SCORPIO Sun + Rising for This Week | by Eric Francis
Purpose and meaning are closely related; one is the embodiment of the other. You can feel meaning but you act with purpose. And you’re now at a point where a decision and action are crucial. You may have waited until a time when you’re compelled by circumstances to make a change or an adjustment — and that time has arrived. It’s now time to make a decision and then move with commitment. You know what you need to know; you have studied the situation and had every opportunity to make up your mind. You may be feeling this as a matter of ‘who you want to be’ rather than ‘what you want to do’. And that may make it seem like the stakes are higher. But it’s all the same thing, in the end. What the two ideas have in common is wanting.
Friday on Planet Waves FM — Tales from the Other Side of Astrology…actual ghost stories from various places I have lived and clients I’ve served as a spiritual advisor…watch for an email or go to the PWFM Substack or the PWFM home page at about 8 pm EDT Friday.
Days of the Dead – Scorpio 2025
Where I live, little cemeteries dot the landscape. Most are barely maintained; they are abandoned, slowly withering decade upon decade. Perhaps volunteers or someone from the town cuts the grass and maintains the fence every now and then. I’ve driven past this one quite a few times and over the weekend the light was exactly right — low in the sky at about 5 in the afternoon.
The thing about all these people — each grave marker represents a life — is that nobody remembers who they were. They lived in the 19th century, well beyond living memory. There are no new graves. Maybe their names are recorded in someone’s Bible. Maybe you can find some of the wealthier people in deed records or the local newspaper if there was one, and if it was saved.
Imagine that for one hour, around each of these graves was a solemn funeral service, officiated by the local minister, attended by most of the town. Hundreds of them…one at a time…each grave dug by hand…
The larger graves are obviously for the wealthier and seemingly more important people; the small markers are either footstones (graves used to have two markers), or the graves of stillborns and children. And on a lovely October afternoon 150 or 200 years on, they are all the same.
Melissa at Pere Lachaise, Day of the Dead, 2005 (wow, twenty years ago next week)
For fans of this particular Book of Blue classic image — Melissa and I had the fine idea to do a photo shoot in Pere Lachaise cemetery on a popular day to visit, Day of the Dead (in 2005). Melissa, a saxophone player from Italy who made a living busking, was one of the early Book of Blue models in the second stage of the project (in Paris; the project began earlier that year in Montreal and then Toronto).
It never occurred to me to direct her to go inside the little prayer chapel of the long-forgotten mausoleum. She just slipped in and emerged several times till we got the right look on her face, blinded by seeing sunlight for the first time in 150 years. (The bodies are presumably buried in a crypt beneath the surface.)
Somehow the graves at Pere Lachaise avoided being scooped out and thrown into the Catacombs of Paris; it’s more of a historic spot than a practical cemetery, though there are still new burials there and there are many famous graves (including that of Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy, and of course, Jim Morrison).
Hundreds of these chapels exist at Pere Lachaise…in long rows…a kind of necropolis…nearly all of them neglected and abandoned…the people buried there long lost in the foggy ruins of time, ancestors of those who no longer exist, or who have forgotten them. Look around and you’ll also see other types of graves that have been broken into, containing nothing but old leaves. European cemeteries are really interesting…
Nobody interfered with us; we were not worried about the cops as they would have laughed and probably posed for photos, and the eminently charismatic Melissa would have charmed us through any discussion.
This scene is about half a mile from Jim Morrison’s modest grave. Later on the Metro going home, she decided to strip in a crowded subway car. But that is another photo session.
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See my new article on Inner Light / Inner Peace coming out tonight at about 9 pm Eastern Time.
Aries (March 20-April 19) — Thankfully, the Full Moon sweeping across the angles of your chart that address sex, money and power arrives with a gift: Mars in Sagittarius. So you may experience a crisis of resources or commitment, but your ruling planet is soon taking up a journey across the most spiritually-focused angle of your solar chart. This says you have the vision and the faith to move through whatever may be troubling you. Yet the important thing is that you must choose between being caught in crisis and asserting your self-leadership — and almost certainly leadership of the people around you. That may not seem easy at first but you will get the hang of it if you make the least modicum of effort.
Looking for guidance, reassurance or company? Visit the Astrology Boutique.
Taurus (April 19-May 20) — The forthcoming Full Moon in your birth sign is pushing you to make a decision, most likely about a relationship. You’ll feel better if you’re not forced into anything or compelled to make a choice you’re not ready to make. Someone in this situation seems intractable. They are dug in and will not budge. Who might it be? Who needs to be forced to change their mind about something? Think this through. Moreover, feel it through. How have the last few conversations gone? Where did they start, and where did they end? What do you think the underlying issue or subject matter is? Some people can only make a decision when they are “forced” into it. Yet what that amounts to is being relieved of the responsibility and hence the benefits of your decisions.
Taurus Astrology Studio 2025-26.
Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Mars and Mercury in your opposite sign Sagittarius are encouraging you to find common ground with others — and suggest strongly that such exists and is waiting to be explored. One modality of the new robotic world we live in is to live “transactionally.” That goes like: I have bread, you have money, let’s trade. The other approach is, let’s make dinner together, or what you might call common ground. That’s a choice. Another digital problem is to assume that a point of disagreement is more important than a point of agreement; and where the disagreement is concerned, to assume that no dialog is possible. That too is a choice. Yet another condition is to dismiss anyone with an actual opinion, without finding out why they take such a position. Such would be a loss for everyone.
Astrology that’s better than therapy. Visit the Astrology Boutique.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) — What you do when you can do anything you want is an indicator of what you’re ‘supposed to’ be doing. Notice what you naturally keep coming back to and seek your guidance there. Notice what you do where time seems to disappear. Notice the activities where you feel a sense of connection to your purpose. Those are the things you can emphasize to take advantage of the new beginnings that are all over your astrology. Under digital conditions, there’s another factor that has all but disappeared, and it will offer you guidance: your sense of spiritual connection. This may feel like inner peace, or the experience of being guided, or understanding that your activity has meaning for a larger world. Spiritual is always more than about just you, though it always includes you.
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — For the foreseeable future — by which I mean many years — you must develop the skill of knowing when you’re being pressured by a group. This might be a very small group (one or two other people) or a large one (a religion, political party, or those who hold a social ideology). Learn how to smell and feel and taste the kind of pressure that gets you to violate your own instincts and your own intentions. Know when you’re being pushed to compromise when you didn’t know you were even bargaining. If you notice that you’re angry, ask yourself why. If you feel powerless, figure out how that came to be. If you notice a decision is being made for you, immediately make contact with the choice you would make, and ask who is doing the deciding. In other words, pay attention and use what you know.
Eric Francis reads your solar chart. Visit the Astrology Boutique.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Your ruling planet Mercury, now in Sagittarius, is a reminder that your home is everywhere. And if that’s true, then you can feel at home where you are right now, or wherever you may go in the future. Yet your here/now may have an unusually large feeling. When asked where they are, most people will name a town or a city, and not a planet or a galaxy. You’re currently oriented on the wide end of that spectrum, not the narrow one. You may be experiencing your life as something connected to all of existence — a rare and beautiful sensation that is difficult to share with others. Just make sure you type the correct zip code into online orders and follow traffic signals. And please add a fact verification layer to anything you write, before you send it out.
Spiritually grounded astrology readings from Eric Francis. Visit the Astrology Boutique.
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — You will need to consciously avoid confrontations you don’t want to be in — which is pretty much all of them. It will be easy to get drawn into not just the dramas of others but also their insecurity, lack of self-awareness and crises of awakening. You probably want to help (know when that’s not appropriate). But if you must, that would best be accomplished by being a witness rather than a direct participant. Give feedback when asked, engage in problem solving when appropriate, and hold a mirror when necessary — but have a firm line between what belongs to you and what belongs to others. Remember that in the digital world, our nervous systems are interconnected. Under these conditions, understanding metes and bounds is more important than ever. There is a place where you end and others begin.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — Purpose and meaning are closely related; one is the embodiment of the other. You can feel meaning but you act with purpose. And you’re now at a point where a decision and action are crucial. You may have waited until a time when you’re compelled by circumstances to make a change or an adjustment — and that time has arrived. It’s now time to make a decision and then move with commitment. You know what you need to know; you have studied the situation and had every opportunity to make up your mind. You may be feeling this as a matter of ‘who you want to be’ rather than ‘what you want to do’. And that may make it seem like the stakes are higher. But it’s all the same thing, in the end. What the two ideas have in common is wanting.
Somebody understands Scorpio. Visit the Astrology Boutique.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — Though you aspire to be fiercely independent, it’s usually true that you depend heavily on someone else for your success. You might want to acknowledge that much and, at least, make them feel welcome in your world. You will get from that relationship exactly what you put into it. And it’s closely related to any creative project you’re on right now. It’s also related to who you are becoming as an individual. Just remember that being an individual means being able to stand on your own, and that must be integrated into what you’re learning and who you are becoming. Circumstances are what they are right now — and they are very good. But the planets in their courses will keep moving, and you must move with them.
Jim Morrison said Sagittarius is the most philosophical sign. Visit the Astrology Boutique.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — It will help if you have a financial strategy, and developments over the next couple of days will help you make one. Given the state of your solar chart, you want this to be a mental strategy based on clearly stated goals, rather than an emotional one. You can factor in your emotional desires but then evaluate them carefully. Preference counts, love counts, your conscience counts — then distill all of this into a tangible strategy, preferably with a timeline. Refer back to your plans and adjust as needed. Remember that your priorities are not yours alone; you are thinking and acting for somewhere between several people and a community. You are in some way stewarding collective resources as well as personal ones. Just make sure your basic needs are covered.
Mature when you’re a child, grows younger as the years go on. Visit the Astrology Boutique.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — You must direct yourself with a strategy. I don’t mean a 25-point plan, and I don’t mean running an agenda on people. I mean a basic sketch about how you’re going to proceed, subject to editing and adaptation to real-life circumstances as needed. This will require a little detachment, and taking a circumspect view — easily available, now that your ruling planet Saturn is back in Pisces for one last visit. By circumspect, I mean walk around the scene of something and get a perspective from different angles. Ask five people their opinion and see what they have in common and where they diverge. See if you know enough to argue from three different points of view. Do everything you can to prove yourself wrong.
Learn the secrets of Pluto in your sign. Visit the Astrology Boutique.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Mercury and soon-to-be Mars moving across the midheaven of your solar chart — that would be visionary Sagittarius — will remind you that you have more potential than you’ve recently believed. The ordinary things you do will help you make your mark on the world, and focus some awareness on your efforts. Pisces can be invisible in the ‘attention economy’ and every other one, and so take your opportunities to stand out. Do what you might ordinarily consider a little too bold. You may not like any form of the spotlight; you are a private person, and probably some form of an introvert. Yet you know you have the capacity to shine when the moment is right, and so far as the planets are concerned, it is — and getting better.
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Pictures are outstanding. 🙂