Today’s Oracle takes us to the Gemini weekly from April 11, 2002

The Oracle.

You need to keep your head cool and remember who’s boss. Upcoming transits will urge you to slow down and speed up at the same time which can be frustrating but there is a way you can do both. Think faster and act more slowly and with greater determination. There is something else about how the energy aligns to give you greater opportunities to both tell the truth and deceive certain individuals. They may deserve less than verifiable reality though pausing to make a choice before you act one way or the other would be a good idea.

(The Daily Oracle is a random selection from one of 10,000 Eric Francis horoscopes. The Oracle is a divination tool like tarot cards, and also can be used to research any horoscope for the past 10 years. It is available to subscribers of Planet Waves Astrology News in all its working glory. This is a brilliant piece of programming combined with a full decade of Eric’s writing — when you have a question, it really works (as long as you’re sincere), and we know that you’ll love it. Sign up to discover how and why. Or enjoy one selection free here every day.)

Dear Friend and Reader:

Today we’re posting the September Eriscope, which is a sex-oriented horoscope that is published to subscribers as one of our “bonus horoscopes” one Tuesday per month.

As some of you know, I was writing about sexuality long before I even thought of writing a horoscope. Eriscope contains some practical thoughts on applied eroticism; that is, how to think about your sexuality that is outside the usual box, but is also sane and compassionate (at least in my opinion). It is not a “say no” kind of piece of writing; it is definitely “say yes if you want, but think it through first.”

For new readers wondering what other kinds of horoscopes I write (four other columns actually — three other monthly horoscopes, and a weekly horoscope) here is a sample of Planet Waves Monthly, the October column that we published to our subscriber lists yesterday. (This particular column has run continuously since 1996). All subscribers who sign up today will receive horoscopes each Tuesday and Friday with your subscription. To sign up, please check this link.

Today Mercury stations retrograde. There is additional information below, and also at the top of Planet Waves Monthly for October (the one linked in the paragraph above).

Thanks for reading –

Aries (March 20-April 19)
Quite the tale of intrigue is showing up on the September radar, events that seem strange, beautiful and in some way fated. One theme is that for most people, love is based on need, and clearly you’re feeling that. Another is that what appears to be love may be one of several emotions that is not specifically love, but which you have the ability to take to another level. Last is that sex is going to guide you into yourself, into self-awareness of everything you need to feel, express and embrace about yourself. I imagine you’ve got your ear on someone who seems to speak deeply to who you are. Let that message go in and allow your emotions to soak into you until the full spectrum of their contradiction is revealed. You crave sex and you crave unabashed surrender. I assure you that what you truly crave is self-knowledge. Fortunately the way there is illuminated by heat.

Cecilia from Book of Blue. Photo by Eric Francis.

Taurus (April 19-May 20)
Vesta, the most misunderstood of the major asteroids, is in your sign. She is the creative fire of the psyche and you are the one who embodies her. She identifies as sexual and, at the same time, in full possession of her purity. This is not a paradox; it may be that the inner core of sex is the only purity, so closely is it connected with the existence of humanity. The work of Vesta is to hold us to the fire and purge us of all the shadowy emotions we associate with eroticism: shame, guilt or any other sense of wrongness. Then there is the loss of self-possession that sexual involvement so often seems to inflict. Finally there is the tendency to take sexual energy and either stuff it or subvert it into some other form of expression, rather than letting eroticism be the inspiration for expression. Right now these are the themes upon which your life is turning.

Gemini (May 20-June 21)
You may be inclined toward a lot more casual sex than usual this month. Oh, did I just imply that you’re normally accustomed to a good bit of such, and now it’s time for a good bit more? That was totally unconscious on my part! Anyway, pay attention to situations where you are triangulating into or out of a relationship. For you right now, sex is all about those three-sided shapes. If you get involved, don’t be surprised if you get more involved than you were expecting to, emotionally mingled up and connected by some unusual, hidden layer of karma that you make contact with as you plunge into the hot waters of the flesh. Drink from that water and let it be from the stream of remembering rather than forgetting. There is something about your past that you need to embrace and, I trust, give yourself permission to have experienced. The way is open. Continue Reading »

Hey Eric,

I’ve been ruminating about this since I had a consultation with you several weeks ago (which everyone should know was fantastic and is highly recommended) — my chart was cast with the wrong birthplace, changing my ascendant from 27 to 29 Gemini. You counseled me not to make too much of it, but you did think that it suited me. I am curious about it because for a while I had already been feeling that my chart is not quite right. Is this a common feeling?

Eric Francis.

Then recently I remembered that when I first got my chart 15 years ago, I gave the wrong time — putting the ascendant at 29 Gemini.

I’m curious about exploring this coincidence as a possible rectification, and I’m wondering which transits and/or other data you would suggest I look at. I checked out the Sabian symbols and 30 is very meaningful while 28 is not…

One thing against it is that my son’s moon is at 27 Gemini (and his ascendant is exactly opposed my husband’s) — not sure I want to lose that connection! Please help me sort this out.

Recorded birth time: Aug. 5, 1960 Princeton, NJ, 2:25am

Time sent to Astro Communications: 2:35am

Thank you, Eric!

Love,

Jackie

===

Dear Jackie,

There’s a book called The Moment of Astrology. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable book, and the author, a guy named Geoffrey Cornelius, raised something of a ruckus in the astrological community with his chapter about When the Wrong Chart Works. As an example, he studied the two versions of the chart of Diana, Princess of Wales, one of which I believe has Sagittarius rising, and the other Libra rising.

Continue Reading »

Dear Friend and Reader:

RICHARD WRIGHT was one of those rock stars who was heard but not seen. I don’t know much about the Pink Floyd keyboardist who died from cancer on Monday at the age of 65. Pink Floyd was not a band of personalities like The Beatles or The Rolling Stones. They spoke through their music, and if you grew up listening to Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall, you heard Richard Wright loud and clear. Wright wrote one of my favorite Pink Floyd songs, the fittingly tragic Summer ‘68, from an obscure album called Atom Heart Mother.

Richard Wright in concert. Courtesy of BBC.

Rick Wright left the planet the day of an unusually powerful Pisces Full Moon that made aspects to some of his most important planets. The world will probably remember Monday, Sept. 15, 2008 as the day that the failure of two major Wall Street banks shook the financial and political spheres. Pink Floyd fans (and that includes just about everyone) will remember it as the day we lost one of the most talented, original and successful musicians of the modern era.

So who was this guy astrologically? [View chart.] He had most of his planets concentrated in Leo and Gemini. It was Leo that gave him the drive to create and unabashedly push his originality into the world. It was Gemini that made him articulate. Both are powerfully aspected and help explain astrology as much as they explain him.

Continue Reading »

*or wants to…

Note to readers, here is a limited time special offer discount for subscribing to Planet Waves. Come all ye old subscribers and new visitors!

Dear Friend and Reader:

DUTY REQUIRES me to comment on the occasion of today’s stunning news that John Edwards had sex. Those Democrats; they just can’t help themselves. Or is it always a bigger deal when a donkey does the deed?

Senator John Edwards.

Now, you’re probably saying, this wasn’t about Edwards having sex. It was about him lying. That’s fine, as long as we remember that there’s a rule in American politics that you have to lie about sex.

Then you have to get caught. If you’re a Democrat such as Bill Clinton, of whom this naturally reminds us, it has to be a heterosexual affair, and you have to get impeached, quit office or drop out of the campaign. If you’re a Republican, you can only get in trouble for having gay sex in a public place or with a child, and you get to keep your job to prove that you’ve redeemed yourself. Then everyone forgets because nobody wants to think about a distinguished senator looking for love in an airport men’s room stall.

Let’s look at John Edwards’ natal chart. Astrodatabank rates this as C status, which means the time is iffy (like so many ‘08 candidates before him), but we know where his planets are: most of them are in Gemini, Cancer and Libra. Cancer is the soft, cozy exterior this man presents - the perfect dad, the ultimate hubby. He has just enough woman in him not to track up the kitchen floor, and to spend whole Saturdays traipsing around town with his kids. He’s the kind of guy who takes care of America.

But the fact of the matter is Gemini. He has the Sun, Moon, Mars and Jupiter in this sign, most of them lingering in the 12th house. He is well-spoken. He is multifaceted. He is slightly delusional. He is a little kinky (Geminis get the whole twinning thing, one reason why they make hot lovers). A former Edwards’ staffer sent me the silk scarves he allegedly used to tie his illicit partner, purported femme fatale and filmmaker Rielle Hunter, to the bedposts. After experimenting with them for several days, we are now attempting to match the perfume found in the scarves with Rielle’s at the Planet Waves Sciences Center in Raleigh.

Geminis like diversity. So does everyone else, but what good is astrology if we can’t blame things on it?

Church choir like this one factored prominently into former Senator Edwards’ fantasies.

Even though this chart’s birth time is dodgy, this revelation fits well with a 12th house stellium. The 12th is where we keep all our most delicate secrets, particularly if they involve sex, such as illicit affairs on the campaign trail or wanting to have sex with the entire church choir, the choir director and his wife.

Now if you really want to blame something, look at his Saturn/Neptune conjunction (has difficulty assessing reality, and it often seems to be made of a sand-castle-like substance) square Uranus in the ascendant. This is clearly a person who feels he can make up the rules as he goes along. Of course, that’s how he got to be a presidential candidate in the first place. What good is a national leader if he’s not a warlock?

He has Chiron in the mix (square Neptune and and Saturn), in the 7th house (relationships). This makes him more charming to the ladies than a bleeding tourist is to a shark. It also means his relationships could have that quality of one disaster after the next, which would be true as long as you don’t notice how much he’s learning, or the level of authenticity he strives to bring to the people he’s involved with, or how deeply they touch him. Apparently he was truthful with his wife Elizabeth, and she would have preferred to keep the matter private.

That may be part of the problem. A writer for the Telegraph (UK) today reported that there may have been hush money involved - that is, a bribe to keep Hunter quiet. Here is his report on that.

It would have been very bad for America had he (for example) had got nominated president or been chosen as running mate. Had he been the candidate right now, it would have strengthened or guaranteed the possibility of a McCain presidency. It shows some off-key judgment that he didn’t think of that; that he didn’t allow his love for his country to trump his need to be its president.

But the deeper issue is the requirement in American politics to hide and/or obfuscate anything having to do with sex. Deeper still is that some people think you have to be sexually pure to lead the nation into war. We have come a long way since Caligula.

The issue is honesty, but lies are part of the political process. Why do we turn a blind eye to all the other lies, then gawk at an affair? Why, because we like it!

Yours & truly,

Enola Gay, is mother proud of little boy today
Aha this kiss you give, its never ever gonna fade away…

-OMD (live) and studio version with archival footage. Interview with the crew of the Enola Gay.

Dear Friend and Reader:

TODAY WE COME to a somber point in the year — the anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is one of our traditions at Planet Waves to acknowledge these events, which are typically treated as if they never happened. [Please see our cover photo here, of the Atomic Bomb Memorial in Hiroshima.] We Americans have good reason to ignore them: they are among the worst atrocities committed by human beings, and our nation was responsible. They were committed even as we were cleaning up from the Allies’ triumph over Hitler, whose crime was the mass extermination of populations.

The mushroom cloud over Hiroshima after the dropping of Little Boy.

Scarcely three months after the last concentration camps in Germany and Poland were liberated, an airplane called the Enola Gay set across the Pacific with the first atomic bomb that would be used on a foreign population. Previous bombs were tested over the southwestern United States through the 1940s, and more than 100 in total over the US itself. Countless American civilians, GIs, small children, farm animals and vast swaths of land were exposed to radioactive fallout.

What happened on Aug. 6, 1945 was different. An American plane, codenamed Mother and piloted by Paul Tibbets, dropped a bomb, codenamed the Little Boy, on a “virgin target” — a city unscathed by the war between Japan and the US that had raged the past four years. He named the airplane after his own mother. This is an astonishing bit of history that we need to psychoanalyze a little more often.

From what I have read, we dropped the bomb on a fresh target rather than a damaged one for scientific purposes: to see precisely what the bomb could do to an actual civilization. Three days later, on Aug. 9, another plane delivered a bomb to the city of Nagasaki. I will not attempt to quote estimates of the dead. The number does not matter. What matters more is that to this day people are still suffering the effects of the radiation, mainly through multi-generational effects such as genetically-induced cancers. We may wonder if an injury like this inflicted to a society can ever really heal, to the victim or the attacker.

If you consider yourself a sensitive, intelligent person, I encourage you to gain (or at least attempt) an understanding of this for yourself. The easiest, most direct way to begin that process is to rent a documentary film called The Atomic Cafe. It was made, incidentally, by Michael Moore’s film mentor, Kevin Rafferty, a cousin of the Bush family. He collaborated with two other directors, Jayne Loader and his brother Pierce Rafferty, and the project took five years to complete. I suggest you watch this film sober. It is just too much to watch under the influence of any substance. It reveals the mass psychology, delusion and psychosis of the development of the bomb and the so-called Cold War era.

Let’s take a look at the chart. This chart is actually worth a book, but I will offer several observations on both the major planets and the small ones.

– Virgo is rising, suggesting the methodical nature of the attack. Years of research and development of the bomb preceded its first use. Mercury, the ruler of the ascendant, is in the 12th house of secret missions, secret enemies and the shadow side of human nature. The Bomb is the shadow side of Virgo: the opposite of service, and the dark interior of what we nonchalantly call “science.”

– The Moon is in Cancer, and it’s exactly conjunct Saturn. I consider this the thumb print of the chart. It is as cold as ice. The Moon and Saturn are near the North Node, which reflects and establishes the direction the world would take for the next untold number of decades. This is an almost ironic expression of the dark mother imagery depicted in the choice of code names for the project — Mother and Little Boy. Need I note that this is a parody on Christianity so sick one could vomit.

– Venus is square Chiron. A lot of people on the American side got really, really emotionally high off of this event. More people were killed in one instant than any time before in known history, and for a lot of so-called scientists and government bureaucrats it was like huffing shoe polish. The problem was they needed the next high, and that’s not usually as interesting — in this case it turned out to be Nagasaki and then the endless proliferation of nuclear weaponry.

– Eris is opposite Neptune. Like most Neptune aspects, I am having difficulty translating this into words. But there is something deeply delusional about this aspect, with the goddess of discord and the patron of the postmodern age facing into the haze of Neptune.

– The Nuclear Axis is taking important transits from Mars and Uranus. The axis, which stretches across early-to-mid Gemini/Sagittarius, was defined in the chart for the first atomic reaction, in December of 1942.

– The closest minor points to the ascendant are Amor, Cupido and Photographica — two that deal with love, and one that is typically involved with the making of images. We put a loving face on the mass incineration of a city; we committed murder and called it good. For the most part, we still do. Just ask around.

Yours and truly,

Today’s Oracle takes us to the Saggitarius weekly of Sept. 6, 2001

(The Oracle is a random daily selection from among 10,000 horoscopes written by Eric Francis)

It’s now time to get aggressive on a financial matter that is associated with a creative venture. The value of this project just went up. You may not have seen it on the stock market update, but it actually happened. Part of why its value increased is a matter of timing: You were forced by factors outside your control to wait, and you did, and now you become a kind of beneficiary of circumstance — and of your own patience, work and ideas.

Tuesday 05 August 2008

Sun (13+ Leo) semisquare Hades (28+ Gemini)
Apollo (29+ Leo) conjunct Orcus (29+ Leo)
Mercury (19+ Leo) conjunct Eros (19+ Leo)
Venus (28+ Leo) trine Pluto (28+ Sagittarius Rx)
Amor (6+ Gemini) quincunx Hidalgo (6+ Scorpio)
Venus (29+ Leo) conjunct Orcus (29+ Leo)
Apollo (29+ Leo) sesquiquadrate Jupiter (14+ Capricorn Rx)
Venus (29+ Leo) sesquiquadrate Jupiter (14+ Capricorn Rx)
Venus (29+ Leo) conjunct Apollo (29+ Leo)
Arachne (14+ Libra) quintile Galactic Center (26+ Sagittarius)
Ceres (23+ Cancer) square 1992 QB1 (23+ Aries Rx)
Mars (21+ Virgo) trine Sedna (21+ Taurus)
Sisyphus (16+ Libra) quintile Pluto (28+ Sagittarius Rx)
Atlantis (23+ Libra) trine Neptune (23+ Aquarius Rx)
Sun (13+ Leo) sesquiquadrate Pluto (28+ Sagittarius Rx)
Mercury (21+ Leo) square Sedna (21+ Taurus)

Happy New Years eve, everybody! So we made it — another trip around the Sun. Mars squares the Aries point and re-enters Gemini today, inching closer to his opposition to Pluto. I have a mixed bag of feelings as this year ends and the new one begins, albeit symbolically — some would say, it’s just another day isn’t it? In the astute words of the Onion: “What the fuck just happened?” It’s been an intense journey on all accounts; just thinking of the mindless war we seem to be sinking deeper into is enough to fry my brain.

Ever since I announced Jupiter was in my travel zone, I find myself overcome with wanderlust — I was in DC over Christmas, heading to India soon, and a friend just called me an hour ago with an offer for a possible free ticket to Egypt if I choose. I also just got back from visiting Eric in Kingston this weekend; he had invited his dad (Joe) and his wife over for dinner and they were kind enough to give me a ride upstate.

After dinner we were sitting around watching videos on the Onion website and the conversation turned to satire in the media — whether or not it was an effective medium of communication, when what we are dealing with in the world feels like a giant rubber band waiting to snap. Especially so, since what is supposed to be satire is unfortunately more true than what we hear in the news.

Joe observed that there was more apathy in the current and younger generations than there ever was before, with society more geared towards amusement than a making a meaningful contribution to the world we live in. That we could be doing more is hardly a debatable point, but I don’t think the problem lies with any particular generation.

Violence is so common these days, we have to try and avoid it rather than seek it. To be honest, it got so bad that sometime around summer I stopped watching the news. It can make one want to shut out and off — personally I don’t need to know a body count, because to me even one death is too many.

So what constitutes action? How can we say we are part of the solution and not the problem? With the highly charged Aries Point, (a point that illustrates ‘the personal is politcal’), about to be triggered again by the Mars about to oppose Pluto, we are now being called to action. It can be extremely overwhelming to make sense of the world we live in.

But the way I see it, we get to choose how we express our concern for the larger world. Some risk their lives, some write, some serve and some make people laugh. We all have our innate abilities, and not everybody was born to be an activist. This to me is the message of the Aries Point — that we do what we can to make a difference, however inconsequential or insignificant it feels. Even if it means making just one person smile, or listening when someone wants to talk.

As Mars approaches his opposition to Pluto, it’s classic story of an ending and a beginning. We are on the brink of evolution. The Aries Point suggests this is a very personal story and each persons story is a mirror for us all to learn from. The coming year has much in store for us in the way of change, which we can do lot in steering the direction of — we will have the opportunity now.

Looking back on the year personally, I feel a sense of peace and triumph. I have learnt to be more forgiving of myself, and I find this makes it really easy to forgive others. If I am not perfect, how can I expect anyone else to be. There is a quiet knowing, learning and accepting that in reality, I really don’t know anything. All I am aware of is that there is a ‘now’ and this ‘now’, holds the potential for as much joy as it does sorrow. It is my choice that dictates my experience, and every moment is a moment to choose again.

I will probably head out with my friend Cole tonight and try to get into the spirit of things. As I look forward to 2008, I can sum it up to the lyrics of ‘The Wind’ by the then Cat Stevens, playing on my Itunes right now. I wish all of you a happy, joyous, lovey, New Year under the ever charming Libra Moon. Make nice, let bygones be bygones, let’s learn our lessons and move on. Be safe, I leave you with the Oracle and I’ll catch you in 2008!

Love,

Priya

==

I am now available for private astrology consultations. Please email me at priya@planetwaves.net to schedule an appointment or for more information. You can also of course email me to say hi!

== Full Aspects

Amor (18+ Pisces) septile Ceres (9+ Taurus)
Moon (9+ Libra) square Sun (9+ Capricorn) - Last Quarter Moon
Eros (26+ Aquarius) trine Hades (26+ Gemini Rx)
Sisyphus enters Scorpio (direct)
Sisyphus (0 Scorpio) quincunx Aries Point (0 Aries)
Psyche (13+ Scorpio) septile Logos (21+ Virgo Rx)
Saturn (8+ Virgo Rx) square Pholus (8+ Sagittarius)
Ceres (9+ Taurus) sextile Pallas (9+ Pisces)
Sun (9+ Capricorn) sextile Chariklo (9+ Scorpio)
Mars (0+ Cancer Rx) trine Sisyphus (0+ Scorpio)
Venus (1+ Sagittarius) sextile M87 (1+ Libra)
Mars enters Gemini (retrograde)
Mars (0 Cancer Rx) square Aries Point (0 Aries)
Vesta (5+ Aquarius) septile Great Attractor (14+ Sagittarius)
Apollo (3+ Leo Rx) trine Hylonome (3+ Sagittarius)
Venus (1+ Sagittarius) quintile Chiron (13+ Aquarius)
Sun (9+ Capricorn) trine Ceres (9+ Taurus)
Mercury (18 Capricorn) quintile Aries Point (0 Aries)
Sun (9+ Capricorn) sextile Pallas (9+ Pisces)
Psyche (13+ Scorpio) square Chiron (13+ Aquarius)
Venus (1+ Sagittarius) septile Arachne (10+ Libra)

== Archive Quote

“Perhaps you liked it better in the dark, though by now, with your eyes adjusted and the landscape of life making an impression on your brain, you’re probably not complaining so much any more. Shifts ranging from the subtle to the not-so-subtle have occurred on all levels and in all directions of your life. Your task now is reorientation, and this means reassessment of purpose and redistribution of time. The phase of fertilization and seeding is now complete, though if you create an atmosphere conducive to growth, you will be quite surprised the gusto with which your creations go from sprout to bloom to fruit. What would be conducive to such growth? Devote your life to working-out, to human contact, and mainly to simplicity — then watch those flowers grow.”

– Eric Francis, Planet Waves Oracle, Mar 01, 2000, Pisces - Monthly