New York, June 21, 2013
On With The Show

Dear Friend and Reader:

The astrology we're living through gets more interesting every week. Sometimes it seems like it's ramping up exponentially -- and starting now, it gets more interesting every day. As this happens we will be able to see with our eyes the most visually spectacular Full Moon of the year.

We will experience the following:

Trapeze artists in circus, lithograph by Calvert Litho. Co., 1890.

Friday, June 21, the Sun ingressesed Cancer. That's the Northern Hemisphere summer solstice, winter in the Southern Hemisphere. Consciousness spins on the axis of the solstices, which are the extremes of the longest day and the longest night. The Sun is now 90 degrees from where the zodiac begins, so this counts for an Aries Point event -- along with everything else that's happening.

The Aries Point, one of the great mysteries of astrology, magnifies whatever astrological events and objects that happen to make contact with it. World events seem personal and personal events fit a much wider pattern. Think of the Aries Point as the intersection where your life meets the bigger world. Aries Point events, which seem to come more frequently every year, are going to try to get our attention till we recognize we're part of something larger and actually do something about it.

Saturday, June 22, Venus is conjunct Vesta in Cancer. This is a conjunction of a planet and an asteroid, which takes us to the heart of the matter where sex meets spirituality meets service meets purpose. Mercury, slow and powerful before it stations retrograde, is in a very close conjunction to both Venus and Vesta. The Sun is exactly conjunct a radical feminine point called the Black Moon Lilith. The sensation of this setup is going deep into the heart of your feelings; deep into the core of your erotic reality and how this relates to nourishing our essential humanity (the sign Cancer).

Synchronized water ballet -- viral image.

Sunday, June 23, there's the Capricorn Full Moon just two days after solstice. When you put a solar/lunar event like the Full Moon on the Aries Point, the effect is multiplied exponentially. Also, this is the biggest Full Moon of the year, aligning with the Moon's closest pass to the Earth within one hour (see illustration).

Tuesday, June 25, Jupiter ingresses Cancer for the first time in nearly 12 years. This is some of the biggest and best news of 2013. It's not just that Jupiter is exalted in Cancer -- that is, one of the planets most closely associated with that sign and most at home there. Jupiter does two impressive things as it passes through Cancer. One is that it makes a grand water trine, joining Saturn in Scorpio and Chiron and Neptune in Pisces; the other is that it will slip into the Uranus-Pluto square (the 2012-era aspect).

Wednesday, June 26, Mercury stations retrograde in Cancer. It'll be retrograde until July 20, the day the Sun ingresses Leo. This is the second of three Mercury retrogrades exclusively in the water signs, which describes our very watery year (link takes you to Planet Waves subscriber materials on this topic). Not only does Mercury spend seven months in water signs, it does so along with slow-movers Jupiter, Saturn, Chiron and Neptune.

When you combine all this Aries Point activity with Jupiter, the result is likely to be noticeable, as in unavoidable -- particularly since Jupiter itself will be activating the Aries Point.

From PostSecret.com.

These days there is constant talk of change, and making the world better, and wanting to participate more, and do something more meaningful -- but as you know, most of this is basically a combination of air and sound rather than anything substantial. While there are many factors that might seem to be blocking participation, I think that most of them are internal rather than external.

One quest of our times is learning how not to be so self-absorbed without losing ourselves at the same time. We are a culture that extols the virtues of narcissism, selfishness and competition. These same qualities are often projected into our 'self-help' and 'spiritual' endeavors. Often the result is being a supposedly perfect person, connected to the universe, aligned in mind, body and spirit -- and then offering nothing back except for how wonderful we are.

Part of being so enlightened often means ignoring or not being able to handle anything on the level of politics, civics, the news or developments in the world. It's an extremely disconnected form of spiritualism -- perfect for a world where everything is a commodity and where often the goal is total fulfillment without taking any risks except maybe pulling a muscle in yoga class.

There is an obsession with having clean hands: not discussing anything controversial, be it what you really think about something in the news, what you really want from, or to do in, your relationships or who you really are in your sexual dimension. This is the illusion of purity -- the only kind there is.

This is astrology that can get you wet, and dirty, and agitated, and sweaty, and excited and, most of all, INVOLVED.

Lovingly,

News briefs below are written and researched by Amanda Painter, Susan Scheck, Liam Carey, Carol van Strum and me (Eric Francis). I write most of the astrology-based materials.


Super Solstice and a Bold, Steamy July

Today is the Cancer solstice -- the Sun ingressed the fourth sign of the zodiac earlier Friday (in U.S. time zones). As detailed above, pretty much the first thing that happens during the new season is a Full Moon. Happening on the third day of the season, this counts as an Aries Point effect. Think of that as standing inside a cosmic repeating station. 

Jupiter will ingress Cancer on June 25 for the first time in nearly 12 years, joining Saturn in Scorpio and Chiron and Neptune in Pisces. This will complete an extended grand water trine that lasts well into 2014. Jupiter will also make a square to Uranus and an opposition to Pluto, beginning a new phase of what I've been calling 2012-era astrology.

Capricorn Full Moon, set for Washington, D.C.

Mercury will be retrograde in Cancer beginning June 26 through July 20. We're in the storm phase of Mercury all weekend, when the Mercury retrograde is the most noticeable -- right before the station retrograde. I suggest you not try to do complicated data backups unless you take safeguards and really know what you're doing.

If you're working on plans or initiating a new project, make sure you leave a few days' margin after the retrograde ends to allow Mercury to come back up to speed and focus your thoughts. If there are delays, maybe take care of stray details and preparations until Mercury stations direct in a few weeks. Sometimes it's worth slowing down -- it can save time.

As mentioned, Mercury spends seven months of 2013 in water signs. Mercury in any water sign favors intuition over rational thought, though it's not an invitation to guess at everything or to allow yourself to be driven exclusively by your emotions. We have quite enough of that, inundated as we are with advertising that is little other than emotionally manipulative. 

Fact-check your intuitive hints without second-guessing yourself. Simply assess the veracity of your perceptions and beliefs, and take note when you come across information that contradicts some expectation that you have.

On July 1, the Sun will oppose Pluto. This is an annual event and one of those deep aspects. It's a time to focus your creative will. Make sure that if you encounter a power struggle of any kind, you handle matters gently rather than forcefully. This aspect has plenty of influence and a lot of momentum behind it. You will be convincing in half your usual word count and at a fraction of the volume. No matter what you're doing, consider the growth angle.

Full Moon at Sounion, temple to Neptune. Photo by Anthony Ayiomamitis.

On July 4, the Sun makes a square to Uranus -- a revolutionary kind of aspect on a revolutionary kind of day. This is an aspect that might actually have a few sensitive people in a rebellious state of mind. I can see First Amendment advocates getting out all their pens, typewriters, mimeograph machines, photocopiers, printers and computers and displaying them in the backyard for all their friends to see.

The Cancer New Moon is July 8. That's an exciting event, as it consists of a triple conjunction of the Moon, Mercury and the Sun in mid-Cancer, activating a world horoscope called the Thema Mundi.

Mars enters Cancer July 13, once again setting off the Aries Point (it then takes two more weeks to take the Uranus-Pluto square for a tumble). This placement adds more water, more heat and more of an instinctual quality to the astrology, and there was plenty to start with.

Mercury stations direct on July 20, and that's the time to take your plans off hold and set them in motion. Gather momentum as Mercury does -- a little at a time, for about a week until you're up to full speed in the rather extraordinary last days of the month.

Goddess Girl Venus enters goddessy Virgo July 21, and the Aquarius Full Moon is July 22 -- that's the same day that the Sun ingresses Leo. The month ends on a hot note -- with a fully loaded T-square in the cardinal signs including Pallas Athene, the Black Moon Lilith, Jupiter, Mars, Uranus, the Moon and Pluto. The bold month of July 2013 does not go out with anything vaguely resembling a whimper.


Everything's an Interview
 
At press time, the entire universe is holding its breath wondering what the Supreme Court will say about whether lesbian and gay couples can marry.
 
Skipping a rant about how a sexual liberation movement became a family values movement, SCOTUS is expected to issue its decision on California's Prop 8 case and the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act early next week, just as Mercury stations retrograde and Jupiter ingresses Cancer. Yet the court has so many cases that it could extend its term into early July.
 

Maybe same-sex couples will be able to get married by Elvis in Las Vegas. Photo courtesy of Viva Las Vegas Weddings.

Justices were seen shuttling in their private jets between Las Vegas and Santo Domingo, experimenting with various marriage partners to see if they could tell the difference.
 
As for the decision -- my guess is that SCOTUS will hand same-sex marriage back to the states on a technicality and strike down DOMA. But the court is full of surprises, and judges once appointed as staunch conservatives have an odd way of becoming freaky liberals. Plus, there is a strong argument for same-sex marriage to be made on conservative terms. If only Monsanto would invent a Same Sex Marriage product, it would be approved in five minutes.

A new documentary is being released about how the investigation of how the explosion and crash TWA flight 800 was a total farce. Several top investigators have come forward and given their testimony for the documentary, including a top official for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Why the coverup? The astrology suggests that had the truth got out, it would have been a big problem for Bill Clinton's re-election prospects.
 
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 500 points in just two days, after the Federal Reserve decided to get out of the stimulus business.
 
In an editorial, The New York Times said Friday, "One plausible reason for the Fed's announcement of the imminent end of its stimulative program is that it hoped to take some air out of asset bubbles that have inflated as a result of its prolonged easy-money policies. The stock sell-off seemed to prove the point. Assuming prices stabilize soon, the Fed's statements could amount to a successful pre-emptive strike on nascent bubbles."
 

This is a person standing next to $1 billion in $100 bills. To see what $1 trillion looks like, go to this page.

New York Times reader comments are often better than the articles. One reader in San Francisco wrote in response to this editorial, "The administration had almost $1 trillion to focus on shoring up infrastructure, education and other national needs. Instead, it chose to give away that obscene amount of money on giveaways to special interests. Let's not pretend that the stimulus was money well spent or that the public was eager to throw more good money after bad." [Note, a trillion is a thousand billion dollars.]
 
The Guardian published new information from NSA leaker Edward Snowden about how the U.S. and U.K. spied on the G20 diplomatic summit in 2009, just as a G8 summit was beginning in London.
 
The NSA (the National Security Agency, an American spy shop, which is the biggest in the world) set up bugged Internet cafes that intercepted email, installed key logging software to spy on delegates' computers, supplied 45 analysts with a summary of who was phoning whom around the clock and eavesdropped on world leaders -- the diplomatic equivalent of Lance Armstrong winning the Tour de France.
 
Meanwhile, Apple said it received up to 5,000 requests from local, state, federal, galactic and intergalactic law enforcement officials between December 2012 and May 2013. The company, like all companies, is barred from revealing how many came from the FISA court (which we covered last week).
 

Photo: InsiderMonkey.com.

The New York Times reported that the anonymity that research subjects are granted when they provide DNA may be at risk, as "the latest shock came in January, when a researcher at the Whitehead Institute, which is affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, managed to track down five people selected at random from a database using only their DNA, ages and the states in which they lived."
 
Bank of America employees were told to lie to homeowners seeking refinancing, pretended to lose their documents, and forced them into foreclosure -- and were given cash bonuses for doing so.
 
"In sworn statements added to a multi-state class action lawsuit against Bank of America last week, the employees describe regularly misleading homeowners seeking loan modifications and rejecting their applications for phony reasons. The employees allege Bank of America used the federal government's Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP, to rake in as much federal money as possible before ultimately foreclosing on the homeowners the program was meant to help," according to Democracy Now!


I Would Like to Thank the Academy...

A top Monsanto executive won the equivalent of an Oscar for genetically modified food this week -- a guy named Robert Fraley shared the World Food Prize with two other scientists. Fraley was the mastermind and driving force behind Monsanto's move into genetic modification of plants. He is now the company's executive vice president.

Robb Fraley, executive vice president of Monsanto, about to be consumed by a batch of GMO soybeans that he helped create. Photo: Monsanto.

His name came up in the research for my article on the astrology of Monsanto, now on the cover of the new edition of The Mountain Astrologer [see press release here]. 

Fraley joined Monsanto in his 20s, promising to solve the problem of how to move genes around inside of plant cells. He had done post-doctoral research on liposomes, small fatty structures that are able to move freely through the membranes of plant cells. But the process didn't work for moving around genetic material inside of plants. Still, Fraley turned out out to be a big asset for Monsanto. 

Daniel Charles, author of Lords of the Harvest -- the history of GMO foods that I used as background for my article -- said that Fraley "had an instinct for power, how to acquire it and how to use it."

One former colleague said that he "used to want to kill him" because he would visit every day and ask about the results of an experiment that would take two weeks, Charles wrote.

His "real skill proved to be organizing teams of scientists and driving them toward a common goal," Charles wrote, adding that one former colleague described him as "the most driven man I've ever interacted with."

He was a farm boy from Illinois who would "volunteer that bit of his biography to show his long-standing connection to agriculture," but he had little hankering to be out on the land. Instead, he preferred cigars, beer, sports cars and shooting pool.

"The World Food Prize Foundation said the honor and the $250,000 cash prize would be shared by Robert T. Fraley, Monsanto's executive vice president and chief technology officer, and two other scientists, Marc Van Montagu of Belgium and Mary-Dell Chilton of the United States," The New York Times reported Thursday. 

In response to the announcement, the Times quoted Eric Holt-Giménez, executive director of Food First, a food policy research organization in Oakland, California, who said the World Food Prize's "growing obsession" with biotechnology "ignores the documented successes" of nonindustrial methods of farming.


Fracking Puts Pressure on U.S. Water Supplies

A new study has found that some of the most intensive hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations in the United States are in areas where water is scarce: in drought-prone areas or in areas where supplies are already stretched by other uses.

Field distribution water tank used in the fracking process of natural gas well drilling in DeWitt County, Texas, complete with life buoy and "No Swimming" sign. Photo by Eric Schlegel.

Ceres, a nonprofit that works on sustainability issues, recently looked at 25,000 operating shale oil and shale gas wells. It found that 47 percent of these wells were in areas "with high or extremely high water stress" because of regular water use by industry and municipalities. In Colorado, for example, 92 percent of the wells were in extremely high water-stress areas, and in Texas more than half were in high or extremely high water-stress areas.

According to the American Petroleum Institute, the national oil and gas trade association, the "industry's water use is small when compared to other industrial and recreational activities."  Yet although fracking usually is just one or two percent of states' overall water use, the Ceres study notes that "it can be much higher at the local level, increasing competition for scarce supplies."

Making matters worse, those scarce water supplies near fracking operations are repeatedly found to have been contaminated by the chemicals used to extract the shale oil and gas -- reason enough to make bans on fracking all the more urgent.


Supreme Court: No Citizenship Proof Needed for Voter Registration
 
Illegal immigrants who want to vote in federal elections scored a victory Monday, when the Supreme Court said Arizona or other states can't demand proof of citizenship from people registering to vote in federal elections unless they get federal or court approval to do so.

Arizona residents who challenged a 2004 state measure, arguing that it discriminated against eligible voters, scored a SCOTUS win this week. Photo by: Joshua Lott/Reuters.

The justices said states cannot independently change the requirements for those using the voter-registration form produced under the federal "motor voter" registration law, according to an article in Huffington Post. They would need permission from a federally created panel, the Election Assistance Commission, or a federal court ruling overturning the commission's decision, to do so.

Justice Antonin Scalia, who wrote the court's 7-2 majority opinion, said federal law "precludes Arizona from requiring a federal form applicant to submit information beyond that required by the form itself."

"Today's decision sends a strong message that states cannot block their citizens from registering to vote by superimposing burdensome paperwork requirements on top of federal law," said Nina Perales, vice president of litigation for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. "The Supreme Court has affirmed that all U.S. citizens have the right to register to vote using the national postcard, regardless of the state in which they live."


House Passes Abortion Bill; GOP Member Advocates Fetal Masturbation

The harshest anti-abortion bill ever to come before the U.S. House of Representatives passed this week. It would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, the point at which many anti-choice activists claim fetuses can feel pain.
 

Rachel Maddow can't quite believe she just heard what Rep. Burgess said -- and that he's in charge of the House Subcommittee on Health. Image: video still.

The vote was split mainly along party lines, 228 to 196. Last week the bill's sponsor, Trent Franks (R-Arizona), ignited controversy with his claim that very few pregnancies result from rape -- as if that is the only time a woman gets to have control of her body: after someone has already violated her.
 
President Obama has already vowed to veto the bill, and it is unlikely that the Senate will even bring it up for a vote. Similar bans exist in several states, however.
 
In response, Planned Parenthood has coined the term Gynotician: a politician acting like a women's health expert by trying to force abortion laws that have little or no basis in medical fact.
 
One such 'gynotician', Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) actually is a former OB/GYN. He voiced support for an even more extreme ban, saying that fetuses at 15 weeks "stroke their face. If they're a male baby, they may have their hand between their legs. If they feel pleasure, why is it so hard to believe that they could feel pain?"
 
Major U.S. medical bodies have refuted the claim that fetuses feel pain before the third trimester. So far there's no word on whether Burgess is planning to recruit Betty Dodson to conduct masturbation workshops in utero -- or whether female fetuses are allowed by law to masturbate, too.



Physicians to Colleagues: Stand Against Guantanamo Forced-Feeding

Last week three doctors who teach at Boston University published an editorial in The New England Journal of Medicine calling for their medical colleagues in the military to boycott the forced-feeding of Guantanamo inmates who are on hunger strike. In addition, they are calling on all civilian doctors to actively support physicians at Guantanamo in taking a stand.
 

Restraint chair used to force-feed Gitmo hunger strikers; a tube is snaked down one nostril and into the esophagus in what is reportedly a very painful process. Photo: Sgt. Brian Godette.

"Physicians at Guantanamo cannot permit the military to use them and their medical skills for political purposes and still comply with their ethical obligations. Force-feeding a competent person is not the practice of medicine; it is aggravated assault."
 
When authorities order doctors to force-feed competent prisoners, physicians become "weapons for maintaining prison order."
 
George Annas, one of the three doctors who wrote the editorial, said in an interview on Tuesday with Democracy Now! that Guantanamo doctors tend to be young residents, and must assume false names. They are incredibly isolated from civilian colleagues, which likely makes it that much more difficult to refuse military orders, even on ethical grounds.
 
Hunger strikes are the only meaningful tool that prisoners have in getting needs addressed while incarcerated. It is not a suicide attempt, but rather a statement being made under extreme circumstances, with the understanding that death could result.
 
The prison-wide hunger strike at Guantanamo has entered its 136th day as of June 21. According to lawyers, at least 130 of the 166 remaining prisoners at Guantanamo are refusing to eat in protest; 43 prisoners are currently being force-fed through tubes. On Monday, for the first time, the Obama administration publicly identified the 46 prisoners at Guantanamo whom it plans to hold indefinitely without charge or trial.



"Ex-Gay Therapy" Coalition Disbands, Apologizes

It sounds like a story from The Onion, but it's not: on Wednesday one of the most prominent coalitions of groups in the U.S. advocating "ex-gay" therapy announced that it is disbanding -- and its president actually apologized to the LGBT community for all of the harm it has caused.
 

Exodus International's Alan Chambers with his wife, Leslie; he admits to pushing ex-gay therapy in years when he could not control his own same-sex attractions.

The board of Exodus International voted unanimously to shut down and disband. In an official statement, the group claims they want to form a new group devoted to helping churches to "become safe, welcoming, and mutually transforming communities."
 
"Please know that I am deeply sorry," wrote Alan Chambers, the group's president, in a written apology. "I am sorry for the pain and hurt many of you have experienced. I am sorry that some of you spent years working through the shame and guilt you felt when your attractions didn't change. I am sorry we promoted sexual orientation change efforts and reparative theories about sexual orientation that stigmatized parents."
 
In recent weeks, there has been a seeming rush of stories involving 'the truth coming out' in dramatic ways. This fits the pattern, the vibe and the astrology to a 'T'. And here's something you don't hear from the more conservative or evangelical religious sectors often: in addressing Exodus International's final annual meeting, Chambers stated, "What that means is we're not gonna control people anymore," adding, "We're not gonna tell them how they should live."
 
Unfortunately, a splinter group called the Restored Hope Network does plan to continue its crusade of control and "ex-gay therapy," along with many of Exodus International's former local affiliates.




NASA Unveils a Galactic GPS

A team of space scientists has taken sky mapping to a whole new level, with their new 3-D map of the visible universe. The map, encompassing 340 million light years -- only a fraction of the known universe, which is believed to be at least 14 billion light years -- was created from a collection of galaxy redshifts, observations of light emitted from galaxies as they move away from the Earth.

"In terms of moving -- pardon the pun -- pictures, this is by far the best I have seen among numerous motion pictures showing where we are at, literally and figuratively, in the biggest picture of all," said Ian Steer, co-leader of NASA/IPAC's Extragalactic Database project. You can watch the video, titled "Cosmography of the Local Universe," here.




Edward Snowden's Birth Chart and Some Big Astrology

Planet Waves has obtained the birth data for Edward Snowden from the state of North Carolina, and I read the chart in this edition. I also cover the big astrology of the week -- the Sun-Jupiter conjunction in the degree of the zodiac that strings together many odd events of the past 12 years (28+ Gemini), the solstice and the Capricorn Full Moon. At the end of the program I give some highlights from my cover story on Monsanto in The Mountain Astrologer.

If you're a blogger or a journalist interested in the Monsanto story, here's a page for you.

Just a clarification -- I say there's one Sun-Jupiter conjunction per sign per year; that's not quite right -- what I mean is: every year there is one Sun-Jupiter conjunction, in a different sign every year.

If you love Planet Waves FM and want to contribute to our programming, here's the link to become a member of Planet Waves FM.




Your Monthly Horoscopes -- and our Publishing Schedule Notes

The June monthly extended horoscopes  were published Friday, May 24. Inner Space horoscopes for June were published Friday, May 31. I recommend reviewing the previous month's horoscope at the end of the month; you can see May's monthly horoscope here. The Moonshine horoscopes for the Gemini New Moon were published Tuesday, June 4. We published the Moonshine horoscopes for the Capricorn Full Moon on Tuesday, June 18.

Planet Waves Monthly Horoscope for July 2013, #955 | By Eric Francis
Aries (March 20-April 19) -- It's unusual that you can truly focus your energy inwardly, though that is where the planets are guiding you. Plenty of what you consider inward is rather worldly, involved with people, places and things. You now have an opportunity to subtract all of those external influences and go to a new depth of self-understanding. Take the time to do this in a meaningful way. You don't need the opinions of others, and their presence is likely to distract you from the significant matters at hand. While you're embarking on an extended phase where your most dependable source of wisdom will come from you, the present moment is especially rich with information and a new kind of curiosity. You have the chance to get to the bottom of some deep insecurities. Normally you address these by reaching out to the people around you, or distracting yourself with activity. Yet that never really answers your question. While you may not get answers over the next few weeks, you will be able to focus your deepest questions in a meaningful way and set an agenda for yourself. Good questions are more important than answers, because they will challenge you to be creative about your own most intimate thoughts. I will say this. You're a different person when you feel safe and when you do not. Feeling safe allows you to get a handle on surface-level material, and thus go deeper. Yet that doesn't happen very often, and now the door is wide open.


Taurus (April 19-May 20) -- In much the same way that homes of many earlier eras were designed to be oriented on the hearth or the kitchen, the way to organize your life is from the center outward. To do this you'll first need to determine what the center is. I will give you a clue: it's the place where the heat is coming from. It's also related to the theme, activity or mission you keep coming back to, even if you've made other plans. Said yet another way, it's where you reach for the sensation of home on our wild, unpredictable World Earth. This is a powerful spot in your consciousness. There's a chance that your commitment and passion may be veiled by layers of emotional material -- denial, guilt, shame or some form of uneasiness. None of those can stop you, and it would be helpful if you make peace with that and therefore take away some or all of the power that those feelings seem to have. You have a right to devote yourself to what matters, and I suggest being vigilant toward anyone who would try to deny you that, or who has done so in the past. This may be a complicated scenario, involving the influence of one or both parents, their relationship and certain factors in the family environment. Then there is the sex connection. How do you really feel about the sex that you offer to others as a gesture of service, of your own free will? You now have a bold invitation to claim that as your birthright.


Gemini (May 20-June 21) -- Both Jung and Freud associated money with one's relationship to one's parents. They had different ideas but suggested that we look to unresolved material with mom and/or dad when it comes to understanding our relationship to money. Your astrology is saying as much this month. You seem to be on a quest to step outside the constraints that are imposed on children, who are powerless to manifest wealth of their own and must always depend upon their caregivers. Once those caregivers are out of the picture, we either find our independence or we end up putting others into that role, which in a society dominated by money amounts to the power over whether we eat or not; that is the power of life and death. If you wonder why people are so weird about money, and why they treat it like the only power they ever had, exploring this line of discussion may offer you some insight. There's also the question of whether we feel we're 'worth' anything -- worthy of love, worthy of decent work, deserving of having an influence; that theme will offer you plenty, because the question is up for resolution. The thing to remember in all of this is that you're not a child. You are an adult with a fair amount of influence over how you feel about yourself, and over your own prospects for success (and the two are intimately related). I suggest you commit yourself to not allowing any petty hangups to get between you and profound, meaningful, smashing success.




Cancer (June 21-July 22) -- Jupiter has entered your birth sign for the first time in 12 years, hinting not just at some relief from the out-of-control feeling that's permeated your life for so long, but also opening the way to some significant breakthroughs. This is describing an atmosphere where many unusual successes are possible. Take a little time to get used to the new environment you're in. Feel your presence in the world in a new way. As you decide what you want, remember how much you know, and put that knowledge to work. If you have any doubts they will be in the face of an abundance of information and opportunity rather than a lack. Everything is always possible, but sometimes certain unlikely things are right within reach, and you're in one of those moments. One key is making sure that you set plans in motion at the right time. There is no rush. Initially, certain developments will come to you rather than you having to go to them. No matter how big or how promising your endeavor, consider the timing and the details carefully. Listen to your intuition and trust what it tells you. Mercury will be retrograde in your sign between June 26 and July 20. This is a natural moment to pause, to feel and to make some observations. Let the retrograde work itself out before diving into anything new and different. Important information is forthcoming around the 20th and you won't want to leave home without it.


Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) --You are not clueless. Far from it, though you may be spending some days walking around feeling like there's a lot you don't know. That's almost always true. What's especially true now is that most of that information is available. It's just that to access it, you'll need to use some unusual measures, the kind that might not be considered empirical or scientific. One might be a sense of certainty that gradually works its way into your thoughts. Another might be discovering that you have the answer to every question you pose, as long as you stop and listen to yourself. Asking others or seeking information outside yourself might confuse you, especially if people you care about tell you that what you're saying or thinking seems like 'too much'. If there's a 'problem' with being creative or having big ideas, it's that there's always someone with smaller ideas ready to tell you that yours are too extravagant. Therefore, be careful who you talk to about what you're thinking, learning or discovering, because as powerful as it is, humans are susceptible to negative suggestions. Along the same line, I suggest you back off of being too encouraging or supportive of projects that are not truly your own, or that you do not at least have a significant personal investment in. Rather, be a source of inspiration and courage to the people you're directly involved with, and who will trust what you think, feel and say -- and who will value your significant contribution.


Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) -- The many changes that come into your life include you stepping out in a bold new way, taking responsibility for your community and helping co-create your world in some special ways. Yet at the same time you seem to want to hide, to be invisible, to make sure that as few people as possible know who you are. It looks like you want to be counted on but you're not sure about the commitment. You might have the notion that you don't really want any unusual responsibilities, or to take any special risks. Yes, Virgo is one of the astrological masters of the inner paradox. Fortunately you have a few weeks to work this out, and make a commitment to yourself before things get really interesting. Here's the thing to bear in mind. The astrology that's guiding you out of your shell is a lot more powerful than the aspects that are drawing you back in. Plus, the thing about hiding out and not committing yourself to things you're passionate about is more about your childhood than it is about your present life. Remember that there were some people who were threatened by how bold you could be, and others who set the example of how to be that outstanding person. So if you feel the impulse to be less, ask yourself who you're trying to impress. If you feel the impulse to be more, to be free and to be truly alive, remember who your examples were -- and who they are today.


Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) -- It looks like you're ready to make some impressive career moves. I suggest that you not count on luck, no matter how lucky you're feeling. I know there is a time and a place to 'not trust your own strength', and I don't want to get in the way of your relationship to your higher power. However, my reading of your solar chart says that this is a time to think for yourself, and that means making decisions. The very most significant among them is what you want to do with your talent. This is partly about what topic and field of life you want to be exploring, and more to the point it's about who and what you want to serve. You've long outgrown your professional life being self-serving. Yes, on one level this is about your success and making your way in the world. Yet now you're at the intersection where your higher calling is to work in the public benefit, in a way that's genuinely productive for the planet and for the community. If something doesn't meet those qualifications, it's probably not going to feel satisfying. What you need in your work is the feeling of family -- both working with one, and serving one. This is less like the 'mom and dad' kind of family and more like the cool uncle kind of family. The difference is that you have more freedom and you're recognized for who you are rather than who others think you should be. And that is a big distinction.


Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) -- Many developments -- in astrology and life, which illustrate one another -- will help you feel a lot better about the present, and guide you to focus on the future. It seems that the past has been heavier than usual in recent seasons since Saturn entered your sign. Saturn often brings the pressure to get right with yourself, and to find your true direction -- something that's not especially easy amidst the chaos of the world as we know it. Yet help is on the way. Saturn stations direct in your sign this month, offering you the opportunity to use what you've learned and avoid making the same mistakes twice. Jupiter ingresses Cancer on June 25, which will help you shift your orientation from involvements with others to considering what you want to do with your life. You need to feed your vision of what is possible, and vow never to allow yourself to be drawn into a situation that is defined by boredom, pettiness or the mere obsession with money ever again. In the weeks and months ahead you're likely to discover that you have the capacity not just for a spiritual level of consciousness, but also to live as if that were the one thing that's the most true about you. All together, you will be able to apply some healing balm to the places in your life where you have been aching. That may be enough to get you into a place where you're driven by passion and curiosity and a risk worth taking.


Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) -- Your ability to make contact with others runs in cycles. Yes, Sagittarius is supposed to be the one-pointed arrow of determination, though that has an unusual way of going off in unusual directions where the deepest layers of intimacy are concerned. You know what's possible because you cycle there fairly regularly. Then you can enter some other realm, and what was possible then seems impossible and even strange to consider. Jupiter's ingress into the house in your chart associated with intimacy and emotional contact will help stabilize this aspect of your life for a while. The cycles will, at least, slow down, or you'll become aware of a much larger pattern that you sometimes lose sight of. One topic you can focus on is your capacity to receive. This is one of those edgy issues that many people struggle with in our nourishment-deprived society -- and it can be frustrating when people are offering you something you want and for deeply personal reasons you don't feel capable of taking it in. So, first, practice receiving. Accept what is offered to you without condition. Stretch your capacity to receive, which will challenge you to feel like you deserve the life that's being sent your way. Notice how you respond when someone offers you the sex you want: observing that one facet of your emotional patterning will tell you a lot about yourself. One thing to be aware of: the more you open up, the more you will be drawn to bolder, deeper adventures. Get clear with yourself whether that's something you really want.


Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) -- One theme of recent years is whether people can take your intensity. It's not like you try to come on so strong -- I would guess you've done a fair amount of toning yourself down, though to little avail. Pluto working through your birth sign coupled with Uranus cooking in the home and security angle of your chart, sometimes comes with the sensation that you live in a microwave oven. You need people in your life who have a large perspective. You need people whose wisdom exceeds the petty worries that so many obsess over, and that it's so easy for you to obsess over. What's dawning in your chart is the ability to recognize such a person when you see him or her. You might think that it's impossible that you could ever have a meeting as equals with someone who can see life through a very large lens. I suggest you ask yourself why that would be, assuming it's true. How do you respond when someone who is actually offering you something, someone who is generous and protective, shows up? In particular, the question of trust is one to focus on. You may be concerned that anyone who can offer you something can also take it away. That may be more power than you want to give over to anyone, though if you want to exchange with others in a meaningful way, you'll need to address that question -- which falls under the general rubric of trust. Now for the last question: when you have good reasons to trust, how do you respond?


Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -- Being born under the sign Aquarius includes a sappy, sentimental side that can at times compete with your ability to turn nearly anything into an abstract concept. This would matter less were you not concerned which aspect of yourself is 'right' or the real you. Behind this little controversy is your awareness of a form of intelligence you can trust. It's neither abstract nor sentimental; it's equally emotional and intellectual but in truth it's beyond both. That intelligence is telling you something now; it's pointing you to a potential focus of devotion and sharing that may in many ways defy reason. When you follow this wavelength of wisdom, things tend to go well for you. You possess a depth of understanding that you don't have to explain, a quality that others trust about you. But closer to home, this is something that you're learning to trust about yourself. There's a purpose to the social consciousness, the idealism and quest for applied intelligence of Aquarius, and that's about the purpose of community: nourishment and healing. These are the areas of life where you seem destined to take on a leadership role. Humanity is a family, though it rarely treats itself as such. Your presence can get that quality moving wherever you go, particularly where you work. Do not be shy about setting the example. Even if it seems a little strange to people, count on the fact that nearly everyone is starving and thirsting for a world in which we actually take care of one another.


Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) -- I reckon the past month has been a nonstop frenzy with so much activity blowing through Gemini. However, with Jupiter's move into Cancer (where it will spend one year), you're being invited into some bold new adventures -- ones that neither you nor I can predict. There will be many turns of the story of your life over the next 12 months, not just unusual ones but of a kind you've never experienced. It looks like you're about to slip into the full stream of our weird, beautiful moment in time -- that is to say, you're about to be dealt into the game of life in a whole new way. I suggest taking two things along. One is your skill at pleasure-seeking. Rather than the mindless or diversion kind of pleasure, this is about bringing your passion to everyone and everything in our tired world. The other is the awareness that your wisdom and creativity are things that you can gamble on. You can take larger risks than you think because you have unusual spiritual resources to draw on. You always do, but Jupiter's move into Cancer is one of the best things that can happen to a Pisces, especially the way the rest of the sky is set up. Remember that your life is not a matter of either/or at this point, of giving up one thing for another. This is a moment when you can have it all, though I suggest starting with what you want to create the very most.