Dear Planet Waves Subscriber:

Today is the eve of the Scorpio Full Moon. We have this once a year (rarely, twice within a month) when the Sun is in Taurus. This is a [Northern Hemisphere] springtime herald, reflecting the deep core of erotic energy pulsing through the Earth and our bodies at this time of year. This particular event stands out because Mercury and the Sun are in an exact conjunction (called a combust aspect) when the Moon reaches opposition to both. Mercury is retrograde, in a string of orbs through space: Sun, Mercury, Earth, Moon. I cover that in this week's free audio.

Photo by Eric Francis.

Mercury is retrograde through May 11. This condition, which is in effect for a spell three times a year, has new meaning in the modern world because we sit surrounded by mercurial devices: cars that talk, computers in our pockets, Skype and Magic Jack. Kids send 3,000 texts a month, with some adults close behind. What to watch for cautiously this time around is the long square between Mercury and Mars, which took center stage on Sunday. This is the frustration-obsession aspect of Mercury retrograde in Taurus working itself out against the friction of Mars in Leo: natural results could be the expressions of passion, anger, and internal complexity that wants to be unraveled.

In other truly meaningful news, Chiron is now in Pisces for the first time since the late 1960s. We get 90 days of this energy before Chiron retreats back into Aquarius in July, then returns to Pisces in February 2011. Discovered in 1977, Chiron is still considered a new influence on astrology, but its spiritual themes have, in the past 33 years, gradually infused the work even of astrologers who have never heard of it. In Pisces, Chiron is calling us to acknowledge the reality of the soul; the inherently creative nature of what it means to be human; and the practical way we can manifest our deepest, most intimate fantasies.

I have prepared some Chiron in Pisces audio for all 12 signs, with a lengthy introduction. There is another summary included with the May monthly Planet Waves horoscope.

See you Friday.

Yours & truly,

PS: I've been asked what the difference is between the forthcoming Cosmic Confidential Chiron audio (next up, after Uranus) and the audio product I'm offering here. The Chiron audio included with Cosmic Confidential is about lifetime Chiron transits (such as the Chiron return), no matter what your Sun sign. The current audio describes Chiron through the houses and signs for the 12 Sun signs and ascendants. -- efc

Aries Confidential	Your life may be cast with a vague sense of the unfamiliar: as if you're seeing places you've visited before for the first time. Beneath this is your process of assigning new meaning to your existence. We tend to think that life is definitive; we tend to forget that most of what we experience is our interpretation rather than something objective or factual. You'll fare better if you fly by intuition rather than by seeking proof-positive or concrete validation. You'll have a greater sense of freedom and potential, especially from the confines of one particular situation that you were certain was holding you back. Now that you have some breathing room, you get to test that theory.
Aries Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.
Taurus Confidential	Are you having an odd illusion of living two lives at once? Perhaps in two places, or with two people in separate worlds, or one version of yourself from the past and one from the future? Your charts tell such a story, and if you're having this sensation I suggest you either experiment with it boldly, or collect yourself in one place. It's not the kind of thing I suggest you just let slide unconsciously. The opportunity is too beautiful, and the creative potential sufficiently strange and unusual to allow you some authentic originality. One way to describe the setup is to say that you are gaining a new sense: as in a sixth sense, or an expanded sense of yourself.
Coming This Week -- Taurus Birthday Audio.
Gemini Confidential	Significant, rare planetary events show a picture of you stretching your capabilities in every direction. Yet I suggest that despite so much happening, you remind yourself of your first priority: your primary goal. You know, the one you normally can't quite get a grasp on. For the next few weeks you will be able to keep that goal in sight and in mind long enough to evaluate it carefully. You're likely to feel some sense of discomfort initially, or of mild crisis, as if you're remembering something vitally important but long forgotten. You might be concerned about how many years it's been since you remembered, but maybe you'll feel better if I said we may be talking about lifetimes.
Cancer Confidential	Remember that you cannot control, only influence, how people perceive you, and this must be done in subtle ways. Over the next few weeks you may have the feeling that you're projecting an image opposite of what you are intending. For example, you may express yourself as a relatively simple person and be seen as complex. Ideas that are clear to you may be incomprehensible to others. You may tell the truth, and others might doubt you to your face. I suggest that you not get emotionally involved in these responses. Let people be responsible for what they see, while you are responsible for what you feel. You need this boundary, and you'll benefit from having it available as a tool.
Leo Confidential	Leadership is the ability to be creative under unpredictable or confusing circumstances. In our time, leadership is about ideas. You're poised to be a source of approaches or concepts that will qualify as one of a kind, and potentially once in a lifetime. Your mind is working with a kind of logic all its own, and I suggest you put no energy at all into doubting yourself. Even if you think something that seems like it's not even vaguely applicable, or have ideas that don't seem to apply to the situation, assume you're working on a good hunch. Trust yourself; trust your perception; and moreover trust that you can treat any problem as a puzzle that, if solved, can improve life for everyone.
Virgo Confidential	Nobody tests your faith except for you. If the planets mean anything, you seem poised on the verge of significant progress in both your personal life and your professional life. Yet I suspect you're experiencing this more as a crisis. Step one is making some contact with the faith you have in yourself. It doesn't matter how you get there: remembering your past achievements, reminding yourself who thinks you're amazing, or following an inner sense of what is possible. However you manage it, remember that faith in yourself is an essential ingredient right now. Second remember that you have options: not eventual options, but ones that are immediately available; the kind you can exercise right now.
Libra Confidential	In the long discussion of 'reuniting sexuality and spirituality' we might ask how they got separated in the first place. The answer would involve the perception of sex as a source of power rather than pleasure, considering people as property rather than partners, and other related concepts such as jealousy. Even though we know that intellectually these things are not necessary, we continually come up against two things: our own emotional programming, and a lack of options for what else is possible. An unusual alignment in your solar chart this month gives you some beautiful opportunities to get past these obstacles, and to embrace your relationships in a new way as sources of healing, comfort and pleasure.
Scorpio Confidential	Are you really that tangled up in the life of another person? Or are you just in one of those emotional situations where you've lost track of who is who and what is what? Yes, someone close to you is working out something that looks complicated and difficult to discern; fortunately, it's their stuff and not yours. You, on the other hand, are moving into new emotional territory for the first time in many months, which is another way of saying you're finding your confidence. As for who is wrapped up in whom, it's a partner or close associate who doesn't know what to make of you, or their emotional involvement with you. Nor is it easy for them to face the fact that you know you're fundamentally free.
Sagittarius Confidential	A past work partnership may prove to be vital this month. Look for who, from the back pages of history, turns up or has recently turned up in your life, and make sure you don't bring your old prejudices about the relationship. What you have with this person is an unusual depth of contact on the elusive theme of values. Yet the planets suggest a change of roles; someone who was once your boss could become your employee; someone who was once your student could take over a crucial project; someone who was strictly a professional contact could become a significant personal acquaintance. The overall theme is to maintain your flexibility and stay firmly in the present, no matter how old the story may be.
Capricorn Confidential	Take advantage of being relieved of some responsibility (or your overdeveloped sense of responsibility) and indulge in some self-expression, romance or art: basically, trade in some work for some play. If I must lure you with the prospect of productivity, I promise you that you will feed the tree of accomplishment. Through most of the year, your pendulum has been swinging far in the direction of taking the world onto your shoulders, and it's about time you put it down for a while. True, many people succeed at great accomplishments without much balance in their lives, and some of them are even happy. You, personally, need to work both sides of your brain, in honor of the fabulous challenges that are ahead.
Aquarius Confidential	You're starting to get a taste of what it's like to not be under constant pressure to improve yourself. For certain phases of life, it's necessary to define existence in terms of a healing agenda, and that can seem like the 'whole purpose' of existence. Mysteriously, that changes and some new purpose takes up life in your heart and mind. You're now in a brief spell of experimenting with that new agenda, a new vision for yourself. This will come with the revelation of priorities you have not considered, and which have often slipped out of your grasp. You may not be able to put all of them into action; I suggest being grateful for the opportunity to experiment in real life with one new priority.
Coming next week -- Aquarius Audio.
Pisces Confidential	For a long time I've been describing your life as the attempt to see around a corner, or to peer into a veiled dimension. Along with this is a sense of being hidden from yourself. This month, Chiron enters your birth sign, potentially for the first time in your life, or for the first time since you were a child. This will bring new experiences and a new sense of self-awareness; Chiron is famous for its focusing power, particularly where Pisces is concerned. Think of it this way: you're like a bottle of ink that finally has a pen; a projector that finally has a lens; a question that at long last is graced with a question mark.