Dear Friend and Reader:

A.I. is taking over astrology. It’s disturbing. To me, anyway. The ordinary internet has done plenty to water down astrology and try to jam it into 30 seconds of TikTok or ten minutes of illiterate YouTube hype. Now we have robots trying to read charts.

Astrology is based on human perception and the experience of the astrologer. It’s also based on 2,500 years of tradition drawn from another few thousand years of mythological compost. To go from all of that to a relevant, understandable, honest reading takes training, practice and tempering of the intellect.

Astrology is a spiritual art and requires a deep inner sense to carry off.

There is nothing fast about it. Nothing automatic.

I’m less disturbed by the notion that someone might try to cook up some regurgitated GPT astrobabble than I am about the fact that many people won’t be able to tell the difference. Here and now, when we need soulful, sincere and circumspect astrology the most, machine-made generative slop is not only useless. It can be grossly misleading. It has no idea who you are or what you need. How could it?

In a digital environment that only seems to distract, deceive, detract and deplete, I have something nourishing for you. Something restorative. Something calm, and respectful of your inner sanctity.

Something you will not only enjoy reading several times, but also find significantly helpful. Something that will feed your soul and remind you who you are. Something supportive in our very difficult times, that will inform you and open your mind to new ways of seeing your life situations. Something you can print and read (and mark up) far away from a computer or device.

Read my previous letters about the 2026 annual edition — Astrology Remembers and Astrology is a Matter of Time.

I am happy to say that I’m deep into my 28th annual readings, called Inner Light - Inner Peace. By deep in, I mean that I’ve got the charts going, and I’m working my way into the 2,000-word-a-day phase of writing.

Preparing these readings is always a challenge. Every year, I stretch my abilities. There are new creative puzzles, and the world is a little more difficult to comprehend.  

While people are busy spinning out memos, love letters, texts and emails using ChatGPT, I am stitching together beautiful little paragraphs that are designed to help you see and feel the beauty of the moment.

These days and nights, I’m poring through my library, using custom tools it’s taken me many years to master, and coming up with fresh, original, helpful and inspiring ideas. Human ideas, prepared for human beings who want to make the most of our lives. Astrology is about meaning and context in a time when these things are in short supply.

We are holding the first-tier early discount pricing for a few more days.

I covered so much ground in The Awakening (the 2025 annual) and Easy Does It (the autumn video reading) that I needed to go in some new directions.

I love the easygoing narrative style I’ve developed in the 10 years that these readings have been book-length. I dearly wish I could share them with Patric Walker and Linda Goodman, who used the same methods I use. (The first time I read both of these writers, I wondered: how is this even possible?)

Do you have an astrology podcast? I’d love to explain how I do this.

I’ve also added a detailed profile of what is happening within each of the signs (rather than in the other houses). I’m starting my writing process with this element of the reading, and then branching out. And without losing the novelistic form I’ve developed, I’m adding succinct summaries to each section. The kind of thing you can print and hang on the fridge.

Then comes the audio, a slow-paced, meditative spoken-word reading with original music. Those readings will follow the written ones and stand up to many playings.

Perhaps you can use your imagination and conjure up the feeling of writing a 65,000 word book in a little over two months, with so much else happening.

To do this, I create a kind of cloister in my mind, and work in a contained, dedicated space. In a sense, I create a psychic dimension and work there, in a world of its own.

This year they are being written and recorded in an 1890 farmhouse on 350 acres of forest and pasture. Every now and then, a car drives by. I was awakened this morning by an owl making some strange and wild sound. The coyotes go off a few times a night.

I convey that feeling to you as you read and listen.

I encourage you to share these readings with your significant other, kids and perhaps a close friend; we make it easy to do. They are printable in beautiful format, and each comes with brand new photography.

What else can I say except invite you to take part in the Planet Waves annual tradition and see just how beautiful and textured astrology can be. How useful, how helpful, and how soothing to your soul.  

I realize funds are short for many people. I do my best to under promise, over-deliver, and provide you with actionable information that you can use when working through business, financial and personal situations.

Here is how to pre-order.

Thank you for your business and your trust.

Your faithful astrolover,

PS — This reading is included in the Galaxy Pass.

PPS — Astrology Pass holders, please reply to this email for a discount code.

Inner Light will be classical written readings in the Planet Waves annual tradition. Usually they are 15 to 20 pages long. This is applied astrology, not theoretical, psychological or mythological. I’m describing your environment, your potential, your resources and your challenges. They require no astrological knowledge, and I keep the use of technical language to the bare minimum.

This year, I’ll be adding summary features (printable separately) while preserving the narrative style that you love. These readings are presented on printable PDFs so you can read away from the digital environment. They include the chart and a video introduction. This will be available by Dec. 31, 2025.

These readings are valuable for more than a year; they are still useful years later. Inner Light will account for events into early 2027 and in some cases beyond.

These readings are suitable for adults and young adults ages 14 and up.

“Excellent, in-depth readings that definitely apply to me personally. I particularly appreciate how Eric presents the possibility side of situations. Other astrologers with the negative approach seem to smash into my psyche and just cause pain. Eric is like a deep, cool drink of refreshing water on a hot, sunny day at the beach. Thank you, Eric.” — Diana on Somewhere In Between, The 2024 Annual Edition

Since nearly the beginning (Aquasphere, 2003), my readings have come with an audio or video component. Usually this is a ‘straight’ reading that is an alternate take on the written. This year I’ll be doing this more in the style of astrology meditations.

This will include astrology, though in a way tuned vibrationally so that it enters your aura more easily. I will describe how the astrology feels, as well as what it means. These recordings will include original ambient compositions for each sign by Vision Quest. These presentations will be downloadable, and will stand up to many playings. They are safe to fall asleep to.

These will be available by Jan. 21, 2026 latest, probably sooner.

These meditations are suitable for adults and young adults ages 14 and up.

“Just wanted to say that I found the video readings to be a wonderful compliment to the written. To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect considering how thorough the written ones were, but you did an excellent job making them feel different, fresh, and filled with even more relevant information.” — Amanda on Somewhere In Between, The 2024 Annual Edition

My astrology is a handmade product, and I make my own ingredients. I’ve been developing unique delineations of planets since early in my career. I use hand-drawn charts with data from a diversity of sources, including an ephemeris tool originally written for me by a friend in England.

The big news of 2026 is that Chiron enters Taurus and we begin the Chiron return of Chiron. Jupiter enters Leo for the first time in 12 years. We’re still in the peak of the Chiron-Eris conjunction. We are entering the peak of the Saturn-Neptune conjunction. Venus will be retrograde in Scorpio and Libra. (There is no Mars retrograde.)

Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are all still involved in world-rocking sign-changes and I’ll be covering those — as well as Sedna in Gemini. I also read a diversity of minor (meaning smaller) planets which I will include in a special short reading for each sign, Your Astrological Fingerprint.

These readings together take three months to write, and many prior months to research, cast and interpret the charts. Each written reading takes about 12 hours to compose. We are leaving the prices the same as previous years, however this year offering the written and audio both separately and together.

The earlier you purchase, the lower the cost. The reason to get more than one sign is because you’ll want to read them all, and you will want to share certain readings with loved ones.

The initial price will be $111 for all-12 of Inner Light, $111 for all-12 of Inner Peace, and $133 for all-12 combined. We are holding back briefly on raising the price to $122 for the separate publications and $144 for the combined publication. The prices will go up again in December. We will send a LAST CALL letter ahead of that — it will be within a few days.

Individual signs go on sale in December. The initial cost will be $33 per sign for written, the same for audio, and $44 for combined written and audio. These prices will increase by $11 each after publication.

These readings are shareable. We invite customers to share with family members and intimate partners.

For those new to my work or those who may want a reminder, my professional background is in investigative journalism, business reporting and general news writing. After therapy training and several years of prior study, I entered astrology on my 30th birthday and have studied with many of the people whose books appear on the shelves of astrologers older than me.

These include Chiron pioneers Melanie Reinhart, Dale O’Brien and Barbara Hand Clow; Laurie Burnett, the uncredited coauthor and editor of Pluto: Evolutionary Journey of the Soul; and I learned classical astrology from the founders of Project Hindsight, including Robert Hand, Robert Schmidt, and their student David Arner. I’ve written and published more than 1,500 astrology articles, and my horoscope has appeared worldwide since 1996 when it first was published by America Online.

I have additional background in A Course in Miracles, Gestalt Therapy, Hakomi Therapy, Holistic Therapy and the great body of wisdom known as Tantra.

You may read my astrological autobiography — My Life as a Horoscope Writer.

Thank you for your business and your trust.

“I’ve been subscribing to Eric and his annual reports for the past 12 years. I have consistently found accurate, informative and provocative information in his annual reports. They are simply the best value in astrology anywhere to be found.” — John Y. on the Annual Edition