With love from Mystic Gardens

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I started doing astrology on the Internet just two years after I bought my first ephemeris — in 1996, when AOL was the hot new thing and two years before Google was created. (In fact, AOL-UK was one of my first horoscope clients, in an area called Mystic Gardens. I wrote for that page for about four years, building my first following in the UK.) Particularly in its early years, the Internet offered the potential for something unusual in publishing, which is the freedom to experiment.

It was someplace I could bring my spiritual training, my love of process work, what I was learning in astrology and tarot and my passion for news reporting. Till that time I had been a reporter/editor covering everything from soft drinks to the state budget.

Along with this, I brought along my ideas about sexuality and morphed the whole melange into something original, an astrology website with a holistic approach to existence. My articles appeared on many websites and my first web project, called The Worlds of Eric Francis. One day I discovered that Sexuality.org, a site I revered, was republishing my writing.

In 1998, I established Planet Waves, in the spirit of the digital frontier and an eclectic approach to existence. In December 2008, now a truly planetary project, we arrived at our 10th anniversary and began our second decade on the Net. You can read more about our history and our business philosophy at this link. Somewhere along the line, I started writing horoscopes for Jonathan Cainer when he went on vacation. I moved to Europe and spent a lot of time in the Netherlands. I came home a couple of years ago and made camp in New York, where I live mostly out of a photo studio, called Blue.

Borrowing from a great old rock song, it has indeed been a long, strange trip — but I have had company, and reading the feedback like the letters you’ll see below, I’ve learned that we are indeed reaching people.

– Eric Francis, Kingston, NY, August 2009 (the rainy summer).

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PS, here is a link to older feedback.

Something truly unique in the astrology world…

“Even a casual reader will recognize that Planet Waves does something truly unique in the astrology world. It’s timely, it’s substantive, and it’s aimed at every readers total growth. Profiting from readers’ unmet needs and anxieties ain’t what’s happening here. I’ve read too many ‘expect a hot date!!’ promises that don’t address why that hot date would be healthy or useful in my life. Mostly likely this kind of writing only drags people deeper into fantasy and self-loathing when said hot date doesn’t happen. Worse, it makes astrology (a profound subject worthy of serious consideration) worse than a Magic 8 ball game in the hands of an eighth grade sleep-over. Having worked with Eric and the Planet Waves teams on a series of articles this fall and winter, as well as the annual edition, I also know first hand how much work and thoughtfulness goes into what gets printed here and in the subscription series. Really, guys, it’s a 24/7 world-wide newsroom here.”

– Shanna Philipson
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Guidance to be a creative force in my own life…

“Planets Waves has been a strong guiding light for me in understanding the changes that are occurring in my life and the changes that I need to make and to have the courage to embrace sometimes difficult decisions to be truer to myself. I’ve spent the last two years going through a time of tremendous internal and external change, and wish I had found Planet Waves sooner. It’s been a hard, long journey; made even harder by the fact that I had no guidance, no one to turn toward to give me a few good ideas that could really make a difference in helping me make the changes life wanted me to make, and no understanding of the forces at work so I ended up bumbling around in the dark a lot. Since May I have been a subscriber to Planet Waves and it has made such an amazing difference in helping me understand the internal and external changes that I’m going through and that I’m not alone in this waking-up that so many of us are experiencing. Eric’s amazingly insightful, clear, meaningful and practical horoscopes and interpretations of astrological events really has given me the guidance to be a creative force in my own life and understand events in my life (both internal and external). I’ve been blown away time and time again when Eric’s insightful, practical and spot-on astrology plays out in my life. And this time, instead of bumbling around in the dark, with Eric’s great horoscopes and astrological interpretations in hand, I am able to be a creative force in my life and develop a greater awareness of myself and who I really am at my core.”

– Genevieve Hathaway
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One of the strongest voices against the constant barrage of programming to be less than wholly who we are…

“I’ve never known anyone to work so hard, to apply so much passion and curiosity and fun to what he does. And he has that strange and wonderful gift of being able to bring cool people together. Eric has brought me safely through the traumas of my 20′s and given me permission at every turn to be authentic and take up space. I must credit him for part of who I’ve become in my 30′s sure, the work was mine, but the suggestion to do it often came from him. Over the years he’s given me a voice to write, unswervingly good advice, even a place to stay once (and he also cooks a really fantastic meal).”

“Planet Waves is one of the strongest voices against the constant barrage of programming to be less than wholly who we are in order to belong. Subscribing is giving yourself permission to grow and to be free, and most of all to be who you are. And in doing so, you allow so many others to do the same. Heck, it’s not just astrology, it’s a movement! Thank you, Eric, and everyone else who works to make Planet Waves happen, for all you do and will do to increase the overall level of consciousness on the planet.”

– Maya Dexter-Cook
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I would not have done this without the community of Planet Waves. I know this to be true…

“Psychotherapy and astrology have each helped me to increase my awareness of self and other, create more choice for myself, and to some extent, achieve a measure of freedom. Astrology has made a unique contribution, which cannot be separated from the community that is Planet Waves. A few years ago I took a sabbatical from my marriage to explore myself apart from a relationship I had been in since the age of 16. I would not have done this without the community of Planet Waves. I know this to be true. I had almost no support for this decision from my immediate communities, but I felt Planet Waves behind me, under me, supporting me in taking what for me was a very difficult step.”

– Christine Farber, Ph.D.
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I saw first hand how much he cares about this community we call Planet Waves and what each word means to him…

“If ever there was a guiding star in my life, its been Planet Waves. It was Eric who helped me steer the course and understand the big umbrella of the sky over over us without fear, and with the right mix of humor and clarity. As an artist and a woman on the edge, its an irreplaceable tool for not just coping, but really BEING in the world. As a matter of fact, I have archived all my Friday PW weeklies in my Yahoo email so that I have the ability to look back and re-assess when I need to, kind of like an astropedia of my life.”

“There are people who put their passion into their work, like a great chef who spends all day on their aching feet to create beautiful meal after meal. Or actors who work tirelessly on their scripts, backstage, on the street, living their day-to-day lives. And then there are writers who live, eat and breathe their commitment to the quality of their words. I have had the unique distinction and experience of having personally watched Eric Francis work. We spent four days together over the New Year’s to produce Planet Waves, work on the blog while Israel bombed Palestine, edit Next World stories and basically marathon like college kids at finals to get the massive ship known as Planet Waves annual and the weekly up off the ground. Reading Eric, subscribing to PW as I have for many years, I was always attracted to and sensed the seriousness by which he addressed and wrote his articles and astrology. When we finally did work together in January, I saw first hand how much he cares about this community we call Planet Waves and what each word means to him.”

– Fe Bongolan
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A community of ideas…

“Eric and the planetwaves team are better than psychotherapy — because the conversation is ongoing and especially because of the crazy trying times we’ve found ourselves in the thick of, it’s the first place I go to get some context and meaning for the events of the day, whether it’s healthcare reform, the death of Michael Jackson, or just seeing a friendly forum where you can discuss pretty much anything that’s on your mind — a ‘community of ideas’ is how I often describe it to my friends where you can get high-minded rhetoric and warm fuzzy feelings all at the same time.”

- Savas Abadsidis
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I’ve never met (or read) anyone so skilled in donning the 12-colored astrosuit…

“Eric’s uncanny tongue on the world pulse: I chalk it all up to his Aquarian 8th house Moon. I’ve never met (or read) anyone so skilled in donning the 12-colored astrosuit, taking a deep breath and falling backward into each hue. He floats there for a while, just long enough to let the local weather tell him a good story, then shivers it down into a bright, succinct, precise piece of writing. Over and over and over. As a writer, that fluency makes me chartreuse with envy. But he’s the one who’s done the work and paid the entry fee for it, so not really. Eighth House Moon gives him Marianna Trench empathy; Aquarius the ability to think what he feels in a dozen different keys. And we receive almost daily bulletins about what we might otherwise miss in the mirror.”

– Mysti Easterwood
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This is more than just an astrology site…

“This is more than just an astrology site. There is a lot of deep discussion, on astrology, sex, spirit, politics, the state of the world that I depend on, a lot of wise and interesting voices come out of Planet Waves. I get the feeling we are all helping each other, and a new paradigm, come into being. Don’t know if I would survive without hearing the encouraging views from my fellow travelers.”

– Anna, Planet Waves subscriber
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I asked Chelsea what a lifetime subscription would be…

“The generous support and sterling examples to be found in the Planet Waves community and from the Planet Waves staff. I have always lived nearly hand-to-mouth. I started out as a comp subscriber. Then a small windfall came my way and the first thing I thought of (after paying off debts) was Planet Waves. Knowing I might never be in that position again I asked Chelsea what a lifetime subscription would be. Nobody had ever asked before, but Eric was kind enough to come up with a price and create that space for me. In a very real but unconventional way, I grew up with Planet Waves.”

– Len Wallick
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I have stopped reading other horoscopes…

“I found this site a few years ago after Eric guest wrote for Jonathan Cainer. Since then I have stopped reading other horoscopes because the quality and authenticity of Eric’s made others seriously pale in comparison. I have spent hours looking at the photographs and reading the thought provoking articles. This year I met my first girlfriend at the age of 42 and resources and articles have assisted me in understanding the unfamiliar territory I am in. I applaud your work and value your intelligence and authenticity and need to care for yourself.”

– Christine, Planet Waves subscriber
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This work is not available anywhere else…

“Eric, you are the only ‘person/co’ I subscribe to, and the reasons I do so are because I want to, because this work is not available anywhere else, because it is so damn good, because it is like therapy, because it is 2-way, because you’re NOT some marketing mad, egocentric, torch up his back passage self-help guru, (actually maybe you have tried a torch up your back passage, but not for the reasons of seeing what’s up there). And because of everything everyone else said on here so far.”

– Paletiger, Planet Waves subscriber
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I have grown in leaps and bounds since becoming a reader…

“Honestly, words cannot really express what Eric’s connection to the Universe and to my soul really means to me, but it is akin to oxygen. I must come by now, nearly each and every morning for the guidance and understanding that make the truest sense of my life and its journey. I never cease to be blown away as his insights. I have grown in leaps and bounds since becoming a reader and a supporting member because his writings capture me at my deepest soul level, day in and night out and I have healed a lot as a result.”

– Planet Waves subscriber
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The gift you offer is one I refuse to deny myself…

“Among my unguiltiest pleasures is the anticipation each week for the moment when Planet Waves hits my inbox. What I find there is always intelligent, refreshing, inspiring, often challenging, sometimes surprising, and just pure pleasure to read and experience. Times are hard and budgets are tight, but the gift you offer is one I refuse to deny myself, because it’s such a source of light and joy. I truly appreciate the light you share, Eric, through your divine gifts — your words, your photography, and those of your helpful others, and with great sincerity I encourage any fence-sitters in a position to do so, to jump off that fence and join up.”

– Planet Waves subscriber