Coming Soon: Planet Waves Mercury Retrograde Report

Dear Friend and Reader:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lovingly,

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




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

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

Aries (March 20-April 19) -- If you have the impulse to help someone, make sure your resulting gesture is actually going to be helpful -- in advance. Perhaps go one step deeper and question your motives, and your perception that anyone in particular needs your assistance. If those checks tell you to proceed, I suggest you then call the person up and ask if there is some way you can help, rather than just taking it upon yourself to do so. Meanwhile the focus of your life really needs to be you right now. You're entering a phase ideal for inner questioning, and seem to be seeking the resolution and completion of certain stories that have gone on seemingly forever. Your first impulse to cut yourself off from the past may be followed by the recognition that you have yet to do precisely that, but remember what you're seeking is not 'cutting off' but rather emotional closure. Aries, your birth sign or rising sign, is getting some of the most potent transits of them all right now. I've recorded an hour of astrology and a tarot card reading for you. Learn more by visiting this page.
Taurus (April 19-May 20) -- Pay attention to the conditions at the beginning of any story or circumstance to get a sense of how it's likely to work out. Pay attention to the presence of unresolved material from the last cycle, because it's likely to be carried over into the next one. Aspects of yourself that you think of as inherent or unable to change are the ones that are caught on this treadmill. It can, at first, take an enormous amount of will power (conscious intention, followed up by action, with the results reinvested in intention) to get out of a cycle wherein history repeats itself. But there is something else at work. It's about belief. Usually, belief is an unconscious process; the decision to accept something as true or not is rarely preceded by actual thought and contemplation. I suggest you watch this process in action -- particularly when it comes to what you believe about yourself. It's not all true. I've recorded an hour of astrology and done a tarot reading especially for you. It's information that will help with your relationships, your professional life and your personal growth. Visit this page to find out more.
Gemini (May 20-June 21) -- You seem to be focused on the distant past. I suggest you sort out the difference between your opinion of things, and how you feel about them. Your mind seems to be overrunning your emotions, and your emotions are trying to come to the surface. One way to work with this is to set aside your opinions and stick to the basic facts of any situation. Given that certain key parts of this scenario are related to the history of your life, and the history of your family, that may take some research, though that will serve a few purposes. One will be to correct any misconceptions you may have; incorrect facts have a way of leading to frustrating or useless opinions. Second, you'll get a chance to be a bit more detached about your situation, which will allow your perceptions some space to take in the nature of reality. Remember, the 'nature of reality' is best explored as an experiment in perception. You don't need to come to any conclusions; anyway I don't think they will help you, because what you'll benefit from most is an open mind. Gemini is one of the most misunderstood signs -- and as someone born under this sign, part of your role is to hold a mirror to the world. I've recorded an hour of audio for you, plus a 20 minute tarot reading. You can get access to these by visiting this page.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) -- There are two really good ways to work with money. One is to treat it as a science. The flow of wealth has certain properties that are rather unrelated to what you may have been brainwashed with as a kid. Careful study of people, of how they conduct transactions, and where you fit into the equation will tell you a lot. The second way is to treat money as energy, which can flow or get stuck. You can have a lot of energy, and it can get hung up; you can have relatively little and it can flow nicely and you feel successful. Yet the thing that will prevail over both is how you feel about yourself. This is the one essential thing that will have a way of dictating all the terms of your existence. No matter what else you may feel, believe or be up to, how you feel about yourself is both cause and effect; origin, journey and destination. Question your judgments. Embrace and share your gifts. Hello Cancerians! Your birthday report is ready. It's more than an hour of astrology plus a 20 minute tarot reading. Please visit this page for more details.
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) -- This weekend's New Moon in your birth sign is the harbinger of great beginnings. I suggest you take the long view, however, and not let any questions or doubts get in your way. Keep them on your shelf, where you can see them, but you don't have to take them down and play with them every 20 minutes. It's true that to 'succeed' means being on the brink of failure; to 'have' is right on the edge of not having. It is this line that so many people fear getting close to, opting instead for the supposedly safe ground of mediocrity. That is not your fate, though the coming few weeks represent a time of re-evaluation of your goals, your plans and more than anything your deeper sense of purpose. You were given the talents that you have; what do you plan to do with them, and more significantly, for what purpose? You are in a time in your life when great things are possible, and perhaps when you're experiencing more truly positive developing than you give yourself credit for. Hello Leo! I'm now working on the birthday report for your sign. Watch this space for additional information.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) -- It is sad but true that most people who pass through our planet don't go much deeper than the surface of who they are. One tradition I respect describes this as "the fear to look within," which emerges from one thing -- the fear of what we think we will discover. Borrowing from Christian terms, we fear that we will find sin. Translating that from Latin, we fear lack of some kind. In modern psychological terms, there are a great many people who are terrified that they are empty inside, and therefore spend their lives existing on the shell of their psyche. There is really only one way to find out the truth, and that is to dive inside. Yes, there can and often are challenges associated with entering unknown inner territory. But much like diving into water, the fear is all in the anticipation. You have recently embarked on some kind of unusual inner journey. Yes, this is real; and so far as I can see, once you pass through the narrow gap of self-judgment, you have nothing to fear. To order Light Bridge, your full-length 2011 reading including written and audio segments for Virgo, please go to this link.
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) -- It is amazing how different your perception of yourself can be from how you're perceived by those around you. I would say that on the whole, most people have a much higher opinion of you than you do of yourself. You might doubt them, but that doesn't mean they're wrong. It also doesn't mean that you can live by allowing your friends to shore up your self-esteem. You can, however, make careful note of what you observe outside you contrasted with what you observe inside you. You can notice the filter through which you're seeing yourself, and through which you are perceiving what others say about you. On a good day, you will simply trust. The notion of whether you're a 'good person' or a 'bad person' is made irrelevant by something, for example, like trusting the love that you feel. That said, if you have anything for which you want to make amends, now would be a great time. Acknowledging where you feel you have fallen short commands something more important than the respect of others: and that is self-respect. To order Light Bridge, your full-length 2011 reading including written and audio segments for Libra, please go to this link.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) -- I strongly suggest you go out of your way to play fair the next few days, and while we're at it, keep that as a goal for the next month. One hint that you may need an ethics check is if you're perceiving differences between yourself and others that are translating into rationales for how you, in turn, might act toward them. The operative device here is rationalization. Listen for moments when you are stating reasons to yourself, which you then build into strategies. Others don't have to be wrong for you to be right, and further, they are entitled to be wrong and you don't have to do anything about it, or even have much to say about it. Part of why this mode is so problematic is because in getting into the 'me vs. them' state of mind, what you're really doing is cutting yourself in half. If you approach the world from a whole state of being, you will see a lot less conflict, and the conflict you do see will mean a lot less. And for you to succeed, nobody has to fail. To order Light Bridge, your full-length 2011 reading including written and audio segments for Scorpio, please go to this link.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) -- The professional move you're contemplating is going to come in three phases, the first of which you seem to have embarked upon this week. Consider this the test phase of a new project or journey. Note carefully your environment, including what influence you seem to have, and what influence you lack. Check carefully the extent to which certain details need attention, and what practical matters fall into place. Then, get ready for a total reassessment of your plan. At this point it does not matter whether you seem to succeed or fail. Stick to your vision, indeed, nourish it and let it nourish you. The relationship between your vision and any particular outcome is like the relationship between the Earth and a tree. The tree is rooted in the earth; it grows from the Earth, but the planet that that supports it, where those roots sink in, is something far greater. Then, let that guide you through the next few phases of your movements. To order Light Bridge, your full-length 2011 reading including written and audio segments for Sagittarius, please go to this link.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) -- You may be feeling a kind of anticipation anxiety, as if something big is about to happen. The way the world is, I would not call you paranoid; the current structure of consciousness is all about something big happening, to which we all respond like criminals when the lights are turned on, then we go back to sleep. In this environment, anticipation anxiety can be a real problem, a kind of lurking psychic sensation that something is about to pop up. I suggest you channel that feeling directly into a creative outlet of some kind. That could be anything from making music to listening to it; express some wholesome indulgence in pleasure; get around some people you love and trust and make food. The kind of fear you may be processing is a lot more poignant if you think you live in a vacuum, and if your creative energy gets bottled up. And it's likely to vanish entirely among trusted friends and when you take part in any form of play or loving communication. To order Light Bridge, your full-length 2011 reading including written and audio segments for Capricorn, please go to this link.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -- You need to figure out a way to vent some pressure. Obviously, make it constructive, though I can tell you from your charts that this is the deep underground kind of pressure, unlikely the kind you can work out with a stroll in the park. I suggest you work your way down to that level gradually, but steadily. This is one of those psychic equations where there is always a little deeper you can go, so I suggest you just move inward toward the direction of any tension you might feel. There comes a moment when the energy you're holding starts to release. Then you can relax into a new layer of yourself and keep going. As you explore and experience, notice how your relationship to existence changes. Notice what happens to your tension level, your anxiety level, and your perception of your problems. Notice how you think others feel about you. Notice, more than anything, changes to your sense of what you think is possible. To order Light Bridge, your full-length 2011 reading including written and audio segments for Aquarius, please go to this link.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) -- Mars is about to enter your sympathetic water sign Cancer. That's another way of saying how much fun you have will be matched by how much fun you think you deserve. While Pisces has a reputation for being hedonistic, I have found that more often the opposite is true: those born under your sign who are obsessed by ethics plunge themselves into service. This may be a defensive reaction of some kind. It may also be a common-sense response to existence in a world that, frankly, needs a lot of help. Anyway, I would propose experimenting with a new kind of common sense, the one about you experiencing some of the pleasure and nourishment you want. The key word here is want rather than need; needs are great, but that concept seems to be a hedge against the guilt typically associated with desire. I'm suggesting you jump over the hedge and go right into the garden. To order Light Bridge, your full-length 2011 reading including written and audio segments for Pisces, please go to this link.