Today in Astrology News: The Mighty Equinox

Dear Friend and Reader:

Earlier this week, we experienced the first Libra equinox with Pluto in Capricorn: Sun square Pluto in the cardinal signs. This is the most recent of many firsts associated with this still-new Pluto transit. In a few weeks Saturn will enter Libra and we’ll experience another major event: Saturn in Libra square Pluto, one of the true stand-out sluggers in the vast aspect repertoire of astrology. If you want to understand the astrology, check out the news: a global climate summit in New York, the G20 erupting into massive protest and certifiably creepy police response, wildfires and floods and the weather going mad — what’s a girl to do?

Not Burning Man. The worst dust storm in decades swept across Eastern Australia on Wednesday, blanketing Sydney and snarling transport as freak conditions also brought earthquakes, giant hailstones and even a tornado. Photo: The Standard.
Not Burning Man. The worst dust storm in decades swept across Eastern Australia on Wednesday, blanketing Sydney and snarling transport as freak conditions also brought earthquakes, giant hailstones and even a tornado. Photo: The Standard.

All of this is associated with the Aries Point — the potent first degree of the zodiac — because the planets involved are poised in the first degrees of the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn). That puts them right near the Sun (i.e., conjunct, square or opposite) any time there is a change of seasons; for quite a while, these seasonal turning points will seem bigger than usual, and as they are today, come with concentrations of wide-reaching news that actually matters to us as individuals or feels like it should. For a while, every season will feel like another year; and with each passing season the news becomes more personal.

Even as President Obama was addressing the United Nations climate change summit, the cover of CNN included news of a drowning mother caught in a Georgia flood; wildfires that raged in California and a state of emergency was declared; Sydney, Australia, was swarmed with a dust storm that made it look like a Martian landscape; and Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s medical correspondent, caught H1N1.

At the UN, Obama also raised an issue we haven’t heard about in a decade: nuclear nonproliferation. He warned that, having evaded disaster in the Cold War, we now face the threat of regional nuclear arms races (India versus Pakistan; Israel versus Iran) and “loose nukes,” of which there are many as a result of the decomposition of the USSR. [Text, video of Obama’s presentation at this link]

“No longer do we have the luxury of indulging our differences to the exclusion of the work that we must do together,” he said, which gave me an instant aha as I saw him say the words: exploiting differences and conflicts is a way to avoid the important work that we as humanity have to do. This is the game of stopping the conversation about health care reform by accusing someone of being a socialist; on one level, all of our red herring arguments amount to the admission of being too lazy to do anything, or too invested in another values system but not willing to admit it outwardly.

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Planet Waves
Weekly Horoscope for Friday, September 25, 2009, #785 – BY ERIC FRANCIS
Planet Waves

Gemini (May 20- June 21)
You seem to be stuck on an emotional point. You may also not know that’s what’s going on; it’s difficult to identify the true nature of a hangup when you’re in the midst of it. If you’re obsessing over finding ‘the right strategy’, that is a sign that you’re snagged. But how do I know the issue is emotional? Well, that’s what your solar chart suggests. Here’s what else: you are secretly trying to negotiate with one or both of your parents; to do what you think would impress or please them. This has been going on for a while, but not so blatantly as at this particular moment. Issues lingering from childhood usually go away when we want them to, so here is a question: what purpose is it serving? Clue: it’s a huge distraction.

Planet Waves

Libra (Sep. 22 – Oct. 23)
The Sun is now in your birth sign, but this may not be granting the renewal, relief and sense of awakening that it usually does. It’s difficult to overlook the feeling that something huge is lurking behind the scenes of your existence, something over which you have no control. There’s a bit of an exaggeration going on for you; what you’re feeling is impending change. Remember though, this isn’t the kind of change you can plan. It’s the kind you must embrace when the time comes; and it won’t arrive all at once. The adjustments that will significantly improve your existence will arrive in a series of decisions. This information can relieve you of the need to plan, though I suggest you experiment with ideas for what you want.

Planet Waves

Aquarius (Jan. 20- Feb. 19)
Your world is getting bigger. Finally and at long last, you have a sense of what is possible, as a feeling more than as a list. This feeling is crucial because it’s the experience of granting yourself permission to dance with your own potential. Aquarius is the sign of the zodiac that is about mental patterns. Many astrological factors have been conspiring to get you off the tracks and out of the mental maze that you’ve been calling a personality. In truth, your unconscious has sent you just about every kind of signal and given you the opportunity to experience just about every kind of test that’s available. Yet there are few experiences so powerful as stepping outside the door and recognizing that you can do anything you want.

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20 thoughts on “Today in Astrology News: The Mighty Equinox”

  1. VIA EMAIL FROM MARIANNE HENRY

    To “The Eric Francis” & Planet Waves Staff,

    Major General (love one of the bloggers called you that) Chelsea,

    I know you won’t be surprised that everyone had said “those” things about you, Eric, and Planet Waves staff. As they are things I felt every so deeply, having read your site for a year(s) now. Thanks to May Phifer forwarding them to me first and getting me hooked on the day to day, weekly, blogtalk radio program(s) the writings,ect, ect, I had to joined in.

    l so loved that it was expressed by others whom seen the importance of ” Telling it, like it is!”

    Eric, “We do need to wake up and smell the roses of our own lives and to the world (our (only) Home, Mother Earth ) and the true essence of livingness!” (that is “We are the Ones, We have been waiting for” as spoken by a Hopi Elder).

    The best blogger was Paul Hill who was really letting me know that I along with the other sixteen comments that ” You are really “One of a Kind”. Now weither your achievements can really be described as you do it beyond any words that I could come up with.

    However heartfelt it was for me, to get this kinds of insights in yours and others on Planet Waves, with the written words ,plus with the numerous video’s, beautiful photographs, you can allow me to give ”The Seal ( Plethora) of Authentic(exchange), Intuitive, Sanity Saving Perspectives Award for All Times for you Eric Francis.”

    As an astrological student of over forty years you, “blow my mind”, I will be 67 years old this Oct. 8 with Virgo on the ascendant, with Moon in Virgo following, then followed with five planets in Libra, Neptune Venus, Second house Mars, Sun and Mercury rx, fitting into the bowl with Saturn/Uranus both rx in Gemini in the Nine connected with M.C. so like a ping-pong mechine, you hit every one of my planets to it’s deepest core !!!!

    (Yes, the rest of the bowl is in the 11th house friends and fun, with Jupiter in Cancer, Pluto in Leo) May I remain , ever so “Blessed and Grateful” that you are on this Planet, and I am here at the same time you are.

    “May you gain strength from the journey behind you for the one in front of you”

    — Marianne here in Oakland

  2. Funny that remark about seeing the Galactic Center aspect a thousand times with your eyes before noticing it.

    I feel a little the same away about this whole wild and crazy astrology going on now, that you describe as the building up 2012.

    I know I know; you’ve been talking it for months and months, and I’ve been reading it and nodding my head. But did I really see what you were talking about?

    Not till I thought I was going to lose my job last month — then I started gulping down all the good astrology I could find to help me figure out what was going on.

    (You gave me some kind advice here btw about job searching during a mercury retrograde; thanks for that.)

    Anyway, when people and issues starting banging together in my own life, I finally started to *see* this astrology you’ve been talking about. Holy moly it’s gonna be a big mama…..

    Thanks Eric. You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make her see past the end of her nose…or something like that. Thanks for having the astrology here when we are finally ready to see it…..

  3. VIA EMAIL FROM CATHY

    The way that Eric Francis gets into my psyche is eerie at times, and causes me to check my closets and purse to see if he’s been living there watching me! Over the years that I’ve subscribed I’ve always felt that I’ve gotten more than my money’s worth. I use Eric’s horoscopes as I do Tarot, to guide and also validate my sense of where I am and where I’m going.

    Perhaps because of the work Eric has done on himself or just because of his natural gifts, or both, he’s able to see beyond the everyday nonsense of our lives into the deeper places. These places are where he finds the energies and structures that inform our individual and collective souls. Thank you Eric for taking the time to venture into these depths and bring back the messages we need.

    Cathy; Virgo, Cancer rising, Sag moon, Dutchess county, NY

    http://www.everybodysyoga.org

    “What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

  4. Nobody does it like you, Eric. Rigorously erudite astrology. Fastidiouosly professional journalism. Stylish writing, precisely worded. Conscientiously priortized choices of subject matter. Artful photography worth thousands of words.

    Stand out under the clear night sky people! Witness the simple scope and grandeur of the stars and planets and know the truth. Look around you in the light of day, try to find the same in the un-natural world of human artifact and know despair.

    Plentiful are the sources of distraction, denial, confusion and prevarication. Nearly every source of broadcast and print media has been fored to succumb or go out of business. Rare is a source of truth. Even more scarce is a place where aware and responsible people can gather, recognize each other and share the truth. Planet Waves is such a place.

    Fact is, we can’t choose the times in which we live, we can only choose how we respond to them. i am pleading with all of you reading these words. Make reading Planet Waves a part of your response. Make the financial support of Plant Waves another. The water is rising but the outcome is not pre-ordained, it is for us to choose. Please, smile at a stranger. Please, help someone in need. Please, gift without reason. Please, support Planet Waves.

  5. VIA EMAIL FROM PAUL HILL

    As a power mad stubborn baby-faced Aries……..with an exclusivity deal with the Almighty….and a Sagittarian Moon/Ascendant…. Planet Waves has been my source of Spiritual Inspiration for the last 5 years. I discovered a site which allows me to learn about the new asteroids……Centaur planets…..loads of stuff on behavioural issues….and digest a thoroughly modern approach to Astrology. I sometimes find that I am confronted by my own Saturnine limits……not a bad thing…….and sometimes find an enlightened response to what I would call “a bloody good read!”

    I have created a web site that is exploring the influence of West African Kora music on the overall development and evolution of World music. There is a purity and truth about the 12 notes of a musical octave….and integrity demands that I source that same purity of vision and truth wherever possible…!!

    Planet Waves is inspired by a man who is not perfect….is incredibly driven in his pursuit of Astological truth… and the expansion of current boundaries……and is what I can only describe as a fully qualified human being…….and along with Major–General Chelsea ……has kept my contributors weekly post going for 4-5 years so as to allow me to pour all of my resources into my African project.

    There is a genuine space in the world …. that we all need to hold very precious………..and I would have no hesitation in asking all of you to become part of the future…….and the solution…..as we finally address the real issues that 21st century living is bringing to our table…..and our conscious!

    Planet Waves ……with love….Paul Hill…Musicman 1

  6. Eric, and all the wonderful Planet Waves contributors,

    As usual, today’s Weekly was insightful and fascinating. The photographs are beautiful and interesting also. I always look forward to reading what you have to say! Thank you!!

  7. This morning, as with every Friday morning it seems, I shared the Leo reading with my husband and added – “Eric’s pegged you, yet again!”

    My husband is a very skeptical guy, yet he is utterly blown away by how Eric seems to have a handle on his own particular challenges and dreams. He reads his sign in utter amazement. Believe me, only Eric can captivate him like that and that’s saying something.
    Today’s reading for Leo was really remarkable – we had both just been talking in a similar vein earlier in the day. Eric just deftly summed up our conversation….yet again. 😉

  8. VIA EMAIL FROM JUDY KNAIZ

    Today’s edition of PlanetWaves held me spellbound as I watched the planets move into conjunction with the Sun and the CardinalPlanets square with the Aries Point!!! В Never have I contemplated such a picture. В Thank you so very much for making me aware of the majesty of the universe. В 

    Judy Knaiz

  9. Eric,

    Great article on the Equinox! Changes are never convenient, especially on the scale that life seems to be asking us to make. I feel though that change is in the air. We can’t keep going on doing what we’re doing (on a global level), the situations are only going to continue to spiral downward instead of getting better. It does seem like the world is waking up though and more people are making a difference. Last two elections before the Nov, 4 2008 election, none of my friends got involved aside from voting for the guy who didn’t win. There was a real sense of apathy in America. This time around they all felt it was time to do something and that they had the POWER to make a difference. They volunteered for Obama, organized huge fundraisers, and debated the issues. And once they woke up they haven’t been able to go back asleep.

    The Equinox felt powerful, intense and very uncomfortable, at least for me. More so han the storm phase of Mercury Retograde or the day of the exact Uranus-Saturn opposition where Uranus was conjunct my sun and Saturn was also opposite my sun. And thanks for all the Yes Men coverage! I loved the video of the balls waging their attack by wading into the water to the song “I will survive”. I laugh every time I see that video. They do such an awesome job of getting their message across in a humorous way that also makes it really stick in your mind.

    For the Pisces Horoscope you wrote that the “The 8th house is one of the most challenging; most people associate it with jealousy, power struggle and with crisis.” I’ve felt that at least as a Pisces, my 7th House (Virgo) with Saturn there opposed my Sun has really focused on those issues that you mention for the 8th house but in a relationship context. It’s been a very hard two years filled with forced growth, major personality framework upheaval, plenty of tears, and relationships that pushed me to new places but didn’t really bring the partnership that I’m seeking. As you so aptly put in a previous horoscope – this little Pisces is a on a mission. So, I’m really hoping with Saturn in the 8th (and no longer opposed my Sun) there isn’t more of what you describe in the 8th (jealousy, power struggle and with crisis), but rather a few rewards and maybe the end result of that mission begin to materialize. I’m kind of done with these issues and ready to move forward to a new, better place. What you wrote describing Libra in the 8th gives me hope. “Capacity to experience your changes in a way that is elegant and compassionate” would be such a welcome change to the war zone that has been Saturn in the 7th!

    – Genevieve

  10. VIA EMAIL FROM CHRIS McRAE

    Hi Eric and Planet Waves

    For many of your 10 years of publication I have looked forward to your visit into my computer on a regular basis. The topics are exceptionally well written, well-researched, sometimes provocative, and sometimes they set my mind on a brand new wave length which is always exciting for us Aquarians. Thank you, Eric, and your other authors for your dedication and insight.

    Love to all
    Chris McRae, ISAR.CAP, NCGR.CA, PMAFA

  11. VIA EMAIL FROM GRACE

    If you’re not reading Eric Francis, you’re missing out on a key sanity-saving perspective in today’s crazy-making world. He’s honest. He’s accurate. He’s prolific. And his astrology is unbeatably useful.

    🙂
    grace

  12. VIA EMAIL FROM PATRICIA

    It is of no surprise to me of the various events you mentioned in your blog, as the winds of change are blowing hard and strong as well, here in the northeast. Clarity mixing with chaos seems to be a common theme. I am not a meteorologist however an observation of the area waterways specifically the high seas, seem to be more turbulent than normal. Its somewhat frightening this feeling of the “unknown”.

    I’m thankful for your insights.

    Sincerely, Patricia

  13. VIA EMAIL FROM DHARM KUAR KHALSA

    Eric,

    Not only is your site unique, revolutionary and visionary, it is a model of this coming Aquarian way of true service. I recently had the privilege of being a recipient of your kind offer of a free subscription during a recent financial challenge. My situation is now resolved and I have happily renewed my subscription.

    In gratitude,
    Dharm Kaur Khalsa

  14. VIA EMAIL FROM NITI BAHN

    Eric – your pattern recognition skills enhancing your intuitive readings of the planetary movements emerge in written pieces on politics, current affairs, global socio economic and geo politic situations as well the directions we, individually, as human beings will or might face, just around the corner, well, that’s a service worth paying every penny of whatever it is you charge me on my card, you arm twister.

  15. VIA EMAIL FROM KATHLEEN McGUINESS

    to Eric Francis and the staff at Planet Waves

    I teach art in my home studio and part of our discussion for the class would always involve the wonderful information posted on the planet waves weekly, especially during these very stressful times times in our world. Eric alllows for the hope and humor to shine through his forecasts. I honestly feel it has been therapy for us all. Always giving strength for the challenges ahead. I am inspired and grateful for the weekly contact. If everyone understood the benefit of alternative knowledge, what a gift to become informed with hope and happiness, optimism and grace. Thank you for developing your planetwaves site Eric.

    Kathleen Mcguiness
    http://woodstockartist.com

  16. I think you hit on something key when you write that we are “exploiting differences and conflicts is a way to avoid the important work that we as humanity have to do.” If we just hold an awareness of this dynamic in our day-to-day lives, we could start the work of undoing it in the organizations and workplaces where we do have a direct impact. I’m interested in seeing how I can make a difference in this way.

    The horoscopes this week are very insightful and well stated. But that what I’ve come to expect from Planetwaves. Thanks!

  17. VIA EMAIL FROM URSULA FUGGER

    Eric has one of the best astro news services around. Others try to copy him, but ya gotta know – Eric was a journalist first, then came the astrology. He’s got it together in a way that is uniquely his. Planet Waves is really one of a kind out there on the net. Hope you find this issue insightful.

    As an astrologer who works with clients, I find myself having to run through the astrology of the moment without the benefit of the celestial shorthand that occurs when two astrologers meet up. So I find your ability to language and put into context the heavenly perturbations without the nomenclature invading the conversation a real skill very few (astrologers) have. For sure there are some good ones out there, but Eric, you are a unique �one of a kind’.

  18. VIA EMAIL FROM APRIL FRANCIS (not related):

    Quite easily the most intelligent AND accessible astrologer practicing today, Eric Francis delivers another amazing issue of Planet Waves. I look forward to Friday morning EVERY week. Thanks for your love, guidance and endurance Eric – you make the world a better place.

  19. As, as we’ve discussed before – I’ve got a sort of aries point chart (major angles starting with asc at 1 libra – Aq sun). And yeah its all happening – not sure just what is happening but something is….

    Thanks for the words as always …. Been an absorbing time away from here for many reasons but hopefully getting back up to speed.

  20. Eric:

    This week’s edition was one of the most startlingly clear horoscopes of this moment/era in time that I could possibly read.

    We really seem to be at the cusp of momentous times, and pray we are wise enough to swim in the flow rather than resist it. It makes me want to think creatively about what more can I do. And you’re right, this is bigger than the Sixties.

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