The Moon, the Sun and (134340) Pluto

Dear Friend and Reader:

Thursday, in the midst of Mars retrograde, we'll experience the first of three eclipses that will occur over the next six weeks. The order will be a solar eclipse in Cancer, followed by a lunar eclipse in Aquarius, and then a solar eclipse in Leo.

The 'blue skies' of Pluto, supposedly due to reactions of nitrogen and methane activated by sunlight, as photographed by New Horizons. Image by NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI.

The lunar nodes (which indicate the approximate location of eclipses) are backtracking from the Leo/Aquarius axis to the Cancer/Capricorn axis.

Though the nodes remain in Leo and Aquarius for now, we're about to experience the first in a series of eclipses along the Cancer-Capricorn axis: a partial solar eclipse in Cancer, exactly opposite Pluto in Capricorn.

A solar eclipse is a version of the New Moon, where the Moon and the Sun align not just by longitude but also by declination. In other words, rather than passing a little above or below the Sun, the Moon passes right across the disk of the Sun. There are several types of solar eclipses. Thursday's is a partial, which means the Moon is slightly misaligned with the Sun, though it's an eclipse nonetheless.

By exactly opposing Pluto, I mean that the opposition between the eclipse and Pluto aligns to about 40 arc minutes, or two-thirds of a degree, so it's right in the pocket.

No matter how you look at this event, it represents a focused growth process of some kind. There are likely to be distinct, unusual events associated with it, both in the world around us and also in our individual and inner lives. Of course, we live in times where so much seems to happen, yet somehow, so little actually does.

The result for many people is a struggle for meaning, engagement, and even just relief from monotony, boredom, pressure and living as if on railroad tracks. Nothing quite says "meaningful" like an eclipse opposite Pluto. Given the usual density of consciousness, many experience Pluto as a kind of do-or-die proposition. It can feel like a confrontation with "ego death," which means change, which is often confused with death. This resembles the style of the Death card from the tarot, which describes a transition within life.

The key with Pluto and eclipses is to guide your energy toward less dense, rather than denser. "Energy" means thought patterns; and not everyone is willing to make the effort, or is open to the idea that it’s possible or could be beneficial. It's also easier said than done, with all the anxiety going around, and society pulled so tight you can flip a quarter on someone's aura.

Tartarus Dorsa on Pluto, a region whose landscape appears to have snakeskin-like, bladed terrain. Image by NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI.

There's a necessary degree of willingness to be submissive to existence called for with this event, and taking things direct to the soul level.

Soul is not a thing. It's a process: of creating oneself, learning through struggle, and cultivating an inner orientation.

That means an interior life, connected to purpose and what some call God; if you need a definition, think of that as "conscious relationship to existence, where existence relates back to you consciously."

That often happens through an experience of confronting extreme fear, which usually translates to the fear of change. These days, it also translates to fear of sex, one of Pluto's specialties. Pluto opposite Moon-Sun-eclipse can represent an encounter with one's sexual shadow -- one's worst fears, deepest desires, guilt, shame, or whatever -- specifically, which one has denied.

Mars retrograde in Aquarius, running in the background of this event, has similar implications. One translation is "mass denial of desire." If the internet is indeed a pseudo-astral plane to which we've ascended, we may be under a collective delusion that we inhabit forms of binary code instead of flesh-and-blood bodies. One possible remedy for this is to consider how good it can feel to have a body, and what you might enjoy doing with yours.

(134340) Pluto is Now a Minor Planet

While we have Pluto in focus, this is a good opportunity to recap some recent history of this intriguing world. When Pluto was discovered in 1930, scientists found an odd, small kind of object in an unusual location in space, just beyond Neptune, previously thought to be empty.

The southeastern region of Pluto's ice plains, showing highlands to the lower right in a shape resembling a Mandelbrot fractal. Image by NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI.

Many, many asteroid and centaur discoveries later, in 2005, an object that would later be named Eris was spotted orbiting our Sun.

Because Eris was thought to be bigger than Pluto (which turned out not to be true) that forced the discussion of whether Pluto is really a planet (don't ask me to make sense out of that; I cannot).

In the summer of 2006, there was a kind of political coup at a conference of astronomers in Prague, and Pluto was demoted from "planet" to "minor planet." This is not minor as in minor leagues, where they hit a lot of foul balls; it's closer to minor scale in music theory, in every way equal and in some ways more interesting than a major scale.

The minor planet category has many sub-groups, though essentially it's one massive category, contained in one catalogue, which is really a list where everything gets a designation called a minor planet number. Pluto and Eris were designated "dwarf planets," along with Ceres (previously known as the first asteroid). Eris became (136199) Eris and Ceres remained (1) Ceres, the first of the lot.

The upshot with Pluto is that something known for 76 years as a planet suddenly, one fine day, ended up in the minor planet catalogue as (134340) Pluto. Minor planets tend to describe psychological processes. This is one way to think of Pluto, if you set aside how the World Trade Center fell to the ground like dropped marionettes, during the aspect Saturn opposite Pluto in the summer of 2001.

Yet most of the impact of that event (which still persists) was on the psyche.

Sept. 11 was designed and exploited as a psychic attack, and spun into a kind of panic to start wars, shut people down and control the population.

People are susceptible to this kind of mass-fear event. With the eminently personal Moon and Sun aligning in an eclipse opposite Pluto, we need to be cautious about the potential for manipulation of this kind.

Some Mythological Implications

Many asteroids are gathered along the axis of 20+ Cancer and 20+ Capricorn, with an unusual cluster emerging from Greek mythology in particular. One of them is Antigone (conjunct the eclipse), a story that juxtaposes human law against divine law. When confronted with this, where does one place one's loyalty? To one's true calling to do what is right, or to do what the state or the emperor says is right?

Pluto (lower right), and Charon (upper left), in enhanced color. Image by NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI.

This may also involve "parental law." Do you do what your parents say is right, or do you do what you feel is right for you? This question has greater implications than we may recognize most days. It's an issue that runs most people's lives from the background.

A point called Meliboea is conjunct Pluto. Look that up in Wikipedia and you get six different references to one name, which reminds me of how everyone has a vastly different version of Pluto in their minds. Pluto is like the "hero with a thousand faces," only more like the anxiety attack/sex panic/morbid terror/spiritual teacher/desire nature with a thousand faces.

A point called Byblis is conjunct the eclipse. This has a few permutations, though one we might resonate with is the issue of whether it's possible to make someone love you. This would include the agony of attempting to do so. One image of Byblis is a wellspring of tears of unrequited love.

One point of this eclipse seems to be confrontation with the fact of our humanity. Mars tracking backwards through Aquarius is questioning our identification with, and tendency to morph into, "digital robot," and Thursday's event is an opportunity to explore that question thoroughly and make decisive changes in our relationship to the technological sphere. Pluto lining up with the Moon and Sun is entirely human: physical, emotional, biological, sexual and mortal.

With love,
The Sacred Space of Self Have You Watched Your Sign's Sample Video Yet?

"You're the best! I love your readings and I appreciate this; share so much as a Cancer with Cap rising, especially. Lots of insight! Thank you so much."
-- L.J. Innes, on the Sacred Space of Self sampler video

Dear Friend and Reader:

I just wanted to be sure you've had a chance to watch the sample videos we have available for the Sacred Space of Self spring reading. If current events have you feeling overwhelmed or a little raw, you might find some solace and inspiration here to keep plugging away at whatever challenges you face now.

Currently all four of the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn) are compiled in one video. We're working on separating those into individual samples -- although, if you have one of those signs as your Sun or rising sign, you'll definitely get great insight from watching the whole compilation.

The fixed and mutable sign samples are available individually (each is linked from the sign name). The cardinal sign links go to where the sample for each sign begins in the compilation video.

Please note that those are only very short excerpts of the Sacred Space of Self readings! Each sign's complete video is a full 30-50 minutes long.

You can order individual signs of the Sacred Space of Self here. Or, go all-in for the complete 12-sign set, and you can watch the videos for your loved ones, too.

"I enjoyed these videos and all of them are surprisingly, completely in-depth. Well, not so surprisingly if you have heard Eric speak on other subjects."
-- Samantha Hampton, on the 2018 Sacred Space of Self readings

If you have any questions (including questions about arrangements for financial hardship), please email us at cs@planetwaves.net -- or, call us at (845) 481-5616.

Wishing you well,

Amanda Painter

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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.

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'Were You Reading My Mind?!'



Monthly Horoscopes and Publishing Schedule Notes

We published your extended monthly horoscopes for July on Thursday, June 21. Your extended monthly horoscopes for June were published on Thursday, May 24. Please note: we normally publish the extended monthly horoscope on the first Friday after the Sun has entered a new sign. Aries (March 20-April 19) -- Act protectively, not defensively. Offer the benefit of your awareness and resources to anyone who may need them, particularly young people. Your survival instincts are running strong right now, and you can do plenty to secure your boundaries, feather your nest, and work toward your greater wellbeing. Yet you may also expand that into a kind of "protectorate" of anyone who comes into your sphere. What you cannot do is protect people from their own folly, self-destruction or delusion. If you observe that is what's happening, you might consider not investing your resources, emotional or otherwise. Attempting to save people from themselves is, in itself, self-destructive on the part of the rescuer. Yet you can at all times act in your own best interests, and you can make it known that you're available to anyone who chooses to be responsible to themselves. That, however, must be your bottom line. Taurus (April 19-May 20) -- You must say what you mean and mean what you say, as your words will have impact on both you and the world around you. This is often forgotten in the Twitter Age, where the majestic power of the alphabet has been degraded and cheapened. It's up to you to make sure that every paragraph, sentence, word and letter count. You have it in you. You are, at heart, an efficient, cautious, yet also creative being. And you have something on your mind, and whatever that is can have an influence on your environment. Yet the real beneficiary of one who makes a clear statement of their ideas is whoever dares to do so. The way you know that writing is real is because it in some way changes the writer. For you that will mean deepening your feelings, tuning yourself into your local environment more keenly, and associating only with people you deem responsible. The stakes are high. Gemini (May 20-June 21) -- Be careful who you get into financial arrangements with. You need a vetting process that lasts anywhere from 90 days to a year. That may seem like a long time, though it's not. If you're talking about marriage, the process would need to last at least two years -- one full Mars cycle, so you know that you've experienced at least one instance of every kind of disagreement you can have. With Mars retrograde in Aquarius, the thing to be mindful of is the bottom-line relationship to existence: what you might call the meaning of life. The place to start that process is to gain some understanding of why you're alive. Many people struggle with this, though it's a high priority. It's not something discovered by theoretical pondering but rather through direct experience. Think of it this way: what do your experiences mean to you? What do the people in life mean to you? What do you make, and why do you make it? That is the meaning of your life.
Cancer Birthdays 2018: The Best of Both Worlds: Birthday Audio and Written Annual

"The Birthday Reading was expansive and mind-blowing, and absolutely on the money in everything. You helped me immeasurably as I change and change and grow, and change some more. What a time! Thank you so much. You are one of a kind."

-- Linsey

Dear Reader with Cancer Sun, Rising or Moon:

Did you miss this year's annual during its discounted phase, but now find yourself deeply in need of some in-depth astrological insight about yourself and your world? Do you appreciate the way your mind receives information differently depending on whether it's in writing or in audio/video form?

If so, you're in luck: we're now offering the 2018 Birthday Reading for Cancer in combination with your 2018 Cancer written annual reading in The Art of Becoming.

It's the best of both worlds: a full book-chapter's worth of Eric's best writing on the overarching themes your sign is working with this year (and beyond -- plus some recent context); paired with a fresh, in-the-moment take on how that's shaping up (recorded in two pro-quality audio segments).

If that sounds exactly like what you need right now to sort through the chaos of the world and get yourself re-oriented on what matters most, I hope you'll take advantage of this combo offer here.

The timing couldn't be better: with next week's New Moon also a (very) partial solar eclipse in your sign, we're about to enter a particularly sensitive time of the year -- one where having the best possible astrological, motivational, troubleshooting, potential-seeing readings could be really useful. If you've ever gotten one of Eric's readings before, you know this is what he specializes in -- using friendly, down-to-earth language you can use right away.

"Each year I purchase the annual readings and each time I find myself understanding the depth of it precisely when I need it (or right in the midst of the unfolding), so that I can navigate the energies and alignments in a way that feels right, makes sense and moves me forward."

-- Winter Clark, on the Art of Becoming annual readings

When you order your 2018 Birthday Reading combined with your 2018 Cancer annual reading, you'll get access to the written portion immediately. Then, as soon as Eric records the birthday audio segments, we'll email to let you know they're ready.

This is quite a year, Cancer. I wish you all the best in flowing with all that it offers.

Yours & truly,

Amanda Painter

P.S. If you have any questions about this combo offer, please email us at cs@planetwaves.net -- or call us at (845) 481-5616. If you leave a message we will get right back to you.

P.P.S. You can also pre-order your 2018 Cancer Birthday Reading on its own, for only $33 -- the lowest price we offer before it publishes.

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Cancer (June 21-July 22) -- Thursday's New Moon eclipse in your birth sign is exactly opposite Pluto in Capricorn. This chart has two main features: one important matter or relationship you must focus on, and many things you need to be aware of but leave to themselves. All that stuff off to the side might seem compelling. It might seem dramatic. It's likely to include a cast of characters who have no idea what is good for them; some may be delusional, and you need to not let yourself be sidetracked by their antics. You have, on the other hand, a perfect alignment that will help you move heaven and earth -- and make some important changes you have been working toward for a long time: potentially going back 10 years. What you're experiencing now is a culmination of that process (symbolized by Pluto in your opposite sign Capricorn). You might say you're going to do a lot of catching up with yourself in a short time. Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) -- Most of the work you have to do is what might be described as inner work. There may be some outer manifestation, though that's secondary to the awakening you're going through, and the choices you'll be making as a result of it. The thing about inner work is that for many, it's often elusive, lacking tangible form or substance, or words to describe it. And frequently, the interior described is itself nebulous, and difficult to access. This week's partial eclipse of the Sun is taking the opposite approach: there is specificity; there's substance; there is illumination of your inner realm. Yet with that may also come what A Course in Miracles calls "the fear to look within." This fear is based on the premise that what one will find, if one looks within, is darkness and judgment. Yet what if the opposite were true? What if you looked inside yourself, and discovered that you are made of love, and that love is your only reality? Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) -- Art has the power to transcend social and political strife like few things can. Nobody fully understands this property, though we've all seen it in action. Whether we're talking about a novel that changed the consciousness of a population (Uncle Tom's Cabin, The Grapes of Wrath), an artist who made AIDS awareness friendly and accessible (Keith Haring), or a musical that transcends racial and cultural barriers (Hamilton), the creative process is a transcendent power, and is a force for healing. If you seek to change the world in some way, you might try art rather than politics. This does not mean turning art into a political statement. Rather, you would create art in response to what you feel, or what you witness. The creative process must come first. Beauty and integrity must precede your message, and you must strive to allow your work to change you, before anyone else will change. I reckon you've been waiting for this moment a long time. Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) -- Make your important decisions in accord with how you want to be known, going forward. This is about more than your reputation, which in our era exists mostly in the commercial realm. This is something bigger: it's about what you're known for creating, which is an extension of the deepest vision of who you are. Indeed, your creations are an extension of you, in a way similar to how parents create children. And just as children grow up to live independent lives, so too do your creations, and the results of your work. All you can do is put as much integrity and love into them at the time you have the chance to influence them, especially at the beginning. And even then, things don't go perfectly. Even if there would seem to be some disturbances around you, trust that your core message has come through. That is another way of saying to trust that who you are comes through your work; you are the message. You set your own example. Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) -- At the heart of any spiritual project or mission must be love and forgiveness. When those are present, there is no need for morality, and there is nothing to teach, and there is nothing to learn. The problem is that love and forgiveness contradict every value of the capitalist system in which we live, which is inherently based on isolation, scarcity, competition and, worst yet, deception. Love and forgiveness are about mutually shared interests, not separate ones. Love is about truth and truth alone. The question you may face is how to bring these values more fully into your lived reality, when you must be a creature of the world. And that is where the spiritual life must evolve into a direct relationship to what you might call "the living information." This comes through most strongly when you are committed to love and forgiveness as a way of life. This is an act of faith. And through that act of faith, you discover something called soul. Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) -- So much chaos and controversy surround the realm of sexuality, it's amazing anyone on the planet has a single positive erotic experience their entire life. Yet you long for this. Your sign may be the most exotic of all, in terms of your sense that you're not "from here." Whether that is a metaphor or something more tangible, eroticism is one of your ways of finding home on our planet. It's one your deepest sources of emotional nourishment. This week's partial solar eclipse is in this region of your chart, the sign Cancer, which represents mother's milk, breakfast in bed, your home and very the coziest spot in it, and your style of lovemaking. See if you can filter out all the noise and madness that surround something so natural. See if you can go beyond the economic interests, meaning anywhere that money might infiltrate the erotic realm. See if you can find a way for what is loving and natural to be just that. Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) -- You have a more profound impact on others than you may imagine. The effect of this is to draw you more deeply into your relationships than you may feel safe or comfortable going; and through the mirror effect, you may only notice the depth to which you experience people, rather than how they experience you. It will help you, and the people close to you, to tune in to the effect you have on others. Now for the challenge: what if, for example, someone you care about deeply is a hot mess, and claiming that this is somehow about you? Well, now you have a boundary question of the first order. You might start by taking the claim at face value, and inquiring whether it has any validity. Then, consider the person's personal history prior to your arrival in their life, and see if you can detect any patterns. You have the ability to work this out. Remember how much of life and of happiness depends upon one's agenda. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -- Pluto's position in your solar chart is driving you deeper into your journey of inner awareness. Yet you've reached a point where your experience is making contact with some practical matters of health and wellbeing, and that is where your solar chart stands at the time of Thursday's eclipse. This is a moment of contact, where you'll be able to recognize ways you can make specific changes to the patterns of your life -- adjustments that, with Mars retrograde, have no doubt been in process for a while. What you've experienced is composed of many individual decisions, yet it goes much deeper. Life patterns exist on many levels, from behaviors (for example, what you eat, and where) to drives (why you crave certain foods) to something more existential (your relationship to nourishment). You are in a position to thread the needle on all of these at once, though it will help if you're responsive to your desire to do so; and make a choice to let go of resistance, to the degree that you can. A little willingness will go a long way. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) -- You're a pleasure-seeking being. It would be wholesome of you to remember that, and also to remember that we live in a culture that is, at the moment, having a love affair with a kind of neo-Puritanism. One question you're working with is the extent to which you're willing to allow cultural dictates to drive your choices, influence your desires, and externally impose a moral code on you. There's another way to see this, as well: Pluto's movement through Capricorn has created the illusion of control and, at the same time, it's created an opening through which you have a direct path of self-expression. While you might think that this is a crack in the structure of society, the actual potential is within you; you cannot seek it outside yourself. Yet you can navigate the world both through social choices and being fully conscious of your state of mind wherever you are. Notice the ways that your emotional state and your mentality open certain things to perception and to availability.

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