I have to confess. The last half of this month has had me verklempt. Each passing day of the news story called“The Debt Ceiling That Can’t Get Passed” sucked air out of my chest, making it hard to sleep, obsessive about the news, and living with a cloud of worry unnamed over me, unable to type a word. If you were wondering where Fe-911 went to, I’ve been in a mental hell of debt and default angst.

Clearly, I am not alone in my worry. We have been smothered by 24-7 debt and deficit news: the trillions of US deficit, talk of entitlement reform, the debt ceiling negotiation stalemate, the threat of US default on the world’s economy. We are bombarded by all-debt-all-deficit-all-the-time on All-Debt Radio — enough to make an already anxious nation sit nervously at the edge of its seat. As if we haven’t had enough Shock Doctrine here and around the world over the last week, let alone decade, we’re now getting pistol-whipped with the threat of our parents, our grandparents and ourselves getting robbed blind of the fixed monthly income we paid ourselves over decades of working life.

This weekend, the Senate and the House have worked on a compromise that would raise the debt ceiling by $1.3 trillion through 2012, and cut three trillion from the deficit. There are still hurdles to overcome, as revealed by Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts:

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Back in the summer of 1998, I was on my first stint living in Europe (principally in Germany) and a writer for Rob Brezsny’s “Televisionary Oracle” online magazine. The series eventually became known as “Planet Waves” and when TVO ended publication, I spun Planet Waves off as a new independent project. A little while ago, I was searching for the data for one of the alternative United States charts — one called Scorpionic America, but my old friend (the late) David Solté — and I found a mirror archive of the old TVO site. I thought I would share it with you — it seems to speak of today as much as any other day. I plan to give the Scorpionic America chart a look; I’ll tell you what I find. — efc

Today I’ve been practicing the great discipline of doing nothing. Of the two types of discipline necessary to get anything worthwhile accomplished, this one is by far the more difficult to master, or even to find out about. It must be some kind of national security secret or information reserved for 33rd degree Masons.

Freiburg City Hall. Freiburg is close to the triple border of France, Switzerland and Germany, making it an amazing place. Photo by Luidger/Wikimedia, used under Creative Commons license.

Then, huddled under an umbrella over coffee and books at an outdoor cafe in Freiburg im Bresgau, Germany, it starts to come over me: That cosmic feeling. First I notice my sense of visual perspective. The beautiful geometry of physical space suddenly becomes vivid, like I’m peering into a dimension that’s usually covered by some kind of veil. The umbrellas and the ground create a narrow band of space, and I notice that I feel perfectly safe and perfectly protected here. Then, something changes in the way my body feels and I feel like I’m moving in space–subtle, barely noticeable, very distinct.

My senses register the normal activity of the world around me, yet a greater silence has encompassed everything. I rest gently within it, just sitting in my chair, looking, listening.

It’s a few hours before the New Moon, quiet on the psychic planes, and I’ve already decided not to push myself today. The New Moon is a great time for being introspective. A peculiar normality washes over all the lunatics in the world, and they leave you alone. Now I notice that everything around me is in tune and in focus, more clear and vivid with the increase of a soft, invisible light. This light comes with a sense of perfection and harmony, and the light and the feeling are one thing. Soon there’ll be a $15 bulb you can buy in health food stores that emits this stuff.

But I’m not in a euphoric or a high-up state of mind; in fact, I feel pretty regular and low-to-the-ground. Right on the ground, in fact. Now I can feel the fact that I am on the planet, sitting on its surface, on the very outer skin of its surface, and that it’s a small planet, and that the planet is moving through space in a very obvious way. But everything is just fine here. We’re not about to collide with anything. Everything is developing perfectly. A deep sense of peace surrounds and fills me, and it’s getting larger, and I look around to see if anyone else notices. Nope. Life proceeds as normal. People are still sitting under the umbrellas talking. . . .

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Editor’s Note: Here is the original article by Eric introducing the Celtic Wings spread that we link to above every tarot article. Sarah Taylor is away and will return with next Sunday’s weekend reading. She has selected a piece by Pamela Eakins for Wednesday, so stay tuned. – amanda

WHEN I had finished my last political job before becoming an astrologer, I packed up my Mac II CX into my old station wagon and one dusky Friday evening drove up the New York State Thruway from Westchester, back home to Rosendale.

I had been living at the house in White Plains where the Center for Judicial Accountability was, and still is, based.

At that point I had just won my lawsuit against the State of New York, my environmental magnum opus had just been on the cover ofSierra, and with a moment where there were no other pressing commitments, I did a short stint as a writer and publicist for CJA. It was an intense month. In the run-up to the 1994 midterm elections (which in New York included the election of the state attorney general), I was given the job of researching, writing and placing in The New York Times an advertorial (Op-Ed page ad) on the issue of corruption in judicial elections. That is to say, judges sitting on important courts being elected in rigged elections.

The Times had refused to cover the issue as a news story, but they did accept a check for $17,000 for a quarter-page spot on the Op-Ed page, as long as it looked good and made sense. Op-Ed page ads are reviewed by a special committee of the Editorial Board the day before they are published; whoever reviewed the thing had no questions, though I was fully prepared for the most thorough fact-checking session of my dreams.

The piece focused on a case called Castracan vs Colavita, wherein a bunch of political bosses were caught divvying up powerful judgeships in five wealthy counties near New York City, ensuring that about seven separate elections were decided up to three years in advance — long before the first voter had cast a ballot. It was a fascinating project, and working there rearranged my worldview (not exactly for the better, but at least I learned the truth of what happens in New York’s judicial elections, and what is probably happening in many other regions). Having accomplished what I was hired to do, and collecting my best writing fee ever, I headed back upstate.

When I got home, my cats were happy to see me, and my apartment was cozy and quiet. It felt so good that a home was waiting for me, at the edge of some woods near the Binnewater Lakes, about 10 miles north of New Paltz. But I didn’t have a job of any kind, having pledged to call it quits from journalism and politics for a while.

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Today’s Oracle takes us to the Cancer weekly of July 9, 2004.

Career plans deserve a clean sweep. True, we are never starting with nothing, it’s merely a question of the value and significance we put on experience. And, of course, the value we put on a clean sweep. The main thing is you need to let the possibilities be open and maintain no specific attachment to what you are doing, or what you think it means. If your charts offer one message right now, it is simply that you must respond to what is important to you, and nothing else. A single moment of honesty is all it will take to unloose your highest potential.

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.

By Maria Padhila

I’m a little shaky writing this, so I’m hoping readers will forgive in advance any shakiness in construction or expression. I’m still traveling, and today I faced driving in the mountains. I have a driving phobia. It’s a combination of hyper-vigilance — I’m too aware of everything that can go wrong — PTSD, and just plain messed-up brain. I do various behavioral techniques to deal with it, and on a day-to-day basis, they work. On a road with a drop to a river on one side and sheer rock on the other, they don’t.

Poly Paradise at Burning Man. Photo by Eric.

I won’t take drugs for it — once, a therapist suggested Xanax. I countered with the suggestion that perhaps instead I try two shots of bourbon before getting on the road. Even if I weren’t sure that drugs like that aren’t for me, it seems ridiculously irresponsible to drive under the influence of what’s essentially tricked-out Valium, even if it is legally prescribed.

Isaac, because of his disability, can’t drive, so he’s stuck with me, as I scream and curse and hyperventilate when the going gets tough. The campground where we’d been promised wireless didn’t have it, so it was back in the car to find a café. I highly recommend the Terminal Brewpub in Chattanooga, which serves mostly locally sourced hippie food, and I wish I could relax and enjoy it, but I’m still shaky. The three-hour panic attack set off on a talking jag over dinner that had me going into all kinds of awful memories, like the time a dear colleague and friend and I were working under a blatant harasser and she was told she was supposed to “put up with it, you’re in a tough business.”

(On top of that, we were doing all his work for him, while he pulled down big checks. Such was life.) I am glad most of that is in the past, though it obviously continues to inform my behavior and emotions.

Perhaps some coffee will help, right? Great idea! I’m not looking forward to the drive back to the campground. But I am looking forward to the tent and the cicadas and the clear, rain-free night.

When I checked my email earlier, I had a message from Planet Waves about a suit filed by Kody Brown, the guy from the reality show Sister Wives. I haven’t seen it, but people on email lists and blogs about polyamory that I follow talk about it.

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Photo by Beth Bagner

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Dear Friend and Reader:

The Planet Waves Mercury retrograde report is done. I’ve recorded an introduction and about 25 to 35 minutes of audio for each of the 12 Sun signs and rising signs. The audio introduction to the Merc Rx phenomenon in general is available to all readers, in which I give a primer on Mercury retrograde and describe key details of this one. The product itself is the sign-by-sign interpretation, which I offer in clear, easy to follow language. As you may know, I am always reaching for the point of sanity in the astrology, the solution set to what seems like an overly complex puzzle. I trust these readings will bring you some comfort, clarity and a few good ideas to work with in these wild and unusual days.

Analemma & the Tholos, Delphi, Greece. Photo: Anthony Ayiomamitis.

Mercury retrograde is a challenging event for many people. I do my best to counter those challenges with creativity and the intelligence made available by a careful reading of the charts. Whether you’re looking for work, sorting out your relationships or trying to turn a corner in your life, I trust you will find these readings helpful.

I’ve had an amazing time creating this report all week in the midst of much other activity — it seemed to create itself as the days went on, and I was a little wistful letting it go as I finished the 12th sign, Pisces. Now it’s on your hands — and I’m happy to offer it to you. If you’d like to hear the general introduction, you may listen to the audio above. (Please note one correction — when I say that the retrograde is 88 days, I mean the full orbit of Mercury around the Sun; the retrograde is usually 24 days.)

One thing about this particular Mercury retrograde is that it crosses the line between Leo and Virgo. We got the first such crossing in direct motion on Thursday. Then we get another in retrograde motion on Aug. 8, and a third in direct motion again on Sept. 9. Some astrologers describe the Leo/Virgo line as the sphinx point — where cat (Leo) meets human (Virgo). The crossing of house/sign cusps blends themes and helps us navigate unfamiliar territory. There are planets hanging out here — Transpluto on the Leo/Virgo line, and Neptune on the Pisces/Aquarius line. This adds some intrigue and depth to the circumstances surrounding this retrograde.

Leo/Virgo is the line where play meets work; where self-expression meets service; where passion meets the details of creative process. For each of the 12 signs I explore that relationship. You will find out what this means in your chart — whether you know your birth time (and hence your rising sign) or not. This report is brimming with personal guidance, strategy points and hints that will help you benefit from this retrograde, based on my experience covering (as in writing about) the past approximately 51 Mercury retrogrades.

If you’re vaguely interested in studying astrology, all 12 signs will be worth listening to because I go over all of the house cusps in one place. The house cusps are each a special zone of their own, each having unique qualities (like an extra 12 houses).

This is a one-purchase-gets-all-12-signs product, so you can read your Sun, Moon and rising sign — and those of your friends and loved ones. You may download or listen as many times as you like. There are some special offers included on the project’s homepage, in case you want to expand your self-inquiry. We’ve also included last year’s audio and the prior year’s written report (The Electric Tide), for the super-curious.

Here is how to get instant access.

Lovingly,

Note to Readers: This is an excerpt from yesterday’s subscriber edition of Planet Waves. Judith Gayle will not be writing this week; her Political Waves column will resume next week. –efc

Wednesday night I had dinner with a friend who’s an experienced homeopath and teacher, helping me fill in some gaps in my studies. He was describing what homeopaths call the cancer miasm: that is, the whole thought form and energy pattern associated with the disease cancer. We Americans live in what may be the most carcinogenic society on Earth, and homeopathy proposes that this is as much about our mentality as it is about toxins in the food and water.

Cancer cells appear during the oncological process. There are equivalents on other levels of reality. In homeopathy, what is called the 'cancer miasm' is associated with a state of mind in addition to a biological disease process. The state of mind influences society on all levels with its rigid thought systems and suppressed emotions, as well as its physical environment that encourages carcinogenic behavior, such as routinely eating toxins.

Even mainstream medical practitioners note that one thing many cancer patients have in common is the habit of suppressing their emotions, but homeopathy is describing something other than an individual state. And it is describing how individual states of mind are an aspect of the larger culture. My friend described the cancer miasm as being about a psyche gripped by intractable ideas; that is to say, a mind that will not budge. This is the essence of fundamentalism, a mode of thinking that currently has the United States Congress and thus the world economy by the throat. Everyone on the majority side in the House of Representatives pretty much agrees that any raising of additional revenue is out of the question, and that they’re going to cut benefits from people living on government pensions they paid into for decades.

Note that I am talking about a psychic state described by homeopathy and not conventional medicine; there is some relationship, and it’s not necessarily direct (though it can be). It influences everything from our politics and social behavior to our food production methods. We all struggle with the miasms of our whole society and our family, not just the individual ones we have. This is territory not embarked on by conventional medicine, which deals only in dose-response relationships and only rarely addresses mental or emotional states — or their effects. We happen to live in a carcinogenic society that produces cancer in nearly half of all people, but which struggles even more with the thought and behavior patterns of the cancer miasm.

Within the fundamentalist movement, there are fixed ideas about sex (don’t talk about it), abortion (murder in all instances), birth control (now also considered murder) and homosexuality (no way, Jose). All unions are bad, government is bad, taxes are bad, regulations are bad, and on and on, ad nauseam. Note carefully (it is not that hard to see) that nothing is being created except chaos. There is no plan to make, to build, to improve, to develop; the only goal is to control people (mainly through sex and private relationships) and eliminate the government’s role in the process of creating civilization. This philosophy of government is a disease process: cancer of the mind.

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Today’s Oracle takes us to the Aries weekly of Jan. 17, 2003.

There is, of course, a difference between “being spiritual” and allowing spirit to do the work. One is predominantly a mental process. The other, multidimensional and in fact fully tangible. The rare strength you feel right now is the strength of spirit, nothing more or less beautiful than that. In the world of darkness, mystery and deception, accurate information is one of the most nourishing aspects of healing. Though you may be experiencing rank confusion in some parts of your existence, look for a ray of undeniable personal truth shining through your personal cosmos in the coming hours and days. The particular questions you seem to face, despite their dramatic or high-suspense appearances, are fairly petty. What rises to answer them will emerge from true grandeur.

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.