My desk in Paris in early 2006, a little while after I finished the Parallel Worlds annual edition. Photo by Eric.
Every annual edition of Planet Waves has a distinct feeling. I’ve spent every late autumn and early winter doing the project since 1998. It entirely dominates this time of year for me, I love doing it, and it’s a real challenge to do that many readings in that short of a time. Eventually in the course of every project a world opens up, and in that world your interpretations are created, and the articles are gathered.
In the spirit of Planet Waves, the annual edition is a bridge between our most personal subject matter — the nuances of psychology, healing, growth, relationships — and the events of the world. The annuals are designed to be reference points, reminding us of where we are and, as we look back, where we’ve been. For me each of these editions is connected to a place — early ones in the New York area, then the West Coast, then two in Paris and one in Brussels (with some parts done in the north of France) — and then the past five in upstate New York.
Winter solstice is always a concentrated time of year, with many events shaping the story of the planet and everyone’s lives surging forward or in some direction anyway, so each edition is infused with this sensation as well. For many years I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with other artists and writers to create something diverse and visually beautiful. Two of my favorite visual editions over the years were Parallel Worlds, the 2006 edition (written during my last months living in Paris). Then there was Small World Stories, which I wrote the first winter I was back in the New York area after nine years away, and the year that Chelsea’s son Eli was born. By the way, on the homepage of Small World Stories you’ll see links back to all the prior annual editions.
For some reason (not just the size and scope) the annual is always a challenging project, the more so as Planet Waves’ various publishing operations become more complex. That’s not it though. As I focus more attention on the personal astrology section, those are more time and thought to create but all the years seem about equivalent that way. It’s something else, I think. I often feel like that in doing the readings I’m moving a whole lot of karma, clearing the way ahead and providing an interpretation of the aspects that opens up a kind of psychic field where we can make better use of them, or deal with the challenging ones more easily.
No matter how long of a quest, I’m always sad to finish the readings. The feedback has been incredible and I am very glad I poured so much energy into the project, easily 45 working days of my own and probably triple that with all the other contributors. I’ll be developing the material on this blog through the year and of course over at the main Planet Waves site and in our weekly magazine.
We have a credits page on the right, though there are two people without whom this edition would not exist — Anatoly, who does all the technical setup, and Sarah, who did the graphic art and assembled the whole thing from my photo studio while I was busy finishing the signs across town in my kitchen. Many other people played excellent roles, though you know, without the engine running, there’s no movement. And we definitely have some movement here. Thanks both for your trust in my divination skills, and for making this project a truly amazing bestseller.
