Dear Friend and Reader:
First, for those following the George Zimmerman trial and wondering how he was acquitted. While I look at some of the astrology associated with the verdict, mostly I provide a legal analysis. In the same podcast I also cover the astrology that I’m about to describe in an easy-to-follow audio presentation.
We are in one of those concentrated moments that’s in tune with the 2012-era theme of everything all at once. In truth, it’s a spectacular moment, featuring some of the most passionate astrology I’ve ever seen. At the same time, the next few days call for proceeding with awareness and precision, doing your best not to over-react, and being clear with others. Don’t assume they understand you, or that your message has come across.
Politely verify everything, which also includes verifying how your words match with your feelings and your intentions. Because we’re in a grand water trine, that’s a reminder to guide yourself away from unhealthy or obsessive emotions if you encounter them. The grand trine will have a way of multiplying what you’re feeling, so do your best to emphasize the positive, to nourish yourself and to feel good.
Along these lines, most of the United States is in a massive heat wave. Drink water. Pepsi is not water. Smart Water is not water. Coffee is not water. Tea is not water. Juice is really not water. Only water is water.
The main event, the one that we’re most likely to be feeling, is Mercury stationing direct in Cancer on Saturday, July 20. Mercury has been retrograde since June 26. That was about three weeks ago. I know it simultaneously seems like a lot longer and like it was five minutes ago.
All the usual cautions apply: pay attention when handling technology and finances; avoid signing agreements till at least Tuesday if possible. The thing that is shifting is how you feel about what you may be committing to.
The real benefits of this event are emotional and intuitive. The Mercury station provides an opportunity to solve anything that seems like a persistent problem, though from an entirely new point of view.
Remember that there is an emotional angle to everything; resistance will be best met on the level of feelings, which is to say, gently.
The really beautiful thing about this Mercury station (change of directions) is that it’s happening in an exact trine to Chiron in Pisces. This opens up the flow of feelings, ideas and communications.
Mercury usually moves quickly; that is its specialty. The exception is during a station, when for a couple of days it slows down to the speed of an outer planet, thereby gaining emphasis and power. In this case that strength is enhanced and focused by the spiritual healing properties of Chiron, which will open the way to a real conversation about what you feel, what you need, what is influencing your life, and anything else that is deep and challenging to discuss.
There’s an ease factor in this trine, which offers encouragement to actually open your mouth and speak, and open your ears and listen. Most of all, listen to yourself. This is astrology approaching a description of perfect intuition. In the style of Pisces and the water signs, let it percolate; feel what you discover. Let your learning process be a full-spectrum experience. Notice the meeting place of your mental knowledge and your intuitive or spiritual knowledge.
We then have a series of planetary sign changes. On Saturday, an important asteroid called Pallas Athene changes signs into Cancer. Monday, Venus changes signs to Virgo. These are two more changes that combine emotional and mental levels of intelligence. That is the theme of the weekend, and it comes up many different ways.
Venus in Virgo is a reminder that there’s no such thing as purity. If you’re not a virgin, don’t try to pretend you are; you are a full adult. The notion of purity throws one of the biggest wrenches into the human experience, denying the creative power that comes with a sense of uncertainty. Feelings may be messy, unpredictable, strange or interesting — that is their nature.
The purity trap takes many forms, mostly in the intellectualizing of emotional experiences, obsession with control and the notion that sex is too messy to really deal with in a conscious way.
Denial often substitutes for purity — and it’s not the answer. Focus and awareness are the answer, which would lead to conscious choosing of your experience and what you want to share.
Pallas in Cancer reminds me of a recent New York Times articleclaiming that university-age women are seeking sex without the emotional complications of relationships. It’s like responding to the desire to nurture someone with your presence by handling them with tongs and asbestos gloves. The question to ask is, what’s the appropriate degree of commitment or emotional closeness for the situation that you’re in?
Then Monday at 11:56 am EDT, the Sun changes signs to Leo. This happens just a few hours before the Aquarius Full Moon, which is at 2:15 pm EDT. These events may arrive with the sensation of everything coming to a head. As part of this process, the Sun and Moon change signs within a few hours of one another. That describes a situation that may be changing rapidly, and which may be confusing in the process — but which has a dependable outcome.
The key here is not to push your need for certainty where it’s not appropriate or not possible. Know what you want, be clear what you expect from others, observe the known facts and be aware when you’re missing information. Focus on relating to others in a clear way. If they are acting foggy, help the situation by drawing information out gently, without attachment to what it might reveal. Your Buddha nature is strong enough to do this.
The sky and the situations that it describes are moving quickly, so I suggest that rather than grasp for certainty, guide yourself gently and consider everything a work in process — especially you.
Lovingly,
Weekly Horoscope for Friday, July 19, 2013, #959 | By Eric Francis
Aries (March 20-April 19) — Since the last time Jupiter was in Cancer, we’ve become surrounded by a ‘national security state’, designed to defend us against enemies who don’t really exist. Everything about your chart is suggesting that you consider the theme of your need to defend yourself, why you might need to do so, and against whom. What I see going on is that you’re trying to integrate some aspect of yourself that you’ve been in denial of, some wild, expressive aspect of who you are that looks like it’s been buried in your psyche despite your being an Aries. You don’t need to defend yourself; I suggest that you express yourself. The question is, do you feel safe enough to do that? If you don’t, the answer is not more resistance, or pushing back against anything that seems to threaten you. The way forward involves courage. It’s closer than you think.
Taurus (April 19-May 20) — Always remember: It’s not really lovemaking if you fold your clothes first. As a Taurus, you have your own ways of taking risks. One involves thinking through every detail of your plan until there is absolutely no chance for spontaneity. Another involves not thinking at all. There are many spaces to explore that are far less frustrating and more fulfilling than these two polarities. At this point, it’s enough to know that you want to do something, and to be aware that there’s a risk involved in everything — especially matters of the heart. Make peace with the risk factor as a conscious choice. Then it’ll be easier to make contact with the creative factor: your ability to think on your feet in any situation. Trust that and you’ll worry less and have considerably more fun.
Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Keep your focus on money, but more to the point, keep your focus on what is important to you, and how it factors into every facet of your life. I am often amazed at the extent to which people omit the importance of their own values, whether in their relationships or in the work that they do. Often this is because they’ve been overpowered. There seems to be some matter involving the way your parents influenced not just your attitude about money but also your ability to act on what is the most meaningful to you. Mercury stationing direct this weekend looks like a revolution, where you not only throw off the influences of people who have no business running your life and could probably not care less about what you actually feel; this is a revolution driven by a discovery of your passion and the resulting drive to be free.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Many planets are focused on your sign right now, painting a scene that shows you unearthing long-denied aspects of your being. The feelings involved are encrypted on some of your deepest psychological levels. They represent the very things that make contemporary people the most nervous — our deepest desires, our fears, our needs, the pain we’ve denied, what we feel ashamed of and every other shade of shadow. Yet these very feelings are where we hold the power that we so often say we want to make contact with. One aspect of your astrology is magnifying all this and making it clear what you’ve been holding onto. Another factor is an opening for a dialog with yourself: the ability to be vividly honest. Worry not what other people might think. This is not about your relationships; it’s about healing and growing into your relationship to yourself.
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — The Sun enters your sign in grand style this year, just hours before Monday’s Aquarius Full Moon. Until then you may feel like you’re in some kind of psychic or emotional morass. Struggling or resisting is not going to help; I suggest you conserve your energy, find the most efficient ways to do things, then actually follow the plan. Avoid anything that seems to be taking too much effort; it’ll be easier once Mercury has stationed direct (Saturday), the Sun has ingressed your sign and the Moon reaches full phase (Monday). That means planning for modest achievements until then, taking the care to analyze your methods and your approaches and to actually notice where your energy is going, where it’s being wasted and where it’s getting results. This is extremely valuable information.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Sometimes when I write about being clear in one’s communication, I forget how much people struggle to express themselves, how daring it can feel and how fogged over so many minds are. I forget how little effort many people put into listening, even when something directly impacts them. I put all this to you right now. If you want to get anywhere, you must be clear with yourself; you must be clear with others; and you must listen to what is said to you, without making up any stories in the absence of real understanding. This may require you to have extra patience, to insist that others both be clear and have patience, and that you be willing to know what is actually true for you and for others without going into any form of denial. In our world that is asking a lot. But it’s not a lot if it’s the only thing standing between you and progress.
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — There is something specific on your mind. I don’t reckon you’ve figured out what it is yet, but it’s there, and it’s nagging you to pay attention. Looked at one way, you’re trying to keep a secret from yourself. Yet it looks like something that you dearly want to reveal — not just to yourself but also to others. You seem right on the verge of discovery. But here is the catch. Just as fast as you discover what this thing is, you might forget, or you might decide that it’s too personal or private to consider for long, or to dare even considering revealing to others. Yet that does not make it any less important, helpful or meaningful. I suggest that the moment you discover what this is, write it down. If you wake up in the middle of the night, write it down. If you’re driving on the highway, stop and write it down. Then read it and elaborate and make sure that you remember.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — More than anything I see you struggling to have a wider perspective. If you want to do that, you need an accurate assessment of how wide or narrow your current perspective is. Since that measure is subjective, and since you’re in your own mind, this is not necessarily easy to deduce. So I suggest you do a little comparison-shopping. Set aside, for a few minutes, any tendencies toward jealousy; that just gets in the way. Then consider the viewpoints of people you know for sure have a broader, deeper, more creative approach to life than you do. Consider people who apply more imagination than you do. Notice what they’re doing and how they’re doing it — then consider your own life in that kind of style. If you start to feel panicky, that’s a hint that you’re going in the right direction.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — If you’re going to explore your passion, your desire or your need to surrender, choose someone who is either a match for your energy or who has a lot more mojo than you do. Then, bring yourself fully into the situation. Allow yourself to participate. Set aside the approach-avoid routine, for which you’re so notorious; remember how long you’ve waited to let go of all this energy that you’re holding onto. In case you’re tempted to keep holding on, I suggest you ask yourself how that’s serving you — even if that ‘service’ is negative. There’s a long list of possibilities, and it would be excellent if you were really familiar with this material. There are many more reasons why you will be happier if you uncork the bottle and let yourself breathe, feel and spill over your brim.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — Are there enough influences in our society designed to make us all paranoid? I suggest you filter them out for the next few days, and invest your energy in people and activities that cultivate positive responses in you. You will need to use some discernment in order to do that, because not everyone who seems positive really is. You will be able to tell who is life-affirming by your emotional response. Yet you may also discover as you do this just how much negativity there is: how much fear, how much hostility, how much corruption. What you’re faced with is a spiritual question, in particular, of how you want these things to influence you. The external factors are there. Your mission is to determine what power you have over how you respond to your environment and who and what you allow closer to you. Discernment is the key. This will require vigilance and care, and moreover, a commitment to love and life.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) –Wise old astrology books remind Aquarians to fill their urn before trying to ladle out the water to everyone else. This is spiritual healing 101 — take care of yourself so that you can take care of others. There is some good logic to this, including the fact that when you’re nourished, prepared and alert, you will be more helpful and less at risk of hurting anyone in the process of assisting or serving them. That is the message of your charts now. Get yourself oriented in your physical space, which seems to have undergone some changes lately. Make sure that you have whatever provisions you need. Get your work organized to the level where at least you know what you need to do and approximately when you need to do it. This will create some boundaries to work within. Over the next few days, make sure you take plenty of time to yourself. Set aside obligations to others. Get rest and drink water.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) –This is the boldest and most confident I’ve ever seen the charts for Pisces. Therefore if you’re not feeling good, you need to make some adjustments, by which I mean basic adjustments. One of them is to set aside your fears. As a Pisces you’re more aware than anyone that all things are possible, though at this point you can afford to consider the better possibilities and the highest potentials. The word confidence means ‘with faith’, and I suggest that you find that within yourself. It won’t be difficult, and one success will build on another. If you’re not the outgoing type, now is the time to practice that. Go to the point where you feel a little pushy or like you’re winning people over with your charm and the force of your personality. Trust that your ideas probably are the best ones in the neighborhood