Virgo New Moon: Remember the Goddess

"Good health may be freedom from disease, but it is also openness to change, flexibility, and compassionate embodiment, even when dancing with cancer or healing from a serious accident. Uniqueness rather than normalcy. Not a cure, but an integration; not the elimination of the bad, but a nourishing of wholeness/health/holiness."

— Susan Weed

Dear Friend and Reader:

We are approaching the Virgo New Moon, exact at 7 am EDT on Thursday, Sept. 17.

Virgo is the sign of the Goddess. I am here to remind you to remember her. Remember her in all of her forms: Gaia, the living Earth; the spirit of love and abundance; all rituals and expressions of beauty and pleasure; and her embodiment through all of the women and men who allow the feminine principle to inhabit their body and their spirit.

We are experiencing tough times on the planet right now. We are seeing the result of years of abuse driven by greed, and the concentration of power and wealth in the hands of very few people. For some, it seems there is no such thing as "enough."

The Goddess is a wholly natural principle that does not require abstraction or complex theory to be understood. There is no theology necessary. It is the ground that we walk on.

Virgo: The Sign of Service and Healing

Virgo is also the sign associated with service and healing. The Wise Woman — the form of healing based in nature — does not run to the doctor, the government, or to pharmaceutical corporations for its solutions. It does not seek to intervene. We are wrong, I believe, to run in terror from any facet of the natural world: the world we live in every day.

I once had a conversation with Susun Weed, who lives not far from me. As I do with many people, I called her up to introduce myself as the community's astrologer. What I got in return for that gesture was an explanation of the six steps of healing, which I never forgot. Though I was hearing them for the first time, I had figured out many of them intuitively and through my training in the wide diversity of areas I have sought knowledge and experience.

Susun talks about how, "The both/and universe embraces all possibilities. Allows distinction, sees beyond opposition. Yin and yang cooperate, reach consensus." This is rather challenging in these days of seeming black vs white, of choosing camps, and of seeing nearly everything through a political lens.

I have noticed that most humans have a very difficult time holding multiple possibilities in their minds at the same time. There is almost always a rush to the conclusion, and if that conclusion turns out to be wrong, usually people stay committed to it, cling to it with all their might. That is the current status of the Covid situation. Couple this with what seems like an addiction to horror: to worst-case scenarios and to adrenaline.

Anyway, according to Susun, those six steps are:

Step 0 — Do Nothing
Step 1 — Collect Information
Step 2 — Engage the Energy
Step 3 — Nourish and Tonify
Step 4 — Stimulate & Sedate
Step 5 — Use Drugs
Step 6 — Break & Enter

Thoughts About the Six Steps

I consider Step Zero to mean observe. This is not a passive state; it is an actively attentive one. To do nothing means to not take action, which is one of the hardest things for Westerners to do, given their tendency to react and overreact. If you've never heard a compilation of 911 fast food calls, here's what overreacting sounds like. Or maybe if you appreciate that, here's one about a taco.

If you give yourself time to do nothing, you get an interval to figure out if there really is a problem. All of these steps seem designed to provide time to see if the next step is available. There are pre-planned intervals of decision.

At Step 1, collect information, we currently have two issues: an over-abundance of disinformation, and the need to decide for yourself what is true. The disinformation tends to mystify people, and push them back into trusting the experts, which is nothing but trouble. Implied in this method is the need to think for yourself, which means to think at all.

I think of engaging the energy as a more direct experience, something like contra dancing. This does not mean go into battle. It means feel your feelings, notice the pain or struggle, consider the history of the situation.

I am a big fan of Step 3, nourish and tonify. That means adjust your diet, and use herbs in a way that is designed not to get a specific effect but to provide the body with some missing nutrients. Tonify means strengthen, which spans from getting movement to getting sunlight. We don't think of healing this way; usually we go right to the desired result.

Step 4 is interesting: stimulate and sedate. This implies another use of substances. Sometimes, for example, sleep or slowing down must be aided. I think of Step 4 as an experiment, a way of getting underneath the problem. In all cases (says this Pisces), healing implies tracking the dream life for information. Somewhere in Step 3 or 4 I would include an intervention such as chiropractic or osteopathic adjustment or medical massage.

Out to the End of the Process: Drugs and Surgery

Step 5, use drugs, is getting near the last stages of the process, designed to get a specific response. You might actually need to interfere with a bodily process, or get relief from pain. But note that this would come after taking many other steps, and using your powers of observation and listening.

Step 6, break and enter, is about surgery. Usually there is no rush to get there and many steps that must intervene before doing so, though note that it is included. This is not a purist philosophy. Rather, it is a gentle and gradual one.

In no case is there medical intervention where there is not a problem to solve. Going straight to Step 5, the use of a drug (more powerful, specific or refined than an herb) in the absence of any disease is dangerous, and it can be extremely detrimental. Many drugs and vaccinations induce disease where there was none before.

In recent years, many have spent much time and energy bemoaning the patriarchy. Yes, it is a problem — and the solution to that problem is to take another approach.

These days, we need to stop and consider whether there really is a problem that needs to be solved, and which problem it might be. A lot of energy is going into a situation that has little to no remarkable manifestation, and when there is a manifestation, it could stem from many other issues. It helps to make sure you're treating the right thing — we have all had experiences of the wrong thing being treated. Stories of misdiagnosis and its aftermath are legion. That is why observation over time is so essential.

When it comes time to state the problem, do so in a way that facilitates the solution. There is an old aphorism that I like. Maybe if there's no solution, it's not a problem.

Remember the Goddess. Remember the Wise Woman tradition. Spend some time with the Earth and ask her for some information about what is happening on the planet right now.

With love,

PS — Note to Readers — in service of the website transformation (which is getting closer) and giving a break to our editorial assistants, I will not be writing an edition on Thursday. You will hear from me next with Planet Waves FM on Friday evening. I continue to update Daily Planets with birthdays every day and an astrology note almost every day.

PPS — Here is a short new video by Ivor Cummins studying the official worldwide data on the Covid situation, including the impact of lockdowns and masking. He is a biochemical engineer from Ireland who specializes in problem-solving. This is the Season of Personal Growth

"Without knowing the issues I've been going through, you, Eric, have helped me to put it all into perspective. I can't help myself, I am who I am! Your encouragement to BE ME is medicine to the heart, cos I lost that footing over the years. Thank you VERY much."

— S.C., on The Story of I AM midyear 2020 reading

Dear Friend and Reader:

Mars retrograde in Aries is an important season for personal growth.

In Aries, Mars retrograde is about self-realization. It's about building your confidence. It's about claiming your soul back from the internet.

	You may watch the free video preview to the whole series at this link.

We live in serious times. This is for social, political and economic reasons, which are precipitating changes we all have to experience or endure. Yet the astrology provoking these changes is about to become deeply personal, now that Mars retrograde is in the picture.

Mars is about the drive to be human: the human engine, as T.S. Eliot put it. It's about desire, and need, and also about anger and aggression. Each of us contains all of these emotions, and they are about to be stirred up as Mars makes retrograde aspects to Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn.

Capricorn is the well of family material, which is sure to come up — and rather than seeing this as a problem, I see it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to resolve deep material, or to get a lot of the work out of the way. One rule of healing that I follow is if you have an opportunity to do a large portion of the work in one go, then do it.

I have created a series of astrology sessions for you, called The Story of I AM. You can think of these as video readings, or you can think of them as a series of processing sessions. Each is relevant to you. Your Sun and rising sign are the most helpful, though each and everyone has many gifts for you: ideas, strategies, discussion and analysis of deep personal material.

With warmth, gentleness and imparting the gifts I have gained through long experience, I take you through the material in clear, accessible language.

These days a single therapy session goes for up to $300 some places. For $111, you will have 12 astrology sessions and an introduction providing the background you need to understand what is happening in the planets. These readings will stand up to many playings, and can serve as a turning point in your life.

Please take advantage of this opportunity while you have the leverage to do the work in the most efficient way. We will never pass this way again — and where humanity is headed calls for your full preparation, availability and awareness.

You may purchase single signs here, or all 12 signs here. Free video samples are below!

Thank you for your business, and mostly, for your trust.

With love,

PS — This set of readings is included with the Backstage Pass. If you would like to purchase the Backstage Pass by phone, please call me at (845) 481-5616, up till 8 pm Eastern Time.

Listened to I Am last night. Extraordinary. Have been through Taurus, Leo, Cancer and Aquarius. The confirmatory understanding of the past cycle, the work it has taken to attend to and the nudges I am already feeling about the next phase, so helpful. Seriously, you continue to communicate in such a way that openings and accountability can be digested. I think your work just gets better.

— Customer from Australia

"Firstly I just wanted to say thank you. Listening to your Dharma reading earlier this summer was a real turning point during my lockdown. It gave me so much direction and trust, and acted quite literally like a galvaniser that has got to where I am now. Your weekly and monthly horoscopes are always very helpful for me."

Here are free five-minute reading samples for each sign:

Aries		Taurus		Gemini	Cancer		Leo		Virgo
Libra		Scorpio		Sagittarius	Capricorn		Aquarius		Pisces

Going back to February, I've developed a portfolio of essays, investigative articles, videos and audio presentations on the Covid situation. These include articles about the astrology of the situation, hand sanitizer, holistic care, social critique and a wide diversity of other topics. We've recently added a selection of my satires, such as CDC guidance on blowing kisses. This is a truly comprehensive look at the issues, written from a worldly, nonpolitical standpoint. Here is the link. Chiron Return, our nonprofit arm, publishes Covid19 News every day, in fact several times a day. We have updated about 740 times since we began publishing on March 3. This old-style news weblog takes a panoramic view of the virus situation. We offer news and viewpoints from a wide diversity of sources, science news, international reporting, videos and other resources to help you see the wide diversity of information not making it onto television or major websites. We are tracking the vaccine and testing issues carefully. Each Friday night, Chiron Return publishes Planet Waves FM. Running since 2010, with roots into Radio Woodstock in the 1990s, Planet Waves FM covers current events, current astrology, science history, personal growth and other themes, and includes original music by Vision Quest, the in-house Planet Waves orchestra. Planet Waves publishes daily astrology and birthdays through the week. This feature includes a daily extended birthday reading and ongoing commentaries on developing astrology as it happens. Check in whenever you want — no password required. Monthly Horoscopes and Publishing Schedule Notes

Your extended monthly horoscope for September was published on Wednesday, Sept. 2. We published your extended monthly horoscope for August on Monday, August 3. Please note: we normally publish the extended monthly horoscope after the Sun has entered a new sign.

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Aries (March 20-April 19) — Pressure will seem to mount, gradually though steadily, for you to make a decision. The inner struggle is: do you make this choice in any way to serve others, or is this one about you, and what you know is good for you? The interlopers may exist in reality, though they have power only through the authority you may grant them. And they may not exist in physical form at all, but only as thought forms you carry from the past. We could look at this as being an issue of whether you are willing to challenge someone else, or to challenge an idea you have in your mind. The bottom line is, to what extent do you actually respect your inner authority? Do you accept what you know about yourself, your purpose, and your calling? Or are you in any way willing to farm that out to others? It's none of their business, even if they claim you as such. If you are willing to hand your power of choice over to someone, you might consider why -- and it's unlikely to involve any reason you claim for doing so. It is therefore about something else.

Story of I AM: All 12 signs | Choose your signs | Aries preview video

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Taurus (April 19-May 20) — You are pretty sure you can survive, whether emotionally or financially, and I reckon you are correct. It's also time to set your sights higher, no matter what turmoil or tragedy may befall humanity. There has always been plenty of that, needless as most of it is, synthetic as most of it is. Nearly everything hinges on your beliefs. Humans tend to live in an environment of supposition, superstition, and notions great and small. That is different from knowledge, and it's different from self-knowledge. You might take as your first priority learning to spot when you believe something. This is not easy for many people, largely because they are not interested in the distinction. I propose that you are, and that's a good thing. If you start to ask yourself about this, you will learn something about yourself and how you perceive the world. In fact-checking — the real thing, not the thing on Facebook — there is only one question the editor has for the writer: how do you know that? Work that as a mantra and you'll get exciting results, though they may shake you up.

Story of I AM: All 12 signs | Choose your signs | Taurus preview video

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Gemini (May 20-June 21) — This week's New Moon will serve as a tipping point for you, or it can if you let it. You are being called to honor something about your essential nature, and your relationship with yourself. In many ways what seems to be relationship to 'the other' is about abiding with them and their process, and in truth has little to do with you and yours. We could trace the long history of this, and the idea of commitment you seemed to form as a young person, and also your ideas about marriage. If there is a situation in your life you're trying to work out, resolve, or remove yourself from, you might go through a mental exercise, a little like this, one topic at a time, each considered carefully: how would this situation be if I removed the financial element? How would it be if I removed the sexual element? How would it be if I removed the expectations of others who have no direct involvement? What if I were not so concerned with the effects and consequences of the past? What if I honored my ability to make up my own mind, and to change my mind when necessary? Give this all a few days, please.

Story of I AM: All 12 signs | Choose your signs | Gemini preview video

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Cancer (June 21-July 22) — You have a lot to offer, and while you're doing so, you want to keep a little for yourself. That could mean your resources in any form: love, devotion, ideas, mental bandwidth, and especially time. It's particularly vital that you tend to your inner flame, which means keeping the fire going at just the right intensity. You don't want to burn out; there may be areas of your life where you're exerting considerable effort directed at people or situations that at times appear to be intractable. They are not; you will notice over the next few weeks that they begin to move, or you will notice if you are paying attention. The world seems to be trapped in all kinds of intractable circumstances that will never change. You may feel that way as well. This is not true, and it's critical you decide what you want, so that you can take your opening when you see it. Meanwhile, bide your time, which does not mean wait. It means abide in your time and use it well, as it's your most important resource.

Story of I AM: All 12 signs | Choose your signs | Cancer preview video

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Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — You must be the central organizing principle of your life. Others see you this way for events related to their own lives: a point of focus, and a gravitational force that holds people and events in their orbit. Though this is true, I suggest you take the idea inward. Venus and Vesta are now in your sign, gradually forming a conjunction. This is about you being devoted to yourself, to your growth, to your needs, and most importantly to considering your vision for the next phase of your experience on Earth. I suggest you take the time to set your priorities, and as you do, ask yourself what forces seem to be intervening, within your own mind and feelings. What is the 'but' that comes up? What are the conditions you think you must comply with? Let this bubble up to the conscious level, and capture whatever gas escapes from the equation. Be mindful of how you may be shaping your values against your will. There must be no debate, within yourself, of what is important to you, and this goal is easy enough to attain if you remember that nobody else gets a vote in this matter. Or even half of one.

Story of I AM: All 12 signs | Choose your signs | Leo preview video

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Tailored for Virgo Sun and rising, this new audio reading by Eric Francis introduces you to your astrology through the autumn of 2021. We will take maximum advantage of the power you are drawing from the Earth signs at the time of your solar return: Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn, as well as Uranus in Taurus. This is a grand earth trine, and the thing to do is gather momentum in the direction you want to go, and then point yourself there. Eric describes the influence of Jupiter and Saturn ingressing Aquarius later this year. The reading looks closely at Chiron in Aries, accompanied by Mars retrograde in Aries — your most important relationship house. A full transcript will follow soon. Order now for instant access. This reading is included with the Backstage Pass.

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Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — The New Moon in your birth or rising sign later this week places you at a crossroads, though this occurs in your own territory rather than far from home. You are at a turning point; you've known you have adjustments to make, and this is your opportunity. Most of them involve your perception of your family, and what you feel they've taken from you. Whatever it may be — and there is likely to be something — it's yours to claim back. But whatever that 'thing' is, we are actually talking about you, yourself. In many facets of your life, you may account for the influences of your family of origin. Yet in your current analysis, I would propose that your finances and your creative expression are where you are focused. You are making progress on both of those fronts, though they are still metaphors. You are what you seek. You are all you have. Remember that, and remember as well to challenge the lies that you were told. This need not be done with rage, but rather with the recognition that you have no investment in what is untrue.

Story of I AM: All 12 signs | Choose your signs | Virgo preview video

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Pre-order your Libra 2020-21 Astrology Studio here for best price. This reading is included with the Backstage Pass.

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Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — Mercury in your sign is cautioning you against exaggerating your feelings, or the facts of your situation. Life is not perfect for too many people right now, though you are doing better than you might otherwise be, considering the present circumstances of the planet. If you find yourself having to make some difficult decisions over the next week, remember that all you can decide is whether or not to be in accord with who you are. If you start from the premise that you cannot be anyone else, this will be a lot easier. You may feel anger that others are not delivering the kind of security they promised, or that you expected or agreed to. Yet if you begin with the concept that you provide your own security, through your own connection to the ground you stand on, you will make your life simpler. You are the only person who owes you anything. You are the only person who has an actual investment in not disappointing yourself. You are the first and last person who can and indeed must show up for yourself.

Story of I AM: All 12 signs | Choose your signs | Libra preview video

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Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — Keep your focus at work, and maintain a respectful relationship with those in authority even if you don't agree with their position. You are in a delicate stage of working out something about your life purpose. This is not the time to instigate conflict, burn bridges or decide you've had enough. Whatever you may do next, the conditions at the end of this stage are the most dependable predictor of those at the beginning of the next. That's why you want to work out your karma on a day-by-day basis, which means taking every step, skipping none, and proceeding with the utmost respect for your commitments. One's success depends far less on how one performs duties one is truly interested in, and much more on how one attends to the tasks that they may find dull or that would seem to brush their fur in the wrong direction. It is not until you love what you do, whatever it is, that you can have the privilege of doing what you love. In truth they are the same thing; the same state of mind leads to that equilibrium.

Story of I AM: All 12 signs | Choose your signs | Scorpio preview video

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Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — As David Byrne sang, "Never for money, always for love," though you must make the financial element work for you, not against you. Contrary to popular thinking, this is the creative element. Some believe that the product, the service, the art, is the creative part; actually, it's the monetary aspect of the work that is the test and the proof of the true artist. At least that is true today; I do not discount the brilliance of poet Emily Dickinson, who was supported by her family her whole life and who only had to leave the house twice, to have eyeglasses fitted. We live in different times, when no such specialization is possible. Those who have something interesting to do, and who also need to make a living, have been put in the position of being alchemists of a sort: those who can turn paint, pixels and ideas into gold. Do not expect the manager or the marketing genius to come along and take up your cause. You must do this thing we've all been told that creative people are not supposed to do. It's up to you to make contact and enlist the business of those who want and need what you alone can do.

Story of I AM: All 12 signs | Choose your signs | Sagittarius preview video

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Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — Jupiter has just stationed direct in your birth sign, and is heading on one of its greatest adventures ever: conjunctions to Pluto in November, and to Saturn in December. That means big movements are in progress. Yet you have specific challenges to face before you get there. While you could skip over those, you don't want to carry over the needs of your prior life into your new life. There is just one thing that stands between the two, which is your willingness to confront the insecurity that has held you back for so long. You may not think of it as such; you may call it respect for the wishes of others, or respecting your family, or the past. You may think of it as not wanting to knock over the fruit wagon. However, it is the underlying emotion that counts, particularly as regards anyone who held power over you as a child. Their ghosts still seem to haunt you, and to limit your bliss. Over the coming weeks you will engage this challenge one way or another: willingly or not, with an open heart or not, in the spirit of your growth, or on some other terms.

Story of I AM: All 12 signs | Choose your signs | Capricorn preview video

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Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — The details matter, and I suggest you be responsive to them. That means stating your specific needs and requirements affirmatively. And it means listening attentively to what others say they need, and responding directly, without being prompted. Practice saying things like, "I can do that," or, "I don't think I can do that," or, "I see room for a compromise that may work for both of us. What do you think of this idea?" In our world, much that 'goes without saying' in fact needs to be said, and said clearly, and to be heard, and to be responded to. That is mutuality. Everyone cannot be expected to fulfill every need, whether of everyone or of anyone specifically — except for one: which is the need to be responsive. You will be rewarded for owning up to what you cannot deliver, and for delivering what you can. The imperative on integrity is being true to your word. Forget that this is not popular. Forget that it can be difficult. Make a point of promising less than you can actually fulfill.

Story of I AM: All 12 signs | Choose your signs | Aquarius preview video

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Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — You are in a position where you must abide many situations you do not approve of and that were not of your own creation. Yet abide you must: be patient, bear witness, hold space and do what you can. Listen carefully for your opportunity to respond. This must not be haphazard; do not rush into commitments, or for that matter, out of them. Hold steady and stick to your values: to what is true for you on the bottom line. You are going through a series of transformations (with peaks in April, June, November and December) that are taking you from one dimension of your life to another. This is not occurring all at once; it's happening in stages, thankfully. One essential element is your relationship to 'the community', however you may think of this term — and I suggest you analyze the concept carefully. Pause and consider carefully the role you play, formally and informally; consider how you communicate with what you consider your 'public'; and more than anything, consider the power of the example you set. Note: you will have supporters and detractors. Make the most of both.

Story of I AM: All 12 signs | Choose your signs | Pisces preview video

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