Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Good evening — here is today’s edition of Planet Waves FM, sans introduction, just the audio.

To listen to today’s edition of Planet Waves FM in the old player, or to view the archives going back more than a year, check this link. If you listen to Planet Waves FM in iTunes, please check this letter to iTunes listeners.

Thank you!

Editor’s note: Sarah will not be writing her tarot column today, so we thought we’d spotlight a feature our friend James Wanless, creator of the Voyager Tarot, has on his site voyagertarot.com. It’s a Card-A-Day random card generator. You just click the words “Card-A-Day” and a new card will be generated. Here is The Tower, the first card I happened upon when I clicked. It’s one of James’ cards, with his own interpretation below it. Have fun! – amanda

Continue Reading »

No, you're not wearing beer goggles; it's just a distorted reflection in Lake Ossipee, NH at Dance New England/Camp Robin Hood. But Venus square Pholus is asking you to check your perceptions in love carefully over the next couple days. Photo by Amanda Painter.

Today is Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011. The Moon is in Libra all day, having just made a square to Pluto and an opposition to Uranus overnight. You may have felt that energy as some sort of challenge or surprise to your relationships or a surge in your sense of justice/injustice, if you happened to be awake for it. Today the Moon makes a conjunction to Saturn at 2:43 pm EDT and then a square to Mars at about 8:28 pm EDT.

Given the Moon’s tendency to act as a relay runner, passing the baton of energy from one planet to another, its aspects to Saturn and Mars bring an echo of the Mars-Saturn square of last week. For many of us that aspect was pretty painful and fraught with emotional landmines, and Mercury’s retrograde status at that time did not help in untangling interpersonal conflict gracefully. Again today communication is the key to resolving difficulties, as the Moon makes a sextile to the now-direct Mercury just after its square to Mars. A sextile tends to be a supportive and flowing aspect, so keeping any mutual goals in mind as you work through tension in a relationship may help keep you oriented on where you actually want to be in a way that gets you there.

Gary Caton recently explored another factor to keep in mind as you thread your way through interpersonal communication in these days: the relationship between Jungian communication “functions” or channels and the four elements of astrology. He writes:

Have you noticed how some people are just harder for you to relate to or communicate with? Is there someone at work or a friend of a friend whom, no matter how hard you try, you just can’t seem to reach? Have you ever replied with what seems like a perfectly reasonable and maybe even extremely thoughtful response to a question or idea for a project and you get no reaction? Sometimes this has nothing to do with the quality of your communication, but rather the ‘channel’ you are sending it on.

Continue Reading »

Today’s Oracle takes us to the Scorpio weekly of July 17, 2009.

Open your heart and mind to a gentle Universe beckoning you to explore the unknown. Rather than any physical space this is about you feeling at home in this world regardless of where you are. If home is where the heart is, yours seems to be calling you beyond your comfort zone. Have faith in your own dedication to a mission as you turn a corner within a financial or intimate situation. You may fear falling into an abyss but your ability to face your fears is a tale of courage for a world starved for truth. Be bold and honest, as you dive into a divine mystery. You will find it only swirls you right back up to the top, unveiling to you your rightful place in the world.

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.

Good eeevening,

I have transplanted Tuesday’s schedule to Wednesday — so I’ll be posting the PW podcast tonight — if everything goes according to the loose, sketchy plan.
ef

This morning we mailed the second of the two monthly horoscopes published by Planet Waves. If you’re a subscriber, check your inbox for the September Inner Space. If you’re not a subscriber yet, here’s the Virgo horoscope to give you a taste:

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — You can afford to let go of your doubts. You would also be wise to toss the notion that your reality has no validity, until others say you fit in with theirs. That’s never going to work as a metric, unless you’re going for network television. Indeed, you may need to rub up against others who don’t share your views until you work your way into different territory. If you haven’t already figured this out, I suggest that you do this water-styled rather than fire-styled. Be gently persistent, rather than demanding. Approach people and situations where potential disagreements exist from a cool place rather than a hot one. Be calm and direct; the heat you’re carrying will do the work from the inside.

You can purchase today’s issue on its own to read all 12 signs here. Or, go ahead and try a one-month free trial subscription here to receive our twice-weekly mailings by Eric.

Floodwaters gushing through this forest left wood piled up little stacks everywhere. Photo by Eric.

As reports of damage come in from around my region, it’s becoming clear just what Hurricane Irene did as it passed through. At least one town was erased from the map — Arkville. Others, such as Margaretville, had Main Street turned into a river. Power will be out for weeks many places. My assistant Sarah just came into work — to rest, after spending the last 48 hours dealing with a basement that was flooding at the rate of 7,000 gallons an hour. It seems like the worst damage was to Vermont, which is not a place there are normally floods. I read that the last remaining covered bridges were washed away, proof that this really was a 100 year or 200 year event.

I haven’t been focusing on photographing the damage to property as much as what I’ve discovered in a forest I like to hang out in. The photo above is on the flood plain of the Coxing, what is normally a friendly little creek. In prior photos I showed the Coxing at high water. Now that the water has receded, you can see changes created by the flood. There are these little piles of wood scattered everywhere, as branches caught on trees and roots and finally on one another. It looks like the Girl Scouts came through and collected firewood in neat stacks.

Continue Reading »

The Kennedy neighborhood in Comuna 6 above Medelllin, Colombia. Photo by Nicole Hanhan, who writes, 'I volunteer and shoot in a school there called Colegio Kennedy which serves as an alternative program to public schools which are often not attended by many children in high risk areas here. The challenges are many. Nonetheless, as you can see, kids are spirited and playful.' You can see Nicole's photo stream at www.facebook.com/pages/Nicole-Hanhan/153646357992219

Today is Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2011. The Moon shifts from Virgo to Libra today at 2:25 pm EDT, crossing the autumnal equinox point, part of what is called the cardinal axis, mundane axis or Aries Point. Add to this the fact that Jupiter is stationing retrograde today just after 5:00 pm EDT, and it will be hard for you to miss the feeling of crossing an important turning point.

Humans have been telling stories seemingly forever. In every story there are always turning points, places where the energy shifts unexpectedly or moments where multiple story lines converge on a single point or person and everything suddenly becomes still. These are moments of potential clarity, where the meaning and direction of the whole story line both past and future can be defined. It is dramatic because these points usually call on the hero/ine to respond, and the tension of not knowing and waiting for the response is gripping. It captures our attention because the hero/ine is facing an initiation. Will they dig down deep and discover some new power with which to respond? Do they have allies to help them face this test? Are there previous lessons from a mentor figure they can call upon?

These are all questions that are potentially facing you in some area of your life now as Jupiter reaches a critical turning point. You are being called to an initiation. The challenge is to integrate and actualize the Jupiter and/or Taurus archetypes. How can you recognize these archetypes in your life? Jupiter is the Seeker and represents the urge for growth and exploration, often through travel or study. Taurus is about resources, both tangible resources like money and property as well as intangible resources such as confidence and self-esteem. Basically, Jupiter in Taurus stationing retrograde is telling you that you have much more of something than you think you do, but you need to go through an initiation in order to find it. This could involve educating yourself, and/or travel — both literal travel and the metaphorical inner or spiritual type of seeking.

Continue Reading »