Dear Friend and Reader:
We have arrived at the far corners of the Earth’s journey around the Sun: the longest days in the Southern Hemisphere, and the shortest days in the Northern Hemisphere.
Today, Dec. 21, 2021, is the 24th anniversary of the Planet Waves website, which was published Dec. 21, 1998, from the home of Neal McDonough in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey. From the earliest editions, I announced to the world that we would be creating a reader-supported news and astrology platform.
In some traditions, the solstice is the start of the new season. In others, it marks the midpoint of the season. For example, some cultures count the beginning of winter at the Sun’s midpoint of Scorpio and the beginning of spring at the midpoint of Aquarius (at cross-quarter days). Most cultures I know of, however, count the beginning of seasons when the Sun’s rays are aligned with the tropics.
Presently, the Sun is aligned with the Tropic of Capricorn, and we begin the Sun’s journey through what is for this reason called the tropical sign Capricorn.
At this time of year, the noontime Sun will appear at its lowest point in the sky in the Northern Hemisphere, and at the highest point in the Southern Hemisphere. The sensation of both is similar: this has all gone far enough. It is a stretched to the limits of one’s patience kind of feeling.
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What I Learned in 30 Years of Covering Monsanto
Dear Friend and Reader:
Tonight’s program is a special edition, where I mark thirty years to the week that I’ve been covering Monsanto. On this week’s program, I’m planning to tell you what I learned. There is so much that I choose about four or five highlights: major issues where key elements are revealed.
Before I go on: if you are a contributor to the program, thank you. Not all of my readers are thrilled that I honor my professional duty and cover scientific fraud. If you are one of the many people who takes refuge in my program and my writing, please make a contribution to the program. Lots of small donations go a long way. Several large donations in December have helped us make ends meet.
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STARCAST for Dec. 2, 2021 | Sagittarius Total Solar Eclipse, Part 2. Note, Jacobson was decided in 1905, and is still in effect, or it was (in principle) until 2020 when it was disregarded. Also, the degree of the eclipse is 12 and change Sagittarius, not the ascendant of the eclipse.
Deep Background: The U.S. Pluto Return
Dear Friend and Reader:
Early in the ‘covid’ crisis, I proposed that for the United States, the drama was going to go on for a while. That was for one reason, and one only: the U.S. is going through its first Pluto return.Astute observers will note that this planetary return is taking place in year 246 of a 248-year orbit, which is due to the Earth wobbling on its axis (also called precessional movement). Anyone curious about that, hit me up and we can talk.
Whatever chart you may use for the United States of America — they span from 1775 (monetary independence declared from the Bank of England) through 1777 (the Articles of Confederation) — Pluto has returned, or is returning, to its position at the time of the American Revolution. The United States has its natal Pluto in late Capricorn, and we are now one full Pluto cycle later.
This is the biggest astrological event so far in American history, and there have been a few whoppers. I use the standard July 4, 1776 chart (called the Sibly chart), and based on that, the first engagement of the Pluto return is Feb. 20, 2022. However, this scenario has been going on for a while.
Read More on Planet Waves
Pre-Order TUNE IN 2022 Here | DELIVERY IS BY DEC. 31, 2021
How are you feeling these days? Are you oriented on your life path, in crisis or drifting? Astrology can help you situate yourself in time, and in the sequence of your life. TUNE IN 2022 is my forthcoming annual set of year-ahead readings. These are the 24th Planet Waves annual edition.Once you listen to one, you will want to hear them all. Pre-order all 12 readings today for the very best pricing.
Everyone has been shaken from their local reality by events of the past two years — yet the planets remain on course, and available to guide you on your life’s journey.
The Spiritual Element: Following Your Inner Guidance
In addition to addressing the specific topics of work, relationships and finances, I look at the spiritual element that is so elusive today. What do our lives really mean? What is the way forward? How is it possible to follow your inner guidance in these chaotic times?
A hybrid of wholly relatable audio and video, TUNE IN 2022 is a set of professional astrology presentations that will help you get a sense of where you are, what you want, and where you are going. Eric uses astrology not to get easy answers but rather to ask the right questions. Your readings will stand up to many listens.
Learn More!
Wrapping Up 2021: Jupiter and Venus in the News. Mars Opposite Uranus. Lunar and Solar Eclipses Coming.
Dear Friend and Reader:
With the American Thanksgiving holiday approaching, we are in the final stretch of 2021. Events at the end of the year lead into interesting facets of early 2022.
Let’s begin with an immediate aspect: Mars in Scorpio opposite Uranus in Taurus. This is an energetic aspect, calling for some caution and moderation. The aspect is exact at 12:23 pm EST on Wednesday, Nov. 17. Uranus in Taurus is the slow-mover of the two in this aspect pattern.
Uranus in Taurus describes the economic uncertainty we are living with. Mars opposite Uranus could represent a shock or jolt of some kind.
This aspect can manifest as exciting or violent; creative or aggressive. It all depends on the state of mind on the human level: self-awareness, emotional control and one’s plans.
This is not a good aspect under which to make sudden decisions. You can make up your mind, sure, and then give it a few days and make sure you’re making the right decision. This is classic accident astrology; please apply care and caution. This is not always so easy, and most people have no clue what’s happening. Anyway, you do — great time to lay low, if only a little. I describe this aspect in detail in the current STARCAST.
In other news, we are already up to the Full Moon, which happens to be a partial lunar eclipse in Taurus. This occurs in the Moon’s sign of exaltation, Taurus, and is loosely square Jupiter. Keep an eye out for financial instability (this is not a shocking interpretation, and it goes with Mars opposite Uranus Wednesday). This corresponds with a total solar eclipse on Saturday, Dec. 4. This is the more impressive event, conjunct a deep-space point called the Great Attractor.
This is not an easy point to interpret, but think of as the focal point of the galactic cluster we live in, called Lanikea or Great Heaven. I’ll have more closer to that event; here is an audio interview with Brent Tully, the leader of the team that figured out Laniakea.
Read More on Planet Waves
Strange Arrangement: Moon, Mercury, Mars, Saturn
WEDNESDAY, we have a crescendo event. Like other recent aspects, this one is defined by a combination of fast-movers and a slow-mover. The Moon forms a conjunction to Saturn, at the same time that Mercury and Mars form a conjunction to one another — and an exact square to Saturn.Because it’s the slowest-moving planet in the arrangement, Saturn is said to be taking all the transits.
Without interpreting, let’s just describe the energies that are working on one another. This is the latest in a series of events where fast-movers are making unusually tight aspects to slow-movers.
These include last week’s Scorpio New Moon, and several weeks ago, Mars lining up with the ultra-slow Pluto-Eris square (just as it was completing its two-year run).
Read More on Planet Waves
We didn’t know how bad this claimed virus was, and what we would be dealing with. I willingly put my life on the line to be of service, as a nurse should.
I’m a nurse. I’m not taking the shot.
By Kimberly Messing
“Good evening Kimberly, I understand that you are not vaccinated against COVID-19. As you will not be receiving your vaccine, your file will unfortunately be inactivated. I wish you the best in your future endeavors.”
This is the message I received at 8:30 pm on Election Day 2021, giving me an ultimatum of getting the injection by the next evening or else I will be cut loose from my home health position as an LPN.
Feeling violated and confused, I thought about my patient that I am responsible for caring for the next morning. This mandate is forcing me and the company to abandon the care of a medically fragile patient who needs daily skilled nursing. The patient and caregiver were very distraught as they asked the agency to find a way to keep my care, expressing that even though the patient is ventilator-dependent, has respiratory issues and is medically fragile. Yet they feel completely safe with me in their home without my being “vaccinated.”
I have been dealing with covid since day 1. I worked at a medical practice in an Urgent Care facility as I was attending nursing school full -time. When the pandemic scenario began, I was begged to work more hours at the Urgent Care — when half the staff jumped ship and they were left understaffed. I worked in Urgent Care as much as I could, trying to be of help in a time of fear and confusion.
We didn’t know how bad this claimed virus was, and what we would be dealing with. I willingly put my life on the line to be of service, as a nurse should. My work included a lot of covid testing and treatment of symptoms.
During nursing school, I gained knowledge of viruses, illnesses, the immune system, infection control, etc. While experiencing covid testing and treatment on a daily basis for over a year and seeing this whole process unfold, I realized that this was basically just a glorified flu — and even if there are risks of illness and death, I had no fear of this virus.
Strange Arrangement :: Now on Planet Waves TV
Classic Article: Tales from the Other Side of Astrology
Scorpio New Moon Opposite Uranus
Dear Friend and Reader:
THURSDAY, Nov. 4 at 5:14 pm EDT, the Moon and the Sun form a conjunction in mid-Scorpio, which is the New Moon. This takes place close to the cross-quarter — the midpoint between equinox and solstice. The Sun passes the cross quarter at 12:59 EDT am on Sunday, Nov. 7. (Note, daylight time ends an hour later.)
Events that occur near the cross-quarter can resonate loudly and have more influence than they otherwise might.
That’s another way of saying that what we are witnessing now is more significant than it seems. While this would only seem to affect those who are paying attention, those who are not are more likely to be blindsided by events as they develop.
The cross-quarter is Samhain (pronounced sah-wen), which shows up in the calendar as Halloween, Days of the Dead, All Soul’s Day and All Saint’s Day. We are in the time of year where “final harvest” celebrations are held. Early August is the time of “first harvest” or “second planting,” which is another cross-quarter called Lughnasadh or Lughnasa (pronounced lunessa).
Read More on Planet Waves
How About a Conspiracy of Love and Respect
Dear Friend and Reader:
I AM looking forward to the day when I can publish an article and not worry about losing subscribers or being told I am a “conspiracist” or “anti-science.” This is unusual feedback, given that the theme of my writing career has been covering unpopular, controversial, dangerous and taboo subjects, often involving the conduct of bureaucrats and so-called scientists.My well-developed field of speciality is scientific fraud. I started writing about this when I was 19 years old and have persisted throughout my career as an astrologer. There have been times when I raised money for my investigative reporting — always to cover scientific tests — from my readers, who were excited about what I might discover.
I’m cautious of declaring (in the words of that old rock song) “Everybody’s so different; I haven’t changed.” However, that may be true. That said, the world has never really been friendly to the idea that the government is collaborating with big corporations to poison us. But occasionally, it’s in vogue.
There were only two other times in my Planet Waves career when I was at odds with many of my readers. I’ll skip one and tell you about the discussion nobody but me remembers. Once upon a time, Dick Cheney, George W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, Colin Powell, Condi Rice and company were about to invade Iraq, which had done nothing to the United States or its allies. In fact, Iraq was our ally just a few years earlier.
They made many nightly appearances on every network claiming that Saddam Hussein had something to do with 9/11, and was about to have the atomic bomb. I called foul.
Read More on Planet Waves | Read Your November Monthly Horoscope
You may be familiar with my theory that Mercury retrograde is primarily a mental phenomenon. After living through a hundred or so of them, however, there is no way I can deny that these intervals, which occur three times a year, do not affect electronic equipment.
Mercury stations direct. Full Moon in Aries. Sun enters Scorpio. Is anyone or anything always right under all circumstances? And a new Planet Waves weekly horoscope by Eric Francis.
Dear Friend and Reader:
This week represents the working-out of much astrology that dominated late summer and early autumn. We’ve just been through the Mercury retrograde, pole-shift edition, which has had the power to turn integrated circuits to scrambled eggs. That ended at about mid-day Monday in most of our time zones, and early evening across Europe.
You may be familiar with my theory that Mercury retrograde is primarily a mental phenomenon.
After living through a hundred or so of them (going back to my days at the Echoes-Sentinel), however, there is no way I can deny that these intervals, which occur three times a year, do not affect electronic equipment.
Nobody can prove that they do, but the effect is obvious to anyone noticing. And while the argument could be made that the noticing is most of the effect, we could also debate whether it really is raining outside, or if it just seems like it.
However, they tend to affect the mind the most strongly, having a distorting effect on consciousness.
This can lead to a serious flake factor, people making bad choices that have repercussions, and the human effect of digital systems failing. Then these factors all play off of one another. The result can be quite a bit of confusion and mental tension.
Anyway, though the retrograde is behind us, be careful of the effects, here in the storm phase and the next few weeks as Mercury re-crosses the degrees where it was retrograde. Take your time getting things going again. Perhaps look through your notes for all the people whose calls you need to return, or whose business card you collected for a good reason. Check for emails that you missed.
Read More on Planet Waves
Hey, kids, shake it loose together
Dear Friend and Reader:
This letter includes a new horoscope column, published below. I also give a detailed reading of the next seven days of astrology on STARCAST, which also includes a Planet Waves TV on the same page.
We are at a slight lull in the astrology for a few days. For about two weeks we’ve been living through Mercury retrograde on steroids. If you recall, last week’s Libra New Moon conjunct Mars was followed by a triple conjunction of retrograde Mercury, Mars and the Sun on Saturday.
All three remain in Libra, and Mercury stations direct on the 18th, which is likely to come with a new set of revelations, personal and collective.
This is a lot — of turbulence, of pressure, of anxiety, of decisions made under less-than-ideal circumstances. It’s the astrology at a point of no return. There is nobody I know who is not going through some unusual pressure, drama or circumstances, and the world is in rough shape. Perhaps you are among those who are monitoring whether the people around you have any interest in confronting reality, or at least taking a look at it.
Because I learned astrology first in a newsroom, from a newspaper editor in New Jersey (when I was about 24), I’ve long had my pulse on the relationship between public developments and planetary movements. Given what we’ve experienced the past two weeks, Mercury direct is promising to be, let’s just say, unusual.
Read More on Planet Waves — and Read Your Horoscope
Tales from the Other Side of Astrology
Originally published Oct. 28, 2011 | Link to original
Dear Friend and Reader:
Being an astrologer is sometimes like being a metaphysical minister. People assume we have a connection to the other side, and many of us do. Practicing astrology helps people enhance their subtle senses. There is a need to reach a little beyond the obvious, into the unseen, and this gradually helps us open doors.
More significantly, astrologers are presumed to be open-minded about things that other people won’t believe in, or won’t go near. We hear about a vast diversity of human experiences, including plenty that people would never tell their therapist.
In truth, it’s only a short hop from studying these mysterious charts, and the lives of both the living and the dead, to direct encounters with the spirit world. I understood this was the reason why a young mother approached me one evening in a bar on Vashon Island in Washington State, and asked me if I had any experience dealing with haunting or possession.
I asked if there was a child involved. The answer was yes — her young daughter. The mother believed some kind of spirit occupying their home had been coming through and tormenting her daughter, but the child had other problems.
She said the spirit contact didn’t happen all the time, only periodically. I suggested that if things got worse, they get the child out of the house immediately, since children, especially those with any kind of psychic or emotional disturbance, make an easy foothold for certain kinds of entities.
Read more on Planet Waves
What you missed on C-Span flipping through the cable channels late one night in October 2019.
By Eric F. Coppolino | Listen on Planet Waves FM or use the player above.
C-Span is my dad’s favorite cable channel. He’s a recently-retired communications professor. He will watch it for hours late at night, probably while I’m taking in South Park.
What he likes is that on C-Span, you see the thing itself and not someone’s interpretation of it.
This includes proceedings of Congress and levels of government that never make news programs.
When things do get onto the news, you’re told what you’re supposed to think happened.
On C-Span, one can witness discussion of policy and law as it takes place. Topics are elaborated in whole thoughts, not selections by TV producers that can easily bias or distort the issue. C-Span is the thing itself — and that is a thing of beauty (sponsored by a fund provided by the different cable companies).
Listen on Planet Waves FM by Chiron Return
The Planet Waves Weekly Horoscope is Back
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — Two era-defining events take place in your sign this week. One is the New Moon conjunct Mars, on Oct. 6. The other is a triple conjunction of the retrograde Mercury, the Sun and Mars — that in my view is the main event. It is distinctive as it is a rare before-and-after-type event that does not involve a slow-moving planet. There is something about this aspect that has the (non-astrology) internet buzzing with anxiety, and who knows, it may indicate some kind of wider disruption. For you, it is a moment of revelation. It is the rare person who is capable of revising their opinion or viewpoint when they come into contact with new information. Most humans build a dam and a series of dykes around their consciousness to blockade themselves against anything that could change their mind, and — as a result — live in a split reality. I don’t think that’s your karma. Yet to resolve this, you would need to be open and available to a perspective other than the one you may currently have: even if it means a total reorientation of your worldview. Such a shakeup would be refreshing, but not if you resist.
Read the new horoscope for your sign on Planet Waves
The worldwide search for any record of SARS-CoV-2
Tonight’s season premier of Planet Waves FM features an interview with Christine Massey, who has coordinated the worldwide search for any record if purified or isolated samples of SARS-CoV-2. She has compiled responses from 107 different state, provincial and national governments, as well as institutions and organizations around the world.
None have any record of proof of existence of the alleged virus, which would be necessary before it could be shown to be harmful, or sequenced sufficiently to develop a PCR assay. The PCR can only find something if it has some of it already. Christine’s work is the other half of what I have been doing demonstrating that the PCR for SARS-CoV-2 has never been validated because there is no sequence available.
Now on Planet Waves FM
The Collapse and Rebirth of the American Idea: Remember the United States Pluto Return
Dear Friend and Reader:
Why is a New Yorker with cerebral palsy my nomination for the face of the United States Pluto return? And what is that transit? Meet Julie Maury. In my view, she is the Paul Revere of the New American Revolution. Her “midnight ride” was aboard an electric wheel chair Monday in Foley Square Park.
Until recently, we all agreed that society needed to make accommodations for people with disabilities. We all agreed that there should be ramps and wheelchair-friendly bathrooms and doors. That’s because someone with cerebral palsy is a person too. We didn’t used to think so, as a society; it was just too darned bad if you couldn’t walk up one step and get into the store, or fit your wheel chair in the bathroom stall.
Society slowly changed. Now we all understand why we must protect the rights of those whose bodies are not up to the task of the old-style urban environment. Maybe only 1 in 100 bus riders needed wheelchair access: I don’t know anyone who would say they should not have it.
In her presentation, Julie says that everyone she knows, with or without cerebral palsy, has had an adverse reaction to the injection. But they still have to take it in order to enter a restaurant and many other public accommodations in New York City: in order to eat. No exceptions are being granted. Doctors are having their licenses threatened for advocating on behalf of their patients.
Continue reading on Planet Waves
The Balancing of Medicine: Of Owls and Skunks, the Pisces Full Moon and the Victoria Declaration, by Eric Francis
Dear Friend and Reader:
The other day I was walking down the sidewalk with a friend, when I saw a beautiful picture of a baby owl in the trash. Without hesitating, I picked it up and made it my own. I explained to her that my primary medicine is Skunk. To me, that means working with the counter-medicine, Owl — particularly the great horned owl (though any Owl will serve).
She seemed a little surprised at this theory. I explained that when you work with an animal guide, it’s best to work both sides of the equation.
Nearly all animals give Skunk a wide berth. While not deadly or especially harmful, nobody wants to get sprayed. Skunk is attractive to the right people, often identifying one another by scent. Skunk has only one natural predator: the Great Horned Owl lacks the usual sense of smell, so does not mind eating Skunk.
Therefore, if you are are protected by Skunk, you make friends with Owl. That’s a good friend to have: one of the supreme hunters, a bearer of wisdom, and a true master of crossing the realms. Even the most hardened rationalist will be a little spooked or mystified by seeing or hearing an owl.
There is a similar principle in astrology, which seems obvious enough but in the old literature, I’ve only ever heard Alice A. Bailey express it. It is central to her theory of the zodiac: opposite signs contain one another. They are different expressions of the same underlying energy. One of the spiritual or growth objectives of astrology is to integrate one’s opposite sign. This may be why so often, opposites attract (including the rising sign, for example, people with Aries rising attracting Libra Sun partners or some such combination).
Read more on Planet Waves
Metamorphosis: In and Out of Aquarius
Dear Friend and Reader:
Eric McLuhan was not kidding when he warned, “The body is everywhere assaulted by all of our new media, a state which has resulted in deep disorientation of intellect and destabilization of culture throughout the world. In the age of disembodied communication, the meaning and significance and experience of the body is utterly transformed and distorted.”
Eric McLuhan was not an astrologer. He did like my environmental approach to the topic. But he may as well been talking about the transits to Aries and Aquarius with that statement.
We continue to move through these uncertain and even tumultuous times, all driven by the disembodiment created by total overexposure to digital technology. Life would be easier if we could find our bodies, and remembered what they are for.
I have more to say about that as it relates to the current astrology — but first some in-house updates. Note, realtime astrology updates are at STARCAST.
Read more on Planet Waves
Planet Waves FM :: Reconciliation Through Truth
Are Anti-vaxers idiots? What are they thinking?
Dear Friend and Reader:
In two recent articles, I’ve contemplated the nature of Virgo as it relates to the holistic principle and the idea of biophilia. Virgo is intimately connected with our approach to health and wellness, which many have figured out is best practiced as an integrative method.
Speaking of health: I woke up Wednesday morning and was treated to an article in The New York Times: This is the Moment that the Anti-Vaccine Movement Has Been Waiting For. It begins with an introduction to Joshua Coleman, a guy who they tell us “organizes anti-vaccine rallies.”
“In March 2020, he said to his flock, ‘This is the one time in human history where every single human being across this country, possibly across the planet, but especially in this country, are all going to have an interest in vaccination and vaccines’, he said. ‘So it’s time for us to educate’.”
The Times then helps us understand what Mr. Coleman means, in case you did not know. They write, “By ‘educate’, he meant to spread misinformation about vaccines.”
Yep, that’s all he’s going to do: spread misinformation, but call it education so they fool everyone. How nefarious! And what an original idea.
Yet I keep wondering what the authors and editors of these kinds of articles think “anti-vaxers” are motivated by. Why are they so committed to their cause? Is this part of a pattern in their lives? Do they also disinform people about other things, such as the weather or the score of last night’s Braves game?
What drives people to devote their lives to such a strange pursuit, like putting sugar in random people’s gas tanks? Are they merely anti-social discontents, acting out in this odd way? Is there nothing else to protest? Are they rebels without a cause, or a clue? It’s perplexing.
Read more on Planet Waves
The book Silent Spring is the perfect historical document to help us understand the times we’re living through.
Dear Friend and Reader:
With the Sun in Virgo, the notion of “holistic” is on my mind. So is the Goddess: Virgo is the sign of Gaia, the organism once known as the living Earth. In a poem written toward the end of her career, Adrienne Rich wrote in her 1991 work Dark Fields of the Republic, “Because you still listen, because in times like these / to have you listen at all, it’s necessary / to talk about trees.”
Times have changed a bit, though I would like to talk about birds, and the discovery of the ecosystem. I credit another of the 20th century’s great woman poets with discovering that facet of nature, and explaining it to us, and to President Kennedy, who took action based on what he learned from her. That was Rachel Carson.
The ecosystem was not really a known thing before the book Silent Spring came out. Carson, a marine biologist and avid birder, set out to figure out why, one year, the entire forest around her home went quiet. Previously it had been flooded with the sounds of songbirds.
The writing and the message of Silent Spring were so powerful that the book got the attention of then Pres. John F. Kennedy, who referred it to his Science Advisory Panel. They studied the scientific assessments in the book and a year later determined that Carson’s work was based on valid toxicology. This led to a 1972 ban on DDT in agricultural use in the United States — though not until after 600,000 tons of the stuff had been dumped on the environment. Once the DDT issue came to public awareness, many other events followed, which helped raise awareness of toxins and begin the process of regulating them — at least for a while.
Read more on Planet Waves
Sun enters Virgo, the sign of the Holistic Principle
I’ve been talking a lot about the primary function of Aquarius, which is pattern-setting. I think we probably have a good idea how that feels by now. Virgo also has an energetic property, which is integration. What Virgo and Aquarius have in common is technological expression. Hold that thought.
The Sun entered Virgo a few hours after the Full Moon on Sunday; the Moon enters Pisces just minutes after the Full Moon. The Moon-Sun opposition from the last degree of Aquarius to the last degree of Leo is exact at 8:02 am EDT. Sunday will be an interesting day, between the Full Moon and then both bodies changing signs almost immediately.
I have covered the mythical and spiritual meaning of Virgo in one of my favorite articles, The Threefold Goddess in a Field of Grain (view in our old-style newsletter format).
It seems like I wrote that one yesterday; I still remember working on it. You will get a taste of Virgo from the standpoint of Esoteric Astrology. That is not an easy book to read, but if you get into it, you will find it mind-expanding. The chapter on Virgo is one of the best pieces of astrological writing I have ever read.
Regarding integration, this is about a reckoning of every facet, fact, or idea with every other. Integration is from the same word-root as integrity, which means to render something whole. An integer is a whole number — same idea. All of these come from a word root (called a PIE root) that means to touch or to handle.
Read More on Planet Waves
Aquarius Moon, Leo Sun, Face to Face: The Mystical and the Mundane. New essay by Eric Francis.
Dear Friend and Reader:
There are some paths of growth and self-development that consider everything a spiritual experience: nothing is special. Buddhists suggest you handle dishes you’re washing like the baby Buddha. A Course in Miracles has you paying attention to people you don’t recognize who you may meet in an elevator; you can resolve lifetimes of karma with a glance.
We are in such a moment. We are being challenged to pay attention and to treat each moment and each decision like it matters: to treat each person like they matter. There are ways to test the unusual new trance that society is in. How do you respond to the people you meet? How much fear do you feel from hour to hour? How is your cortisol level?
Thursday’s Full Moon in Aquarius describes a scenario where the mundane affairs of the world come face to face with a high-order spiritual initiation. What we usually think of as different things are shown to reveal one another. Today is the 52nd anniversary of the Woodstock Festival. All those participants consciously knew they were at such an event.
Read More on Planet Waves
They Were Barefoot in Babylon – Woodstock at 52
Originally published June 4, 2020 | Link to Original | See related letter
Dear Friend and Reader:
A few weeks ago hanging out in the backroom of 30th Street Guitars, master luthier Matt Brewster mentioned that the Woodstock festival was held during the Hong Kong Flu pandemic. All public sources agree that this outbreak of H3N2 influenza-A killed a million people worldwide and 100,000 in the United States between mid-1968 and 1970, during which time the festival occurred.
I posted a photo of the crowd to Facebook mentioning this fact, unaware I was wading into one of those seemingly pre-packaged, ready-to-snap shitstorms. My post got 157 comments, including a good few of the “there’s no comparison between then and now,” “you’re comparing apples to oranges” (about which I finally wrote an essay), “it wasn’t really in the middle,” and the “you’re an idiot” variety. People posted numerous articles “debunking” the claim from self-styled factchecking websites. Problem is, it actually happened. Even Snopes cannot make the whole Woodstock festival or a global pandemic vanish.
In that mysterious Facebook way, an audience of plebes spontaneously morphed into a panel of elite epidemiologists. They were quick to remind me that back then, more people smoked cigarettes and didn’t wear seatbelts, either. True, true. I knew that.
Continue reading on Planet Waves
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Flash Sale! Planets in Motion 2022
What’s happening in your astrology right now?
Dear Friend and Reader:
My approach to astrology is based on what is happening right now. I have just completed Planets in Motion, an e-Book that covers about 20 transits happening to people now, ages 1-84. This is an easy introduction to using astrology in practical ways. I write in clear language and bring your astrology to life. It comes with an audio introduction to the topic to help you get oriented and learn the value of transits.
You will read about the first and second Saturn return and related transits, Uranian opposition, Chiron Return and related transits, and then many subtle events that are specialized to specific years of birth. These will be relevant for many people in your life, young and old. We finally have a resource on people born between 1980 and 2000.
Here is how to order now. The book and audio are done and available.
Thank you for your business and your trust.
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“I have wanted to thank you so many times for what you have written, especially during what seems to have been at times, a very long and grueling year or so. Thank you for being a very centered, grounded person, even more so as you are writing about astrology.This comes through in your written words. I feel as if I have been given a spiritual, for lack of a different word, blessing every time I read your work.”
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This special edition horoscope offers excerpts from the Aquarian Era, Aquarian Age annual readings for each of the Sun, Moon and rising signs.
This week’s horoscope is a sample of An Aquarian Era, transits that track your astrology out to about 2025. While this is an unusual duration for an astrological reading, there are events on the horizon that make this a valuable tool. Those include Pluto entering Aquarius, and the forthcoming conjunction of Chiron and Eris. The link to the full reading is right above each of the horoscope entries. — Eric Francis
From Aquarian Era, Aquarian Age for Aries:
Weaving the World, One Relationship at a Time
Aries (March 20-April 19) — To build face-to-face reality takes work, and it will take adaptation. It does not need to be expensive, and an essential ingredient is the community itself bearing the costs and, more to the point, sharing resources.
The result could come in the form of a potluck, a food coop, a musical space, any form of creative collective, a lending library, a dog-walking/pet care organization, a community garden, a spring-cleaning society (where people help one another clean) or a hundred other possibilities.
They can be home-based, though remember that in the United States and many other countries, there is an abundance of unused space sitting idle and basically deteriorating. The value of using and sharing space rather than letting it sit empty is something we need to teach and learn.
Establishing and building community is true leadership: the type that is not vested in authority. Rather, it is grounded in your ability to relate to people, and to find a common purpose with them.
While we cannot exactly repair the past, it is possible to preserve what remains of a way of life before the digital environment was allowed to take over – and before it takes over so completely that most people don’t remember anything else.
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