Our Lady of Catharsis by Fire

Dear Friend and Reader:

When I first saw Notre Dame Cathedral, I didn't know what it was. I mean, I knew it was a cathedral, but in Europe, you're always seeing things like that and they have a way of blending into the scenery -- like everything it represents.

I was living on Ile St. Louis during the summer of 2004, as the guest of a Planet Waves reader in a little apartment she loaned me. Every day I would walk across Pont de Sully to Rive Gauche to explore the wider city. One day I stopped on the bridge and looked at the thing, standing there dark and imposing against the horizon, about half a mile away, and said to myself: that is one heck of a gothic cathedral.

Then it occurred to me what it was. It was a funny moment.

Spinning fire outside Notre Dame, spring 2005. Photo by Eric Francis.

When I settled down in the 5th arrondissement, Notre Dame also happened to be my neighborhood church. I walked past it all the time, almost daily, and visited many times. I was a regular at Shakespeare & Co., which is right across the street. Those Paris years were early in my photography experience, and it was the perfect subject, or backdrop -- so strange and incomprehensible, and enormous, and 850 years ancient. That was my main point of fascination -- how long it had been there.

There are no buildings that old still in use in the United States, not even close (we have some Pueblo relics in the southwest about that old). For us, a worn-out shopping mall from 1975 is "old." Below the cathedral's courtyard is something called the Archeological Crypt of Paris. It looks like a Metro station, but when you go downstairs, you find yourself in the ruins of an ancient Roman neighborhood, with homes and stores featuring hypocaust heating systems (walls and floors warmed with hot air), and excavated quays (docks) that are now 100 feet back from where the Seine currently flows. Notre Dame is built on the ruins of ancient Rome. You can go down there and see it for yourself.

You just don't think something like that can burn. It seems like a big pile of stone, for one thing, and it's been there so long. If it were a fire hazard, it would have gone up already. Heck, it had nearly a thousand years of lightning hitting it, and candles burning inside. And it survived the French Revolution (though it served as the "church of reason" for a while, and I've read that the revolutionaries considered tearing it down). It survived Napoleon and World Wars I and II.

If ever I related to a thing that "just is," it was Notre Dame. I was there for the funeral of Pope John Paul II (televised from the Vatican live on huge projection monitors, both inside and outside). I went to a couple of Christmas events. It's one of the centers of the world (for fans of The Da Vinci Code, you know it's one of the two places that the prime meridian has been located).

Notre Dame as seen from the Seine, 2006. Photo by Eric Francis.

But, anything can burn. That's the thing. A collaborator in France wrote to me Monday afternoon and I could barely believe the email, but it looked like a serious fire. Then more serious, then the entire roof was involved, the spire collapsed and -- holy fuck. It was a 9/11-like moment, the unthinkable happening.

Finally I got over my shock enough to look for when the fire started. If you follow the mundane astrology sites, you know the time has been squirming around.

The first time I had was 6:50 pm. The first question I posed to the chart was, arson or accident? The chart argued for arson.

The second time I got was 6:30 and this skewed the whole intent/arson concept. Tuesday, I saw The New York Times was reporting that there was a fire alarm at 6:20 pm, but it was soon after disregarded, though initially it interrupted mass and the building was evacuated. To my eye, the earlier charts propose a different message -- one that speaks to the public interest and issues with wide and deep impact.

In the 6:20 pm chart, the first degree of the cardinal signs occupies all four angles: 38 minutes Libra rising, and Aries setting; 48 minutes Cancer on the 10th and Capricorn on the 4th. That is the Aries Point in full bloom: an event of global stature; the intersection of individual and collective coming in through all four cardinal points, involving a building often thought of as the center of everything.

And that very thing burning: the word for that is ominous.

The Chiron-Salacia-Pholus-Quaoar Pattern

All year in various places, I've been describing a new outer-planet pattern that's been developing in Aries and Capricorn. We are going to be living with this one for a while. But because it involves two centaurs and two Kuiper objects, you're unlikely to read about it anywhere else (it's a theme of my 2020 annual readings, covered in detail in Aries and Capricorn).

Notre Dame as seen from Quai de Montebello, winter 2005-2006.

Most of my writing lately has focused on the Saturn-Pluto-Eris pattern in the same signs -- what I'm calling the 2020 pattern, which reached its first major peak last week when the Sun made a conjunction to Eris. That was certainly a factor in the Notre Dame fire, though less descriptive than the one that's being headed by Chiron, the planet of healing, awareness and revelation.

There are five planets involved; I'll do my best to keep this simple and still illustrate the point. The fifth point is Vesta, which involves fire, sacred spaces, and sacrifices. Vesta (now in Aries) is by far the fastest moving of the group, orbiting in just four years. It moves so fast that it's now separating from the pattern. The others are slow movers, such as Pluto and Eris, and two centaurs moving very slowly at the moment.

Vesta, in concert with the rest, tells us what this event symbolizes.

Let's start with Salacia, a slow mover near Pluto's orbit, named for the consort of Neptune. Salacia sounds a lot like salacious, and when Salacia reached the Aries Point in 2017, soon after we had one salacious scandal after another dominating the news, which went on for nearly a year and a half. The details in the news were so gritty you could invent a genre of porno based on the reporting.

Working from that, I began to delineate Salacia as being associated with the state of sexual maturity, both individual and cultural. I was aware that Chiron was on its way into Aries, and more information would be forthcoming. Whatever Salacia was about, Chiron would soon be shining its bold, disinfectant light on the subject. Currently, the two points are in a conjunction that lasts through 2020.

This perspective shows many of the squares in the Notre Dame chart. There are three sets: those in early Aries-Capricorn (involving Chiron and Salacia); those in late Aries-Capricorn (involving the Sun-Eris conjunction) and the Mars-Nessus square. Mars is easy to spot, in red, on top; Nessus is in pale blue. Salacia (conjunct Chiron) is not shown; Quaoar (conjunct Pholus), is not shown, but you can see Pholus in green, at the very bottom.

When the "MeToo" meme emerged on the internet and in the news concurrent with Salacia on the Aries Point, I had a number of questions, one of which involved the lack of any stated family connection with any of these circumstances.

The stories all seemed to begin in the middle of people's lives, and emerging in the corporate realm. I know from decades of working with sexual assault and incest survivors that this is almost never the case. The problems almost always begin at home, in early childhood, and develop over time. For boys, their troubles often begin in the extended family of the church.

This is where the Capricorn angle comes in: it is one of the most crucial signs to understand for any early childhood influences. Two planets were working their way in the direction of Capricorn -- Pholus, a centaur similar to Chiron, and Quaoar.

Pholus has the theme of three prior generations (three plus me, so is useful for tracing events back to your great-grandparents' generation). Pholus is the centaur of the family of origin. Another one of its themes is a pressurized release. It also involves alcohol, particularly the effects of wine.

Quaoar is a slow mover out by Pluto with a family theme, only it goes back to the origin of the tribe (rather than the individual), or the origin of humanity (depending on how you look at it). It's a planet of creation mythology, initially for the Tongva aborigines of the Los Angeles area, and also in general.

Pholus and Quaoar are now in a very long conjunction. And that conjunction is square Chiron and Salacia, so all four slow-moving points are holding one aspect pattern, for quite a long time. Remnants of this pattern will still be working in 2040 (particularly the Pholus-Salacia square).

For the past week or so, Vesta, the fire goddess, has been passing through the alignment, in Aries. And when Notre Dame burned, this whole pattern was angular: Vesta, Chiron and Salacia on the horizon and Pholus and Quaoar the meridian -- making it the most prominent feature in the chart. It is the thing you cannot miss: the fire goddess on the horizon, accompanied by Salacia and Chiron. One of the roles that Vesta serves is to hold space for a healing process, and in particular, a sexual healing process.

Roots of Abuse in Church and Family

Because Aries is so prominent, that invites a close look at its ruler, Mars. Mars is square Nessus. The square is exact to less than one degree. Nessus is famous for its connection to abuse legacy, and for the idea that "the buck stops here." At its best, Nessus is the point of taking responsibility. Mars is in Gemini, a volatile air sign, in the 9th house, that of religion and cathedrals. This is the rather striking image of a fire in a place of worship.

Scene from the funeral service of Pope John Paul II, which was simulcast from the Vatican inside Notre Dame.

Aries is the sign on the 7th house, and as mentioned, there's a collection of points packed against the horizon, with the Aries Point (the public-private intersection) fully activated. Those points are Chiron, Salacia and the temporary planet in the pattern -- fire goddess Vesta.

Chiron and Vesta are about bringing light and awareness to the sexual issues of Salacia. Vesta is holding space (as it always does), bringing in the fire element directly (rather than by inference of the fire sign Aries). The fire of Vesta is the sacred flame of creativity and sexuality. It is the vital force we all contain.

At the taproot of the chart, right on the 4th house cusp, are Pholus and Quaoar -- two planets relating to family. The 4th is where we find a lot of information about family, particularly the patriarchal line (check for connections to real estate). Pholus tends to represent the rapid spread or release, or events that develop quickly. This chart describes something erupting in the realm of family, early childhood and something that looks like one of society's institutions, represented in this chart by Capricorn.

That is about all the astrology you need -- and it is a lot.

Survivors Knew What They Were Seeing

We all know the history of the Roman Catholic Church -- the billion dollars paid to sexual assault survivors in the U.S. alone, the recorded worldwide history guarded by Pope Benedict in his prior role, going back to the year 400 or so. (This is formally known as the Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and formerly known as the "Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office," the historical Roman Inquisition., i.e., the Holy Inquisition. It still has an office.)

We can't get in there to read the files, but the infant graves associated with convents across Europe provide a human record.

When we talk about Notre Dame or any cathedral as iconic, nobody says what it's an icon of. Symbols stand for something else. When we look at the McDonald's logo or drive past one, people either think of "food," or of a thousand cows ground up into one hamburger, cholesterol, trans fats and polysaccharides.

North Transept rose window, depicting stories from the Old Testament. It dates from about 1250 to 1260, during the High Gothic period, and -- if it survived -- is one of the few remaining examples of original glass work from the Middle Ages in Europe. Photo by Eric Francis.

No doubt many people still feel a bonding to "mother church" and deep nostalgia for what it is supposed to represent. The crowds of people singing Ave Maria in Paris as Notre Dame burned illustrate that well.

There are some who believe that "god" is to be found in a cathedral as opposed to somewhere else, and that the Pope alone is infallible and communicates directly with "god." (The rest of us, we are told, cannot -- a contradiction of the notion of the Holy Spirit, conscious divine presence within us all.)

These beliefs remain persistent, for some, despite what has happened to so many children, and to so many women who have had their children taken from them, in parishes and convents throughout the world -- what has been modestly and accurately described as a global human trafficking network. When the living victims and survivors of that enterprise saw Notre Dame burning, they knew what they were looking at.

Yet the Universal Church is also the source of our society's anti-sex and anti-woman philosophy: a church that still will not ordain a woman, or allow a male priest to share his life with a family (as all other denominations in the world do, including the Church of England and the Anglican Church, direct derivatives of the Roman Catholics). And this, as we understand, adds up to a lot of twisted expression of sexual and emotional energy; and desperation and loneliness that can bring out the worst in people.

Astrology is not proof of karma. It is, though, a symbolic system to read the deeper nature of events. When we read this chart, what we see burning is not a cathedral, but a global wound to sexuality that has touched or afflicted nearly every person on the planet.

With love,
Mueller Report Says What We Thought It Would Say

And it wasn't about space aliens.

Three weeks after it was delivered to the Justice Department, much of the report of the Special Counsel has been made public. And what we now have confirmed is that the report contains many references to collaboration between campaign and administration officials, but which did not rise to the level of a crime. Additionally, Robert Mueller was clear that he could not indict a sitting president. 

The chart above is the stated time for the news conference Thursday morning. Once again, the president's ascendant shows up -- check the very bottom of the chart, 29 Leo 44 -- the president's exact rising degree. If you recall, that degree represents "An Unsealed Letter, which is exactly what we saw happen today.

Doing this story will take some reading; I am planning to cover it in Sunday night's edition of Planet Waves FM. Dancing on (or with) the Edge: the Libra Full Moon By Amanda Painter

Tomorrow morning, at 7:12 am EDT / 11:12:03 UTC, the Libra Moon opposes the Aries Sun for the Libra Full Moon. While a Libra Moon tends to be a 'people-pleasing' placement -- an intellectual and artistic Moon that seeks harmony -- the chart for this event describes an emotional current that's under pressure, and which therefore could tip either way: toward creativity or toward disruption.

Shadow Meeting; photo by Amanda Painter.

In fact, you may already be experiencing provocative encounters with certain people in your life; possibly someone is being reactive. Or could it be that you're the reactive one?

Remember that one inherent property of a Full Moon is that the Moon is reflecting the Sun's light. It's a great metaphor for the type of emotional projection that can happen between people, especially if a situation carries unacknowledged baggage from the past, or if a current-moment factor is being left unsaid.

We human beings can have a hard time being introspective when something is thrust in our face; or when too much is demanding our attention around us. Yet one thing this Full Moon appears to be asking for is a high degree of self-awareness -- in particular, some self-monitoring of our less-controlled urges.

For one thing, the Sun and Moon are facing off from the very last degree of their respective signs. This may translate to an added edginess -- especially since the Sun and Moon are also both in close contact with Uranus in Taurus. The Moon will oppose 'the cosmic sparkplug' later on Friday; the Sun will conjoin Uranus on Monday.

Even though Uranus is in a different sign, this Full Moon is definitely running its current -- and that might feel like a lot to handle. This will vary depending on your situation: if you're in a disagreement with someone or they're pushing your buttons, you may feel closer to an outburst than you'd like. If you're moving forward with some creative project or self-chosen change of routine, it could be just the added invigoration you need to take things to the next exciting level.

Other factors in this chart speak of energy that's potentially challenging to contain or direct constructively in its expression. One of these is Mercury, newly in Aries, making a square to the centaur Pholus in Capricorn. I see this as a warning that impatient, impulsive words and choices could have larger-then-expected effects. Mind your Ps and Qs; be direct but gentle; ask rather than assume.

Continue reading...

2019 Astrology Studio
Uranus in Taurus: The Unexpected Awakening

Dear Friend and Reader:

Of all the new transits we've got, I've found Uranus in Taurus to be the most difficult to describe -- so far, anyway. That usually means a breakthrough is approaching, which is what this astrology is about. We could all benefit from one of those.

How are you experiencing it personally? Please let me know.

Eric Francis.

Uranus in Taurus makes sense for our contradictory moment in time -- for our need to catch up with the dizzying rate of movement we live in. The truth is, nobody knows what's going to happen next. It might be the exact thing you need, to help you update your files and catch up with yourself.

I'm on a journey to discover what this exciting transit is about for you. These revelations will go into my forthcoming Taurus Astrology Studio (birthday and rising sign) -- an exploration of this year's astrology in music and spoken-word astrology reading.

My Taurus reading will combine my decades of experience serving my clients, and serving untold thousands of readers. My readings do what no other astrologer can -- read the solar chart with the accuracy of a natal chart, for a small fraction of the cost.

One of the the qualities we all depend on Taurus for is stability. Yet Uranus says to expect the unexpected, to welcome change, and to work with it. There is tension in this transit, and it might be challenging for you. There is pressure and there is potential. It will change all of us, to some greater or lesser degree -- I think greater.

This week, I asked my Facebook friends to sum up Uranus in Taurus in a few words. Here is some of what they said -- clip and save!

"Shaking up the status quo. Bodily freedom. Reawakening of Earth wisdom. A revolution of embodiment. Eccentricity to the Nth power. Stampeded. Unconventional heaven. An awakening for a lot of folks. Thunder in the distance. Staying upright while on a moving boat or train by shifting your weight as needed. Staying loose to stay steady. A manifestation of anxiety. The body becomes electric. The dormant quickens. Unexpected awakening that was longed for after all. Getting out of your own way. Impermanent Earth. The illusion of fixed structures. The unpredictability of concrete. The sudden changing of fixed values. Cattle prod. A gemologist views a ruby through a microscope and sees a whole new world."

Here is my favorite: The unexpected awakening that was longed for after all.

Let's go there. Let that be a human awakening -- while most of marketing culture wants us to be more like machines, my goal in this work is to help you awaken to your humanity.

I'll be recording your reading soon after Friday's Full Moon, and plan to have it in your hands Monday. It's two 45-minute sessions of astrology, with original music by Vision Quest. I speak in language you can understand, minimizing the use of astro-jargon. This reading is about you and your experience of your life.

The reading can be played on any device, and you can download it and listen anywhere. This reading will provide new information with every playing -- and it comes with access to last year's reading so you can review if you want to.

"The Unexpected Awakening" is available now for the pre-order price of $33. This is the last call. Thursday night at midnight Eastern it will increase to $44, and will be $55 once published.

It's included with a Backstage Pass.

You will love this reading -- and it's the perfect in-the-moment companion to the written Taurus INTELLIGENCE reading. The two work together beautifully, to help you make your way through the strange days we're living in.

Thank for you trusting me as your astrologer, and for taking advantage of my work.

With love,

PS -- You may purchase by phone, by calling (206) 567-4455. We can answer any questions you may have at that time, or take care of special needs. Please call -- we would love to talk with you. Crossing the Lines? By Amanda Painter

With Earth Day coming up next Tuesday, April 23, we might ask ourselves when we're going to take seriously the condition of the Earth. Human beings are set in some astonishingly destructive patterns that continue to spiral out of control. Many of these habits are contributing to global warming -- something many inhabitants of this planet will begin to notice most drastically as sea levels rise.

Co-collaborators Timo Aho and Pekka Niittyvirta created Lines (57°59′N, 7°16’W) last year in Lochmaddy, a village located on the low-lying island archipelago of Uist in the Outer Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland. Using LED lights, float switches and sensors, and timers, the artists installed bright, illuminated lines on the Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum & Arts Centre and a nearby knoll at the water's edge. Running through August 2019, the work interacts with the rising tidal changes, activating at high tide to provide a visual reference to how rising sea levels will affect coastal communities.

Between tomorrow's Libra Full Moon tidal effect, and next week's conjunction of the Sun and Uranus in Taurus (conscious disruption of values and the physical; exact April 22), the installation serves as timely reminder to stay tuned for the tangible impacts we're having on the environment. After all: the environment is simply going to offer increasingly dramatic events to awaken us from our habits. As nice as it is to sniff at flowers all day like Ferdinand the bull, if we don't activate soon there may be far fewer flowers to sniff. You can also view video footage of the installation here. Full Moon, Assange Astrology, Mueller Report Striptease

Dear Friend and and Listener:

This week's Planet Waves FM [go to program here] looks at the forthcoming Full Moon in Libra, which takes place across the very last degrees of the Aries/Libra axis. I think this is a potential release point from the Sun passing through the Saturn/Pluto/Eris configuration this week. I also look at the astrology of Julian Assange's arrest, and look forward to the gradual peeling back of the Mueller report, part of which is due out this week.

Planet Waves FM is part of the Pacifica Radio Network and is sponsored by your contributions. Thank you for pitching in.

With love,

Monthly Horoscopes and Publishing Schedule Notes

Your extended monthly horoscope for April was published on Thursday, March 28. We published your extended monthly horoscopes for March on Thursday, Feb. 21. Please note: we normally publish the extended monthly horoscope after the Sun has entered a new sign.

This is Amy Elliott's take on tomorrow's powerful Full Moon in the last degrees of Aries and Libra. Eric also covered the Full Moon in his Monday Morning Horoscope, which you may review here.

Aries (March 20-April 19) -- Tomorrow's Full Moon in your opposite sign may signal a good time to take stock and notice any changes in your thoughts and emotions, especially within the two months since Chiron re-entered your sign. This may give some clue as to your trajectory and the challenges you might face going forward. Be receptive also to messages in your dreams and through those closest to you: it's your prerogative to decide what to take on board, though at this moment it may be wise simply to hear all voices -- at least those you can trust to have your back.
Taurus (April 19-May 20) -- Your inner transformation, which has been taking place mostly behind the scenes, is now about to show some of its results in the conscious realm. That is, you're likely to begin doing certain things differently to a noticeable extent. This may also represent a gain in maturity; an awareness, at least, of the scope and potential consequences of your choices, especially in the ethical sense. You may well have some big decisions to make, though in the main this is likely to be about the small moves you make every day. Get into good habits.
Gemini (May 20-June 21) -- Efforts you've made in terms of getting your work seen by a wider audience, or of giving it a broader perspective, should now begin to bear fruit. Keep taking opportunities wherever they arise to expand your network of contacts, of all sorts. Be open to synchronicities as well. All this relates to making strides along your dharmic path, and furthering the cause most important to you at this time in your life. That means you need to both keep your focus and cultivate trust in the universe to deliver in matters outside your immediate reach.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) -- A Full Moon falling in the last degree of the respective signs involved is sure to generate at least a little tension. You may already have experienced some or most of the turbulence, though take it easy over the next couple days until the terrain has stabilized. Try to postpone major decisions where possible, and don't assume you know anything for certain unless it's obvious and incontrovertible (on the level of 'rain is wet'). With everything else, you'll want to leave room for doubt. Also, pay consistent attention to the wellbeing of your body and mind.
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) -- Use at least some part of the next few days to get outside, enjoy yourself and recharge. Certain aspirations you've had for a while are almost ripe for the work of harvesting. This could well involve a period of long and steady application, in which case you'll want to be ready to jump to it when the moment arises. That moment is likely to consist of a profound realization regarding your work and your plans, as they are connected with your deepest sense of identity. You may trust yourself to see through what needs to be done.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) -- During this latest phase of your life, you probably asked yourself several challenging questions, and perhaps lived through an emotional struggle or two, to say the least. Now you may be awakening gradually to a specific revelation that cuts to the heart of who you are, and how your philosophy is intrinsically connected to your personal healing path, and to your dharma. This marks the next stage in a long-term growth process; engage in it consciously, and you may be able to catapult yourself through a lot of territory in a short time. Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) -- With the Full Moon Friday morning in the last degree of your sign, certain questions will probably emerge about your unique sense of self and how far it is distinguished from that of significant others. You might have noticed the boundaries shifting in a particular direction. Now the time is coming when you must steer the ship with your fully conscious mind. First ask yourself whether the changes are for the better; and, as a significant part of that, whether it is making you happy. If you are unsure, you need to give yourself time to figure it out properly.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) -- One of the better developments of the modern era is the widening recognition that everyone should be treated with respect as human beings, regardless of any accidents of birth. However, there is also a growing tendency to see grounds of offence where perhaps nothing of that nature was intended, or through projection of earlier wounds onto others. This week, if you feel someone has been disrespectful or unkind, first establish the truth -- you might ask what they meant, for example, and also consider if there is anything deeper going on for you.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) -- Keep in mind the reason you are working on your current project and use that to carry you through the days when the routine sort of task prevails; you can create the fun you need, and have periods of downtime. You know well that what you're doing is worthwhile to say the least, even during those moments when you need to correct a mistake or clean up a spillage. Be wary of the insidious kinds of doubt that can get inside your head and disrupt your flow; should they appear, deal with them firmly, in the name of truth as well as self-validation. Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) -- Brace yourself. A highly probable result of the current Full Moon is that you'll become a good deal more visible, whether or not you were actually planning on that. This is very likely to be a good thing. It's time more people see and understand who you are, and appreciate your unique gifts. That means giving yourself the space to exercise those gifts fully, hone them and gain further expertise. Bringing witnesses into the picture can aid that process exponentially, especially if you view praise and criticism alike as simply more tools in your kit. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -- Over the course of this week, you may find the strands of the past few months drawing together and suddenly fitting into a coherent pattern. This may be a good moment for a deep and thorough review of all that you have learned, what you've gained, what you've let go, and how all of this has informed your ongoing path. There may be profound healing especially in recognizing how your strengths have shown themselves. It's also worth remembering that, regardless of any official status, each of us has intrinsic power that can never be removed from us. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) -- If you have something to say, grab the microphone; though before you do, make sure your reasoning is clear and easy to follow; and above all, that your facts are checked down to every letter. Even if hyperbole, exaggeration or lying by omission is tempting -- and may even appear to secure results at first -- only demonstrable, transparent truth will gain you what you seek. To borrow a phrase from Charlotte Bronte, show a clear front. Standing by one's principles regardless of any response by others is a great act of courage that brings its own rewards.