Dear Friend and Reader: On the last night of working on The AWA, my eBook accompanying your 2025 The Awakening readings, I took up the matter of Uranus entering Gemini. Typical of Uranus, this took me by surprise. I didn’t think it was so close at hand. The book is available now, with any purchase of The Awakening. The transition begins over the summer and extends into the spring of 2026 — though the way these things work, we are already under its influence. As with technological advances, attitudes and values change ahead of major transits. The illustration above is alternative cover art for The Awakening. I wondered what I was getting at in this image, and I would now say: Uranus in Gemini. That is the convergence point we are rapidly approaching. Astrology is the study of how humans interrelate with their rapidly changing environments. And we are about to get a lot of change, faster than ever. Gemini is the study of how we think and how we talk to one another. It is the sign of the idioglossia, the secret language of twins. And with Uranus, there’s a big one blowin’ in. Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — There is no such thing as tough love. Or perhaps better said, as tough as it gets is being sincere and speaking your truth to those who matter. You may be mired in some concept of love or relating that was natural to your family of origin and that you may have decided was normal. Yet love does not contain a trace of meanness, of the fear of consequences, or of laws and rules imposed on one person by another. You will find all the information you need in the speech patterns of your early family. The words they used and how they used them will reveal the feelings involved. If you find that some or all of this is unacceptable to you, that’s a wholesome first step on what is in truth a fairly long journey to reconciliation. However, gentleness, forgiveness and sincerity go a long way in the spirit of healing. Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — Yours is the most cosmic and mystical sign. I don’t mean that to play favorites in any way. Your patch of sky is home to the core of our galaxy, and an energy vortex that groups together 100,000 galaxies, including our own. If you’re wondering why you feel so strange sometimes, or like your life is so intense, this is your metaphor. What you need the very most is grounding. That means direct involvement with the needs of your body, the food that you eat, and your earthly priorities. This takes special focus. You’re a little like an extraterrestrial from another star system. You have the intelligence to do quite well here, but you need to follow certain rules that exist on the physical plane. And to this end, your solar chart gives you many advantages. You have to know when to err on the side of caution, and when to take a risk. That is the question. Thank you to everyone who particpated in Tuesday’s live election coverage. That was fantastic and I’ll be doing more of it. — efc Dear Friend and Reader: What happened this week — a decisive victory for Donald Trump, who could not prevail in any age but digital — was a comment on the astrology of 2025-2026, and the electronic world in which we live. They are closely related. The New York Times headline Wednesday read, “Trump’s America: Victory Changes Nation’s Sense of Itself.” But they got that backwards. It should have read, “Nation’s Changing Sense of Self Leads to Trump victory.” The reversal of cause and effect is revealing of our relationship to the problem. Shawn McCreesh, reporting from West Palm Beach for the Times, summed up Trump’s performance. “Mr. Trump was a ferociously effective campaigner. To watch him up close on this third run for president was to see him blend comedy, fury, optimism, darkness and cynicism like never before.” In the digital age, that’s what feels good. That’s what feels trustworthy because it feels real. Anything not infused with anger seems to lack authenticity. Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — The best way to deal with the fear of consequences is to meet the issues head-on. You will likely discover that your fear was taking up more energy than actually resolving the issue. The universe, including the highly complicated material plane, offers bonus points to those who are proactive; to those who take initiative. Stay ahead of all of your situations, and keep spin control on your message to anyone who may be concerned. Once you decree that the buck stops with you, you claim the power from nearly anyone who would hold anything over you. This finds additional information in Mars retrograde later this month, which takes place in your career angle — though if I may give you an assignment, dust off your most recent CV or résumé, read it a few times, and ask yourself if there is anything you want to do that you have not yet done. Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — If ever there was a time when you could feel cosmic love — the actual love of the cosmos — it could be right now. If there was ever a time you could call for help from spiritual agency and have it respond, that would be right now. Without going too deep into mythology and astronomy, what we think of as ‘the universe’ has a distinctive feminine expression right now. We live in an infinite cosmos which can manifest many ways, but right now, it’s a feminine presence and it might respond to the name Elbereth, Varda, Tintallë or Gilthoniel. They are all the same benevolent entity, a bringer of light, and the kindler of empathy and of healing. Say those names out loud, slowly. Her role is to ensure that the stars and the planets are where they belong. This translates to your personal stars and planets. Call on her if you need her. Dear Friend and Reader: We are in a rich moment. Tonight is Halloween (properly called Samhain, which is pronounced sah-wen). In various Old Religion calendars, today is the last day of the year; Friday is the first day of the new year; and overnight is “the night between the worlds,” which belongs to neither year. Friday morning, we experience the New Moon in Scorpio. This suspension of normal time overnight from the 31st to the 1st is related to the notion that we are in the time when the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is the thinnest: that is Scorpio. For centuries and across cultures, this part of the season is about acknowledging the ancestors. Hence we have Day of the Dead, All Souls Day, All Saints Day and ghosts and goblins adorning people’s front yards. Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — The message of the imminent New Moon in your birth sign is to not see yourself as better than anyone else. You might think you don’t, though this can manifest in ways you don’t understand. Any time you think that someone owes you something, that qualifies as ‘better’. Any time you have an ungrounded expectation, that translates to better. What is ‘ungrounded’? Anything someone has said openly, such as, “I will pick you up at the mall at 3:45 pm next to the big red planter by Macy’s.” Ungrounded is anything you expect where someone else has not promised exactly what, where and when. This would be a fantastic time to make a policy shift into rooted-in-words contractual commitments, and to expect no more, and no less, from anyone with whom you are coexisting: partner(s), children, siblings, parents, your boss, your employees or whomever. And especially yourself. Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — May there be no part of your own awareness of which you’re afraid. Yet that’s not how the ego works. The ego is fear, and then it’s terrified of everything other than itself. You contain an inner truth that is coming to a boil and spilling over. The heat is not something you can control. You can put a lid on the pot, which would only build up pressure. Or you can acknowledge what is happening for you. You can choose to let your feelings out in slow, steady, dependable ways — including many that you will find pleasurable. Many fear their inner truth before connecting with the sense of relief and freedom that comes from allowing yourself to be who you are. This can go on for decades. In the first instance, it doesn’t matter why you might feel a certain way. Yet if you can follow your feelings in, and go deeper, you will get closer to the fuel source that is moving you. Greetings from a cool, clear upstate afternoon: I’m happy to say that as the Sun entered Scorpio, I’m fully involved with The Awakening annual readings. This is a book-length project that I will wrap in about two months, so I’ll be writing shorter articles in service of getting these readings into your hands. And when I’m done writing, I’ll be doing the audio readings, which are an entirely fresh look at the astrology, after investing about 85,000 words writing about it. Why all the work? Why the care and attention to detail? If nobody has said this before, astrology has the ability to mislead people, and give them ideas about themselves that are not true. Therefore, I take precautions, which include thoughtful phrasing of my words and a truly circumspect view. Every year is special. Every year brings something unusual. However, the astrology of 2025-26 makes that of 2020 seem like a Boy Scout camping trip. For reference, I’ve been studying events back to the 15th century (and, working with Kirsti Melto, our research goes back to 1 BC, if that tells you anything). Will that help you get a date, improve your health or build your business? I don’t know, but one gift of astrology is context. And context always helps. Without it there is no meaning. Astrology frames issues like nothing else can, seeing in all directions (12 signs) and encompassing all issues (12 houses). Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — What does it mean to ‘get a new start’? It’s about making a decision followed by changing your approach to your existence. This includes how you see yourself and see the world. Learning is the discovery that something is possible, which means possible for you. Then you would live that way. You seem be at a crux point, where you’ve had enough of something — in yourself. There’s an emotional approach that’s easy for you to slip into that leaves no room for love, for self-respect, or for something to be possible that wasn’t possible yesterday. This has something to do with resentment. Now, you might think that doesn’t apply to you. The most dependable metric here is guilt, which is resentment turned on itself. If you want to make a choice, and you feel guilty about it, that’s about resentment. You have a diversity of options for how to work this out, but you would have to want to — and you would have to choose. You’d need to not be attached to your own bitterness, or your own expectations of others. One possibility is to take a more spiritual approach, which actually means putting things in God’s hands. Another is to recognize the conditioning of your family to be, well, just like them, and in effect, not be yourself. You could also express yourself. You could say what you mean, and mean what you say at all times. You can refuse to stuff your feelings back into your body. You actually can. Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — The tendency of Sagittarius to conceal its true sexual nature would seem, on the surface, to be about maintaining the appearance of integrity. You really don’t want to be known as a saucy or promiscuous person with relentless curiosity about many people. Yet the location of Scorpio in your solar chart — right before your sign — is saying that concealing yourself will not work. This is the 12th house, the place where, for everyone, their desires are swept, usually never to see the light of day (or of the night). However, having Scorpio here is just too much to contain: your passion and emotions, your drive to connect, and wanting to go deep into experimental places. You know you’re a visitor here, and showed up to have the experiences available only on Earth. Exploring your full erotic spectrum is one of them. Yet it’s difficult to get past the moralism, religiosity and BS traditionalism that have been flogged into us since childhood. But sex is not a moral issue. Controls imposed by various power authorities, from parents to the government, are not about right or wrong but rather their convenience. If you’re connected to your feelings, your curiosity and your passion, you are more difficult for people like teachers to manage. Those who live full-spectrum won’t be content with littleness, or with people telling them what to do. If you want to live boldly, let yourself out — all of you. Love yourself for doing it. Honesty is the only requirement. Dear Friend and Reader: I’ve had the adventure the past few weeks of writing out the astrological developments of the next two years, and also summing up many events back to major vents of 1993. This has given me some confidence to interpret 2025-26 astrology in The Awakening, which is the main emphasis of my writing these days. Overnight we experienced the Aries Full Moon, which was exactly conjunct Eris. I keep forgetting to mention that both Bill Gates (Microsoft) and Steve Jobs (Apple) were born with this aspect in Aries. The Full Moon pointed directly to the Chiron-Eris conjunction that is now heating up, and which will hold well into 2026. This is an astonishing aspect that stretches back in history, describing the 1970s, the World War I era, and the U.S. Civil War era. It now describes the world information war of full digital conditions. Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — Recent developments have been provoking you to be more ambitious about your professional goals. Yet keeping score and other expressions of jealousy and resentment will not help you and they never did. So throw them back into the cosmic ocean, where they will melt and do no harm. If you’re going to invest emotional energy into something, advocate for those who are at a clear disadvantage. In personal relationships especially, make an effort to discern where someone — or a few people — close to you are coming from. What are they experiencing? They are in the midst of what you are looking at from the outside, and there is a big difference between your two experiences. If someone is struggling, get their attention with a positive influence of some kind: good vibes, something fun to get their mind off of things or some help sorting out their situation. Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — I know it feels good to think there are absolutely true concepts of right and wrong. But this notion presents a number of practical and philosophical problems, one of which is that it prevents the process of learning through experience. You can’t have absolute morals when you don’t know everything, and nobody does. And holding such a position often serves as a great way to prevent yourself from facing both the adventure and the uncertainty of existence on our rather uncertain planet. Instead of emphasizing morals, ethics and principles, you might try having a sense of humor about all the madness of the world, and the mysteries of your own life. Also, there is a message to see who, in your ancestral tree, set the example of resentment being a good idea, or a form of justice. It’s neither. Dear Friend and Reader: The owner of the building where I live (my “landlady,” in common parlance) contacted me by text on Tuesday, shaken up and asking me to watch a video. While she worries a lot, she’s not usually so chatty, so I watched it. It turned out to be about the technology that could potentially move a hurricane around. Since Helene struck Florida two weeks ago, the “geoengineered storm” concept has been a hot topic. This is not the first time the discussion has come up, though it seems to be getting some traction now. By now, I mean in the post-covid, hyperparanoid, transhuman and trans everything else version of the digital environment, where nothing is true and everything is possible and it’s always the worst thing that is real. In our moment, the discussion of chemtrails and their background topic — the intentional modification of the weather, or geoengineering — has picked up speed. Following my policy of giving opinions only where I have either a strong factual background or direct witnesses, I can confirm that there is a high probability that attempted weather modification happening. Note, I follow this issue somewhat, but I’ve never focused on it. The problem is reliable sourcing of information. Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — We are in particularly stressful times for committed relationships. There are so many variables and so many options that it’s difficult to hold together a structure, particularly one that involves human foibles. The kinds of factors that supported relationships from the outside no longer exist: various customs and necessities of age (such as an imperative to get married, or to be married when you have children). Not only this, we live in a world of many seeming possibilities — but relatively few of them are real. The problem this creates is when relationships are mostly supported by negative attachments, resentments, expectations and scorekeeping. Yet what is the point of that? None of it leads to fulfillment, which is fine if that’s not what you want. But I assure you that it is. I propose that you want to be happy. For that to happen, your relationships must be honest and peaceful. Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — Yours is the only ‘fixed’ water sign. This is an old word for set and stable; for what is seemingly unchanging. One hundred years ago an example of fixed water might have been a polar ice cap. Another example is underground fossilized seawater, such as may be found in Michigan. Any notion of integrity that prevents you from being emotionally flexible is yet another. You may think that keeping your desires in check somehow makes you a better and more pure person, though what it really does is push your feelings under the surface. That is the primary source of chaos in the lives of most humans. Your ruling planet Mars is square Chiron. This may feel like the urge to be very, very emotionally disciplined, but what this aspect is saying is relax and be who you are. Let yourself be moved by nature, and by your own nature. You’re more likely to do what you know is right. Dear Friend and Reader: Events surrounding Wednesday’s “ring of fire” annular solar eclipse in Libra have been troubling. Eclipses have two main properties, which might seem to conflict. One is they represent a shift in the storyline, or of the historical process. The other is that conditions at the time of an eclipse can be preserved as a new status quo. They also tend to stir up fear. I’m concerned about the level of anxiety that is crackling through the population. People are doing their best to put on a happy face, but anyone can smell the worry. Many are looking for more ‘news’ to confirm that they should be very afraid. Then there are the people who claim to be happy that what we’re hearing about or witnessing proves that we are living at “the end of times.” It may seem true enough, though this idea has been percolating as a modern concept for hundreds of years. Much early immigration to the New World from Europe was by people who wanted to be somewhere better for “The End.” I suspect that many people have no idea how seriously this notion of “The End” is taken by many of their neighbors — or their representatives in Congress. But it’s always struck me as a cop-out for not dealing with one’s problems, much less those of society. Among the events at the time of the eclipse include the development of full-scale war between Israel and its neighbors. Iran is now involved, along with Lebanon, Yemen, Gaza and the West Bank of the Palestinian Authority. What we are seeing today has been going on nearly nonstop through the whole history of Israel. At press time, Israel was bombing Beirut, and the world is waiting for its response against Tehran for the rockets launched at it earlier this week. The U.S. is preparing to get involved. The subtext here, of course, is about whether this will lead to nuclear war. This all follows the revelation last month that electronic devices such as phones and tablets were deployed as bombs — a tactic that immediately drew Iran into the crisis. Hurricane Helene arrived on the Florida coast with 175 deaths in six states, destroying roads, bridges and other infrastructure, plus homes and businesses. The governors of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, the Carolinas and Virginia all declared emergencies in their states, according to press reports. Once again “the greatest nation on Earth” was not prepared for an emergency — and the “greatest military” has not been ordered to respond. Many people think climate change (the Frank Luntz friendlier rewrite of ‘global warming’) is a hoax, but the climate is actually changing. Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — Listen and you will get the message. Listen to what you say and you’ll learn how you’re responding. Following your inner dialog is crucial right now; it has all the information you need, and will guide you through any complexity. And what seems complicated is really a simple matter. Therefore, do not bend the truth, and notice when others are doing so. Reality always makes more sense than lies. Deception is an obvious agenda. Your own confusion will alert you to any such problem. Just remember that there is no such thing as “a little confusion.” Any at all will obscure your view and your sense of what is real. And it’s possible that others have the specific agenda of doing just that, by feeding you information that has no basis in reality but might sound good for a while. Therefore, pin down the four corners of the truth and always know where you are on the map. Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — When your mind is open, anything can come through, and it’s up to you to sort it out. There are those who try to shut their mind in order to avoid the wild diversity of possible ideas, memories, and imaginings that can come through. Some close their mind to ensure they don’t discover anything new about themselves. Yet the result of that is chaos; that which is held down and kept in the dark will tend to rage until it bursts into the open somehow — usually after causing quite a bit of emotional damage. There is a portal in your mind that is wide open right now. And very nearly anything could come through — in your waking life, and especially in your dream life. You can be afraid of your own thoughts, and the contents of what is mistakenly called the ‘subconscious’. Or you can be open to who you are. Dear Friend and Reader: After looking at the chart for Wednesday’s eclipse for months, and looking at the world, and noticing what’s happening, I think I understand what this is about. My take is that the theme of this eclipse is addressing the abuse of the concept of “victimization.” This is also about the abuse of trust and goodwill. We see this everywhere. A Course in Miracles makes some reference to it on just about all of its 1,300 pages: the notion of victimhood is the cornerstone of a worldview, and a world, built on guilt and fear. Only claim to be a victim and someone invokes immediate sympathy. People bow, curtsy, genuflect and throw money into the basket. Implicit in this is, “What if it’s me next time?” Meanwhile, this whole arrangement seems to have no bearing on whether people do evil, negligent or mean things to others. We need a concept other than “victim” to describe the recipients of this behavior. And whether or not there are victims in some absolute sense, I’m talking about the abuse of the concept. This includes the dismissal of one’s own role in creating a situation, which is another way of negating the power of decision. Speaking about any meek hint of the mere notion of personal responsibility will get one accused of being a Republican. The Moon and Sun are conjunct (to the degree) a very strange point called the Black Moon (the osculating lunar apogee), which goes to this theme. I had previously delineated the Black Moon as “the thing about women that other women distrust.” However, while that comes close, I observe it to be something much wider in scale. I’ve learned to be extremely cautious of those who build their identity on being a victim. It is a game. And as Melanie Reinhart once explained, in the “drama triangle,” the most convent way out of victimhood is to become a “perpetrator.” (Then the “rescuer” becomes the next “victim.”) Achtung, baby. More on the forthcoming Planet Waves FM. With love, from the shores of Lake Ontario, Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — A solar eclipse in your birth sign may come with some pressure, a feeling of fate, and a sense of too-fast movement. Yet there are few better invitations to improving your life in every way. The eclipse is a moment of forgetting and of remembering. There’s a shift in continuity, and an interval of possibility. A shadow is cast across the Sun, and also the Sun’s illumination as it falls on Earth. So you might say that in various ways, you get to see things in a different light. And that different light is just what you need to make sense of the world and your place in it. This is no time to have a fixed viewpoint on anything, especially yourself. A diversity of long-range influences are calling you into a whole new sense of your being. From there, you will see the world much closer to how it is rather than how it appears. This is a time of gathering those who have similar values to you, who resonate with you both emotionally and intellectually. Then there is the matter of sexual resonance. This is an evermore distant notion for people as we become electrified by digital frequencies and soaked in artificial hormones. Yet there is still a deep current of emotional, hormonally vivid sexual awareness running through humanity. If you allow yourself to be drawn in its direction, you will leave behind your family’s limited ideas about existence and find the energy to open up in ways you never imagined possible. Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — The forthcoming solar eclipse may stir up some of your deepest fears, desires and concealed memories. Feelings you thought were long resolved, including for past lovers, might come bubbling to the surface. This could include a diversity of ambiguous or conflicting emotions that you thought were long gone. What you’re experiencing is a point of release: a kind of cosmic trigger that is allowing you to drop emotional material you’ve been carrying without realizing it. So, no, you’re not going nuts, and what filters into your dreams is not necessarily a reflection of what you want today. From a healing perspective, the important thing is to feel the feelings before letting go of them. This includes a wide range of possibilities, from deep erotic passion to mistrust and suspicion to any concerns about infidelity. There you may be crossing back through territory you’ve been in before (if you’re old enough, the mid/late-1990s come to mind). All in all, this is an important time of review and release. With Pluto lingering around Capricorn for another month, and Mars about to go retrograde in December, this is an important time for you to look back and make peace with your personal history — and as it may turn out, the personal history of your ancestors. All of the factors I’ve mentioned can jump the generations, though the solar eclipse is the most potent factor in that sense. So whatever may come up, let it rise to your awareness and then set yourself free. Dear Friend and Reader: The Sun’s rays now meet the equator at a right angle, and throughout the world night and day are close to equal. Therefore, Sun enters Libra, the sign of ‘the balance’, on Sunday, Sept. 22. This is always a tipping point, though this equinox serves as a reflector for planetary events forthcoming in early 2025. In particular, Saturn and Neptune enter Aries, and will be grouped around the Aries Point into 2026. The first degree of Aries is the intersection between individual and collective events, of which there will be many more than usual. Meanwhile, in the more immediate sense, the Sun is still clearing the last degrees of Virgo. All week long it’s been in an opposition to Neptune in late Pisces, and this aspect will be exact at 8:16 pm EDT Friday. It’s been a rather watery week with the eclipse of the Moon in Pisces, combined with the Moon’s occultation of both Saturn and Neptune in Pisces. Sun opposite Neptune represents a kind of final rinse. It’s also a leak test to see where any containers, boundaries and borders in your life are porous. We are seeing plenty of leaks lately. Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — The days before the Sun enters your sign can be tense, as if you’re not quite aware that your worst fears might be true. This might be especially challenging with the Full Moon happening on the 17th, conjunct mystical, delusional Neptune in Pisces. Is there a lake, a forest, or an ocean nearby? A garden will do. Or a greenhouse. Up here in the Northern Hemisphere, this is the most glorious time of year. Be grateful that nature still exists, and that you can imbibe it in many forms — if you get up and away from the internet in all of its many forms. Try going out of the house without your phone. Ease off the weed (if such applies to you) and pay attention to what your dreams are telling you. The tension of the Full Moon into the equinox and your birthday season will pass like the astral storm that it is, and take you into new realms of awareness — if you are willing. Dear Friend and Reader: In a classic Planet Waves article from 2013, “The Threefold Goddess in a Field of Grain,” I describe the traditional meanings of Virgo. It’s a lot about food and agriculture, and Virgo (Jungfrau, or the Virgin) is the sign of the goddess, meaning an incarnation of archetypal female potential. This is worth a point of clarification: goddess is not the female equivalent of God. Nearly none of the gods are the male equivalent of God. There is The One, prime creator or source, and then lots of incarnations of various human expressions of, well, all kinds of things. However, with Virgo, we do come close to Gaia, but really, closer to Ceres (of whom the Blessed Virgin of Catholic fame seems to be an incarnation). The article also pays homage to the quintessential Virgo herself, Betty Dodson, author of Sex for One. However, she was not a virgin. I’d like to take a fresh look at Virgo, in the form of some questions related to its subject matter. I could sum up that subject in a single word: Holistic. This relates to wholeness, and making whole. It’s closely related to a newer word, holographic, which is about the part being contained in the whole, and the whole being contained in the (seeming) part. Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — Venus has passed through the territory of what I’ve been describing as the Capricorn cluster, a group of five minor planets (new discoveries plus the all-important asteroid Ceres). What did you experience? What did you learn? Take careful notes, because what you’ve learned matters. The art of art, of astrology and of life is pattern recognition. In the present chaotic insanity of the world, that is the one skill that can get you through the maelstrom. Such does not mean forcing your imagination on anything, but rather noticing what distinctly repeats. The shapes, ideologies, personal configurations and other factors that might qualify as fitting a “pattern” will be easily recognizable for what they are — without much theorizing. Along the way, pay attention to who is in pain, and how that motivates them. Notice the strange attachment to the potential for catastrophe, whether yours or that of anyone else. Here is The Family Hunger Game article from June, about the early Capricorn cluster. This is for you if you’re unraveling family trauma. Open to all readers. — efc Dear Friend and Reader: Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear. Just five months ago, the world experienced a total solar eclipse conjunct Chiron. Exact to the arc minute (1/60th of a degree), this astonishing eclipse cast a shadow that spanned from northern Mexico, diagonally across the United States and into southeastern Canada. Next year, Chiron will again emerge as a rising star, thanks to a conjunction to Eris that spans from May 27, 2025 through March 19, 2026. The orb of influence, in time, is much wider, and we are experiencing this conjunction now. This is an event with a three-year margin on either side, so we’ve been in it for a while. For those new to astrology, or my astrology, it’s my position that planetary events do not cause things. Rather, they serve as metaphors, and we witness their actual expressions in the human world within and around us. Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — Your ruling planet Venus is moving through some challenging territory this month. You can handle the various situations that come up if you maintain what martial arts teachers call situational awareness. Part of that means knowing where you are and what your circumstances are telling you in any given moment. And part is about scoping out the game three or four steps ahead, and having your contingencies planned. That means sketching out how you might respond under various possible scenarios, without allowing yourself to be paranoid. The real skill you will depend on is avoiding complications, and knowing how to see various traps for what they are. Assume that everyone around you is operating with intent; nobody is “just doing things.” Therefore, you must use the power of intent, which is knowing what result you want and taking the steps to make it happen. And you can. Dear Friend and Reader: Mercury stationed direct in Leo at 5:14 pm EDT Wednesday. My experience playing in the realms of astrology and news reporting leads me to gather the facts during the retrograde, then look for a perk in information when Mercury goes direct. I’m writing this Wednesday and Thursday so I’ll conclude with what I learned. There was some strange news this past weekend with the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov on Saturday evening. As Durov approached Le Bourget, the private Paris airport, a warrant was issued for his arrest. When he got on the ground, we are told that he was taken into custody and later charged with a diversity of crimes related to allowing others to commit crimes on his allegedly encrypted platform. Since all major digital platforms are host and hostess to felons, why not also lock up Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk? According to whatever data is available, Telegram is not even among the top 10 offenders. This issue should be a REALLY big deal. It’s the first time anyone whose company owns a platform is being held personally liable for what the users post. Meanwhile, this kind of thing always sets off a free-speech panic, and 25,000 podcasts about your rights and all of that. It’s perfectly predictable. They’re coming for you next. Telegram users, depending on what they are doing, are likely to be concerned that they might get caught in an international dragnet. Under digital conditions, speech has never been more free, or less. Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — You’re in a time where profound inner vision is possible. It’s as if you’re in the Halls of Amenti in a special room just for you, where you can read through your personal Akashic Record. Imagine somewhere you can be for as long as you want where you leaf through the documents of your life, past, present and future; including ideas, emotions, and memories. What if you had access to all of that information — and were able to remember it and act upon it? Imagine if your ideas about yourself were informed by the truth of yourself. How would your life be different? You might see the past differently; you might recognize the beauty of the present moment; you might have far more faith in the future. This may seem like a tall tale, though many spiritual traditions hold that such a record exists. You may use it as a metaphor; imagine yourself there, in a quiet and open space, in the privacy of your own thoughts, surrounded by an all-knowing presence. Dear Friend and Reader: Virgo is the sign of food and dairy production. You might say that it’s the sign of the agricultural revolution, symbolized by the Virgin Goddess. This sign is ruled by Mercury, which from ancient times represents merchants. No doubt the first thing on Earth that was sold or traded was food. Yet this likely predates agriculture, as hunting and gathering came long before anyone intentionally cultivated food. The planet is in a food crisis right now. Vast populations survive on carbohydrates. If you study people’s grocery choices at the checkout line, you can see how much of their diet is comprised of starch and sugar in various forms. And anyone with a food sensitivity knows that wheat and soy are ubiquitous in the food environment, especially when you consider how much is fried or bulked out in soy products. It does not take long to figure out that much of what is claimed to be food is not. That includes all the fruit and grain that is converted into 117 billion gallons of wine, beer and liquor every single year. Beverage alcohol products provide a significant proportion of total intake of carbs, and also the greasy emotional floor on which society is walking. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — The Sun enters your sign on Thursday, Aug. 22, which is the herald of your birthday season. Mercury is about to station direct, about six days later on Aug. 28. Between these two events, you know that it’s time to get moving on one particular goal that is of the highest priority, but which you may not think is possible. Here is a clue: it will not be feasible if you stretch yourself in too many directions. But if you have one thing you’re fully committed to, you will get it done. This may be challenging. Gemini is involved, which tends to split goals in half. The way to handle this is to bring the halves together. One thing about Virgo is that its natives often have two seemingly different careers. These may be related, like author and illustrator; they may be seemingly unrelated, such as auto mechanic and violinist. Whatever they may be, you want to use the principle of synergy: the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. That is the most succinct guiding principle of Virgo in any event, and it’s crucial for you now. You want everything about you working together. Leave no facet of yourself behind. Do not imagine that some part of your experience is not applicable and — more to the point — remember the things you have plenty of experience with that will be useful in your current situation. And please remember, while you may not be a competitive person, your deepest need right now is to accomplish something meaningful for yourself. Ideally this is something you’ve never done before, potentially because you’ve never had such a brilliant opportunity. Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — Your intuition will not fail you, if you use it and do not rationalize it away. Intuition means knowing without knowing how you know. It’s not false certainty — there is no bravado, and nothing external about it. Though in the external, pay homage to time-honored traditions, and bring what you learn from them into the moment. This is a poignant time of year for everyone, and a special time of year for you. Your inner being stirs to life and is filling you with many forms of knowing without knowing how. This means anticipating the important changes coming into your life. Commit to meeting them with a positive mindset, which means making the most of who you are and the opportunities that come your way. It may seem trite, though it’s no less true: every challenge is an opportunity for growth. When you start to collect the gifts of these developments, you will love them for what they are. There is more, much of which is about a leadership gift you have. That is the gift of leading through honoring the common ground that all people and indeed all living things share. To lead, you must go first. To go first, you must have courage. To have courage, you must come from your heart and not your mind. You are in an alchemical moment where you can transform yourself into nearly anything you want, anything you want to be, as long as you are willing to give up what is not right for you, or true for you. Giving up the useless, the outdated and the untrue are no sacrifice. Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — You are about to have a rather interesting week, and I mean that in the sense of unusual and curiosity-inspiring. I mean meaningful. In the total chaos of digital life, these concepts are all but lost, though you might want to keep them right in your pocket as you study what develops. You are in a good position because you’ve already decided that most of the things other people worry about are not your problem; you have little to lose, so you can afford some additional adventure and intrigue. However, there is a serious tone to events in that your ability to be steady and true to your purpose will be helpful to people around you who are not so steady on their foundations. You are able to ask the questions that most others are not even willing to acknowledge. Do so calmly and with faith that learning the underlying truth of any matter will be helpful. Click or tap the image for more information. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — You may want to break free of something, though first I suggest you study it from the inside. It’s not like you have to cut a fence; you’re close to whatever this thing is, and already have a good interior view of the space I’m describing. It’s a concept or idea about yourself, though there is often some physical metaphor that helps describe the astrology (which is theoretical) in a more tangible form. Notice anything that describes containment. Pay attention to your dreams for these symbols. Consider the idea of ‘holding space’ for what you want, which means actual clearing of emotional, mental and physical areas and setting a boundary. This might mean writing every morning first thing, or practicing guitar every night at 9 pm, or working in the garden every day for one hour — no matter what’s going on. There is something very important to you, and you’ll feel much better if you do something about it every day. Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — The most significant thing people keep quiet about is their priorities. It may seem like the contentious secrets are the ones about sexual trysts and love affairs, though that’s a scrim or social game. Values and principles are more often the thing kept in the locked box. And one motive for this is likely to be concealing a potential fundamental disagreement. This is of the “what I want to do with my life” variety. You might even conceal such a thing from yourself. You could start there — admitting to full awareness of what is true about you. You might say this is a form of coming out of denial. Maybe so, though you could also describe it as coming to terms with your own personal bottom line. From there, you might be inspired to take action. And therein lies the potential struggle. In any event, you will be much happier if you’re honest with yourself. And at the moment that should be pretty easy. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Do your best to be conscious of the ‘self-critical’ factor of your sign, because it could get in the way of rather good ideas — and your best plans. You have no reason to take anything away from yourself. Nor must you do the bidding of others in the past who were merely jealous or narrow-minded — not the superlative geniuses they mostly convinced you that they were. Listen for who your inner critic’s voice reminds you of — who, specifically. And if you’re looking at any situation through some kind of a lens, make sure it’s not turned around backwards, showing you a much smaller world than exists. The only small thing in the universe is consciousness, which seems large and grandiose if one is either very close to it or existing inside of it. This is the nature of what we call the mind, but there are other qualities. Take a few steps back and get some perspective. Meditate on the mantra, “Over, through or around.” Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — You will be more peaceful if you know that it’s not possible to keep secrets for any more than a short time — and that people read minds. There is, therefore, nothing you can really hide, nor do you need to. Yet in the politics of human relationships, it’s always better if you reveal your truth before someone ‘discovers’ it. The thought of this would make many people a little queasy — to think that everything they have said and done, and everything they want, is available. I don’t mean on the internet; I am describing the transparency of consciousness and the fact that minds are joined. All this hide-and-seek and sneaking a peek are games played by the flawed operating system known as the ego. There are many benefits to being real, and to having no secrets from the people around you. This is a good time to take leadership of your affairs, by being fully truthful. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — There is a lot you don’t say about yourself. You would feel much better if you let it out. Imagine if you wrote all of your most personal needs, desires, concerns, fears and passions in a letter, written as if it was either intended for you alone, or just one person. Then further imagine that every single person in your life were able to read these things — in your own, most intimate words. How do you think you would feel? Would you feel embarrassed, liberated, or some combination? Imagine if you handed this letter to anyone who might be a potential new associate, friend or lover — so they would know everything about you before they even had a chance to interact with you in any detail. Do you think people would find you acceptable or lovable if they were in possession of all of your deepest secrets? The answer to that question tells you how you feel about yourself. Trust Yourself – 2024 Midyear Reading now available Dear Friend and Reader: In an edition of Planet Waves earlier this month, I said that the U.S. Pluto return is just beginning. We’re experiencing the first return of Pluto to its position at the time of the signing of both the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation — the birth of the United States. The same transit is happening to all of the United States charts at once, and it’s happening now. And during the past two weeks, we have seen some of the more visible effects of that. With the Pluto return, you would expect some sort of upheaval. For personal transits, most people only live as long as Pluto square Pluto (varying from age 35 to about 60 depending on the era). All have planetary transits involving Pluto and get a taste of the evolutionary medicine, usually uncovered by an astrologer 20 years later, and they realize oh, that’s what that was. In the Western world, very little lasts 248 years. Countries are constantly reformed; empires rise and decline fairly quickly. Emanuel Pastreich, a symbolic presidential candidate I interviewed recently, said that the approximately 250-year mark is a frequent point of transition or collapse in dynasties and the longer-lived societies of Asia. He’s a historian and speaks the languages, and has a clue. For those curious, here is some of my 2019 coverage of the Pluto return. So, with it now in full force, let’s go through some events that have arrived recently. OK, let’s roll. Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — The Sun, the Leo luminary, has entered your sign as of a few days ago, and this is serving as a reminder of all that you desire and want to accomplish. But first, take a moment and thank yourself for your devoted efforts of the past year, which have taken you a long way from where you were a year before that. (The concept of one year, a solar cycle, is essential to the idea of Leo.) Mark your progress. Go back to your diary, emails, photos, or whatever, and remember where you were on this day in 2023. Admit that you have done something with your life, and continue to do so. You now have the new influence of Pluto in your opposite sign to drive you. Such can manifest many ways, from challenges to group pressure to public visibility. You don’t mind being seen — in fact you benefit from it, which is true for even the rare shy Leo Sun or rising. As Pluto makes its way through early Aquarius over the next year or so, you will find yourself living in a different world than you ever have. Some factors that have been present for a long time will be removed; others will manifest; and you will continue to go through a series of transformations that bring out deeper and more authentic expressions of who you are and what you are capable of. The most helpful spirit in which to proceed is that of service. You don’t need to aspire to be the best at anything. Be yourself, and be helpful. Trust Yourself – 2024 Midyear Reading Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — How much can you take for granted? Make a list of everything of real value and consider carefully whether it’s a sure thing. See if you can determine exactly what the guarantee is, who made it, and how you’re entitled to collect. Do you have any part in the arrangement? That is, does your contribution or keeping a commitment make a difference in your assurance? This is a more sensitive point than it may seem: it’s the difference between an entitlement and mutual collaboration. Most things in life are not really entitlements; your landlord may owe you fixing your sink if it breaks, but only if you pay the rent. If she doesn’t fix the sink, you have a right to withhold the rent. I realize this describes features in transactional relationships, though that is what our personal affairs usually become. Often people serve the role of someone who can be held to account, who owes you something, or who may have taken something from you in the past. None of this has anything to do with love, respect or affection. If you want those experiences, then a different approach will be necessary. It’s fair to ask why anyone who is in your life is there. Trust Yourself – 2024 Midyear Reading Dear Friend and Reader: Sunday, July 21, the Moon comes to full phase in the sign Capricorn for the second time this year. The first was just past the northern solstice on June 21. Because the lunar month is slightly longer than a solar month (the time the Sun takes to move one sign), if there is a lunation early in the month, it can happen again in the same sign a month later. This is not a “blue moon.” That is when there are two Full Moons within the same calendar month, which is a pointless concept. However, two consecutive Full Moons in the same sign is something to write about. Here is my coverage of the first Cap Moon from last month. Between them was the Cancer New Moon on July 5. Cancer (June 21-July 22) — You have the strength to decide what matters for you. Others may have a different opinion, though the choice is not theirs to make. So you must add awareness as one of your strengths, which will include the ways in which any groups of people (from your family to co-workers to the Toastmasters) have an interest in setting your priorities. Be aware of this kind of pressure; it’s described by a relatively new feature in your chart. Develop a sensitivity to when someone else — anyone else — wants to make a decision for you, or set a priority. And these situations may be sly. Your intuition will warn you, though it might not speak loudly. So you will have to listen carefully, and observe how others influence one another and make their choices. You may find that something happens frequently, and you want no part of it: in being pressured, they willingly surrender their power. Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — Things may seem to get worse before they get better, though there will be an emotional bubble bursting as the Full Moon rapidly rises to a peak and the Sun enters your sign the next day (this takes place from the 21st to the 22nd). Your attention may rush to one particular relationship that has been the source of concern most of this year. Yet this is a matter of figure and ground. One situation involving one person may seem to be the issue, though what is troubling you is really coming from the background. It’s all the stuff that you’re distracted from; the social environment around the relationship; the dynamics that form when you go from a one-on-one situation to a group situation. Pay attention to the different ways you and others speak and act when you’re in a group environment rather than with an individual. That will provide the missing clue that you’ve been looking for. — James 5:12
Dear Friend and Reader: While I am working on the Trust Yourself readings, I thought I would share a bit from the rich territory I’m exploring through the astrology of the next six months, and how it relates to the problems of living our lives in the digital environment. The readings are coming along. Once I get started, I get going, and I’ll update clients on the ETA soon. This is one of those long-haul projects (14 recordings at about 45 minutes each) and I am settling in for the journey. Later in this article, I’ll offer an overview of the big charts I’m working with, the ones that describe the territory as we emerge from the year of Somewhere In Between. In choosing that idea for the 2024 annual readings, I was (and am) describing a transitional year between two major phases of personal and collective history. If you recall, the first half of 2024 included the total solar eclipse conjunct Chiron in Aries; the second ingress of Pluto into Aquarius; and the entry of Jupiter and Sedna into Gemini. We could measure this next transition by Pluto, now in its final stage of moving from Capricorn (where it arrived in 2008), into Aquarius (where it will be until 2044). This is our reminder that we are past the point of digital no return. I’m not here to be pessimistic. If I speak, it’s to the human soul within you, still self-aware, still growing and learning — and perhaps wondering what has happened. Cancer (June 21-July 22) — If you’re hurting emotionally, it’s likely that something from the distant past has bubbled to the surface. It may involve your relationship to your father, or some other male authority figure. These individuals — for whom various surrogates may be making cameo appearances — will be described by their wounded creativity, which manifests as trying to control everyone and everything. On the other side of what is commonly called ‘toxic masculinity’ is a sense of injury, suffering and compromise. Maybe offer a shoulder massage; everyone will feel better. The mirror lesson is to honor your own need to express who you are without compromise. You may fear that others are going to lunge at you if you do so, and this is precisely what you might want to outgrow: compromising yourself so that you don’t make others insecure. Their insecurity has nothing to do with you; your confidence is not about them. Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — An old emotional injury or blow to your pride may surface over the next few days, and this is your time to address the matter in a conscious way. If you’re aware of your feelings and your sense of hurt, you can also consider what healing or reconciliation with yourself looks like. The key to resolving the situation is keeping your awareness focused rather than fogging out. The thing missing in the equation is likely to be you. So you can ask yourself questions such as, “How would this be different if I felt like I actually existed?” And, “Where have I been all this time?” Or, “Why do I feel like nobody sees or acknowledges me?” If asked sincerely, these questions have answers, though they will not be the ones you expect. If you’re looking for sources of crisis in your family, for example, the usual myths and legends may blame the wrong person. Blaming anyone at all is the likely source of upset. This is a scenario calling for empathy and forgiveness. Dear Friend and Reader: The Pluto return of the United States was big news four years ago, then it seems everyone forgot about it. A ‘return’ is when a planet comes back to its natal position. It’s often used for the Sun (solar return) or the Moon (lunar return), neither of which I’ve found to be impressive. Most people reading have experienced their Saturn return at age 29 or so, and that one almost always gets a result. The Chiron return happens at age 50 to 51 and that is difficult to miss. At both the Saturn and Chiron returns, there can be various shades of reset, upheaval, transition and transformation. These will all differ from person to person, though there are some common themes. The return of a slow-moving planet is about starting a whole new phase of life. We’ve all experienced this, for better or worse. Very few people or things live to 248 years old, the time that it takes Pluto (really, the marvelous six-planet cluster we call Pluto) to go around the Sun once. The United States is about to have that distinction, being at its Pluto return. But 248 years is quite a while, and for a diversity of reasons, a return of this magnitude can stretch out over many years. However, Thursday, July 4, 2024 is the official 248th anniversary of the colonies declaring themselves states independent of the British monarchy: Independence Day. So we’ve finally arrived. The U.S. Pluto return is upon us. Let’s get a bit of stellar technical stuff out of the way. The U.S natal Pluto is located at 27 degrees of Capricorn and 33 minutes, its tropical position on July 4, 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was allegedly signed. Tropical means the usual Western zodiac. Pluto first returned to that position on Feb. 20, 2022, short of the 246th anniversary of the Declaration. How is that possible, if Pluto’s orbit is 248 years? The answer is that the tropical zodiac is gradually moving against the backdrop of the stars (called the sidereal zodiac). You are familiar with this bit from the ‘your zodiac sign has changed’ hoax. Such movement is called precession. At the rate of about one degree every 70 years, in 248 years you get a bit over three degrees to adjust for. Hence Pluto’s position in the 248th solar return of the United States is one degree and change Aquarius — if you factor for precession. Cancer (June 21-July 22) — If you’re getting the feeling that everyone suddenly thinks you’re their mother, you’re not dreaming. They may be so convinced that you even fall for it. The whole planet is in a severe empathy crisis right now, and somehow you still have plenty. But you won’t if you’re getting drawn into various family and social upheavals that have little or nothing to do with you. You might try a walking meditation as you move through your day. Any time you encounter someone (other than potentially an actual son or daughter), whether you already know them or not, quietly say to yourself, “This person is not my child.” That at least will remind you that you’re aware where you stand. You may choose to be helpful or supportive, though it would best be on terms other than parental. When someone shows up demonstrating the properties of an adult, that’s a sign you may want to stick around. Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — Pressure from business or financial commitments is likely to be relaxing a little, and this will also influence close partners to take a deep breath. It’s been difficult to avoid thinking about the worst possible consequences, and you now have time to work out a particular challenge well before you lose your grip. But don’t expect any lingering problem to solve itself. Get to the actual roots of the matter and it will be easier to see what to do. Other factors suggest that you’ve figured out how much you’re influenced by your emotional state lingering in the past, which could manifest as ‘not knowing how you feel’. You may be avoiding admitting your real opinion so you don’t speak up and offend anyone. But you cannot hide from yourself, and the thing that may set you free is opening up to people around you about what you really want. This will have the added benefit of reminding you, too. Dear Friend and Reader: Today I have your July monthly extended reading. I’ve included a new STARCAST describing the primary feature in the chart — the early Capricorn constellation that is now at a right angle to the lunar nodes. I covered this in depth two weeks ago. The nodes in Aries-Libra describe a situation were intimate personal relationships are teetering on the effects of large forces of society. Those, in turn, are fed by unresolved family matters. We know about this from various sources, whether therapy or the work of psychological theorists such as Wilhelm Reich (and many others). In our times, we take for granted that public policy is going to be directed at the most intimate affairs of our private lives. We take for granted that personal problems are really the fault of society, and that the way to resolve them is with laws, rules, the acts of various government agencies, and so on. We are accustomed to projecting our most intimate experiences into the “news” and into the streets. That means we face the challenge of keeping the personal personal. And with this structure standing as it is, there will be many opportunities to confront or engage with this. Also in STARCAST, I describe a similar situation with a potential food crisis, and the crisis of not being able to tell what is real and what is not, leading to the condition of not feeling real ourselves. Real begins with you — remember. — efc Cancer (June 21-July 22) — You may have the sense that people feel unusually strongly about you these days, which may make you uncomfortable. You don’t need intense opinions coming at you in your ordinary day-to-day activities, or from your circle of friends. Fortunately, you are in possession of something rare to find in our era, which is social graces. And one of those is knowing when and when not to take things personally. Most people feel like they’re hanging on hooks right now, stretched and pulled in too many directions. They are struggling to find compassion for themselves, much less for others — and you’re an easy source of kindness. Yet you’re also something of a lightning rod, because comparatively speaking, you have a strong sense of your own direction and authority over your affairs. You make things that are very difficult for others seem easier than they are. The delicate message of your chart is to make sure you don’t avoid certain kinds of people just because they might test you. For example, if you’re running out of patience for one of the sexes (i.e., men or women), consider going toward them instead of away from them. Explore polarity with a sense of play and curiosity. The thing that’s sensible to skip over is social drama, which could fly in abundance early in the month. When encounters cease to be fun, that’s the time to go in another direction. Lessons in forming wholesome emotional bonds will manifest frequently. Remember that you’re the one who is making the choices for yourself — though others may try. Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — To have what you want, it will help if you identify what you don’t want. That said, eliminating what you don’t desire, do not need or that is in any way aggravating, stands as its own purpose. Most of us live in an overwhelmed state, and eliminating unnecessary and unhelpful influences is one of the most important exercises in choice. It may be the most relevant in our time, and many are waking up to the need to reduce. There is something that I think is more significant — the ability to tell where you are and to identify the properties of your environment at any time. This is called situational awareness. Martial arts teachers love to talk about it, because it’s so important. The more situationally aware you are, the less likely you are to do a roundhouse kick and take out five adversaries. Therefore, walk around life sniffing the air and asking yourself, ok, so what’s going on here? Who are these people? What are they doing? However, the more significant matter is your inner environment and awareness of your mental and emotional situation. Every day, your relationship to existence changes a little; and every morning I suggest you check in with what it is. Your relationship to yourself evolves and changes — as steady as your outer personality may be, your inner weather is in constant flux. Dear Friend and Reader: — two high-energy events that will coincide within one day. In this article, I comment from a few angles, though I want to start with some immediacy: this combination will send some vibrations through consciousness. Take it easy. Not everyone is going to respond to it well. Others may feel exuberant, energized, extra witchy, extra sexy or just inclined to stay up super-late. This is a moment of revelation, however modest. Our upcoming solar-lunar opposition is the first of two Full Moons in Capricorn. The second happens in the very last degree, closely conjunct Pluto July 21, just before the Sun enters Leo. We live in a moment when it seems everything has been turned inside-out, with nothing left to be revealed. Everyone knows everything about everything and every one. There is no news; nothing that happens is new. All events in the public realm are either recycled or never seem to end. What we saw in 2020 was unusually strange, but was comprised of many bits and bobs swept together from past precedent and meticulous planning. If this were all a movie, few would be interested — and people are losing interest in life as a result. Yet this is the result of disconnection, which manifests as malaise, ennui, isolation, and the feeling of being invisible — induced or greatly enhanced by digital conditions. It’s true that random chance must enter at least some of the many scenarios we see playing out in the world around us. Not everything goes according to the planners’ design (operation ‘covid’ did not). Yet with the kinds of staged events we live through and witness in the public realm, it seems difficult to notice anything that happens spontaneously. Even something so wholesome as a ship knocking down a bridge has to include missing critical minutes on the safety data recorder. Cancer (June 21-July 22) — The Sun has entered your sign, bringing Mercury and Venus with it. This describes you in possession of your feelings, your state of mind and your ability to express yourself. Other factors, such as Mars moving through your second home, Taurus, are inviting you to be bold and come on strong. You’re likely to find this works well in social environments, where you can enjoy having your options open. There is more to life than having fun. Yet you tend to overdo the responsibility end of life, and would thrive on placing much more emphasis on pleasure and celebration. There will still be plenty of work to do. You still are driven to accomplish important goals that go past your own personal idea of success. Practice giving yourself lots of space to be yourself, feel your desires and taste the life that you want. You can afford to; you’re unlikely ever to lose sight of your true priorities. Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — You have the power to grant wishes. And there are a few people who could benefit from what you have to offer. So tune in carefully, listen to what people say, and choose where you might intervene. Never assert your will on another person. Allow people to guide your use of resources — as long as you keep your pulse on whether any harm is possible. That is the only time when it’s safe to offer yourself to a situation. Involve yourself with people who have proven to you that they have durable ethics, and stand by them. That said, you now have the power to do a lot of good, and most of it will come from being a kind of social facilitator. You are currently at the center of your world, you have earned the benefits that are coming to you, and people will see you as a beacon within their less hopeful situations. That alone will be enough to be helpful. Dear Friend and Reader: Mad Men in my view rises to the level of art and social documentary. One thing I love about it is that it offers a behind-the-scenes account of the 1960s not shown larger-than-life on the pages of LIFE, but from the viewpoint of people working in the advertising industry. In one seemingly minor but revealing scene, Sally Draper (the young daughter of protagonist Don Draper) is speaking with her evil step-grandmother, who one night tells a story from when she was a child. Her father kicked her, sending her flying across the room, and asked her, “You know what that was for?” There is a pause. He says to her, “Nothing,” adding that there is more to come. Sally, age11 or so, is dumbfounded. It’s obvious this was abuse for its own sake. She learns something about where her deranged, paranoid step-grandma is coming from. And we learn something about the ragged mess that all of their personal lives are, in total. Their crisis stems from the neglect and aggression directed at children, most of whom cannot but become like their parents because it’s how they’ve been emotionally imprinted (or crippled), and it’s all they know. But this whole field of experience is still shrouded in taboo, and the problems go on generation after generation. And often they are stalked by problems with alcohol consumption. Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Over the next week, you may experience a series of personal revelations that cast away your obsession with self-limitation. Your doubts and your focus on self-preservation will be overwhelmed by these developments, and I suggest you enjoy every moment of this process. Not only that, align yourself with the idea that learning is the discovery that something is possible. Once you actually witness, feel and embrace the truth of a possibility, you will have no need to bind yourself to small ideas, such as the notion that your most important goal is survival. Yes, that is a foundational priority, but you’ve evolved to the point where you know how to do that as second nature and can invest in your dreams. Assert your desires; be bold about who you are. You are being invited to test your reality and prove to yourself that you can live fully and freely. Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — Learn to see yourself as a source of benefit for others. It’s true; you are connected to influential people, you have wisdom, and you’ve built up some unusual resources in your time on Earth. The central role of Sun-ruled Leo is to hold the solar system together. You have your resources to use lovingly and creatively. They are not for your benefit alone: you are a conduit, and the more you allow yourself to provide this function, the more energy you will be able to carry. Therefore, solve any problem you can. If you know someone who can be helped by someone else you know, contact them. You are safe doing these things as long as you take responsibility for the outcome. That means knowing exactly what you’re doing, and asking inwardly whether this serves the greatest good for all concerned. Let those words be the code that you live by. Dear Friend and Reader:The Awa introduces the events of 2025 and catches up on the astrology leading to them. This eBook is the “reference reading” for The Awakening readings and is delivered now with any pre-order.
Where are we headed?
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Planet Waves Weekly for Nov. 14, 2024 by Eric Francis
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The View from Physical Plane
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Planet Waves Weekly for Nov. 7, 2024 by Eric Francis
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Scorpio New Moon, Samhain, the Ancestors and a Spooky Election
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Planet Waves Weekly for Oct. 31, 2024 by Eric Francis
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Monthly Horoscope for November and Scorpio — Looking up from The Awakening
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Planet Waves Monthly for November by Eric Francis
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Follow-up to the Aries Full Moon
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Planet Waves Weekly for Oct. 17 by Eric Francis.
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Of the Perfect Storm
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Planet Waves Weekly for Oct. 10 by Eric Francis.
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Easter Island and the Annular Eclipse Conjunct Makemake
The ‘News’ Has Been Disturbing
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Planet Waves Weekly for Oct. 3 by Eric Francis.
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A Word About Next Week’s Eclipse in Libra
Planet Waves Monthly for October by Eric Francis.
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Equinox: Equal Night, Equal Day, Galactic Cluster
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Planet Waves Weekly for Sep. 19, 2024 by Eric Francis. Note, the past two weeks were misdated. I have corrected that. —efc
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — If you’re facing any kind of challenge or puzzle, there is an easy way through it. The main issue you face is deciphering what is true from what is not. The Sun moving past Neptune in your opposite sign Pisces is making it difficult to discern what is real from what is not. This is really all that matters. Neptune is the planet of confusion, and there is no such thing as “a little” of this. Any at all can obscure the big picture, and block you from what is real. To discern this, you would need to care about the difference, and that’s not really a thing these days. But it must be for you, and the first place you must be real and absolutely, scrupulously honest is with yourself. You might be worried about what you will discover — and that fear can be a potent source of confusion that (again) obscures all of reality.Subscribers May Read All 12 Signs Here
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The Essential Questions of Virgo
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Planet Waves Weekly for Sep. 12, 2024 by Eric Francis
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Look out the window. What do you see? Go outside and walk around a little. What do you feel? You are a child of the Earth. But Virgo has a strange affinity to technology, which can hold you like a spell and divide you from the natural world. The thing about Virgo is that it stands halfway between a forest and a computer: from 17th century books, we know that mostly it represents agriculture and dairy production. Those are powerful technologies that helped humanity “conquer” nature. Your challenge at the moment is, in a sense, to take over your own nature and focus your efforts on rebuilding your career in a way that is suitable for the digital age. It will resemble inventing something like a dairy farm that gathers the energy of nature and concentrates it into something that can feed you dependably.Subscribers May Read All 12 Signs Here
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The Chiron Factor, Part One
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Planet Waves Weekly for Sep. 5, 2024 by Eric Francis
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — You have big goals, though it would be better to have one and one only. Don’t worry about what you “might not do” if you focus on a primary objective. Pay attention to what you want to accomplish, and plenty will come along for the ride. The theme of Jupiter in Gemini (your fellow mutable sign, and your house of reputation and achievement) is about bringing your various skillsets and careers together into one integrated whole. Virgo always has two careers, and your mission is to weave these hemispheres into one thing known as yourself. We are living in times that demand mastery of many different tools, and knowing how to use them. One of them is the skill of pattern recognition, which is about noticing what is there rather than projecting your views onto something. Step back, give it some time, and you will see the configurations.Subscribers May Read All 12 Signs Here
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Pavel Durov Arrest Chart Does Not Compute
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Planet Waves Weekly for Aug. 29, 2024 by Eric Francis
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — The forthcoming New Moon in your birth sign (on Sept. 2) is reminding you to take it easier on yourself. Give yourself more room to maneuver. It looks like you’ve defined a too-narrow space for yourself to do the things you want to do. You’ve also been chasing the truth in circles, and this has burned a lot of energy. If you relax a little and let the story of your life unfold, a number of mysteries will reveal their truths without you having to do very much. Mostly, spread out a little. Space is intelligence. Most people cram themselves into a kind of mental funnel. This is not going to work for you. You need room to breathe and room to grow. That means the space to think in different ways — which may represent physical space. Explore your world until you find a couple of physical environments that inspire you to think in different ways. Roam around the world alone for a whole day and see what you learn. Then do it again.Subscribers May Read All 12 Signs Here
Subscribers May Read All 12 Signs Here
Sun Enters Virgo
Grow What Feeds You. Eat What Nourishes You.Subscribers continue reading here.
Planet Waves Monthly for September 2024 by Eric Francis
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Planet Waves Weekly for Aug. 15, 2024 by Eric Francis
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Planet Waves Weekly for Aug. 8, 2024 by Eric Francis
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Planet Waves Weekly for Aug. 1, 2024 by Eric Francis
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― Marshall McLuhan
The New American Revolution
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Planet Waves Monthly for August, 2024 by Eric Francis
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The Second Consecutive Capricorn Full Moon (and the Secret Committee of Men Who Run the World)
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Planet Waves Weekly for July 18, 2024 by Eric Francis
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What Do You Mean, ‘Yourself’?
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Planet Waves Weekly for July 11, 2024 by Eric Francis
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U.S. Pluto Return is Just Beginning
A Small Technical Matter: Precession
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Planet Waves Weekly for July 4, 2024 by Eric Francis
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Astrology Note to Readers: Capricorn Group Square the Nodes
Planet Waves Monthly for July, 2024 by Eric Francis
Cancer Astrology Studio 2024-25 is now available for instant access.
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Quest for Humanity: Solstice into the 1st Capricorn Full Moon
Events, Recycled or Endless
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Planet Waves Weekly for June 20, 2024 by Eric Francis
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The Family Hunger Game, Part One
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Planet Waves Weekly for June 13, 2024 by Eric Francis
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We Need a Word For It
I checked the book this morning and I don’t think there’s a word for what Thursday’s New Moon describes, though. Today at about 8:38 am, there was a conjunction between the Moon, Venus and the Sun in Gemini.
Artemis in her expression as Luna passed between the Earth and the Sun (the New Moon), just as Venus passed behind the Sun, forming what is called the exterior or superior conjunction. (The interior or inferior conjunction happens when Venus passes between the Earth and the Sun.)
For this event, the Sun in (theoretically) masculine Gemini was soaked in feminine energy — what you might think of as the solar feminine. Really, Gemini in any form is bivalent, whether it represents the brothers, the sisters or the lovers.
Whatever manifests in Gemini will multiply, and also insinuate its opposite. When Venus is involved, we have sensory input, and psychic sensitivity perched on the imaginary line between the mind and the feelings.
The word I’m looking for is something akin to “emotional intelligence,” however, that means many things to many people. I may end up coming back to this concept in some form, since it deserves some clarification and could be a useful concept.
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Planet Waves Weekly for June 6, 2024 by Eric Francis
Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Thursday’s glorious New Moon in Gemini is an invitation to far greater possibilities than you’ve considered at any time recently. A shadow that has lingered over your consciousness for quite a while — potentially for years — has been dispelled by the light. So much that seemed to bind you to irrational fears has given way to a sense of what you want for yourself. However, though anything is possible, align yourself with what you truly desire the most. This is calling for an evaluation: a true self-inquiry into what you both desire and need at this time in your growth. Do not judge on the basis of the past. Start with exactly where you are right now, and let that be the point of orientation. You can get anywhere from here, as long as you know exactly where ‘here’ is. Open your eyes and look around. Check the calendar. Check your map.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) — The Sun’s movement through late Gemini can set you on edge, though at the moment that can be the edge of your imagination. To really dream is to allow yourself to be pushed out of your comfort zone. Currently it’s as if your interior space is filling up with energy, to the point where you feel you may burst. You will not; you have plenty of strength and can allow yourself to stretch. Allow yourself to accept — even if it’s only for a moment here, and a moment there — that anything is possible. Accept that you can set yourself free from the ideas that constrain you — one of which is that survival is your primary goal. You are free to have that thought, and it certainly can rule your mind. Yet if you allow that, then survival is what you will get. Open up to the possibilities: they are real and they are abundant.
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Mars Conjunct Chiron & ‘Toxic Masculinity’
Dear Friend and Reader:
TODAY, OUR NEARBY PLANETARY neighbor Mars is aligned with Chiron, the holistic planet of healing. The Mars-Chiron conjunction happens about once every two years, so while it occurs regularly, it’s a meaningful aspect.This time around, it’s happening in Aries. This is the third of three Mars-Chiron conjunctions while Chiron is in Aries (approximately 2018 through approximately 2025). Other factors are ramping up the significance of today’s meeting, including Chiron and Eris about to make their extremely rare conjunction in 2025.
Mars is typically associated with attributes of maleness, which are under extreme duress here in our polarized moment, infused with gender rage. But everyone has Mars in their chart and in their psyche. You get the choice whether to own it, or project it onto others.
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Planet Waves Weekly for May 30, 2024 by Eric Francis
Gemini (May 20-June 21) — You have a special — or rather, distinct — mission in the lives of certain people around you, though it’s best not to think too much about it. The essence is that these days, you’re serving as a catalyst for healing. And that’s especially strong right now, which may account for any strange reactions that you’re getting from certain people. It’s vitally important that you not push any issues, or strive for any results. Under the current astrology, you have more impact than you think, and it can be piercing. This is why it will help to let your presence do most of the work, speak in a calm tone of voice, and strive to do no harm. You may serve as a catalyst but you don’t need to push it. Your superpowers of thought, language and imagery are at their best.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) — It may seem as if the lights have come on deep within your mind, revealing just how far the interior of your consciousness extends. However, here is one secret to understanding your birth sign or rising sign: in that space of inner awareness, there are many forms of mirrors facing into one another. No other sign has this property, and if you meditate on this idea, it may help you figure out why you had certain experiences, or perceived yourself in the ways that you did. The mirror effect is not merely an illusion. It’s a form of self-awareness (potentially the origin of self-conscious thought), though it’s much more helpful if you know that you’re experiencing reflections and not seeing “someone else” or “some other situation.” For a while, take the bold step of fully owning the contents of your mind and your feelings. It presents definite challenges (it’s not easy), but you have the opportunity to learn something that might only happen once in many lifetimes.
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Planet Waves Monthly for June 2024 by Eric Francis
Gemini (May 20-June 21) — For the first time since mid-2012, Jupiter is about to return to your birth sign. This will last a year. Not only that, Jupiter arrives with Venus, and recently (as you may know) the small, strange, and meaningful planet Sedna arrived in your sign for the first time in 11,400 years. And while we are at it, so too did the comet (now classified as a Chiron-like centaur planet) Oterma, named for its discoverer — the first Finnish woman to earn a Ph.D. in astronomy. These minor planets might be subtle influences on an ordinary day, but when they are joined by the giant Jupiter and sensitive, gift-bearing Venus, you know something special is going on. There is a positive message here for everyone, though a special message for you. And that is to put your faith in the unlikely, the unseen and the unknown. In times of crisis, people tend to stick to what is familiar to them, to existing expectations and what they had in the past. These aspects describe a new life dawning for you, with possibilities you’ve never dreamed of. Yet you must stay tuned to your subtle senses and your inner being. The information you need to navigate this new territory will not appear on an app. I recognize that in 2024, “subtle senses and inner being” verges on meaningless for most people, but it cannot be for you. Yet to experience these things involves entering (or re-entering) human territory that has been rendered wholly unfamiliar and invisible by the digital environment. And you are being given tools to find your way into yourself. There and only there is where the real information is.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) — If change comes from within, you’re in the process of experiencing the dawning of a new world — and a newfound sense of purpose. Your mind is becoming a different place, with different properties and facets of awareness you’ve never noticed. Think of it as an expansion of the range of your senses, though not the normal ones. I’m doing my best to describe inner senses, and inner awareness, in a world where these aspects of consciousness have become difficult for nearly everyone to access; and impossible or unheard of for most others. Yet you are being granted access to your full spectrum of introspection and intuition. A portal is opening into what Jung called your “individual unconscious,” which in turn opens to the collective unconscious — a realm we all share and that few notice. Here is the challenge: this may, for some, be overwhelming. Some may think this is amazing and beautiful; for others it will be too much pressure. So part of your challenge is learning where the valve is; which is to say, learning how to decrease the flow. That, and learning how to process the information. At this time above many others, avoiding or eliminating mood-altering substances is important. This applies equally to those with Cancer rising and the Moon in Cancer. It will be challenging enough sorting out what is real from what is not; what is true from what is false; what material is yours and what belongs to others. There has never (and I use that word cautiously) been a time when self-awareness in inner reflexiveness was more vital than now.
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The Second Awakening
At SUNY Purchase earlier this week, I gave a talk on the history of student organizing in New York State, and how students got the SUNY system to divest from the South African apartheid government in 1985. It’s more interesting than you may think.
Dear Friend and Reader:
FOR THOSE WONDERING why I’m jumping up and down at the awakening happening on campuses, it’s not just nostalgia. Anyone calling for peace and objecting to war deserves to be listened to. Every day, student protesters are making certain important matters of our time a little more accessible to common thought and speech.Many people are looking around these days for portents of awakening. Students rumbling to life and opposing war is written in my soul as a signpost to a better future. Students are supposed to be intelligent. Unless we’ve given up entirely on the notion that the university is a place where smart people come to learn rather than just go into debt, we now have a little evidence that may actually be true.
I realize not everyone agrees that the purpose of education is to rebel in some way. Most are happy with the indoctrination model. However, I would put that to you as a question. What is learning, except for a revolt against the incorrect or the unknown — which is quest for experience to establish new knowledge. It doesn’t always look like what normally happens in a lecture hall.
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Planet Waves Weekly for May 16, 2024 by Eric Francis
Taurus (April 19-May 20) — While some signs are famous for their spendthrift qualities (Aquarius, for example), Taurus is (or should be) famous for not spending enough to get the job done. I’m not talking about wasting money but rather having the right budget to get the result that you want. Planets are now collecting in Gemini, which is your money house. The presence of Gemini here suggests that you are often split in your priorities about what you want to do, and that you may hold out for secret alternative plans for which you want to be ready. I suggest you get those out of the way and proceed with one plan for one goal that you want to attain. I think you have enough financial resources to make it happen. Many things don’t require money and can go a long way on talent and the products of your luminous, overactive mind. Settle down and pluck the gems from the stream of your ideas. Feel good about the possibilities you have, and remember that every substitute is a poor substitute.
Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Your life is changing in many ways, and one example is how your social circle is rearranging itself. There is one thing you don’t like, which is to be unpopular. However, this sometimes keeps you from being real. You are excellent at gliding along the surface of social interactions and you know when to do your disappearing act. However, current aspects and placements are urging you to be somewhat more self-assertive and take the risk of pissing people off — not for its own sake, but because “polite company” is no excuse for you not to be real. Thankfully you have an excellent sense of humor and retain your persuasive charisma nearly all the time. So you more than most people can afford to be a little gritty and sand the varnish off of things that you can see and that other people find aggravating. One role of those born under your sign is to speak for the collective, which is not something you need to do consciously. Rather, you seem to open your mouth and randomly blurt out what everyone already knows but is afraid to utter.
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Of Sophomores and Storm Troopers
Dear Friend and Reader:
MARS IS NOW IN ARIES, which has been the scene of so much drama the past few months. The total solar eclipse conjunct Chiron of April 8 (just over a month ago), and the recent Mercury retrograde in Aries have stirred and awakened the natives.Mercury’s retrograde path has involved three conjunctions to Chiron, and three to Eris (the last one is coming up). This astrology burns hot with awakening, to the degree where either one must act on it or go deeper into sleep.
The April 8 total solar eclipse conjunct self-actualizing hyper-aware Chiron, witnessed by millions, certainly seems to have shocked some people into their senses.
And now Mars has arrived and is about to trace all those steps. It will soon cross the North Node, the eclipse degree, and then Chiron, and then Eris — pushing the issues with greater focus. We are seeing a response in the outer world as the protests and mass arrests. Yet for any of this to really matter, it must be internalized. The lesson must go inward rather than just being acted outward.
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Planet Waves Weekly for May 9, 2024 by Eric Francis
Aries (March 20-April 19) — Mars in your sign is serving as a confidence-building exercise. How that might develop is being shown all the ways that you fall short on faith in yourself and in your abilities. You might have missed these otherwise, as you do a great job of faking it when you have to. You will feel a lot better when you can connect to your core trust in yourself and what you’re capable of, as this will clear away several sources of anxiety that only get in your way. Yet you will feel like you’re flying into a head wind for a while, as over the next couple of weeks, Mars in your sign makes conjunctions to the North Node, Chiron and Eris, each of which contains much personal information about your relationship to yourself. Rise to each challenge cheerfully and with the willingness to learn, and you will be shown all that you need to know.
Taurus (April 19-May 20) — Venus traveling through your sign wants to think that everything is just right and good enough — the ultimate goal of any Taurus. However, you’re about to have one of your occasional shakeups and decide there is nothing you want more than change. So relax and enjoy the relative calm, and then don’t be surprised when you’re seized by an idea and the sudden impulse to make it happen. You’ve been working up to this ability for a while, and it must come as a great relief to discover that you’re capable of being spontaneous. True creative freedom with your own life requires the ability to do what you want when you want it — within the bounds of this world, or jumping over them somewhat. People around you will be happy to see that you’re giving yourself some room to play and explore. Do something for yourself, with yourself and nobody else — then next time maybe invite company.
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American Spring
Dear Friend and Reader:
FOR THE FIRST TIME in many years, antiwar protests have spread among college and university campuses in the United States. I don’t remember this happening in all the time I’ve been covering student activism in all of its forms since around 1983.In that era, there were anti-apartheid protests, though they were limited in scope and focused on specific targets like boards of trustees, who controlled where universities invested. This also worked with towns, cities, states and corporations.
And we are seeing them again — only being sold with a spin. Pres. Biden Thursday morning fully endorsed a crackdown against the “violent extremists pushing anti Semitism and foreign ideologies.”
Planet Waves has visited three of these protests, at Columbia University — the epicenter — as well as a state school called the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan, and at SUNY New Paltz, an upstate campus. This article contains reports from all three.
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Planet Waves Weekly for May 2, 2024 by Eric Francis
Aries (March 20-April 19) — Orient your psychic state around what you think people think of you and you’ll discover a formula for misery. State that in a succinct and original way, you can get a patent and make a lot of money. However, you’ve got something much better going on, which is a formula for true contentment. There are two facets: one is living with uncertainty, and the other is trusting yourself in the midst of movement and rapid change. You might think that self-trust is about believing everything you think. (That’s better for forming a cult.) Trusting yourself is like surfing or riding a skateboard: a constant, and verging on unconscious, process of adjusting your balance from instant to instant. Drift off and you can wash out; disconnect from your senses and you’ll wind up on the ground or in the water. Stay connected to yourself and you’ll discover how beautiful and how valuable you and your ideas are. To that end, one good question is worth far more than a thousand flimsy answers.
Taurus (April 19-May 20) — To find out how much of what shapes your character is an external idea imposed upon you, you’ll need to become something of a rebel. That merely means doing what you want because it’s what you want to do. Experimenting with small choices will teach you a lot: doing something interesting after work instead of going right home, or leaving the house early and meeting up with someone before your scheduled day gets started. These experiments can include feeling what you feel instead of stuffing it. You will know you’re succeeding when you get to the guilt barrier: that thorny, internal zone where you get caught in emotional brambles or barbed wire. You can turn back, or you can get the machete or bolt cutter out, chop and clip your way through, and find out what’s on the other side. Anyone who impregnated your mind with such a boundary didn’t want you to go in there, but it’s the only way to discover what you need to know.
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Sedna in Gemini: Frontier of a Question
Dear Friend and Reader:
WE ARE PAST THE TWO HISTORIC CONJUNCTIONS of April, the total eclipse conjunct Chiron in Aries; and the alignment of Jupiter and Uranus in Taurus. I’ve raised a ruckus about these events like no other, and today would like to return to events in the air signs.Because the events of April were conjunctions, they represented the beginnings of cycles, which will extend far into the future. There’s nothing like a widely visible solar eclipse conjunct a high-potency planet to say hello, you’re in new territory.
Now we get to discover what that’s about. On Sunday, the distant planet Sedna (discovered 2003) enters Gemini after being in Taurus since 1966.
Of the 1960s, The Eagles famously wrote, “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.” Except for people who carry the astrology of that era in their natal charts, the sign-change of Sedna is an important defining placement of the ‘60s finally giving way to the future
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Planet Waves Monthly for May by Eric Francis
Aries (March 20-April 19) — Proceed with the utmost care financially. A situation seems like it may be of great promise — and that could be true, yet your life is about much more. This is the time to stand back and understand your existence in the context of something much greater than yourself, and yet still keep sight of who you are becoming. That ‘who’ is unlike any other in the world for all eternity, though that’s more than most people are comfortable with. Allow this to be a time of discovering your profound and distinct truth, and give yourself permission to live for who you are in the time that you’re alive — a phase of history like no other. Any opportunity you see is not only likely to stick around for a while; the chances are your ability to take advantage of it will improve over the coming weeks and months, giving you plenty of time to assess your situation. Invest your time and energy into learning, discovery and reading the fine print. Get in the habit of being able to argue three sides of any position and you will do amazing.
Taurus (April 19-May 20) — Benefits of the extraordinary astrology of the past month are starting to arrive, timed beautifully with Venus arriving in your birth sign. Yet receiving them is calling on you to do something that’s usually challenging for you, which is to be a different person every day. I know it seems trite; we’ve all heard it from members of the Program and seen it on little plaques in souvenir shops: live one day at a time. This translates to several different skills, one of which is hanging loose. Going with the flow and scaling back your expectations are helpful approaches, though they tend to make you nervous. You might discover that’s about a form of make-believe control that only seemed to work for you in the past, but is wholly unsuited for your current ‘expect the unexpected’ moment. Life has been trying to get your attention this way for a while, and in hindsight you may discover that any time something went well, it was outside of your seeming control or influence. The one thing you can do as a conscious act is allow yourself to relax a little. You can take risks in the form of experimenting with things where the outcome is uncertain. You can accept that people will see you how they see you no matter how much work you put into your appearance. Control is not the problem; that’s like steering a car in traffic, maintaining the right speed and watching the road. The illusion of control is the problem you’re grappling with.
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Pin in Map: Jupiter Conjunct Uranus
Dear Friend and Reader:
I READ A WEEL AGO IN the New York Post’s astrology column (not its horoscope, they have both) that after the April 8 eclipse, the drama is not over — we still have the “even bigger” Jupiter-Uranus conjunction of April 20.Jupiter is pretty big and Uranus can shake a mountain. The conjunction between the two of them is a 13-year event, and it’s described in exuberant terms by Richard Tarnas in his book Prometheus the Awakener.
I don’t have the book (about Uranus) handy, but back when things meant something, Jupiter meeting up with Uranus in this way signified meetings between great people, creative and technological breakthroughs and spontaneous moments of revelation and discovery.
Today, you could discover the ultimate secret to the universe, get distracted, click on a cool-looking banner and forget what it was.
Pay attention to who you meet these days. Pay attention to what begins. Never sign your life away — leave room for the unexpected (Uranus) and for learning and growth (Jupiter). There is more to come.
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Planet Waves Weekly for April 11, 2024 by Eric Francis
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — You are getting a glimpse of your potential — both creative and financial, and for that matter, how much fun you can have succeeding in what you do. Yet you must consider yourself worthy of such good fortune, which is about more than the words you say; and more than your opinion. What you must cultivate is a core of existence — your life is your own. You determine the meaning of who you are and what you do. Only you can consent or compromise, and only you can claim yourself back from any prior agreement to do so. We might ask why this seems so challenging and complicated. The best answer I can give is that getting this straight involves grappling with issues at the center of physical existence: your autonomy and self-determination, and how you define your relationship to everything larger than yourself. Please make no mistake here: that is up to you, and if it has not been, make it so from this moment forward.
Aries (March 20-April 19) — Proceed with the utmost care financially. A situation seems like it may be of great promise — and that could be true, yet your life is about much more. This is the time to stand back and understand your existence in the context of something much greater than yourself, and yet still keep sight of who you are becoming. That ‘who’ is unlike any other in the world for all eternity, though that’s more than most people are comfortable with. Allow this to be a time of discovering your profound and distinct truth, and give yourself permission to live for who you are in the time that you’re alive — a phase of history like no other. Any opportunity you see is not only likely to stick around for a while; the chances are your ability to take advantage of it will improve over the coming weeks and months, giving you plenty of time to assess your situation. Invest your time and energy into learning, discovery and reading the fine print. Get in the habit of being able to argue three sides of any position and you will do amazing.
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Planet Waves Weekly for April 11, 2024 by Eric Francis
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — You are getting a glimpse of your potential — both creative and financial, and for that matter, how much fun you can have succeeding in what you do. Yet you must consider yourself worthy of such good fortune, which is about more than the words you say; and more than your opinion. What you must cultivate is a core of existence — your life is your own. You determine the meaning of who you are and what you do. Only you can consent or compromise, and only you can claim yourself back from any prior agreement to do so. We might ask why this seems so challenging and complicated. The best answer I can give is that getting this straight involves grappling with issues at the center of physical existence: your autonomy and self-determination, and how you define your relationship to everything larger than yourself. Please make no mistake here: that is up to you, and if it has not been, make it so from this moment forward.
Aries (March 20-April 19) — Proceed with the utmost care financially. A situation seems like it may be of great promise — and that could be true, yet your life is about much more. This is the time to stand back and understand your existence in the context of something much greater than yourself, and yet still keep sight of who you are becoming. That ‘who’ is unlike any other in the world for all eternity, though that’s more than most people are comfortable with. Allow this to be a time of discovering your profound and distinct truth, and give yourself permission to live for who you are in the time that you’re alive — a phase of history like no other. Any opportunity you see is not only likely to stick around for a while; the chances are your ability to take advantage of it will improve over the coming weeks and months, giving you plenty of time to assess your situation. Invest your time and energy into learning, discovery and reading the fine print. Get in the habit of being able to argue three sides of any position and you will do amazing.
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The Eye of the Centaur – 12 Readings + six special videos
The Eye of the Centaur – 2 Sign Bundle
Of Chiron, Eris and Monday’s Eclipse
Dear Friend and Reader:
MONDAY AFTERNOON, THE MOON WILL PASS directly under the Sun, casting a shadow on the Earth. There are many kinds of solar eclipses; total solar eclipses are somewhat rare. Monday is distinctive because the shadow will be cast across the United States. For about four minutes, day will turn to night.This is a total solar eclipse crossing a significant landmass in the continental U.S. for only the second time in history — and the path is through a much more populated region than the 2017 total solar eclipse in Leo (then called the Great American Eclipse). Many major cities are in the path of totality. The path will be much wider and the eclipse will last much longer.
This will be primal and maybe life-changing for those who see it: a direct experience of planetary life that cannot be dismissed as a psychological operation, a staged false-flag or computer-generated graphic. Something that nobody can control will happen.
For our era of history, that’s unusual. And people are flocking to it. Erie County, New York (home of Buffalo, population about 280,000) is expecting a million visitors and has made emergency plans. (Contrary to rumors, a state of emergency was not declared in advance. But officials there, and I’m sure elsewhere, are setting up emergency operations.)
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Planet Waves Weekly for April 4, 2024 by Eric Francis
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — You are getting a glimpse of your potential — both creative and financial, and for that matter, how much fun you can have succeeding in what you do. Yet you must consider yourself worthy of such good fortune, which is about more than the words you say; and more than your opinion. What you must cultivate is a core of existence — your life is your own. You determine the meaning of who you are and what you do. Only you can consent or compromise, and only you can claim yourself back from any prior agreement to do so. We might ask why this seems so challenging and complicated. The best answer I can give is that getting this straight involves grappling with issues at the center of physical existence: your autonomy and self-determination, and how you define your relationship to everything larger than yourself. Please make no mistake here: that is up to you, and if it has not been, make it so from this moment forward.
Aries (March 20-April 19) — Proceed with the utmost care financially. A situation seems like it may be of great promise — and that could be true, yet your life is about much more. This is the time to stand back and understand your existence in the context of something much greater than yourself, and yet still keep sight of who you are becoming. That ‘who’ is unlike any other in the world for all eternity, though that’s more than most people are comfortable with. Allow this to be a time of discovering your profound and distinct truth, and give yourself permission to live for who you are in the time that you’re alive — a phase of history like no other. Any opportunity you see is not only likely to stick around for a while; the chances are your ability to take advantage of it will improve over the coming weeks and months, giving you plenty of time to assess your situation. Invest your time and energy into learning, discovery and reading the fine print. Get in the habit of being able to argue three sides of any position and you will do amazing.
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Beyond the Tatters: The Springtime of Our Lives
Dear Friend and Reader:
I‘M NOT SURE HOW TO GET THROUGH THE COLLECTIVE AMNESIA of the past four years. I never really know how to speak to the trauma, collective and individual, that was inflicted on us.I’m not sure I want to be the one who adds up the costs we have all paid, the love lost, the terror of ourselves and one another inflicted, and the trust squandered. The children told they would kill their grandparents. Relatives excluded from the holiday table, or the family itself. And the general disruption of relationships and tradition that has the mark of an invading army, determined to conquer society.
Consider how many people today say they have no friends, and how many only have friends in remote cities they keep in touch with via the internet.
Consider the people who have observed the many signs that we’ve experienced something planned, scripted and orchestrated, but who won’t let themselves believe that it was anything other than unfortunate random events.
Were we not still dragging all of this stuff around, the astrology of April would be more meaningful — and to you, it may be. I am reluctant to hype this event and to raise expectations.
But I’ve never seen anything quite like these events, and this is the most interesting eclipse I’ve seen since the one on Aug. 11, 1999 (my first article about this was called Thinking of You on Judgment Day. Yet instead of “the great king of terror” coming from the sky (as Nostradamus predicted, apparently referencing the Cassini mission to Saturn), we will meet the teacher of healing himself, Chiron.
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Planet Waves Monthly for April, 2024 by Eric Francis
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Accomplish by creativity, stealth and shapeshifting what you cannot do by force. To that end, proceed slowly and gently, and pay close attention to your surroundings. Make yourself noticeable in only the ways you want to be noticed; practice selective dispensing of information. Spin everything consciously to create the image that will be useful to you, and gently work your way through resistance and obstacles. Persistence rather than aggression is your friend. Translate feelings of impatience into something tangible, which are the series of steps you will need to take to get from where you are today to where you want to be. The worst judgments are your own self-judgments; this is not easy to master in a world that seems to deal out harsh opinions on a moment-to-moment basis, though they cannot stick to you if you do not agree. The unusual sequence of events that span the incomparable month of April 2024 take you through some strange inner territory as the world goes through its upheavals. Whatever your outer circumstances may be, how you regard yourself is the defining factor in nearly any outcome. The concept of “enemy” really means “inner persecutor.” At the moment you’re going through a profound rite of passage in the realm of experience known today as self-respect or self-esteem. This involves understanding all facets of the value that you put upon yourself. There will be problems that money can solve, and I suggest you resist the temptation to take that approach. Stick to what is right and true.
Aries (March 20-April 19) — It’s not merely that this will be one of the most unusual months of your life so far. Rather, you are entering a phase of existence – lasting years – that will stand apart from anything you’ve experienced before. Yet despite the extraordinary astrology, the message of your charts is about doing the work of self-actualization. This concept is all but omitted from the world, except for my going on about it. If you are in any way struggling, the question is: are you being real with yourself? Related questions include: are you being true to your healing process? Do you compromise your values because you’re in a relationship with another person? The simplest way to describe self-actualization is to recognize that your relationship to yourself is your one and only priority in this world. The condition of other relationships are expressions of your commitment to your own being. It may seem like something else is true — and I would say that all of that “something else” is a distraction from your core mission. This is not about being narcissistic or egocentric. Those things deny the existence of others, and the various roles that you serve for people and that they serve for you. Yet you must have a point of orientation from which you can define “self” and “other.” If you find this difficult, take solace that many are in your situation. Very few take action, which means to actualize, which means making decisions based on honest perception. And that is the theme of the moment.
Amazing. Audio-visual beautifully composed. Looking forward to delving in further and sharing with others.
Namaste from India,
I am Dinesh Sharma and I am a professional astrologer, practising in Vedic Astrology since last twenty six years ……… I am always looking for similar people and I always try to know new things ……. I am very happy to see your work here ….. Best wishes for more success and escalated heights ……..
Regards,
Dinesh Sharma
Eric – what is THE best way to communicate with you? The Leo reading cuts off with about 8 pages of the transcript left out of the recording – is this just the way it goes… ie; is there a limit to the recording length? On another topic, can I share your COVID info, which is SO rich and vital on social media? many thanks, in advance, for your answers, Karen
Hi Karen,
You can try the phone at Eric’s office: 845-481-5616
Also Eric’s email: efc@planetwaves.net
thank you!