Dear Friend and Reader,

Do you feel the shift? The sense of renewal? The sense of arrival?

Do you feel your spine ringing?

New Horizons at Pluto. Artist's concept of the New Horizons spacecraft during a planned encounter with Pluto and its moon, Charon. NASA Images.

If you do, you’re not imagining it. It’s the universe calling you. On November 27th, 11:54 am EST, a New Moon rises in the sign of Saggitarius, asking you to respond. In future editions of Planet Waves, we’ll have a closer look at where this moment places us in history, but for now, I’d like you to remember just three things:

1. Pluto is sitting on an Aries Point.
2. Uranus is finally ready for forward motion.
3. A cluster of planets and asteroids in Saggitarius lets us look back one last time at the past 15 years and take notes.

The simplest message here is “Welcome to your new life.” What will this new life look like? Good question. I’d say this chart is saying your new life will appear like whatever you’d want it to be, as long as you are willing to explore that thing that runs from your brain to your butt — you know, your spine. (Highlight that part, will ya?).

This is because the biggie moment of this New Moon is Pluto’s ingress to Capricorn. We’ll get to the significance of your spine and Capricorn soon, but first let’s put Pluto into context, astrologically.

Continue Reading »

Dear Friend and Reader:

Just three months away from the [probable] end of the Bush administration, the trust runs out. Not a day too soon; we would have done well with this kind of national conversation about the last five or 10 things that have happened that qualified as history: you know, stuff like wars and false flag terrorist attacks and ripped off elections and the perpetual 35% approval rating.

I can’t tell you whether — in the end — the $700 billion bailout plan was a good thing or a bad thing, and the discussion is not over. Was it a plan to bail out Wall Street fatcats, or for purchasing the assets of over-leveraged banks? Most people seem to be leading toward the first of those two possibilities. At least for the American people, this was very much a matter of trust; about wondering how those banks got that way; and wondering who profited from the disaster; about having been lied to so many times before.

I think that public disgust with the proposal was about feeling left out of the benefits of something they (and their children and grandchildren) were being expected to pay for. I don’t think there is anyone who hasn’t thought gee, I could use some infusion of funds for my business or some relief from these insane interest rates that I’m paying. And I think the only people not worried are those who, if you took away 95% of of their wealth, would still be able to eat well. Well, I assure you they’re worried too. Who isn’t? People who know how to grow food; people who see opportunity in the mayhem; Buddhists and scholars.

It’s interesting that even though the proposal was made by the Bush administration, it was the Republican caucus in the House of Representatives that pulled the plug. The majority of Democrats voted for it; the majority of Republicans voted against it. It’s disgusting that several Republicans cited “inappropriate” partisan comments of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as the reason not to support the proposal — that is, their feelings were hurt. But as Rep. Barney Frank said, they are just covering up for not having had the votes to get the thing through. At least say you’re standing up for the American people. Jesus H. Christmas, where the fuck do they get their political strategies from? I guess all the good writers are in Hollywood or at The Onion.

George Bush meets with Bicameral and Bipartisan Members of Congress to discuss a Wall Street bailout plan.

I don’t know what to make of this, and I’m concerned that there is a setup in progress. The setup would be something like this: Republicans, trying to keep power, kill this proposal, leading to an “economic emergency” that in turn results in the cancellation or delay of the election, or some other endgame power-play.

Today’s astrology involved a New Moon close to the Aries Point, at 6+ Libra. The Aries Point is another way of saying anything that happens in the early degrees of a Cardinal sign (Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn); these degrees are sensitive. The earthquake and tsunami of Dec. 26, 2004 took place the day of a Full Moon at 4+ Capricorn. The thing to remember is that, even after so much that has happened involving the Aries Point the past eight years, we’re only at the beginning of a very long spell of Aries Point adventure.

In November, Pluto enters Capricorn, squaring the point. A year later, Saturn enters Libra, opposing it. A year later, Uranus enters Aries, walking right over it…adventure. We will be living with, through and around a cardinal T-square on the Aries Point involving three of the most influential planets — astrology on a scale we haven’t seen since the mid-1960s. Yet most of that astrology took place in relatively placid, slow acting Pisces and Virgo (on the mutable cross).

Most of the forthcoming events take place on the cardinal cross, which usually has much more expressive energy. We are actually feeing the first rumblings of this as Pluto ventured into Capricorn for a few months earlier in the year, seeming to set off a knock effect. Astrology students, take note.

Note to readers, we are still running a limited time special offer discount for subscribing to Planet Waves. As you may have noticed, we do astrology differently than the rest of the Internet. We don’t talk about “romance,” we talk about sex and relationships. We don’t make “predictions,” we speak in a psychological and spiritual language designed to help you map out your life, and make decisions. We don’t ignore the news because it’s too controversial; we cover it with insight and depth. And we believe in art. We would love to have you as a member of our community, or have you back. You can subscribe at 25% off with the link above, and to find out more about who we are and what we do, check the links at the left side of this page.

Dear Eric,

I would like to submit a question about some serious problems in my sex life for your weekly astrology Q&A. For the purposes of answering my question, here is my chart information.

Tom from Book of Blue. Photo by Eric Francis.

Saturday night, I brought a guy over to sleep with. We messed around for a bit, a friend called him on his phone, and I showed him out the door. I awoke late Sunday morning to find my wallet missing. Gone were my driver’s license, my credit and debit cards, my health insurance card, my metro card and everything else I keep in my wallet. I’ve spent most of the last few days trying to rebuild my life, a process that is no doubt going to take the next several weeks to complete.

Luckily, no fraudulent purchases were made on any of my cards, so the only material loss was about $100 cash that was in my wallet. Right now, that’s not much comfort. And this is not the first time something has gone terribly wrong with a sexual encounter.

In the past 18 months, I have twice contracted STDs from sex partners, both of which were treatable. In both cases, I used condoms, but caught the kinds of STDs that even safe sex can’t prevent. And at least two encounters have involved major subsequent interpersonal drama, far exceeding what one would ordinarily expect from a casual hook-up or one night stand.

All of my gay friends and acquaintances are EXTREMELY promiscuous, and I am happy for them and that they have such varied and fulfilling sex lives, though surprised that none of them seem to have the same kinds of problems I’m having. Compared to most of my friends, even compared to most gay guys I know, I have probably about five percent the number of sexual encounters as they do…perhaps sleeping with a guy maybe once every two or three months or so…while some of my friends have been known to have multiple encounters in the same day.

I just don’t sleep around that much, partly out of having high standards for the kind of person I want to sleep with, partly out of fear of rejection, partly because of body image issues and I’m sure there are other issues packed in there as well.

I wish I could enjoy the same kind of sex life that most of my friends have, not necessarily sleeping around with people multiple times a day, but at least being able to get what I want more than I do now without it constantly blowing up in my face. And I am deeply worried that worse encounters await me down the road.

My friends and house mates are trying to console me and tell me that I’ve just been the victim of bad luck. But I can’t help but wonder if there is a pattern here that astrology could shed some light upon. I took a look at my chart, and I noticed that I have Nessus transiting my 1st house Sun for the next decade. While I don’t have an intuitive grasp of the asteroids, I know that Nessus deals with themes of sexual abuse. Lately I feel like I’m destined to be stuck with a disastrous (or worse, non-existent) sex life for the forseeable future in spite of whatever precautions I make take to protect myself.

I already have a pretty limited sex life as it is. I don’t want to retreat further behind walls or make getting what I want any more difficult than it already is for me. I also don’t want to play the role of the victim in my own life, but I need help figuring out what I can do about all of this. I would appreciate any suggestions you might have for coping with these difficulties and for figuring out how to have a happy, healthy sex life that doesn’t involve getting taken advantage of or abused by sex partners.

Thank you!
- D.R.

===

Dear D.R.

Excellent that you bring this up. The shadow side of sex is usually just that — left in the shadows. Your willingness to take this into light is precisely what’s going to get you to a new place; you and anyone who is willing to go there.

Tom from Book of Blue. Photo by Eric Francis.

Good call on Nessus. I’ll come back to that planet, the third in the Centaur group. What I hear in your letter, without looking at the chart just yet, are Neptune and the 8th house. Neptune deals with things being foggy or permeable and the 8th is about exchanges. You currently have Neptune (which is in Aquarius) hanging around your Sun and your ascendant, which is the essence of needing to both define and explore boundaries. You can’t really do one without the other, and you seem to be doing both.

Before I launch into your chart, I want to remind you and our readers that there’s no way I can really do this question justice in writing. I will do my best, but there are many dimensions to this set of circumstances, many of them go back to the past or the distant past, and to unravel them I need you present and working in an alive and dynamic way. However, we can point to a few obvious things astrologically and I can share some of my thoughts on stabilizing your erotic life.

Here is the chart. It will open in a new window. I’m leaving out your data to protect your privacy, but for our readers, D.R. was born in 1981 and he’s a natal Aquarius with an Aries Moon and Aquarius rising.

Okay, looking at this nativity, you have the Sun in the 12th house. That’s the yellow circle with the dot in the middle, and that tells me you are on one long quest to get to know yourself. I would rate the 12th house as the most difficult position for the Sun (or very close to it) because the Sun is seeking something definite — expression — and the 12th house is anything but definite. Having Neptune transiting your Sun and being very close to your rising degree is not helping matters, except that it’s pushing the issues, as you can see. At least you’re getting the message that you have to wise up. Always good news.

Transiting Nessus (that is, current position not shown) is pretty important right now. We will need to imagine where he is — right about aligned with the little orange upside-down horseshoe (the South Node). The alignment is pretty close, you’ve been facing this transit for about a year, and it’s a marker that this story has its roots in deep old history; old as in past life or lives, since that is one thing that the South Node indicates the most vividly.

My sense is that you are attempting to release some very old patterns, and you’re doing it by repeating them until you see them; then you can start making decisions, which you obviously are. Nessus can indicate sexually transmitted diseases and what I call “potentially inappropriate sexual contact.” That is a polite way to say questionable activities, intentions, motives and so on — but we don’t want to ascribe blame right away; rather, Nessus is a pointer to investigate your situation, and it will present various clues and evidence.

Whoever came over to your apartment the other night committed a crime, and he would probably be cured of that conduct by a night or two in jail. His mother might even agree. He probably came into your apartment specifically with the plan to do what he did. However, I suggest that you consider him an actor in the drama of your life, and suss out what he’s doing there. His story fits in with the tales of your STD incidents, which are essentially the same thing — episodes of taking where there really needs to be an honest exchange.

And you are the one who must now enforce that. And I do mean enforce, in the spirit of the Nevada City Border Patrol (this funny campaign from the 1990s in Nevada City, CA). The button (featuring a little guy with a crystal head) said, “Patrol your own borders. Police your own mind.” Neptune coming across your Sun/ascendant is reminding you that your borders and boundaries are foggy, spongy and permeable. So you need to do things like make sure you have good, working locks, and good working judgment.

Remember, you have the power to shift this situation. The way you shift it is with a conscious process of raising awareness. I understand you say you’re picky about who you have sex with, but I’m not there — so I don’t really know what that means on the inside. I don’t know your actual criteria, or your process for getting to know people, or what you’re looking for. It does not sound like you knew the guy from last weekend so well, so that’s why I bring it up.

You can make a basic checklist that will help you. Discussions of STDs and sexual history are essential at this point in world history and your history. I don’t think you need to be in a love affair with everyone you have sex with, but you do need to give them a polite grilling about who they are and what they have done in the past. You may think this will kill the sexual vibe, but I have not found that to be true; I think it’s partly a matter of finesse and also a matter of the truth being erotic. Think of it as a kind of sex-readiness test.

And if it does squish the vibe, count this as a benefit. The people who are not clear and straightforward are precisely the ones you want to be avoiding, and that’s how you avoid them: or it’s one way, anyway. Anyone who respects you is likely to think it’s a great idea that you’re asking questions, because they are protected in the process as well.

Tom from Book of Blue. Photo by Eric Francis.

Especially with foggy Mr. Neptune so present (and Nessus, which can have a Neptune vibe) you can’t have these discussions under the influence of alcohol or any substance and have them be meaningful — your subtle judgment will be impaired and you won’t trust your own decisions. Since most spontaneous sex happens under the influence of something, you’ll need to work out the calculus of this, i.e., how many dates till the guy comes over, etc. Also, you need to trust yourself enough overall to have a sense of when someone is being honest with you, but it’s not so hard as most people think. You do things like listen to what someone says and watch their face while they say it, and see if the two data streams have any correspondence.

Remember — you have a 12th house Sun, and that is about learning discernment; it’s about learning to sense yourself well enough to sense others.

Here are three clues about this. First, you have Mercury and Mars in the 1st house — close to your (very interesting) last degree of Aquarius ascendant. This tells me you have a strong desire nature and (consistent with a heck of a 12th) you have an erotic life that is driven by fantasy. This could lead you to project your images of others onto them and not really see them for who they are. Your desire nature may be so strong that you’re in conflict over it. The conflict clouds your awareness, and it serves as setup for potentially negative situations.

Next, you have Saturn and Jupiter on the 8th house cusp in Libra. You really do expect others to be honorable. This is better than cynicism. But you need to be realistic. Those planets are retrograde, and that means you have to take extra time to work the territory.

Clue three, you have Pluto in the 8th house. You want equality with people but you are also very, very subject to their power — a fact you may either not want to admit, or that turns you on, or both. The ideal erotic partner for you would have a strong dominant streak, but you need to be submissive in a way that works for you, i.e., by agreement, not by being taken advantage of.

This being said, you mention STDs. This is a real problem, and one that people who want to experiment sexually need to confront directly. Unfortunately, most people do not. The solution I have developed is to take time to get to know people sexually by sharing masturbation. It is really the only “safe sex” and fortunately it’s really hot. It also has a way of flushing out the sexual truth, and the rest of the truth, about who someone is. It’s a way to explore the erotic and psychic boundary between you and others, and to get to know them — but the exchange of karma is a lot lighter than with contact sex, the (physical) risk is basically nonexistent, but it’s very sexually intimate; in many ways more intimate than plain old sex. If you are having difficulty figuring out who people are, this may help. And if you pay attention, you will very likely find others who are willing to take this same approach to eroticism.

Along the way, I strongly suggest that you find a few play partners who you get to know well, without necessarily getting married or becoming boyfriends. This is not a concept that most people are familiar with — the usual choices are disposable one-night stand or permanent partner. There is plenty of territory of in between, and it can be a fun place to explore, with a greater chance of safer and saner encounters. And who knows, maybe you’ll find some friends you relate to sexually and otherwise who share your values and your increasing self-value — which seems to be the whole key.

I hope this helps a bit.

Yours & truly,

Readers may send their questions to questions -at- planetwaves.net with the word QUESTION in the subject header. Not all questions will be answered. Please keep them short, concise and most of all, relevant to our readers. Please include your full birth data written out, for example, Feb. 30, 1801, rather than 2/30/01. Also include your time of birth! This feature is sponsored by your subscriptions to Planet Waves Astrology News, so please sign up and if you’re already a subscriber, please sign up a friend.

Dear Friend and Reader:

IN RESPONSE to recent inquiries about my consulting, here are the basics, which cover how to request a consultation, what consultations involve, my availability, and the waiting list policy.

Eric Francis in Book of Blue Studio.

I currently work two days a week as an astrology consultant (Thursdays and Fridays, with other special times as well). After a nearly two-year break, I’ve been working down the waiting list list steadily since last summer, including catching up with clients who requested sessions as early as three years ago. There may come a time when I stop or pause doing sessions because other work takes precedence. However, I am committed, if possible, to working with everyone on the waiting list prior to any decision to stop.

If you are local in the Hudson Valley, we skip the waiting list and work together at our earliest mutual convenience. This is also true for anyone willing to travel in order to do a session (I am fairly near Albany and New York City, in Kingston, NY). In emergency situations, such as illness, accident or serious family crisis, we generally skip the list and get the client in as soon as possible.

I enjoy the work that I do, and after nearly a decade and half it continues to be challenging and satisfying, and I’m well prepared for never knowing what’s going to happen or what I’m going to hear when the phone rings. I bring 20 years of highly eclectic humanistic, transpersonal and spiritual training (including doing A Course in Miracles in residence for a year), plus experience as a tarot reader and about 15 years experience as an astrologer. Many years as a journalist have refined my listening and analytical skills. And I have presented sexuality workshops around the U.S. since 1997, which makes this a topic about which I feel a sense of ease and easy communication.

My work is client-centered rather than chart centered; that is, the chart plays a vital role in the work, but the focus is on you. It is less a straight “reading” and much more of an interactive process where you and your chart both participate in the dialog. I work with minor planets and can address any question you have about their role in your chart and your life; these include Chiron, Pholus, Nessus, Eris, Varuna and others you have read about here and elsewhere.

The work may cover any subject that you need to work with or work through. It is true that people bring to me material they would not dare discuss with their therapist, spouse or even a close friend. While I don’t feel I am capable of true objectivity, I have a viewpoint that can, at least, allow for the presence of any experience or opinion. I will respond from my own point of view, and own my perspective and opinions, making them available to you. This article tells you a bit more about the process I’ve developed.

I also do teaching sessions for professional astrologers currently in practice who want to bring the minor planets into their work.

Once you have had your initial session, future sessions are available sooner and at a reduced rate.

It is an unusual privilege to do this work, and the members of my support team will do our best to provide you with a positive experience at what may be a significant turning point in your life. And we are working efficiently to make sure you get your session within a reasonable time. Please note that I will be suspending client work through part of November, December and January to do Next World Stories, the 11th annual edition of Planet Waves.

In response to questions about whether I travel, I will go to most major cities where there are 10 sessions and a class booked. So if you have a group of people who are interested in doing astrological work and attending an evening workshop. Please call to discuss those arrangements.

To request a spot on the client list, we ask that you be a current subscriber to a Planet Waves product. You can purchase a short subscription, or subscribe to Small World Stories (our very economical annual edition), but working with me personally is a privilege we reserve for those who feel the Planet Waves mission, message and public calling is worth supporting.

Once you’re a subscriber, you can then contact Chelsea Bottinelli, our office manager. That can be by phone at (877) 453-8265 or (206) 567-4455 for international callers. Explain what you need and she will guide you from there. Those who get onto the waiting list before July 31 will be eligible for the current rate. Those who get on the list on August 1 or after will be under the new rate structure, which will bring an increase of about 20%. Those who get on the list prior to this time preserve the lower rate.

If you would like to see my page in Wikipedia, here it is.

Thank you for your interest in my work and in Planet Waves. I look forward to speaking with you soon.

Yours & truly,

Dear Friend and Reader:

ShakeMap of earthquake in China.

Yesterday’s earthquake in China is the second of two recent events that qualify as Aries Point events. The first was the cyclone (known in our culture as a hurricane) that made landfall in Burma on May 2 and has, so far, killed an estimated 100,000 people.

Earlier in May, I explained how the May 5 New Moon was precisely on the cross-quarter — that is, at 15+ degrees of a fixed sign, in this case Taurus. I explained how this is 135 degrees (a sesquiquadrate aspect, which is a square plus a semi-square) to one of the cardinal points, which tends to magnify the news. In the past decade, all these events have the feeling of what used to be called Earth changes (this language originally came from Edgar Cayce and was adopted by the New Age in the 1980s). Two other memorable examples of Aries Point events are the Sept. 11 false flag attacks and the Asian tsunami of late 2004. Each has this sense that “something big is happening” and if you’re the type to use such language, “the end is near.”

The New Moon was square the centaur planet Nessus. A friend summed it up well when she wrote that Nessus “is associated with the dynamics of power and abuse, and in Aquarius is about those situations we are all collectively responsible for.” The concept of responsibility stands tall now: both tragedies are mired in politics, including American politics. We could do more; we cannot (for one example) offend China, from whom we borrow $2 billion a day.

Yesterday’s was a 7.9 magnitude earthquake, the worst in the region since 1976. For the record, 7.9 is not the same thing everywhere. I felt a 6.8 once and though this is significantly less, it felt like a Jell-o mold jiggling; the beer bottles didn’t fall of the shelf in the local tavern. If the waves hit a different way, you can level part of society.

This is the second major disaster since the Taurus New Moon. As Judith Gayle writes in our Political Waves feature about the cyclone in Burma or, officially, the Union of Myanmar:

Take the Myanmar tragedy, with the complications projected to take a million lives; relief is still being kept out generally, but the junta continues to vigorously export rice to Bangladesh and other points, while throwing their citizens the spoiled leftovers. The “election” went on as planned, even though 100,000 people are dead or unaccounted for and the country is in chaos.

I sincerely feel that astrology needs to get out of the business of predicting disasters — you won’t read that stuff here — but we do need to see the patterns for what they are and know what we are dealing with. So, an estimated 10,000 have died at one time in one day (it’s China, so you can quadruple it), and 10 to 100 times more in Myanmar. This is beyond comprehension — think of the families of all those people, the communities lost, the networks.

What is particularly sad regarding the event in China is the proximity to Tibet, one of the true points of historical grief on the planet at the moment. Associated Press reported that the earthquake occurred along a faultline “where South Asia pushes against the Eurasian land mass, smashing the Sichuan plain into mountains leading to the Tibetan highlands – near communities that held sometimes violent protests against Chinese rule in mid-March.”

Then consider how about 154,000 people a day leave the planet, every day. Consider how an estimated 24,000 of those people a day die of hunger, every day — many thousands of them children. Consider in light of the Sept. 11 false flag attacks, wherein 2,998 people died, and then the United States tore up Afghanistan and Iraq, and is apparently still planning an attack on Iran. To be clear, on Sept. 11, many more children died of starvation than New Yorkers perished in the event. And we don’t hear about them except on late night infomercials. We still hear about Sept. 11 in one form or another every time a politician opens his or hear mouth.Therefore, while it’s deeply tragic and truly beyond the sphere of an individual’s understanding to hear of these events, I suggest that what we need to be questioning is the death manufacturing industry. We are not impressed until these deaths happen all at once; it’s like we don’t notice the pain of the world otherwise.

And there is plenty of it now. And that, too, presents a paradox: awareness immediately leads to the awareness of the world’s pain. We have a lot of incentive not to pay attention. At least these events cause us to notice for a little while.

This being said, we have the question of how to respond. Is this rightly an excuse to stop living the adventure of our lives? Well, not if we really are doing that, and many of us know perfectly well that we are not. In which case, we can remind ourselves of the fleeting transience of existence as we perceive it, take a breath and resolve to live every day.

Tuesday 13 May 2008

Pallas (26+ Aries) trine Galactic Center (26+ Sagittarius)
Mercury (14+ Gemini) septile 1992 QB1 (22+ Aries)
Atlantis (14+ Libra Rx) sextile Great Attractor (14+ Sagittarius)
Mercury (14+ Gemini) quincunx Pandora (14+ Scorpio Rx)
Juno (27+ Sagittarius Rx) trine Orcus (27+ Leo)
Venus (15+ Taurus) sesquiquadrate Pluto (0+ Capricorn Rx)
Mercury (14+ Gemini) trine Nessus (14+ Aquarius)
Atlantis (14+ Libra Rx) sextile Ixion (14+ Sagittarius Rx)
Mars (2+ Leo) quintile Atlantis (14+ Libra Rx)
Venus (16+ Taurus) sesquiquadrate M87 (1+ Libra)
Eros (4+ Gemini) opposite Hylonome (4+ Sagittarius Rx)
Ceres (17+ Gemini) quincunx Psyche (17+ Scorpio Rx)
Psyche (17+ Scorpio Rx) trine Varuna (17+ Cancer)
Amor (6+ Taurus) quintile Neptune (24+ Aquarius)
Apollo (26+ Cancer) quincunx Galactic Center (26+ Sagittarius)

January 10, 2002 – Cancer – Weekly

Sitting here wondering just how to put into words such a beautiful new moon in your house of relationships two Grateful Dead songs come to mind both with the idea of rolling in their words: Let the Good Times Roll and Franklin’s Tower (roll away the dew). You can trust the flow of what is happening in your life. I know things got strange with people for a while there and it really shook your faith in the one attribute of this life you cherish the most. And we both know there can be no doubt that to open your heart involves risk. These days it’s a risk well worth taking.