At Last: Mars Stations Direct

Dear Friend and Reader:

By the time you read this, the Pisces Full Moon will have already peaked earlier in the day. Yet even if you can feel a situation resolving or softening in one regard, you might still be experiencing a little agitation: tomorrow, at 10:05 am EDT (14:04:52 UTC), Mars finally stations direct after having been retrograde for two full months.

This May 11, 2016, self-portrait of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows the vehicle at the "Okoruso" drilling site on lower Mount Sharp's "Naukluft Plateau" in a mosaic of multiple images. Photo by NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS.

Only you can say whether you felt this dramatically or barely at all; whether you felt thwarted at every turn, or just a little less gung-ho than usual. And of course, with three eclipses and Mercury's own retrograde mixed in, it can be hard to tease out the themes specific to Mars.

Yet, for the last week, Mercury has been direct in Leo; the eclipses finished up just over two weeks ago. It's possible you've been able to discern a little better the meaning of this particular Mars retrograde in your own life during the last week or two. You might ponder these questions if you need a hand tapping into it:

Has this past season helped you to understand certain desires better?

Do you have a sharper grasp of the ways you stand out from -- or even oppose outright -- a particular group or social trend?

Have you reached deeper insights about particular past actions, and how they've gotten you to where you are now?

It could help to consider the Sabian symbol for the degree where Mars is stationing direct, 29 Capricorn. (The Sabian symbols are a set of images that were channeled to correspond to each degree of the zodiac; Dane Rudhyar's version is perhaps the most popular.) The Sabian symbol for 29 Capricorn reads: "A woman reading tea leaves." It comes with the keynote: "The ability to see the Signature of hidden meaning in every occurrence drawing one's attention."

I don't know about you, but I can definitely say that this keynote describes some of my inner agitation and connection making of the last week. At dinner Wednesday night, I kept joking that I must sound a little nuts as I described what I've been preoccupied with for the last several days (well, longer, I suppose; but things got much more specific just before Mercury stationed direct on the 19th). Details that might have otherwise not caught my attention suddenly felt like a web of meaning -- the trick seemed to be to stay focused on how I could use it to move forward, rather than getting stuck in "what ifs."

Even if you can't relate to that scenario at all, it still might be worthwhile to see if the things drawing your attention feel connected to your deeper life questions, or to actions you want to take. Mars will be spending another week at 29 Capricorn after it stations direct.

The one note of caution I might sound regards the possibility that Mars retrograde, especially while it was in Aquarius, symbolized you standing in opposition to a group. If it did, that situation should be easily verifiable via facts you can check; don't settle for imagining what so-and-so might have said or done. The idea is to stay grounded in reality so that you can take effective, productive action toward your goals and desires.

Detail of image taken by NASA's Curiosity rover, showing different geological layers on Mount Sharp. Photo by NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS.

It's also worth noting that Mercury in Leo makes some interesting aspects this week; it will leave its post-retrograde echo (or shadow) phase on Sunday, Sept. 2.

One of these Mercury aspects is a square to Jupiter in Scorpio on Tuesday. In part, this is a reminder to allow your optimism to help you make big plans and long-range goals, but to mind the details (and your spending) along the way -- and to stay flexible in the process.

Then on Friday, the Virgo Sun makes an opposition to Nessus in Pisces. I'll likely have more to say about this later in the week, but it does appear to describe the experience of coming face-to-face with patterns in life that have tripped you up -- especially related to past boundary transgressions or abuses by others -- and perhaps the way we often turn that on ourselves.

That might sound uncomfortable or intimidating, but it's really a valuable opportunity. It means you have a chance to see these dynamics more clearly, and to make new choices around how you'll take steps in your healing. And Mars direct is certainly about taking steps.

Yours & truly,

Amanda Painter


Your Autumn Reading by Eric Francis
Empathy-Pathos: A Study in Venus Retrograde

Dear Friend and Listener:

This letter is to introduce the Planet Waves Autumn Reading, called Empathy-Pathos. This will be a study in Venus retrograde. We are offering all 12 signs tonight and during the day tomorrow for our best price, $47.

This will go up to $57 on Monday evening, and to $67 on Thursday, and $77 next weekend. Early purchasers get the best price. I am planning to deliver the reading around the equinox, well ahead of Venus stationing retrograde.

Eric Francis.

Project Description

Mars retrograde is about to end, and Venus retrograde is about to begin. Spanning from Oct. 5 through Nov. 15, the retrograde will be in Scorpio (where Venus is supposedly not so happy) into Libra (where she is supposedly thrilled). To me, this describes many shades of empathy (the ability to resonate with another) and pathos (suffering, or passion, which come from the same root).

In this reading, I will review Mars retrograde and the recent eclipses, and open up the territory of Venus and its unusual way of resonating and emoting. We'll explore approaches to the masculine and feminine attributes of Venus, as well as the introspective and expressive aspects of Venus through the retrograde process.

The retrograde begins with Venus square Mars, describing the prevailing tension and struggle with inhibition that characterize our time in history. From there, the journey is inward, to the source of whatever feelings you may be experiencing.

These will be audio readings, featuring music by Vision Quest. With apologies to those who were planning on video, I'm feeling a little over-exposed at the moment and will be better able to deliver this reading in spoken word format, without the distraction of visuals. I will, however, add an introductory video that illustrates both Venus and Mars retrograde, so you have that to work with.

The readings apply to Sun and rising sign, and will be 30 to 40 minutes each.

You may pre-order here.

If you would like to order by phone, call us at (845) 481-5616.

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

With love, 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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Our Gifts to You: A Little Something Extra

Dear Friend and Reader:

It took me a long time to figure out what kind of gift to offer for new and returning subscribers. Tee shirts seemed too complicated; you need at least six sizes to get started, and not everyone wants a shirt. Tote bags are useful but kind of boring.

So I thought: journals. I love notebooks, and just about everything I write starts scribbled down on paper. I know my readers are a little old-fashioned, so this seemed like the perfect thing.

Black smaller, pink larger, embossed with the Planet Waves logo. There are a few hand painted sketchbooks left, with heavy, acid-free paper.

Then...I researched embossed journals for about six months. That’s how long it took. I requested or purchased samples of the best that suppliers had, and all kinds of stuff came floating in the door. It was more challenging than I imagined to find a nice one, though finally I did.

Everything had to be right: the paper, the lines, and how the book feels in your hands.

However, the one I selected was being discontinued. I ordered as many as we could reasonably afford. We now have two main options: small black ones, and larger pink ones (these are new).

Together, they are the approximate color of Good & Plenty candy. I am one of these people who loves anything pink (sweatshirts, nail polish, headbands, a hot pink Squier guitar that I gave to Zosha a few years ago). We also have a few hand-painted notebooks left, which are acid-free sketchbooks.

You can get an embossed notebook with any monthly, quarterly or yearly membership to Planet Waves. If, by the way, there's a calling for hand-painted ones, I will make one more-or-less to your preferences (for those who sign up for a full-year Backstage Pass).

Continue reading this letter here.
Monthly Horoscopes and Publishing Schedule Notes

Your extended monthly horoscopes for August were published on Thursday, Aug. 9. We published your extended monthly horoscopes for July on Thursday, June 21. 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) -- With Mars at last direct, you might feel almost as if you've been reborn: somewhat raw and a little sensitive, yet renewed and looking at the world with fresh eyes. As with the Fool card in the Tarot, any type of new beginning contains a whole universe of potential. You can accomplish pretty much anything you set your mind to. Once you have an aim, the next part is to consider the details of how you will get there; what you're willing and able to do on a regular basis. Don't forget to take into account your experiences during Mars retrograde, and the lessons they offered you. Taurus (April 19-May 20) -- A recent clip making its way around the web discussed how urban design, including that of most schools and offices, is more congenial with added brightness and variety of colors: it was actually found to make people happier. As adults, we are expected on the whole to lead a sober, rather drab existence in the name of responsibility. Yet life is much more pleasant if we let the child in us out to play, at least occasionally; and, after all, creative pursuits of every sort depend on imagination. Take up any opportunity to have some fun and bring color into your life this week. Gemini (May 20-June 21) -- With the latest retrogrades out of the way, you're probably inclined to pick up the pace as fast as you can, especially if you feel there's some catching up to be done. However, it may be wise just to take a little time first and review how the past couple months have played out for you. It's possible you're still working through some of the effects, and there seems to be the potential for deep healing. While this might not appear like direct progress, it's likely to be a necessary stage of development. Listen to your intuition and let it lead the way for the time being. Cancer (June 21-July 22) -- Like many in the past few weeks, you've likely learned something new about the dynamics between individuals and groups, including through your own experiences. What's emerging for you may be a fresh way to assert your individuality and independence. Some information that specifically connects with past patterns could be the key to showing you the way forward, even if only by your counteracting what has served as a hindrance or complication up to this point. However, you are forging a unique path, which may also need lateral thinking and a certain fearlessness. Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) -- Most children learn something from families that they then have to pick apart as adults. In part, this is due simply to the progress of the species through succeeding generations. We cannot think exactly as our parents did before us, or nothing would ever change. Added to that is the effect family expectations have on our estimate of ourselves and our capabilities, which is almost always lower than the reality. It might actually be healthier to consider no skill off limits, and to cultivate the ones you want. If you're interested in something particular, why not give it a try?

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Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) -- Your famed tendency to self-criticism sometimes means that taking on additional responsibilities requires a sort of suspension of disbelief, until you've proved to yourself sufficiently that you are in fact perfectly capable. This might look to others like an odd technique, but it can work -- provided you actually allow a threshold of proof that isn't equivalent to becoming a bodhisattva. In other words, try to be as fair to yourself as you know you are to others, and accept compliments and praise when they are merited -- which they almost always will be. Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) -- Particularly when things are going smoothly in our lives, we can be inclined to shy away from the more challenging kinds of emotional work, choosing instead to sweep discomfiting feelings under the rug. You may have found, however, that Mars has had other plans as it gradually changes direction. Confronting what might seem like irrational reactions to a situation isn't easy, but you might consider each occasion as a step toward inner peace. Listen to your instincts, and gently remind yourself of all the progress you've made so far. There is strength in vulnerability. Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) -- There's a certain sense of freshness and anticipation in the air, which is unsurprising given the summer we've all had, plus the fact that back-to-school season is fast approaching. You may be noticing this especially, and are perhaps pondering a change in some area of your life, such as beginning a new course of study yourself, or an additional hobby. It's always good to keep the synapses firing, and you have plenty of options as to where to invest your energy -- probably more than you realize. While Mars is getting back into gear, you might check out what's available. Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) -- Your creativity would seem to be in full flow, and opportunities may be appearing at work where you can put it to use. Yet a part of you is perhaps hesitant to take them up. You might be recalling a previous moment in your life when you accepted a seemingly ideal position or embarked on an artistic journey, only to find all was not as it seemed. That's fair enough, and there's certainly nothing wrong with being cautious or seeking further information. However, I would suggest that you at least be open to the possibilities. Some risks are very well worth taking. Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) -- Who are you, and who do you want to become? These are questions everyone tackles at some point in their lives, often on an ongoing basis. Very few have a glaringly obvious vocation, and still fewer are absolutely sure of how to fulfill it. Most of us find out by degrees; besides which, we are all constantly changing and evolving. Don't be too concerned with having definite answers in this matter. The journey to discovery may, after all, be a calling in itself; as is healing; as is psychological development. Staying true to your ideals is enough. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -- By now you've probably gotten to know yourself pretty thoroughly, with the recent astrology precipitating one revelation after the next. You likely feel somewhat that if you have to do any more soul-searching you might as well be looking for a unicorn. Yet you've come a long way, and in the process have unearthed a potent and useful stock of resilience, along with a host of abilities and wisdom that you can work with in the next phase of your journey. In addition, you pretty much have a blank slate. Whatever you most desire to accomplish is within your reach. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) -- Despite the importance in modern society of the concept of consent, very few people actually have clearly delineated boundaries -- whether in sex, friendships, work or any other sphere of interaction. It helps to be aware of this, and to pay attention when someone draws a line that is not to be crossed. Be vigilant also in terms of your own boundaries; read any proposed contracts carefully before you agree to them, and listen closely to your instincts. If you're unsure about anything, don't forget that you can ask. More information is almost always better.

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