Tag Archives: revolution

Relationships From the Inside Out

Dear Friend and Reader:

With the Moon waxing toward full [see Planet Waves coverage of tonight’s Full Moon] the Occupy Wall Street protests spread to many cities and states around the country. All weekend, an Occupy Sesame Street spoof was running loose on the Internet, a clue that the movement has gone mainstream, as protests turned up in many cities across the country. It was fun listening to Mika Brzezinski, co-host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe (the network’s token Republican program) rant about how people were even demonstrating in Alaska, with the implied message: pay attention because this is meaningful. Brzezinski is the reporter who, live on the air, once shredded the script for a story about Paris Hilton being freed from jail, refusing to broadcast the piece, so it makes sense that she might notice.

One theme of this Full Moon is relationships. The Sun and Moon strike a pose across the Aries-Libra axis, stirring up all kinds of tension between the sign of ‘I am’ (Aries) and the sign of ‘we are’ (Libra). There’s usually some exciting tension between these concepts, though the presence of many minor planets aligned with the Full Moon emphasizes the point. There the feeling of restlessness, even fierce independence (Moon, Uranus, Bienor, Eris in Aries), is contrasted with the need for a tight, well-maintained container for fertility (Sun, Saturn, Haumea in Libra).

I mentioned in the recent monthly horoscope and elsewhere that this is about challenging the idea that we can find ourselves in a relationship. At the heart of the aspect is Saturn (structure, form) opposite Eris (personality chaos, identity crisis). Just about everyone has tried to use a relationship, or all their relationships, to feel more like a whole person and even to resolve their inner turmoil, and just about everyone has failed. Of course, after many attempts, we start to figure out who we are, and eventually (with grace and good fortune) we start to find ourselves and choose partners who reflect our emerging state of evolution.

If we cast this in political terms, it’s like trying to learn your personal politics by joining a movement or organization. That’s usually more of a submission of your individuality than it is about finding it. But one interesting thing about the Occupy Wall Street protests is the diversity of viewpoints that are showing up there. It’s not a movement known by its charismatic leaders, or any leaders, really. And it doesn’t have a set of prepared demands. This is being chided in the mainstream media as the lack of a message, but maybe it’s just the lack of a public relations agency.

What the mainstream media is not psychologically equipped to handle is describing the process of people finding their voice and their values. There’s no room for compassion in the script, no concept of exploration, no idea of growth or evolution. Something either is or is not a known quantity that matches their pre-conceived story; if that match does not exist, it’s subject to suspicion and ridicule.

Boston’s Tent City, as seen last week. Authorities in Boston kicked the protesters out Monday. Photo by Kelly Cowan.

Embracing the uncertain and the unknown in ourselves and one another is what this Full Moon is about. There are few perfect matches between people. Part of what we need to do is make space for the imperfections of relationships.

I’ve made a number of comparisons between our current era and the 1960s. Astrologically, the comparison works because the Sixties were under the influence of Uranus conjunct Pluto, and now those two planets are in aspect again. The Sixties were a confrontational time in both politics and relationships. We’re in such an era once again, but the sensation is more of an internal confrontation or perhaps a necessary meeting. We’re starting to figure out how much we have to integrate within ourselves in order to be grounded enough to make any progress together.

Sunday night I was having dinner with soon-to-be Planet Waves contributor James Wanless, the creator of the Voyager Tarot and the Sustain Yourself deck. James was a doctoral student at Columbia University during the late 1960s protests. “It was a war,” he said. Perhaps the energy of direct confrontation is necessary at certain points in both political and interpersonal relationships. It was certainly an issue between men and women in the Sixties, with sex roles changing, women having newfound sexual freedom thanks to the birth control pill and the women’s ‘liberation’ movement. The problem, it seems, is that there was not a corresponding idea of responsibility to go along with the newfound ‘freedom’.

Despite many kinds of confrontations, how much progress did we really make in how we do our relationships? How much did people look at themselves and observe the ways that they could grow and, as a result, facilitate the quality of their contact with others? Was the Baby Boomer generation better and more fulfilled in its relationships than any other generation? Whatever the answer to these questions, we’re now at the next checkpoint — the one where we have to check in with ourselves. There’s a lot of unfinished business from the Sixties that’s coming up for review now.

Today’s Full Moon may be highlighting some of the contrast and conflict in our attempts to make contact with one another. We expect more of ‘them’ than we do of ourselves. The Uranus-Pluto square is calling on us to awaken internally. The theme of this aspect is to make the changes inwardly and then express them outwardly by your actions and your choices. You could say that this is about focusing on our inner relationship first, and our outer relationships second.

This will be a central theme of the 2012 annual edition.

Lovingly,

2012 Letter: Not Your Parents’ Activism

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Note to Readers: Here is your Inner Space October monthly horoscope.

Dear Friend and Reader:

Monday morning I picked up my local paper, attracted by the headline, “Wall Street Protest Grows; Demonstrators Vow to Hang In.” The occupation of a small plaza in the midst of New York City’s financial district has entered its third week and is showing no signs of letting up. The plaza, called Zuccotti Park, is owned by a private real estate development company, not the city, so police cannot raid the protest without the permission of the property owner.

Zuccotti Park in New York City, home of the Occupy Wall Street protest. The vibes were mellow, friendly and introspective. Photo by Eric Francis.

Meanwhile, the police choosing to trap and arrest 700 mellow demonstrators on the Brooklyn Bridge Saturday afternoon sent the story rippling out around the world and gave lots of other people the idea to have a protest of their own. In the game of ‘cops make hippies, hippies make cops’, it’s a lot easier for the cops to make the PR gaffes that stoke the movement. Showing their power, they purchased Occupy Wall Street an international advertising campaign as a gift. A lot of people can relate to what the protesters are concerned about: jobs; financial rip-offs by banks, brokers and traders; bailouts going directly to bonuses; people’s homes being illegally foreclosed. It is a protest against the corporate system, but it’s also a protest to point out the need for basic fairness.

Society’s institutions, or more accurately, the people running them, have failed us. These demonstrations are about creating something new. But that something new is an ethic. There is a message about the need for people to take care of one another. Contrast that with the Tea Party protests of 2009-2010, where you had a lot of people saying, ‘Health insurance for me and not for you!’

Last week, a political science professor named Frances Fox Piven visited the occupation and was asked how these kinds of protest movements spring up, seemingly on their own. “I teach at the Graduate School of the City University of New York,” she said.

“I am here because I am so enthusiastic about the possibilities of this sit-in, over the marches that are occurring over postal worker issues, the sister demonstrations that are starting in Chicago and Los Angeles, and maybe in Boston. I think we desperately need a popular uprising in the United States. None of us know. I study movements. None of us know the exact formula for when those movements erupt, but it could be. And if that is true, then these people who are here are really wonderful. I would do anything to help them.”

A lot of observers have asked similar questions. Why do these things emerge when they do? Actually, the most passionate and sustained uprisings are reasonably predictable: they tend to happen when Uranus and Pluto come into alignment. When the planet of revolution (Uranus) and the one about evolution (Pluto) get together, there is always an international revolt. The alignments spread out over 10 to 12 years, and we are still toward the beginning of this one.

The last time these two planets got together was between 1960 and 1972. Astrologer-historian Richard Tarnas wrote of this time, “By all accounts the Sixties were an extraordinary era. Intense, problematic and seminal, the entire decade seems to have been animated by a peculiarly vivid and compelling spirit — something ‘in the air’ — an elemental force apparent to all at the time, that was not present in such a tangible manner during the immediately preceding or subsequent decades, and that in retrospect still sets the era apart as a phenomenon unique in recent memory.”

Saturday’s events at Occupy Wall Street included a meditation, a direct action training and a Slut Walk, which unfortunately I was not there to photograph. A Slut Walk is a kind of protest where (mostly) women dress up provocatively to make the point that just because you’ve got a hot outfit on does not mean you’re inviting sex. It’s a lot more fun than Take Back the Night, which is a more aggressive kind of ‘anti rape’ protest about venting anger. Photo by Eric Francis.

I visited the protest Saturday, to take pictures, check out the vibes and lend my support as a journalist. The feeling was nothing but friendly. There was not the fist-in-the-air sensation that Sixties demonstrations are remembered with. The vibe was loving — and there was not a big ego trip about revolution. This is being described as a leaderless movement, one that is based on a collective approach to decision-making and agenda-creation.

One thing about the Sixties movements is that they were led by the ‘big heavies’, leaders who became icons: Jerry Rubin, Abbey Hoffman and others. At least as far as the media was concerned, this was activism on the star system. Even the on-the-ground movements that tried to organize by consensus were not welcoming of women in leadership. Every sub-movement did its own thing until eventually they figured out they were on the same side. Ultimately it was the Vietnam War that was the uniting factor. In many respects it was fear of the draft that was driving most of the young men to stand up and get involved. It is fair to say that there was a strong element of self-interest in the protests of the Sixties.

The next wave of political movements came in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This was during the rise of Neoconservatism, as well as the fall of the Berlin Wall. The astrology was focused in Capricorn; there was a rare outer-planet conjunction between Uranus and Neptune that as the image of established social structures crumbling. We are still living with the results of this conjunction more than 20 years later.

Political activity was characterized by a kind of bitterness and sense of futility. Everybody joined a coalition or caucus that was vying for attention. I constantly felt reminded that I wasn’t cool enough to be there, and I discovered over time that this was an intentional message. As a ‘heterosexual white male’ I was ineligible to be part of a minority, and I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Many women were alienated by the anti-sex, anti-male attitude at the time. It was a stressed-out movement, because many organizers had the feeling that nobody really cared. I watched these movements get conquered by their own divisions. This was the era of hyperbolic political correctness and Take Back the Night marches.

Simply put it was not a movement of inclusion but rather of exclusion. The one exception I can name was the anti-tuition hike protests at the City University of New York (CUNY) in 1989 and 1991, which were amazing — and which got results. There was a military campaign at the time, what we call the Persian Gulf War. As far as I could tell, It barely registered in the minds of student activists at the time, at least on the East Coast.

Actual billionaire joins the protest. Photo by Eric Francis.

By the mid-1990s, the anti-death penalty protests surrounding Mumia Abu-Jamal had taken off, and these had a festive feeling. Mumia had a national network of activists working for him. There wasn’t really a sense of serious involvement, though. It was more like a party for a good cause. Mumia is still alive, in part due to the international attention that the protests brought to his case. But I always had the feeling that nobody understood how a death penalty trial worked; they just knew that killing someone was wrong. That movement did not have a wider idea about social justice, though it tried. The confrontation was palpable: supporters of an alleged cop killer versus the cops. The band Rage Against the Machine held a benefit concert for Mumia’s defense, and the Fraternal Order of Police sued and blocked the money from going to his attorneys.

Then in 1999, the first wave of anti-globalization protests were sparked off in Seattle. These were associated with another rare aspect, Chiron conjunct Pluto in Sagittarius. To me this represented an actual spiritual awakening manifesting on the political level. Sagittarius gave it a global feeling.

These went on for years, traveling from city to city like Phish tour but not as mellow. The image you saw over and over was the activist with his or her face covered by an American flag bandanna — not so inviting, but I think a lot of people gave those kids credit for having such guts. They caused a run on the market for tear gas, and were constantly being chased by the new breed of Ninja Turtle riot cop. Every time one of those world management team groups would meet — the WTO, the G7 or whatever — they would have to build higher and higher barricades, to the point where they had to meet inside a fortress. Once again the feeling was one of confrontation, but Chiron favors the underdog and these protests helped call attention to the ripoff of globalist economic policy.

What is interesting is that the emphasis of the protests had finally shifted from the government to corporations. This was a significant reorientation in how to think about problems and solutions. A decade on we are seeing the results of ‘free trade’ (all the jobs get exported).

This is my favorite photo from my day visiting the protest at Zucotti Park in the financial district of New York City. I love the empathy on these women’s faces. To me it sums up the openness and introspection that characterizes the emerging wave of political activism. Photo by Eric Francis. All pictures taken on Oct. 1, 2011.

Before we come to the current moment, there’s one other protest movement to mention: it lasted for a day, Feb. 15, 2003. This was the F-15 worldwide uprising against the invasion of Iraq. It was something of a miracle, involving mass protests, rallies and marches in every major city in the Western world. In retrospect, this feels more like a mirage than a historical event, but it really did happen. The prevailing energy, in a word, was Aquarius.

Now we are back around to a Uranus-Pluto aspect, which directly recalls the energy of the Sixties. That’s because the Sixties happened under a Uranus-Pluto conjunction, and now 45 years later, we have arrived at the first square. This is a major turning point in world history, as we are seeing. The effects go back about three years and will carry us through the end of the decade, and if we use it well, perhaps much longer.

Along with Arab Spring and the uprisings in Wisconsin and Ohio earlier this year, we have Occupy Wall Street as one of its expressions. Zuccotti Park was one of the most laid back, friendliest places I’ve visited in a while. The vibe was open but also introspective. People were expressing concern and anger about the economic situation and there was a clear sense of understanding that Wall Street holds a lot of the responsibility for that — but no sense of rage being projected onto anyone. My sense from many things I’ve read and heard is that among this generation of activists, there’s the awareness that we need to change ourselves and change the world in the same gesture.

That would be the essence of a square, especially between Aries and Capricorn. As you think about what this aspect represents, remember that the personal awakening process of Uranus in Aries is about to meet up with the changes in society represented by Pluto in Capricorn. There is potential for wide-scale cultural change, but it starts from the inside-out. That approach, if we follow it, will help us avoid many of the really huge mistakes that were made during the protests of the Sixties.

Uranus in Aries also connects people to groups, but from the perspective of being an individual. Pluto in Capricorn turns over the soil of society’s institutions, bringing out their frailty and their fertility. It will be exciting to see what happens as this aspect builds to its first peak in June 2012 and then develops for the next three years. Remember though, we’re not just watching.

One way or another, we will all be involved.

Lovingly,

PS, many more photos are on the Planet Waves blog from over the weekend. Here is one set, and here are our photos of the Brooklyn Bridge takeover.

Revolution in the Aries (or is it Pisces)

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Dear Friend and Reader:

Revolution is seething in one of the unlikeliest regions of the world: not merely North Africa and the Middle East, but the United States. We might have asked when the people ruled by imams, mullahs, sultans, princes, kings, ayatollahs and ordinary leech despots were going to get restless. We might have guessed it would happen right around when Uranus and Pluto lined up in their current square aspect. And it looks like some of the same leadership styles are stirring up revolt to the United States as well. I’ll come back to that in a moment. Let’s start far from home and work our way back.

This combination of planets is the very signature of revolutionary eras. We are in one now — and it hasn’t reached its peak. We’ve just seen dictators tumble in Tunisia and Egypt, with uprisings currently underway in Algeria, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Morocco and Yemen — so far. Many have turned bloody in recent days.

The overthrow of the Mubarak dictatorship last month in Egypt was nothing short of astonishing, at least as it was happening. For 30 years, Mubarak ran the country brutally, with his secret police force ‘disappearing’ citizens into the Ministry of the Interior if they got out of line. He was turned into a fugitive in just 18 days. His spy chief, who had been Dick Cheney’s go-to guy on ‘extraordinary rendition’ (the U.S. offshore torture program), got to be vice president for two weeks, before he, too, was reduced to a political mummy.

And, though the news out of Egypt has turned dark with the sexual assault of CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent Lara Logan, the revolution there has continued to spread across the region, and in at least two countries this week there has been violent government pushback.

Focus on Libya and Bahrain

Libya is an Arabic country situated between Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia in Northern Africa. Libya’s autocratic ruler for the past four decades, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, responded in January to the unrest in Tunisia by reassuring the Libyan people that such protests were not necessary in their country. Apparently the people there decided otherwise. What keeps happening is some dictator tells the protestors to go home and they just get more worked up. Go figure.

Chart for Bahrain’s supposed independence. This is the chart for when it was announced on BBC radio in a neighboring country — the best that world horoscope datameister Nick Campion could do.

Citing a Libyan newspaper, Quryna, Reuters reported that protesters, angered by the arrest of a human rights activist, rallied in Libya’s second largest city, Benghazi, on Tuesday night. Protests have continued in several Libyan cities, and on Thursday activists declared a ‘Day of Rage’ to oppose Qaddafi. Clashes with pro-Qaddafi supporters and snipers with the Internal Security Forces left several dead and many wounded in the eastern city of Beyida. There were simultaneous protests in at least five other Libyan cities.

Let’s consider Bahrain more closely. This is a little island nation in the Persian Gulf. It’s a U.S. client state, the docking port of our navy’s Fifth Fleet. It’s also a playground of the Bush family. I recall half the island being leased to a relative of the Bush family during Bush War I as an R & R depot for the coalition military. What is more interesting is that in 1990, months before the Gulf War started, Harken Energy, George W. Bush’s beleaguered company, was given drilling rights in and around Bahrain. Remember that this is the story of the Middle East — the lines on the map move from side to side; countries are treated like companies; leaders are installed, kingdoms made and unmade. I guess we could ask an Atlantean philosopher or historian why this is, but for now, we can just read about Churchill, who did a lot of this after World War II.

This week the people of that little country started protesting, and overnight Wednesday to Thursday were ambushed by the military. At least four people were killed and hundreds of others injured from buckshot, concussion grenades and rubber bullets. Bahrainians have experienced some of the most violent pushback from their government in the whole region. Let’s take a look at the national chart (posted above) and see what’s going on.

Unlike many other charts, distinctly influenced by Uranus and Pluto, to me it looks like Chiron is the star in Bahrain. This is the planet associated with transition, awareness and healing that was discovered in 1977 (Chiron is the first centaur, a type of minor planet). The only thing solid about Bahrain is how oppressive its government is. It’s a real stretch to call it a nation. The chart I’m using is for its ‘independence’, but to me that just says ‘availability to other interests’, all of whom are offshore.

We see the oppressive government show up as Saturn in the 7th house, sitting on the Moon like a hen sits on an egg. Those are on the right side of the chart. Saturn (the government) is yellow and the Moon (the people) is the grey crescent.

The egg seems like it’s hatching. Saturn and the Moon are in Gemini. Chiron has recently begun its trek across Pisces. It’s making an explosive square aspect to the Moon; eventually it will square Saturn too. This is going to go on for a few years, in waves. But the big push is now, because Chiron is conjunct centaur planet Pholus, which releases a lot of pent-up pressure. There is something here about getting sick of being lied to: Chiron square Neptune in Sagittarius.

Tremors in Madison and Puerto Rico

Revolution is quietly brewing in the hearts of Americans, though until recently it’s been introduced as a brand without a product. Americans have consented to wars, the looting of the treasury, billions in tax dollars being donated to massively wealthy stock traders, and the loss of civil liberties. Now that the government wants to take back union rights and pensions, people are getting angry — and it’s starting off somewhere excellent, in Madison, Wisconsin.

Madison is one of the last holdouts of the true American left, but its new Republican governor, product of the Tea Party movement, is now doing the bidding of corporate interests. In response to the Republican-backed plan to strip collective bargaining rights and pensions, there have been protests there day after day. On Thursday night, 30,000 people had shut down the city center. Rachel Maddow reported last night that Wisconsin actually had a budget surplus until Gov. Scott Walker started giving away tax credits to corporations, creating an artificial shortfall and using this as an excuse to take away pensions.

His minions proposed legislation to strip collective bargaining rights covers most public employee unions — but not all of them (police and firefighter unions were not included in the bill). Maddow’s analysis is that this measure, which saves the state no money, was designed to eliminate the only organized Democratic voter base in the state, the unions. (Watch her analysis here.) A number of Democratic state senators left the state to break the senate’s quorum and prevent it from adopting the law.

Many other locales that actually are facing a budget shortfall are proposing the same kinds of measures, however, and attempts at stripping benefits, eliminating pensions and busting unions are likely to be big news as public debt mounts (and bankers are given ever-larger bonuses). The thing about Uranus-Pluto is not just that people get rebellious — there’s usually something meaningful to rebel against.

What we have here, by the way, is Enron on a massive scale. Anyone remember Enron, the company that took over California’s electrical grid, stole the pensions of thousands of PE & G employees (and its own employees), ripped off the California ratepayers (of “f*ck Aunt Millie” fame) and then went bankrupt?

That whole mess came to the surface in late 2001, when Chiron entered Capricorn. I proposed at the time that Chiron was running vanguard for Pluto in Capricorn, and that if we didn’t clean up what came to light then, it would repeat with Pluto in Capricorn. So what we’re seeing is a national movement by government to bust unions and take back pensions. Maybe we think unions are quaint things like old Beatles albums, but pensions are the only real savings many people have.

Meanwhile in Puerto Rico, students this week got control of their campus after a violent police occupation that lasted two months. Given that Puerto Rico is a colony of the United States, or an occupied territory, I am very happy to see a revolt happening there. Puerto Rico is a place dear to my heart and is well worth a full edition. Let’s see if we have an occasion to do that.

Uranus Square Pluto and an Age of Awakening

Remember that in the background of all of this passion and protest is Uranus square Pluto. We have met this aspect before. Technically, Uranus square Pluto holds its exact geometry for just three years (this one goes from 2012 to 2015). Yet astro-historian Richard Tarnas, author of the acclaimed Cosmos and Psyche, notes that this aspect and those in its group (the conjunction and opposition) can have an orb of influence extending for more than a decade.

We see this in the cycles of history. The most recent major alignment of Uranus and Pluto happened in 1965-1966, fueling what we think of as the Sixties. Yet we can see early rumblings of what we think of as 1960s-styled social progress going back to the mid-1950s, when the Supreme Court ordered integration of public schools in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.

In that same era, the Beat Generation of writers, known for its liberationist philosophy, drugs, rambling adventures, alternative forms of sexuality, freedom of expression and anti-materialism — all characteristic of Uranus-Pluto — came to prominence a full decade before the conjunction, breaking open barriers that millions of people would cross in the following years. Bob Dylan said he never would have become who he was if he hadn’t read On the Road by Jack Kerouac.

There is often a slow warm-up of Uranus-Pluto aspects, as events scattered across time and geography coalesce into what seems like one vast movement. One thing leads to another. Social change, pointed toward the future, gathers momentum and then feels inevitable.

It’s often in hindsight that we put together the effects of this type of astrology, though at the moment all we need to do is look at the front page of any newspaper or news website — and feel the vibes pulsing through the planet waves. This thing we keep describing as 2012 has as its epicenter the Uranus-Pluto square.

Pluto has been stirring the pot of Capricorn for two years now, and Uranus is about to make its ingress into Aries, where it will be the next seven years. You can think of Pluto as having softened up previously hard and fast institutions: banks and national economies have collapsed, dictators have fallen by the wayside. Moreover, ideas about power are changing. At the same time, it looks like the rich are getting ever richer and taking more and more from people. We don’t know how this is going to play out, but we can look at some astrological pictures of the future and see what they tell us. And what they suggest is that there is an awakening happening.

Around the corner from Capricorn is Aries, and Jupiter has recently arrived there. It’s currently square Pluto. Jupiter square Pluto is a passionate aspect, with the feeling of religious zeal and an all-or-nothing approach to existence. The elemental force of Pluto focuses the idealism of Jupiter into clarity and action, giving drive and substance to what were previously just interesting ideas. In early March, just before the equinox, Uranus arrives in Aries to stay for the next seven years. The ingress of this inventive, revolutionary energy into Aries feels like an extended springtime of the soul. It looks like the ultimate astrology of a global awakening, based on millions of individual awakenings.

There is the recognition that ‘the world is changing and so am I’. We get an invitation to expand our ideas about existence, and live closer to the edge with more vitality and explore life with an experimental spirit. Let’s face it. The smug piety that has permeated society during the past few decades could use a few friendly cosmic jolts of orgasm. Our ideas about relationships have grown so moldy and brittle the best thing we can do with them is chop them up and make a huge bonfire on the spring equinox.

The Charts of the United States and Iran

Astrological events that affect countries also affect people. We all live on the same planet. Let’s consider how that bonfire might look in two national horoscopes.

The chart of the Iranian revolution of 1979 is due for a revolution of its own. Take a look at the left side of the chart — Aries rising, Aries Moon and Eris in Aries. Uranus is coming through, and it’s going to shake up the youth, the population at large and the national identity.

Let’s consider Iran, which seems to be the epicenter of the Western world’s worst imaginary fears. The chart I prefer for Iran is the return of the Ayatollah Khomeini to his country in February 1979 — which was the start of the revolution that year. The chart has early Aries rising and an Aries Moon. This is a spritely, adventurous chart on the outside, driven by emotion and a bit of chaos. It’s definitely the chart of a volatile revolution. Whatever you may think of the famous Ayatollah, the ousting of the U.S.-backed shah and Khomeini’s arrival was an exciting moment in world history.

Behind the revolutionary glee, masked by a kind of militant populism, is a conservative and authoritarian core. That is characterized in the chart by the government angle poking up into Capricorn. And behind that is all the religiosity we know is one of Iran’s most famous exports — Venus and Neptune are in Sagittarius in no less than the 9th house. This verges on comical. These people in charge don’t take religion seriously. To them it is what a beautiful woman was to Ernest Hemingway. Religion is sex, and their minds are on fire with the stuff in a way that we just do not understand here except maybe in the most electrified Baptist church. The thing is that all that lust is under the chilling effect of Saturn in Virgo. That’s like making love with the sex manual out. However, the new generation is simply not interested. In the sex manual that is. In other ways they seem like they’re on fire.

Now that Uranus is moving up on that Aries ascendant, a hidden factor is coming to light: the youth of the nation are rising up. There is a new generation that has no desire to be told what to believe, threatened with execution and told they’re bad people.

Pluto going through the government angle of the revolution is making the national leaders feel like they’re concentrating their power, but what they are really doing is collapsing their own structure. They seem like they’re on top of things, but they’re about to be met by a revolutionary force unlike anything they’ve ever encountered. Remember that Iran is a country prone to revolutions, and it has a long history. The mullahs are relative newcomers. The Persian people have been there a lot longer.

Revolt Against Commodification

As for revolution in the United States: it doesn’t look like a political event — it looks like a personal and economic one. I wish I could explain the horoscope of the United States to Karl Marx. I’m not sure if he would accept the premise of astrology, but he would recognize his idea that the primary U.S. chart paints the picture of a commodified nation. Everything becomes a commodity; if you get paid for something, you get respect. It allegedly matters less if you have talent — and most people seem to like it that way. [I covered this in Wednesday’s weekly audio.]

This is the most widely used chart of the United States, called the Sibly Chart (named after the astrologer who provided the data). There are other charts, including an earlier chart with the Sun in Scorpio, as well as a Virgo rising chart. The story of how this chart came into being is a complex, interesting story stuffed with Masonic connections and Medieval techniques, which I’ll get to around July 4. The chart is the symbolic representation of the independence of the 13 new states.

Here’s how it looks in the chart: Sagittarius rising puts Cancer in an area of the chart called the 8th house. That’s the house of ‘other people’s resources’, a complex area which includes sex, banking, stock trading, inheritances, dowries and marriage contracts. That sounds like a weird mix, but they all have one thing in common, which is resources changing from one party to the other, or resources being traded. It’s a house where you can gain a lot, experience deep pleasure and, notably, sell out very easily.

You can also invest there and lose all your money. The 8th is the house of ‘sign your life away’: the house of commodification. Obviously people experience this in other countries, but there are few places on Earth that have turned everyone and everything into a commodity, where if you take care of people you can be accused of being a traitor. Our characteristically American expressions include, ‘You have to sell yourself all the time’ and ‘You have to give him credit, he’s making a lot of money’. I would contend that to the extent that these have been global values, they are American exports.

Our great nation has many planets in this house — Sun plus Venus, Jupiter and a few others. This alignment indicates how much wealth we actually have, but also the extent to which it’s been squandered in ‘investment’ institutions. The concentration is early in the sign, which in part explains what’s been happening to our banking system. Pluto in Capricorn has been coming at those Cancer planets like an evolutionary battering ram. The cardinal cross I’ve been writing about for a year is directly influencing this cluster, and this idea of everything is a commodity. Of course the plutocrats know how to make the most of this. They have concentrated a lot of wealth. The price we might have to pay for those bank executives losing all their money is the whole system coming down. Their message seems to be, you can have the crumbs if we get the meal. Then we all get to eat.

However, in the next act, Uranus, the planet of revolution, is going to make a series of square (90-degree) aspects to those planets. That is action. It tells me that we are starting to figure out how sold-out we are, how ripped off we’ve been, and in the same gesture, follow the impulse to do something about it. This is a rebellious impulse but it’s also self-creative, and in fact the self-creative seems to burst out first. I would propose that from a growth standpoint that’s a healthy thing. Rebelling for its own sake only goes so far, but following a creative impulse that moves blockages and stuck energy out of the way is another thing altogether.

For the United States, Aries occupies one of the most creative (and also sexual) angles of the chart, and Uranus in Aries is about self-actualization. Taken in the most positive light, I see this transit firing up the courage and thirst for freedom that many people need in order to be themselves. Authenticity is a concept we could use more of. I see a lot of energy being released for the American people by Uranus in Aries, and a widespread movement to claim ourselves back.

Of course, this process will threaten those who are attached to the past. And it will be risky for everyone. Along the way to getting free, we must encounter our own attachments, our own fear and guilt. But these tend to yield to creative impulses. And while humanity may seem like it’s in one of its most backwards moments ever, creativity, self-actualization and the drive for liberation are time-honored human traditions as old as the Great Sphinx — and equally mysterious.

Yours & truly,

Two Hot Charts, Happening Right Now

Jupiter is at the very top left. Pluto is the red golf tee on the lower right. Notice that they have the exact same numbers after them, in cardinal signs — that is the square aspect.

Two astonishing aspects are developing right now, both taking place the last week of February. I’m going to take them in reverse order. First, a reminder that the Sun ingresses Pisces today. Both of these charts involve Pisces planets, with the Sun in Pisces. That provides a lot of resonance for these events.

We’re currently in the run-up to an aspect called Jupiter square Pluto. This is an impassioned aspect that happens about every six years, so it’s not your everyday astrology. These two powerhouses combine to conduct the soulful, highly focused evolutionary power of Pluto through the cosmic intelligence of Jupiter. The square is obsessive and passionate; it is not given to the best judgment. It’s the kind of aspect that thinks it’s right whether it’s right or wrong, and we can look to this astrology for the religious zeal that both leaders and populations are pitting against one another in demonstrations in the Middle East and in the United States.

Let’s just say this comes with commitment if not discernment. At its worst it’s devious and at its best it’s on fire with drive and determination. That happens on Feb. 25, with Jupiter in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn. You can just feel this one pulsing through the ethers. Though Uranus square Pluto is brewing, Jupiter is what has facilitated the current burst of awareness and passion. It’s a kind of warmup for Uranus arriving in Aries on March 11.

Note that Jupiter is one of the ruling planets of Pisces. The two planets associated with Pisces are getting a lot of action in these years, and we’re starting to see it burst into consciousness. The second aspect involves the ‘modern ruler’ of Pisces, which is Neptune. Still in late Aquarius for the moment, Neptune is about to take a simultaneous conjunction from Mars and Mercury. This happens Feb. 20, so we’re right in the mix now. To me this aspect looks like an invitation to do some fabulously hot writing. Like Jupiter square Saturn, it’s begging for positive expression, and that energy is abundantly available. Partly, it’s a matter of slowing down your mind enough to follow your own thoughts.

The three critters with the number 28 next to them are Mars, Neptune and Mercury, in an exact conjunction. We’ve had quite a few triple conjunctions lately, but nothing
quite like this.

The combination is Mercury, Mars and Neptune. Mercury + Mars is fast mind, that can move from concept to conclusion instantly. It’s a good aspect for an editor or lawyer to have, assuming they are at least a bit tempered; this aspect can light a fire in the mind. Add Neptune to this and the flash goes off in the imagination. In Aquarius, it’s got a kinky, intellectual or technological feeling. This would be the perfect chart to launch a very smart porn site. While it’s not purely about sex, Mars (ruler of Scorpio) gives that feeling. Note that Jupiter (a planet connected to Pisces) is teaming up with Pluto (a planet connected to Scorpio) and we get a similar picture here.

This astrology is excellent for making movies, conceptualizing them or even watching them in good company (the friends are signified by Aquarius). However, if you’re not taking it on a creative level, and I mean consciously directed energy with some discipline mixed in, these might be slippery — for example, it’s easy DWI territory, good for misunderstandings and stupid fights, etc. So I suggest you focus your mind on something you’re passionate about, hang out with people you trust, and keep some basic boundaries in mind. Then, these aspects will be a lot of fun.

Attention Light Bridge Subscribers: We are very close to finishing Light Bridge, the 2011 annual edition of Planet Waves. If you have purchased Light Bridge, please check your email right after the weekend for the notice that the site is live. If you have not signed up yet, you may do so here.

Weekly Horoscope for Friday, February 18, 2011, #850 – BY ERIC FRANCIS

Eric’s Zodiac Sign Descriptions

Aries (March 20-April 19) — You feel like you lack the substance or the energy to live up to your potential. I don’t think you’ll be lacking energy for long, and as for substance, that is a matter of grounding. I suggest that you take the idea of grounding, initially, as focusing on a specific purpose. At the moment, you may find yourself being obsessed over a work-related goal, but I would propose you might want to shift that emphasis and make it a personal goal. That is, of course, if you think there’s a difference. If you don’t, more power to you: that’s a sign you’re already committed to a purpose and identify with it strongly. In truth we’re not ‘work people’ and ‘personal people’ or ‘relationship people’, we are one unified critter. The astrology of this moment is about getting as close to your core as you can, and thriving on that passion.

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) — There once was a writer named Simone de Beauvoir. I’ve only read her translated into English, but she is amazing. One thing I learned from her appears in your charts this week. She proposes that women and men are conditioned differently on a few key themes, one of which is the purpose of relationships in their lives. Men are trained that their relationships are part of their lives; women, she says, are trained to believe that their lives are about their relationships. I’m with Simone in my observation that underneath the conditioning, men and women have far more in common than most will admit, but this one observation has always impressed me as revealing so much. I can tell you that the astrology of the next few days can show you how big your world is, how many people care about you, and how many adventures you have available.

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) — Today the Sun enters Pisces, making a conjunction to Chiron (newly arrived in Pisces). The Sun sheds light, and I think this will answer some of your recent doubts about whether you’re really ‘good enough’ to do what you want to do, and whether you have what it takes to focus the talent that you want to express. The thing about seeking your fortunes in some creative way, and with that I would include taking creative approaches to everyday activities, is that your real assets sometimes feel intangible. Chiron’s presence in the angle of your chart that addresses reputation and achievement has two main influences: one is to stir up your doubts, and the other is to focus your power. I suggest you work with this polarity. There is good information on both sides of the dilemma, and both polarities can propel you nicely toward your most cherished goals.

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) — Take a breath. This really weird Full Moon is over, and the Moon has entered a more grounded sign — Virgo. You now get to think about everything you’ve just experienced. But don’t try to make it make too much sense. Take a light approach to your mental process. You might try to overcompensate for the warpy uncertainty of the past week with obsessive overthinking. Rather, put your ideas to work. Ride on the momentum of the Moon — it’s still at full phase. But let it light up your mind with ideas, new approaches to old problems, and clarity to help you remedy your self-critical tendencies. One way to catch the energy is to write. And I do mean Friday and Saturday, as soon as possible, particularly if you’re feeling the need or inspiration to put something into words.

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) — You like to give people the benefit of the doubt; for the next week or so, I suggest you hold them to a slightly higher standard. Verify what you’re told; you may be particularly inclined to believe people you find especially compelling. In this process, the first source of information is what you hear from them. You know those times when someone tells you, ‘I’m a total jerk,’ and you forget to notice or you think it doesn’t apply to you. Then, you’re surprised when the person turns out to actually be a jerk. Well, listen to all of that stuff, and remember it. Be particularly alert to people who tell you they have problems with honesty, or with alcohol or other substances. Be alert to those who only talk about their problems. There are other people available — people who have been there and done that, and are very cool.

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 seem to be keeping your clarity and sailing your boat upright despite some stormy seas around you. If you had a completely warped week at the office, complete with clairvoyant events, dependable people slacking off, other people cranky from getting no sleep, and probably a computer or two taking on a life of its own. In the past, this is the kind of thing that might have spun you around; I foresee a time in your life when you have the pleasure of letting others do all the spinning around and getting dizzy, while you look for productive involvements. You will always be drawn into your community. Make sure you check at least two qualities on the short checklist of fun, helpful or interesting before you do.

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 sign is the one cut from whole cloth on the theme of how any physical ailment has an emotional root. This will be true for many people but you’re particularly sensitive to this, and the emotional nature of what may ail you at any moment may be contagious. It’s not necessarily that there is a virus going around, but rather a feeling. It may seem odd to anyone whose sensibilities go in the direction of germ-based Western medicine to think that a feeling that leads to the sensation of being ill is contagious, but I am sure you could come up with many examples in a few minutes. This works for specific forms of discomfort, and happily the situation also points to the remedy existing on the level of understanding those feelings. The Sun making a conjunction to Chiron in the health and well-being area of your chart says that you can learn everything you need to know about how to feel good.

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) — For the moment, I don’t suggest you trust your emotions. Note what they are, but it would not be a wise idea to act on them, or make decisions or even judgments. It’s a great time for things like art, or sex with people you really, truly trust. Remember that you may have some extreme emotional responses or reactions, so whoever you share time and space with needs to be able to handle this. One useful approach to this astrology is to study things from your past that you have reason to doubt. This is a little like taking a homeopathic approach to something that requires clarity. The astrology has a deceptive, unstable quality, but this also gives it a penetrating effect. It has the feeling of ‘too rich for words’. You might want to express your discoveries in words, but the words will be more memorable and poignant if you illustrate them with pictures. These don’t have to be ones you make, but also movies you watch or images that you find.

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) — Jupiter, the planet of Sagittarius, is walking into a 90-degree aspect with Pluto — that’s called Jupiter square Pluto. This is designed to give you plenty of confidence in yourself, though I suggest you go light with that. There’s something passionate about this aspect, but it can be devious and self-destructive. Other aspects suggest you may not see the effects of your thinking until it’s a bit too late, so I suggest you delay decisions or ‘final conclusions’ for about five days. Making any moves or snap judgments under pressure is definitely not advisable, but you might want to save your first impressions for future review. You’re in a potent new phase where your creativity or some vibrant idea is taking over your life. The art to art and love is using these potent forces constructively, and considering the greatest good.

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) — You may be totally, completely wrong about a financial matter, so there is no use worrying. Nor should you get too excited if your balance is $50,000 too high. In fact, you might want to skip the whole money thing until next week, and focus on having fun. One element of your astrology gives you freedom from beliefs about what you think is true for you, and always has been. Another element offers an emotional power surge and an entirely different idea. This may feel like a sudden, fiery burst of awareness that feels like I am who I am. Remember that this is as much about forgetting who you thought you were as it is about remembering something new. In this kind of learning process, both are vital. This will teach you to let go of the habit of doing so much remembering who you were that you don’t have space to make a new discovery or two.

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) — Karma, translated as simply as possible, is about the results of your actions. The big joke of karma in Western civilization is that we forget that our actions have results (much less consequences), and thus we keep acting as if they do not. This causes a lot of problems, and we may wonder where they all came from. An aspect in your sign this week (a four-planet exact conjunction) is a reminder to study the process of cause and effect. In some ways it’s more obvious than it seems; in other ways it’s less obvious. Observe both, and see if you can get in on the game and use this mysterious translation from potential to manifestation for your benefit. Remember that there is no effect without a cause, and no cause without an effect. Where you have one you will have the other, which will resolve many mysteries for you — ongoing.

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) — For the past year, most of the standout astrological events have involved Pisces or one of the planets associated with it. But in that typically fishy way, many have been just offstage, behind the scenes or active in the background of your chart. That began to change recently, if you had not noticed from the intensified reactions of people around you, an increase in your sense of presence on the planet, and newfound energy that seems to be driving you toward specific goals. Fears that used to plague you have disappeared like steam. The odd sense that you had no idea what was bothering you has been replaced by a determination to solve your problems and move onto more creative things. The Sun enters your sign for a month today. Take that time and appreciate everything you’ve done for yourself and the world.

To pre-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.

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