Photo by Lanvi Nguyen.
This is a list of articles and episodes of Planet Waves FM and TV on the Uranus-Eris conjunction and the internet. At the very bottom, we’ve also linked to our resources page on Eris, containing earlier material. Enjoy!
Analog People vs. Digital People: Aries New Moon | April 6, 2021
Sunday is the New Moon conjunct the very sigil of the electronic age, Eris in Aries. If you could see it, this would be a positively spectacular lunation, but the New Moon is as invisible as the Full Moon is bright. Planets are tucked all around it: Venus, Ceres, Mercury, Chiron and the least famous planet everyone has heard of, Eris.
Our Aquarian Era: What Does it Hold? | April 1, 2021
It occurred to me this might be a good place to discuss some of my thoughts about what is happening in Aquarius, and get your feedback from your own perspective as well. I am interested, because this is troubling me, and I want to give a clear and refined message to my readers — one that is honest and realistic.
Kala Sarpa Yoga, the Capricorn New Moon and the United States Pluto Return | Jan. 11, 2021
An extremely rare condition will be in effect for the New Moon and the presidential inauguration in the U.S.. It has come in and out of focus since around the time of the Sagittarius eclipse, when the Sun crossed the South Node.
Jupiter and Mercury in Aquarius: Focus on Chiron, Focus on Healing, Focus on Self | Jan. 7, 2021
On Wednesday the nation was dealt yet another shock as protesters are said to have stormed the Capitol Building. This is adding more insult to injury and exhaustion. And there is only one way into the Capitol: someone is allowed in. The place is a fortress. Friday’s Planet Waves FM will be mostly a therapy session and partly analysis of this and the chart. I plan to have that on the new site at its usual time of about 10 pm Friday. I sometimes run early.
About That Standoff: The Cancer Full Moon | Dec. 28, 2020
The Full Moon will light up the nighttime here in these darkest days of the year overnight Tuesday to Wednesday. This takes place in the Moon’s sign of rulership, Cancer.
Exact full phase is at 10:28 pm EST on Tuesday, Dec. 29 (Wednesday at 3:28 am GMT). This is the opposition of the Moon and the Sun with the Earth in between them. That’s the sensation of tension and anxiety associated with this phase of the lunar cycle, and also the excitement and possibility.
Total Solar Eclipse in Sagittarius, and Final Approach to the Great Conjunction in Aquarius | Dec. 14, 2020
We are looking ahead at one of the most unusual weeks of astrology in recent memory. We know that 2020 has been a year of rare, era-defining events — I cannot think of a more influential year than 1965, when the Uranus-Pluto conjunction happened.
The Venturi Effect | Dec. 7, 2020
In my years of covering eclipses, I’ve discovered many ways to describe how they feel and how to handle them. We have an impressive total solar eclipse in Sagittarius set up for Monday, Dec. 14th. This occurs in the final hours of Jupiter and Saturn in Capricorn, before they make their ingress into Aquarius the 17th through the 19th and form their once per generation conjunction on the 21st.
Drowning in Digital | Dec. 3, 2020
Many people are on the edge right now. This is manifesting emotionally and physically: it’s getting harder to get through the day.
I strongly suggest we associate this with the constant war drum of doom that is coming through every single commercial media outlet, around the clock. While social media platforms are blocking those who want to discuss holistic health, traditional media has been relentless in its message of disease and death. This is exhausting, it literally sickens people, it weakens the immune system and it is not necessary.
On the Cusp of the Aquarian Era | Nov. 30, 2020
The world is in an interesting and delicate place as we approach the Aquarian Era. In three weeks, Jupiter and Saturn form a conjunction in the sign Aquarius for the first time since 1405. I’ve had to research that several times just to make sure I was seeing it right.
What Kind of World Do You Want? | Nov. 19, 2020
With the astrology now moving in the direction of Sagittarius and Aquarius, the floor is open for larger questions, the kind that influence collective reality. As far as I can tell, the question of our moment is, what kind of world do we want to live in?
Mercury Direct, The Election and the Asteroid Sauer | Nov. 2, 2020
This weekend I made a discovery related to Tuesday’s chart for Mercury direct. This, of course, is the day of and therefore the chart for the U.S. election. As I’ve mentioned a few times, the last time Mercury stationed direct on Election Day was in 2000, when George W. Bush lost, but still took office.
Scorpio and the Genome | Oct. 22, 2020
While DNA was discovered in the 19th century, it was not until 1953 that James Watson and Francis Crick discovered the double helix configuration that is now recognized as the sigil of life itself.
Retrograde Mars and Eris: The Central Alignment | Oct. 5, 2020
This morning I dreamed I was walking around on a street corner, and hanging inside of a phone booth was a complete stack of set lists from a music tour that had ended the previous night. I looked through them with interest, curious why someone would go through the trouble of carefully making lists, which were written on beautifully designed forms, and then leave them hanging somewhere. I took them and made them my own.
Right Before the Aries Full Moon Conjunct Chiron | Sep. 28, 2020
The Aries Full Moon takes place at 5:05 pm EDT, Thursday, Oct. 1. This is a peak moment in the Mars retrograde process, with the Aries Moon highlighting all that’s happening in Aries and making a connection to retrograde Mars and Eris the next day (early Saturday in the U.K. and all points east).
The Election of 2020: It’s Showtime, Folks | Sept. 24, 2020
Frank Zappa is reputed to have said, “Politics is the entertainment division of the military-industrial complex.” This may seem cynical, and as a lifelong observer of politics (since the 1972 election, when I was 8), I have long pondered this idea.
Face the Chaos: The Solstice Chart and Transhumanism | Sept. 21, 2020
The Sun enters cardinal sign Libra Tuesday at 9:30 am EDT. Solstices and equinoxes are the turning of the seasons, and they are all therefore turning points in the solar year. Yet this equinox is particularly significant in that it is the 90-day mark to the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Aquarius.
Photo by Lanvi Nguyen.
From Self-Actualization to Soul Retrieval | Sept. 2, 2020
First, before we get into Mars retrograde, remember: everything is headed for the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in the first degree of Aquarius. Mars retrograde is preparation for whatever that aspect is about, and whatever that is, it’s something big.
Pisces Full Moon. Mars retrograde in detail. The dark history of AIDS and HIV. Interview w/ Andrew McLuhan about Understanding Media by Marshall McLuhan. | Aug. 30, 2020
I’ve promised a diversity of resources for this program, though here is the most helpful — our guest Andrew McLuhan’s website, at The McLuhan Institute. I will be back later to update, once I have a few more midyear videos in the can.
Mars, Pluto and Eris: Critical Moment | Aug. 10, 2020
As we move through these unusual and even singularly strange times, there are both large markers describing our era, and seemingly small ones. Yet astrology is holographic. You can take a slice of a chart, or even the details of two houses, and get a plausible reading on the whole scenario. The story of our times is told in the seemingly large moments, and in those that are seemingly small or insignificant.
Where Two or More Are Gathered | April 30, 2020
I’ve been seeing and hearing the term “conspiracy theorist” flying around, and in tonight’s letter I want to offer a few thoughts about this. The term has been coming up in the context of those who question the consensus view of the virus and pandemic.
Sun Conjunct Eris, and Square Pluto | April 12, 2020
There are two patterns in the sky right now. The first is the Sun passing through the Pluto-Eris square. The second is the conjunction of Venus and Vesta, which is further described by Mercury conjunct Chiron. The first pattern is easier to size up than the second.
The Road Ahead, the Road Beyond | April 2, 2020
Here is the long view. The United States has until Dec. 21 to get its act together, by which I mean decide what kind of society we want to be. That is the day of the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Aquarius.
Turning Point, or Tipping Point | March 22, 2020
I trust this letter finds you doing your best to take care of yourself. At this juncture, your first responsibility is to stay healthy, and then to keep the people around you healthy.
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COVID-19 as a World War by Andrew McLuhan | March 18, 2020
This means war.
COVID-19 is, in effect, World War III (or later) in terms of the level of innovation we’re seeing. Almost every aspect of society is faced with significant challenges, forced to adjust, to adapt.
We are in a period of change equal to the introduction of smartphones and high speed mobile internet, and the lasting effects will be as great. There will be no return to normal, only new norms. It will surely be a matter of pre- and post-COVID-19.
About Our Invisible Environments | July 26, 2019
My (so-far) four-year swan dive into advanced media studies began with a single comment I made one night on Planet Waves FM: The environment is invisible.
I learned this from my father, Joe Coppolino, who was doing his Ph.D. in communications in the late 1960s and early 1970s when I was a kid. This was at New York University, where the same program was also called “media ecology” — the study of the media environment.
Taurus at the Speed of Sound | April 18, 2019
Earlier this week, we experienced the first of seven Sun-Uranus conjunctions in Taurus (that was Monday, April 22). News events are moving at a dizzying pace, and defy comprehension. At the time I’m writing this article on April 25, it’s been just over a week since the Notre Dame Cathedral fire, and a week since the release of the redacted version of the Special Counsel’s report. It seems more like a month.
Michael Cohen Testimony: Where the Buck Stops | Feb. 28, 2019
Those who took the time out to watch Michael Cohen’s testimony Wednesday heard him describe what is essentially a vast criminal syndicate led by Donald Trump, which has accompanied him into the White House. Cohen hinted that federal prosecutors in New York City (the Southern District of New York) had a long way to go unraveling the president’s crimes.
World Within, World About | Feb. 21, 2019
We live in the age of the active shooter and the active shooter drill. We live in the age of the president who is under 17 different investigations, who spews lies and declares pretend emergencies. We live in the age of fake news and not-so-fake news. We live in the time of public relations. We live in the time of the privacy policy and the massive data breach. We live in the decade of guilty before being proven innocent, if that ever happens. We occupy the moment where thinking something is true makes it true.
Photo by Lanvi Nguyen.
Steps Along the Way | June 7, 2018
Most of my day Tuesday, and into the week, I invested in unraveling the charts of the Robert F. Kennedy assassination. This was my first time through that maze. As I said in my earlier coverage of the JFK assassination, the question of who killed Bobby, and why, is a different matter today from what it was 50 years ago. Mostly, we have much more context. We have the benefit of knowing what happens next, and what happens after that.
Mars Retrograde: Background, and Deep Background | May 24, 2018
As you know, Mars will be retrograde for most of the summer, for two months beginning on June 26. Mars retrogrades happen every other year, and each is distinctive. It’s not just the sign where it happens that defines the unique property of the retrograde, but primarily what is happening with the outer planets that describe the invisible background layer of existence.
Psychedelic Eric McLuhan (1941-2018) in Manhattan Oct. 13, 2017. Photo by Eric.
The Greatest Day of My Life (so far) |
I begin tonight’s edition of Planet Waves FM with a tribute to Eric McLuhan, who died on Friday while he was traveling in Bogota, Colombia. He was down there for the opening ceremonies of a doctoral program at University de la Sabana. I tell the story of the one day that I spent with Eric, in Manhattan last autumn.
Mars and Society: Retrograde in Aquarius | May 17, 2018
Beginning in late June, Mars will be retrograde, mostly in Aquarius. Mars retrograde is a ritual we go through for about two months every two years, and it’s always significant; always an adventure. This is particularly true in our era when the role of men and maleness is being questioned, subjected to scrutiny and, in many ways, taking a clobbering.
Be Yourself, No Matter What They Say | April 19, 2018
Chiron is now in Aries. Its eight-year trek through Pisces is ending, and a new era in astrological history is beginning. By any metric, the theme is individuality.
Chiron in Aries: Exploring The Ground of Being | March 29, 2018
On April 17, Chiron will enter Aries – its first return to that sign since 1968-1977, an eventful era that left its mark on the world. Outer planet transits through signs tend to describe phases in history. During those particular years, Chiron was in the phase of its cycle prior to its own discovery, which took place in November 1977.
Photo by Lanvi Nguyen.
This is a Test: War of the Worlds | October 27, 2016
For his weekly program on Halloween eve of 1938, a young Orson Welles tried something new. For some months, his Mercury Theater on the Air had run on Columbia Broadcasting System (the CBS Radio Network) with a small listenership. On the evening of Oct. 30, they decided to try doing a science fiction program.
How the Hell is This Even Happening? | Sept. 29, 2016
Here’s what I’ve been wondering all week: how can a presidential candidate tell the nation that he doesn’t pay federal taxes and nobody seems to care? There were many impressive moments in Monday’s debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, but that took first prize.
How Not to Go Insane | July 21, 2016
Based on even a cursory reading of the news, or listening to anyone speak for more than five minutes, the mental health problem is now obviously at the pandemic scale. Random acts of violence, the lack of the obligation to make any sense, and a frantic feeling that seems to be soaking through society are just a few clues of its existence.
Uranus, Eris and the Riddle of the Internet | June 23, 2016
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Have I mentioned that I’ve been trying to figure out the internet?
I was aware that when you click on something, something new appears on the screen. I knew if you post a naked picture to Facebook they kick you out for a while.
What I’m talking about is the same thing that you worry about: such as how Twitter is dumbing down the whole world.
Uranus-Eris: Of God, Country and Internet | June 9, 2016
Today is the big day. This morning Uranus aligned in a conjunction with Eris for the first time since 1928. Because Uranus goes retrograde and then direct, there will be three conjunctions in close proximity, just like with any Uranus event. The next two are Sept. 25, 2016 and March 17, 2017.
Live from the Astral Plane! It’s the Uranus-Eris Conjunction | June 7, 2016
This edition of Planet Waves FM opens up Uranus-Eris conjunction as a commentary about our disembodied lives on the Internet. I explain how 20 years of nonstop proliferation of online life have turned the world into the astral plane, where we struggle to make sense of existence and of our bodies; where there’s no longer any sense of reality.
Gemini Square Dancing, and the Uranus-Eris Conjunction | May 31, 2016
The 2016 Gemini New Moon took shape amidst a rare grand cross aspect. Jupiter in Virgo, Saturn in Sagittarius, Neptune in Pisces and the New Moon plus Venus in Gemini align all around us. I take these placements one at a time and describe how they relate to one another.
Photo Above-Left: Students at the Rijksmuseum study Rembrandt’s “Night Watchman” on their phones. These devices are now so pervasive, they are part of the background environment. We hardly even notice them — but we need to, and to observe them, and ourselves. Photo by Gijsbert van der Wal.
Gemini New Moon and the Uranus-Eris Conjunction | May 31, 2016
This episode of Planet Waves TV looks at the rare grand square aspect that spans from Gemini to Virgo to Sagittarius to Pisces — and which influences everyone in the process. How do you use your mind? That’s the question. This leads into the Uranus-Eris conjunction in Aries, which is influencing how you think about who you are.
At Home on the Web, H.M.S. Pinafore and Grandpa McLuhan | May 24, 2016
In the third and fourth segments, I return to the work of the spiritual grandfather of Planet Waves, Marshall McLuhan. In the spirit of Vesta in Gemini — making a home of our communications media — I refer to two quotes from grandpa, one about the development of literacy and its impact (which to me explains the Internet) and then one about politics going from the ballot box to the box office.
Mars, Aries, the Internet and Personhood | April 7, 2016
These days I have Mars on my mind: Mars retrograde, coming up in a little over a week; the impressive astrology in Aries (now featuring Venus); and where the two meet. This is exciting astrology because Mars and Aries so beautifully describe the quest for selfhood and what I call personhood that motivates a well-lived life.
Aries New Moon + Uranus-Eris Conjunction, and… How To Be An Astrology Student and Not Hate Yourself | April 5, 2016
I discuss an issue that has confronted me for some time, and which caused me to go full fire-breathing dragon: how astrology is used against people.
Planet Waves TV: Thursday’s Aries New Moon + Uranus-Eris | April 3, 2016
Does astrology seem too intellectual to make any sense? Then this edition of Planet Waves TV is for you. Eric Francis describes the Aries New Moon after giving a basic rundown on the lunar cycle itself. This New Moon revives our old friend the Uranus-Pluto square, and brings in the Uranus-Eris conjunction.
Photo by Lanvi Nguyen.
What’s That Sound? Uranus Meets Eris in Aries | March 24, 2016
There is an astrological event brewing that happens this spring for the first time since 1927: a conjunction of two slow-moving outer planets called Uranus and Eris. You may recall that Eris became famous in 2006 when it precipitated the re-definition of a planet, leading to the ‘demotion’ of Pluto.
Planet Waves FM: Interview II with Andrew McLuhan | Feb. 2, 2016
Welcome to a special episode of Planet Waves FM. Tonight’s edition was originally recorded in September, when I took a brief trip to Amherst, NY and met up with Andrew McLuhan, grandson of Marshall, in person for the first time.
We discussed his experience of archiving his grandfather’s papers, and analyzed excerpts from Marshall’s seminal book, Understanding Media. The richness and wide implications of Marshall’s writing and ideas become ever clearer as the interview progresses.
The Uranus-Eris Conjunction in Aries, 2016-2017 | Dec. 28, 2015
I consider the Uranus-Eris conjunction in Aries. This aspect is unprecedented for 99% of people alive today, and its effects are as unpredictable as the two bodies involved. Previous conjunctions saw the conceptual birth of the “Analytical Engine” and a breakthrough in quantum physics.
Photo by Lanvi Nguyen.
Uranus Conjunct Eris: On the Way to Self-Mastery | Dec. 3, 2015
The other day I had an idea for a practical joke, which was to find a place that does low-run quantities of business cards, and have one for every possible activity I might say that I do professionally (publisher, medieval prognosticator, artist, poet, musician, photographer, astrologer, writer, reporter, consultant, dog nibbler, naughty boy, and so on).
Uranus Conjunct Eris: On the Way to Self-Mastery | Dec. 3, 2015
The other day I had an idea for a practical joke, which was to find a place that does low-run quantities of business cards, and have one for every possible activity I might say that I do professionally (publisher, medieval prognosticator, artist, poet, musician, photographer, astrologer, writer, reporter, consultant, dog nibbler, naughty boy, and so on).
Dr. Eric McLuhan
Gemini New Moon and Eric McLuhan Interview | June 16, 2015
In tonight’s edition of Planet Waves FM I focus on the Gemini New Moon, which was exact Tuesday morning just past 10 am EDT. And I play my long-awaited interview with Dr. Eric McLuhan, son of my philosopher-hero, Marshall McLuhan. We also have included some excellent music — to ring in my visit with Eric.
This episode is actually a double feature — I’ve also interviewed Andrew McLuhan, on The Writing Crisis — the impact of digital on writing.
Life With and Within the Robot | May 21, 2015
The other night I went to the movies with my cousin Dominick Vanacore, and we saw Ex Machina. One of my principles of film is that any movie worth seeing once is worth seeing twice, and Ex Machina qualifies.
In the Belly of the Internet | Jan. 22, 2015
Within February’s first few days lies Imbolc, one of the four high holidays — or sabbats — of the pagan calendar. Astrologers know Imbolc falls with the Sun at the midpoint of the sign Aquarius, the Water Bearer, who lives today as the astrological symbol of individuality and eccentricity. Yet Aquarius is also one of the signs most prominently associated with technology, in particular, digital technology.
McLuhans: grandfather and grandson. Images provided by McLuhan family.
Planet Waves FM: Interview with Andrew McLuhan | Dec. 9, 2014
In tonight’s non astrological edition (here is your astrology), we have something extra fun — an interview with Andrew McLuhan, musician, scholar and grandson of Marshall McLuhan. That name lacks the controversy and impact that it once had. But his ideas are more relevant, and more obvious, than ever.