Ian's Pizzeria is taking pizza orders from around the world for Madison's protesters

Ian’s Pizzeria on State Street in Madison, Wisconsin has not suffered from the protests that have brought close to 60,000 to the state capitol building, just a few blocks away. On the contrary, unlike most businesses whose day-to-day operations are disrupted by large-scale demonstrations of public unrest, Ian’s Pizzeria is thriving.

Closed for regular business, all of Ian’s calls are coming in from across the country and the globe for pizza orders exclusively to feed protesters demonstrating against Wisconsin Governor Walker’s budget proposal that would strip collective bargaining from public service employee union contracts — effectively crippling the state workers union. The demonstrations, which began February 15, are now in their seventh day.

Money for pizza has been coming in from as far away as Egypt, New Zealand, the UK, Korea, Finland, China, Australia, Canada, Germany, Turkey, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Italy, as well as from across the 50 states.

If you are interested in ordering pizza slices for the movement in Madison, here is the link to Ian’s Pizzeria Facebook page where you can donate to the Wisconsin capitol protest pizza fund.

By Len Wallick

Everything we experience begins with thought,
Our words and deeds spring from thought,…”
Attributed to Buddha

A lot of energy is moving from Aquarius to Pisces this week. Today, Mercury follows the Sun into Pisces (which entered on Friday), conjoining Chiron 12 hours later. Late tomorrow or early Wednesday, depending on where you are, Mars concludes the precipitous and closely synchronized migration out of Aquarius. Mars then also conjoins Chiron about a day and a half before Jupiter exacts its square to Pluto on Friday. This square between Jupiter, the planet that traditionally rules Pisces, and Pluto is a relatively rare and meaningful aspect. That’s the backbone of astrology for the week.

All of this combines to imply a shift or transformation. Concurrent with these events we may see a change in emphasis. Some might experience the need to re-balance or re-organize. The means and tone of expression may alter.

But before we start to look at the vertebrae of today’s astrology, let us not forget the Moon. Oh yes, again we begin another Monday with Luna in a cardinal sign. Today it’s Libra, all day. This pattern, which started with the first Monday of 2011, will begin to taper off next week.

This has been an an extraordinary run. Perhaps the time has come to put it in perspective. Maybe it was the Industrial Revolution, or perhaps the Protestant Reformation. Could be it goes back before all of that. Somewhere along the line, the day named after the Moon came to mean the beginning of the secular, business week — the day when it is a common practice to go back to work or school after at least one day off. In the United States some Mondays, such as today, are an exception to the rule, designated as a holiday for at least some of us. On the whole, however, this day has assumed a cultural identity that is identified with the start of a new cycle, both in our personal and in our political lives.

Long before time was organized into weeks, the cardinal signs had acquired an identity of their own. There is tangible evidence, going back over 10,000 years that human beings have noted, marked, tracked and commemorated the first day of Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn because they correspond to perceptible and auspicious moments in the Sun’s annual cycle — the seasons. It’s extraordinary, really. All over the world, ancient people who knew little or nothing of each other observed the beginning of a new phase in their public and private lives. In other words, the first day of a cardinal sign was a sort of seasonal Monday. So it is that this year of transition starts off with an unlikely rhythm that links the ancient days of initiation with those of the present. This transition symbolically provides not only a bridge between cardinal sign templates, but also a between-epochs past to this present moment.

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Today’s Oracle takes us to the Gemini weekly of Sept. 23, 2005

It’s often the case that the more creative people have to deal with a more intense level of fear. The light is shining brightly in some important aspects of your life at the same time you seem to have an intractable concern. You’re even doubting whether that concern is real which is providing some relief. Still you may be split 50/50 on whether you’re correct to feel blazing inspiration or inwardly concerned. I suggest you let action take the lead and act on your inspirations rather than your fears. The fear can serve to encourage.

(The Daily Oracle is a random selection from one of 10,000 Eric Francis horoscopes. New horoscopes by Eric are published weekly plus twice a month in Planet Waves Astrology News and Planet Waves Light. The Oracle itself is a divination tool available to subscribers to either of these services.)

By the way -- artwork is by Danielle Voirin.

Light Bridge written readings are now available to subscribers. An email just went out. There is also a free blog that includes many articles and features, to which everyone is invited. The audio introduction to the project is on that page and available to everyone.

Editor’s Note: If you want to experiment with tarot cards and don’t have any, we provide a free tarot spread generator using the Celtic Wings spread, which is based on the traditional Celtic Cross spread. This article tells you how to use the spread. You can visit Sarah’s website here. –efc

By Sarah Taylor

This weekend’s reading feels like a significant, if not major, initiation into something, and the caution of what can happen when that initiation is squandered through misuse or abuse.

Ace of Swords, Ace of Pentacles, 7 of Swords from the Rider-Waite Smith Tarot deck. Click on the image for a larger version.

Wow! Two Aces. What a pairing. An Ace symbolises an offering that is the epitome of the quality of its suit; a gift that, when used effectively, has the power to embody that quality in its purest form. Two Aces is not simply a two-fold offering: it can be substantially more than, because the potential of both Aces can play off each other, creating ‘alchemical reactions’ that they would not be able to do in isolation.

The Ace of Swords is about initiation into the power of thought. It is an idea, a plan, a moment of cutting insight and clarity. It is divinely inspired, coming as it does from a higher organising principle. (In the Aces, the symbol of each suit is presented to us, held in the palm of a disembodied hand coming out of a cloud. The hand, in its most literal sense, is the hand of God. It is the creator’s gift to its creation.) I wrote this about the Ace of Swords in an earlier article:

There is the intimation that truth is reached alone, and that it can often rise up from those parts of us that are not altogether knowable. It can be harsh medicine that asks to be treated with the utmost respect (yew), or it can heal (kelp, for instance). Either way, when wielded in service to a higher authority (the crown), its inspiration is empowering and liberating.

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Today’s Oracle takes us to the Pisces weekly of Feb. 25, 2005

Swiftly flow the days though the next week or so is clearly a time of major decisions. Pisces is a defensive sign that is it tends to respond to the demands of the world rather than making demands or consciously applying creative power. Those Pisces who do get involved in the creative side of the game tend to do well in fact better than most people expect. So as you revise your plans and make your decisions over the next few days make sure you’re consciously deciding whether your job in life is simply to respond or to set your own vision agenda priorities and spend your energy making them real — because you can.

(The Daily Oracle is a random selection from one of 10,000 Eric Francis horoscopes. New horoscopes by Eric are published weekly plus twice a month in Planet Waves Astrology News and Planet Waves Light. The Oracle itself is a divination tool available to subscribers to either of these services.)

Editor’s Note: You can find The Weekend Tarot Reading below this article. I have posted my introduction to Light Bridge to Facebook. As of 8:06 pm, the site is live for subscribers to that product, and season pass holders. There is a free blog that includes many articles and features, to which everyone is invited.

Mercury-Mars-Neptune in a triple conjunction, and Jupiter square Pluto

Jupiter is at the very top left. Pluto is the red golf tee on the lower right. Notice that they have the exact same numbers after them, in cardinal signs -- that is the square aspect.

Two astonishing aspects are developing right now, both taking place the last week of February. I’m going to take them in reverse order. First, a reminder that the Sun ingressesed Pisces Friday. Both of these charts involve Pisces planets, with the Sun in Pisces. That provides a lot of resonance for these events.

We’re currently in the run-up to an aspect called Jupiter square Pluto. This is an impassioned aspect that happens about every six years, so it’s not your everyday astrology. These two powerhouses combine to conduct the soulful, highly focused evolutionary power of Pluto through the cosmic intelligence of Jupiter. The square is obsessive and passionate; it is not given to the best judgment. It’s the kind of aspect that thinks it’s right whether it’s right or wrong, and we can look to this astrology for the religious zeal that both leaders and populations are pitting against one another in demonstrations in the Middle East and in the United States.

Let’s just say this comes with commitment if not discernment. At its worst it’s devious and at its best it’s on fire with drive and determination. That happens on Feb. 25, with Jupiter in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn. You can just feel this one pulsing through the ethers. Though Uranus square Pluto is brewing, Jupiter is what has facilitated the current burst of awareness and passion. It’s a kind of warmup for Uranus arriving in Aries on March 11.

Note that Jupiter is one of the ruling planets of Pisces. The two planets associated with Pisces are getting a lot of action in these years, and we’re starting to see it burst into consciousness. The second aspect involves the ‘modern ruler’ of Pisces, which is Neptune. Still in late Aquarius for the moment, Neptune is about to take a simultaneous conjunction from Mars and Mercury. This happens Feb. 20, so we’re right in the mix now. To me this aspect looks like an invitation to do some fabulously hot writing. Like Jupiter square Pluto, it’s begging for positive expression, and that energy is abundantly available. Partly, it’s a matter of slowing down your mind enough to follow your own thoughts.

The three critters with the number 28 next to them are Mars, Neptune and Mercury, in an exact conjunction. We've had quite a few triple conjunctions lately, but nothing quite like this.

The combination is Mercury, Mars and Neptune. Mercury + Mars is fast mind, that can move from concept to conclusion instantly. It’s a good aspect for an editor or lawyer to have, assuming they are at least a bit tempered; this aspect can light a fire in the mind. Add Neptune to this and the flash goes off in the imagination. In Aquarius, it’s got a kinky, intellectual or technological feeling. This would be the perfect chart to launch a very smart porn site. While it’s not purely about sex, Mars (ruler of Scorpio) gives that feeling. Note that Jupiter (a planet connected to Pisces) is teaming up with Pluto (a planet connected to Scorpio) and we get a similar picture here.

This astrology is excellent for making movies, conceptualizing them or even watching them in good company (the friends are signified by Aquarius). However, if you’re not taking it on a creative level, and I mean consciously directed energy with some discipline mixed in, these might be slippery — for example, it’s easy DWI territory, good for misunderstandings and stupid fights, etc. So I suggest you focus your mind on something you’re passionate about, hang out with people you trust, and keep some basic boundaries in mind. Then, these aspects will be a lot of fun.