Tag Archives: Saturn

Small, Meaningful Moves

By Amanda Painter

We’re moving into the last half of Mercury’s current retrograde in Aries — and the contacts Mercury is making this week seem to be stirring things up for many people. If you’ve been feeling a sense of pressure lately, this astrology could be why.

Photo by Amanda Painter.

Photo by Amanda Painter.

A combined square between Mercury in Aries and Mars and Saturn in Capricorn continues to be in effect today. Mercury square Mars was exact on Wednesday, and Mercury square Saturn is exact today — though they are really one event.

This aspect pattern is an image of tension — especially with Mercury in a hot, fiery, action-oriented sign, and its retrograde motion describing an inward direction (for at least some of that energy). If you’re feeling frustrated, you might notice how much of that energy is directed at yourself, versus how much of it you’re projecting (or unleashing) onto others.

Lots of people fall into negative thought loops when they have trouble expressing their anger and annoyance; that said, it’s also becoming more common for people to seek an outlet on social media. If that tends to be your go-to, you might notice whether people’s comments in response actually help you to transmute your frustration, or whether it serves to amplify it. There are reasons why social media is often referred to as an ‘echo chamber’ — though sometimes we do truly just need to say what we have to say and know that we’ve been heard and empathized with.

Continue reading

Tropical flora on Grand Cayman; photo by Amanda Painter.

Working and Communicating with the Libra Full Moon

By Amanda Painter

Are you feeling both determined and frustrated this week? The sky is not only building to a Full Moon in Libra on Saturday, there’s some additional astrology that may be testing the balance between what you desire, what you feel obligated to do, and what’s actually reasonable to try to accomplish.

Tropical flora on Grand Cayman; photo by Amanda Painter.

Tropical flora on Grand Cayman; photo by Amanda Painter.

The good thing about this kind of setup is that when there is friction or opposition from others, it can actually help you get clear on your priorities.

When everything is easy and everyone is mellow, it can be harder to get focused or fired up for what needs to happen. That said, even if you think you know what you want, current aspects suggest it’s wise to try on different perspectives, to listen closely to what others are expressing (including reading between the lines), and to move ahead with a measured pace.

The chart for this week’s Full Moon speaks to all of these factors, in multiple ways. Exact at 8:37 am EDT on March 31 (12:37 UTC), it has the Moon in early-mid Libra opposite the Sun and retrograde Mercury in Aries.

Straight away, Mercury both retrograde and so close to the Sun (they form a conjunction on Sunday, marking the midpoint of the retrograde), signals that checking one’s perspective is wise. Particularly in Aries, are you sure you are seeing beyond yourself and what you want?

Continue reading

Reality Sandwich: Jupiter and Saturn

Dear Friend and Reader:

The astrology of April stars yet another rare event — the opposition of the two largest planets, Jupiter and Saturn. This has been developing for a while and it’s in full effect right now, but an event in about a week lights up the aspect. Think of this as being like one of those huge barbells you used to see in cartoons, with enormous round weights on either end. Between them is a pea — that would be the Earth. Jupiter and Saturn, the two outermost visible planets, have gradually been forming an opposition since they began separating from a conjunction in 2000. You could think of this as the ‘full phase’ of Jupiter and Saturn, with many things coming to full fruition of everything that started at the turn of the millennium. It certainly feels that way. We sure do feel like we’re at the ‘second turn of the millennium’ — the 2012 era.

Planet Waves
From the series ‘Ahau-Cosmos’ by Carol McCloud.

The highlight event that lights up that Jupiter-Saturn aspect is a New Moon on April 3. This is a meeting of the Sun and the Moon. The thing is, it’s thrown to one side of that barbell — the Jupiter side. So what we get is a huge collection of planets in Aries, opposite Saturn in Libra. When I say a huge collection of planets in Aries — the most fiery of the fire signs — I really mean it. We have Mars and Uranus (two sparky, passionate planets in a conjunction), as well as the Sun, Moon, Jupiter, Mercury and Eris. All of these are to one side of the solar system in individualistic Aries; and there is Saturn in Libra, all by itself on the other side of the Sun.

While this is perfect weather for all the madness we have been witnessing in the world (quite a lot has happened since the last monthly column, in fact it seems like 10 years of history has gone by), I am more interested in what’s going on on the inner plane. All this Aries offers the potential for authentic self-awareness or superficial self-centeredness. For our purposes there is a difference. The difference is that authentic self-awareness has to acknowledge everything it comes in contact with. Often it’s easy to dismiss most of the contents of consciousness, to deny or stuff them down. With most of the solar system taking up residence in Aries this month, it will be easier to fully embrace what is present within us; in fact it seems inevitable.

I will offer two examples based on aspects. First let’s consider Mars conjunct Uranus. This is like a fiery creative impulse setting off an explosion of creative energy. I’m not sure who will glaze over wondering what the heck I’m talking about when I say this, since this experience is not usually on the normal buffet of consciousness. However, it’s something we crave: intellectual and creative passion. The thing about this feeling is that it can start to blow around all of the neatly pre-arranged concepts of who we are (cautious person, discreet man, honest woman, good husband, responsible mother, nice guy, etc.). Authenticity can indeed be shocking in our current version of consciousness. There is a definite calling to embrace something unexpected when Mars and Uranus line up this way — for the first time in Aries, incidentally, for more than 75 years. This is not a wake-up call — it’s about actually getting out of bed.

Notably, this act of waking up in the morning may involve leaving someone else sleeping in. Some people like to sleep late, and some like to sleep all day. If you are feeling a call to awakening, that’s something for you to acknowledge and follow.

Another truly novel event this month is how Mercury (retrograde from March 30 through April 23) is making a series of conjunctions to Eris — that planet that caused astronomers to ‘demote Pluto’. Mercury represents mental consciousness, or, you could say, the messages we send to ourselves. Eris represents a fragmented sense of self, and on a good day the many-faceted ways we can think of ourselves. (Which of these possibilities you end up with is a matter of choice and to some extent the strength of your creative will.) Mercury conjunct Eris is about seeing the ways in which we are fragmented, and getting the different parts of who we are to pay attention to one another’s existence. This is more challenging than it seems for most people, because there seem to be so many internal voices, each with a different opinion of who we are.

I suggest you listen to the conversation, even if it sounds like chatter (kind of like when you’re meditating) — but remember that there are much bigger energies moving, and something significant is likely to get your attention. The only thing is, you’ll have to make some room for it, and there is definitely a risk involved.

In the horoscopes that follow, I do my best to map out the psychology for each of the signs, and lure you into your next adventure.

Yours & truly,

Eric Francis

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


Planet Waves

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


Planet Waves Monthly Horoscope — April 2011

Eric’s Zodiac Sign Descriptions

Aries (March 20-April 19)

Aries (March 20-April 19) — Two questions for you: what do you really want to be doing, and what do you think is stopping you from doing it? This is a two-part question. The first involves your volition, your sense of potential and whether you feel like you can make a decision about it. The other involves what you perceive as an obstacle in your way. Let’s handle them one at a time. It looks like you know what you want, and you feel like you’re in a position to create it. Your willpower and sense of drive seem to be at an all-time high. You may even mistrust your own impulses, but you know what you want and it’s true that you’ve waited long enough. Yet you seem to have an idea that some external circumstance is holding you back. It looks like a relationship. Indeed it looks like the usual human paradox of having two different things, a relationship and a life. This comes with the idea that you may not be able to reconcile the two. Yet at a certain point you have to be yourself no matter what you think someone else’s expectations may be; that’s another way of saying you are free not to use that as an excuse. Anyone who loves you loves you as you are. On the deepest level this is not about a relationship at all; it’s about you having the self-respect to live honestly.

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

Taurus (April 19- May 20)

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — You’re coming under a significant bit of psychic pressure, which you may just be feeling as a sense of being pushed, overwhelmed or confused. The astrology says this whole situation is brewing from the inside out; your psychic state, which may involve a good bit of fear and a sense that you’re carrying a lot of baggage, is manifesting as disturbances in the world around you. But you may not be able to parachute directly into all of that. It may be easier to use the external world as a frame of reference for what issues, themes or circumstances to address. Your circumstances present a useful map, and as you give attention to what is calling for healing or evoking fear, you will be able to follow those situations into what I will call root ideas that will help you get an understanding of yourself. One thing you can study is the nature of fear. Note that you may be prone to spikes of anxiety or even panic attacks over the next few weeks. They may seem to have ‘no cause’ or you may attach them to certain individuals in your life. Be mindful about noticing what you project onto whom (i.e., assuming someone dislikes you or is untrustworthy) — and then notice what the truth turns out to be. Then go deeper and figure out why you perceived what you did in the first place. There is a reason, and you can work it out.

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

Gemini (May 20- June 21)

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — You may seem to be moving against the current of so much that’s happening around you, but you can trust that this is your role in the great journey of life. I suggest you not worry if you’re being contrary, or if you think people perceive you as being so. Part of what you must do is lay an energetic foundation for your own individual will, and for your perception of the world, regardless of what others think. This is not done merely by making up your mind about it; there is an experience factor that’s necessary. And there is a confidence factor. They are all related. As you go through this journey you may encounter pockets of self-doubt, despite your considerable knowledge and awareness. One not-so-small issue is that we are rarely taught how to actually handle peer pressure, a force that is responsible for all kinds of sorrow. We see examples of this all over the place, from the most trivial issues to some of the most important global issues to who refuses to get in a car with a drunk driver because of what others might think. Therefore if you find yourself learning how to be autonomous of mind, if you find yourself engaged in a struggle to honor your own ideas, you can trust that this is one of the most significant growth experiences that we can have on Earth. Whether you turn out to be right or wrong, you will get the same benefits.

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

Cancer (June 21- July 22)

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — There is no stopping you — unless you have some idea that something is wrong. This is the time in your life to discern fear from an actual practical concern. Remember that, and remember that what you want is what you’re most likely to get. It’s true that you often live with a seeming conflict between the ambitious aspect of your nature and your more laid-back, compassionate quality. Now is the time to go into active mode and set out to achieve what you know it’s time for you to do. Allow your empathy to become passion. Allow your doubt to inform you how confident you really are. Notice the indiscriminate nature of fear and how it rarely seems to offer you anything vaguely useful. Keep listening and you will hear plenty of information that you’re ‘not supposed to know’ or that ‘was there all along’. The reason you’re getting this information is to use it, not to worry about it. Meanwhile, your primary mission is to know what you want, and to connect that desire to decisions. If you ever get to the point where you think you’re acting ‘too fast’, pause and reflect how long you’ve actually been plotting and scheming. Consider how much experience you have. You may be in new circumstances but you’re actually not new at any of this. The value of experience is applying established knowledge in a creative way to new creative challenges.

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

Leo (July 22- Aug. 23)

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — Belief is a simpler matter than most people make it out to be, but in the grand illusion, it’s fairly complex. It seems to work in layers, which can contain different beliefs, some of which seem to be ‘hidden’. Those seemingly hidden beliefs can seem to work against our prevailing beliefs. I suggest paying attention to what I will call the ‘but factor’ in your inner dialog or decision process. That would go something like, ‘this is true but’, or ‘I could live with that, except’ and so on. Look for the exception to the rule that seems to negate what you know to be true. This is functioning like a kind of censor. In order to make basic progress, to be happy and to live in a direct way, it will help a lot if you are clear about what is true for you. Any exceptions that arise tend to be the kinds of elements that make you doubt yourself, which as you know is painful. I suggest you listen to those voices of doubt and self-questioning and see if you can identify them. Whose voice is speaking inside you? Also, I have a clue from your astrology that each whispering of doubt will contain a goal or idea that will be helpful to claim. The affirmative is right below the negative. If you listen to and acknowledge the question or diversion your mind throws to you, you will find it much easier to tap into the creative idea right below.

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

Virgo (Aug. 23- Sep. 22)

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Agreements and contracts are the obvious theme of your life right now, but the deeper question involves how you morph yourself to adapt to each of them. In other words, you tend to ‘become a different person’ depending on the commitment you’ve made or the expectation of the relationship. It’s as if you customize yourself for the situation. But that’s really one of the things that wears on your energy the most, and makes your relationships the most challenging. One thing I suggest you confront is your fear of upsetting the apple cart of a relationship or agreement by being who you are. This is a psychological level that’s rooted in a deeper emotional level. You can also go through your current agreements and see if they contain any commitments to others that you won’t be yourself. It may take some courage but you can inform people that it’s well and good that you made that commitment, but it contains an unsustainable compromise that you’ll need to adjust for everyone’s wellbeing. And as you make new commitments and agreements, assess them all on the basis of whether you are able to fulfill them in integrity. This is another way of saying don’t make any promises you don’t think you can keep, or that would cause you to make unhealthy adjustments in your patterns of existence. What is good for you is good for everyone — in that order.

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

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

 

Libra (Sep. 22 - Oct. 23)

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — I suggest you politely sidestep any dramas that arise in your personal life, particularly if they don’t directly involve you. Someone close to you appears to be going through some rapid changes, and instead of becoming overly invested in whatever is happening the whole situation would be better supported if you did something like keep hot food on the stove. That said, there may be something deeply personally relevant, such as a new meeting or a current relationship taking a kind of quantum leap. You may discover how you really feel about someone, which of course you already knew, but now seem like you might act on suddenly — or that you might respond to in light of someone else making their feelings known to you. I suggest you put the whole situation in slow mode. By slow I don’t mean years, I mean weeks or maybe a month. You’re going to learn a lot about the people in your life in the coming season. You’re getting this information so that you may use it and benefit from it. I suggest you really, truly listen to what people say to you. They might say things that they don’t notice but which you really need to hear. That will clue you into the level beneath appearances. Listen to what people say about their plans and their intentions. Look at the choices they make. Then once you have all the data, make your own decisions.

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

Scorpio (Oct. 23- Nov. 22)

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — Easy does it, critter. You’re feeling lots of ‘pick up and go’ right now but I suggest you pace yourself. Set concrete goals and be happy with making some progress toward them every day rather than achieving all of them simultaneously. This is a matter of health and sanity. Yes you have a lot of energy at the moment, however, you’re also running the risk of burning out if you run your psychic engines too hot. What you’re experiencing is the beginning of an extended phase marked by an increase of your mental energy level. Take some time and get accustomed to your new mental environment. Listen for ideas. If you direct your strength in the direction of mental focus and creativity, you will harness that energy a lot better than by overdoing the action piece. At the very least, a good bit of contemplation needs to precede action, and I suggest you do little test excursions to de-bug your plan. I suggest you be mindful of the opinions of others; don’t take what they say so seriously, but listen just in case they’re telling you something useful. Mainly, though, listen to yourself: to that quiet voice telling you everything you need to know. Pay attention when you get a signal that you’re overdoing it. If you keep some mind-body balance, you will be at your most brilliant, and that is saying a lot.

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

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 - Dec. 22)

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — An old friend named Marion once told me: there are no mistakes in drumming. He was a really fantastic drummer, and that gave his idea credibility. Not only are there no mistakes in your creative process, what you think of as a mistake is a kind of deviation that might guide you someplace truly interesting. At some moments this will seem like a straightforward process. At others it might seem circuitous. Where others come into the picture you have to be a little more careful, and it’s pretty clear that someone is involved in your creative process, possibly as a lover or muse. There’s an element of mischief — such as someone knocking on your door when they know you’re busy, seducing you at an inopportune moment (even if only to the movies) and generally provoking your child self to be fully present. If I had to call the theme of the next month, that would be it — paying full attention to the little kid you know you are inside. Like all kids, yours needs some adult supervision, but you can do that in a way that is specifically not parental — more like an uncle, aunt or older cousin. Listen to the brilliant things that little kid comes out with intuitively. Make sure you take some time and play. This child is someone you’re always wanting to make contact with and now you have a chance to explore. Just remember, there are no mistakes in drumming.

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

Capricorn (Dec. 22- Jan. 20)

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — You may feel a need to simplify your life. The question is, what part do you work on first? Well, the one that feels the most complex, of course; any aspect of existence that overwhelms you even a little. You may have the sensation that there’s something going on in a room next to the one your mind normally occupies. You’ve tried to get in through the secret entrance behind the bookshelf, but you can’t find it. Who are the voices in that room? Listen carefully — you might notice that they’re the voices of your ancestors. It’s like you’ve got a house full of them but they’re off to the side in that space you cannot access. No, you’re not going crazy — but they might drive you nuts after a while. The question you may be facing is, how do you exorcise these ghosts of the past? And how do you know they’re there if you can’t perceive them? I suggest you look for some changes in your mental or emotional system, such as an energy drain, a symptom of some kind, or a challenge you cannot explain. Here is an analogy: Let’s say you start to notice that the lights in your house are dimming, as if someone is turning on a big appliance. But it’s the middle of the night, and nobody else is awake. Because you perceive an effect, you might then use logic and discern that there’s a cause.

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

Aquarius (Jan. 20- Feb. 19)

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — I suggest you take some time and explore what you think is possible. I mean this in the biggest sense. What is actually possible? You might say ‘anything’ but that probably won’t be such a helpful answer; be specific. Right now there seems to be some tension brewing between what you think is possible and what is possible. Now, since they both mean approximately the same thing, the distinction may be difficult to discern, but if you look you’ll see what I’m hinting at. It’s like there are these two worlds of potential, one where something can manifest and another where you fear that it cannot. This reveals something about your psychic structure, and how you process experience. In particular you’re learning about how you go from potential to manifestation. You now have two things in sight. One is your own bursting creative potential. The other is a belief that there’s some odd limit, as if external to yourself, that blocks that potential. I assure you that it does not; but the idea that it might could have a way of becoming a hindrance. So that idea is the thing to keep an eye on; see if you can figure out not just what it says, but who is saying it. This is a message from your past, and if you listen carefully it will be in a voice that you recognize. Then you get to consciously accept or reject that idea and that voice.

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

Pisces (Feb. 19- March 20)

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — You’re starting to figure out that your self-worth comes from you and you only — that’s why it’s called what it is. I gather you’re wrapping your mind and your emotions around the extent to which you’ve projected your lack of self-worth onto others, that is, into relationship environments. These are the situations where, for example, you decided that you were unworthy because you had the idea someone else thought you were. I tell you, I’ve noticed how mean and catty people can be, and it takes discernment to figure out that it’s not about you, it’s about them. This month, the contrast is going to be rather stark. You will get to discover what it’s like to have something approaching authentic confidence and to have the insecurities of others be entirely transparent. This is your chance to claim back nearly all of the inner territory you lost in this push-and-pull struggle that has gone on since childhood. It is true that to brush off the insensitivity of another person you might need to be insensitive for a moment, and that is precisely the point: you actually feel it when people are even a little mean to you, even if it’s inadvertent. Now you can consciously direct your sensitivity toward those who admit to feeling you. Show yourself to those who see you. Take conscious nourishment from the sentiments of those who respect you. All of these things are choices that, as you exercise them, will become ever stronger.

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

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

The Most Wanted Man in the World

Dear Planet Waves Reader:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Top-Secret Chart Reveals a Real-Life Revolutionary

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eruption of Self-Awareness: Chiron and Eris

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

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

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

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

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

Saturn Opposite Neptune: The Shapeshifter

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

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

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

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

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

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

Logos and Atlantis: The Word Abused, and Revealed

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

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

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

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

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

Yours & truly,

Eric Francis

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

 

And for our next act…the Sagittarius New Moon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Planet Waves

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

Aries (March 20-April 19)
You have seen the power of negotiation, and you’ve seen what happens when you disregard certain communication protocols. Yet your quest is to be a sincere person, and you may be reviled by the notion that you have to be two-faced as a means of social lubrication. Circumstances of your life, particularly of your professional life, are calling on you to be direct and to take authority. I would suggest the following: be direct with yourself first. If you know the lay of the land, and have a sense of who is playing what game, you will feel less defensive; that means you’ll be more receptive to information. Second, you don’t actually have to say much. One technique is to ask people what they know rather than telling them what you know. You will learn something along the way, people you’re working with will have the sense that you’re listening, and then you will be in a better position to have your knowledge be your point of authority. So gather your information, assemble the pieces and make sure you use your power judiciously.
Aries Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

 

Taurus (April 19- May 20)
Be aware of a tendency to think that your faith rules the world. It may rule your world, and that would be enough, though I suggest you back away from any possibility of being an evangelist. Faith teaches in silence, through actions and through the passage of time. Your mere awareness of something is an influence. The thoughts you think have potency beyond what you have ever imagined. This is particularly true for how they influence your own state of mind, emotions and sense of the future. Obsession is not certainty, though you may be riveted on a particular subject that you cannot let go of. That represents energy, and it may represent ideas, and an appropriate and useful response is to focus your mind in a creative and constructive way. Remember that you cannot control the future, but you can certainly influence it. One gift of the present moment is that you have enough experience to not make the same mistakes again, particularly in a relationship.
Taurus Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.
Gemini (May 20- June 21)
You may feel like you’re in over your head with a situation that, at the moment, seems to have total power over your life. It may be a sexual obsession, it may be a fear that you have no choice but to encounter, or it may be coming to the realization that someone has tremendous influence over you. I suggest you think of the situation in terms of an agreement or a contract. This will be a way of processing your emotions through a rational filter. What have you actually agreed to? What has someone else committed to? And how does the current situation reflect these facts? You may determine that the facts and your emotional state have no apparent relationship; that your intensity is not grounded in reality. No matter how powerful someone may seem, or a situation may appear to be, the person you need to negotiate your freedom with is yourself.
Gemini Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

 

Cancer (June 21- July 22)
You have boundless energy at your disposal, and it’s yours to direct toward healing, productivity or pleasure. The three have more in common than you may realize; anything that nourishes one of these concepts in truth feeds all three. We’re trained to think that anything meaningful has to be done in a big way; that at any moment of decision, you must ‘figure out what to do with the rest of your life’. What you do these weeks may indeed influence the rest of your life, and it may resolve something you’ve carried around for a long time. Yet the way that will happen is a supreme focus on the present moment. What you want is a state of wellbeing now, rather than something deferred to the future. That is nothing more or less than being present in your experience. It’s about recognizing that your whole life has led to this moment, and that this moment is the portal to your future. Stand in that doorway and feel the energy move through you and around you.

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

Leo (July 22- Aug. 23)
This weekend’s New Moon in your fellow fire sign Sagittarius is designed to open up your sense of what is possible, if you apply your creativity. I suggest you let your curiosity lead the way to direct experience, rather than theory. You do not need to exert much in the way of effort, or think of this as requiring anything special; curiosity is powerful and it’s inherently creative. Remember that all creative energy is connected to sexual energy. I recognize that not everyone ‘agrees’ with this, but for evidence I would merely point to existence itself. A little of this energy can go a long way; the small choices you make now have an extra potent ability to help you create your life, experimenting and experiencing and feeling your way through existence. I suggest you keep in mind what it is you want to create; hold a vision for yourself and the life that you want.

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

Virgo (Aug. 23- Sep. 22)
Subtle adjustments you make to your emotional patterning may result in significant progress toward healing. We typically want to ‘fix everything’ about ourselves, without recognizing that patterns develop and evolve over time; the most meaningful part of the process is initiating them and gradually maintaining them into existence. This is particularly meaningful where improving your health and wellbeing are concerned. For you that comes down to courting an inner sense of safety. I recognize that we are under the constant influence to not feel safe. We are given reasons to feel threatened nearly all the time. It would help if you removed those external influences, so that this way you can tune into the ones in your mind: those messages are the ones you need to respond to specifically by wanting something else, something better; a safe place within your own thoughts.

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

Libra (Sep. 22 - Oct. 23)
Consider yourself on the verge of a decision, which involves whether you will embrace yourself fully; whether you will give (to yourself) or withhold (from yourself) the love that you seek. This is the question that lurks inside the drama of what we call love. Here, the phrasing is clear and the choice is simple: and it depends on no other person. I recognize this presents a kind of metaphysical problem. If ‘how we feel about ourselves creates our experience of relationships’, does that mean we control them? Obviously not: there are other options. When we resonate with ourselves in a way that is true or loving, we create a resonance field, and we draw or repel appropriate people. The message of the current charts is simple — how you feel about yourself is the most significant metric of how you will experience existence. And you have reason to feel good; you’ve been practicing.

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

Scorpio (Oct. 23- Nov. 22)
Gender and sex (as in the many forms of interplay of male and female, inner and outer) are fascinating, beautiful things to explore and play with, don’t you agree? There are so many shades and hues of attraction, empathy and simpatico; so many gradations of distaste and repulsion. With Venus now back in your sign after the recent retrograde phase, you have a strong emotional magnet pulling you inward toward a mysterious other within yourself. The world is rampant with drama of ‘the other’ being an external. It has an all-consuming quality, at the same time there are a diversity of taboos on taking that whole discussion to an inner plane. There is a force of nature that exists within yourself, and it has some quality of being your polar opposite; in truth it is what you seek in others, that has so often been the source of so much drama — and that aspect of you is now making itself known.

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

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 - Dec. 22)
It’s time to have full confidence in your talent. There comes a time when, after years of development, you take the leap into the truth of that notion. You know that what you create is fully worthy of existence in the universe. You are witness to its independent life beyond you, and I believe that deep down you are confident that it will support you economically. I would emphasize that these are recognitions now available on the emotional rather than the intellectual level — things that work better when you feel them. It is one thing to know them in your mind; it’s another to feel the truth in your body, something akin to balancing on a bicycle. Remember, on a bicycle you can go nearly anywhere, but not everywhere at once.

Sagittarius audio coming soon!

Capricorn (Dec. 22- Jan. 20)
So much of what you want seems to depend on others — and so much of your experience the past year or two has been about learning how to depend on yourself. You might think of what you’re learning as a form of autonomy. That is true, to a point; for as long as we need someone to change the oil on our car, we’re not really autonomous. But what you are acquiring is sufficient independence to explore interdependence. That is different than codependency, which is an unhealthy overreliance on the other. The associations you’re cultivating at this time will form the basis of community based on actual mutual interests and common ground. There is the potential for creating something far greater than the sum of the parts; human alchemy of the first order, for which you are a catalyst.

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

Aquarius (Jan. 20- Feb. 19)
You have plenty to celebrate. It’s true that you also have your moments of fear and doubt, and I can empathize if you feel that your shadow runs a little deeper and darker than some others you know. That means your light will shine equally bright and moreover, that you are moving steadily along the path to fully integrating the many facets of who you are. But setting your spiritual psychology aside, I can tell you this. You are in a remarkable moment for making your existence known, and for influencing your community (and that may include community of interest, circle of friends or something similar). Though I’m not sure what you do with your life, I can offer you this — you are onto something significant, and some idea that has the power to shape your world, if not the world. Speak clearly rather than loudly. Don’t worry about the ‘ultimate effect’ of what you put out. Simply trust.

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

Pisces (Feb. 19- March 20)
This is a moment filled with great potential for you, in the aspect of life that some call ‘career’. I prefer to use other concepts — such as expressing your life purpose, making your way in the world, and shining in your chosen field. But let’s keep cause and effect in the right order; that’s the mission of any true seeker. It is who you are that is doing the expressing, making your way or shining your light. There is no ‘thing’ you are after, and you are existing and growing rather than careering. Existence as you are experiencing it now is a process of original invention. You are becoming something new every day and indeed moment. This is unnerving for some, who need a reference point to the past in order to feel secure. You have no need for such a pretense; this moment is offering you everything — but it’s an intense, potent and moreover rare moment. Be mindful. Be present. Be real, and gently so.
Pisces Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.