Author Archives: Eric Francis

In today’s spectacular Welcome Back edition of Planet Waves FM, Rick Santorum appears to explain himself. Rick is a product of the centaur planets Chiron and Nessus, which you can see in the chart below are conjunct his Moon and Sun respectively.

Rick Santorum's little slice of heaven.

Before I get into that, however, I describe the current Pisces sky with the Sun in late Aquarius. Charts are posted in the few blog posts below; not only are there currently many planets in Pisces, there is also a spectacular alignment today that I describe. That’s Mercury conjunct Chiron and sextile Jupiter — which bridges Pisces to Taurus and is just about as perfect of an expression as you can get of blending these energies — earth and water, mind and knowledge, the misty light of Pisces with the focusing agent of Chiron. I won’t say much more here — the audio tells you most of what you’ll want to know and I can reply to your queries here.

Now as for Mr. Santorum. Here’s the page of quotes that I’m reading from a bit clumsily; and here is what happens when you do a Google search for his name.

The chart is a noon chart as his time isn’t published yet. I focus on the Sun and the Moon. The Sun is conjunct Nessus; the Moon is conjunct Chiron. You may recognize Venus and Mars without needing a glyph key — they match the symbols on the bathroom doors in restaurants. The upshot is that Santorum is inheriting a raft of pain and a kind of infection from his parents; he’s a sensualist who doesn’t want to admit it; and worst of all he is at war with his feminine side, which he then projects into a war onto women. He needs therapy, not the opportunity to inflict his personal pain on society.

This and more in today’s edition of Planet Waves FM. Listen in the old player here.

Note to Readers: Len Wallick’s astrology updates right below this post.

There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – there are things we do not know we don’t know. — Donald Rumsfeld, U.S. Secretary of Defense

Right now one of the clearest messages in they sky is: How much do you trust yourself – your intuition, your abilities, your desires? We see this in the conjunction of Mercury and Chiron, which is exact today.

Mercury conjunct Chiron will help us see the unknown unknowns.

There are several takes on Mercury-Chiron aspects, of which the conjunction is the most potent. You can think of Mercury-Chiron as being the quiet kid in the class, who didn’t have much to say but who turned out to be a chess grand master. Or the dyslexic kid who turned out to be an amazing artist. Or the one who could not pass a test, especially a spelling test, who turned out to be a gifted writer. In Pisces, this is particularly the image of intuitive knowledge, with a touch of savant quality. But this knowledge has a source, and it can be verified.

Another take comes from Barbara Hand Clow, in her book Chiron: Rainbow Bridge, who notes that any aspect between Chiron and Mercury “Balances right and left brain perceptual skill and quickens the deeper levels of the mind.” Pisces is all about the balancing of opposites, so this holds true — especially when you remember that both Mercury and Chiron are associated with Virgo. In Pisces, you may not be able to follow the logic — not at first, but if you do, you might learn a whole new kind of logic that adds a dimension or two. Clow adds that with the conjunction, there is a “superlative ability to perceive exactly what is going on in any situation and to understand how people are thinking in relation to the situation.”

Pay attention to what you perceive and what you’re thinking, because good information will be available if you do. The Mercury-Chiron conjunction is supported by the sextile to Jupiter (traditional ruler of Pisces, which brings in even more mojo), which we covered yesterday. Now, both Chiron and Mercury are picking up on the knowledge base contained in Jupiter, which has a practical aspect in that Jupiter is in Taurus.

The catch is you have to trust yourself. You have to trust that inner voice that would guide you if you’d let it. Trust that if you have come to this moment, then you must also have the ability to bring ‘it’ into the world (whatever ‘it’ is for you) in tangible form and embody it.

Referring to that quote by Don Rumsfeld above, think of Mercury, Chiron and Pisces working together as being a way to find about some of the “unknown unknowns.” We all have a little extra ability to see around the corners and into the blind spots right now.

At the moment, the Sun is going through the last degrees of Aquarius, about to enter Pisces on Sunday. Before it does, it will make a trine to Saturn in Libra and an opposition to an odd point called Transpluto. That’s like going through a very narrow opening with precision — a point we’ll come back to tomorrow.

I just cast a horary chart for a client and noticed that Venus square Pluto is exact. This is Venus in Aries square Pluto in Capricorn, which could add a sense of urgency and intensity to the day. This aspect can also have a sense of finality and emotional push. I think this is what Jonathan Cainer is talking about when he writes in today’s Pisces horoscope, “It’s easy now, for someone to get carried away with enthusiasm for a plan or proposition that sounds exciting but is really nothing so special. Watch for that. Be similarly suspicious of hyperbole about an apparent threat. Ultimately, it matters less than you think.”

If you look at the chart connected with the post from two days ago, you’ll see that there are a lot more planets in it than there are in the chart we have here — but they’re for the same section of the sky. When you sift through the many planets, you can sometimes find a real gem, and tonight we have one: an aspect called Jupiter sextile Chiron, which you can think of as applied spirituality. This aspect isn’t about knowledge for it’s own sake — it’s about what you do with what you know.

Mercury conjunct Chiron, sextile Jupiter. This is exact Thursday and it's approaching now, so it's in full effect. Mercury adds the dimension of awareness and an idea to this beautiful aspect, making it more accessible.

Chiron, for those new to the name, is an odd little thing, part asteroid, part planet and part comet, that takes 51 years to go around our Sun. Think of Chiron as a utility that makes the energies of the subtler planets more easily available. Jupiter can be overwhelming, and its promise is rarely fulfilled; but when Chiron is in the equation, we have access to the wisdom and benefits of Jupiter. That’s what this aspect is about.

A sextile is a gentle aspect; think of it as saying “I can do this” or “I do it because I can” or moreover, “I’m glad I have this skill because it’s really useful now.”

A sextile isn’t in your face like an opposition. It doesn’t pop up out of the cosmos on random occasions like a square. It’s not in the palm of your hand like a conjunction. But it’s there if you need it, and the chances are you have some area in your life that is calling for the practical spirituality of this aspect. Think of this aspect as granting manifestation powers; it’s an excellent aspect for learning, integrating knowledge and as a result, getting things done. By integrating knowledge, I mean taking what you know from one sphere of your life and applying it to another, for a specific result.

Jupiter is sextile Chiron in the discovery chart for Chiron (from November 1977). Even more interesting, right now Jupiter is sitting in the sky right where Chiron was first discovered. You can trust a few things, given this bit of history. One is that what needs to be healed or resolved can be. What you need to create, you can create, if you set your intentions and you’re open to receiving it. Both are necessary. There is also something about letting the past go.

This is a slow-moving aspect, and it may represent something that’s been developing for a long time. Currently, Mercury is also in Pisces, and on Thursday it will form a conjunction to Chiron and a sextile to Jupiter — so that the message of this aspect will manifest in some tangible way, even more so than it might have otherwise. Pay attention to your senses; notice what your mind conjures. This is a rare gem of an aspect and it’s got plenty to teach us.

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Today is the last quarter Moon. It’s halfway between the most recent Full Moon (which was in Leo) and the New Moon on Feb. 21. Today the Sun is in Aquarius and the Moon is in Scorpio. In the simplified chart below, you can see that both the Moon and the Sun have the same degree value — note the little 25 next to both — and that means they’re in aspect; and the aspect is a square (follow the red line) and that means last quarter Moon, exact on Valentine’s Day.

This is a simplified chart for the last quarter Moon. You can see the aspect between the Sun and the Moon because both have the same degree value (note the '25' next to each). The extra planet is Nessus, which talks about the way that groups influence individuals, often with challenging forms of psychological pressure that can seem invisible.

This is asking a question. Follow along. The Moon is in sexual, passionate Scorpio, which contains a drive for individual fulfillment and a good bit of attachment. The Sun is in Aquarius, which is more cool-headed and associated with both individuality and group influences (the two are related, in the way that groups influence individuals). The question is: to what extent are your most personal emotions, passions and desires influenced by the people around you?

To what extent do you do what you do because others are influencing you, and to what extent do you make your choices because you feel like it? Don’t answer the question so fast. Most people will say straight away they’re doing what they do because it’s their thing. Yet there really is a question. There are many ways that individuals give up their power and their values to a collective environment. Think carefully: what won’t you do because your friends might judge you? What won’t you admit to feeling or wanting? And here’s where it gets more interesting: what if you begin to admit something to yourself, but fear that others might think it’s ‘inappropriate’? Have you ever noticed yourself holding down a feeling or idea because you’re afraid of the impact it will have?

Finally, what do you do because it’s what you’re supposed to do? In what ways do you sculpt your image and your choices in order to seek approval of others who have absolutely nothing to do with your most private relationships? What do you hide from your friends, your family, or your partner/boyfriend/girlfriend? That’s perhaps a delicate question to answer, and it’s a question that’s up today. Because there’s a strong angle between the Sun and the Moon, it’s likely to ‘pop up’ at some point, whether in conversation or in a circumstance.

I do suggest asking the question carefully before you make any major decisions — or declarations to anyone else. Know your motives and be real with yourself.

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