And What Are We Attracting?
Dear Planet Waves Reader:

In recent podcasts, I've been tracking a planetary alignment that's soon to arrive, just as Venus stations direct next week. This grouping, already underway, is a collection of both major and minor planets gathering around a deep-space point called the Great Attractor, located in mid-Sagittarius. These include planets you've definitely heard of (Mercury, Mars) and ones you may not have heard of (Pholus, Ixion).

Image of Pallas Athene as visualized in full grandeur and irony by Gustav Klimt. The asteroid named for her, properly called (2) Pallas, is central to an alignment now forming in mid-Sagittarius. This asteroid represents matters of strategy, law and politics.

On one level this looks like a touch of domestic political chaos here in the United States (not exactly news; U.S. politics is currently verging on requiring a locked ward). But this alignment is definitely news, in that it portends something unusual. Or perhaps it's describing something unusual that's already happening. Notably, this in turn will be followed up by Mercury retrograde in Sagittarius and Capricorn at the end of the year, mingled with a pair of eclipses.

Venus for her part stations direct in Libra after a six week retrograde; this is a different event from the alignment with the Great Attractor, but they are synchronous, so they count as one, focused in linear time on Nov. 18 -- in less than a week. Venus stationing is going to come with a bit of tension and release, also underway, which will get all the molecules in the sky shaking. I'll come back to Venus stationing in Libra, because I believe that event holds the key to the rest.

The Great Attractor gets its name because it's drawing toward it a million galaxies, while it rushes away from them and they follow in endless pursuit. Our galaxy (the Milky Way, a spiral island of 300 billion stars) is one of those doing the chasing; so are all of our neighboring islands in what is called the Local Group of galaxies. Note, I'm not talking about the Galactic Center here. That's the core of our own galaxy; the Great Attractor is like some giant vortex pulling everything its way, a bit like an anti-big-bang.

We cannot see the Great Attractor; it's invisible on the normal spectrum of light. We know it's there because 1. So much is getting pulled toward it, and 2. It's broadcasting on every frequency except for visible light -- such as X ray, gamma ray, and even Miley Ray (Disney owns a piece of the action). The Great Attractor happens to be aligned with the plane of our own galaxy, so we're peering over at it obscured by thousands of light years of dust, gas and other stars. But we know it's there, likely to be a vast dark matter point that my colleague Philip Sedgwick describes as prodigious and the largest thing known to science. "It's the ultimate Sagittarian statement of 'get away from me, don't crowd my space'," he said in a Planet Waves interview.

We live in a galaxy containing as many as 300 billion stars. The nearest galaxy is two million light years away. Our group of galaxies is called the Local Group, containing over 30 galaxies. This Local Group covers over 10 million light years in diameter, further away than California. The Local Group belongs to the Virgo supercluster of galaxies. The Virgo supercluster is about 200 million light years in diameter. The Great Attractor is a gravitational anomaly somewhere in the Virgo supercluster, pulling the other galaxy groups towards the Hydra and Centaurus constellations. This is an illustration of the Great Attractor by Henrick Summanen.

Though it's moving very fast, it's so far away that it appears to be standing still. So it's considered a fixed point that is located at just over 14 degrees of Sagittarius. Due to this Sagittarius alignment, that point is getting a lot of action the next couple of weeks. But let's consider it first by itself.

In consciousness, the Great Attractor manifests as a certain kind of intense. It can feel hotly polarized. People with a prominent Great Attractor in their charts will cultivate strong feelings in others, and can often be the subject of contention or controversy. They have the ability to make unusually close friends with equally formidable enemies. There is a potency characterized by this point that holds two extremes and presents them with lots of fodder for spiritual growth.

So now we have this collection of planets gathering around this odd point in space. There are a good few of them. I won't be able to go over every one in this article, but I'm going to factor them all into my interpretation. And over the weekend I'll post a full list to the blog, in case you enjoy the feeling of data overload (I know I do).

Let's start with Ixion. This is a Pluto-like point (a plutino) orbiting our Sun discovered in 2001. My key phrase for Ixion is anyone is capable of anything. I associate it with the quality of amorality. There is also a property of getting a second chance, but what one does with that new chance is up for grabs. Ixion on the Great Attractor during the past couple of years has helped make a big hit out of the idea that there is no difference between right and wrong. Do we need to learn about this all over again, or can we do it more fficiently, say by remembering?

More recently, Pholus has arrived. Pholus, the second centaur planet ever discovered (that was in 1992, after Chiron in 1977), releases contained energy. My favorite key phrase for Pholus is small cause, big effect. With Pholus we can see the dangerous influences of alcohol, of idle curiosity, of idle idealization of an idol (such as the charismatic effects of famous people) and the unleashing of events that have unforeseen and far-reaching consequences. Gee, this is sounding like a lot of fun so far. All centaurs add a quality of reactivity and potency.

Next let's add Mercury into the mix. That would say apply all of this to words and technology, as well as to commerce. But moreover, something has seized the mind: something besides intelligence. Mars will be there too, which adds a flavor of aggression. Most contemporary astrologers looking at this event merely see a Mercury-Mars conjunction in Sagittarius; the rest of the points are invisible to them -- with one possible exception, in the form of a major asteroid. Looking at this event in low-res, you see hot words, such as an argument, thinking too fast and too big at the same time, and some exaggerated issue or situation.

The scale and exaggeration stuff comes from the background sign, Sagittarius. And, it fits; watch a real news program that covers national and world affairs and things will indeed seem weirdly but somehow actually and indeed dangerously exaggerated and bombastic; a kind of sports event.

Segment of the chart for Venus stationing direct. At the top right are four planets in the Sagittarius alignment. In order going down are Pallas, Mars, Mercury and Pholus. Not shown are Ixion or the Great Attractor.

A few astrologers will be looking at Pallas, the second asteroid (or minor planet) ever discovered. That was in 1802, so she's been around long enough for a few people to notice. Pallas (associated with the goddess Athena, a warrior born in full armor) has two main themes -- strategy and politics. Since Sagittarius has an international theme, this would be international politics and strategy. Mars and Pallas together point to something military or at least strategic.

Are you getting the picture? It looks like some hotly polarized, extremely exaggerated international situation that pops up seemingly out of nowhere. Sagittarius adds the flavor of religious zeal, which we've been so lavishly indulging since Pluto went into Sagittarius many years ago and everything became a matter of 'faith'. Or, we could be talking about the most spectacular international vacation anyone has ever taken in their lives, perhaps including an actual visit to the Galactic Core.

To test the geopolitics angle of this theory, let's check in briefly with three charts, to see if any of them has sensitive points around this area: the U.S. chart, the chart of Israel and the chart of Iran.

First, the USA Sibley chart, the most commonly used July 4, 1776 horoscope for the States. (I covered this chart over the summer.) Let's see, that chart has mid-Sagittarius in the ascendant: this whole circus takes place in the USA's 1st house, with planets making exact contact with the rising degree, 12+ Sagittarius. As my Aunt Josie would say, How about that? What might be brewing deep in the hearts and minds of the enlightened statesmen at the helm of our great empire?

Next, flipping through the indispensable Book of World Horoscopes by Nicholas Campion, let's visit the chart of Israel. (I must visit the actual country soon.) My preferred chart for Israel (for astrologers, the 4 pm chart) has 14+ Aquarius rising. The Sagittarius event takes place in its 10th house. This alignment makes an exact trine to Israel's natal Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Leo on its 7th house (that gets a big gee whiz -- talk about a chart with a setup for contentious relationships). The trine could well open an energy line from that feisty, conflicted 7th house (the relationship house). Speaking as a psychological astrologer, by the way, Israel likes to project its inner psychological strife onto others outside its borders: very 7th house. If you're different but live within the country, you can do fine in Israel.

As for Iran, another old place I would love to visit: I'll use the current chart -- that of the 1979 revolution. The Sagittarius alignment is close to Iran's 9th house Neptune. That represents Iran's persistent condition of religious delusion, as well as an international vulnerability. Neptune often works like a blind spot. Neptune, which has the widest orb of influence of all the planets, is just four degrees from the Great Attractor. Neptune + Great Attractor can make a lot of waves. People react to those with Neptune + Great Attractor without understanding why they are reacting.

Iran is a magnificent place on the Earth. This is Mount Damavand, Iran's highest point, located in Mazandran. Photo by Arad Mojtahedi.

This event also squares the lunar nodes of Iran (which go across mid-Virgo and Pisces). That represents a turning point.

One last bit out of the Iran chart. The midheaven or 10th house cusp (the angle of the chart that's about power, reputation and the government itself) is at 2+ Capricorn. Does that sound familiar? Pluto is right there, right now. Pluto in the 10th, especially in Capricorn, can have a desire to concentrate power. I'm surprised we haven't heard a lot more from Iran this year, because the cardinal cross that's been dancing around has been all over this chart.

One last item. There's a chart about which I seem to be the only person who likes to write, and that is called the Nuclear Axis. This is the chart for the first self-sustaining nuclear reaction (sometimes called the atom split chart, not strictly accurate), which led directly to the atomic bomb. The Nuclear Axis chart has a hot spot, which is a line right across mid-Gemini-Sagittarius. If you read my earlier article, you'll see that this chart can function like a trigger for nuclear events; it was also directly involved in the Sept. 11 incident, the location of which got the name Ground Zero -- a nuclear term.

Now, you have some insight into how astrologers make predictions. There are many techniques, though basically we look at a lot of factors and then see what they all point to; we look at what picture emerges.

However, both the metaphysics and the ethics of prediction are a huge gray area. Prediction is a form of inviting or creating manifestation. So I'm not going to predict what all these alignments seem to be illustrating. Rather, I'm going to propose that deep in our hearts, we might want to get wise to this kind of bullshit being foisted on us again and again. And that deep in our hearts, we might, we just might, want to manifest something different. I believe that we can, because we are creating the world as we go. I am not saying this as a New Age belief. I am saying it from observation and an understanding of history. Unless you believe that the world is run by lizard-reptile space entities, there's nobody down here but us chickens.

Venus stationing direct can release the power of love and authentic values, which can color this whole event. The way to do that is to want a better world. The people, such as bankers, who are making the world better for themselves, are doing so because they want to. And we on the ground need to muster up the audacity to have more than hope. We need the audacity of a vision.

I am always amazed -- stunned, in fact -- at the tolerance of Americans for yet another war, threat, attack or conflict. Isn't anybody sick of it yet? Is anyone sick of the violence for no purpose other than profits, which have this odd tendency to drain our economy of all its resources? Don't we want something better? Don't we believe that the resources of society could be more equitably distributed? That the needs of more people -- or of all people -- can be taken care of?

Photo by Eric Francis -- Book of Blue.

I am, and I do.

Think of how long we've been pelted with threats and negativity. We've lived through one war after another since going back how many decades? Ask yourself: do you actually want something better for yourself and for the world?

I'm aware that my life started in a bit of a crossfire hurricane. It's taken me some time to work my way out of it; to allow in a different feeling tone. When my mother was five months pregnant, JFK was killed. When I was six months old, there was a false flag event called the Tonkin Gulf Incident, which set off the Vietnam War as we know it -- and which never happened (the Vietnam War definitely happened; the Tonkin Gulf Incident did not happen, but it was used to justify a decade of war that spread into four Southeast Asian countries).

A false flag event is when one person or entity creates an attack on another, then blames someone else to get a desired outcome. Whoever you think did Sept. 11, it was by definition a false flag event because the U.S. government blamed one guy (Osama bin Laden) and then started a war with someone else who had nothing to do with it (Saddam Hussein). The one odd thing both guys had in common was being on the CIA payroll. False flag events take many forms; I believe the banking collapse of 2008 qualifies as one. It served mainly to enrich the people who were caught in the 'crisis'.

I recognize that we're talking about seemingly vast powers that seem to tower over us. Yet they get their power because we give ours up. Isn't that obvious by now? I think that part of the problem is that we tend to be more seduced by fear than by peace. I guess you could blame the devil, but we do choose how to respond when something happens. The moral psychology here, I know, involves 'security'. That is, there are many who believe that a seeming threat is best responded to with violence or overzealous security. Many, in the face of any seeming danger, have a need to belong and to take sides that trumps all common sense, and in that state of mind it can feel like doing anything else is pandering to the 'enemy'.

Fear takes many forms, and it makes us susceptible to control. The people who manufacture fear know this. Anti-Islamic sentiments in the United States have never been more whipped up and exploited than they are now. I mean, you would think that Muslims were all gay socialists looking for a place to get married, the way certain political factions want us to feel about them.

When you look at the astrology and feel the current climate of the country and indeed the world, it's unsettling the way things feel like they're being driven -- and at an extremely fast pace. I'm not predicting an outcome here; rather I am suggesting that we have a choice in the matter of what we create and how we respond to it. That choice is hinted at by Venus stationing direct in the sign of decisions, Libra.

And I'm saying that just in case something a a little extra weird does happen, you get to apply discernment. You get to make up your mind about what it means, whether it's true and what your correct response should be. You might be thinking, fat lot of good that's going to do. But I can tell you this.

So far, our silence has been taken as consent.

Yours & truly,

Judith Gayle's Political Waves will now appear Saturdays on Daily Astrology & Adventure -- the Planet Waves blog. She also has her own blog, called Political Waves.

This image is an artist's idea of what the gamma ray bubbles above and below the galactic plane would look like if you were far enough away, and if you could see them. Gamma rays are invisible to the eye, but equipment can perceive this form of light. This view of our galaxy is made of real photos -- particularly the mushy, foggy horizontal line that's really a spiral viewed straight-on. This a composite taken from the Earth so it's, well, it's very nicely cobbled together. The purple gamma bursts look like they are added by an artist, though likely modeled on visual and geometric data from the telescope. Pretty kooky! PS, the white bulge at the center is the Galactic Core, at 27 degrees Sagittarius.

And In Other Large News
The Sun is still in Scorpio but the news is seeming rather Sagittarian these days. Scientists this week figured out that there are two enormous, ancient bubbles of gamma rays, one each above and below our galaxy. They had to look using extremely fancy eyeglasses -- NASA's Fermi Gamma-Ray Telescope. The discovery creates a new kind of 'thing' known to science.

According to Discovery News, among the 1,500 sources of gamma rays Fermi has mapped so far, nothing resembles the bubble-shaped structures, which stretch across more than half of the visible sky, from the constellation Virgo to the constellation Grus.

"You have to ask where could energy like that come from," astronomer Doug Finkbeiner, with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, told Discovery News. Hints of the bubbles appeared years earlier in X-ray surveys and in maps of the cosmic microwave background radiation stemming from the Big Bang explosion.

Speaking of big bangs, Obama is poised to go along with extending Bush-era tax cuts to the wealthisst 2% of Americans, that is, those making over $250,000 a year. This is a Republican plan, now apparently embraced fully by the administration as well, that would balloon the federal deficit that the Republicans elected last week said they were determined to cut. "We have to deal with the world as we find it," said Obama's top adviser, David Axelrod.

Speaking of -- a bipartisan commission appointed by Pres. Obama Thursday issued a proposal for deficit reduction that would cut everything from the military to Social Security to basic tax exemptions for the middle class, such as the home mortgage deduction.

And the European Union is set to ban all medicinal herbs on April 1, 2011. This plan goes back 10 years, and this appears to be a final sunrise provision that takes effect next year. Called the Traditional Herbal Medicines Product Directive, it went into effect in 2005, but blogs in Europe are saying that this new provision takes effect in 2011.

Companies that manufacture herbal products must be able to prove that the product is safe, unlike the pharmaceutical industry, which this law benefits enormously. For more information, listen to this track by Laurie Anderson, from her new CD/DVD -- because only an expert can deal with the problem. The CD is called Homeland.

Weekly Horoscope for Friday, November 12, 2010, #839 - BY ERIC FRANCIS

Aries Confidential	A relationship is about to reveal its mysteries and secrets, just as you discover that you have bigger plans. The question is, are the two in harmony? It's amazing what people will sacrifice for special relationships. So I suggest you be cautious of the equation, 'I would do this, if I wasn't in a relationship', or any of its derivatives. I think it makes much more sense to choose relationships that support all of our goals and affirm who we actually are. And this, you can choose. I would caution that you need to check carefully whether what you believe about what someone thinks is really what they think. You may be seeing your own beliefs projected like light into a fog. Then again, you may actually be constrained by the relationship. To sort this out you need to do a careful reality check, both with yourself and with your partner. The next two weeks will prove to be instructive, and instrumental to your progress.
Aries Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.
Taurus Confidential	It's easier to change your mental patterns than you think. Part of your typical challenge is forgetting that patterns are established in the past. Most of what you're dealing with is habituation, legacy material and false memory. Patterns are not simply eliminated; usually, when transcended, they are replaced by new, hopefully more productive patterns. The key to the whole process is consciousness. It's one thing to think; it's another thing to be aware of your thoughts; it's yet another thing to be aware that you not only influence the process, but that you run the whole thing. That influence is what you're gaining power over. Remember, it's gained by awareness in the present and making choices in the present. The feeling of the decision is an easy deliberation between points of view or potential outcomes; the options should present you with obvious pictures, such as 'this is judgmental' versus 'this is self-affirming'. Remember, obvious.
Taurus Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.
Gemini Confidential	Mercury is now in your opposite sign, so you can take advantage of that as an invitation to open up communication where previously it's been tense -- particularly recently. As the next few weeks unfold, you'll need this avenue of contact, so I suggest you work it well, and keep it open. That's another way of saying cultivate trust and respect as a strategy -- preferably, your only strategy. Whatever path you take through the unusual relationship circumstances that arise in the next few weeks, trust and respect will be your most dependable tool. These circumstances may be contentious; they may be passionate and strange; they may transcend your old ideas of what a relationship should be, so you may as well check those ideas at the door. The point of forthcoming events, it would seem, is to resolve old sexual karma rather than to make new karma.
Gemini Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.
Cancer Confidential	This time in your life is about questioning the whole nature of commitments. You've been struggling with this for years, and now you can ask the questions that get the right answers. What you're seeking is clarity. On that quest, the first thing to know is when you're not clear. Obviously, you would need contrast so that you can discern the difference between clarity and lack thereof. In your current solar chart, this translates to clarity in commitments. This in turn breaks down into two main categories -- what you're committed to and what, precisely, this means; and what you expect of others who you perceive as committed to you. Now for the question -- what is the source of your data? Are your expectations grounded or ungrounded? Can you have a conversation about them where you could reasonably predict some solid agreement? The time to test your theory is during the next few days.
Cancer Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.
Leo Confidential	Over the next couple of weeks, I suggest you be especially careful in all matters involving children, as well as the sexual activity that might lead to them. Careful means full of care, and I would say a bit cautious as well. I'm not suggesting that there's danger, but rather the potential for choices and actions to have unexpected consequences. So while your sense of play and adventure are pulling you in one direction (like saying nuts! to the rules), I suggest you guide yourself in another, toward discernment. This might be tricky, and you may really feel pulled in the direction of taking risks you would never, ever, take under other circumstances. Consider all possibilities, yes, and also consider consequences both foreseen and unforeseen. You do have a guardrail: your mind. Intelligence does not present an absolute boundary, just a useful tool for evaluation. This is a fine time to put it to maximum use -- and still have plenty of fun.
Leo Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.
Virgo Confidential	Events in and around your family of origin will give you some rare opportunity for perspective. As I've said a number of times and places, the legacy material from your father's side of the family is the front-and-center focus of the year -- and what happens over the next 10 days or so is something of the big climax. By now, I trust you've learned to distance yourself from the situation, though that 'distancing' property is part of the equation you might want to question. What other approach can you take? What would it mean to take full ownership of the sense of polarization that you feel? What would it mean to fully embrace the ways religion or mysticism were used as a hedge against emotions? And what would your life be like if you embraced every possibility that having grown up in such an eclectic background has offered you? The next few weeks present a fast-paced adventure in all of the above.
Virgo Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.
Libra Confidential	Whew. At long last, Venus is about to station direct in your birth sign. That actually happens Nov. 18, before the next weekly horoscope comes out -- so let's consider that transit here. Venus stationed retrograde in Scorpio, and it will station direct in your sign; this bridges the two signs, and that's another way of saying 'live as if what you stand for is really true'. One of the most potent values you possess is your desire for everything to work out well for everyone involved. In order to do that, you must make sure that your own needs and basic desires are taken care of. You also need to be in possession of your most vital principles, and own them with a sense not only of responsibility but of active dedication. Even if your mind is telling you one thing and your feelings are telling you another, you know what is true for you, and now is the time to celebrate that fact.
Libra Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.
Scorpio Confidential	How you feel about yourself is at stake, and everything -- everything -- is based on that quality of your existence. Basically, everything in your world surrounds you feeling right with yourself. And that, if astrology means anything, seems like it's never been a bigger issue. You have such strong opinions about yourself, and they are so deeply polarized, that you may well be questioning which are right and which are wrong. Here is where you fully enter the paradox of selflove. In order to be sane and to keep growing, you have to love yourself no matter what you may 'think' of yourself. This is not vanity; it's about taking a compassionate position toward yourself that is proven by the compassionate way you see others. One warning is when you notice yourself making rationalizations or developing strategies to make things work out against the current apparent setup. You can create your life but you cannot create the lives of those around you. And that is quite enough.
The Scorpio Audio Report is now done. This reading includes more than an hour of astrology and 20 minutes of tarot custom created for those with Scorpio Sun, Moon or rising. Priced at $14.95, it makes a useful and economical gift. Use this link for instant access.
Sagittarius Confidential	Planets are gathering in your sign, in a configuration that releases its power as Venus stations direct next week. The alignment is so potent I suggest you touch everything and everyone in your life as though your fingers have lasers on the tips. That includes the words you use, and it includes the feelings you feel and the thoughts that you think. Consider yourself a transmitting station that broadcasts on every frequency. Therefore, the most helpful way to proceed is to hold everyone in a space of love and appreciation. Find what to appreciate even about the people you don't like so much. Practice guiding your mind in a wholly positive direction. You have so much influence that you are highly likely to manifest what you think and feel in tangible form; what witches call the threefold law is in full operation: it all comes back to you with three times the intensity you put out.
Capricorn Confidential	Certain decisions you've made or values you hold may not have left you feeling like the flavor of the month, but that's okay. You have strong opinions, and whether you're right or wrong, at the moment you're in a position of leadership that others will have to deal with whether they like it or not. You're fine as long as you leave room for any of those viewpoints to be improved upon, and are willing to take on board the suggestions of others long enough to consider them fully. I propose, though, that even if you seem wrong or doubt yourself for a moment, you may not actually be; a little time will tell. How many times have you developed an opinion that turned out to be off-base in the short run, only to demonstrate itself as based on sage wisdom in the long run?
Capricorn Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.
Aquarius Confidential	You're at the center of a far-flung circle of friends and associates. More to the point, you're like a node point that is, in itself, a source of energy around which many people gather. And right now that node point is getting hotter by the minute. You're a powerful attractor of energy, and you're also influencing the flow of information, the quality of contact and the level of creativity. I suggest you follow the basic rule of improvisational theater: yes keeps the show going. This would be yes, and rather than yes, but. Build positively on ideas rather than whittling them away and seeing what is left. One thing leads to another. While there are clearly many people involved in your life, make sure you know who you're talking to all the time. Consider every conversation significant, and pay attention to where it leads, remembering that things have impact beyond what seems obvious. People who are the most geographically remote may play the most significant role.
Aquarius Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.
Pisces Confidential	The next seven to 10 days are a phase when some stunning career developments are possible for you. One key is communication. Another is foreseeing effects and consequences. I can divide this into several subtopics. One is how you focus your intentions; another is how you set your tone; and the other is keeping the right balance between casting a wide net and being specific in what you say to whom. All of this falls under the general heading of strategy, a theme that holds a key place in your solar charts, particularly where career matters are concerned. What actually gets the results will surprise you, so there's no use knocking yourself out. Be efficient, and make sure you cover the necessary traditional bases (updated CV, business card, checking email) and that you play the random chances. Small moves will have potentially large effects, so keep mistakes down to a minimum. If you happen to not get it right the first time, backtrack quickly and get it right as soon as possible.