Dear Friend and Reader:

Did you know that Planet Waves FM, Eric’s weekly podcast, is available on iTunes? Planet Waves FM (the title of our podcast) is available in a number of formats, but iTunes is our link to the wider world — the world of new listeners.

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Chelsea Bottinelli

By Len Wallick

The Moon entered Aries early this morning. It exacted a square to the Cancer Sun less than 4 hours later, at about 7:49 am EDT. That means Luna has entered the last quarter of a cycle that began on the first day of June. In the course of a day it will symbolically pull the events of over three years, past and future, into the present. In the course of a week it will bring this month, year and decade to a crossroads. If you have ever wondered what it is like to peck your way out of an egg, or emerge from a chrysalis, the opportunity may be at hand. First, let us pause to catch up on the month so far.

On June 1 we had a New Moon. That means the Moon and the Sun had come together from our perspective. That is called a conjunction. The place where they conjoined is one of two points where their respective paths cross in the sky. Those are the lunar nodes. When the luminaries are in conjunction where their paths cross, a straight line can be drawn through both of them that connects with our planet. Where that connection touched us was a shadow. That was a solar eclipse.

Two weeks later the luminaries were on opposite sides of our planet. That is an called an opposition, or in this case, a Full Moon. Each one of them were very near the two nodes, which are always opposed. Again, there was a straight line through all three. Where that line connected with the Moon was another shadow. That was a lunar eclipse. Two down, one to go.

In between a conjunction (New Moon) and opposition (Full Moon) the luminaries are at right angles to each other from our point of view. That is a square. That was the first quarter. If you saw Luna looking like a bright silver coin sliced in two, that was it. Now Luna looks that way again, except shiny on the other side. That is where we are today and how we got here, the last quarter, the last week of a lunar cycle punctuated at every opportunity by three eclipses.

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Photo by Amanda Painter, Portland, Maine.

Note, Amanda and I both took a throw at the daily astrology today; her post went up a few hours ago and is the post below this one. I love her easygoing approach to the aspects. This might serve as a demo that there are lot of ways to describe the same sky and indeed the same afternoon in the same park. — efc

Today is Thursday, June 23, 2011. The Moon was in Pisces overnight in most time zones, and will ingress Aries at 4:23 am EDT. The Moon crosses the Aries Point and makes a whole bunch of aspects to outer planets and indeed many other kinds of planets. By all indications this will be a busy day, and you will learn something about yourself and also about how the world works. This is learning through experience, the kind that changes you as you go through something.

The Moon is a feminine, receptive influence. She manifests not as a concept but as feeling, sensory information and the experience of personality. Though accused of being moody, the Moon is equally about affect — what sensation we project. What we project has a lot to do with how we react to the world, or respond to it, and today is a big day of responses. The key is not feeling like you’re a passive recipient of experience but rather someone actively exploring the sensation of being alive.

One of the first aspects that the Moon makes is a conjunction to Uranus in Aries. Though there are a lot of other aspects today, this is the one that you can see and feel from a distance — the revelation, the volcanic eruption, the experience of the body electric. Check that out: your body is an electrical device; your nerves and brain carry measurable current, and what we think of as intelligence can also be seen and felt as energy. So allow your experiences to energize you today. It’s safe to feel your emotions without much chance over-identifying with them. One feeling will pass to another surely as the weather changes, but in more rapid sequence. But this is inner weather, no matter what you may be seeing, hearing or experiencing in the world around you.

Unidentified seed puff (no, it's not a dandelion), Portland, Maine. Photo by Amanda Painter.

Today is Thursday, June 23, 2011. The Moon ingresses Aries for the whole day at 4:24 am EDT, and not long after makes a conjunction to Uranus. This is the first image to emerge for the day of a lot of current running through our interactions. Think of it as plugging your emotions into a light socket, which may light the room beautifully or may short the circuit and light a spark. Aries is a fire sign after all, suggesting some extra heat to this aspect. But the Moon moves quickly, so if you can remember to stop, drop and roll if things flare up early in the day, the afternoon may go a bit smoother.

The Sun in early Cancer is making a semi-sextile to Mars in Gemini. Gary Caton described this as Mars hanging out in the 12th house of the Sun, which suggests to me that our drive and desires may be fueling our ego/sense of self seemingly from out of nowhere — kind of like it’s coming through the dreams of our ego-presence, if such a thing could dream. Or perhaps you’ll find that as you present your usual self to others, they seem to be picking up on what you really want, what’s really motivating you even if you’re not sure yourself. With Mars in Mercury-ruled Gemini, you can be sure it’s going to be doing some talking.

Lastly, we have an opposition between Venus in the middle of Gemini and Pholus conjunct the Great Attractor in mid-Sagittarius. The attractive power of Venus — all that lush femininity, sensuality and receptivity (think voluptuous hips, bee-stung lips and languorous sips of nectar) — is pulling against the attraction of the Great Attractor. Eric has written before of this powerful point and its effect of polarization. It’s an opposite kind of attraction to what Venus offers, and here we have it opposed to the planet named for the goddess of love. Add to that Pholus (“small cause, big effect”) magnifying the polarizing effect of both the GA and the opposition with Venus.

If you find yourself getting a bit intoxicated with this sense of polarity, chances are it isn’t going to feel like a happy buzz. In fact, despite the word “attractor” in “Great Attractor,” you could find yourself pushing people away — or vice versa. Like yesterday, the solution may lie in water, but this time you may need to drink some. Stay hydrated like the Sun in Cancer, and use the time while sipping and gulping to feel your way around any tension, dissolving anything that feels toxic so it can be eliminated.

Today’s Oracle takes us to the Gemini weekly of August 6, 2004

The events of this spring and summer have been nothing if not revolutionary. You have finally come to a point in your life where you are able to live from your center, and express yourself from the core of your ideas. It is amazing how much unreality we need to exchange for a little reality, but the good news is that a little goes a long way. If you see life as a thing that offers lessons, your solar chart is strongly suggesting that the lesson of the hour is honoring what is most important to you. Skip the top-10 list and go for number one.

Are you looking for an extra clue? That’s what astrology is for. New horoscopes are published weekly plus twice a month in Planet Waves subscriber edition and Planet Waves Light. And for your annual reading, check out Light Bridge.

We’re fans of Juan Cole at Planet Waves — his analysis of Middle East politics is the best there is. Juan is an example of how (in the words of Stephen Colbert) reality has a well-known liberal bias. Amy Goodman covers the ridiculousness of the CIA trying to smear his reputation. In my mind, that proves he’s the real thing. Nothing like the CIA trying to make someone look bad to give a guy extra credibility. –efc

Former top CIA counterterrorism officer Glenn Carle has revealed the Bush administration sought damaging personal information on Juan Cole, an academic and prominent critic of the Iraq war, in an attempt to discredit him. Carle says the Bush White House made at least two requests for intelligence about Cole, whose blog “Informed Comment” rose to prominence after the Iraq invasion. Carle refused to carry out the request. In a joint interview, Carle and Cole join us to discuss the explosive revelation and why Cole is now calling for a congressional investigation.

To read the rush transcript of the interview in the video above, click here.

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 explains how to use the spread. You can visit Sarah’s website here. –efc

By Sarah Taylor

When I first started working with tarot, The Chariot seemed to me to be one of the more straightforward cards in the major arcana, encapsulated by the idea that, “Things are forging ahead; keep a masterful hold on the reins.”

Rider-Waite Smith Tarot

That’s not to say that this statement doesn’t hold true, but I have come to see the depth that lies underneath it. What is happening that precipitates the journey that the card depicts, for instance; why the implied shift in pace? What constitutes ‘mastery’?

And the imagery: Why a chariot? What about the creatures that pull it? What of the figure’s appearance? The colours? What sense of movement does the card evoke, and what does it mean? How about the detail in the card? The symbols?

So my invitation to you, dear reader, this week: to take a close look at The Chariot and see what it brings to you. There are three different versions you can choose to work with — either as a group, or a pair or a single card:

- The Chariot from the Rider-Waite Smith Tarot deck

- The Warrior from the Xultun Tarot deck

- The Chariot from the Tarot of the Spirit deck

[Note: You can click on each card for a high-resolution version.]

Here are a few things to help you get started:

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Hosted by Eric Francis with Gary Caton and musical guest TJ Jarosik, we talk about the summer solstice chart, including the Sun’s many aspects this week and next, the grand cross that’s developing, and the solar eclipse that takes place one week from Friday. The new player is above; the program will appear shortly in the old player, along with the archives going back about 16 months to the beginning of this particular audio project.

We’re also carried free on iTunes! If you’re listening via iTunes, please review and rate the program.

Thank you!

Ferms west of the stream, Grandmother Land, Ulster Country, NY. Photo by Eric.

Here is today’s Planet Waves FM podcast:

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Today is June 22, 2011. It’s the first full day of the Sun’s transit through the sign Cancer; the Sun is at solstice. This is a moment of reorientation; the Sun has come 90 degrees since the astrological year began with the vernal equinox. This may seem like a subtle change, but the solstice points are among the very pivotal times of year. Everything and everyone can feel the shift in momentum. This could be a reassessment of some kind, a change in loyalty, or a shift in approach or ideology. Be conscious of this process, and you will trust it more, and be able to take advantage of it.

This turning point is echoed in the square aspect between Mars and Neptune that we described yesterday — the one about taking it easy with your ideas, not pushing too hard, and not trying so hard to be right. This aspect could cause some inner pressure. That pressure needs to go somewhere. Fortunately, astrology never describes a problem without also presenting probable solutions. We find one in the trine aspect between the Sun and Neptune, suggesting easy flow rather than tension.

To tap into this, it could be a good day for a silent meditation, or to get near some water. The beach would be great, but a fountain would do, or even a bath. The reality and the metaphor are: get into your feelings, be receptive, listen, contemplate — no matter how agitated you might feel.

Adding to the theme of water, we also have the Moon in Pisces, where it will be until Thursday at 4:24 am EDT. This is a sensitive position for the Moon, so you can expect people (and you) to be feeling a bit too vulnerable for daily life. But shutting down won’t work — listening and feeling are more likely to. You may actually discover something that gets right into that sensitivity: the Moon opposes Juno Wednesday morning at at 9:24 am. Juno can be a prickly critter, keeping score, prone to jealousy and having a reputation for being a bit mean. In Virgo, she might be a bit anal and insecure — we’ve all met this girl. Therefore, if you’re in a sensitive fishy space, try to not let her bother you too much — take a breath and move on, or take a bath and move on. You have better things to do with your imagination than fester over what anyone else is worried about.

Today’s Oracle takes us to the Capricorn weekly of Nov. 24, 2006

Those who can see the future have the best chance of getting there. And if there was ever a time when your mind, both ‘asleep’ and ‘waking’, was filled with images of what could be, and what will be, and what you want to be and are dedicated to creating, the time is now. At this point, however, you face the formidable challenge of every creative person: gradually manifesting your ideas into the tangible world, and sharing them with others. Family Focus: Teach the habit of taking life one day at a time.

Are you looking for an extra clue? That’s what astrology is for. New horoscopes are published weekly plus twice a month in Planet Waves subscriber edition and Planet Waves Light. And for your annual reading, check out Light Bridge.