The Rites of Spring

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Dear Friend and Reader:

We are in the last days of the astrological year, which resets with the Vernal Equinox on March 20, just past noon ET.

Photo by Steve Parker.

This was preceded by the Pisces New Moon on Saturday. And it will be followed closely by Mercury stationing retrograde, which takes place on Thursday.

Starting yesterday, here's the sequence of events in synopsis format: Pisces New Moon, very close to Chiron; Sun conjunct Chiron; Sun goes void of course; Sun enters Aries; Mercury stations retrograde in Aries.

When the Sun reaches the vernal equinox, it's directly aligned with the Aries Point, the "reset" point in the astrological year. It's like a long day ends at midnight, and a new day begins. The Aries Point has a special quality that seems to be dominating our lives now, which is that we're standing in this frantic crossroads between the individual and the collective. That's the feeling we have of being blown in the winds of change, of so much happening nobody can keep track, and of time moving so fast that it seems like we live a month in a week.

We live with this sense of not knowing what's going to happen, though unlike many other times in the past, there's not a moment to recover from one wave of feeling and experience before the next one comes along. This might seem like a distinctly current phenomenon, yet we've been living this way for a long time -- though the speed of events is increasing exponentially.

More than half a century ago, Marshall McLuhan described our lives as a media-induced maelstrom -- a powerful whirlpool in an ocean or river, which it's easy to get caught in, and spin around and around.

Photo by Lalit Kumar.

There may, in fact, be a time anomaly going on, which we covered in an ancient issue of Planet Waves from 2012, called We're About to Go Off the Map, with several theories of what it means that the Mayan Calendar "ended" on the winter solstice of 2012. There are other Mayan models of time that represent us as living in a cyclical rather than linear model, with each loop of the spiral getting shorter and shorter as it covers the same amount of "time."

But let's stick to this week. The blend of the equinox and Mercury stationing retrograde right at the midpoint of Aries is already proving to be turbulent. We've been in Mercury shadow phase for a couple of weeks (that's the warmup to the retrograde) and the wheels have certainly been squeaky.

You might refresh your memory with an old article called An Expert's Guide to Mercury Retrograde. To sum up, though, one theme so far has been misunderstandings. So, avoid making assumptions. Don't decide for yourself what someone told someone else, or what they think of you.

In the public sphere, we are about to witness some particularly spectacular events the next three or so weeks. The fireworks shed has been on fire for a while, and we've been staring at it wondering what could possibly happen -- and the answer is everything.

Positions of the planets at the Aries Point and the Capricorn point at the equinox on Tuesday, March 20.

My favorite bit of astrology involves what is currently parked on the Aries Point right now, and on the Capricorn Point, its identical twin, 90 degrees away: a lot of outer planets, though I only need to describe two of them, with the presence of Mars involved.

A very slow-moving point called Salacia is making a long, slow conjunction to the Aries Point. Salacia implies salty, and salacious. We have seen a lot of that the past six or so months, with every sordid detail about every bad thing (involving sex) that ever happened to a public figure spilling out into the open.

Square Salacia are Mars (energy, desire, aggression) and Pholus (the uncontrolled release; the small cause getting a big effect).

Now all three points team up, as Mars and Pholus make a nice tight square to Salacia, and the Sun makes a conjunction to Salacia and the Aries Point. Said simply, this could be a rather salacious week. I am mainly thinking about Stormy Daniels. This is the porn star (and a fine one, too) who, weeks before the 2016 election, was paid $130,000 to shut up about an affair she had with Donald Trump.

The problem that Donald Trump has is that he usually gets his way by being willing to be shameless. However, he's met his match in a woman who has clean hands politically, and sticky fingers otherwise -- a woman who is shameless about her body, her voice, her vulva, and her desire nature. When someone is that liberated, which would seem in Stormy's case to be both spiritually and physically, they are not easily "put in their place."

I'll be covering Stormy's chart when I go on the air at WKNY, Radio Kingston, tonight at 10 pm ET.

Catch you then.

with love,



Dear Friend and Reader:

It's only been a little more than two weeks since I finished The Art of Becoming readings. That was a deep experience -- one of the most full-on phases of doing Planet Waves ever.

Me with Justin Castello, son of my eternal friend and chiropractor, Angelo Castello, taken by his wife (and Justin's mom) Julia Castello. This was today, in Germantown, NY. You can take one look at me and tell I'm finished writing the annual readings -- I'm somewhere other than Kingston.

Here was the challenge: weaving extended readings, each taking three days to write, into my most hectic horoscope schedule ever -- and doing it with technical accuracy, with love, and even with some eloquence.

This reading opens up all-new territory: Saturn in Capricorn, and the Saturn-Pluto conjunction; Chiron in Aries; Uranus in Taurus; and both Venus and Mars retrograde. I have explained these transits many times, many ways, from many viewpoints.

This process called forth the Zen master, the novelist and the alchemist in me. Just the sheer volume of ideas that I had to treat with care, working on daily, weekly, monthly and annual cycles at the same time. While I was doing it, I was wondering how I was doing it. (It took a village.)

There are certain kinds of writing that can take what newspaper editors call the “get in and get out” approach.

The Art of Becoming is more like: get in, go deeper, keep going, explore that branch of the cave system, keep going deeper, come out at the Galactic Core, take a ride on Chiron, hang out with Saturn and catch my breath, consider 1992 QB1, explore the asteroid belt, investigate Venus and Mars retrograde yet again...and get out.

I did that 12 times, 12 different ways. I have cast nearly 100 astrology charts, written about 66,000 words, and invested about 144 hours into The Art of Becoming.

This is the 20th annual edition of Planet Waves. They don't get easier. They just get better, deeper, and easier to understand. They also get more beautiful -- you can visit the website here; there are many free features.

Why am I doing this?

Section of the chart I drew up for the Scorpio reading. The pencil chart is a summation of many pages of data. This one includes the Venus and Mars retrogrades, the cluster of planets entering Capricorn, and the hypothetical planet Apollon, which has begun a long trip across Scorpio.

I have experienced the elegance, the beauty and the healing power of astrology. Astonishing, mysterious things happen every day, which I can see because I have devoted so much of my life and talent to astrology.

I want everyone to be able to experience this. I want to convey that understanding to anyone who is interested. In a way that is fully accessible, that has lasting value, and that is affordable. While I do private consultations, I cannot do many. The demand is greater than the supply. Yet I am able to distill and concentrate the essence of planetary transits into written works that are accessible.

My intention is to light the way forward. Rather than predict, I do my best to describe the environment we are in.

Please do take advantage of this work. It will serve you for years, though it won't be the same reading in a year. It's designed to prepare you now, for what you are experiencing now and for the next four seasons. The overwhelming majority of customers have invested in all 12 signs, which you can share with loved ones, relatives and housemates. It costs considerably less than most astrologers charge for a one-hour reading. You can also get individual signs.

Those on fixed incomes or experiencing financial hardship, please call (845) 481-5616 and speak to Ellen.

Thank you for being a Planet Waves customer, and for trusting me as your astrologer.

With love,

PS -- your reading also comes with audio and video supplements, unique to each sign, and access to last year's amazing written readings -- The Book of Your Life.

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Value in Every Reading: Get a Planet Waves Membership

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Listen to Vision Quest on Live Stream

Planet Waves has an in-house music ensemble, called Vision Quest. We have a 38-hour loop of our music, which you can listen to any time. Included are finished pieces, rehearsals, live concerts, drum grooves, and spoken word recordings. I consider it a kind of musical divination. Click in randomly at different times of day and see what you discover.

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Four Winds Almanac Now Includes Daily Horoscope

Planet Waves publishes a nifty daily astrology newsletter called the Four Winds Report. Designed as a fast read arriving early in the morning, we're now trying an experiment -- we're including the daily horoscope for everyone.

Were it not for horoscopes, I wouldn't be an astrologer. It was the Patric Walker daily that convinced me there was actually something to astrology, and I got my basic education studying his column each day in the New York Post.

I pack a lot of energy into each sign's 50-word write up. Part of the value of astrology is the timing, and daily allows for precision, as well as chronicling a narrative day by day.

Your almanac also includes information about Mayan astrology (long count and short count dates), several formats of the current date (including Hebrew and Islamic), a daily birthday reading, and special discounts on products and services.

Best of all, we take no outside advertising.

Sign up free here. Monthly Horoscopes and Publishing Schedule Notes

We published your extended monthly horoscopes for March on Thursday, Feb. 22. Your extended monthly horoscopes for February were published on Thursday, Jan. 25. Please note: we normally publish the extended monthly horoscope on the first Friday after the Sun has entered a new sign. Your Aries 2018-19 audio birthday reading by Eric is now available for pre-order. Don't miss out on this invaluable guide to what promises to be a pivotal year -- whether you're Aries Sun, rising or Moon. Get your copy today and lock in the earliest price of just $33.

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Aries (March 20-April 19) -- The Sun is about to enter your sign, and take you on a most interesting journey through the physical world. You have had more than enough of fantasy and imagining. You've experienced the interior of your mind in some delightful ways, and now it's time to bust free, into actual lived reality. Just be aware that this is a significant transition, from imaginary space into the imperfect physical dimension. Don't expect one to fit neatly into the other. Let yourself squirm a little, and stretch into the glove of incarnation. Despite how it may seem at first, there's more freedom in the physical world than there is in the imaginary world. One is a blueprint; the other is a space you can explore and live in. And like any new space, it can take some time to settle in. Appreciate the beauty of this journey. Softening your expectations and preconceptions helps. Taurus (April 19-May 20) -- You must be feeling restless, like you want to burst out of your own skin, or learn how to fly a small airplane and hop across the country 500 miles at a time. You may suddenly decide that something you were certain was true is now a thing of the past, replaced by a much more radical idea. How exactly you handle this astrology is, of course, up to you; though don't be afraid to be rad and a little wild. Life is not a choreographed event. Life is an experiment, and you will certainly want to live that way. This may require some staying up past bedtime, trying absinthe, trying a threesome, or some other naughty thing that cracks open your idea of who you are and allows some more lavish expression of you to come out. And make no mistake: this really is a "coming out." Out of that inner closet, out of the past, out into the beautiful daylight. Gemini (May 20-June 21) -- You must hold the vision for your life, and for who and what you want to become. This is the sacred flame that you carry. It's more than about intention; or you might say, a special form of intention that you protect as if you're a candle in the wind. Your soul's purpose is stronger than that, but it's the act of guarding and nurturing your own creativity that is what cultivates your growth. Yet the heat and light that you make are only relevant if you use them, so part of your role is to make sure you express yourself in some daring way. This will only strengthen you, even if you experience setbacks from time to time. Over the next few weeks, you will have many opportunities to experiment with who you are, with what you offer to the world, and with the message that you share. Be bold and loving about this. Cancer (June 21-July 22) -- The Sun is about to enter Aries, joining many other planets in the most ambitious, adventurous angle of your solar chart. Known as the 10th solar house, this region of the chart has two purposes. One is reputation. The other is taking responsibility. The two are inseparable; where there is one, there must be the other -- though you would never know it in our world, where power is so often abused. You do not have that prerogative, but you have much better ones. You're one of the guardians of our world, one of the nurturers, one whose empathy is nearly inexhaustible. For you, accomplishment specifically means making the world a better place in all that you do. In this sense, responsibility and reputation are the same thing, since all you need to be recognized for is the quality work that you do -- which is a tangible form of love. Therefore, shine like the Sun at noon. Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) -- Currently, common wisdom extols the virtues of living in the moment, which is another way of saying living as if there is no tomorrow. Yet there is a tomorrow, and there is a yesterday, even if these things are a little too abstract (so far as we know) for most dogs to understand. You must use your imagination and see into the future. And equally, you must take everything you've learned in the past and put it to the very best use that you can. It's true that obsession with either past or future is unhealthy; though there's a way to apply them gently, and to be the builder of a bridge between the two, with your conscious power of choice and the miracle of mindfulness. Making a plan is not like laying railroad tracks. It's more like a sketch, which you can erase, redraw, and finally paint to its full beauty. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) -- One of the most unusual properties of Virgo is the depth at which you identify with your relationships. You make some of the most valuable discoveries about yourself through investing yourself in others. There are many implications to this. For example, you can hold off on your growth by backing away from intimacy. Conversely, if you become over-invested in a person, you can hand them the keys to your independence. In this respect, you walk a narrow edge, where you must maintain self-awareness at all costs, without becoming self-obsessed. All of this is described in the sign Aries, your 8th solar house. Many planets are now there. The Sun is about to enter, and Chiron -- perhaps the most important planet associated with Virgo -- arrives in a few weeks. Be kind to yourself, and to the people who hold space for so much of your beautiful self-discovery. Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) -- There exists a long, complex work of spiritual psychology called A Course in Miracles. One of its most potent ideas, though, can be summed up in three words: perception is projection. In other words, what we see, we have shined on the world like a movie projector. We see the contents of our own minds. Given that our minds are responsible for the whole experience of consciousness, is anything else possible? Well, yes -- you might call that enlightenment. At first this comes in flashes, like a burst of light that illuminates what was hidden by the darkness. You're about to get such a moment of awareness or awakening. As it happens, you may have the feeling of, "Aah! So this is how the world really is!" (Hint: it will be better than you thought.) Then it will be up to you to remember what you perceived: how people looked and felt, and the way forward that will be revealed, if only in a glimpse. Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) -- This can be an amazingly productive few weeks for you, though you must work to preserve some sense of balance -- especially at work. You seem to be involved with, or responsible for, quite a few people. The way to handle this is to keep communication open and clear. You can benefit from following one easy-to-remember rule, which is to understate your case, clearly. Then seek some confirmation that you are understood. Listen carefully to what is said back to you. But do all this in a tone slightly above a whisper. If you must correct someone, do so gently. If you find yourself being corrected, make sure you understand what you need to do. The power of all communications is magnified wildly in your chart right now. Small doses of the medicine known as language will go a long way. You will learn something about the nature of reality from these experiences. Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) -- Planets are storming into fire sign Aries, which is one of the most exciting angles of your solar chart. Mars has exited your sign, leaving just one major point in Sagittarius -- an asteroid called Vesta. The glyph for this sign is a chevron, which is a container for fire. That suggests your role is to provide a space for your burning creativity. You can think of this as containing the power of your mind, and directing it to its specific purpose. Vesta is conjunct the Galactic Core, adding to the intrigue. It's as if you're standing between the universe and the Earth, guiding the flow of energy into some worldly form. This is what any creative person does, whether they think of themselves as an artist or not. With the subtlest movements, you can open up whole new realities. I know you may be sitting on the D Train or crosstown bus reading this, though as Jerry used to sing, you can get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right. Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) -- The big news of the week is that Mars is now in your sign, which is another way of saying you have all the motivation, strength, power and energy you could possibly need. Or, you do if you can get out of your own way. This will be the whole exercise of Mars in your sign, which lasts a good long time -- until May 16. You will have many opportunities to stumble over yourself, and just as many to tiptoe around your inner obstacles; or better yet, to remove them from your path. One could go to therapy for five years only to learn that it's better to clear the stumbling blocks than it is to throw them in your own way. Yet you can just figure this out for yourself, noticing all the times you choose to do one or the other. Here is an easy example: if you have plans to do something fun for the evening, don't plan anything later that night, or the next morning. Give yourself the opportunity to go for the full experience. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -- What's the world's most serious problem? There's a good case to be made that fear is the one. You might say fear is the root of all evil, since just about all the mean things that happen are motivated or justified by this odd emotion. Yet the other effect of fear, anxiety or worry in any form is to convert creativity into something toxic, and to block nearly all constructive use of the mind. Anyone who can master these issues will be an influential person, in their own life and in the world around them. You have this opportunity right now, and will through much of the spring. Get in the habit of transforming all of your mental and emotional power into something positive. Understand what provokes you, and get a sense of why that is. As you go through this experience, you will be able to clear all kinds of baggage from your mind and your emotions. You will, in a real sense, claim your life -- claim it back, or for the first time. Full Moon Door: Your Pisces Reading is Ready

Dear Fellow Pisces, Pisces Rising or Pisces Lover:

It was crazy busy the week I finished The Art of Becoming, while also keeping up with horoscopes and playing investigative reporter -- but I just had to do the Pisces birthday reading in time for the Virgo Full Moon.

From your fellow Pisces, Eric Francis.

That is now ready for instant access, for $44 (the final price will be $66).

My job is to provide encouragement, reassurance, and actual information about your transits. I do my best to provide just that.

This is a mellow but detailed reading, which starts with a long discussion of relationships and the need to be discerning. This is directly related to claiming your full value in the world, and feeling good about yourself: what some call self-esteem.

From there, I talk about the ingress of planets from water sign Pisces to fire sign Aries, which in the coming days will include Mercury and Venus, then Chiron. In the second segment I talk mainly about career, profession and community involvement -- this is a discussion of Saturn moving from Sagittarius into Capricorn.

There is plenty more. You can get a personal reading from me lasting 75 minutes for $555 -- or a reading I would be very happy to get, 75 minutes for $44. Get instant access now.

Thank you for your business, and for trusting me as your astrologer.

With love,

P.S. The Art of Becoming is now ready. This reading is a very detailed report on Chiron moving from Pisces to Aries, among other things. You can get individual signs here.

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Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) -- The week begins with the Sun in a close conjunction to Chiron -- the last of many such events that takes place with Chiron in Pisces. While this aspect verges on too deep for words, much less a horoscope column, I will do my best. When existence is lived consciously, it can have a perilous, delicate, vulnerable feeling. Many people live feeling separated from Source or God, and spend their lives endlessly searching. Chiron's eight years in Pisces have helped you tap into the strength of vulnerability, and focus your search inwardly. You've lived through many experiences that have given you reason to have faith in yourself, and in your wider experience of the world. Experience is the real teacher. Theory is good for a while; and then one really gets the point with the discovery that something is possible, or when that the notion of "impossible" vanishes like steam into the air.

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