Planet Waves :: Your Monday Morning Horoscope

New York, Sept. 3, 2017 | View as Webpage | Order Your Midyear Reading
Mercury Direct and the Pisces Full Moon

Dear Friend and Reader:

As you enter this week, remember: much in the astrology is signaling that all may not be as it seems, in one way or another. Thankfully, you should not have to wait long for things to begin shaking out and clarifying. Even so, the theme for this week is taking things slowly and methodically -- while keeping your eyes and ears sharp for unexpected but crucial details.

The 2013 Pisces Full Moon; photo by Amanda Painter.

The overall tone is being set by two major events. The first is Mercury stationing direct in late Leo, in the same degree as the Aug. 21 eclipse, on Tuesday at 7:29 am EDT (11:29 UTC).

The other is the Pisces Full Moon conjunct Neptune on Wednesday, exact at 3:03 am EDT (7:03 UTC).

Either of those events would warrant your attention. Together, they indicate the potential for a mix of emotional uncertainty that's building to a peak, combined with mental turbulence or distraction and a changing of gears (or change of direction). You might find that stressful. However, if you're involved in any kind of creative endeavor -- especially if it does not rely on digital technology -- this astrology could be very useful.

The more you can flow with your vision, muse or immediate environment, the easier things will likely be. Any situation where you must work against a metaphorical tide could prove challenging.

You'll want to pick your battles; that might mean waiting a couple/few days to do so. With Mars entering Virgo on Tuesday (at 9:35 UTC), there's another reminder to watch where you throw your energy. You could be very industrious if you remember not to over-focus on inconsequential details.

With the Virgo Sun making its exact opposition to Neptune in Pisces early on Tuesday (about six hours before Mercury stations direct), we get another warning about obsessiveness, as well as the potential for deception or disillusionment. Combined with Mercury stationing, this says you'll want to be circumspect. Don't let anyone pressure you into any kind of agreement or commitment; a few days' grace in making major decisions could be very helpful.

The 2015 Pisces Full Moon; photo by Amanda.

The upside of the Sun opposing Neptune is its potential for tremendous depth of feeling and sensitivity in relationships. The Pisces Moon approaching its conjunction to Neptune will likely increase empathy and understanding for others.

If you tend toward the extremely sensitive side of the spectrum anyway, you'll want to watch your boundaries to guard against the 'energetic sponge' phenomenon, should you encounter negative people or toxic behavior.

This astrology also comes with a warning to keep your consumption of alcohol and drug use on a short leash. With Mercury stationary, don't even think about driving or operating heaving machinery under the influence.

Even though Mercury stations direct almost twenty hours ahead of the Pisces Full Moon, it will still be working out its kinks for a good few days (even a couple weeks) afterwards.

If you can handle your interpersonal communication attentively and sensitively, you should have better luck avoiding misinterpretation as the Full Moon peaks. If you find yourself getting frustrated or antsy, a creative (or even non-chemical escapist) outlet could help to channel the energy; the Virgo-Pisces axis is ideal for that.

Finally, remember that when Mercury stations direct, there's often a moment that Eric refers to as, "the truth comes out." That is, some missing bit of information that you might not have even known you were missing may emerge.

You'll want to be able to notice it for what it is. Given that it may very well relate to something about the Aug. 21 eclipse that's important for you, you'll be glad you were paying attention.

Yours & truly,

Amanda Painter

We've just published In the Shadow of the Moon, the exciting 2017 Midyear Reading by Eric Francis. The video readings for all 12 signs cover the Great American Eclipse of Aug. 21 and well beyond. We'll be increasing the price again soon, so don't hesitate to order your copy here or choose your individual signs here.

Don't forget to take advantage of this special gift: Eric's Daily Horoscope can arrive in your mailbox by 7 am ET, containing great astrological guidance for all 12 signs. You can sign up with our compliments, though we welcome donations.

Your Monthly Horoscopes -- and our Publishing Schedule Notes

Your extended monthly horoscopes for September were published on Thursday, Aug. 24. We published your extended monthly horoscopes for August on Thursday, July 27. Your Moonshine Horoscopes for the Aquarius Full Moon were published on Thursday, Aug. 3. Please note: we normally publish the extended monthly horoscope on the first Friday after the Sun has entered a new sign.

Monday Morning Horoscope for Sept. 4, 2017 | By Eric Francis Coppolino

Aries (March 20-April 19) -- As Mercury changes direction this week, you will be guided to put the emphasis of your life on work-related projects. Yet you'll benefit from leaving the window open to the creative zone of your mind, drawing from the same pool of ideas you would to do your most exciting personal projects. Said another way, to work effectively, the formula is to blend work and play. That means being more daring, and breaking the mold on certain stuck or boring thought patterns. You may encounter a situation where there's a temptation to do things the same old way, though the more you try to do that, the more you will revolt. Your mind may become a kind of incendiary device; these get most of their power not from the explosive itself but from the tightness of the container. When you experience a real idea, you'll know it from the way the walls and windows rattle.

In the Shadow of the Moon, the exciting new 2017 Midyear Reading by Eric Francis, has just been published. Don't miss this essential guide to the forthcoming Great American Eclipse. Order all 12 signs here (recommended), or choose your individual signs.

Taurus (April 19-May 20) -- You're ready to expand into a whole new direction, though you may encounter some resistance in the form of your usual, seemingly inescapable self-critique. You in particular will always tend to be your harshest critic, which is in part a product of conditioning you can unravel. In case I haven't done so lately, I'll pass along an idea given to me by a wise old Taurus in my life, which is to never judge your own performance. Rather, do your best work, and let others decide how they feel about it. While some things, such as writing or photos, seem subject to self-critique, this is not as dependable as it seems. You miss the impact of what you create on minds and emotional bodies other than your own. You can't really assess what you're producing unless you experience it for the first time, in that moment, which you cannot do. Therefore, do not judge yourself; just keep experimenting.

Gemini (May 20-June 21) -- Mercury stationing direct on Tuesday morning, after a nearly four-week retrograde phase, will give you a boost of confidence. Yet at the same time, other factors look like they could undermine your self-assurance. Once there was a spiritual teacher named Alan Watts. He wrote, "The desire for security and the feeling of insecurity are the same thing. To hold your breath is to lose your breath. A society based on the quest for security is nothing but a breath-retention contest in which everyone is as taut as a drum and as purple as a beet." Wow, that sounds like it was written yesterday, though it's from the mid-20th century. The remedy to this emotional mind is, in part, not to take yourself, or your feeling of supposed security, all that seriously. Keep your sense of humor. Remember that all things have a beginning, a middle and an end; track where you are in that process.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) -- This has been an interesting few weeks for you in two seemingly unrelated aspects of life: your finances and your self-esteem. Yet astrology strongly suggests that they are closely related, if not one and the same thing. If you study the relationship, you'll notice interesting things. People tend to feel more confident when they have money in their pocket, though they often miss that their economic situation is related to their confidence. While there are exceptions, you will learn a great deal from seeking an understanding of this relationship, particularly over the next six months. As you build one, you will strengthen the other, with the seeming side result of cultivating maturity. This should be more meaningful to you than popularity or being entertained. Go for the deeper material and the longer-lasting values. Know what is truly important to you, and find strength in pursuing that as a life mission or calling. What you gain, you will never lose.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) -- What you've learned the past few weeks has provided you with gems of wisdom that you will be able to bank on for a lifetime. In long hindsight, once some time passes and you have some perspective, August 2017 will be a before-and-after turning point on which your whole life seemed to pivot. What happens over the next few days will remind you what you learned and reinforce the teachings that have been offered to you. You may have missed a few subtle points or ideas for how to proceed, and you may also be making a few final decisions for how you're going to advance in the short term. Make sure those decisions are based on new information, which is likely to be flowing in abundance. The point of gaining knowledge is to use it, rather than merely collect it. The only way to confirm whether a theory or approach is valid is to do an extended real-time test.

The first astrology segment of your 2017-18 Leo Birthday Reading by Eric is now published. This is a seminal year for Leo Sun, rising and Moon, especially with the upcoming powerful solar eclipse in your sign. Make this dynamic energy work for you -- order your reading today.

Virgo Birthdays 2017:

Find Your Passion for Growth

"If you’re getting the message to grow and to become, find your passion for growth. Passion means feeling, beauty, angst, love, confusion, pain and discovery: the things you discover in every meaningful endeavor."
-- Eric Francis Coppolino in the 2017 Book of Your Life reading for Virgo

Dear Reader with Virgo Sun, Rising or Moon:

What messages to "grow and become" did you receive between the two August eclipses? Are you still trying to figure that out, or maybe planning your next steps?

Recent weeks have been interesting and intense for just about everyone, though it's possible they've felt especially curious for you.

This Tuesday, you'll have the unique experience of your ruling planet, Mercury, stationing direct in the same cryptic, hidden-away section of your chart where the total solar eclipse occurred on Aug. 21.

All of it comes together to begin your next year in dynamic ways -- ways that will ripple out and develop in the months to come, aided by other significant astrology in the process. For example, major planets are gearing up to change signs (among other things).

Eric will get into all of this and more in your upcoming 2017-18 Virgo Birthday Reading.

"Your readings are soothing, grounding and remarkably spot on, especially in times like these. I very much appreciate you and your work."
-- Alison

Created to help you steer through the next 12 months and beyond, Eric presents the two astrology segments (at least 30 minutes each) and tarot reading in accessible, inviting language. He'll offer motivation and inspiration for all the challenges and opportunities you may encounter in your intimate relationships, family structure, career, creativity, spiritual and sexual healing and much more.

"You guide but also ask the listener to engage with their lives. Humans don’t just get transformation for free and you are very precise in telling us where to look."
-- Shelley Stearns

How will you activate your potential and passion to grow and become? You can start by pre-ordering your Virgo Birthday Reading -- at the lowest price we offer: just $33 for some of the clearest, most immediately useful astrology you can find on the internet.

Note that the price of the reading will increase before the full reading publishes, and then will increase again.

May Mercury smile upon you in all that you do.

Yours & truly,

Amanda Painter
Planet Waves Astrology Editor

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) -- In anything you may do, ask yourself whom you're serving. What is the cause that you're supporting? To what is your energy devoted? To be happy as a Virgo, what you do must transcend yourself. Yet Mars in your birth sign is strongly suggesting that you have to act in certain self-serving ways. You're approaching a point of maturity that's requiring you to find approaches to life that sustain your own cause and that serve the greater good. What you do must work for everyone on some level. There are times when you'll be called upon to make a sacrifice or to offer yourself in truly selfless service, though when you're in tune, this will always come back to you in the form of learning, knowledge or the opportunity for further participation. Don't be deterred by people who are in denial or committed to being lost; that's just a game, and it's one that you don't want or need to play.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) -- There's only so much progress you can make when your primary devotion is to making sure your life is carefully planned and organized. Most real advances come through some form of disruption. This might include an unexpected turn in the story line, plans that don't work out and which then need to be revised, or realizing you're confused and need to snap out of it. Therefore, hang loose, and don't cling to what you think is supposed to happen. Rather, let the momentum of the next few days carry you, and then see where you end up. Events over the next 24 hours, as the Full Moon stretches across the most sensitive angle of your solar chart, will reveal that things are not as they seem. As the fog gradually clears, you're likely to discover that you've accomplished far more than you may think, despite any plans to do something different.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) -- Popularity is not everything. Seeming proper and acceptable are worth even less. These things are so empty that you'd be well served to toss any worries about what you think people think, and to experience yourself with no concern about how you're perceived. This is a stretch, though it'll set you free to think, feel and do things that violate the rules in some way, or which may be appealing to you but frightening to those who are less bold and curious. That's the place to hang out; that's where the action is. The fact that something you want might seem inappropriate, embarrassing or risque is exactly the reason to experiment with it; this in turn will require you to go against protocol in some way. That's one clue you're doing something real, and relevant to your growth. To be who you are, you must be willing to challenge who you are.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) -- All the emphasis of your solar chart is now shifting to your 10th house of reputation and achievement. That also means accountability. You might, however, be over-emphasizing the responsibility aspect of things, which could hinder your ability to get things done. If you proceed with foresight rather than merely worrying about the impact of what you do, you'll make a lot more progress. Consider what you intend, and be mindful about unintended consequences. Said another way, at the moment, there's a limit to how impeccable you can be and still get anything done. One helpful key is to notice when your own concerns seem like those of your parents. For example, you know you can succeed at what they might never have dared to try. You might bend a rule that they would never even consider messing with. Most of all, you're far likelier to strive to achieve something difficult even if you're uncertain or insecure.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) -- One theme of the post-eclipse phase of your life is ethics. You can think of this as the careful evaluation of what is right or wrong, based on your personal values. You can drive yourself crazy splitting hairs, and sometimes that's necessary and relevant. There's another side to what we call ethics, which is a related concept: ethos. You can think of that as the spirit of the law, rather than the letter of the law. That's what you want. The truth, or what is correct, is rarely quantifiable, though you can feel it -- and you can feel when that elusive thing is not there. For your purposes, there is such a thing as true and valid, though you will be able to sense it more than you can prove it. Therefore, be sensitive to what you're feeling, including a certain kind of resistance that you know hints you're investing your energy where it does not belong.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -- Regarding a financial matter, you will need to study the exact figures before you have a sense of what's going on. Be bold about going to the numbers, and looking at the various sub-totals and the bottom line. This is not an area with any room for guessing, and what you think might be true is likely to turn out to be different from what is actually true. You cannot be too accurate; you should get the same result whether you add the column from top to bottom or bottom to top. Once you have the data, you'll be on much more solid ground, and you'll feel more confident as a result. In fact, you're likely to discover that not knowing the bottom line eats confidence like a caterpillar eats leaves. You'll also have enough information to establish the best MO for what you want to do, which should rightfully include a budget that you stick to, more or less.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) -- Many changes filter through the astrology this week, which will settle the accounts on what has occurred during this most eventful month or two of your life. You've lived with considerable uncertainty and resistance, which you've endured so persistently that you got used to it. Allow things to settle down without any special need to stir them up again. Take some time and do what you want to do, rather than what you seemingly have to do. Most of all, allow and invite what you want to come to you, rather than thinking that you always must go to it. The Pisces Full Moon takes place Wednesday morning, and is just elegant in both its mysteries and what it reveals. Keep in mind that from the viewpoint of others, you're not so easy to understand or pin down to one point of view, though you can trust yourself, and people will trust you, for many other reasons.

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