An Unsealed Letter

Dear Friend and Reader:

You know things are weird when a top story in the news is how long a report might be. Not how long it is; how long it might be. Not what's in the report. Not what is missing. Rather, the potential page count. This game of charades has been going on through a most unusual Mercury direct event, with the smallest, fastest planet forming a weeks-long conjunction to Neptune, the planet of deception and delusion.

Robert S. Mueller III. Photo via PBS.

This is a truly unusual pattern -- and it's the one we have surrounding the question, "Did Trump or anyone on his campaign conspire with the Russians to steal the 2016 election?" There is another question: "Is Trump a Russian asset?"

What perfect questions to ask with Mercury lingering around Neptune for weeks on end: a real cliffhanger. A special kind of Nancy Drew mystery.

That Mueller dropped the report right before Mercury direct is interesting, even exciting. I've noticed that the station direct has a signature of "the truth comes out."

However, Mercury-Neptune contacts of this intensity -- in a chart of an event -- can also have the distinct message that someone is lying their ass off. These days, there are lots of lies to go around, and they are usually exposed, so the two concepts are compatible. This is, however, a rather tricksterish conjunction, and it's likely that it will take some time for the truth not only to emerge but also to come into focus.

A Legion of Legal Secretaries

The document of unknown thickness is the result of 22 months of work by a team of 19 federal prosecutors, many FBI agents and a legion of secretaries and paralegals supporting them, plus people with adequate security clearance to vacuum the floor of offices where the president is being investigated for felonies. The project has cost the American people about $20 million, according to news reports I've read. [Remember that this began as an FBI investigation into election meddling by the Russians in 2016 -- long before Donald Trump was a suspect.]

A lot of these machines helped, too.

And now that it's done, we don't even know how long it is, or what size truck or disk drive the supporting documents fit in. Is it a minivan, or is it a tandem tractor-trailer? Is it measured in gigabytes, terabytes or petabytes?

Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel of the United States, this past Friday delivered his report to his bosses at the Department of Justice. It was received by the new attorney general, a man named William Barr, who then summarized the report in a letter to Congress on Sunday, which said that there was no conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin.

Further, Barr claimed that the president had not obstructed justice (a federal crime and impeachable offense) in the course of the investigation.

We all watched as Donald Trump fired the FBI director and bragged to the Russians that it would make the investigation go away. We watched as he fired the prior attorney general, Jeff Sessions, for not protecting him from the investigation.

Sessions, if you recall, recused himself from the whole Russia affair after it was revealed that he had lied to the Senate during his confirmation hearing, about his own involvement with the Russians. That is why the Department of Justice named a special counsel -- a presumably independent federal prosecutor empowered to look into the matter.

I've known enough law students to understand that walking out of a bank with a gun drawn and a bag of money does not make a person guilty of bank robbery.

While we are waiting for some inkling as to what the report actually says, I'm here to publish my impression of the astrology and what might be lurking behind the scrim.

My First Impression, Friday Afternoon

You don’t get a second chance to have a first impression. Friday afternoon, The Washington Post reported that the White House was notified by the Justice Department that it had received Mueller's report, and that the investigation was officially over.

Chart of the White House getting the call from the Justice Department. The main chart features include the last degree of Leo rising (far left, listed as 29 Leo 17), a conjunction of the Sun and Chiron in Aries (toward the upper right -- both points have the number 01 next to them) and a conjunction of Mercury and Neptune (far right side). You can see Mars at the very top.

The chart for that event has the last degree of Leo rising -- the same degree as Donald Trump's ascendant. A degree of the zodiac moves past the ascendant every four minutes, making this appear rather personal to Trump. I initially reported my interpretation here. You can read about Trump's chart in this article from late 2016.

"The aspect of the day is Sun conjunct Chiron to the tee -- as this was happening. This is not good for the president. Whatever the report says, it's likely to deliver a mortal injury to Trump or his presidency. The Sun represents the king. This is the last thing he wants […]. That this occurs during Mercury storm complicates matters somewhat: there are many layers to come out.

"The ascendant is stunning -- it's Trump's degree rising, making this chart directly personal to him. This is just unimaginable. The Sabian symbol for this degree is 'An Unsealed Letter' -- everything comes out. This is what the astrology says. Now let's see what happens."

This is an important facet of doing mundane astrology: observing and checking your work over time. This is the essence of the learning process.

Let's elaborate a little more. Leo rising (in whatever degree) means that the Sun is the ascendant ruler. The Sun as a general significator represents the king or the president, particularly in a news chart involving the government. In this chart, the Sun is in the 8th house, which in mundane astrology is where we find dead things. Sun conjunct Chiron in the 8th is the picture of an injured or dead presidency.

Mars at the top of the chart rules the 9th house -- that of higher justice. In our scenario, Mueller is the marshal who has arrived in town to restore law and order. Quite incredibly, Mars is occupying the 10th cusp -- that of the presidency and the government -- to the degree. The Sabian symbol is "A Vast Public Park." There's something here in the public interest. That Mars looks like Marshal Mueller.

One thing we know is that the chart passes the smell test: it seems to describe the situation, regardless of the outcome. In particular, Trump's ascendant rising, and the Sun conjunct Chiron, were just stunning expressions of symbolism. There are many symbols of the presidency and law enforcement prominent in the chart.

Void of Course Moon in Libra

In my second impression on Saturday night, I addressed the concern about the chart's late-degree Moon. Using the rules of traditional astrology, the Moon in this chart is void of course. This means that the Moon will make no more aspects while in its current sign, which is Libra. I noticed that initially but considered it secondary, due to the rather incredible personal signification for Trump. In mundane astrology, a void Moon can be a real problem.

On Facebook, I described it as "the sensation of thud rather than bam!" And I added, "The void Moon talks about events that are perfunctory, where the outcome is different from what is expected -- particularly of the action itself." The perfunctory thing is, let's say you have to arrange a meeting but you don't want the outcome to matter, schedule it during a void Moon.

In a similar way, it might be that Mueller was doing what he had to do, and included the information he needed to include. Additionally, it seems he’s passed the torch to about six other federal jurisdictions, which, along with the federal grand jury, will continue to investigate.

I added one other thought: “Were this horary astrology -- it is not, I'm using horary rules to read an event -- the 30th degree ascendant could be taken as a stricture against judgment: a chart that will not resolve. So, too, could the void Moon."

That's the essence -- there are some more details on the Facebook posts.

We Know Who William Barr Is
Back in 1980, the Reagan-Bush campaign cut a deal with Iranian revolutionaries, who were holding 52 American diplomats and citizens hostage. Under the deal, the hostages would be held through the election, in exchange for which the United States would sell to Iran, our enemy, all the weapons it wanted for its war against our then-friend, Iraq (led by Saddam Hussein).

During this arms-for-hostage business deal, members of the Reagan administration (John Poindexter, the national security advisor, and Oliver North, one of his underlings, and others) took the profits and gave weapons to the CIA-created Contras in Nicaragua, against federal law. The Contras specialized in bombing "soft targets" -- hospitals, schools and farms.

There were immediate resignations; there was a criminal investigation and there were prosecutions and convictions. And then George H.W. Bush took office and pardoned six people involved in the whole affair. And the attorney general at the time was William Barr.

Barr, as attorney general, presided over the pardons of six criminals who helped rig the election of 1980 and betrayed the interests of the United States at the same time -- including Caspar Weinberger, the secretary of defense.

So we cannot really look to him for any impetus to hold the president or his men accountable for crimes they commit. Then as now, that leaves us looking to Congress for help, though often that results in yet another study -- not in any form of justice or correction.

A congressional report issued in 1987 said, "If the president did not know what his national security advisers were doing, he should have." Congress also held that the president had "ultimate responsibility" for crimes committed by his aides, and that the Reagan administration exhibited "secrecy, deception, and disdain for the law."

Barr got his old job back on Feb. 14 when he said that he didn't believe the president could be charged with obstruction of justice. This was regardless of the evidence; Barr did not have it at the time because he was not part of the government, and Mueller had not issued his report.

In his four-page summary issued Sunday afternoon, Barr concluded that Trump had not obstructed justice in the course of the investigation. He did not say why not. But he claimed Mueller had left that determination up to him.

Someone Is Lying, and It's Probably Barr

The chances are that Barr is lying when he says that Trump did not commit obstruction. It's much more likely that Mueller intended for Congress to make the determination, rather than a biased attorney general.

We still don't know if the United States is being run from this building. And to think -- Roy Cohen, a lawyer for the House Committee on Un-American Activities, was one of Trump's early mentors. Cohen and Joe McCarthy destroyed the lives of many on the meekest inference that they even believed in Russian political philosophy. Is there no end to the hypocrisy?

We don't know, however. We have not seen the report or what it contains. We have not seen the backing evidence. We have not heard from many people who surround Trump: his kids, his son-in-law, and a diversity of close aides who were involved in the antics with the Kremlin, which go back many years and seemed to peak in 2016 and early 2017.

It's disturbing that the Trump campaign and transition team had more than 100 contacts with the Russians. We know that Roger Stone, who was recently arrested, was working directly with Wikileaks. It's more disturbing that so many people are not even meekly concerned about this, so bent are they on the fabulous Republican agenda of tax cuts for the rich, banning abortion and repealing the Affordable Care Act.

The people of the United States need resolution. We need the truth. But as T.S. Eliot said, human kind cannot bear very much reality. The motivation not to know the truth is that it's too damned ugly -- and then we have to do something about it.

Let's see how hard Congress and the media push for the full contents of the report to come out, and let's see how much is left out or redacted. Let's see how loudly and clearly people are willing to speak about their desire or demand to know what really happened, and what Robert Mueller recommended.

The pattern of the Trump administration has been an attempt to cover one lie with another, so far endlessly. That he can get away with that is evidence of something else: a much deeper spiritual condition that we will need to address, sooner or later, in this lifetime or some other.

We know one other thing: Try as they may, lie as they may, both Trump and the Mueller report about him are an unsealed letter.

With love,

You're Not Actually About to Float Away By Amanda Painter

Are you feeling like a total space cadet this week? Or maybe like you’re beaming in somebody else’s daydreams? How many times have you absentmindedly suffered a minor injury / locked yourself out / thought it was a different day? Are your efforts at sensitive, empathetic communication just not landing anywhere near your intended target (especially online conversations)?

A giant Pinocchio balloon floats above the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and its many handlers in Manhattan, probably during the 1930s. Photo by Walter Kelleher / New York Daily News Archive.

Is the world an ever-morphing mix of crazy-beautiful and scary-surreal?

Okay, I’ll grant you, that last sentence has been applicable for a good three years now -- or perhaps for all time. But from my perspective, all those other questions appear to have been peaking in this last week -- described by Mercury traveling in apparent retrograde motion in a tight conjunction to Neptune in Pisces.

Mercury makes its direct station today at 9:59 am EDT (13:58:41 UTC). It does so (cozied up to Neptune) while making a T-square to the asteroid Juno in Gemini and Ceres in Sagittarius.

This image just came to me as I was writing that sentence: that Juno and Ceres are kind of like a couple of handlers from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, each holding a line to one of those giant cartoon-character balloons high in the air. (I know, I know: wrong season. Just bear with me.)

Juno and Ceres would appear to offer some stability, except for a couple of things. The first is that with Gemini being an air sign famous for its duality (like Pisces) and mutability, Juno could represent vacillation -- such as between what you truly need in a relationship versus what you only think you need; or between sexual love and something more platonic. Likewise, with Sagittarius associated with the big picture and the expansiveness of Jupiter, Ceres may describe certain challenges in being able to nourish, nurture or mentor with the kind of here-and-now specificity that is being called for.

The second thing making it hard for Juno and Ceres to guide the Mercury/Neptune fantasy balloon is that, in astrology, a T-square is not considered a stable aspect. That may seem counterintuitive, since (for example) a tricycle is much more stable than a bicycle. But people are not bicycles, and neither is an astrology chart; the most energetically stable figure in a chart is a grand square (also called a grand cross), which has a fourth point or side.

Continue reading...

Mercury Direct Conjunct Neptune,
and the Astrology of the Mueller Report

Dear Friend and Listener:

What does the Mueller report really say? All we have so far is a summary of the report by Attorney General William Barr, who personally determined that Trump did not obstruct justice. This week's edition of Planet Waves FM covers Mercury stationing direct conjunct Neptune, and looks in detail at what we know about the Mueller report so far -- reported live, as it happened.

With love,

P.S. Since Sunday, when this episode was originally broadcast, there has been much commentary, and some revelations, including that Mueller told Barr three weeks ago that he wouldn't be deciding on the obstruction charges.

More information is expected to emerge. I'm keeping track of developments. Here are some resources that may help you do the same, if you wish to:

-- My Facebook timeline
-- Robert Reich's Facebook timeline
-- Seth Abramson on Twitter

Aries, it's time to understand Chiron

Dear Aries or Aries Rising:

As you probably know, Chiron has been working its way into your birth sign or ascendant, and has recently arrived to stay for the next eight years. You have a rare distinction: Chiron spends more time in Aries than in any other sign.

And I've spent more time studying Chiron than any other planet. While other astrologers were telling their clients and readers that "the jury is still out," I was interviewing countless hundreds of people, learning the details of their lifetime Chiron transits.

Eric F. Coppolino

I've studied with or learned from or interviewed most of the original Chiron pioneers and early authors, and have written so many articles, they fill an archive. 

Here's what I've learned. Chiron going through your sign, or over your ascendant, is one of the most challenging and useful transits of your life. It's both: you will need to rise to the challenge, and if you do, you will have the power to do something most people consider difficult: to grow and change -- into the form that you want.

This is not usually "easy," but it's real, and it's an opportunity for you. And having experienced guidance helps. Not speculative coaching but rather solid ideas from someone who has been there many times with many people. 

Next week, I'm going to record the Aries Sun and rising reading for you. It will be ready before the New Moon in your sign. This will be a most excellent resource, combining what I've learned since the 1990s right up until today, with the astrology we're experiencing right now. And it's available for a price you can afford -- $44, which includes two 40-minute astrology sessions and a follow-up tarot reading. 

That this is offered at a low cost is intended only to make it available to you. Most people will never get a reading from me, but you can get this, and it will help you shape the direction of your life over the next decade.

I anticipate having the astrology sessions in your hands before the Aries New Moon next week. Here's how to order.

With love,

P.S. If you would prefer to place your order by phone, or have any questions, please call (206) 567-4455 or email cs@planetwaves.net. We'll be happy to help.
Monthly Horoscopes and Publishing Schedule Notes

Your extended monthly horoscope for April is published below in this issue. We published your extended monthly horoscopes for March on Thursday, Feb. 21. Please note: we normally publish the extended monthly horoscope after the Sun has entered a new sign.

Aries (March 20-April 19) -- You may be figuring out that your relationships follow different patterns from the ones you or the world think are normal. Of course there is no such thing, though something unusual about you and your nature has been dawning on you. Society makes a big drama about accepting that one is different, though in reality everyone is different. At the moment and for the foreseeable future, certain qualities of your nature are emerging in high contrast to some past expectation that you had. You are awakening in ways you have long aspired to, but could never seem to focus and do something with. Your current astrology describes you as a channel of service to others, particularly in the realm of intimate relationships. This is likely to include a close partner, though anyone could be involved. Every contact, every discussion, every observation you make, is designed to teach you something about the nature of your relationships. Our society is in crisis on a deeply personal level, being ascribed to "gender identity." This layer is a scrim that's veiling the deeper issue, which involves trust and the fear of intimacy. The kind of contact you want transcends obligation and expectation. The role you play in the lives of certain people close to you is to be attentive to their needs and desires, while seeking an understanding of yourself. These are elements of the same equation: the submissive element is, at this time, essential to cultivating your self-understanding.

Get your full Aries INTELLIGENCE reading by Eric here.
Taurus (April 19-May 20) -- Usually you are someone who values your privacy and is not interested in too much public exposure. Lately though, you seem to be thriving on being known for who you are, and the reward is a new kind of self-confidence that will be helpful and informative. Concealing your reality consumes energy; revealing your inner truth will have a way of refreshing your soul. In many respects, this is an experiment. The more you open up, the more you discover who you are, and who you are not. That's the thing about being truthful: you get to peel back one layer at a time, and make observations about yourself that may be uncomfortable. At times, you may feel like a phony, or awkward, or like your deepest vulnerabilities are being exposed. This is not like a walk down the red carpet, though. What you're doing is transcending image rather than indulging in it. The things being peeled off, and the sense of awkwardness, are all about what is not real or true, and seeking contact with your deeper layers. Image: that's a serious problem our world faces, as is people believing their own press releases, and acting as their own publicity agents. You can happily forget all that now. All that counts is who you are inside, and that being the only thing you're interested in anyone else knowing about. Therefore, you can push your limits. You can be brash. You can say ouch. You can let your love out.

Get your full Taurus INTELLIGENCE reading by Eric here.
Gemini (May 20-June 21) -- During the next month or so, Mars in your birth sign is going to be pushing against many planets in Pisces. Because Pisces represents your sense of mission, your reputation, and what you're responsible for, you will want to go gently on people, and on yourself. You have that side of your nature that's not afraid to get in people's face. The thing is, at the moment, you could come off as more confrontational than you want to be, or really are. You will have fun for a while but ultimately you'll be eating away at the goodwill you share with people -- and right now, that's a commodity as precious as fresh water. Therefore, during the next few weeks, make every effort to relate to people in a way that demonstrates you're worthy of their trust -- and remember that trust is built over time and on the basis of experience. Seek to understand where they are coming from and what they need. In other words, go out of your way to evade the selfish tendencies that might come with Mars in your own sign. It's also essential to work for some consistency. Be aware that you might be projecting two different personalities or agendas, which could lead to confusion in others (and, again, have a way of eroding confidence). This will take extra self-awareness. If you know you like to be a different person every day (understandable enough for Gemini), especially under the influence of Mars, be open about that fact, and make sure you honor certain bottom lines of truth and fidelity to your purpose. And then you'll get a heck of a lot done.

Get your full Gemini INTELLIGENCE reading by Eric here.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) -- Move forward with your plans no matter what is going on in the world, or in your life; no matter what people say, or what you believe is possible. Many factors are conspiring to enhance your potency and influence, as well as to drive your sense of mission. You know what you want to do, and simply that you must. That is a good place to be, since hesitancy is such a waste of time. Yet as much as you bring determination and creativity, you're a source of inspiration. This is based on the way in which you have a tap into another level of reality. It's true that everyone has access to the same things you do. The difference is that you strongly identify with this thing some call the "higher self." You don't have, or need, a division between who you are every day, and who you are in truth. And as such, you teach, demonstrate and propagate the idea that these seeming level-differences are fictional. You can, therefore, live your truth every day. That means the things you do and create, the choices you make, and the connections you form, are all sourced and nourished by your divine source, which you know is the essence of who you are. Therefore, let no obstacle stand in your way. Let no person intimidate you. Let nothing deter you from your chosen course in life.

Get your full Cancer INTELLIGENCE reading by Eric here.
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) -- You're in the process of working out deep issues with someone close to you, and you're gradually finding your way. It's not usually so easy existing on the line where self meets other, where lives blend, and where your individual identity melts into that of someone else. It can be a frightening place to be, as you experience both communing with another person, and also the sense of being a solitary creature in the universe who can never fully blend into another person. As the old song goes, "two is the loneliest number after one." Yet something different is happening right now; something new is opening up. It looks like your ability to see and experience common interests with people close to you -- spiritual, emotional and otherwise. You are determined to heal and resolve certain very old situations in your life, and this sense of commitment is entering your relationships. You are in a rare position to take total responsibility for your existence, and this makes connecting with others much easier. When you work your side of the interpersonal boundary, it's much less complicated having a real exchange with others. I suggest you continue doing that. The more you keep your primary focus on yourself, the better your relationships will be. And the more energy you will have to invest in what is really beckoning you as a frontier, which is doing something new and really, truly interesting with your professional life.

Get your full Leo INTELLIGENCE reading by Eric here.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) -- There is only so much you can see and experience yourself in another person, and you happen to be rather good at it. One of the distinctions of Virgo is your ability to use your relationships as a highly focused means of self-discovery. I would suggest, though, that you're moving on to another phase of your life, where your quest to discover who you are must be more independent of others. I say more, not entirely; we all exist in the world. We are all here, and there's no getting away from our interdependency with others. It's the details of those bonds that you're now bringing to full awareness. There is one particular facet of relationships many find deeply troubling, but have usually not given a name. It's that of building a whole identity on the basis of a relationship with another person. This is generally what people do -- and it's why jealousy and betrayal are so devastating. You are at a point where you must build your identity exclusively on your own terms, focused within yourself. You don't need to end relationships to do this; you only need to set forth in this direction, and be open to what happens in your relationships. Either they can withstand you being you, or they cannot. This is the real test. As you go forward, experiment with your determination to be only who you are, sincerely, persistently, and boldly. Who you are is the one thing you cannot compromise.

Get your full Virgo INTELLIGENCE reading by Eric here.
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) -- Whether you know it or not, you have a knack for both understanding and discussing sex. Nobody is giving out awards these days. There's not a big budget for this, but you don't need one. What will help is if you sidestep any lingering embarrassment or reluctance you may feel, and have every conversation you want to have, or that others need to have. Most of them will not be about you (though some will). Rather, you're in the position of facilitator, translator, and pioneer. These days, that counts as healer and, to some degree, caretaker. At the moment, you have the unusual gift of being able to set aside your own needs, and to open up a space where anyone can feel safe, whoever it might be: a friend, a partner, your kids, their friends, or even someone you barely know. This is an exceedingly rare asset, what I would call a privilege (as is any opportunity to serve). Within your own intimate relationships, this may put you in what at first seems like an odd position of making sure someone's need for healing and clearing is attended to, irrespective of your own desires or idea of the relationship. Go with this fully when you have a chance to do so. Exercise your capacity to handle another person's priorities and the most intimate details of their private and erotic lives as if they are all that matters. This is a crucial missing element in many relationships, and you have the ability to manifest it.

Get your full Libra INTELLIGENCE reading by Eric here.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) -- This is the springtime of your life. No matter what your chronological age, you have tapped into a wellspring of youth, of vital force, of creative potency. This, you can express any way you want -- that is the whole point. Your creativity is yours to explore, to feel, and to grow. Without being too simplistic here, fully taking possession of this fact is the purpose of all psychology, spirituality, empowerment or whatever you want to call it. Your life is yours, to create what you want. You are the dreamer of the dream of your incarnation. You are also the one who gets the benefits or any other results of your dreams. Therefore, it's vital to think of your life as a creative process at this juncture, rather than as a matter of fate, destiny or random chance. But here is the caveat, now and for the foreseeable future. When you open up your creative and erotic potential, you encounter old issues that may frighten you or seem to warn you off. Addressing those concerns is what you might think of as the price of admission. Some of the material will be very old. Some will involve your ancestors. Other elements will seem to be mingled with society and its current obsessions. The point of art is almost always to assist the artist in becoming a more fully integrated individual, who is aware of and embracing their humanity. We could very simply say: you are not the victim of your own creative power.

Get your full Scorpio INTELLIGENCE reading by Eric here.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) -- Be careful not to become the embodiment of your insecurities. You could just as well fill yourself up on your confidence and passion. Ideally, this will be fed by your rather broad perspective on life. You have a concept of human potential that's far more expansive than most of the people you know. This can be daunting, however, if you worry about your ability to live up to what you know is possible. The good part is, you're sure that nothing is impossible. It's then a question of how you get from here to there. I can tell you that in one word: chutzpah. That is simply defined as "shameless audacity," but coming out of the original concept in Yiddish, it has a friendly, admirable quality. The more you use it, the better it works. As you do you will discover something about the world, and about people: they tend to move over when someone has some guts and motivation. Many will help out. You might want to blaze into completely unknown territory; more likely, you will want to respond to available opportunities or pick up on an invitation. If you're the type to burst forward, you might want to apply some of the "responding" and "being invited" just to make sure that you have some runway available -- and then proceed in an undaunted fashion. Conditioned insecurity is one of the world's best-selling products. Like refined sugar, flour, trans-fats and other forms of bullshit, you have no use for it whatsoever. You much prefer fresh fruit.

Get your full Sagittarius INTELLIGENCE reading by Eric here.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) -- Pay special attention to your home. Consider the whole thing a private, intimate space. Cut off the flow of random visitors. Give it a spring cleaning to the max. Dig into the closets, the basement, the attic, and proceed with the feeling of taking care of an ashram. Take every dish and utensil out of the cupboards and drawers and wash it off, and then wash out the empty spaces. Maybe get some special help doing this, and proceed with determination, care and a sense of devotion. Bring particuar attention to the stove, the fireplace (if you have one) and the heating system. Change the filters, dust and clean, and retire this winter equipment for the year, leaving it in perfect condition for when you need it again. You're probably not asking what all of this has to do with sex. There is something. I can't put it into words, but it's blazing out of the chart like a Vestal fire at the city gates of ancient Rome, tended around the clock by six virgins. Someone (well, the former bodyguard of a venerated guru) once taught me to pray to Lakshmi when I'm cleaning out the fridge. In a similar fashion, I suggest you make similar offerings to the gods and goddesses of erotic pleasure in your life. Clear out the dross, the dust, the clutter, and let in the love, the passion and the freedom. Don't forget the prosperity while you're at it. Do your part to turn around the tense and negative vibes on the planet -- starting right where you live, eat, sleep and love.

Get your full Capricorn INTELLIGENCE reading by Eric here.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -- Though Mercury has returned to direct motion as of March 28, you must continue to be cautious with your money, with investments, and with contracts of any kind, for several weeks to come. This is a good policy overall with Neptune transiting your 2nd house of available cash and resources; there is an increased chance that your estimation of your situation will be off, one way or the other. Pay particular attention to the numbers, and err on the side of caution. Where possible, let other people take some of the risks, or at least make sure that everyone is doing their part. Increasing emphasis on Aries, your solar 3rd house, is all about you becoming more assertive: saying what you mean, meaning what you say, and making sure you speak up exactly when your intuition says it's time. This does not necessarily mean that people will roll over and yield to your ideas, which is all the more incentive to craft intelligent, informed reasoning processes. As you do this, you may get the feeling you're not up to the task -- that your thinking or writing is not as focused or adept as it could be. This is an effect of Chiron, which fortunately also assures that as you practice, you will grow, and as you grow, what some call "talent" will emerge. Where Chiron is present, you want to stay close to the edge of what you're capable of, and keep pushing into the unknown and unfamiliar. Do your best and keep doing it.

Get your full Aquarius INTELLIGENCE reading by Eric here.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) -- One similar theme you share with Aquarius (see above) is an emphasis on written and other modes of verbal communication. Yet this is in a very different style from Chiron. Uranus, a longterm influence associated with revolution and invention, is in your 3rd house, which is pushing you to find new ways to express yourself. The key will be to cultivate consistency. Uranus grants many gifts, such as a dauntless quality, and the ability to conjure ideas, seemingly out of the air (or, in the case of Taurus, asking a tree for advice). Yet what Uranus does not grant is persistence and stability. Those elements you must bring to the equation yourself, through daily devotion to what you're doing. This will include a constant process of rethinking, which may seem like starting over, again and again. Yet there will be a pattern, particularly if you're taking some notes or observing your creative process carefully. Do not be afraid to rethink, and notice what comes up repeatedly: which topic, goal, idea, concept or general theme. Pay special attention to that. If it's emerging more frequently than the chance rate, it's not by chance. Your mind is telling you something, and you will benefit from engaging in a dialog. As regards Chiron in Aries, which is about to be joined by Vesta, I would propose a yoga of self-worth. This is not merely conceptual, or a pep talk you give yourself. Establish and observe your value in every situation, and weave that awareness into your relationships.

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