecting why the issue is so touchy-hushy, which I won’t get into in this article (I covered them in an earlier article called The One and The Many.)

Photo by Eric Francis.

But before I go on, let me say this.

You read it here first.

If you were reading Chronogram or Planet Waves at the time, you read it before it was a thing in the mainstream press, and long before the LGBTQ movement had its wings or its many letters. You read it before many documentaries were made. You read it here before it was cool to come out (as anything). You read it nine whole years before the word polyamory was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2006.

Here is how those erudite scholars define the word: “The fact of having simultaneous close emotional relationships with two or more other individuals, viewed as an alternative to monogamy, esp. in regard to matters of sexual fidelity; the custom or practice of engaging in multiple sexual relationships with the knowledge and consent of all partners concerned.”
In other words, not Tiger Woods. And not King Henry VIII, about whom the term polyamorist was used in 1953 to describe him, in the Illustrated History of English Literature, Volume 1 by A. C. Ward. This may have actually been the first iteration, and in a sense Henry was polyamorous in the eyes of the church. Today, he would be called a ‘serial monogamist’, which I think is an oxymoron; I prefer ‘serial polyamorist’ for those who have their relationships in a long sequence.

I would add a couple of things missing from the OED’s definition. One is that it’s a sexual and emotional orientation. It is not for everyone, and there is a good chance one is either born polyamorous, or that the capacity or need exists on a deep level in the psyche. Many people who are in monogamous relationships are closeted polys. They can be filled with the same guilt and shame and self-questioning as a gay kid whose friends are predominantly straight.

And while relatively few people openly identify as polyamorous, there are many who are so in practice. They just don’t want to be labeled. I can see the point, though I’m not a big fan of denial. There comes a time in life when you have to say who you are, to the people who really matter.

Many others are curious and restless, knowing that for them monogamy has run its course. The one certified form of relationship is not giving them space to get their needs met. Many couples are eager to open up their relationships, and not just because they want some sexual variety; they also crave the bonding, growth opportunities, and expanded community that come with doing so. And yes, some grounded sexual freedom feels really good. If you’re one of these people, go on Amazon and start ordering books.

Photo by Eric Francis.

In many of my other writings about sexuality and about polyamory I emphasize the idea that the actual thing we need to be doing is exploring our individuation. I believe that our obsession with relationships, finding our soul mate, hooking the right guy to marry and so forth, are a big distraction from learning to be who we are. I believe that exploring polyamory can — no guarantee here, but a possibility — help facilitate that quest for individuation because it requires us to take a conscious step into who we are.

Then the practice of being yourself, which means being fully honest, with several different people, and explaining this to your friends and family, is the perfect kind of confrontation that provides us with the space to individuate. People provide different kinds of mirrors, and the more mirrors you explore yourself in, the more points of view you will get.

As part of this process, you will get a rare and beautiful opportunity to face your insecurities, do something about your jealousy and unpack lots of the baggage you’re carrying from childhood. And you get the chance to hold space for your brothers and sisters to do the same. There is a lot of processing inherent in being polyamorous, especially at first.

Granted, this is merely a step on the way to the deepest level of self-exploration, which involves stepping as far out of emotional co-dependency as possible. Any form of relationship can become a spiral. But being fully authentic in your relationships (as opposed to hiding, lying, denying, etc.), is a great step in the right direction.

Mixers, Potlucks and Jealousy

The word polyamory is an umbrella term. It refers to no one particular relationship style, and the concept goes well beyond sex. At its essence it’s about love and relating, but the sexual aspect of relationships, including sexual feelings, is considered normal and is treated in a more open way. Sex is not ‘mandatory’ but it’s absolutely included.

There exist many methods and styles of polyamory; I will describe a few of them to the degree necessary to help you check whether you identify with one or more. My initial intent of this article (when I wrote it to be published locally) was to get some poly action going in the Hudson Valley. There are no groups here that I know of; nobody holding events. If you like the idea, I suggest you circulate it among your friends and get something going in your neighborhood as well. At least, you can get a conversation going.

For those who identify with these ideas but might hesitate, I can assure you that once a concept has made Newsweek, the Oxford English Dictionary and a dedicated blog on Psychology Today, it is sufficiently mainstream that you don’t have to mutter ‘I’m not so weird, I’m not so weird’ under your breath on the way to your first potluck dinner. This, by the way, I will host in my photo studio Valentine’s Day (contact instructions are at the end of this article). I’m also open to doing evening or day workshops (I have presented dozens of them — everywhere but locally.)

Name That Celebrity

Here is something you may not have thought of, vis-à-vis poly. We can all name gay and lesbian celebrities. Can you name one openly polyamorous celebrity?

Obviously they exist. But who are they?

Photo by Eric Francis.

Poly folk have a few odd things in common. We tend to be a bit bookish. We love a good theory; we tend to read and write about our way of life. A lot of talking is involved. There’s a fantasy among many that being poly is like one endless night in the old Penthouse mansion at the peak of the 1970s. Every now and then it might be, though usually it’s pretty different from that. Some of us consider ourselves social engineers, helping design and build better structures and concepts of human interaction. Most of us just want to love the way it’s natural for us to love.

The poly movement got its start in science fiction novels, particularly Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein. The upshot of that story is that a human born and raised on Mars by Martians (named Valentine Michael Smith), was returned to Earth by his foster parents. Being raised off-world, he lacked the typical human hang-ups (guilt, body shame, mendacity, limits imposed on his capacity to love) and, as a result, he manifested a very friendly scene around him. He was also a good kisser. A very interesting adventure ensued. It’s one of the books I’ll never forget and one of my inspirations for being a sci-fi and fantasy writer.

That was a book. It turns out that nonfiction humans are less monogamous than they claim to be, and that many of the ‘standard narratives’ are simply not supported by observation or genetic research. But the thing that makes a person polyamorous is being up front about that fact.

Jealousy, the Kids and Compersion

Then two questions always arise: What about jealousy? and, What about the kids?

Jealousy is a factor in most relationships, particularly monogamous ones. As we all know, presumed exclusivity does not address the issue itself. Usually it’s swept under the rug by the presumption of monogamy or by not telling one’s partner about an affair because ‘that would hurt them’. Polyamory takes jealousy as either therapeutic subject matter, or as a teacher (same basic idea). The issue is put right out onto the table. When you can look at it, it’s no longer the daunting monster that it seems to be when left in the closet. It becomes the basis of a growth and healing process designed to unearth and address the insecurity, envy and lack of self-esteem beneath the surface.

Photo by Eric Francis.

One of the first concepts that anyone stepping into polyamory finds out about is compersion. That is the experience of being turned on by the love and pleasure of the people you care about. Some say it’s the opposite of jealousy; I say it’s an alternate universe of a world where jealousy is a ubiquitous toxin. Compersion is like taking a Buddhist approach to relationships. It is an emotion, but it’s also an approach to existence. It is the equivalent in polyamorous relationships to oxygen in the biological world.

As for the kids, I don’t think that any conventional form of relationship can, in practice, claim to be inherently good for kids. Many of our parents who preached or attempted to follow the doctrine of monogamy had many extremely messy relationships, right in our faces. Rather, it’s how we conduct our relationships that matters: the content rather than the form. There are some truly functional marriages — but not all of them are, and it’s not marriage that makes the relationship functional. Not so long ago, sexual monogamy used to be set in the context of an extended family. There was always a sister, aunt, or uncle around to watch the kids. There was always company around. In many contemporary marriage-based households where two parents work, the kids are severely neglected. And if the parents don’t get along, the kids will suffer no matter how monogamous the parents are. If the parents are deceptive, the kids will know.

Most people practice what they call serial monogamy, which typically means instability and lack of real support that a more stable form of relationship would provide. That is not a good environment for kids. Many of us raised since the ’70s and ’80s are the products of this relationship style. Serial monogamy is a way of treating people like they’re disposable. Polyamory is a mode of relationship that, for many people, involves putting friendship first.

It provides a context in which to explore creative experiments. It’s designed to create a stable environment, which, if it does not automatically work, is at least workable. If polyamory can’t make a claim on sustainability, at least it is practical. The idea is to embrace conscious family and household design.

I admit this requires honesty and maturity, which can seem to be scarce commodities. In an old book called Bringers of the Dawn, the Pleiadian entities who are the purported source of the material make a good point. They say that humans are inherently polyamorous, but we have an integrity problem. Therefore, the most efficient form of relating is monogamy.

Thanks, guys. It’s nice to have a non-human perspective on this. Speaking as a person, I would say that we need to be who we are and along the way, open up and address the integrity issue. I’m not suggesting that anyone who is not polyamorous pretend to be so, and I’m not saying that it’s some kind of mandatory thing. What I am suggesting is that whoever feels the calling take the opportunity to get real. If you would like a guide to doing that, check out the book Radical Honesty by Brad Blanton. Not the later ones in the series — the first one, with a two-word title.

Triads, Panfidelity and Intimate Networks

In the space remaining, let me introduce you to three kinds of polyamorous relationships, to give a sense of the diversity of possibilities. I’m going to explain them in the first person, using I-statements for consistency. These are just three basic examples out of many possibilities, all of which are in truth unique to the people involved. They are all interesting, when you listen to the people who are involved.

The Triad. I’m in a pair-bonded couple. We’ve been together for a few years and have good clear communication. My partner meets a man she likes and begins seeing him socially. I encourage her to explore if she wants to; I’ve met him and I get along with him. She’s open about their experiences with me. They are both respectful of our primary partnership. They get closer and want to explore sexually. I’m open to this. Jealousy is not an issue because I think her sexuality is beautiful no matter how she expresses it. There are many other possibilities for triads, including situations where all three partners are sexually and emotionally involved, or live together (the real definition of ménage a trois).

Photo by Eric Francis.

Panfidelity. I am in a long-term relationship with my lover on the East Coast, where I live. I have a friend and sometimes lover on the West Coast who predates this relationship by years. We are close friends and have a deep understanding; what feels in truth like a lifelong bond. A few times a year, we meet up somewhere and spend time together. Our other relationships accommodate this because we’ve been open about it with new partners from the outset. There are other forms of panfidelity, which all involve long-term, committed polyamorous situations.

Intimate Network. I prefer to live independently. I have a number of friends, locally and around the country, with whom I am emotionally close and can be sexually open. I also have one or two ‘friends with benefits’. I enjoy closeness and sexual variety but I don’t want to be in a traditional pair-bonded situation or household-based relationship. I prefer my social freedom and I want to keep my options open.

What all the forms of relationship under the umbrella of polyamory have in common is an ethos of honesty and authenticity. Love is offered in a spirit of freedom, and when challenges arise, which they almost always do, the people involved are prepared to work them out. There are tools and resources that we can avail ourselves of, including a growing community of poly-friendly counselors. I’ve been tapped as a poly-friendly (and bi-friendly) astrologer for many years. If you’re poly and your therapist says you need to grow up or you’re acting out, I suggest you talk to someone who has a clue what your life is about.

As for That Valentine’s Day Potluck

Now for the local action piece. If you live in the Hudson Valley of New York, or somewhere close by and you feel like taking a ride, you’re invited to inquire about coming to my Valentine’s Day Poly Potluck. This will be Monday evening, Feb. 14. You may write to me at poly@bookofblue.com. Tell me a little about yourself and your interest in polyamory, and please include contact information. The curious are welcome.

By the way, I have a friend who is a well-studied astrologer and who is poly. She did a study reading the charts of poly people, to see what the successful ones had in common. Can you guess what it was?

The answer is a strong Saturn. That is astrological language for healthy boundaries.

Yours & truly,


Weekly Horoscope for Friday, February 11, 2011, #849 – BY ERIC FRANCIS

Eric’s Zodiac Sign Descriptions

Aries (March 20-April 19) — Are you at the end or the beginning? They’re closely connected. I suggest you take care of endings first. In particular, focus on any growth projects you’ve initiated the past seven years. There have been a few. Seven years is a while; dredge up the whole agenda, remembering the things you’ve forgotten. Take a look on your bookshelf for some ideas; take anything from the ‘self-help’ genre and remember your intention behind acquiring or reading that particular book. How many of the ideas did you put to work? If you take a subtle approach, you may discover that you applied more of them than you think. What you may not have done is assemble the various pieces into a cohesive notion of what you think growth or spiritual development is about. Pause and reflect — it will be obvious.

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

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — The time has arrived to notice that you actually have dreams — specific dreams, not vague ones. While it’s true that manifesting the visions for what you want your life to be takes some action, mostly it takes focus. And all the action in the world will get you nowhere without a concept, an idea or an objective of some kind. You may need to go against your practical and/or humanitarian nature and choose something like ballet dancer, filmmaker, novelist or erotic party hostess. What you may encounter as you remember what you want is how much you wanted to do in the past that you didn’t get around to doing. Let go of your regrets quickly, so you can move on. Some of those dreams still have plenty of life in them — much more than you think.

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

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Having tangible professional goals may not be one of your strengths. Having a healthy imagination about what you can potentially do, however, definitely is. Your planets this week offer two bold suggestions. One is to set a career goal based on a longstanding plan. The second is notice what happens when you focus and invoke your desire. Try it as a mental exercise. Concentrate on something you want, and sense how you feel. Do you feel clear, or do you feel guilty? Do you feel that the actual possibility is available, or do you hear any voices telling you that it’s not the right thing to do? You have an opportunity to claim back something that was taken from you. It seems like you’re taking it back from a collective of some kind, such as a church, your family or your circle of friends. Once you see the group psychology involved, you can claim what’s rightly yours.

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

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — I suggest you hold off on making contractual arrangements or initiating new collaborations for a few days, till the Sun is in Pisces. Stick to doing what you want to do, going where you want to go, and developing the abundant ideas that are running through your mind. Though you may not have noticed yet, your horizons just got a whole lot wider, and in truth those of the people around you are apt to be somewhat narrower. So keep your ideas to yourself; let them cook in your notebook or a document stashed off to the side of your screen. There are moments where something potent germinates, and you’re in one of them now. Honor that, and soak in the feeling of true creativity. Feel the movement and the shifting sense of perspective. Remember, you’ll feel more like you’re dancing than like you’re in church.

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

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — It’s amazing how many people are hurt. It just seems to go on and on, and most people you meet limp around on their injuries without paying attention to what’s going on. You have insight into their situations, but what’s more interesting is the insight they can give you into yours. Nearly all illness is caused by, or comes with, a delusion of some kind. It’s difficult to see one’s own delusions, but others around you are providing a kind of mirror. It’s not that you have their problems; it’s that you can apply to yourself the logic you use when you figure out what they have going on. Look at what the people around you believe that makes no sense, and look at what they think is funny. Everyone will become mysteriously transparent, and the issues (along with how to handle them) plainly obvious.

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

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Chiron has made its way into your opposite sign Pisces, where it will be every day from now until April 17, 2018. This represents an extended phase of your growth and exploration in relationships. It’s nearly coincidental with a seven-year phase that is ending, wherein you may have decided that relationships are either not dependable or too much trouble to bother with. It’s true, there is something well deserving of deep questioning. Yet you can be sure that your relationships from this point on will be taking on a new purpose. For a while there will be a phase where the themes of the old and new cycles overlap, and you’ll need to consciously choose who represents your past and who represents your future. That is a great skill to have. Practice while the contrasts are particularly bold.

To pre-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) — Your charts are telling me how close to the hot core of your reality you’re reaching these days. Whatever you may be experiencing, you’re very close to doing this thing called ‘finding yourself’. Yet at the same time you may have the sensation that you’re being forced to give something up. What exactly would that be? A combination of factors point to some deep emotional evolution. The theme involves a nexus of where commitment meets guilt meets the emotional dimension of your erotic nature. Whatever it may seem based on your circumstances, the thing you’re giving up is guilt. Straight away you can dismiss that this is a useful emotion. It is merely toxic and oppressive. It is not evidence of being wrong; it’s evidence that you were made to feel wrong. Encountering guilt in any form means you’re moving in the direction of your freedom. Keep going.

To pre-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) — Your sign is most famous for its sexual prowess. Whether you feel you deserve this distinction is another question, but sex is quickly becoming the theme of your charts. I see this coming from two angles. One is that Chiron has ingressed Pisces, your 5th house of creative love and passion. The 5th is sexuality without any trace of power trip. Its purpose is pleasure and exploration. The other angle involves the viewpoint that a close partner (or potential partner) may be adopting, which is that sex has an important role to play in emotional healing. Most of that healing involves learning to feel deeply and to let go of guilt. The two positions are perfectly compatible. As you begin to see the ways in which your sexuality is changing, I suggest you assess carefully whether you’re with the right lover. You have a specific mission in these years, and your whole life must support that.

To pre-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) — Don’t worry, you’re not crazy. Your mind is not broken beyond repair, or broken at all, for that matter. And in case you don’t get reminders of this regularly, you’re more intelligent than you think, not less. What you would benefit from is learning the art of drawing light from dark; of letting uncertainty be a kind of foundation on which you build your sense of who you are. I know this sounds like a contradiction here on Planet Cocky. Insecurity is a reminder that life is transient; uncertainty is a reminder to pay attention, to take care of yourself and to reach for your goals from a deeper place. True confidence must always contain a bit of its opposite. This is precisely the opposite of stoking your fears. Rather, it’s giving them a productive use, tapping into energy that would otherwise be wasted.

To pre-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) — I suggest you be aware of a quality of polarization that may be developing in your life. There are a few possibilities for how this might feel. One is that you are struggling to reconcile your professional life and your home life. Both want attention but you feel like you have to give more attention to one. Here’s a thought about that particular polarity. You’ve made some tremendous strides professionally the past two years. I say this knowing you may have faced some significant crises and growing pains. But the main lesson you’ve learned is that you’re a lot more than a survivor. So I suggest you honor the calling in the direction of home, and in the direction of your interior life. You will refresh who you are, and one side benefit will be a wealth of ideas that help you build your fortunes.

To pre-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 may be feeling like you’ve got some serious self-improvement to do. I suggest you not fall for this trap. The notion of ‘making yourself a better person’ is not like going to the gym. When people grow, the main thing that changes is their perspective. Often that perspective involves taking a more compassionate view of what’s happened to you in the past. There’s also the step of not inflicting what has happened to you onto others. What you may be experiencing are the remnants of psychological abuse, as well as some form of betrayal. If you have the feeling that ‘something is going to come back to you’, you know you’ve got the thing right in your hand. The part about expecting karma to bite you on the ass is a direct outgrowth of the abuse. It is not the truth. It is, however, a thought form, and with a little awareness, you can unravel it. Writing to someone is likely to help.

To pre-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) — Chiron arrived in your sign earlier in the week, and Neptune (the modern ruler of your sign) is on its way. You may have the sensation of standing out; you may not appreciate the attention you’re getting. While you’ve often lamented feeling invisible, there’s a kind of psychological — or maybe it’s emotional — sensation of safety in not being seen. There is more going on than you think. What you’re actually doing is negotiating a new position in the world. Your ego structure is taking a new shape. The inner light that can shine through a healthy ego is coming in stronger. And this is going to alter your relationship to the people around you. For a while their responses may be more intense than usual, or seem a little weird. Take it in stride and keep remembering who you are.

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

———

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

Something About Egypt

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Planet Waves

Infrared photo of the Great Sphinx by Sarite Sanders.

Dear Friend and Reader:

There are three things to keep in mind about Egypt at this juncture, while its destiny is now being slugged out on the streets of Cairo with clubs and Molotov cocktails. One is how old the place is. I believe the oldest relics of human creation on Earth can be found there. Archeologists are starting to figure out that their estimates of the age of the Sphinx, for example, were a little on the low side. The thing was being repaired during the Old Kingdom, so it may have been there before what we think of as Egypt showed up.

Sarite Sanders has been photographing Egyptian antiquities since the 1970s. She said that while Egypt has gone through numerous difficult periods, “There was an overseeing principle that the pharaoh represented that spread throughout the religious cultural orders. There was an understanding. The king was the embodiment of a divine principle of justice and truth. He was the intermediary between the people and the principal god, Ra. We look to the king archetype to uphold the highest good and to sacrifice himself for that good. We don’t see that in Mubarak,” she said of the American-backed dictator who by refusing to leave office has pushed the country to the brink of revolution.

Headless quartzite statue of King Amenesse in the Hypostyle Hall in the Temple of Karnak in Luxor (the former Thebes). The matching head is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photo by Sarite Sanders.

The second is how significant it is that the people are now standing up to more than three decades of dictatorship, ready to risk everything. For many years the country has been kept in a state of tyranny by a secret police force that has oppressed a population so poor many people don’t have clean water. The uprising is a sign that the disparities between the rich and the poor grew so absurd that anti-government protesters had nothing to lose. As the gap grows to the size of a canyon many places throughout the world, these events are sending chills down the spines of world leaders who know you cannot suppress all of the people all of the time.

The third is that the Suez Canal runs through Egypt (which is in northern Africa), connecting the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea. The canal makes it possible to get from the East to the West without going around the southern tip of Africa. This one little artery is the supply line for food and oil for much of the world. Egypt has one of the most strategic locations on the planet, and under the current treaty, the canal may be used in times of war or peace, by any ship that can pay the toll to get through. Notably, that includes a lot of oil tankers.

Last week, protests erupted across the country, with people pouring into the streets demanding the ouster of Pres. Hosni Mubarak, who has ruled since Anwar Sadat was assassinated in 1981. Under his reign and long before, Egypt has been a client state of the United States, providing stability in the Middle East’s most populous country at the cost of people who have little to eat and to whom pennies handed to them by tourists are actually meaningful.

As the pressure built, Mubarak responded to the biggest protests in the country’s history Monday night by promising that he would not seek re-election when his term is up in September. He then told the protesters to go home. When they refused to leave, the official goon squads started working overtime, and mobs of pro-government thugs were unleashed, with horses, camels, clubs and firebombs. After provoking this violence, Mubarak then claimed the anti-government protests had turned violent and had to be suppressed — which is about where the situation stands as we go to press Friday morning. So far the Egyptian army has not opened fire on protesters, but many fear that if the situation becomes increasingly violent, they will do so.

[Friday morning, The New York Times was reporting that 100,000 Egyptians had packed Cairo’s central Tahir Square waging a “largely peaceful” campaign for the removal of Mubarak. Meanwhile, the government waged a broad, violent crackdown on journalists and human rights activists. For excellent television coverage of these events, including analysis of why Mubarak has ordered attacks on journalists, I recommend watching Thursday’s Rachel Maddow Show. Also of note, Politico Playbook reported Friday morning that, President Obama “has said that now is the time to begin a peaceful, orderly and meaningful transition, with credible, inclusive negotiations. We have discussed with the Egyptians a variety of different ways to move that process forward, but all of those decisions must be made by the Egyptian people…It’s simply wrong to report that there’s a single U.S. plan that’s being negotiated with the Egyptians.”]

Some are tracing the Egyptian revolts to an incident Dec. 17 wherein a young Tunisian named Mohamed Bouazizi self-immolated, setting off protests in his country that led to the ouster of its longtime dictator. Bouazizi was protesting poverty — specifically, the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a female municipal official. That chart has Pholus on the midheaven (the government angle) — just like the chart for when Jared Loughner opened fire on the crowd in Tucson, AZ, a month ago. Both events represented a release of pressure that could not be put back into containment. The Tunisian chart led to an actual revolution, pushing its dictator out of office and emboldening Egyptians to stand up to Mubarak.

Pyramid of Khafre, on the Giza Plateau on the edge of Cairo, with the Sphinx in the foreground. Photo by Sarite Sanders.

In the weeks following Bouazizi’s suicide, several Egyptians lit themselves on fire and protests there began to gather momentum. Since then, they have also rippled into Jordan, Yemen, Sudan and Algeria. CNN reported Thursday that opposition movements in Syria are calling for mass protests against the rule of its president, Bashar al-Assad. So we suddenly have the entire region in turmoil and sweeping transition.

I would note that with the situation in Egypt emerging, we have seen another example of the war being taken to the Internet. Egyptian authorities ordered ISPs and cellular phone carriers to cut off services so that protesters could not use them to organize. This is the second incident in as many months where the Net has become a battleground — the prior was when WikiLeaks had its domain and servers taken away by the U.S. government. The respective governments didn’t stop the Egyptian people from revolting and they didn’t stop WikiLeaks.

There’s one last little thing about Egypt — it’s a kind of cosmic amplifier, a vortex that broadcasts vibrations to the rest of the world. Perhaps it’s the ley lines, perhaps it’s some feature associated with the Great Pyramid, but anyone who’s been there can tell you — there’s just something about Egypt.

Astrological Context: Epochs of Revolution

We’ve known for a long time that big changes are brewing in the world. Numerous ongoing transits that would have massive and sweeping effects in any event are now concentrated around the cardinal points (early Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn, also known as the Aries Point), which is magnifying the effect. The lunar nodes are backing toward the first degrees of Cancer and Capricorn; we just had an eclipse right there, and numerous slow-moving planets have been dancing around on the early cardinal cross since Pluto showed up in 2008. All of this adds up to what we’re seeing now — except that the momentum is just picking up.

On Tuesday in Cairo, Christians protecting Muslims during their evening prayers. Photo by Nevine Zaki.

It’s easy to recognize the revolutionary spirit vibrating across the Middle East as characteristc of the Uranus-Pluto cycle that’s about to reach the first peak since the mid-1960s: that is the Uranus-Pluto square, which will be exact for the first time in June 2012.

This cycle began with the Uranus-Pluto conjunction that was exact in 1965-66 and which spread out for about five years in either direction. The energy of our current moment is in the same spirit — with one exception. The conjunction in the Sixties was in the relatively mellow, intellectual, service-oriented sign Virgo. The square aspect that we’re now experiencing involves Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn — fast-action cardinal signs, with the Aries Point directly involved. At the moment, we also have Jupiter sitting right there, magnifying things and — notably — exactly square the lunar nodes, additional hints as to the scale of events and how many people are involved, or will be involved as this turning point develops.

As astro-historian Richard Tarnas has noted, the conjunction, square and opposition aspects of Uranus and Pluto have a wide orb of influence, and then events intensify and come into focus as the aspect reaches its exact contact. Events then continue to develop long after the aspect has begun to separate (which won’t begin to happen until 2015).

Tarnas describes times in history when, at peak moments in the Uranus-Pluto cycle, revolution spread faster than the mail could travel. While it’s probably not possible for news to move quicker than Twitter, we now have a similar experience of uprisings rippling out across a wide region of the world, notably, one that has long been oppressed.

In his 2006 book Cosmos and Psyche, Tarnas describes the cycle of Uranus and Pluto, which leads to “epochs of revolution,” giving many examples. One was the Uranus-Pluto conjunction of 1850, “coincident with the wave of revolutionary upheavals that took place in almost every capital of Europe in 1848-49: Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Budapest, Dresden, Baden, Prague, Rome, Milan. Again one sees the sudden eruption of a collective revolutionary impulse affecting an entire continent with mass insurrections, the emergence of radical political and social movements, revolts for nationalist independence, and the abrupt overthrow of governments throughout Europe.”

Firebombs on a rooftop in Tahrir Square: American-branded weapons for the professional thugs? This week, Ministry of Interior secret police were being paid 50 Egyptian pounds a day (about $10) to incite violence against peaceful anti-government protesters. Photo: Ed Ou / NY Times.

Intellectual developments were on fire at the same time: “Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote The Communist Manifesto, Henry David Thoreau wrote On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman led anti-slavery efforts in the United States, and the women’s rights movement began with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.”

Strikingly similar phases took place during the French revolutionary era and at the turn of the 20th century, all of them marked by Uranus-Pluto aspects. The Sixties of course were described as a time when there was “music in the cafes at night and revolution in the air.” Protest movements sprang up across the United States and Europe, and there were breakthroughs in science, law, music, the arts and social movements as well. There was plenty of push-back against the forces of progress, with the assassinations of Medgar Evers, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy — and later, John Lennon and civil rights activist Allard K. Lowenstein.

Tarnas notes, “These alignments did not mark years in which the characteristic historical events and cultural trends suddenly turned on and then off, when the alignment was over, like bivalent light switches.

“Rather, the periods in question seemed to represent times when continuing, usually long-developing trends came to a boil, as it were; when a certain heightened stimulus or concrete fruition brought specific categories of cultural phenomena to conspicuous expression, causing those tendencies to emerge more explicitly and dramatically into the collective consciousness. From that more decisive point of inception or climax, those cultural tendencies then continued to unfold in diverse ways in subsequent years and decades after the alignment was over.”

The current alignment is not only not over — it’s just getting warmed up. The first exact meeting of the square in June 2012 is coincident with the Venus transit of the Sun, and six months later we have the turnover of the Mayan calendar.

The Chart of Egypt

Back in the 1980s, one of my very favorite cartoonists, Tom Toles (then at the Buffalo News) drew a map of the “Muddle East.” It had countries like Irant and Irave. Toles must have been looking at the astrological chart for Egypt when he gave it the name Edgy.

Chart for the Republic of Egypt. You can see the placement of Chiron in orange at the top of the chart.
For additional charts of Egypt, see this link.

Countries have many charts, but the one for the latest incarnation of government is usually dependable. This would be the Arab Republic of Egypt, founded in 1953. This event followed the overthrow of King Fouad II the same year.

Edgy is the perfect description for this chart, with the very last degree of Aries rising, and two centaur planets in the house of government. Chiron in particular is pressed right against the 10th house cusp, the house that represents the president himself — in Capricorn, the sign of both government and antiquity. I can hardly imagine a more fitting image for the modern government of a country that can rightly trace its roots back more than 5,000 years.

Chiron retrograde on the 10th house looks like a claim to the past, or something from the past coming back to visit in the present. No doubt everyone who has ever ruled Egypt has compared himself to the pharaohs. Chiron in that position is a placement that’s constantly being confronted by tests, pointing to an injury to executive power. Anwar Sadat, who was assassinated in 1981, stands as a haunting presence inside that Chiron. When Sadat was killed and Mubarak took power, the Sun, Saturn and Jupiter in Libra were all square that Chiron in Capricorn. Now, Saturn is back there squaring Chiron from Libra, and Jupiter will soon square Chiron from Aries.

Pholus (the second centaur) in Aquarius is close by, directly on the North Node. This has the feeling of compelling, volatile, wild populism that was bound to burst out sooner or later — we are seeing it now. Pholus represents the uncontainable force, and in Aquarius that’s about the people of the country. Remember, too that it comes with the idea ‘small cause, big effect’, and it seems to keep showing up lately.

The clash between pro- and anti-Mubarak supporters escalated in Tahrir Square, Cairo, on Feb. 2. A Molotov cocktail set a tree ablaze, which spread to a building nearby. Photo: Ann Hermes/The Christian Science Monitor.

Aquarius often makes a commentary on technology. It’s more than interesting that when the government tried to cut off the power to the citizens, it went for cellular phones and the Internet first — but that Pholus only came out with more force, making people more determined to do what they knew was necessary.

Next, look at the Sun at 27+ Gemini. First, a little synchronicity: the Sun of modern Egypt is conjunct the Moon of the Sept. 11, 2001 chart. There seems to be a connection. Maybe that’s reminding us that Mohammed Atta, the alleged leader of the plot and the guy who supposedly crashed Flight 11 into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, had an Egyptian passport. With friends like these, who needs conspiracy theories? And remember that 15 of the other supposed hijackers had passports of our other great allies in the Arabian theater, the Saudis. When an act of war is staged on friendly territory, for some reason I mutter false flag under my breath a few times.

Anyway, back to astrology. In a national chart, the Sun is a representative of the leader of a nation (there will be several such symbols in the chart for a country) though for Egypt the Sun is particularly poignant — it’s a country where the Sun gods are beloved. It’s now being squared by Uranus making its last pass through late Pisces. Uranus square the Sun is the same aspect that took down Richard Nixon. The Sun in this chart is being trined by Chiron and Neptune, suggesting that there’s a way to healing if people are interested in finding it. There always is, but the interest level is the variable. It’s easy to make noise and it’s difficult to run a country. That trine also represents the venting of pent-up pressure.

As for the role of the military: that is a 6th house matter, and Virgo is on the 6th cusp. The Moon is right there, conjunct its own osculating apogee (Black Moon Lilith, the little crescent with a cross). The Moon’s presence speaks of the reputed closeness between the Egyptian army and the people (often represented by the Moon in a public chart) though there is a dark side. The relationship is not stable and it’s subject to corruption. There is something two-faced going on here. Virgo’s ruler is Mercury, and this we find in Cancer (again, a reference to the people) and square Neptune and Saturn. Mercury is making a lot of aspects, and notably it is in mutual reception to the Moon — they occupy one another’s signs, and are in aspect. It’s almost as if the military plays any role that is convenient at the moment.

For now the situation is entirely up for grabs. The standoff has continued through the high-pressure Aquarius New Moon conjunct Ceres and Mars — and the tension is continuing to build.

Something About That Canal

After Rachel Maddow gave a brief presentation on the Suez Canal the other night, I got curious and tracked down the date that it opened. There are no references to time that I could find on the Internet, but the day will serve for this discussion. That was Nov. 16, 1869.

Progressed horoscope for the Suez Canal. Notice the concentration of planets in Aries in the 7th house, and the cardinal points occupying the chart’s mundane angles. For the natal and the progressed charts in a larger format, check this link.

Notably this was not the first canal through the Suez isthmus. Napoleon found the remnants of an old one, and Herodotus wrote that one early effort to dig between the two seas led to the deaths of “twelve myriads” of Egyptians — that is, 120,000 people.

The chart for the canal opening presents an interesting picture. For example, it has Mars/Saturn trine Moon/Neptune as a nice image of having to dig and blast through solid matter (that’s Mars/Saturn), connecting two large regions of the world (Sagittarius style) through which water and tides will flow (Moon/Neptune). Moon and Neptune are in Aries; the canal is handy in time of world war, as well as for getting figs and silk to Canada.

In the Egyptian spirit of edgy, Chiron is retrograde in the very last degree of the zodiac. This project took a lot of vision to get done, and you can be sure that everyone since King Tut’s grampappy wanted to make it happen. Jupiter is conjunct Pluto — that vision verged on religious zeal. The project took 10 years.

But the chart for the canal that rang all the bells popped up when I did the progressions. I’ve written thousands of editions of Planet Waves and I’ve somehow managed to avoid any real discussion of the progressed horoscope.

Perspective of Suez Canal, from Tour Egypt website.

Progressions are different from transits, which are real planets buzzing around the Sun. Progressions are when you start with a natal chart of some kind and then advance the planets one day per year, up to the present time. It’s a scale model of time. (There are several scales you can work with — day per year is the most commonly used, and the method I use advances the ascendant one degree per day.) If you start with a chart from 1869 and advance it to 2011, you would be adding about 142 days to the original chart to represent the 142 years that the canal has been open.

I started with a noon chart, so there is potentially some loss of precision — having an exact time is, under the rules of progression, helpful. But sometimes you get a really interesting chart seemingly out of the blue, and the current progressed chart for the Suez Canal certainly qualifies. Have a look. It’s one of those charts you don’t even need to be an astrologer to read; it’s so obviously about a concentration of power.

Where this roulette wheel stopped, the four angles came up on the cardinal points — the Aries Point. Maybe I’m just an Aries Point magnet or something but then look at all those planets and points in Aries, in the 7th house: the Vertex, Chiron, Mercury, Mars, Juno, the Sun, Neptune and the Black Moon Lilith.

The 7th is the house of both partners and of open enemies, and the sign involved is Aries, home to the god of war. Even if nobody is saying this on the nightly news, whatever is brewing behind the scenes is all about that canal.

To be continued.

Yours & truly,

Happy Chinese New Year

Yesterday marked the beginning of the Chinese New Year: the Year of the Rabbit or Hare. Or, in the Vietnamese system, the Cat.

Bugs Bunny, seen this week in Times Square, ushers in the Year of the Wabbit.

If you’re wondering how the Rabbit and Cat got paired up, it comes down to phonetics. According to Wikipedia, “In the related Vietnamese cat takes the place of the rabbit. The Chinese character 卯 for the Rabbit sounds like (mão, mẫu, méo, mẹo, mẻo); the word “mèo” is cat in Vietnamese. Therefore, cat was translated from Chinese to Vietnamese as fourth zodiac sign instead of Rabbit.”

In both cases, people born under the animal in question tend to be described as calm, hospitable, kind, and often graciously diplomatic or empathetic. Both cats and rabbits land on their feet when they fall.

General predictions for 2011 run along the lines of a calm, peaceful year — a time to rest after the tumultuous Year of the Tiger — but so far, the world news does not seem to be bearing this out. Of course, while we are a whole month into 2011, we are only one day into the Year of the Rabbit-Cat. So there is certainly time for the pace to slow a bit.

That said, chiff.com does indicate a bit of contradiction between the Year of the Rabbit on a personal level as opposed to what we see on the world stage:

“The year of the Rabbit is traditionally associated with home and family, artistic pursuits, diplomacy, and keeping the peace. Therefore, 2011 is very likely to be a relatively calmer one than 2010 both on the world scene, as well as on a personal level.

“Conversely, nations will also become more insular and increasingly lock down their borders to protect against the “other”. However, 2011 will also see new art movements projecting a distinct national identity taking the world by storm. Shrewd and creative new business partnerships will also form to the benefit of all.”

Watch this cat transform into a rabbit.

This combination of “new art movements… taking the world by storm” and nations locking down does seem to echo the revolutionary spirit getting fired up by the Uranus-Pluto square — and the reactions of the ‘powers that be’. The writer at chiff.com continues:

“Rabbits who thrive on delicate business dealings are best suited to navigating the year ahead. Others will suffer, by degree, depending on how flexible they are to the world mood. Those who have cultivated careful negotiation skills (or, perhaps more importantly, can sniff-out and swiftly dodge dangerous situations!), may attain similar good luck enjoyed by rabbits and those compatible with them in 2011.”

At theholidayspot.com however, we find that this year will be, “A congenial time in which diplomacy, international relations and politics will be given a front seat again. We will act with discretion and make reasonable concessions without too much difficulty.”

We will, will we? Perhaps somebody should forward the article to President Mubarak STAT. After all, this is the year in which “Law and order will be lax; rules and regulations will not be rigidly enforced. No one seems very inclined to bother with these unpleasant realities. They are busy enjoying themselves, entertaining others or simply taking it easy.” There may a few other world leaders out there who need to see the memo, too.

And if you were born in any of the years 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, or 1999 but suddenly feel a bit panicky as to whether you feel more like a Rabbit or a Cat (I know it may be a bit much to handle after recently being told that your western zodiac sign is wrong), take heart. You can always make like this clever critter and claim both.

Weekly Horoscope for Friday, February 4, 2011, #848 – BY ERIC FRANCIS

Eric’s Zodiac Sign Descriptions

Aries (March 20-April 19) — This is a rare moment to break free and be yourself. True, astrology textbooks say you don’t have this problem — after all you’re an Aries. I don’t believe in astrology that much. We are all human and most of us were raised on television, thinking the Nike swoosh is cool. Closer to the point, most people actually believe that if they speak up, they will be rejected by their friends and cause trouble amongst their coworkers. I don’t mean speaking up about being a Red Sox fan in New York. I mean about things that really matter. You may be inclined to do this, and if you do, you’re in for a surprise, which is that when you make your real feelings and ideas known, you’re likely to discover that people respect you more, not less. I would note that the important thing is that you put your self-respect first.

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

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — We usually think of opportunity in quaint terms as one’s ship coming in, or getting the big break. I suggest you begin with considering what you’re doing now, this very moment, as the vortex of the potent energy of opportunity that is pulsing through your existence. This astrology is not something in the future; it’s about right now. If you have ideas for what you want to be doing, what are they and what can you do about the most meaningful ones right now? The sensation you have doing this may have a hint of ‘feeling like you’re someone else’. You may indeed be in a process of learning by example, though Venus in Capricorn suggests that though you may indeed be collaborating or learning from someone else, you’re in the perfect spot to be practical, resourceful and soulful about whatever you try out.

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

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would that be? Would you drop in on Cairo with a camcorder and satellite phone? Would you be working for the hacker group Anonymous, spreading revolutionary information? Would you be working for a big high-tech firm like Google, plotting the next stage of the Internet? Would you be working on some visionary, humanitarian project that allowed you to express your spiritual values in direct ways? Would you get involved in your community, putting to use the idea, ‘think globally, act locally’? I suggest you pause and consider your highest ideals and whether you’re ready to act on them. While you’re doing that, pause and look around at the world and notice what you want to do the most. Far less is in your way than you think.

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

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — This is the time to renegotiate the terms of your existence. You seem to want a new way to think about your commitments, and those of the people you’re involved with. The concepts of relationship that you grew up with are falling apart, and not just for you. For one thing they are not based on any notion of equality or even equanimity. They are way too structured and depend on formality more than authenticity. Yet in the midst of all those issues, there is something worth preserving; something old-fashioned that still has use today. You can think of this as the living spirit inside a tradition rather than the tradition itself. This thing, whatever it is, predates the relics of marriage as a business arrangement and ongoing attempts to possess another person that permeate so many cultures. How about this: the enduring nature of love.

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

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — Focus is the key to not being overwhelmed. Focus on what you want, and on the people who are present and willing to help you have that, without throwing up any static or noise. While you’re busy engaging with so much that is in your environment, I suggest you tune into one long-term change that may be in the background of your life that you have lost track of, or set aside for the future. It’s time is about to arrive, and it’s going to change very nearly everything in your life. By change, I mean deepen, rearrange and take to a new level. The living essence of all of these changes is cooperation. Yet what is different is that this is a form of cooperation that will take you to the edges of where you feel safe, verging into an authentic vulnerability that you may go out of your way to avoid. This is one among many emotional tendencies that you’re about to leave behind.

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

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — By the time you convince yourself that it’s okay to really get involved in a rapidly developing situation, the action may have subsided. I understand that your commitment is a precious thing, though this preciousness also provides a cover story for a kind of annoying reticence that you’ve long had to contend with. What you’re really committing to is having an opinion or idea that you’re willing to state openly rather than merely contemplate. You may be concerned that if you say anything directly, you won’t be allowed to change your mind. That’s not true, but you’ll just need to say that’s what you’re doing. Closer to home is why you wonder so much what people might think about what you think. Once you call back the projection, you’ll see that this is nothing other than self-doubt. And the only thing you can do about that is take a chance on your own intelligence.

To pre-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) — Sex is an aesthetic and emotional experience, though it has an intellectual aspect that is strong in your chart any day, and it’s particularly strong now. What you have is an opportunity to break free from your own ideology and recognize the beauty of what desire is, and what it can do for you. If you look around you’ll notice the extent to which people are in a kind of war with desire, and play an approach-avoid game with what they want the most. I wasn’t around when some monks were making up Buddhism, but I know about the damage that guilt can do, and how good it feels to let guilt go. What we all need to contemplate, and what I suggest you consider, is the perceived value of guilt. Besides being a convenient way to punish ourselves for what was done to us in the past, guilt seems to be a hedge against the perceived anarchy that would ensue if we decided to take a good deep breath and let it out.

To pre-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) — You can now get to the bottom of your feelings, your fears, your insecurities — enough to let go of the control you impose on yourself. I suggest that be your goal; to live without so many attempts to quantify, influence and manipulate what you feel. This includes all attempts to adapt to what others feel, rather than admitting how you’re responding to that and doing something about it on your own terms. To the extent you do this, you’re merely living out the control dramas of your family of origin. That’s why it feels like such a struggle to break free: part of your emotional body is still trapped back in the space and time when everyone else has all the power. I have news for you: they don’t. But that’s different than you admitting you have any influence at all, or the ability to make a decision based exclusively on your own needs. If you’re still fighting your parents, that will feel like defiance. If you’re living your life, it will feel like something creative.

To pre-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) — We could sum up the Aries Point as ‘the personal is political’, though a more relevant way to say the same thing is that action is the fruit of knowledge. You now know something; you have no doubts at all. You don’t need any other supporting evidence or information and you don’t need all these people around you expressing their various opinions. You don’t need any predictions or additional analysis. You need to decide what, exactly, you’re going to do with the information you have. Now, you may well have decided, and if that is true I suggest you either tune out the noise, or appoint someone you care about to be the scribe and present you with the data in refined form, without anyone’s emotional charge stuck to it. Your life is calling you, and you’re answering. Don’t let anything or anyone slow you down.

To pre-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) — Money has been an issue for you, and this goes back years. How much of what you’re going through actually involves money and how much involves your ideas about it? How much is about resources and how much is about whether you feel you’re worthy of success. Yet what exactly is success? It’s closely related to your sense of belonging on the planet. What I will call the ‘crisis stage’ of your financial life is rapidly waning away. Even as it does, I suggest you claim your space and claim your value — to yourself. That will shift your energy out of crisis mode and into take-charge mode faster than anything. Remember that you’re not making up a story when you do this. You are affirming what is so. (Most of the old stuff was a story about wounded self-esteem that you’re finally ready to let go of.)

To pre-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 may be discovering how not-so-subtle the changes you’re going through are. Very nearly forever, you were busy getting ready, unhitching the connection points to the past, considering what is important to you and so forth. You spent a good bit of time waiting around. Now the scenario of the past year is making a lot more sense — and you know that the next step is up to you. The delusions that were flying around under your hat and inside your dress are still near you, but they have no power whatsoever when you recognize that the course of your life is something that you and you alone decide. Don’t get lost in theory on this one. Look at your options and choose from among them — and if you don’t like any of them, make up a few others. The feeling tone you’re going for is nourishing.

To pre-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 an edgy time for you — as I write, there are about a dozen planets and points gathered in your 12th house, and a New Moon conjunct Mars brewing. That would be enough to make the Dalai Lama paranoid. Recognize that you’re under some unusual pressure, which you may not have noticed building and which will begin to dissipate soon enough. In fact it already has, but the tension will really break when Chiron enters your sign in a few days. The truth is, you’ve been under a lot of pressure for a long time, and just like one ascends from scuba diving gradually so as not to get the bends, I suggest you let the psychic pressure you’ve been under release itself gradually. Meanwhile, don’t let it distract you from what an amazing moment this is for you, in so many ways.

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

———

Beneath the Guns and Politics, Gender Rage

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Dear Friend and Reader:

In the wake of the shootings in Tucson nearly one week ago, the focus of the discussion is on the political causes and implications of the incident. There are many, though what’s also clear is that there are issues below the issue, such as the deep frustration, rage and mistrust that would lead to a nationwide spike in sales of Glock 9mm pistols this week — the same kind used by suspect Jared Lee Loughner.

Vigil outside the congressional offices of Gabrielle Giffords, who was severely injured in a mass shooting Saturday morning. Photo: Chris Carlson / The Associated Press.

I understand there are legitimate uses for guns. I have a friend who lives alone in a cabin in the hills of Oregon; I’m happy she has a loaded rifle on hand. Her usual weapon of choice is lighting firecrackers to frighten off bears who come around at night to steal the apples from her tree (I’ve never personally seen this, but I would love to). Every July 4, she stocks up for the rest of the year.

However, many people who are obsessed with guns feel frustrated and powerless. For them, possessing a gun provides a sense of power. This may have narratives attached to it, ranging from fantasies of vigilante justice to thinking you could defend yourself against an intruder if necessary. There is some psychology here. The fantasy of defending oneself against an intruder requires the notion of someone against whom to defend. Until it actually manifests (which it does not, usually), that is a projection of power and aggression onto an imaginary other, which in the fantasy puts one in the position of powerlessness (without the weapon), and thus justifies the weapon. Most of these people need therapy, not target practice.

Estimates of how many American households have weapons and participate in these delusions range from a third to one-half. Meanwhile, plenty of Americans really do have fantasies of defending themselves against the rogue United States government. That is amusing.

The gun thing typically seems designed to fulfill some gaping emotional inadequacy. I speak from some experience. All of my immediate male relatives had or have handguns. In addition to being possessed by a good bit of paranoia, all are or were some combination of emotionally, creatively or sexually frustrated, which manifests as feeling deeply powerless. The gun is compensatory. Meanwhile, many of these powerless-feeling people who have firearms are just itching to use them, with little thought of the consequences. My grandfather intentionally shot himself with one of his.

Those killed in Saturday’s massacre in Tucson, from top left: Christina Taylor Green, Dorothy Morris, Judge John Roll, Gabe Zimmerman, Dorwin Stoddard and Phyllis Schneck (Photos provided by families, distributed by AP).

As the conversation around the Tucson shootings develops, there certainly seems to be a hopeless loop of projection, attack and fear. A lot of us see an opportunity for healing, and others see an opportunity to foster even more aggressive mania. At times the whole scene seems to be descending into a nightmare scenario. And there is plenty else going on in the world to raise concern — the worst flooding in Australia’s history in Brisbane, more mysterious wildlife deaths and the occasional news bulletin about the ice caps melting. Many people you would not suspect (including plenty in national politics) are believers in the End Times and/or the Apocalypse. They project their fear of individual death onto the collective; they imagine the death of the whole world.

However, there is something beneath the surface of this mess, indicated in the charts for Saturday’s shooting. What’s being proffered as a political conflict has another dimension. Let’s start with the event chart, which I will address briefly before getting into the two more illustrative charts — those of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, and her would-be assassin, Jared Lee Loughner.

Of necessity, since this is a chart interpretation, I’ll be using more astrological references than usual. I will include an astrology lesson. Try to follow along. There is a discussion area with this article in case you have questions.

Event: Arizona Shooting

Anything with a time and place can get a chart. This chart is for a single incident, but it’s also a collective event that has relevance for a whole country and in many ways, the world. The energy of this event has rippled out; the chart is relevant to the degree the event is relevant, and I would say a good bit more.

Chart for shooting in Tucson, AZ on Jan. 8. Note that the Moon in Pisces is the planet closest to the ascendant, and the bright green glyph for Pholus is the most elevated, close to the government angle or 10th house. See detail below. Together, these provide a lot of space for paranoid fantasies about government, that might be fed by many other factors. Obviously, the government is doing bad things. The question is, what do we do about it? Time source is Pima Country Sheriff’s office.

Jared Loughner arrived at the “Congress on Your Corner” meeting and opened fire at 10:10 am on Saturday, Jan. 8. The time is obtained from a sheriff’s press conference I heard, and there is not a conflicting time given anywhere (most media say “just after 10 am”).

I want to point out two things right away, made noteworthy by the planetary placements and the degrees involved. First look on the left side of the wheel.

See that crescent shaped thing that looks like the Moon? That’s the Moon. The slightly heavier horizontal line right above the Moon is the ascendant (sometimes called rising sign; the line gives its exact location within the sign). The Moon is exactly rising. Indeed it is rising to one arc minute (1/60th of a degree!) — look at those numbers. Moon is 7 degrees 6 minutes; ascendant is 7 degrees 5 minutes. The ascendant moves very fast; this conjunction is truly remarkable. The ascendant represents the primary issue of the chart, and with the Moon in Pisces, it’s emotional and spiritual. There is also the potential for all the delusion and instability that can come with a powerfully-placed Pisces Moon. The Pisces Moon rising gives the chart the feeling of a world apart; a separate sphere of fantasy.

Second. Look at the dark almost-vertical line. That’s called the meridian. Follow that right to the top of the chart, or the midheaven. There’s a bright green thing up there, which is a little planet — that’s Pholus. This is a Chiron-like body that was the second-ever discovered centaur planet. In this chart, it’s the top item — right in the beginning of the 10th house (to the left of the bold line). This is the government angle, in a chart where one theme is the government. Pholus is about things that are released without the ability to put them back, such as a release of pressure. Its key phrase is “small cause, big effect.”

Detail from midheaven of the chart for the shooting. The government angle is mobbed with planets. Pholus, mentioned elsewhere, is the bright green glyph at the top of the chart (called the midheaven). The bright pink planet is Vesta, which indicates a sacrifice. Mercury is the next one to the left, conjunct the Galactic Core and overwhelmed. Then there are three points in Capricorn — the North Node, Pluto and Pallas, which together are a dark omen for politics. Pholus in Sagittarius on the midheaven has a ‘drunk with power’ feeling. Pholus is in a conjunction with several points not shown here. They include Quaoar, which is about family patterns; Ixion, which says ‘anyone is capable of anything’; and the Great Attractor, an intergalactic point that blows up the scale of everything it touches.

We definitely had a release of pressure apparently directed toward the government in this incident, and there is no putting it back. Pholus has references to alcohol, and its placement up there is also about being drunk with power. Both Jared Loughner and the federal government, particularly Congress, can be described this way. Indeed, new members who arrive in Washington are quickly indoctrinated in a fraternity-like atmosphere of doing flaming shots of power, and this parallels the dysfunctions of alcoholism we see displayed all the time in the shenanigans of Congress.

Yet the problem indicated by the chart, with the Pisces Moon square this powerfully placed Pholus, is that as far as this event is concerned, the whole thing is dunked, steeped and fully soaked in delusion. Delusion is an inability to discern what is real from what is not. And it means that one problem can masquerade for another.

In a murder chart, one of the first things to look for is the motive. Because the 8th is the house of the cause of death, that’s where we look for the motive. The Moon is in the 1st house, so count eight houses, anticlockwise, to arrive at the 8th. The sign Libra and the planet Saturn are involved.

The 8th is about surrender, the power of ‘the other’ and it contains illustrations of and ideas about orgasm. Saturn represents a blockage. Saturn in Libra suggests the blockage comes as part of a relational issue, not merely a sexual one. This is a sexually frustrated chart. To me this represents the world-famous sexual frustrations of the American people, a country which terrorizes its children with abstinence indoctrination, telling them that if they have sex they will be like a chewed up and spit out piece of candy. In public school programs across the nation, sex is equated with immorality, disease and lack of desirability.

Dr. Wilhelm Reich, one of the most brilliant psychological and political theorists of the 20th century, suggested that mass sexual repression in a society is harvested by the political system. The bottled-up passion and frustration (generally, contained by implanted moral impulses) are converted into the feeling of mystical longing. (This is why so many desperately horny people spend so much time voraciously reading books about spirituality).

Libra is associated with Venus. Venus appears in Sagittarius — that’s a nice illustration of sexuality (Venus) converted into a mystical longing (Sagittarius). This is in the 9th house of spirituality (top of the chart, right side). But Sagittarius is also the 10th sign from the ascendant — so it counts again as the 10th house — the government. Sexual repression has become mystical longing, which has in turn converted again to an uncontainable burst of rage at the government (Pholus).

Truly, I think we need to come to terms with Dr. Reich’s idea that sexual repression is converted by the psyche into mystical longing, which is then acted out politically — usually, as he puts it, in the obsession with a charismatic leader. We tend to be proud of our sexual repression in the United States; we worship virgins and prosecute the king for having a tryst. We need to understand that our obsession with sexual purity has many consequences, both personal and political.

I recognize that Jared Loughner is mentally ill. Dr. Reich associated most psychosis with frustrated sexual energy running wild in the psyche. But if I may, here is an obvious question. Do you think he would have been more or less likely to have done this, had he been in a fulfilling sexual relationship? When you’re 22, you have a lot of sexual energy to vent. It has to go somewhere.

Natal Charts of Loughner and Giffords

To see the full natal charts of both individuals, check this link and they will open in a new window. For a glyph legend, please check this link.

One thing about this whole event is that it’s dominated by the centaur planets. This is a group of small bodies that started to appear with the discovery of Chiron in 1977. The second discovery was Pholus, in 1992 (mentioned above). The third was Nessus, discovered in 1993. The bold links take you to articles about them I wrote for Small World Stories, the 2008 annual edition. Centaurs represent an edgy kind of energy that feels vulnerable, is associated with deep emotions, experiences of wounding and healing, and psychic qualities with which most people are distinctly uncomfortable.

Here is Loughner’s Sun-Moon configuration up close. His Moon (grey crescent) is conjunct Black Moon Lilith (dark blue crescent) and the South Node (orange horseshoe), giving him the feeling that women are oppressive and unfathomable. Nessus is bright blue, conjunct the Sun. This warns of potential sexual or psychological abuse, and dark feelings toward his father. Vesta is the bright pink planet. His Mercury is at 14+ Libra, the exact degree that was rising in the chart for the Sept. 11, 2001 incident. The two events are connected by a number of factors. To see the full natal charts of both individuals, check this link and they will open in a new window. For a glyph legend, please check this link.

Let’s look at Loughner’s first — starting with a sample of the chart, the part with his Sun and Moon. Notice that he has a lot of planets and points concentrated in Virgo. Note the yellow circle with the dot — that is the Sun. Loughner has a planet closely conjunct the Sun — the light blue glyph, which represents centaur Nessus.

Perhaps the edgiest of all the centaurs, Nessus is about the cycle of karma. Stories involving Nessus come full circle. It’s all about cause and effect, boomerang style. The karma might not be instant, but it’s dependable. With Nessus there are implications of potentially inappropriate sexual contact, and often it’s an indication of sexual abuse coupled with psychological abuse. Sun-Nessus can represent a deeply wounded expressive principle, a father with some serious issues, and a compromise placed on one’s male side. When there is a centaur present like this, we have the option to turn the injury into an experience of healing and authentic power, or to act it out in toxic ways over and over again our whole lives.

Let’s consider the rest of the grouping. See the three points with the numbers 13 and 14 next to them? That is a very close conjunction. Those are (from right to left) the Black Moon Lilith, the Moon and the South Node. These all involve lunar energy; they represent how he experiences his mother, his core or child personality, and how he relates to women in general. He has dark visions of who women are; he experiences them as oppressive, dark, mysterious in a way that seems incomprehensible. Because this is on the South Node, it involves his own past life history, and speaks about his treatment of or by women, or a recent past life as a woman that is influencing him now. He is dragging this around like a large trunk full of emotional baggage, and he projects it outward as a truly sinister vision. The closer he gets to a woman, the more he will distrust her. I am sure he’s never had a close female friend. It’s very possible he’s never had sex because his distrust of women runs so deep.

Meanwhile, he is running male biology through a deeply feminine sign — Virgo. This is difficult. The Virgo presence is emphasized by the fact that he was born the day of a solar eclipse in Virgo, conjunct Nessus. He often feels female, but profoundly distrusts anything feminine. The eclipse blows this into monstrous proportions. I promise you that no matter what his family’s press release says, they understand exactly why this happened.

Sun conjunct Nessus in the chart of Gabrielle Giffords. Loughner has the same aspect in his chart. Both have them in mutable signs — their natal Sun-Nessus aspects are square one another. That creates a similar energy in both charts but a tense relationship between the people involved. To see the full natal charts of both individuals, check this link and they will open in a new window. For a glyph legend, please check this link.

Loughner has two other points worth considering, not shown in the small graphic. One is Chiron in early Cancer, indicating more injury to his feminine side, obviously unaddressed, and under constant transits lately from the cardinal cross T-square that you read about here nearly every week last year.

Last, he has Venus in Leo. He has another vision of his feminine side, and of women, that is proud, and sees itself as a queen (Venus conjunct Juno). So on the one hand he has this dark emotional-level experience of women and his own feminine side; then he aggrandizes them beyond any hope of recognition, and the Juno conjunction indicates that part of his aggrandizement is a sense that women are inherently controlling (this is a Juno factor; she and her Greek counterpart Hera were the supreme bitch of mythology).

Now here is a section of Gabrielle Giffords’ chart — the part with her Sun. It’s obviously simpler than Loughner’s, but notice what she has as well — a Sun-Nessus conjunction. Not only that, her Sun-Nessus conjunction is square Loughner’s to within a degree or two — both are in the mid-mutable signs, indicating a square. This is a relationship — any aspect is a relationship — and it’s a right angle; a tense one.

When I was a young astrology student, one of my teachers, David Arner, told me about a study done where astrologers were given anonymous pairs of charts for murderer and victim. They could not discern who was who with any consistency. With their common Sun-Nessus conjunctions, we have the first of several striking similarities between the charts of Giffords and Loughner.

Let’s look at one other. It is even more remarkable. It involves a nearly identical configuration in both charts that involves Mars, Chiron and Eris.

Section of Loughner’s natal chart with his Mars-Chiron-Eris pattern. Notice the Mars-Eris conjunction on the lower part of the chart; this is square Chiron in Cancer, above. This configuration creates some gender-based insecurities. Mars is retrograde, which suggests he has a hard time bringing out his male nature. The presence of Eris describes a feeling of competition with women, and Chiron in Cancer further describes his struggle with his mother and with trusting women (see Moon in Virgo for more information). It also makes him deeply sensitive to his environment. To see the full natal charts of both individuals, check this link and they will open in a new window. For a glyph legend, please check this link.

By way of introduction, all three of these are involved with warfare. Mars, of course, is the god of war. He represents energy, desire, passion and aggression. Chiron was a mentor to the great warrior-heroes of ancient Greece — among them Heracles and Jason. Chiron taught battlefield medicine, archery and other skills of war. Eris, the sister of Mars, was more the type to operate through subterfuge.

As an astrological factor, Chiron is about raising awareness, the healing journey, injury that focuses healing and growth, ‘shamanic’ wounding, warrior emphasis and mentorship. Chiron typically has a crisis around its placement, which will either be associated with a gathering of strength and power when it’s processed consciously, or create a spiral down effect with a descent into futility when it is ignored.

Eris is about the postmodern identity crisis — the idea that we have no idea who we are, and need three business cards to describe what we do; the ability to shapeshift or take many forms; the provocation of chaos, initiated from the inside out (inner chaos that can spread to the environment); the castaway woman; a disowned feminine side in men, and an alienated feminine side in women. Remember that when Eris was named in 2006, she upset the known order of the solar system, unseated Pluto as a planet and helped create the class of ‘dwarf planets’.

In the charts of both Loughner and Giffords, these three points are in a similar aspect in the same place in both charts.

In Loughner’s chart, to the above and to the right, Mars is conjunct Eris. It’s a slightly wide conjunction — but it’s in full effect. This is in Aries, and it feels angry, aggressive and like he cannot focus his masculine energy. Mars in Aries can lack confidence, and make up for it by doing macho things to help create the aura or sensation of masculinity. Mars is retrograde, which tends to create pent up energy and inflame the insecurity associated with a tense Mars placement. The square of Mars to Chiron can have a sense of being blocked — unless someone works to consciously integrate the square, in which case it will become a building block of integrity. Clearly this is a setup prone to outbursts of aggression.

As I mentioned before, he has Chiron in Cancer — and it’s square Mars. Mars square Chiron has two basic levels. One is that it can block the action of Mars, creating deep frustration (which will seize the emotions, via Cancer); or (if you work with rather than against it) it can represent a mighty building block in the psyche, and a foundation for true integrity. With Eris present, there will have to be a lot of integration work done to weave the sense of a fractured psyche that Eris often represents.

Mars-Chiron-Eris configuration in the chart of Gabrielle Giffords. The three are arranged in a similar pattern as in the chart of Loughner, however, the positions of Mars and Chirion are reversed. Giffords has her Mars conjunct Loughner’s Chiron, and vice versa. Chiron triggers Mars in the other’s chart. Eris is a factor suggesting a struggle with identity, which can be overcome through conscious personality integration; or can result in a psyche that is fragmented and in chaos. If that chaos persists, it can be projected outward into the environment. To see the full natal charts of both individuals, check this link and they will open in a new window. For a glyph legend, please check this link.

Now let’s look at Giffords’ chart. She has a Chiron-Eris conjunction. I covered this aspect in an earlier article called Dancing With Discord. This was active at the time of the feminist revival through the early 1970s — it’s the ‘Women’s Lib’ aspect. We have Chiron activating the energy of Eris and funneling it in a warrior-like way, with the potential for both wounding and healing. The feminism of that era did a lot of both, though it did in fact get some constructive results.

Now let’s look at how the two charts connect. Loughner has his Mars conjunct Giffords’ Chiron. Giffords has her Mars conjunct Loughner’s Chiron. So they have the same square, in the same position, only with the sign placements reversed. You could say they provoke one another’s male sides, with Giffords’ Mars in Cancer conjunct the extremely sensitive Chiron in Loughner’s chart (which stirs up his sense of being hurt by women, starting with his mother).

And Loughner’s Mars in Aries is conjunct Giffords’ Chiron. He projects his rage and hurt at her head — in Aries. He strikes her on the left side of the brain — the logic/reasoning side associated with masculine consciousness.

Eris moves so slowly that it’s in Aries in the configuration in both charts. In the life of Giffords, she is able to overcome society’s many handicaps on women and aspire to a position of authentic influence. In the life of Loughner, where it is unaddressed and unutilized, it manifests as fragmentation and chaos. Eris is a new factor in astrology — but not in our consciousness. For many years, as technology and industrialization have persisted, we have dealt with the fragmentation that Eris represents, and the need to perceive ourselves as a unified whole. Working with Eris we can assemble the pieces.

Attempting to Assassinate his Inner Woman

These aspects point to many similarities and an energetic relationship between Loughner and Giffords. They also suggest to me that Loughner was attacking a representation of his own inner woman. At the same time he lived with deep distrust and probably open hatred for women, he also envied and admired Giffords, whom he saw as a kindred spirit and representation of his own potential. In his own way, he was in love with her, and through her wanted to love the feminine in himself — though hating both.

To me this was primarily an act of gender rage, not motivated by authentic political feelings. In a sense it was rape with a bullet, but also a form of inner suicide projected outward. He turned to a gun to fill a hole left by his emotional inadequacies and sexual needs. The pressure of denying his own self became too much — he felt he had to project it outward. Much like jealousy works, when one cannot control something, or own it, one strives to kill it. Jealousy is a form of spiritual murder, and this is an extreme example.

So far as I can tell, this was not a political assassination attempt. It’s clear enough that Loughner didn’t really understand politics, but he was certainly pulled and twisted by his struggle with his own masculinity, and tormented by the mystery of his inner feminine, along with his significant emotional confusion. This inner battle left him feeling paralyzed, much like many women are paralyzed by their own inner struggle to have any sense of their power in a world that seems to keep taking it away.

Giffords for her part was doing a great job expressing her power in a male-dominated world. She managed to rise above this struggle and find her way to a place of strength and equality. She was also a beautiful (and unavailable) woman with whom Loughner was obsessed, apparently for more than three years. Her very existence made him feel insecure, and he did not avail himself of, or have available, any mode of healing that insecurity. I believe he lacked the emotional capacity to long for her companionship or sexual attention, at the same time he was enraged by their absence.

None of this is new or novel, but here we have a fairly clear example of how sexual themes, including gender, gender bias and the need to make contact with both polarities to live a sane and balanced life, can manifest in a way that is violent and projected into the political sphere. And all of this describes what is perhaps the most significant aspect of the emotional healing process on which we need to embark — our sexual nature, which needs to be acknowledged, made contact with and allowed to express itself.

The people who foster sexual repression as part of school programs know that their actions have political implications. I would imagine they were not quite expecting this.

Make no mistake — what I’m describing is a collective sexual injury that, more or less, we all possess but don’t necessarily own consciously. It will cause more problems the longer it’s left untended and dressed as a moral issue, infecting one generation after the next. And it can be a source of profound social progress if we can make some basic admissions about ourselves and commit to a healing process. Part of that involves embracing our internal opposite gender polarity and therefore embracing ourselves as a whole person.

We will all be happier, if we can do that.

Yours & truly,

Additional research: Christine Farber, Amanda Painter

Attention All Astronomers — The World is Flat

I wish I could put out a press release announcing that the world is flat, and send astronomers scrambling — to return the favor for when an astronomer sends out a press release announcing that your zodiac sign is wrong. That’s what happened this week when the following went viral faster than the dude who got rich dancing around like a dork in 34 countries:

Astronomer Parke Kunkle says that due to changes in the Earth’s alignment the dates of many zodiac signs have changed, according to NBC. In addition, there may be a 13th Zodiac sign: Ophiuchus. Kunkle says that as the Earth and Sun slowly move the signs gradually change, as expected. The change didn’t happen over night either. The 12 signs were designated to different periods of the year almost 3,000 years ago, when astrology began, and since then the Earth’s position in relation to the sun has changed.

The tropical zodiac is in the inner wheel, the sidereal zodiac is in the outer wheel. Notice how they are ‘out of alignment’ by about one whole sign — to be exact, 23 degrees. This is due to precessional movement, which shifts the two zodiacs by one degree every 70 years.

Either this is a joke or Parke Kunkle is truly ignorant of his own science. It’s probably a bit of both.

There are two zodiacs in common use. Kunkle is describing what is called the sidereal zodiac: the backdrop of the stars. It’s not the zodiac used by most Western astrologers; it’s the one used by Vedic astrologers, the kind in India, and a few in our part of the world. The two zodiacs are offset by about 23 degrees. I’ll explain why in a moment.

Here in the West, we use a zodiac that follows the seasons. It’s called the tropical zodiac. It’s based on the position of the Sun’s rays and the tropics — that’s why it’s called tropical. There is another one, based on the positions of the stars. It’s called the sidereal zodiac. If Kunkle doesn’t know this, it’s like a race car driver not understanding the concept of a tire. If so, he also doesn’t understand a long list of other concepts that must make it very difficult for him to do his work. Well, that’s what grad students are for. Notably, the sidereal zodiac is a feature in all astrology software.

In the Western or tropical zodiac, the Sun enters the tropical sign Aries the day of the vernal equinox each March. That’s the day that the Sun’s rays meet the equator directly overhead — the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. (In the prior draft and in the audio I said ‘at a right angle’. Same idea.) The Sun enters the tropical sign Cancer when the Sun’s rays square the Tropic of Cancer — the first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, or summer solstice. The Sun enters Libra when the Sun’s rays square the equator again in September. The Sun enters Capricorn when the Sun’s rays square the Tropic of Capricorn each December, which is the first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere (the seasons are reversed in the Southern Hemisphere).

You then take those four cardinal points and divide them equally and you have the 12 signs of the tropical horoscope. There are no ‘extra signs’ added — the tropical zodiac is a division of the 360-degree wheel of the year into 12 equal slices of 30 degrees. This is not rocket science — but it is science.

Look! It’s already there!

As mentioned, the Western zodiac begins the day of the vernal equinox. The position of the Sun that day is called the Aries Point — or the Sidereal Vernal Point. If you read Planet Waves, you read about the Aries Point nearly every week. It’s extremely sensitive. The position of the Sidereal Vernal Point or Aries Point moves gradually as the Earth wobbles on its axis. Currently, the SVP is at 5 degrees Pisces on the sidereal zodiac. Hence, the tropical sign Aries begins in the sidereal sign Pisces. And as the Earth wobbles, the SVP is moving backwards toward Aquarius — hence “the Age of Aquarius.” About 2,000 years ago, the tropical signs aligned with the sidereal signs. Now they have precessed backwards by about 23 degrees. And for that matter, so has Christmas.

We don’t adjust Christmas one day every 70 years but sure enough, eventually, Dec. 25 will fall in the middle of Northern Hemisphere summer, with no help from global warming.

So, hear ye, hear ye! Vedic astrologers use the the sidereal zodiac, and most Western astrologers use the tropical zodiac. They have different purposes, and different philosophies. Both zodiacs work. Most Western astrologers are familiar with their sidereal chart — it tells a different story, and can reveal deeper tendencies you may have noticed but not named. I’m a Pisces in tropical astrology but an Aquarius in sidereal astrology. If you’re curious, cast your sidereal chart and see where the planets show up.

As for Ophiuchus. This is an old hoax. Historically, Ophiuchus has never been listed as a constellation in the sidereal zodiac. It is a constellation out there, but it’s off the ecliptic (that is, it’s not along the path of the Sun through the sky). I’ve read that Ptolemy mentions it in his literature as an off-zodiac constellation, meaning that the Sun never travels through it. In any event, there are some two dozen constellations that touch the ecliptic; but the sidereal zodiac uses just 12 of them.

The origin of the hoax is a sci-fi author named John Sladek — a satire writer who died in 2000. Sladek liked to prank astrology, and he has a whole novel about a fictitious 13th sign based on Ophiuchus he called Arachne that was “suppressed by the scientific community.” The Ophiuchus hoax first made its rounds in the late 1990s and pops up again like those emails from the guy in Nigeria who wants you to send him your bank account number so he can transfer $15 million your way.

Weekly Horoscope for Friday, January 14, 2011, #846 – BY ERIC FRANCIS

Aries (March 20-April 19) — Your solar chart is describing some kind of career opportunity. But you may not recognize it as such. That is often the case — and people who have some of the greatest successes have their ‘first interview’ in a train station or a supermarket. The classified ad that led to my first professional journalism job was in a random page of a newspaper that someone left on a table. The particular opportunity beckoning you may feel like ‘something you would never do’, or in the alternate, something you thought you gave up and would never go back to. I suggest you not pay too much heed to these concerns and simply find out what is available. Ask questions, listen to the answers, and then proceed with confidence — even if you feel a slight aura of uncertainty. That’s just a reminder that the unknown is a place of enormous potential.

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

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — This is a gutsy, stellar moment for you professionally, but to dial that in, you may feel like you’re going against the grain of something — the ‘right way’ of doing things, the prevailing opinion of the crowd, or your own typically reserved way of relating to the world. The one thing I suggest you remember is how much preparation you have. You are not a neophyte, though you may have the feeling of stretching your talent as far as it will go — that’s the place you want to be. That’s exactly how you stretch across the inner divide into new territory. What may be unsettling to you is the sense of your own dark emotions moving around — desire, passion, anger, need — and these may seem to blow back at you, or reverberate within you. This is what you might call a distortion of the ego, perceiving itself. Relax — how you feel in your moments of doubt is not how you’re perceived by others.

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

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Some things are considered normal in relationships that detract from the passion we crave — among them keeping score, keeping tabs, and manipulation that is born of jealousy. Also you don’t have to marry every person with whom you have sex. Okay, now that we have those concerns out of the way, you are being invited into some deep erotic territory. Usually, deep means you go in with your feelings, your body and your mind. At the moment your mind is leading the way. That means curiosity, ideas, memory, fantasy — and the craving for a distinct kind of erotic surrender that is truly holistic. Indeed, I could use a stronger word to catch the real essence of the sensation, which is submission. Yes, it’s taboo. Yes, you think about this a lot. Now those thoughts are more compelling than ever. Use your head — and have the fun you want.

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

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Is it possible to leave drama in relationships behind? It surely is — if both people are committed to doing so; it helps a lot if they want something else. Most drama is control dramas.. Control and love have nothing to do with one another, not in a healthy environment anyway. Most of the control drama comes from attempting to fit our relationships into forms they simply cannot take — you would never keep a kitten in a jar. You’ve known this for a while, and it looks like you’ve cleared out a small but meaningful place where you are free to be yourself in your relationships. You haven’t fully occupied that space yet, but now you’ve got some ideas. You’re being drawn into what may seem like an empty room. It’s slightly daunting and very inspiring. And it’s your own space. Put down your things, open the windows and stretch out a little.

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

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — The activity of the past few months has taken a toll on your health, though not a serious one. I suggest you make adjustments to your diet, back off on work for the weekend and perhaps visit a chiropractor. I say that because your bones are the seat of your health. I know that Leo is about the heart, and I wonder why I haven’t read in an astrology textbook that it’s essential that you pay attention to your bone structure, posture and spine as the core of your wellbeing. Now, I’m suggesting that you chill with the work routines a bit, but there are some compelling projects that are calling you back. I have an idea, which is to invest a fraction of the energy into working out the solution or calculating the next few steps in the creation process. If you do this, you may just tap into a streak of genius that is usually a bit elusive.

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

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — You now can take back something that was taken from you as a child. I see you making a kind of surprise ambush on the issue, getting hold of it fast, and taking it back to your own camp. This is not your preferred method of deliberative, methodical growth; you might feel you’re doing something out of character, just as if you contemplated stealing something from a store. The thing is, this is yours; you cannot steal it. And the fact that you feel like you might be doing so is revealing. Actually if you tap into the deeper layers here you can access a whole world of emotions, possibly laced with religious views, that involve all that you had to give up for the sake of your family. As an adult you can now make careful note that it didn’t really do them any good, and remind yourself that you deserve full access to the contents of your soul.

To pre-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) — You’re at a tipping point in your relationship to technology. Part of that involves reaching a threshold of knowledge or mastery over the subject. It’s no longer a cumbersome thing that you struggle to understand; you see its use. This is allowing you to peacefully take the whole subject area on board and internalize it, in a way similar to how a musician internalizes his instrument. The other thing that’s becoming clear is your memory of a time before technology dominated relationships. You seem committed to making sure that you hold that memory dear, and do your best to keep living in a slightly old-fashioned way. That suits your nature well. And perhaps I don’t need to remind you, but when you feel safe and grounded you’re at your most adventurous and playful — and it looks like you’re feeling pretty frisky in there.

To pre-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) — Beneath all the mental activity is a situation that pertains directly to the way that your mother’s emotions weigh on your ability to feel like you’re at home on the planet. Manipulation between mothers and daughters is a tricky subject, and few like to talk about it — but I suggest you be aware of the whole topic, because it seems destined to make itself known. You can, if you want, heal this situation, but I can tell you it’s more likely to feel like a violent outburst than it is like a trip on a healing table. The violent aspect is not literal but rather the result of a mental effect where your anger and your thoughts reverberate in your mind. Do your best to keep things on the level of emotion rather than thoughts. If you’re thinking in circles, go deeper and feel — you’ll set yourself free and make contact with the way you’ve felt confined in the past. And that, simply, is the compulsion to push your feelings up to your mind. You’re now putting them back where they belong.

To pre-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) — There’s an idea floating around that ‘spirituality’ is about love and light, and that things like fear, rage, grief and other forms of shadow material are somehow inappropriate. Of course, in other quarters, life is dominated by these dark emotions and it’s understandable why someone seeking peace of mind might think it’s a good idea to avoid them. However, light and dark ideas and emotions both call for awareness. I don’t mean, as some suggest, that the two need to be ‘balanced out’. And I’m not suggesting we need to do one gesture of evil for every creative gesture. I mean that in your inner world there is an incredible diversity of emotion and sensation, and that in order to draw the full power of your creativity — clearly, your most important goal — you need to contact all of your feelings, or rather, you need unfettered access. Therefore, I suggest you be repelled by no part of who you are, no thought, no idea, however strange. Being real with yourself is the first and most significant step to authentic honesty, and that is the heart and soul of art.

To pre-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) — That edgy feeling may come and go for the next week or so. I suggest you ride it out consciously each time, and see what you learn as you walk along the inner precipice of your mind. There are really two things going on. One is that your psyche is processing out old tendencies and patterns that you don’t need any more. As you notice these patterns they may frustrate you; give them up on the spot, and choose something else. The other thing happening is that you’re pushing into entirely new psychic territory, which may feel at once enticing, uncomfortable and adventurous. Any time you sense the unknown or unfamiliar within yourself, reach in that direction. Do your best to translate it into words, even if they feel imprecise. You will get much closer to the point than you think — and leave yourself a trail back to the places within yourself you’ve visited.

To pre-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) — With Mars entering your sign this weekend, you’re likely to feel like it’s time to be on your own and do your very own thing. You’ve spent a lot of time inquiring, pondering, inwardly seeking and healing; this is a precious moment of reaching for independence, and grasping it firmly. Just make sure you don’t push at the same time you reach. You may feel a fairly potent urge to bust out. Your mind may be sending the message that you’ve waited too long and suddenly it’s now or never. Actually, it’s just Mars, which is giving you some of that impulse power to which you don’t normally have access. It’s Mars, reminding you what you want the most. Many people will wait patiently for this kind of sensation to pass, hoping it will go away. I suggest you act on it, gently and persistently, but promptly enough that it matters.

To pre-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) — You don’t need to put up with jealousy, neither in yourself nor in others. By that I mean it’s not necessary. Instead, I suggest you proceed directly to understanding and addressing the insecurity that jealousy conceals, and factor this into your understanding of the human condition. Make feeling good about yourself your primary life goal, and take constructive action based on that idea. Do what supports your goals and what you love; reach for your deeper resources. If you do this, you’re likely to encounter people who follow accordingly. There is nothing in your chart to suggest that you need to be striving for conventional relationships. Rather, where others are concerned, the bold emphasis is on community and egalitarian friendship. Do it now, do it in a big way and remember — you’re always your own person.

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

———

Wave Pulse One

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Dear Planet Waves Reader:

Most of us are pretty creeped out by all these reports of birds suddenly falling out of the sky and fish turning up dead. It’s been an unusual week in other ways, here in the days following Tuesday morning’s solar eclipse and the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction.

Map showing recent incidents involving fish and bird kills in the continental United States. To see the world map, and for an explanation of the points indicated, please use this link.

On New Year’s Eve, about 5,000 redwinged blackbirds fell from the sky over Beebe, Arkansas. This happened a day after 100,000 drum (freshwater bass) died along the Arkansas River near Ozark, fairly close by. As this news rippled out, reports of fish and bird kills during the past few days started coming in from all over the world. Collectively, these reports indicate an environment in distress, a fact of which most people are usually oblivious.

Yet this was just one type of incident in a week of certified News of the Weird. The body of John Wheeler III, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (one of those World Manager groups) and a former military advisor to three presidents (Reagan and the two Bushes), turned up in a dumpster in Newark, Delaware, on New Year’s Eve. Press reports say he seemed to be mentally disturbed for two days prior to his death, which has been ruled a homicide.

Scientists in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, succeeded in using weather-altering technology to make it rain in the desert. While the story is novel in our era, in truth this is nothing new. The U.S. government was involved in using weather weapons during the Vietnam War under a program described in a 1973 Long Island Newsday article as “a weather arsenal.”

BBC reported this morning that more than 4,700 farms in Germany (most of them raising pigs) were closed after large amounts of animal feed were found to be contaminated by dioxin, the most potent chemical toxin known to science. In a fashion typical of these incidents, BBC reported that “officials insist the levels of dioxin do not pose a risk to humans, and that the closures are only a precaution.” Note that whenever there is a contamination incident, someone from the government apparently has a sacred duty to tell us how safe the poison is.

Ali-Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s former shah, died in an apparent suicide in Boston on Tuesday. His friends and family said he had suffered from depression for many years. The shah was the last secular leader before the theocratic Muslim government took over in 1979, forcing him and his family into exile, leading to the Iran we now know and love.

If I had a hammer — John Boehner, the ‘tan man’, is now Speaker of the House of Representatives.

And given that all these events surround a solar eclipse in Capricorn, it was a bit ominous that the 112th Congress commenced on the first day after the eclipse, with the ‘tan man’ John Boehner taking charge with his keg-sized gavel. Boehner is famous for being a corporate shill, known among other things for a 1995 incident wherein he distributed campaign donations from tobacco lobbyists on the floor of the House of Representatives.

A New York Times article from September 2010 said Boehner “maintains especially tight ties with a circle of lobbyists and former aides representing some of the nation’s biggest businesses, including Goldman Sachs, Google, Citigroup, R.J. Reynolds, MillerCoors and UPS.”

In an attempted display of patriotism that seemed to fool nobody, members of the now Republican-ruled House of Representatives on Thursday read parts of the Constitution on the House floor. They left out many of the more embarrassing sections, such as the bit about how a slave counts as 3/5 of a person and other things that were later updated by amendment. However much modern legislators deny this fact, they read the part that says that, “The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States.”

One of the first issues the new Congress will have to handle is raising the debt ceiling so that the country can make its payment obligations for things like wars.

Oh one last bit of News of the Weird. Israeli Defense Forces shot down an unidentified flying object from the sky above the Dimona nuclear power plant in the Negev Desert. The air force was scrambled when an object appeared in the no-fly zone that surrounds the plant. The IDF has since speculated that the UFO “could have been a party balloon” and according to press reports, it has not been able to find the debris of whatever it shot from the sky.

And as for all those fish and birds?

The Internet is buzzing with theories as to what happened to those fish and birds in Arkansas. The fact that the dead fish and dead birds appeared within one day and 200 km seems an odd coincidence, and the fact that it was on New Year’s Eve imparts an ominous feeling, even if you don’t follow astrology. If you do follow astrology, the proximity to the solar eclipse and major conjunction is difficult to miss.

Redwinged blackbird. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

There seem to be two basic camps on this issue. One proposes that masses of fish and birds die all the time, which is to say that this is a normal occurrence. What is interesting is how few of these sources are reporting actual data, such as toxicology tests. Remember, if a scientist says something but it’s not supported by data, that is not scientific in the true sense.

The other camp is proposing that the die-offs are the result of some kind of atmospheric manipulation, a weapons program or chemtrails. I haven’t covered any of these topics on Planet Waves yet. One candidate for a weapons program might be HAARP. There is also an Air Force base in Little Rock. As for chemtrails, in case you’re not familiar with this term, these are sightings, going back well over 20 years, of airplanes apparently dispersing chemicals in the lower atmosphere. It is not an officially acknowledged issue, but neither is it your ordinary conspiracy theory. Many people are aware that it’s happening, including those who report respiratory symptoms in themselves and their pets.

A third possibility pertaining to the Arkansas incidents that I have not seen mentioned anywhere but Planet Waves involves the presence of many dioxin waste sites in the area around Little Rock. There are many dioxin sites in the United States, but these are some of the worst in history — including a former Agent Orange manufacturing plant once run by a company called Hercules. There are lots of other sites, including an old chemical weapons depot. I’ve detailed some of them here.

George Badley, the state veterinarian with Arkansas’ Livestock and Poultry Commission, says tests on a handful of the thousands of dead birds all showed internal injuries.

“The 17 birds we did a necropsy on had internal bleeding that looks like blunt force trauma — like they ran into something, would be our best guess,” Badley told CTV’s Canada AM Tuesday morning.

Now, potential chemical exposure does not account for midair blunt force trauma, which in turn may have nothing to do with fish underwater. There is no direct evidence available so far that the Arkansas fish incident is related to the nearby bird incident, but that doesn’t mean the evidence doesn’t exist. It’s stunning how casually this is all being taken by public officials and the degree to which many sources seem to be going to ignore any larger issue that may be behind these incidents.

HAARP facility in Alaska is a device for focusing massive amounts of sound energy into a weapon, capable of consuming a billion watts of power. The system can also be used for weather control and as a sonar device for searching for oil and gas below ground. The array is now comprised of 360 antennae, many times larger than the original size installation.

For example, the affected area along the Arkansas River was never closed and fishing is still being encouraged. “Right now it’s fine to fish. If you go out there you can still fish for bass and crappie, catfish, it will be fine. Obviously don’t eat the dead fish,” Badley said. Of course, never mind all the dioxin in the area, which tends to hang out on the bottoms of rivers. Bass are bottom feeders, and will therefore concentrate dioxin in their bodies. It’s amazing that they’re legal for consumption.

The Christian Science Monitor reported in an article this week that, “The United States Geological Survey has noted 16 incidents in the past 30 years where more than 1,000 blackbirds have died at the same time, usually the result of tightly-packed flocks flying into bad weather. What’s more, more than 5 billion birds die of natural causes in the United States each year, so it is, in a way, unusual that Americans don’t witness more major bird kills.” Of course, many of these mass deaths happen in remote areas where they cannot be observed.

However, Greg Butcher of the National Audobon Society, said that, “Birds can be really good indicators of environmental problems, so I’d hate to think that 5,000 would die and nobody would care. It’s worth investigation to find out what happened because there is potentially something we should worry about and it’s potentially something that has an odd, but benign cause.”

One potential way to explain this is as a phenomenon of awareness. The Internet has turned every local story into a potential global story, and allows people to compare notes and reports of far-flung incidents rapidly. In this way, unrelated events can seem to be connected.

The Arkansas Bird Incident Chart

Once you remove the need for scientifically proven causation, other possibilities emerge. All of these events are related; they happened around the same time on the same planet. But what we observe and group together is always a matter of consciousness. Remembering that, let’s take a look at the bird incident chart.

Using the time reported by CTV News, I cast the chart and the Aries Point came up on all four angles. You can see that because the early degrees of the cardinal signs (Libra, Capricorn, Aries and Cancer) are on the ascendant, and the cusps of the houses are directly vertical or horizontal. Take a look — even if you can’t read charts, it’s easy to see. Remember, it’s called the “Aries Point” but the first degrees of any of these signs count as part of the same energy structure, and placing them on the angles of the chart emphasizes their role.

Blackbird Incident, time from CTV-Toronto. The chart emphasizes the Aries Point, which means the first degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn — all of which occupy the mundane angles of the chart — the horizon and the meridian. The presence of the Aries Point says to look for larger connections, and the ones that are the most personal. The solar eclipse appears in the chart’s 4th house, and the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction on the right side, below the horizon.

The eclipse appears in the 4th house, down on the bottom of the chart. The Sun is in Capricorn, close to the North Node (the orange horse shoe); the Moon is close behind in Sagittarius, about to complete the eclipse. So much Capricorn in a chart does hint at a cause that is corporate and/or involves the government. But the 4th house is the homestead.

The South Node is up in the 10th house — another indicator of corporate or government involvement, but ‘hitting home’ in that the sign involved is Cancer. We find the Moon in Sagittarius in the 3rd house. Sagittarius says global and the 3rd house says local. So we have an overlay of local and global themes, of government and corporate themes, reiterating through the chart.

Based on the available data, I am not yet seeing the numerous wildlife events reported the past week as causatively related to one specific source. But I am seeing them as factors of the same global environment, which includes two things: an overload of toxicity that goes back several generations (see Silent Spring by Rachel Carson), and the awareness phenomenon that is accentuated by the feedback system of the Internet. This is turning human thought into something that moves like plasma through what we are discovering, with the help of computers and other devices, is the collective mind. What we are seeing is nothing new — but the fact that we’re noticing it is new.

One last aspect — and a takeoff point for another article. Notice the conjunction of Jupiter and Uranus, exact to the degree — that’s on the right side of the chart, close to the horizon. In fact, the conjunction has just set, and all the major planets are below the horizon when this event happens. This conjunction suggests the need for honoring science. Jupiter-Uranus almost always arrives with scientific breakthroughs, though we don’t always notice them at the time.

The conjunction, combined with the eclipse, marks a transition in astrological eras, conveniently happening the first week of a new decade — one of those things some future astrology student may look back and marvel at.

As I mentioned in my podcast of Wednesday, Jan. 5, we are leaving a lot of truly challenging astrology behind us and entering entirely new territory. A decade of Saturn making oppositions to outer planets started phasing out in 2010. These included Saturn opposite Pluto (Sept. 11, the commencement of the multi-front war and the Enron/Arthur Andersen scandal), Saturn opposite Neptune (hurricanes Rita and Katrina destroying much of the southeastern Gulf Coast, entering the peak of the Iraq war, the bird flu lie) and Saturn opposite Uranus, also square Pluto (involved with the vicious partisanship in Washington, the banking collapse, the housing bubble collapse and the recession). Gee whiz, it’s been an exciting decade, hasn’t it?

A whole category of astrological events that loomed in the background of all of these worldly events is behind us: Saturn opposing outer planets. These events always portend big changes, and are part of cycles that basically spin the world in their fingers. Three such oppositions, all historically documented to be associated with the kinds of effects we’ve seen, are now behind us.

Saturn-Neptune conjunction came with the twin hurricanes that flooded the entire Gulf Coast, temporarily calling attention to climate change. Photo: Vince Laforet / New York Times.

I am aware that Saturn is approaching an opposition to Eris in late October, though I have a different theory about that one — that it’s a more internally focused event. I plan to give this plenty of coverage this year; it’s one of the first stand-out aspects directly involving Eris, since its discovery.

With so much tumultuous astrology behind us, we are left to clean up the damage and take advantage of new opportunities. This places us directly in the vortex of 2012 astrology, as the biggest event on the horizon is the gradually accumulating square of Uranus and Pluto. While this one has been showing its colors for a while and was part of the wild ride of 2010, it now has a chance to stand on its own, without so many tense aspects from Saturn. These constant oppositions to outer planets, and the recent square of Saturn to Pluto, have come with a sense of constant instability, both inner and outer. That is, the feeling is internal and we also experience it as outer events.

Uranus square Pluto is an aspect of revolution. It is one of the most dependable harbingers of progress of them all, part of a cycle that is known to topple empires. That aspect builds to its first exact contact on June 24, 2012, with five exact contacts spanning through April 2014. It is the guiding star of the 2012 era, and we are now looking right at it.

Catch you with a short edition Tuesday (possibly on audio, to save writing and editing resources) and the weekly horoscope will resume Friday. The horoscope below is Inner Space for January.

Yours & truly,

Ron Kurtz, Founder of Hakomi Therapy, Dies

Ron Kurtz, the founder of Hakomi Therapy, died in Ashland, OR, Tuesday morning. He had what was described as a massive heart attack. He was 76 years old. About a year ago he had suffered another smaller heart attack and cut back his travel and seminar schedule, and concentrated on organizing his writings and recordings.

He was a native of Brooklyn and educated at the University of Indiana. He began his first Hakomi Therapy practice in Albany, NY in the early 1970s, eventually settling in Oregon.

Ron Kurtz, founder of Hakomi Therapy.

Kurtz worked tirelessly to develop his therapy method, training thousands of people over the years. Kurtz’s first book was called Body-Centered Psychotherapy, published in 1990. He co-authored The Body Reveals: An Illustrated Guide to the Psychology of the Body, which came out in 1976 and more recently, The Body Speaks Its Mind.

Hakomi is one of several offshoots of Gestalt Therapy, which was created by Fritz Perls and others in the 1940s. While Gestalt has a confrontational quality, Hakomi is mellower, designed to penetrate the ego’s defenses rather than encounter them directly. Kurtz described the process as “applied Buddhism,” using mindfulness, nonviolence and the holistic relationship between ‘mind’ and ‘body’ — concepts that are often separated in the theories of more traditional forms of therapy. Though I don’t have his data available now, I’ve done Kurtz’s chart, and his therapy method reflects his deeply Piscean nature.

The word Hakomi came to Kurtz in a dream one night during an early training session when an anonymous person handed him a small piece of paper on which it was written. At the time, the therapy process had no name, and he did not know what Hakomi meant. It actually shows up in many languages with different meanings; in Hopi it is said to translate to “who are you.”

Compared to traditional talk therapy, Hakomi sessions are minimalist. Therapists are trained not to get involved in the client’s narrative, instead making contact with the emotional movements on deeper layers of consciousness. Hakomi also discourages the asking of questions, instead using gentle probes — or simple statements such as ‘you are welcome here’ — to which the client then responds intuitively.

The method teaches therapists to track the client, monitoring their speech and body movements and assessing the ways in which their words and gestures relate to one another — a technique that has roots in Gestalt.

He is survived by his wife, naturopath Terry Toth, and their grown daughter, Lily Kurtz.

Toth said Kurtz’s family and work were the passions of his life. “He never stopped learning, expanding his theories and helping people, teaching them to heal,” she said.

Planet Waves Inner Space Horoscope for January 2011

Mercury’s station direct and the solar eclipse we just experienced marked the end of a tense and chaotic holiday season, providing the sensation of a surge forward. I suggest, as we move on from these events, that you let the cosmos provide the momentum, while you provide the vision.

Rather than pushing, or attempting to manipulate the flow of events, I suggest that you strive for clarity. That would include knowing what you want, what you want to accomplish, and being clear how you feel about the people in your life. Notice the way that what you believe is possible can be distorted by believing emotional matters are dictated by pre-existing structures. When you put your authentic values and desires first, and allow your true vision for yourself to come forward, seemingly intractable ideas and structures can change before your eyes.

Aries (March 20-April 19) — You must know intuitively that astonishing changes are just around the bend. Yet to make the most of what is truly a once-in-a-lifetime moment, I suggest you muster up all the trust you can. It’s true that your professional life may have felt like a shambles these past few weeks, but that will soon be behind you, and I suggest you slough off any energy of frustration as soon as you can. Invest your emotional energy two places: in what is working for you, and in what turns you on the most. I recognize that nearly every message ‘the world’ is sending runs contrary to this idea; we’re supposed to hide under the bed until the recession ends. You have another, far more exciting path forward, and by the end of this thing we’re calling 2011 you won’t recognize your life.

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

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — It is amazing how fast it’s possible to change your beliefs. I know that they can often seem petrified, then suddenly they turn to living things. You could make a long list of the old beliefs that don’t work for you, and you could make another list of how each one represents a loyalty to someone (generally, a spouse or relative) who expects you to subscribe to that idea. The result can be a psychological maze that seems impossible to escape. Then one day you get some perspective. It’s like you fly above the maze, you see the pattern, and notice that you choose what you believe. You choose who you are loyal to and why, and you can decide not to carry around the burden of what others believe. There are days when this can seem like waging a revolution, and on other days it feels like a miracle. Have your pick.

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

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Mercury retrograde in Sagittarius, which is your relationship zone, has potentially sent the signal that there is someone you must give up — though I would encourage you to take a more positive outlook. What seems in order in any event is creating a relationship where you actually have the freedom and space to discuss your mutual needs and desires. You may have a tendency to think that relationships are all-or-nothing arrangements where power and obligation trump love and freedom. It’s likely that everyone and everything in your life is negotiable right now, no matter how dominant or powerful someone may seem at the moment. There are situations, particularly financial, where the kind of give-and-take suggested by the concept ‘negotiation’ will be helpful. Yet in matters of the heart, remember: it’s more about give and receive.

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

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — An eclipse of the Sun in Capricorn, your relationship house, may feel like an ending, but if you open your eyes and look, you will see that it’s really an opening. The world is a different place every minute, and (even despite ourselves) people are changing, growing and evolving as the days progress; that is the definition of ‘alive’. While our culture advocates ideas of relationships that are prefabricated and supposedly based on tradition, your ideas of and the circumstances of those you are with are evolving, progressing and opening into new potential that you had never dreamed of before. I recognize that it can be disorienting to have no choreography or script to follow. I suggest you relax your expectations and forget what your mother told you is the only way — and let the adventure begin.

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

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — The solution to a financial problem may surprise you, but I suggest you have faith in what develops. For years, you’ve been fighting a kind of economic instability that overtakes your life from time to time. You’ve likely been trying to get that instability to go away; but what you can do now is make it work for you. Your charts suggest that there is some unusual potential for creating a source of income that most people would consider risky or uncertain. The difference in your situation is that this method is close to your most deeply cherished values that manifest in your relationships and your inner life. Though most people don’t care where their money comes from, you surely do — or at least, you’re learning how much this fact matters. Focusing on that process of discovery, with a wide-open mind, will be lucrative.

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

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — The thing about sex is that when the energy is right, and we’re paying attention, it draws us deep into our psyches. We may think we’re being drawn into the experience of ‘the other’, though I believe this is secondary to what we experience in our minds and feelings; and that would be everything. What has been coming to the surface these past few weeks has been all about you: your history, your relationship to yourself, your karma. It would be too easy to say that this is about someone else — and it would deny the rather amazing potential that your current relationships are offering to you. Said another way, as you take responsibility for your own issues, the potential of your relationships reveals itself to you. And in that process you are likely to discover the healing and the pleasure that you seek.

To pre-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) — Your life lately has been an extended, perhaps enforced, study in getting to know yourself. I trust you’ve noticed certain ways you work against your own interests, and you have made adjustments to cooperate with yourself more actively. It’s as if you’re in a process that I could describe as settling into yourself; though there has been a layer where things seem uncertain or like the ground of your being is constantly shifting, events in the first week of the year have a feeling of slipping into your confidence. Emotional independence is one of those things that makes you an authentic adult, and many people will tell you it’s one of the most challenging things to learn. But you seem to be getting the hang of it just fine, even if some days are more challenging than others.

To pre-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) — If your mind and emotions are simmering in chaos and anxiety, what does that tell you about your life? You clearly need to make some adjustments. Those come first as revelations, then as decisions. Yet one of the things you’re adjusting and deciding about is your mental approach to reality. It seems you’re figuring out that attempts at exercising control, whether over your own mind or your circumstances, do little other than burn you out. Worrying does not guarantee that you have something to worry about, though you do seem to be trying to get a grasp on why things have developed to the point where your life seems out of control. When the revelation about why that is comes, and it is indeed on its way, let the information settle in, then decide what to do about it.

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

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — I’ve written many recent horoscopes focusing on the relationship between your emotional state and your ability to access your creativity. It is possible that financial concerns have influenced your mood lately more than your imagination or inspiration. I suggest you do your best to set economic concerns aside, and focus on what you are creating. It’s not merely that anxiety does not bring in cash. It is that focusing on your ideas, your vision and your desire to create beauty (in whatever form that takes) opens you up to the flow of abundance. Now more than any time in recent memory is a vital moment to keep your mind focused on what you want to create rather than on trying to solve problems. Solutions will indeed come — from your devotion to what you love.

To pre-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) — There’s a fine line between asserting will and raging against yourself. Or at least the line has been thin lately, and you’ve sure been exploring it. Since Mercury shifted direction the last week of the year and we are still working through its shadow phase, make sure you shift your emphasis toward being in harmony with yourself. I don’t suggest you go through a list of grievances you have with yourself; rather, resolve to let go of one phase of your life and commence another. I know these are words more often spoken and less often embraced, though with the recent solar eclipse in your birth sign on Jan. 4, your intentions carry more energy than usual. For this to work, you will need to reach that spot where you just let go of the frustrations of the past month, and decide in your heart you want something better.

To pre-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 solar eclipse that’s right around the corner seems designed to release you from a wad of karma that’s been bogging you down very nearly forever. Before you get there, you may feel backed into a corner, either by your circumstances or by your state of mind. This may be a prerequisite to your embracing your desire to break free and let go of whatever situations have held you hostage to the past. You may feel hesitant to act from a point of frustration, though I suggest you let it inform you of what you don’t want, and let that inspire a taste for freedom. Remember that freedom is only partially the ability to move at liberty in the world around you. This time, freedom begins from the outside and transforms into a new perspective on the world.

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

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Pisces is often described as a laid-back sign. Yet clearly that is no longer true for you, if it ever was. The astrology of January brings the peak of a long process of personal re-creation (which connects directly to recreation) This process goes back about a year, and has come in a series of stages, some of which have been extremely challenging. Yet these are challenges past and in most ways resolved, learned from and grown from. Open your heart to the truth that new adventures are ahead, though I can tell you that there is nothing random about this. What transpires next is based on your creative devotion to who you are becoming: you are becoming your own invention, and you are committed to shining in the world. Open up, face each day like its potential is new, and let the love in your heart shine. This you know — it’s time.

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

———

The Most Wanted Man in the World

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Dear Planet Waves Reader:

When I was teaching English 101 at SUNY New Paltz, I assigned my classes a book called Reading the News. In its clear-headed approach to understanding how journalism works, its first chapter was titled, “Who Makes the News.” That’s a statement, not a question: who makes the news — before what, where, when and why. We want to know about people. We want to know what they do, and we crave a window into their psyches, perhaps in search of ourselves.

Julian Assange, the most wanted man in the world. He evokes the archetype of the hero-outlaw, or a character from a graphic novel — but he’s a real person, doing real work. Photo: Agence France-Presse.

Currently, that ‘who’ would be a man named Julian Assange. In 2007, the native of Australia created an organization called WikiLeaks, an online clearinghouse for people who want to reveal injustice. Whistleblowers can upload classified or confidential documents into the WikiLeaks system from anywhere. WikiLeaks authenticates the documents, then working with news organizations, selectively makes them public. You may recall reading about WikiLeaks in this space a few months ago, when the organization published the Afghan War Diary, a collection of internal memos and field reports from the U.S. military’s database [see Clearing the Smog of War].

At the time, I described this as a manifestation of Chiron conjunct Neptune in Aquarius — a moment of clarity and revelation for a country that has been huffing the shoe polish of denial for many decades, particularly when it comes to the conduct of the military. That conjunction, which gradually started gathering steam in 2005, is now working at full strength, and it seems to be getting results.

Assange is back in the news, along with dozens of stories the media has been ignoring forever and seven Sundays. WikiLeaks this week made public 250,000 pages of memos from the United States diplomatic community. The latest revelation is that the United States is propping up a government in Afghanistan where most of the money goes to graft. To date, we have spent $371 billion in Afghanistan only to learn that Hamid Karzai, the president, is personally facilitating the drug trade. “Mr. Karzai pardoned five border police officers caught with 124 kilograms (about 273 pounds) of heroin and intervened in a drug case involving the son of a wealthy supporter,” one cable revealed, according to Friday’s New York Times. U.S. diplomats said they believe that every cabinet minister except the minister of agriculture is involved in graft and bribery. The war has now been going on for nine years and two months. We’re reading about this today?

Earlier in the week we learned from the leaked cables that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ordered her diplomatic corps to serve as a spy ring on the United Nations (including the secretary general) and foreign diplomats, telling them to collect everything from credit card numbers to computer passwords to DNA samples from saliva left on teacups.

“She [Clinton] should resign, if it can be shown that she was responsible for ordering U.S. diplomatic figures to engage in espionage in the United Nations, in violation of the international covenants to which the U.S. has signed up,” Assange said to Time magazine this week.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reads up on Iraq. As a senator, she gave an impassioned speech supporting the invasion.

The cables also reveal that the Obama administration worked to protect Cheney-Bush administration officials from their conduct interrogating detained terrorist suspects. One cable details how “the Obama administration, working with Republicans, leaned on Spain to derail this potential prosecution,” AlterNet reported Thursday. And on his program Thursday night, Dylan Ratigan discussed cables involving Saudi Arabia that reveal how the country both funds terrorism based in Iran, and was or is trying to manipulate the United States government to bomb Iran at the same time.

How does a computer hacker get himself into the position of being able to call for the secretary of state to resign — and all the major media are writing about it? How is he getting his way with those who so recently believed they had total power, secrecy and impunity? Well, with courage, conscience and talent. And timing; all year I’ve been writing about the high-impact astrology (such as the Aries Point alignment of Saturn, Uranus and Pluto) that looked, long in advance, like it would rearrange world politics. Plus we are currently under a potent alignment in Sagittarius (the sign of international relationships) focused specifically on that theme [see And What Are We Attracting?]. This alignment peaks Sunday with the Sagittarius New Moon [related article below].

It’s a plain fact that the United States has gotten away with murder for decades, manipulating governments around the world, staging coups, starting wars and lying about all of it. Now one man comes along and opens up a floodgate of evidence of what has happened, and what is happening, and he cannot be ignored. So far as I know, Assange is the first person in two generations to openly take an actual stand against the United States in actions rather than words. Nothing against Code Pink protesting the war outside George W. Bush’s ranch, but Assange is personally rearranging the chess board with nonviolent direct action.

Who makes the news. Because we have a name and a face, the mainstream media propaganda machine has to actually report on many of the international issues it loves to pretend does not exist. Anything Assange does is news — and then they mention that he happens to have proof of conspiracies and war crimes. And the more public officials such as Clinton point to Assange as the problem, the more it begs the question what his documents say.

Top-Secret Chart Reveals a Real-Life Revolutionary

Assange till now had been concealing his birthdate, and thus any information about his chart. In my last article, I used the data for WikiLeaks itself, which is available through the website’s registration information. We now have Assange’s personal data because INTERPOL posted his birthday earlier this week, listing him as one of its most wanted international criminals.

Julian Assange has until now concealed his birthdate. This chart is based on the data published Monday night by INTERPOL. The blue planet on the left — shaped like an H — is Uranus, which is square the Sun — the yellow circle planet at the very top of the chart. Two features in this chart that I haven’t mentioned in the article are a complex square between Venus and Ceres (in Gemini) and Pluto in Virgo. Another interesting feature is that he has an exact conjunction between Mercury and the asteroid Psyche in the sign Cancer. This suggests that while he obviously has a powerful intellect, he does as much feeling with his mind as he does thinking; and that his thought process is guided by what may to him feel like a flaw or sense of weakness. That sensation draws in the soul quality of Psyche.

Is he being hunted for espionage, cyber-terrorism or revealing state secrets? No, they say he’s wanted for rape, in Sweden, and European authorities have launched a sweeping manhunt across the continent and into the UK to find him. In case you’re wondering whether he actually committed sex crimes, when was the last time you heard of an international dragnet for an alleged rapist? Notably, Sweden’s laws don’t require physical evidence of rape, only testimony. The case actually seems to involve whether condoms were used during consensual sex with two different women he met at a political conference. Note, he has not been charged with any crime, and a new warrant had to be issued Thursday because the old one was defective.

Since Assange had succeeded at keeping even his birthdate secret, this is something of an astrological coup, apparently first published Monday night to the astrological community by Lynn Hayes. Our chart for Assange is set for noon, because we don’t know the birth time. However, it’s a noon chart that goes straight to the point.

The first thing that catapults out of this chart is Sun square Uranus. Uranus disrupts, transforms, up-ends and blazes forward. This combination (through the influence of Uranus) brings in the revolutionary, rebellious and moreover inventive principle, expressed at full strength by the Sun. This aspect is in the DNA of Uranus — the Sun was square Uranus on the day that the planet was discovered. Many inventors and scientists have this or a similar aspect, and it contains Assange’s gift for technology. When you think of the Sun square Uranus, remember Nathan Hale: “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” Sun-Uranus is the full embodiment of the forward-thinking Uranian principle, which is associated with Prometheus; that’s the guy who ‘stole the fire of the gods’ — a fitting image of what Assange is doing.

These are the planets and points conjunct, square or opposite Assange’s Sun in Cancer. Isis is closely conjunct Uranus; this is a gift for assembling many small parts. Minerva is opposite Chiron/Eris, which brings in the theme of politics and serves like a guardian angel. Persephone opposite the Sun is a nice image of his affinity for the underworld, and Borasisi says, ‘Something is true if we believe it’s true’. It’s how belief activates perception. Sauer, an asteroid, is named for a river in central Europe; I’ve never used it in a chart, but it’s exactly conjunct his Sun.

(Others with this aspect include Joseph Campbell, Bono, Galileo, Bill Gates, Marconi, and those visionary birds of a feather, Barbara and George Bush.)

Casting his chart for noon, Uranus is exactly rising, as if to emphasize the point, giving the aspect emphasis and an extra means of expression. Notably, this square is hanging out at about 10 degrees of the cardinal signs — close enough to the Aries Point to count, and currently aspected by the approach of transiting Pluto. (Pluto is opposing Assange’s Sun, and square his Uranus.) And it’s in line with the Uranus-Pluto square of 2012, an aspect that will last for years and is gradually turning the revolutionary power of Uranus and the evolutionary mojo of Pluto loose on the world. This will come with Assange’s Uranian opposition — which represents attaining a new intellectual peak. Let’s say he’s just getting warmed up.

So, his chart is right in line with whatever 2012 is about — and make no mistake, what he’s doing is part of the story. When we think of the kinds of social progress we might associate with 2012, and the ‘paradigm shift’ and ‘people waking up’, how exactly might that look? Part of what is keeping the world situation so intractable, and so resistant to change, is that so few people know the deeper truth about many of the things that affect them, or even have access to it.

Many who do insist on denial as a means of persisting in their ways. This is an opening. It’s like the press is playing catch-up on what we missed during decades of fixation on Madonna, Michael Jackson and Paris Hilton. When the truth is revealed, there’s a release of energy — and the effect is unpredictable. But when we wonder just how it is that one would begin to dismantle the out-of-control military and espionage machine referred to in cables as USG, it could easily begin with an event like this, that pierces the deception that it is 100% necessary to maintain a condition of nonstop war.

Eruption of Self-Awareness: Chiron and Eris

In a similar vein, we see an exact conjunction of Chiron and Eris, two relatively new planets. Chiron (the maverick, healer, bringer of awareness) was discovered in 1977 and Eris (associated with identity crisis, disruptions and the castaway feminine aspect of both men and women) was anointed in 2006 (revamping the system of planetary categorization in the process — including the ‘demotion’ of Pluto). Chiron and Eris were conjunct through the late 1960s and early 1970s, and the conjunction is exact to the degree in Assange’s chart. In past articles I’ve associated this aspect with the revolutionary nature of the ‘second wave’ feminist movement that was thriving at the time.

Seventies-styled feminism may look kitsch today, and in many ways it sent a mixed signal. But it also brought a breakthrough in awareness and social progress, messy and incomplete though it was.

Chiron and Eris together in Aries (the sign of self and initiative) sparks an evolutionary impulse for self-actualization. It is about healing the fragmented sense of self that afflicts so many. There were many innovative therapy movements thriving at the time, which are all but forgotten today — gestalt, transactional analysis, primal, EST and others. The ’70s were said to be the ‘me generation’, and though this had many selfish and destructive results, there was overall a breakthrough in self-awareness and consciousness. The anti-Vietnam movement was thriving and Nixon was about to be busted for Watergate. Be Here Now was published, along with Rules for Radicals and The Anarchist Cookbook.

For those curious about the degree symbol of the conjunction, the degree is 14 Aries, and the image is, “A serpent coiling near a man and a woman.” Dane Rudhyar explains: “Identification in bipolar relationship with the impersonal rhythm of natural energy,” or in a short phrase, “ritualization of relationship.” Assange likens what he does to playing chess — a ritualized game with very few rules.

In his chart, the Sun, Chiron, Uranus and Eris are all in aspect — they are all working together, though the tension is rather incredible. It’s nothing less than you would expect in the chart of someone who would dare to take on such a massive issue, and succeed at getting noticed.

Saturn Opposite Neptune: The Shapeshifter

Assange also has Saturn opposite Neptune. Saturn contains and solidifies; Neptune dissolves. This is an illustration of tension, but it’s subtle, and it’s a picture of his quality of invisibility and ubiquitous presence. This aspect is one of his power sources as a hacker and his best camouflage as kind of hero-outlaw.

Sacha Baron Cohen as Borat. He has Saturn opposite Neptune in his natal chart, and is a kind of shapeshifter.

Assange started his career as a prodigy teenage hacker. He was arrested, but the prosecutor in the case said, “There is just no evidence that there was anything other than sort of intelligent inquisitiveness and the pleasure of being able to — what’s the expression — surf through these various computers.” The charges were dropped. His hacker name was ‘Mendax’, derived from a phrase of Horace: splendide mendax, or ‘nobly untruthful’ — a fine description of Saturn-Neptune in one of its more evolved manifestations.

Let’s consider how this works. Saturn and Neptune mirror one another in his chart. Looked at one way, Assange plays the role of Neptune the dissolver, and the power structure plays the role of Saturn, whose barriers are being melted away. Or as Tracy Delaney suggested while we were brainstorming this aspect Thursday, Saturn (in Gemini) is like a cold wind blowing on the cloud of Neptune, freezing and crystallizing the pattern of deception, so we can see what it is.

Saturn-Neptune is an illustration of his shape-shifting power — Sasha Baron Cohen, the actor who created the Borat character and Ali G, has this one as well. His mind has penetrating power: he’s a mindf*cker, and we love him for it. Just as Cohen’s characters penetrate the minds of the people he’s pranking, Assange soaks through the previously impermeable walls of power. Both work with a combination of discipline and illusion. Both, in Tracy’s words, “have a kind of congenital inability to be intimidated. No point throwing rocks at a cloud.”

Notably, Assange has a centaur planet conjunct Saturn — it’s called Amycus. In some earlier research, Tracy and I deduced that this planet is prominent in people who have a knack for getting the word out — including the Yes Men.

Logos and Atlantis: The Word Abused, and Revealed

Let’s check in with one last telling detail — an aspect between two minor planets. The first is Atlantis (an asteroid discovered in 1931). Atlantis is associated with the abuse of technology and its power, and the sense of ‘imminent demise’ of civilization due to the unbridled use of that power. Then there’s Logos (a small planet right beyond Neptune’s orbit, discovered in 1997). Logos is actually a binary, with a co-planet of comparable size, called Zoe. (Technically the pair is now referred to as Logos | Zoe.) Research by Kirsti Melto indicates that Logos | Zoe is prominent in the charts of breakthroughs in computers and programming. Zoe means ‘life’. I think of Logos as the framework of technology (it means ‘the word’) and Zoe as being the spiritual content, when present — the life inside the machine.

In Julian’s chart these two are in a perfect square aspect. This is happening late in the cardinal signs, from Atlantis in Libra to Logos | Zoe in Cancer. He takes this personally; technology for Assange is a relationship, and he is personally embodying the ethical struggle suggested by Atlantis. We have all long suspected that our addiction to, and abuse of, technology has the power to take down our civilization.

Assange is aware of this, and he is a kind of personal intervention in the process of a society that is committing suicide. And I do mean personal. With that Scorpio Moon and Cancer Sun, he feels what he is doing. He is acting on a combination of instinct, intuition and intellect — but make no mistake, he is not detached from his work. This is personal; it’s a matter of heart and soul, and he is aware the influence that he can have by using technology to reveal the truth.

“To radically shift regime behavior we must think clearly and boldly, for if we have learned anything, it is that regimes do not want to be changed. We must think beyond those who have gone before us and discover technological changes that embolden us with ways to act in which our forebears could not,” he once posted to his blog, explaining the WikiLeaks philosophy.

The regimes’ resistance to change is their worst weakness. They become utterly brittle, and creative activity ceases. That makes them vulnerable — as we can plainly see.

Yours & truly,

Additional research: Tracy Delaney, Amanda Painter, Carol van Strum.

And for our next act…the Sagittarius New Moon

When you look at a conventional astrology chart, you’re only seeing a small part of the picture. This is little comfort to those who stare at the page (of a normal chart) wondering what the holy heck it all means — and if you’re trying to learn, give it time and pay attention to your experience of existence. Let’s have a go at the Sagittarius New Moon.

Sagittarius New Moon set for Washington, DC. Appropriately, Pallas — the planet of politics — is the highest point in the chart.

Here is a conventional chart, okay, a little more than conventional — it has a few extra points. It’s set for Washington, DC, since that is where the action seems to be these days. And I do mean action — with the WikiLeaks revelations erupting on five different fronts, 42 members of the Senate (I won’t name their political party affiliation) signed a letter saying they won’t let anything happen till we charge the national credit card and give $700 billion more to the wealthiest Americans while the government supports a heroin trader in Afghanistan to the tune of a million dollars per soldier, per year. A new banking crisis is looming — that would be Subprime Part Two. And though nobody has mentioned it this week, despite the chilly weather in most of North America, the ice caps are still melting.

The Sagittarius New Moon is conjunct Pholus, a centaur (a little Chiron-like planet) that opens the jar and lets stuff out that’s not coming back in. My favorite key phrase is “small cause, big effect,” which I learned from my old friend and teacher in Munich, astrologer and classical guitarist Robert von Heeren. The Sun-Moon-Pholus conjunction is sitting on the Great Attractor, the biggest thing known in the universe. So it’s fitting that, this very week, every issue that has been suppressed for a decade is coming out all at once.

Meanwhile, Jupiter, the ruler of Sagittarius, is conjunct Uranus — that’s big news all by itself; and Chiron and Neptune are in a near-perfect conjunction in Aquarius. All of this amplifies and features into the dynamic of this rather potent and unpredictable New Moon.

Yet there is much more going on behind the scenes. I present this information at a slight risk of overwhelm, but I want to show you what it’s possible to see and work with. I’ll give a couple of examples and leave you to your weekly horoscope. This little table tells us what, from about 100 points that Tracy Delaney (the programmer) and I have tossed into the box, shows up in mid-Sagittarius. Amycus speaks of getting the word out. Icarus is about peak experiences.

Points in mid-Sagittarius, at the Sagittarius New Moon.

Sun and Moon are precisely, to the degree, conjunct one of the earlier centaurs — Hylonome. This is about the cry of the poor (key phrase from Juan Revilla) and it addresses collective grief and ‘senseless’ loss. Note, of the points I routinely use, this is the only one occupying the degree of the New Moon, and it’s a potent one. Hylonome made a stunning appearance conjunct the Scorpio New Moon precisely during the funeral of Yasser Arafat in late 2004 — a jaw-dropping astrological synchronicity.

Switching methods for a moment, the degree symbol (also called Sabian Symbol) for 14 Sagittarius (anything numbered higher than 13 is occupying the 14th degree) is: The Great Pyramid and the Sphinx. Dane Rudhyar interprets this as, “The enduring power of occult knowledge and of its quasi-divine Custodians, ‘seed men’ of a previous cycle of existence.” Well doesn’t that just illustrate WikiLeaks and its editor magnificently.

We see that Pholus is exactly conjunct the Great Attractor. This is a long and slow aspect and it’s precise right now; what comes out now is not going back, and it’s going to get bigger. Good Morning America — the truth is out.

This is conjunct Narcissus, who sees his own reflection in the pond. You could say he ‘falls in love’ or you could say that this is about self-awareness; and it’s about the effect of narcissism on the global political process. Close by is Ixion (anyone is capable of anything; amorality; what we do with our second chance) — we’re seeing plenty of that. Next is a really interesting pair of very different points: the first is Cupido (a hypothetical; it doesn’t exist, but it’s there to work with) which Martha Wescott delineates as: “issues in the family history; group unity or dynamics” followed by Quaoar, an actual planet beyond Pluto that says exactly the same thing. Quaoar adds the theme of our creation myth. Who are we and how did we get here? That is the mystery of The Pyramid and the Sphinx.

This New Moon is about the family of humanity. Welcome to it. The rest of the minor planets are listed here, at Serennu.com.

Weekly Horoscope for Friday, December 3, 2010, #842 – BY ERIC FRANCIS

Aries Confidential

You have seen the power of negotiation, and you’ve seen what happens when you disregard certain communication protocols. Yet your quest is to be a sincere person, and you may be reviled by the notion that you have to be two-faced as a means of social lubrication. Circumstances of your life, particularly of your professional life, are calling on you to be direct and to take authority. I would suggest the following: be direct with yourself first. If you know the lay of the land, and have a sense of who is playing what game, you will feel less defensive; that means you’ll be more receptive to information. Second, you don’t actually have to say much. One technique is to ask people what they know rather than telling them what you know. You will learn something along the way, people you’re working with will have the sense that you’re listening, and then you will be in a better position to have your knowledge be your point of authority. So gather your information, assemble the pieces and make sure you use your power judiciously.

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

Taurus Confidential

Be aware of a tendency to think that your faith rules the world. It may rule your world, and that would be enough, though I suggest you back away from any possibility of being an evangelist. Faith teaches in silence, through actions and through the passage of time. Your mere awareness of something is an influence. The thoughts you think have potency beyond what you have ever imagined. This is particularly true for how they influence your own state of mind, emotions and sense of the future. Obsession is not certainty, though you may be riveted on a particular subject that you cannot let go of. That represents energy, and it may represent ideas, and an appropriate and useful response is to focus your mind in a creative and constructive way. Remember that you cannot control the future, but you can certainly influence it. One gift of the present moment is that you have enough experience to not make the same mistakes again, particularly in a relationship.

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

Gemini Confidential

You may feel like you’re in over your head with a situation that, at the moment, seems to have total power over your life. It may be a sexual obsession, it may be a fear that you have no choice but to encounter, or it may be coming to the realization that someone has tremendous influence over you. I suggest you think of the situation in terms of an agreement or a contract. This will be a way of processing your emotions through a rational filter. What have you actually agreed to? What has someone else committed to? And how does the current situation reflect these facts? You may determine that the facts and your emotional state have no apparent relationship; that your intensity is not grounded in reality. No matter how powerful someone may seem, or a situation may appear to be, the person you need to negotiate your freedom with is yourself.

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

Cancer Confidential

You have boundless energy at your disposal, and it’s yours to direct toward healing, productivity or pleasure. The three have more in common than you may realize; anything that nourishes one of these concepts in truth feeds all three. We’re trained to think that anything meaningful has to be done in a big way; that at any moment of decision, you must ‘figure out what to do with the rest of your life’. What you do these weeks may indeed influence the rest of your life, and it may resolve something you’ve carried around for a long time. Yet the way that will happen is a supreme focus on the present moment. What you want is a state of wellbeing now, rather than something deferred to the future. That is nothing more or less than being present in your experience. It’s about recognizing that your whole life has led to this moment, and that this moment is the portal to your future. Stand in that doorway and feel the energy move through you and around you.

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

Leo Confidential

This weekend’s New Moon in your fellow fire sign Sagittarius is designed to open up your sense of what is possible, if you apply your creativity. I suggest you let your curiosity lead the way to direct experience, rather than theory. You do not need to exert much in the way of effort, or think of this as requiring anything special; curiosity is powerful and it’s inherently creative. Remember that all creative energy is connected to sexual energy. I recognize that not everyone ‘agrees’ with this, but for evidence I would merely point to existence itself. A little of this energy can go a long way; the small choices you make now have an extra potent ability to help you create your life, experimenting and experiencing and feeling your way through existence. I suggest you keep in mind what it is you want to create; hold a vision for yourself and the life that you want.

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

Virgo Confidential

Subtle adjustments you make to your emotional patterning may result in significant progress toward healing. We typically want to ‘fix everything’ about ourselves, without recognizing that patterns develop and evolve over time; the most meaningful part of the process is initiating them and gradually maintaining them into existence. This is particularly meaningful where improving your health and wellbeing are concerned. For you that comes down to courting an inner sense of safety. I recognize that we are under the constant influence to not feel safe. We are given reasons to feel threatened nearly all the time. It would help if you removed those external influences, so that this way you can tune into the ones in your mind: those messages are the ones you need to respond to specifically by wanting something else, something better; a safe place within your own thoughts.

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

Libra Confidential

Consider yourself on the verge of a decision, which involves whether you will embrace yourself fully; whether you will give (to yourself) or withhold (from yourself) the love that you seek. This is the question that lurks inside the drama of what we call love. Here, the phrasing is clear and the choice is simple: and it depends on no other person. I recognize this presents a kind of metaphysical problem. If ‘how we feel about ourselves creates our experience of relationships’, does that mean we control them? Obviously not: there are other options. When we resonate with ourselves in a way that is true or loving, we create a resonance field, and we draw or repel appropriate people. The message of the current charts is simple — how you feel about yourself is the most significant metric of how you will experience existence. And you have reason to feel good; you’ve been practicing.

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

Scorpio Confidential

Gender and sex (as in the many forms of interplay of male and female, inner and outer) are fascinating, beautiful things to explore and play with, don’t you agree? There are so many shades and hues of attraction, empathy and simpatico; so many gradations of distaste and repulsion. With Venus now back in your sign after the recent retrograde phase, you have a strong emotional magnet pulling you inward toward a mysterious other within yourself. The world is rampant with drama of ‘the other’ being an external. It has an all-consuming quality, at the same time there are a diversity of taboos on taking that whole discussion to an inner plane. There is a force of nature that exists within yourself, and it has some quality of being your polar opposite; in truth it is what you seek in others, that has so often been the source of so much drama — and that aspect of you is now making itself known.

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

It’s time to have full confidence in your talent. There comes a time when, after years of development, you take the leap into the truth of that notion. You know that what you create is fully worthy of existence in the universe. You are witness to its independent life beyond you, and I believe that deep down you are confident that it will support you economically. I would emphasize that these are recognitions now available on the emotional rather than the intellectual level — things that work better when you feel them. It is one thing to know them in your mind; it’s another to feel the truth in your body, something akin to balancing on a bicycle. Remember, on a bicycle you can go nearly anywhere, but not everywhere at once.

Sagittarius audio coming soon!

Capricorn Confidential

So much of what you want seems to depend on others — and so much of your experience the past year or two has been about learning how to depend on yourself. You might think of what you’re learning as a form of autonomy. That is true, to a point; for as long as we need someone to change the oil on our car, we’re not really autonomous. But what you are acquiring is sufficient independence to explore interdependence. That is different than codependency, which is an unhealthy overreliance on the other. The associations you’re cultivating at this time will form the basis of community based on actual mutual interests and common ground. There is the potential for creating something far greater than the sum of the parts; human alchemy of the first order, for which you are a catalyst.

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

Aquarius Confidential

You have plenty to celebrate. It’s true that you also have your moments of fear and doubt, and I can empathize if you feel that your shadow runs a little deeper and darker than some others you know. That means your light will shine equally bright and moreover, that you are moving steadily along the path to fully integrating the many facets of who you are. But setting your spiritual psychology aside, I can tell you this. You are in a remarkable moment for making your existence known, and for influencing your community (and that may include community of interest, circle of friends or something similar). Though I’m not sure what you do with your life, I can offer you this — you are onto something significant, and some idea that has the power to shape your world, if not the world. Speak clearly rather than loudly. Don’t worry about the ‘ultimate effect’ of what you put out. Simply trust.

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

Pisces Confidential

This is a moment filled with great potential for you, in the aspect of life that some call ‘career’. I prefer to use other concepts — such as expressing your life purpose, making your way in the world, and shining in your chosen field. But let’s keep cause and effect in the right order; that’s the mission of any true seeker. It is who you are that is doing the expressing, making your way or shining your light. There is no ‘thing’ you are after, and you are existing and growing rather than careering. Existence as you are experiencing it now is a process of original invention. You are becoming something new every day and indeed moment. This is unnerving for some, who need a reference point to the past in order to feel secure. You have no need for such a pretense; this moment is offering you everything — but it’s an intense, potent and moreover rare moment. Be mindful. Be present. Be real, and gently so.

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

December: Sagittarius Sun, and an Intriguing Solstice

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Dear Planet Waves Reader:

The Sun is now in Sagittarius. This is such an interesting time of year, but we tend to miss the spiritual qualities because our lives are so focused outwardly — shopping, preparing for family gatherings and going a bit nuts with year-end duties, depending on what business you’re in. In the Northern Hemisphere the days grow shorter at this time of year, drawing us inward: but everything seems to be focused on others and on the world of activity. Perhaps if we could follow the calling within, the problem of holiday depression that so many people face would be far less severe.

Barred Spiral Milky Way. This is a NASA artist’s conception of what our galaxy looks like from above. The Earth’s Sun would be about three-quarters of the way out, between two of the spiral arms.

As the Sun moves through Sagittarius, it’s also moving toward a solstice. This is the last four weeks of the days getting shorter (here in the north), something that begins at the summer solstice and which I am sure that few people think about at that time. So there is that sense of the last bit of time compression as the days grow to their shortest. This is compounded by the addition of standard time, which lops an hour of daylight off of the end of the day when the days are already short — I’ve never quite followed the logic of that.

Then there’s something else going on: the Earth and Sun are aligned such that we pass by two different galactic points during the next few weeks — the Great Attractor around Dec. 8, and the Galactic Core around Dec. 18. Both of these are dark matter points that I believe are associated with the time compression phenomenon this time of year. As the Sun passes the Great Attractor, there will be a New Moon on Dec. 5. This is conjunct Pholus, the second centaur planet (the first was Chiron). Remember Pholus? Small cause, big effect? We need to watch how the situation in Korea works out (please see related story below).

The Galactic Core, for its part, functions like a homing device. I believe it’s where much of our spiritual yearning is focused — toward the center of our island in space. Here on Earth, we are far from the core, between two of the spiral arms of our galaxy — not only are we remote from the center, we’re located on a back road. No wonder it gets lonely here.

Now, as for the holidays themselves: try to keep your plans flexible. The year ends with a bit of mystery and complexity, and information from astrology may help you keep things simpler than they might ordinarily work out. This is one of those examples when astrology functions as a source of vital information.

So far it’s been a year that few people will forget: the grand cross in the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) shook up the world, ranging from the BP oil spill to the Tea Party. These same transits may have picked you up and spun you around a bit, though the peak of the grand cross has finally passed.

This beautiful cosmic cloud is a popular stop on telescopic tours of the constellation Sagittarius. Eighteenth century cosmic tourist Charles Messier cataloged the bright nebula as M8. Modern day astronomers recognize the Lagoon Nebula as an active stellar nursery about 5,000 light-years distant, in the direction of the center of our Milky Way Galaxy. Photo from APOD.

Yet we have one last astrological adventure before the relatively clear skies of mid-January: a combination of simultaneous factors between now and Jan. 4 that include the Mercury retrograde, a solstice and two eclipses. I’ll take them in order, offering some advisories that are tailored to meet the needs of busy human westerners.

I know there are many people who wish they could entirely sit out the holidays, and I would encourage you to do that if you want to, and if social conventions permit. Remember, too, that you can customize your socializing, such as by moving Christmas to the Eastern Orthodox version on Jan. 7, the long-forgotten holiday Epiphany

(when, according to the story, some really cool astrologers arrived at the birthplace of Jesus).

Okay, on to our story. Mercury is retrograde between Dec. 10 and Dec. 30. This covers the holiday shopping season, Christmas and (because Mercury changing directions actually shakes things up for several days) takes us right up to New Year’s Eve.

If you’re one who participates in the custom of buying gifts, I suggest you put more thought than money into the endeavor. Stick to simple items, for example, things made of wood, paper or cloth rather than electronic products. Books and crafts are two examples. I am collecting things like handcrafted soap and good old astrology books to share with friends. (Here is a potential gift-giving guide, called Everything Old is New Again.)

Eclipses, meanwhile, are falling at the end of the year and early summer. They drift through the seasons on a nine-year cycle. They have been occurring in Cancer and Capricorn and are now moving toward Gemini and Sagittarius. The current eclipses (Dec. 21 and Jan. 4) as usual promise to raise the intensity level of existence, and create a threshold into the next phase of our lives. But their proximity to the solstice points adds that much more energy to the mix. In December we have a lunar eclipse (the Sagittarius Full Moon) on the eve of the Capricorn solstice, one that you won’t need an astrology chart to notice. This is followed by a solar eclipse on Jan. 4 (the Capricorn New Moon), which is when you can think of 2011 as actually beginning.

All of this adds up to a few simple points. One is, do less rather than more. When the astrology gets like this, it’s possible to go into mental or emotional overload. Therefore, do your part to stay back from the edge. Go for fewer commitments, less travel, less shopping and overall reducing any tendency you may have to rely on obligation as a means of guidance. We all notice how many people start to act like frantic robots around the holidays; I admire the people who dare to try something new.

If you can get to a wavelength above all the buzz created by these inner planet movements (Sun, Moon and Mercury all qualify), there is another level that’s brilliantly creative. This appears as a kind of Star of Bethlehem in the form of the conjunction of Jupiter and Uranus in Pisces. This is an aspect associated with great meetings, technical breakthroughs and some of the most positive developments in any creative endeavor. It’s worth staying home for; Pisces is about the inner life, and this is a moment of visceral soul contact that is available to anyone.

Wishing you a brilliantly creative holiday season,

PS, I discuss the holiday season astrology in my latest audio podcast. You can listen to it here.

An international confrontation: Korea situation astrology

Dear Friend and Reader:

Two weeks ago, I cautioned in the subscriber edition of Planet Waves (“And What Are We Attracting?“) that we were heading for what appeared at the time to be an imminent international confrontation of some kind. “It looks like some hotly polarized, extremely exaggerated international situation that pops up seemingly out of nowhere,” I wrote in that edition. We now have a clue what I was seeing in the chart: the situation that emerged between the two Koreas on Tuesday, Nov. 23.

Chart for the beginning of the Korea situation on Tuesday. Notice the Aries Point rising, and Pluto in Capricorn on the Aries Point (via Capricorn) on the midheaven, at the very top of the chart. Also notice the Gemini Moon is opposite the alignment of Pallas, Mercury and Mars in Sagittarius.

Accounts as to what happened vary, but the result was that North Korea began shelling a military base on the South Korean island of Daeyeonpyeong, one of several islands collectively referred to as Yeonpyeong Island. North Korea stated that it had responded after the South had recklessly fired dozens of shells into North Korean territorial waters around Yonphyong Islet. Naturally, there are two sides to the story, though it seems unlikely that South Korea would start firing shells to the north ‘recklessly’. Anyway, the result is that we have one of the worst conditions between these two nations in decades.

MSNBC is reporting that the United States’ George Washington aircraft carrier battle group is on its way to the region. U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, a former admiral who once commanded that carrier group, is saying he believes we’re deploying it to the region as much to be in a position to retaliate against the North as we are to be preventing the South from over-reacting. He said the chances of the situation escalating are “pretty darned low” if we handle things carefully and use China as an ally. China is the one country with any real influence over North Korea. (Notably, during the Vietnam War, China was working against the United States by financing North Vietnam. It truly is interesting how things change.) Sestak, a member of the House Armed Services Committee (an influential House of Representatives committee), said he believes that U.S. military resources are severely depleted by our involvement in Iraq, and that we don’t have much left to handle a military situation on the Korean peninsula if push really comes to shove.

One of the reasons I suggest we take this seriously is the astrology. [Here is the chart at full size.] I mentioned that the grouping of Mars, Mercury, Pallas and Pholus are aligned with a fixed point called the Great Attractor, as well as with a slow-mover called Ixion. In addition, all of these points align with something called the Nuclear Axis, an arrangement in the chart for the first self-sustaining atomic reaction, which is a pretty good chart for predicting nuclear situations. In about a week, we’re going to have a New Moon conjunct Pholus right on the Great Attractor and the Nuclear Axis. Pholus has a way of letting the genie out of the bottle. And it points to effects that have causes going back several generations, and that are associated with drunkenness of one kind or another (drunk with power would qualify).

First let’s look at the ascendant — that would be the Aries Point rising — very early Aries. Now look at the midheaven — that too would be the Aries Point, via early Capricorn with Pluto right on top of the chart. This tells us we have a high-impact situation on our hands, something that could have real implications. Pluto on the midheaven is not friendly — that’s about governments obsessing over their military might and ability to control (what they think of as) ‘reality’.

Next let’s look at the position of the Moon. The Moon is in late Gemini, opposing the alignment in Sagittarius I was describing in the article. What is a bit troubling is that next week’s Sagittarius New Moon is conjunct Ixion, Pholus and the Great Attractor. Mercury and Mars have moved on; Pallas is lingering in late Sagittarius; but there is still a powerful conjunction gathered around the Great Attractor, and then along comes a conjunction of the Sun and Moon to set it off.

I’m not sure how knowing all this helps, though generally I feel that awareness is a good thing, so let’s keep paying attention.

Last Call on Light Bridge for One Price;
All Readers Invited to Cosmic Confidential

Dear Planet Waves Subscriber:

Light Bridge, the 2011 annual edition of Planet Waves, is in progress. The astrology for 2011 is exciting, and it’s the last year before the full-contact point of 2012. So this is the year of preparation and transition: of new transits that will shape the background of life and challenge us to be in full integrity about who we are.

Light Bridge is still available for one low price. Early next week I’ll switch the sales page to a pay-per-sign method; that will about double the price of all 12. For now, you can get all 12 for the price of two individual signs. Based on how I do this kind of detailed astrology, I consider the write-up for your rising sign to be as significant as the one for your Sun sign. I know this is supposed to be Sun sign astrology, but the houses play a huge role, so I suggest you take the extra step of finding your ascendant through a chart service (which is easy, and free, such as through Astro.com), and investigating your rising sign. That’s the sign that is rising in the east at the time of your birth, every bit as influential as your Sun.

You may also do this for family members or significant others whose astrology you’re investigating. This will be a mix of written and audio, with some overlap in the interpretations, though the audio piece and the written one will be their own entities. So there will be plenty of personal astrology in this annual.

Free Access to Cosmic Confidential This Weekend

I’ve removed the passwords to Cosmic Confidential, the 2010 annual edition, for the weekend. If you didn’t subscribe, you have a chance to look in on what we said about your sign(s) for 2010, and to see the many reader comments. Here is your link to the full edition, and here is your link to the 12 signs of astrology.

One reader just wrote in, “Over the last few years, I have been grappling with a variety of deep internal issues, and what do you know — they are all listed in your horoscope! It’s a real affirmation for the set of choices I have made recently during a time when even I sometimes start to wonder about these choices.”

And another wrote this weekend, “Thanks for giving us access to these. The Virgo report is uncannily accurate; it is my rising sign . . . when I took astrology classes, I remember feeling so overwhelmed by the tons of information for each part of the chart; I never did master the art of knowing how to put it all together. Your ability to do so is amazing to me.”

I think that every astrologer dreams of being able to provide interpretations that work for people without the necessity for an individual reading. While a long one-on-one conversation takes things to a new level, in 15 years of doing sessions with clients, while writing nearly 1,000 astrology columns and far more articles, I’ve learned how to give you something truly useful in my interpretations.

And you’re invited to take advantage of this.

Yours & truly,

Planet Waves Monthly Horoscope for December 2010

Aries Confidential

The past year has offered a glimpse of what is possible. You’ve also seen how much can change how fast, and how little you will miss the past when it does. Mostly, though, I trust that you’ve noticed that life treats you better when you offer yourself as a direct participant rather than as a spectator. Now, there are two basic postures through which you can participate. One is defensive. The other is progressive. You’ve had a few tastes of both. Defensive is basically a mode of reacting to or pushing back against your environment, after it has moved and affected your life some way. Progressive is you get an idea about who you are, then commence an experiment or adventure seeing what it’s like to explore that idea. This is a creative way to live, in that you’re consciously self-creating who you are, then asserting that on your environment like an artist paints on canvas. I admit that few astrologers would say that any Aries lacks assertiveness. But I’m not talking about being headstrong, pushy or ambitious. I’m talking about making subtle refinements that efficiently remove any reactive postures you may have, including being ruled by the fear that you will disrupt the apple cart, disappoint others or change your world in a way that you cannot change back. I suggest you make friends with all of these possibilities, and boldly create existence from the inside out.

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

Taurus Confidential

You seem to be on a quest to be free within your relationships. Or rather, your relationships may be on a quest to have you be free within them. There is no question that you’re involved and deeply invested in the personal and professional situations of your life. Neither is there any question that you’ve been exploring the limits of both your personal tolerance with limitations and the potential for evolving into a new version of yourself. This has presented a struggle seemingly with as many disappointments and losses as there have been gains and moments of progress. Over the next few weeks, something unusual happens. This set of circumstances ignites your passion for freedom and independence simultaneously with your drive to connect with the people around you, potentially someone specific. There is an ‘everything, all at once’ property to the moment, and you may be in a position — wittingly or not — to make decisions that have the ability to unravel your life as you know it. That is potentially a good thing; as much as you fear too much change too fast, stagnation is not a healthy state of being. I suggest, however, that you do your best to make your moves consciously. Acting on idle curiosity can be dangerous. I suggest making decisions only when you know what you want. That means being aware of what you want and keeping it in mind as a reference point all the time.

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

Gemini Confidential

One thing does indeed lead to another, and that process will proceed in your relationships with the approximate enthusiasm of opening a shaken-up bottle of champagne. With that as our starting metaphor, I suggest you avoid making decisions when you’ve drunk any more than an Honest Tea — unless you’re in the mood for a wild ride. Though I’m not usually the writer who does the Dear Prudence column, I’m going to take that role this month. As regards any relationship or partnership, keep your long-term intentions clearly in mind, and make every decision based on those intentions. Make sure you remember that it’s you who’s running your life. Whatever may happen in your world, you have a wide diversity of possible responses, and I suggest that the best ones would include a lot of time for contemplation, and for consulting with those who have less involvement or investment than you do, be it emotional or financial. What you need is objectivity. Please, get some and have it ready when you need it; inserting strategic pauses in the action may be enough. The combination of holiday pressures and numerous factors of the current astrology (Mercury retrograde, solstice and eclipses, among others) are potentially dangerous when mixed into one vat, and you need to proceed slowly, with actual caution until early January. Then you’ll be able to make coherent decisions that work out best for you and the people you care about most.

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

Cancer Confidential

You may have a tendency to process information with your mind rather than your feelings, and right now you need both. The astrology of December calls for balance; it necessitates a dialog, starting with yourself. Here’s what I can tell you. First, no situation is as difficult or as complex as it seems. Challenging, perhaps, and yes — it takes faith to give yourself some distance and let things work out, particularly when you think the one thing you must do is exert control. There’s a relationship situation where that just won’t work — but here is the silver lining: you don’t want control, nor would it serve you, nor would it serve anyone else involved. This is a moment when the fates will intervene on your behalf, if you allow them to. How to do that is to stand out of their way, which means your own way. There is a phenomenon of something appearing one way, then morphing into something else, so allow that process to work so that you know where people, and circumstances, really stand before you decide how you feel about them. I suggest you make a yoga of keeping your fears not only in check, but rather burning them as a source of creativity. Certain events this month will teach you what you don’t want. Others will teach you what you want. Remember, the second of those is much more important.

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

Leo Confidential

Think strategically about your health, and about your work. Proceed with a plan, and allow that to be the central feature in your life. You appear to be under some extra physical and psychological stress; you can handle it, if you take care of yourself. This would be an amazing time to get into the groove of true self-care, if it’s something you’ve resisted in the past. Pluto is in Capricorn for the long haul, and is about to be joined by Mars. This is giving you the energy and incentive to push it, though Mercury retrograde (in the same neighborhood) is suggesting that you not do so, and in particular that you take care of your mind. Even if you’re in a tight spot financially, try not to worry about cash — a world of opportunity is likely to open up in the spring, particularly if you keep yourself in balance now. If you count that as your primary responsibility, you’ll notice your life flows better, opening up a sense of potential that is mostly psychological in nature. That’s the kind of potential that actually works. And in this, having a plan will help immeasurably, to give you the sense that what you’re doing is actually doable — and it is. I can sum up your whole plan in the words of Don Herold, quoted in my favorite homeopathic text (Prisma): “Work is the greatest thing in the world, so we should always save some of it for tomorrow.”

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

Virgo Confidential

Art will not only save your life, it will give you life; it will give back to you more than you put in, with the benefits extending to everyone around you. Art begins when you don’t try to impress anyone with what you’re creating. It’s all about what you do and how you feel, so don’t try to impress yourself, either. I suggest you consider any and all of your excuses for why you don’t do art as remnants or direct results of childhood trauma: examples such as having too much work, not enough talent, it’s too frivolous or best of all, too childish. Proceed on the basis of sensation. Treat any excuse or resistance that comes up as specifically the thing you get to heal as a direct reward for embarking on creative experience — and experience is the key concept here. Taste some of that; lure yourself with how good it feels. You have enormous energy pent up in the creative-erotic angle of your chart, and it’s wanting to come out now, in force. I suggest that whatever you do, that you work with something kinesthetic: such as clay, paper maché or even finger paint. This will provide direct contact with what you’re doing and let you feel the shapes take form. This will keep the creative energy flowing from your mind to your body through to the thing created. Remember: no judging, evaluating or critiquing. Feel, and feel the child in you coming to life.

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

Libra Confidential

Let’s take a moment and review the recent Venus retrograde (spanning from early October through late November). I know the current astrology has morphed into what may seem like bolder adventures, and the rare retrograde of your planet, partly in your sign, may already feel like a thing of the past. Yet for you, it’s what distinguishes this year from many others in your life, and I suggest that the take-away from the past two months is a longterm project of understanding the concept of self-esteem. As I’ve suggested in longer articles, self-esteem is the spiritual issue of our day. It’s connected to mindfulness and the ability to respect yourself, to honor your authentic values, and to live like you’re a natural part of existence. Through early January as Venus makes its way across Scorpio, you get to internalize this material in a full way. You’ll have many opportunities to see the shadows in your mind as what they are, and to assert yourself against the negative conditioning of your upbringing. You’ll be able to witness the ways in which your values have been dictated by others, and distinguish these influences from the ones that you’re providing on your own terms. Nobody has or ever had the right to tell you how to feel about yourself: that is your privilege alone, and as you embrace a new depth of self-acceptance you will come into even closer harmony with the world around you.

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

Scorpio Confidential

Your mind is a filter through which you perceive the rest of reality. The rest, as in the little that’s left without your mind. You know that expression, ‘Smile and the whole world smiles with you’? It also translates to, ‘Rage and the world rages with you’, and ‘Be alert and aware and the whole world is alert and aware with you’. Now, which of these is happening? You may be experiencing a strange mix. Because Mars is joining Pluto in Capricorn this month, you’re working through a maze of material from your distant past. Any frustrations you’re feeling connect with the embodied emotions of a powerful yet powerless child who could not successfully influence the environment around him/her. The thing to remember now is that you can influence your environment, and that you don’t need to rage, compete, argue or justify yourself. It may take some extra focus to notice the lines between old influences and new ones, and to see that you’re responding to both at the same time. If you’re feeling helpless or defensive, that’s a sign that you’re not recognizing the options that you have to make a difference in your own life. Every factor is guiding you to consider those options. You don’t need to make a lot of changes; one or two bold moves might be enough. The very point where you feel the most hamstrung or frustrated is where to look the most honestly, and in the words of my mentor, Joe Trusso, “Use what you know.”

Sagittarius Confidential

Business and money are the primary focus of the next six weeks. If you’ve been waiting for the opportunity to perk up your lot in life, you’re in the zone, though timing is everything: December is for preparation, January is for action. Obviously you’re feeling the drive and the rumblings; and we all know that the last few weeks before the holidays are not usually the best time to invest a lot of energy because everyone seems to have something else on their mind. That may be true, but you’re likely to have a series of low-key interactions with people that feel more like conspiratorial plans than like Apple announcing the newest iThing. I suggest you directly focus on creating a financial strategy. Be specific about what you want to create and how you want to get there. And I suggest you put this high on your priority list as a longterm endeavor. Here is the spiritual piece: in doing so, you’re likely to come up against the programming of past generations that we can politely call poverty consciousness. You might encounter guilt that you want and intend to create abundance. You might encounter any number of emotions, ranging from the sense of ‘not deserving’ to noticing the struggles of others, to your belief that you cannot thrive in a ‘bad economy’. This is the karma that it’s time to burn through, once and for all; you’re done with it, and it’s done with you.

Capricorn Confidential

This ought to be an interesting month: just about everything that can happen in astrology happens in your sign. Nearby planets are aligning with distant ones, Mercury retrograde will be dancing around and (looking ahead to early January) a solar eclipse takes place, square your ruling planet Saturn. That all must mean something — it looks like action and activity, plenty of it unpredictable. You get a series of chances for significant wins and losses, which means the potential for actual progress. This happens at the time of year when most people want to kick back and take it easy, spending a little too much time drunk and overstuffed. Not you, please. Maintain your focus, and proceed with a plan. Keep an eye on both necessity and opportunity. Manage your holiday commitments carefully, and I strongly suggest minimizing travel plans: you will save time, money and precious mental energy. What I’m suggesting overall is that you leave sufficient bandwidth available to take advantage of what opportunities come your way and to solve puzzles that may arise, all so that you can be in maximum creative mode. The shadow side of this may be confusion about who you are, a measure of inner chaos and some anger; the solution here is to keep your perspective, and maintain whatever spiritual or growth practice has served you — such as yoga, therapy, morning pages, and skillful use of your appointment calendar. And please don’t fall for anyone claiming you owe them something. Guilt is a nonstarter. Toss it back.

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

Aquarius Confidential

There’s a passage in A Course in Miracles that took me a little time to get used to, like about 20 years. That is: “You don’t ask too much from life, but rather far too little.” It’s time to start asking for more; time to recognize how much you have and how useful it is. You can now put together two seemingly different aspects of who you are into one unified person, actually dialing in solutions that come from you and your existing resources. The thing to remember is: you have what it takes, on many different levels; your current exploration is finding the point of alignment. This should be easy. If you keep your focus on who you are, you will discover what you have. And that discovery will reveal that you have far more than you think, in resources of any kind, in ideas, in community: turning this into productive energy is a matter of intention and alignment. There is an intuitive leap involved. It’s like the resources you’ve got available are right next to you and you’re reaching a little further than you need to. Your greatest success will come from putting two obvious things, concepts or people together that you might have guessed would work so effectively. The results of this alchemy take you one wide and wild step beyond what you know, beyond what is familiar and certainly beyond what you expected was possible at this time in your life.

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

Pisces Confidential

If you’re in a phase of seeking, and finding, ever-greater clarity, then remember — everything is subject to being perceived through this lens. Be open to revising your methods, and let every development be an occasion to do so. Be open to revising your goals, but remember what the most enduring of them are, and keep your focus there. Be flexible enough that you can adapt to your environment and evolve your concept of what you want, and steadfast enough that you can persist in the face of the questions and possibilities that are humming around one authentic purpose. Look closely and you will see the silver lining to everything. Listen carefully and you’ll get clear direction about how to reach your next destination efficiently, though in a way you might not have been expecting. What the planets portend is a depth of awareness that you can apply to your worldly affairs right away, in actuality rather than in theory — remember that. This is a truly revolutionary time in your life, a fact that will become apparent after the dust settles on the wild spell of astrology that blows through late in the year. Learn to trust yourself as a daily yoga. Learn to recognize your contributions to the world from moment to moment. And remember to keep your vision close to the front of your mind. Remember what you’re creating, and remind yourself what this says about who you are becoming.

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

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