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Planet Waves
In this week's Planet Waves TV [play video here], I cover the Leo New Moon, which happens Tuesday. Mars changes signs two hours before, entering Sagittarius: we now get the spiritual side of the sexual equation revealing its true purpose. I look at the chart in three different formats: the New Moon and major aspects, the asteroids, and the centaur planets. View the New Moon charts here and here.


Mars and New Moon: Be Real, Be Bold

Dear Friend and Reader:

This week is shaped astrologically by several events; the main ones being the New Moon in Leo, which is aspected by centaurs Chiron and Pholus, and Mars re-entering Sagittarius following its retrograde phase. Both take place Tuesday, just a few hours apart; this might precipitate a sense of cramming, which would be decidedly reflective of our times.

Planet Waves
Photo by Roy Luck.
Leo is known for its association with creative works, leadership and a sunshiny benevolence. The astrology of this year's Leo New Moon seems to work with these ideas, but at a deeper level.

That is, you may wish to consider your desired contribution to the world, and the steps involved in getting there, in the context of what you and your generation intend to leave to the next.

You could benefit from checking in with your younger self, and earlier dreams and aspirations; if some of these ideas still speak to you, how might you begin putting them into practice? What kind of occupation would represent the purest (as in most sincere) expression of yourself? Of course, practicalities must and will intrude at some stage; but you still need an idea or theory to begin with.

Eric suggested that Mars ingressing Sagittarius involves a "be real" moment, and discerning between true spirituality and bullshit. I would include in that: if you're feeling anything approximating relief now that Mars' sojourn in Scorpio is over, be careful not to throw away the lessons of that period. They're significant and substantive. It's crucial that you remain connected with yourself and your body, rather than floating away into cyber-somnolism, which is really a kind of denial.

As Neale Donald Walsch put it, "Life begins at the end of your comfort zone." I think it's safe to say that innovation and real growth begin there, too. If you keep that edge in sight this week, you could take some important forward strides.

With best wishes,
Planet Waves
Amy Elliott
Planet Waves Client Services



Planet Waves
Photo by NASA GSFC.
Love reading your work. It is always to the point and seems to be just what I need to hear at the time. Thank you. -- Helen Hamada

BALANCE, the 2016 Midyear Reading by Eric Francis, is available for pre-order. Focusing on Jupiter in Libra and other astrological phenomena that stretch well into 2017, this new 12-sign reading will help you counteract the chaos of the internet age and restore your personal equilibrium.

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Monday Morning Horoscope for Aug. 1, 2016 | By Eric Francis Coppolino
Aries
Aries (March 20-April 19) -- Mars, the Aries planet, is finally set to move out of Scorpio, into Sagittarius. This is one of the closing chapters in a long story of self-discovery for you; you're now moving on to new adventures. You may feel a sudden burst of liberation, or like you pulled in your landing gear in preparation for cruising altitude. For you this may be like those moments when you're at the end of a relationship and finally decide that it's time to be free; only this may be about any number of commitments, entanglements or contracts that you're ready to move beyond. When you get this feeling, I suggest you face toward the future immediately. You don't have to rush anywhere or into anything new, though once you sense that you've got some freedom from the past it's wise to place your emphasis elsewhere. And there's certainly plenty of adventure in the air.

Taurus
Taurus (April 19-May 20) -- Commitment is an option, otherwise the concept is meaningless. Sometimes involvement with a person is more interesting and easier to roll with if you have your choices open, or if you remind yourself that you're able to choose. Even better, if you notice that you are indeed doing so, you can feel the strength in your ongoing decision, knowing it's the right thing for you. When you get to that point, you can discover the freedom that exists within a commitment -- the space you have to explore, how it feels to get to know someone, and the awareness that you have another encounter coming. Yet this here-and-now awareness can remind you how delicate every situation is, and how little you can take for granted. The ability to appreciate every moment is indeed a gift; and based on what you've learned lately, it's one that you value dearly.

Gemini
Gemini (May 20-June 21) -- At a certain point you have to come out of your comfort zone, and it would seem as if a relationship partner or potential interest is guiding you to do just that. If someone seems to be confronting you, ease back and take it not as an offense, but as a friendly challenge. Work with the idea that it's up to you to offer people the space to be themselves. You do plenty of changing and choosing; you know that the people you truly call friends are the ones who give you the widest berth to be yourself. If you extend that truly loving courtesy of affirmation to others, you will discover the corresponding reward of how good it feels to offer freedom as well as to have it for yourself. They are so similar as to be the same thing. And it would seem that in this situation, the feeling is mutual.

Cancer
Cancer (June 21-July 22) -- Sometimes when you have a concern about money it helps to drill right in and tackle the subject specifically. Other times it helps to work on other, related issues. It would seem that the financial part of your life will take care of itself if you keep everything else moving, and in balance. Such as your ideas, for example, and your work flow, and your ongoing plan of taking better care of yourself. By now you already know the benefit of honoring sex as a means to wellbeing, with the approximate value of oxygen; keep reminding yourself about that and take every wholesome opportunity you get to share and explore. As you do, feel your sense of flow and movement develop and deepen. If you catch the hint that you're in the right place at the right time, pause, slow down, and appreciate that fully. One good thing leads to the next.

"What an amazing reading! I do believe that Eric upped the ante on his reading skills." -- Dee McCrorey

Planet Waves
"Stripes" by Gwenn Seemel.
Actively creating one's life can be challenging. If you or anyone you love with a Leo Sun, Leo rising or a Leo Moon could use a nudge in the right direction -- or some deeper insights into current questions -- please consider giving them (or yourself) the 2016-17 Leo Birthday Reading as a gift.

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Leo
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) -- This week's New Moon in your sign will unlock many doors for you, though you won't know which they are unless you turn the knob and try to get in. The perfect collaboration between you and the universe involves opportunities that are activated -- that is, turned on and made real -- by your curiosity and motivation. These are 'use it or lose it' tickets to the future. With Mars about to move in your favor, you should have plenty of ideas and moxie. The question is: will you persist through any resistance or challenging patches along the way to what you want to do? I suggest you promise yourself, now, that you're not going to give up the first time you feel blocked or come to a rough patch. That's built into this particular equation, and it would seem that the great reward of this phase of your journey is learning how to keep your momentum running on any terrain.

Virgo
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) -- You already know the seeming power of self-doubt to get in your way. Yet you either keep your power or you give it away. You can choose what voice to listen to; you decide what viewpoint has credibility. It's essential that you learn how to let fear and anger motivate you rather than shut you down. There's something you may be really good at, which is standing apart from past influences and the things your family said about you that were clearly not true. And if those things were false, then something else must be true. It's up to you to figure out what is genuinely your own: what personal gifts, what talents, what interests and most of all what purpose. The thing with purpose is you cannot push it, or push yourself there. It's necessary to listen to an inner voice that you may usually strain to hear, though it is likely speaking to you clearly right now.

Libra
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) -- Your social charms remain at a near peak level, and you're likely to find yourself not just out among people but having fun doing so. You might not claim to like being the focus of attention, though these weeks are an exception. You're probably the most entertaining person in the room, so you may as well enjoy that fact. I don't mean dancing on the table, but rather something subtler that you offer. It's as if you're transmitting on two levels -- the physical level and empathy. People want to be around you because of something they feel from you, something that you offer them. You might think of it as a healing gift or a reassuring quality that you offer with your presence. Given that, you don't really need to say or do much.

Scorpio
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) -- Mars is about to leave your sign, after being with you for months. Have you learned to state, in plain and simple terms, what you want? If nothing else, that would be a fitting legacy of your experience. Yet on a deeper level, the theme has been learning to let go of aggression against yourself in the form of self-judgment, resentment or guilt in any form. These are deeply ingrained patterns and they're not usually transcended easily. Yet the moment you become aware you're feeling one of them, notice how you can just stop yourself. The more you practice this, the easier it will be. Remember that these strange emotions serve to undermine your self-confidence, and if you focus on that you'll have an added edge. You need and depend on your confidence, and you're likely to have plenty of it at the moment.

Sagittarius
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) -- If you've been asking yourself deep questions the past couple of months, or struggling to figure out something about yourself, you're now ready for answers. Yet with self-knowledge of any form, it's wise never to think you've 'figured yourself out' and leave it there. What you learn about yourself must be treated gently, and it's best to leave your mind in flexible condition rather than being rigid or right. You may not recognize the extent to which you think you're easygoing and yet are in truth obsessed with the details and even with total control. This is a reflection of how you treat yourself. Remember that everything about you is a work in progress, even your greatest talents and areas of personal mastery. If you feel yourself pushing against something, perhaps it's the feeling that you've arrived, which now needs to give way to a new level of your personal adventure.

Capricorn
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) -- You need to be more honest about the influence of fear in your life. It has a significant role, though the more you acknowledge that fact, the more you will diminish the power it seems to have over you. The truth is that there's a lot to be scared of in the world; however, relatively little of it happens to anyone. Fear is best understood as a thing of the imagination. It's creative energy that's been turned on itself. I recognize it may not seem that way, though the mind really only has one kind of energy, and that is creative. It's up to you to use this human gift on your own behalf. This is akin to using a power tool consciously and carefully, or unconsciously. The first step is listening to yourself rather than trying to drown anything out. You want to let the pressure off rather than keeping it contained.

Aquarius
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -- It's often necessary to ruffle some feathers or make a pest of yourself to get things done. You have, however, been involved in a kind of cosmic leadership instruction program designed to help you be persistent but less irritating. One of the most helpful methods of doing this is being aware of who you are before you set out to accomplish something. This removes the need for conflict as a path to self-knowledge, from that particular situation. Said another way, your confidence in yourself and in your mission inherently reduces the conflict factor. Think of how insecurity leads you to assert yourself beyond what is necessary. You might not think it's possible to put confidence as the first item on your to-do list, though that's what your charts suggest would work, and is possible. You know who you are well enough never to have to argue the point.

Pisces
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) -- You are ready to take on a goal that you had to set aside because you didn't have the energy or the cooperation. Now you have both. Of the two I suggest you rely on cooperation first. A partnership or collaboration that has been on/off at different times now seems to have matured to the degree where you can get results. This may involve several people, and you're likely to have additional decisions to make. In order to work with people, you must emphasize communication, which means understanding where people are coming from. Listen to what they say and track their behavior. Where the two seem to conflict will give you the clues that you need. If you find yourself getting defensive about anything, slow down the movie and make an inquiry. What you're looking for is not just peace and harmony but rather those who can share a commitment to accomplishing something useful and beautiful.



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