Mini-documentary featuring Eric Francis. Banned by YouTube!
Dear Friend and Reader:
Friday, March 26 is the exterior conjunction of the Sun and Venus in Aries. That marks the halfway point between Venus retrogrades. (Venus was most recently retrograde in Gemini in May and June of 2020. Venus turns retrograde in Capricorn on Dec. 19, 2021, in a close conjunction to Pluto. There is no Mars retrograde in 2021.)
Venus in Aries is one of the more challenging placements in astrology. It blurs the line between the interests of self and those of the other, and seems to come with a blind spot. It’s true that the boundary between self and other tends to blur under most conditions on Earth. When we put Venus in the sign of Mars, the self-assertiveness of that placement can overpower the receptiveness and understanding necessary for true emotional intelligence which is a potential gift of Venus.
That said, it’s probably worth mentioning how timid most people are under digital conditions, when the discussion is in real time and space rather than filtered through the distortions of electrical communication. People can be drunk with bravado online, and afraid to ask for a glass of water in a restaurant. That is calling for some balance, which could come from sensitivity (the active, living, inward kind, not the rule book of what you are supposed to say when).
Is everything we experience an extension of our own consciousness? Is there anything that is not subject to our projections onto it, and the experience of projection being perception?
Self as Center of Perceived Universe
In the self-other dichotomy, we are confronted with a question. If self is the center of the perceived universe, does anything other than self exist?
Is everything we experience an extension of our own consciousness? Is there anything that is not subject to our projections onto it, and the experience of projection being perception? There is an old aphorism: we don’t see things as they are; we see them as we are.
So how true is that? And what if it is a defining factor of projection? It might be fair to say that love is what has entered when someone sees the interests of another as no different or more important than their own.
With that on the table, Venus in Aries can be alluring to an extreme. Everyone can become submissive to its self-focus. It is one of the placements that describes star-quality or born-to-be-famous. (And all the girls dreamed that they’d be your partner.) For the sensation in personality, check Marilyn Monroe, Liza Minelli, Jack Nicholson, Shirley Temple, Mia Farrow, Albert Einstein and for good measure, Fabio.
(Albert was the one person among those I mention who made a vast intellectual contribution to existence, figuring out the nature of space and time. With his Sun in self-effacing Pisces, he utilized Venus in Aries to help him assert his ideas.)
Venus in Aries has a “special” quality to it, as does everyone and everything these days. This reminds me of Davie Byrne’s fictitious “Celebration of Specialness,” where everything is perfectly ordinary. (Byrne has Venus in Aries.)
The placement in Aries conjunct the Sun is glamorous to the point of blinding glare. It is all about the object looked at, and potentially seen as a mirror.
Salacia is in the Mix
Last year I introduced a point called Salacia. Discovered in 2004, it is an object in the Scattered Disc (sometimes considered a Kuiper belt object.) Named for the Roman Nymph who became consort to Neptune, Salacia has a 272-year orbit, and is widely misunderstood to be about salaciousness.
My delineation of Salacia pertains to the sexual healing process known as maturity. This includes outgrowing the glam, the tease and the power trip of commercial and most socially transacted sexuality, and entering the world of feelings and of sincere curiosity. Growth is the active verb here.
The Sun conjunct Venus takes place exactly conjunct Salacia, so we have the perfect set of interlocking contradictions. The placement in Aries conjunct the Sun is glamorous to the point of blinding glare. It is all about the object looked at, and potentially seen as a mirror.
This will work better when it’s honest. It is possible to see and experience relationship as a means of getting to know oneself. A mainstay in Gestalt Therapy we would benefit from is the practice of conscious mirroring-as-service provided to one another, in a life-affirming way. We “one another” have the ability to help others explore feelings that they might not be able to access without our help. That can be a generous and giving gesture.
All young people are being desensitized to their inherent humanity, including the feelings of their physical bodies.
Physicality and Sensation
In our time of eliminating physical existence, and of the attempt to turn the body into a disease vector and experimental object, we need to remember what it’s like to be alive.
These are the words of Patricia Lynn Reilly:
Yes, in the very beginning of her life the girl-child is full of herself. Her days are meaningful and unfold according to a deep wisdom that resides within her. It faithfully orchestrates her movements from crawling to walking to running, her sounds from garbles to single words to sentences, and her knowing of the world through her sensual connection to it.
Her purpose is clear: to live fully in the abundance of her life. With courage, she explores her world. Her ordinary life is interesting enough. Every experience is filled with wonder and awe. It is enough to listen to the rain dance and count the peas on her plate. Ordinary life is her teacher, challenge, and delight.
She says a big YES to Life as it pulsates through her body. With excitement, she explores her body. She is unafraid of channeling strong feelings through her. She feels her joy, sadness, anger, and fear. She is pregnant with her own life. She is content to be alone. She touches the depths of her uniqueness. She loves her mind. She expresses her feelings. She likes herself when she looks in the mirror.
She trusts her vision of the world and expresses it. With wonder and delight, she paints a picture, creates a dance, and makes up a song. To give expression to what she sees is as natural as her breathing. And when challenged, she is not lost for words. She has a vocabulary to speak about her experience. She speaks from her heart. She voices her truth. She has no fear, no sense that to do it her way is wrong or dangerous.
She is a warrior. It takes no effort for her to summon up her courage, to arouse her spirit. With her courage, she solves problems. She is capable of carrying out any task that confronts her. She has everything she needs within the grasp of her mind and imagination. With her spirit, she changes what doesn’t work for her. She says “I don’t like that person” when she doesn’t, and “I like that person” when she does. She says no when she doesn’t want to be hugged. She takes care of herself.
It is not just girls who are losing this ability now. All young people are being desensitized to their inherent humanity, including the feelings of their physical bodies. Older people as well are being terrorized out of having any feelings at all, except for fear alone. Now more than ever, any bodily pleasure is suspect.
She is a warrior. It takes no effort for her to summon up her courage, to arouse her spirit. With her courage, she solves problems.
— Patricia Lynn Reilly
Growth is about Trusting Your Body
Trust is a form of awareness and deep contact. It is what makes sexual growth, or any form of growth, possible. To develop a trusting relationship with one’s body and feelings is to grow into them. This is more important than trusting other people, because all trust begins with oneself. If you are taught to doubt yourself, you will not know who you can trust, and in my view, the opposite holds true.
We now live in times when we are being ordered around the clock to not trust our inherent biology: our natural immunity, our ability to know what to eat, our ability to rest and recover from illness. So when I say these words, I know I am speaking into a maelstrom.
The holistic truth of biology is not a conspiracy. The ability of your body’s systems to take care of you and ward off disease is not a conspiracy. But it can be seen as such in a world fragmented by terror and chaos.
We have all read many times that the spiritual journey, or the life journey in any conscious form, comes down to a question of love versus fear. Once someone is totally enraptured in fear, that sounds like psychosis. When someone is in a loving space, it’s obvious that this is true: it is obvious that fear is chaos and confusion.
From the standpoint of fear, it takes more than trust to find your way out. It takes genuine courage.
Faithfully,
Instant Access: Aries Astrology Studio 2021-22
The Aries reading is now ready! Here is what our recent customers have to say:
“This last year’s reading for Aries was amazingly accurate in terms of what is going on in my life. Thank you so much.” — A. Wilson, on a previous Aries Astrology Studio
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“I’m an Aries Sun, with Aquarius Rising and Gemini Moon, and listened to all three readings. As always, Eric is extremely encouraging, not just in the energy he brings to the reading, but because of his way of making your life and experiences make sense to you without even needing to speak to you. I find his readings very calming. Planet Waves entered my life at just right time, and I’m so glad it did. I eagerly await all the great work you all put out!” — Yeshua
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Dear Friend and Reader:
Neptune is in your birth sign for the long-haul, and Chiron is in Aries, your sign of self-esteem and self-worth. The challenges of the past few years have given way to a whole new life environment. You are still adapting to this new set of conditions. My 2021 Astrology Studio for Pisces is called Every Decision You Make.
This is a 75-minute professional astrology reading for Pisces Sun, rising and even Moon sign which I plan to release by Friday, Feb. 18.
If you have never experienced an Astrology Studio reading at the time of your birthday, you have a special privilege ahead of you.
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With love,
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Instant Access: Aries Astrology Studio 2021-22
Aries (March 20-April 19) — At a certain point one must awaken to the reality of sex. It’s true that nearly everyone thinks they already have, which is the issue. Yet more energy is put into avoiding than embracing this topic, for a wide diversity of reasons, all of them diversionary. If you feel a calling to bring up topics of love, pleasure, your identity, your orientation or any such matter, you are the only one who can actually get this going. And it’s easy to dodge, bob and weave, until the feeling seems to go away, only to reappear again in a slightly different form. Bubbling underneath this are often wild, unacknowledged misgivings about yourself and your experiences. You might start with a broad question: to what extent is guilt a factor in your interactions with yourself and with others? That’s usually the thing avoided, or the excuse to avoid everything else. Therefore, it’s what you want to confront directly. Just because you may feel guilt doesn’t mean you’re wrong. In fact, wrong is the last thing you are, though you will need to look, listen and feel to really get that.
Self-assertive, sometimes bold, Aries is always up for an adventure. A new adventure awaits — preorder your affordable reading by Eric Francis today.
2021-22 Aries Astrology Studio: The Continuing Adventure of Chiron in Aries
Taurus (April 19-May 20) — What is your secret fantasy? What is your secret fear? What is the relationship between the two of them? You may most want the thing that you say you want to avoid most often. So consider what that is. I recognize that we are in the realm of the taboo, which by definition is what frightens people the most. Yet does it make sense that there would be any off-limits areas inside yourself? Well, it may not make sense though it’s likely to be the situation. This may require pulling back a veil. It may require getting out your psychic bolt cutters and cutting the fence that separates you from whatever verboten territory you encounter. But I suggest you be bold with yourself, and give yourself direct consent to want who and what you want, on your own terms. You may feel like certain desires would go against the interests of a relationship, though that is an assumption. And while it does not matter and cannot stand in the way of your relationship to yourself, your relationships with others have far more experimental potential than you might imagine.
Calm, collected and attractive on the outside, raging like a tempest on the inside, Taurus is the blacksmith shop of the soul. Forge your path with this reading.
2020-21 Taurus Astrology Studio: The Taurus Guide to Radical Transformation
Gemini (May 20-June 21) — You need to have a sense of your own strength. You may be over-estimating what you’re capable of, and that will come with risks you won’t be aware of, and would be unwise to take. One potential circumstance to be cautious about is if you are in emotional reaction and then take some liberty to exaggerate or deceive others. The setup is such that you may not be aware you’re doing it, or you may give yourself license to say what you might ordinarily say without considering the potential consequences. Your mind is rarely a simple place to be, though it’s particularly complicated at the moment, and all of your thoughts and emotions are multiplied by Mars. For the next week or so you will need to make a special effort to regulate yourself, and not get swept into feelings of justification, rationalization, or an ‘anything goes’ mentality. This is particularly true where professional activities are concerned; that is where the risk and the stakes are highest.
Geminis ask a heck of a lot of questions, and much of what you are curious about is yourself. Find some answers in your affordable reading by Eric Francis.
2020-21 Gemini Astrology Studio: The Sacred Space of Self
Cancer (June 21-July 22) — You must bring your something special to everything that you do. At the moment your chart is set for high achievement and a spotlight of visibility. So to begin with, you must conduct yourself like you’re being followed around by a television crew and all your words and actions documented. That means conducting yourself impeccably. Never do things for the purpose of getting attention. Rather, use the attention you draw for a worthwhile purpose. That, however, may take some evaluation. At the moment there are many counterfeit ‘good causes’ going around, and people are jumping onto issues with no direct knowledge and corrupted by much disinformation. Remember, therefore, that you’re responsible for what you say, what you know, and what you don’t know. You are responsible for the messages others take away from what you say, regardless of what you mean. Think of everything you say as an agreement or contract. Others may play fast and loose. You must keep a grip.
Nurturing, loving, devoted, cuddly, milky and self-centered, Cancer has it all. You can even have instant access to your reading when you purchase today.
2020-21 Cancer Astrology Studio: I Feel, Therefore I Am
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — Pay close attention to contracts and agreements, and all forms of commitments. Remember all promises you’ve made, and go on a hunt for ones you’ve forgotten about. While you’re in this territory, I suggest you move slowly at this time when getting into new contractual situations, no matter how modest or mild they may seem. There are too many unwholesome influences roaming around for you to credibly offer yourself to a situation. Once you see what those are, you will understand why this is a good time to evaluate your situation carefully. One thing I can tell you is that others in your environment — friends and social media contacts — are pushing you to overreact, and to think your situation is worse than it is. You need, therefore, to maintain a sense of perspective. Know the difference between making up your own mind and letting others make it up for you. Sadly, this distinction is all but lost in our time. But however you may choose, you are still wholly responsible for your decisions.
Leo is THE sign of human vitality and in many respects the source of strength, light and creation. How’s this for a bright idea: get your reading by Eric Francis!
2020-21 Leo Astrology Studio: Notes on Love and Courage
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Things are not quite what they seem. Therefore, be sensitive to the whole matter of ‘seeming’ and get to the underlying reality. One way to do this more effectively is to use time as your ally. If you let some time pass, you will see where you stand with certain people that gets you past appearances. As long as you’re looking at the show, you’re subject to both what others want to present to you and also what you want to see. You will need to get past both of those, which first means admitting that they exist. You might consider that any part of your environment or surroundings might be sending you an incorrect signal, an advertisement, or a diversion. You will need to use your discernment. At the moment, one of the classic Virgo situations is working at full strength: matters of how you identify with others and get close to them as a means of discovering who you are. You are outgrowing this as a means of gaining self-knowledge and are evolving in the direction of more direct methods and approaches.
As a Virgo, it’s your role to make the world a better place: to offer, if not solace, then solutions. Find both for yourself when you purchase your reading.
2020-21 Virgo Astrology Studio: I touch the Earth. The Earth touches me.
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — Your charts are quite good in the romance department, though be aware of the way that all relational situations will evolve in the direction of healing. They usually do, but often this is swept under the bed and forgotten about until it reemerges at some future time. You might start there and size up where people are coming from, where their sense of personal injury is concerned. That would include what pain and trauma they are carrying, despite their appearances. Find out what they are doing about their problems, as you will have a tendency to take responsibility for helping them work through their stuff. That is not so romantic and it can become codependent. So make the assessment early, and if this pertains to an existing relationship, take the opportunity to discuss any issue in depth when it emerges. The mirror effect will also be working, and you may get a look at what you want or need to take care of in your own life. But you might want to work this through with those more objective than close partners or friends.
Aleister Crowley said that the essence of the sign Libra is the drive for justice. Tap into your essence with this reading, and bring balance to your world.
2020-21 Libra Astrology Studio: Notes to Myself
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — Your ruling planet Mars is currently in Gemini, and will be responsible for much strangeness that takes place this week and next. In the long run, Mars is approaching a square to Neptune in Pisces. That is a caution against self-destructive conduct, bad choices, assessments made under the influence of substances, and situations where you don’t know the whole truth. Before that aspect shapes up, Mars is square Nessus, a centaur with many similarities to Neptune (but intensified and focused on specific situations). The feeling of Nessus is something coming back to you from the past. This is likely to be the result of some new action that you take, some new desire or relationship you initiate — and then suddenly you find yourself caught in the past scenario again. It might involve the same people, or it might be a kind of holographic replay. Now is the time to address this matter, as it’s coming up in an undeniable form allowing you to take action. Get this right while you can.
Scorpio is an odd hybrid, both a product — and an instigator — of evolution. Purchase your latest reading to delve deeper into the mystery of yourself.
2020-21 Scorpio Astrology Studio: The Scorpio File
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — Your ruling planet Jupiter is encouraging you to collect your thoughts, sort yourself out, and make a game plan that you actually follow. Jupiter’s current placement in Aquarius is giving you some well-needed detachment and the ability to use your full mental capacity. Saturn in this same area of your chart is guiding you to take the methodical approach, and to take actions that are built to last. Jupiter is guiding you into new territory. One function Saturn is performing is giving you the ability to clear the past, though that is very much a one-step-at-a-time kind of thing. The feeling is how you might go about resetting the password on every digital account, making sure your contact information is correct, and tidying up what you don’t need, want or use. This does not happen fast, and it’s work that must be done slowly and steadily. You know you’re doing it right if it feels like it’s never going to end. That’s when you must keep going, one step after the next. And eventually, you get there, and you feel better.
Sagittarius, yours is the sign of the quest, the far away and far-out. Purchase your reading today and continue your adventure with the stars as your guide.
2020-21 Sagittarius Astrology Studio: Live from the Galactic Center
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — You may be obsessed with finding some safety and security in the world. Well, it has nothing to do with locks on your doors or two-factor authentication. It is about feeling at home in your skin. It’s about knowing and understanding who you are. This is not what you would call the easy path, but it’s the real one. We are taught to solve everything by taking a pill, or pretending that we don’t care or that it didn’t happen. Yet that is all cost and no reward — just a temporary palliative. I suggest you go for the heart of the matter. Assume that it will take a while. Once you start unraveling your situation, you will figure out that it goes back for generations. The good news there is that most of the material is not exactly yours; it’s more like an unneeded inheritance. If you allow yourself to explore your sexual feelings and where those intersect with your experience of your early-childhood household, you will have all the information you need to embark on a much-needed healing process.
We depend upon Capricorn to hold things stable. But you’re not as boring as you like people to think you are. Unearth your inner revolutionary with this reading.
2021 Capricorn Astrology Studio: One Night Only Kala Sarpa Yoga
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — The extraordinarily rare occurrence of Jupiter and Saturn together in your birth sign suggests that this is a moment unlike any other, presenting you with truly original opportunities. Yet to have the advantage of these, you will need to do something that may not be easy: stretch, flex and change your mind. I mean really change how you think, what you believe, and how you reach the conclusions that you do. The mental patterns that comprise your personality are so strong it’s difficult to imagine any real shift is possible, or necessary. After all, these things are you, and why should you change for anyone or anything? Well, what if we leave that question open? There is an answer, maybe a few of them. A true observation about why would provide you with the motivation you need, to make the decisions that you need to make. I don’t use the word ‘need’ lightly. Saturn is in your sign. That’s about the bottom lines of your life. Most see Saturn as a drag. In Aquarius it is your best friend and your power tool, and you will miss it dearly when it’s gone.
You’re not after progress for its own sake; Aquarius is the discriminating embracer of innovation that works. Get your reading and be brilliant.
2021-22 Aquarius Astrology Studio: A Reading For Our Moment
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Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Take the full duration of the Sun’s trip through Aries as your cue to work on the financial aspect of your life. Chiron’s presence here has been trying to get your attention for a while, and quite possibly has succeeded. Now is the time to focus and intensify your efforts. Pay special attention to where your money goes. Really dig into that. This whole topic is shrouded in mystery, or so you will see when you peel back a few layers. You are likely to discover efficiency problems. You may find out you’re being overcharged for things you think of as essential. So do a real audit. Get the numbers. Negotiate with companies and with people. You are not a miserly person; you tend toward the generous. But in your case right now, a dollar saved is a dollar earned. Meanwhile, there is a self-esteem project in the works, and this involves how you feel about your sexuality. Let’s start with a question: how do you feel about your erotic life? How do you feel about who and what you want?
The hidden realm is vitally important to Pisces: in a sense it is your home. Find your way back home, guided by your latest reading.
2021-22 Pisces Astrology Studio: Every Decision You Make
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