Dear Friend and Reader:

Consider the current astrology for a moment — Mercury retrograde, one eclipse just passed and another on the horizon, and today’s Mars-Pholus-Ixion conjunction (free registration necessary to view that link).

This is a thick brew, which is having a diversity of expressions — whether feeling mired, frustrated, volatile or like change is absolutely necessary but wondering how, exactly, to go about it.

I think that for the duration of Mercury retrograde (which ends Oct. 25), the message of the planets is to go deeper. We are in a time to understand the need for change and to prepare for change, rather than to plunge ahead.

This takes patience, but something more. What is necessary is going deep. And in addition, going closer to the root of resistance to change. What is not often said is that improvement is change, and that to improve our lives it’s necessary to let go of resistance to change.

It’s easy to look out at the world and say, “Oh, that has to change! Then the world will get better. It could be so simple.” Now for a reality check, focus closer to home and consider the challenges you face when you strive to make any minor changes or improvements at all, or if you want to shift even the simplest pattern.

Consider how, when the local deli moves the magazine rack, someone might say, “I don’t handle change so well.” Clearly if we want improvement, we’re going to need to get accustomed to change — and one change leads to another.

One thing I don’t talk about much is the Age of Aquarius. It takes a little energy to cut through the misunderstanding about what this is. It is not, unfortunately, a groovy era with a fantastic bass line going all the time.

Water web. Photo by Eric Francis.

We are clearly entering the Age of Aquarius based on two key pieces of evidence: one is the overwhelming presence of technology — to which we are intermingled with something verging on a clairvoyant blood-bond. This situation has crept up on us, and it’s going largely unnoticed as people queue up for the iPhone 6.

The other is how everything we touch seems to crystallize into a pattern that’s nearly impossible to change — one’s schedule, for example.

Think of how challenging it is to schedule lunch with two other people. You practically need a computer program to handle all the variables, and come up with the correct answer of 10:30 pm on June 31, 2015.

So as we swim around in the thick brew of our current weather pattern, remember the background. Remember the way that patterns settle in, and what it takes to get out of them (usually a shock, jolt, mishap or disaster — that is, something involuntary). Consider whether that’s really progress, or what Patric Walker used to call “enforced changes.”

Something to think about — and I’ll continue the discussion on tonight’s edition of Planet Waves FM, which these days posts at about 6 pm ET. I will be looking at the chart and the music of Paul Simon, taking up the connection between ebola and rattlesnakes (through the eyes of homeopathy), and of course going over the current astrology.

While we’re on the subject of audio, the rescheduled Virgo birthday conversation is 7 pm ET Wednesday, Oct. 15. If you have purchased that report or hold an All Access Pass, please check your email today and tomorrow.

Meeting area, Planet Waves FM studio. Photo by Eric Francis.

There will be a Core Community edition of Planet Waves FM on the eve of the solar eclipse in Scorpio. All subscribers will be invited — so check your email for that announcement. That event is scheduled for 7 pm ET on Wednesday, Oct. 22. These are brilliantly fun, mind-opening events where you can hear from, and speak to, others in the Planet Waves community.

Speaking of Core Community, upgrades are still cheap. In one gesture, you can extend your subscription, convert to the new website and receive a number of useful services — SMS messages, direct email of my astrology diaries, Core Community meetings, The Oracle and other helpful, meaningful ways to connect with astrology.

We’ve been so busy that we have not had time to properly promote the Libra birthday reading, which is a work of astrological art, so it’s still available at the pre-order price. You don’t need to wonder how a recorded reading could possibly be meaningful to you as an individual — just give it a listen, and feel the possibilities open.

I think that’s it for now. I will see you over at Planet Waves FM.

With love,

Planet Waves (ISSN 1933-9135) is published each Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon in Kingston, New York by Planet Waves, Inc. Annual basic subscription rate: $99/year. Core community membership: $199/year. Editor and Publisher: Eric Francis Coppolino. Business Manager: Chelsea Bottinelli. Web Developer: Anatoly Ryzhenko. Astrology Editor: Amanda Painter. Copy Editor: Jessica Keet. Research, Writing and Editing: Planet Waves is produced by a team consisting of Fe Bongolan, Brendan Merritt, Amy Elliott, Judith Gayle, Kelly Janes, Amanda Moreno, Casey Smith, Carol van Strum, Len Wallick, Lizanne Webb and Chad Woodward.