Eric Francis

Planet Waves began in 1998 as the home of the Eric Francis horoscope, a prominent feature in our premium service. Going far beyond what most Sun-sign astrologers even dream is possible, Eric brings in-depth interpretations to his work. He is a pioneer in the newly-discovered planets, including Chiron and the centaurs, and is able to translate their movements into accessible human terms, offering ideas for life, love and work. Discover a whole new world of literary journalism in Planet Waves. We offer free trial subscriptions, discounts for students and seniors, and gift subscriptions for veterans and those on active military duty.

Aquarius New Moon: Taking a Chance Being Yourself

Today’s Audio on New Moon and Egypt: http://planetwaves.fm/current_sky/February_2_Eric_Francis_Audio.mp3

Dear Friend and Reader:

Wednesday evening (Thursday in European and Australian time zones) the Aquarius New Moon lights up the planet waves. This is a vibrant event, concentrating seven planets and points in Aquarius, happening right as the Sun passes over the midpoint of that sign. This lunation is taking place right in the midst of the Egyptian situation, which we are studying carefully. The situation is likely to move fast right around the New Moon and we will have additional coverage on our main blog and in Friday’s edition.

Chart for the Aquarius New Moon, set for Kingston, NY. Notice the concentration of planets in Aquarius, at the center of which is Mars. Ceres is the purple question mark-like thing, and represents agriculture. This chart will be similar just about anywhere on the East Coast; note the concentration of planets below the horizon -- in this chart, all but Eris in red on the right, and Juno in blue on the left. Also above the horizon are three calculated points -- Transpluto in pink, the South Node in orange and the vertex.
Chart for the Aquarius New Moon, set for Kingston, NY. Notice the concentration of planets in Aquarius, at the center of which is Mars. Ceres is the purple question mark-like thing, and represents agriculture. This chart will be similar just about anywhere on the East Coast; note the concentration of planets below the horizon -- in this chart, all but Eris in red on the right, and Juno in blue on the left. Also above the horizon are three calculated points -- Transpluto in pink, the South Node in orange and the vertex.

It’s always a bit unsettling when the most volatile region in the world verges on going totally out of control. We’ve seen a revolution in Tunisia, we’re about to see one in Egypt, and the natives are restless in Jordan. Regardless of whose theory you accept as to how this all started, that says little about how the cookie will crumble.

This is an unusually strong New Moon for a number of reasons — beginning with that concentration of planets in Aquarius. At the center of the cluster is Mars, closely conjoined by Ceres, the Moon and the Sun. Aquarius is about ideas and Mars is about passion and energy — this puts the two together. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself feeling rather strongly about an idea you have. Aquarius-styled, that’s going to be an idea about standing out as an individual, something that most of us could do with a little more of. Conformity is boring, and we know that at the end of the discussion one must be who one really is — there is no point in faking it.

The other attribute of this New Moon worth paying attention to is that it’s close to the cross-quarter day Imbolc. I mention the Aries Point a lot; that term, pertaining to the first degree of the tropical zodiac, also translates to eight different points along the zodiac: the quarter days (equinoxes and solstices) and cross-quarter days when the Sun is at the midpoint of a season, right in the middle of a fixed sign. Events close to these cross-quarter points can be every bit as influential as eclipses, reverberating with that ‘personal is political’ energy of seemingly larger events.

Chiron, now slow and powerful, is on the brink of changing signs into Pisces, bringing in one of the basic energies of the 2012 era. This is the last New Moon before Chiron ingresses Pisces on Feb. 8 (where it will remain continually until it first dips into Aries on April 17, 2018). For now, Chiron is lingering in the very end of Aquarius, one of the most interesting degrees of the zodiac. Though a little long to quote here, the degree (randomly channeled by a psychic nearly a century ago) is about individual initiation into group consciousness — a key theme of Aquarius.

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