Dear Friend and Reader:
I AM HAVING DIFFICULTY going out of my home and office these days. And I know what it is. When I step outside, I enter a world of people involved in some shade of anxiety, fear or terror. I am feeling pretty good. And then I look around at all these anxious eyes peering over burka-like face coverings.It doesn’t take much knowledge to know that the fear level and reactionary conduct of the government is way beyond appropriate for the situation we are in. I wonder why we need any fear at all when we can take better care of ourselves. The whole point of eating well, resting and drinking clean water is so that you can stay healthy.
Yet we’re told that masks and vaccines are the only answer to a problem that we are also informed cannot be solved. I know the New York State Department of Health admits that it has not one single scientific paper in its records showing that masks prevent the spread of disease, or are safe. People are now wearing two or three of them, some along with a visor, a parachute, a life jacket and a crash helmet.
We have created a world where many grandparents and grandchildren are afraid to hug one another for fear of death. We have created a world where many people are afraid to be in the same room together, or be near one another. We have created a world without musical performances, dancing, theater, sports events and actual meetings.
We have traded our lives for a false sense of protection from a disease that in many cases sounds like the flu that 99.9% of people now survive. At the same time, many are lining up in the cold for an injection that turns every cell in our bodies into a virus protein manufacturing plant, which is then attacked by the immune system. Maybe someone a lot smarter than me can explain how this whole paragraph makes sense.
The Permanent Non-Emergency
Remember how all this began by “flattening the curve” and protecting the healthcare system. That was all they were asking. Then after the lockdowns, life could go back to normal. How about that? I know that hospitals in my state have plenty of room — according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s press office, as of today, one third of the beds are empty, and one-quarter of the ICU beds are available, statewide. That does not sound like a crisis, and the numbers have even improved slightly since I reported it in December.
There is currently not one single Covid case in the Ulster County’s biggest hospital (there are only two hospitals). We are a suburb of New York City with a population of 180,000. The county website claims that there are currently 1,878 “cases” but as of this past weekend. Not a soul is said to have Covid in the county hospital.
The big crisis was supposed to have been crowded hospitals and saving the health care system, but hospitals fill up on a regular basis.
Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal warns that mitigation measures are permanent, and touts the investment opportunities in a lucrative Covid industry.
If whatever is being described is a global disease with a viral cause, why is Africa exempt? This argues for some other cause of the illnesses descried, which is not being looked for. All the money and energy are going into a presumed viral cause.
Also from the Wall Street Journal: “Hospitalizations have already fallen 30% in Israel after it vaccinated a third of its population. Deaths there are expected to plummet in weeks ahead.”
For those who accept that an illness with viral cause is being described, remember that no virus lasts permanently, particularly coronaviruses, which are fragile, short-lived RNA viruses. There is already extraordinarily high immunity in the population, as described by low hospitalization rates and extremely low infection fatality.
If whatever is being described is a global disease with a viral cause, why is Africa exempt? This argues for some other cause of the illnesses descried, which is not being looked for. All the money and energy are going into a presumed viral cause.
Further, The Wall Street Journal published today, “a new and potentially lucrative Covid-19 industry is emerging quickly, as businesses invest in goods and services such as air-quality monitoring, filters, diagnostic kits and new treatments.” All of that, and pussy scented masks, too. Welcome to the Covid Economy.
We have traded our lives for a false sense of protection from a disease that in many cases sounds like the flu that 99.9% of people now survive. At the same time, people are lining up in the cold for an injection that turns every cell in our bodies into a virus protein manufacturing plant, which is then attacked by the immune system. Maybe someone a lot smarter than me can explain how this whole paragraph makes sense.
Fear Campaign Everywhere We Look
Everywhere I look, there is some new reminder to be very afraid. Life has become an around the clock ad for Pfizer and Moderna, sans the disclaimer portion. The odor of aggressive dread wafts like electrical wiring burning behind the walls.
This is not healthy. It is in fact making many people sick, but these illnesses are never discussed publicly. Yet the growing social ethos is that anyone who is not doing all those things you do when you’re afraid is officially on the crazy train — and automatically harming everyone else. Or is a witch, quack or Republican (now, all the same thing.)
As for social distancing, with its endless stickers, one-way cereal aisles and randomly closed tables at the convenience store, nobody ever proved asymptomatic spread of the accused virus was possible (that was asserted by Neil Ferguson, along with the projections of a holocaust).
Even if someone believes that the pandemic and the virus are real, how much is too much? We are seeing an overreaction based on endless worst-case scenarios and the utter ban on good news. The core theme of the narrative is that nothing ever gets better. The only positive development that has been allowed into public awareness is the rushed development of an mRNA “vaccine” used on an experimental, emergency authorization, in the midst of safety trials that do not end for years.
As for social distancing, with its endless stickers, one-way cereal aisles and randomly closed tables at the convenience store, nobody ever proved asymptomatic spread of the accused virus was possible (that was asserted by Neil Ferguson, along with the projections of a holocaust). A published, peer-reviewed study of nearly 10 million people showed there is no asymptomatic spread. The only time I read about it is when I write about it.
There’s something else bothering me, and that is the abdication of any notion of wellness, healing and the spiritual approach to life that so many have in the past claimed to espouse. Approaches that have worked for 5,000 years are being abandoned.
Abandonment of Ideas About Wellness and Healing
There’s something else bothering me, and that is the abdication of any notion of wellness, healing and the spiritual approach to life that so many have in the past claimed to espouse. Approaches that have worked for 5,000 years are being abandoned.
Everything is now down to the magic pill that will not only protect people from a virus, but will restore peace of mind, freedom, the economy and kindergarten. True evidence of a viral cause of claimed symptoms is extremely weak, while we know we live in a society and a world where food, air and water are contaminated by thousands of known toxins. It’s as if we have taken our anxiety collected from 60 years of reports of toxins (starting with DDT in the early 1960s) and blamed all sickness and disease on a virus.
Is anyone following how dangerous levels of toxins, such as heavy metals, are found in 95% of baby foods? That is one point of origin of a society that is constantly sick. The lighter a body is, the lower the concentration of poison has a dangerous effect.
There are a lot of ways to take care of ourselves, without a panacea “vaccine” and masks that are making many people sick and have never been demonstrated to help prevent the spread of viral disease.
This weekend I got an email from a reader named Elizabeth Sena. She wrote, “I keep thinking, why isn’t anyone talking about getting our immune systems working better? I just can’t have any of these conversations with most people because I’d be hung.”
There are a lot of ways to take care of ourselves, without a panacea “vaccine” and masks that are making many people sick and have never been demonstrated to help prevent the spread of viral disease.
She, like many of us, are noticing the persistent hostility being casually turned loose on our fellow dwellers of society. “Last week a couple went at me for sitting next to them at a restaurant (which I did without thinking because I was carrying so many bags) and I was wearing a mask. This is what the world has come to.”
Here in Ulster County, the only place to arrest people for not wearing a mask is the county’s biggest health food center, Mother Earth’s Storehouse. The couple was lawfully medically exempt, and New York State’s order specifically includes that exemption in plain language. We all pay premium prices for food with less pesticides. Have we suddenly forgotten why?
The human body is not perfect; for many reasons other than a virus, people are not in perfect health.
The Immune System is Designed to Handle Potential Infections. That’s What it’s For.
From what I can see, the natural immune system is doing a good job dealing with whatever is going on. Nearly all cases are asymptomatic. That’s another word for immunity. The human body is not perfect; for many reasons other than a virus, people are not in perfect health. Americans fill more than four-and-a-half billion prescriptions every year. (Consistent with that, now the drug industry wants to sell us a new synthetic immune system that they call a “vaccine.”)
The original computer models predicting how many untold millions would be sickened and die (all dreamed up by Neil Ferguson, a beneficiary of Bill Gates) turned out to be a fantasy that remains unquestioned.
I would say that if cases decrease, the cycle threshold of the PCR device has been decreased. If it was dialed down a little, 90% of “cases” (all of them false positives) would go away just like that, and this disaster would be over.
Still, astrologer Steven Forrest recently wrote, “I’m grateful that I will get my second dose of the Pfizer vaccine on the 21st. Personally, I believe that our only plausible pathway out of the mental, spiritual, and economic hardships of the pandemic lies in the herd immunity the CDC claims we’ll achieve when 3/4s of us are vaccinated.”
The only possible pathway? Just one, and he took it?
Did he miss all the articles about how this gene therapy mRNA injection does not prevent spread of the presumed virus? It merely lessens the symptoms. If it does not confer any immunity, it cannot co-contribute to herd immunity. His theory is that if what are called cases decrease, the “vaccine is working.” I would say that if cases decrease, the cycle threshold of the PCR device has been decreased. If it was dialed down a little, 90% of “cases” (all of them false positives) would go away just like that, and this disaster would be over.
The PCR is the AI device that is being used to do the one thing everyone competent agrees it cannot do, starting with its inventor: diagnose an infection or a virus.
Nearly 13,000 Casualties and the Entities Endorse Uncontrolled mRNA Experiment on the Planet
In recent weeks, the whole Get Injected campaign has morphed into self-satire, with celebrities endorsing the vaccine without admitting it is an experimental mRNA device. None give any cautions or warnings, as would have to be present at the end of a drug ad. Nobody mentions this is an experiment; all these injections are still in the trial phase.
This device does not evoke an immune response. It evokes an autoimmune response, by teaching your cells to make viral spike proteins that your immune system would then attack. In other words, the mRNA device teaches your immune system to attack you. This has proven to be dangerous, with nearly 13,000 reported casualties as of Feb. 4, a little more than six weeks into mass-inoculation.
Consider this, from Esther Hicks, purporting to channel the entity Abraham (transcribed from video). Please, sit down, so you don’t fall down.
“We have to say to you, we have not done this before. But it is very strong, and we are going to be a cooperative component in it. The nonphysical energies are pulsating with throngs of energies who were at one time doctors and scientists. They now stand in their nonphysical beingness, reveling in the brilliance of these vaccines, knowing that what they knew was part of the foundation that is leading to this solution. Each of you is part of this as well because source energy is always focused on what is the best for the most. There is great love here for you. And for now, we are joyously complete.”
We have to say to you? Why do they have to say anything? Who said they have to say it? You can listen to my satire of this “channeling” here.
“The coronavirus vaccines are a triumph. They are saving lives today; they will help end this pandemic eventually; and they will pay scientific dividends for generations.”
— Horoscope writer Rob Brezsny
Sir Elton, Sting and Rob Brezsny
Then last week, following in the footsteps of Sting and Sir Elton, horoscope writer Rob Brezsny chimed in with some of his wisdom shared with his adoring Facebook tribe.
“Just for the record, I’m a full-on supporter of functional medicine and alternative healing approaches of all kinds. I have eagerly used and benefited from acupuncture. Cranial-sacral therapy, homeopathy, Chinese medicine, and herbal supplements. And there is absolutely no contradiction between enjoying these modalities and supporting vaccination against Covid-19.”
Note his use of the word “enjoyed,” as if people go to the homeopath for recreation. He likes to speak in broad terms. “Absolutely no contradiction”? Mainstream medicine has done its best to destroy homeopathy, chiropractic, herbalists and has all but coopted osteopaths. The destruction of traditional medicine was started by the Rockefellers in the early 20th century. Those plants, flowers and remedies were cutting into the patent medicine business (now known as Big Pharma).
Brezsny then followed up with an even more ebullient endorsement: “The coronavirus vaccines are a triumph. They are saving lives today; they will help end this pandemic eventually; and they will pay scientific dividends for generations.”
He was not kidding, as one of my senior colleagues assumed when I sent his quote to her. You may listen to my satire of his statement here. If I did not laugh I would cry. He is not admitting any problem exists — at all. Not a word of caution.
There is Reason for Caution. Our Team Has Been Following the Issues Since the Earliest Phase of the Trials.
There are people for whom some or all vaccines are contra-indicated: those who have undergone chemotherapy; those who have reacted in the past to a vaccine, or who have a sibling who has; those who are immune suppressed, such as by medication; or those who have autoimmune disease.
If you are in one of these categories, please have a real conversation with your doctor before you get injected, and maybe get another opinion or two. For women of child-bearing age, what I have heard about how the reaction caused by the mRNA injection affects implantation is cautionary, I would suggest doing your own substantial research rather than making an uninformed choice.
If you ask about any such issue on Rob’s Facebook wall, you are deleted and banned from commenting.
There are many reported problems. In Spain, we have read that many residents in a care home died after being injected, and many others tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (see reports in English and in Spanish). Sweden suspended the injections in some areas after a quarter of recipients suffered from side effects. There is massive corruption in the CDC, a fact that we who cover it have known for decades. Meanwhile, Google is buying up alternative health websites to protect us from ourselves.
Isn’t it easier to take some vitamin D, zinc and melatonin?
The words of Edward O. Wilson from his book Biophilia come to mind. “To explore and affiliate with life is a deep and complicated process in mental development. To an extent still undervalued in philosophy and religion, our existence depends on this propensity, our spirit is woven from it, hope rises on its currents.”
What is Really Going On Here?
What’s the struggle? The words of Edward O. Wilson from his book Biophilia come to mind. “To explore and affiliate with life is a deep and complicated process in mental development. To an extent still undervalued in philosophy and religion, our existence depends on this propensity, our spirit is woven from it, hope rises on its currents.”
Yes, it’s a lot of work to get one’s ego out of the way and tune into life. It’s easier to call Sayer Ji a conspiracy theorist, and for that matter, to lump in his wife Kelly Brogan. She is a psychiatrist who advocates healing from depression and anxiety without using drugs. She refuses to prescribe them. She encourages other doctors to question the theories of western medicine. Listen to her describe her experience of challenging her own beliefs about conventional medicine.
I’ve been talking about this a lot over the last couple of months. I think that this is all part of a subconscious desire for awakening, but there is no openness to actually doing the work of awakening, which is intense self-observation, analysis, therapy, digging into one’s past, family dysfunctions, etc.
— Planet Waves researcher Max Holm
Max Holm, a musical virtuoso and Planet Waves researcher living in Spain, wrote this week, “I’ve been talking about this a lot over the last couple of months. I think that this is all part of a subconscious desire for awakening, but there is no openness to actually doing the work of awakening, which is intense self-observation, analysis, therapy, digging into one’s past, family dysfunctions, etc.”
He continued, “Instead, that awakening urge is bastardized into a different kind of Oneness. Becoming One through technology. Becoming One through computers. Allowing a higher power greater access and influence in our lives, but this higher power is the opposite of spirituality and connection with source. This is why so many yearn for those wires in their brains and gene therapy, etc. They want to be connected to something greater than themselves.”
Discomfort Zone: Living in the Gray Area
Cheryl Corson is a wellness coach also on the Planet Waves research team. “It feels as though many ‘spiritual’ figures have merely exchanged one orthodoxy for another in aligning with so-called safety protocols under the guise of mutual protection. In so doing, adherence to binary/digital thinking remains intact. Living in the gray area along the continuum — any continuum — always causes discomfort.”
How do you not live in the gray area? You go for pure binary. The virus is the worst thing that ever happened, and the vaccine is the best thing that ever happened.
Critical thinking has gone out the window. I am dumbfounded by the comments on Facebook about ‘those people’ who can’t think for themselves, by people who obviously have not had an original thought in their heads for quite a long time.
— Planet Waves researcher Cindy Tice Ragusa
Cindy Tice Ragusa, our lead investigator and student of Human Design, added this. “Spirituality should not be tied in with morality. Once people come to equate the two, they cannot tune in to anything legitimate because they will reject whatever doesn’t conform to what the group deems to be acceptable. This is where we are.”
“The current equation goes like this. Spirit = oneness = goodness = non-selfishness
= we all need to agree on the same things. Anyone who comes up with an original perspective is un-spiritual and therefore a threat.
“In this state, people become really easy to lead, they are very confused and looking to anyone who claims to be on the side of spirit and positivity (as if spirit is only about positive things). Critical thinking has gone out the window. I am dumbfounded by the comments on Facebook about ‘those people’ who can’t think for themselves, by people who obviously have not had an original thought in their heads for quite a long time.”
The Spiritual Performance is Over
Loreen Costa, a Planet Waves researcher, observes, “Spiritual participation as performance and window dressing in an era of branding takes many forms. But I’m particularly troubled by those who claim to challenge the status quo with their ‘older/traditional/indigenous/broader’ take on things — until the consensus view forces them to adjust their brand away from certain truths you’d have previously observed in their ‘practice’.
“One example is ‘anti-patriarchy goddess circle womyn’ who can’t get enough of what Fauci et al are selling. They can’t see how supporting Gaia via biodynamic farming should clarify how they might consider treating their bodies, with balance, flow and respect.”
I am friends with investigative reporter Celia Farber, whose coverage of AIDS and the failure of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were groundbreaking in the 1990s.
She wrote recently, “I am surer than ever that this is not about science, but I know I know, you also can’t be that simplistic. Everybody always thought we were just ONE paper away from the whole thing crumbling. But it was economically driven totalitarianism, not wrong or bad science.”
Except, of course, that as with AIDS, there is nothing but bad science with Covid.
We are now in the vaccine war phase of the Covid crisis, and it is further dividing people from their friends and families. This is an incalculable human cost far greater than loss of life. Losing a friend is terrible. Losing all your friends is far worse.
This does not leave the world in a happy place. We are now in the vaccine war phase of the Covid crisis, and it is further dividing people from their friends and families. This is an incalculable human cost far greater than loss of life. Losing a friend is terrible. Losing all your friends is far worse.
I am beginning to feel resentful of those who are willing to reject everything else about life to have any form of false safety. It is a betrayal: of our principles, of common sense, of actual science, and all those notions of freedom for which our parents, grandparents, uncles, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives and children fought in countless wars — we were told, for our precious freedom, that we are willing to squander to avoid some small risk.
With love,
Follow two discussion threads of this article on Planet Waves Facebook pages. One is on my timeline, and the other is on our group page.
Exclusive Interview with the In Silico Virus!
What is this audio about? Read this Twitter thread by Bobby Malhotra, the 3D artist who created the image above. Or read this interview with him.
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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Information About Pricing
Preorder is a flash-sale at $33. (For comparison, my personal consultations begin at $555. I would estimate that my recorded readings get you at least halfway the distance of a personal consultation for less than 1/10th the price.)
Thank you for your preorder. Thank you for your business and your trust.
With love,
PS — This reading is included with the Backstage Pass, along with many other benefits, including all Astrology Studio readings as well as Spring and Midyear readings.
PPS — If you want to give this reading as a gift, please email cs@planetwaves.net with the word PISCES GIFT PURCHASE in the header.
All of Us Here annual readings now available for instant access
“My study of astrology has in many ways been a study of history. One thing I’ve observed is that when things seem the most bleak, many of the most unusual possibilities are available.” — Eric Francis
Get instant access to your 2021 Annual Reading by Eric Francis today. Visit this link for more information.
Chiron Return, our nonprofit arm, publishes Covid19 News every day, in fact several times a day. We have updated about 1,400 times since we began daily publishing on March 3. This old-style news weblog takes a panoramic view of the virus situation. We offer news and viewpoints from a wide diversity of sources, science news, international reporting, videos and other resources to help you see the wide diversity of information not making it onto television or major websites. We are tracking the vaccine and testing issues carefully.
Each Friday night, Chiron Return publishes Planet Waves FM. Running since 2010, with roots into Radio Woodstock in the 1990s, Planet Waves FM covers current events, current astrology, science history, personal growth and other themes. Includes music by Vision Quest, the in-house Planet Waves orchestra.
Planet Waves publishes daily astrology and birthdays through the week. This feature includes a daily extended birthday reading and ongoing commentaries on developing astrology as it happens. Check in whenever you want — no password required.
Every week or so, I do a new edition of Planet Waves TV. Usually these focus an astrological topic or chart in detail. After initially being resistant to video, I now love doing these. The more people click on them the more I will do — and I am interested in your suggestions. The link to PlanetWaves.TV redirects to our YouTube channel for easy access. We also post to Facebook, to our front page, and include one with the weekly newsletter.
Going back to February, I’ve developed a portfolio of essays, investigative articles, videos and audio presentations on the Covid situation. These include articles about the astrology of the situation, hand sanitizer, holistic care, social critique and a wide diversity of other topics. We’ve recently added a selection of my satires, such as CDC guidance on blowing kisses. This is a truly comprehensive look at the issues, written from a worldly, nonpolitical standpoint. Here is the link.
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Monthly Horoscopes and Publishing Schedule Notes
Your extended monthly horoscope for February was published on Thursday, Jan. 28. We published your extended monthly horoscope for January on Tuesday, Dec. 22. Please note: we normally publish the extended monthly horoscope after the Sun has entered a new sign.
Weekly Horoscope #263 for February 16, 2021
By Eric Francis Coppolino
Aries (March 20-April 19) — The Sun’s ingress into the most sensitive angle of your chart on the 18th commences a phase of deep internal review for you. Events the past few weeks have kept you involved in the social world, which is the perfect thing for this particular moment. Keep doing that, and then honor the calling to spend plenty of time alone, reflecting on the many events of the past year that have so changed your life, and all of known reality. You will benefit from a deep internal audit of your state of being: from true personal inquiry. That, however, is a skill, and it’s one that is not taught anymore and that has been worn down in many who previously had it. Living digital lives has taken us outside ourselves. Turning our attention inward seems as appealing to some as jumping into the water on a cold day, or wandering into a dark cave. Yet you contain your reality, and you need a sense of your inner being. The only way to get there is to ease back and find your way inside yourself. If you feel like this is strange and unfamiliar territory, then you might consider how that came to be. Look back through your old journals. Not your old Live Journal or Blogspot — your physical written journals, letters and photographs, and notice what has changed.
Taurus (April 19-May 20) — You may be concerned about maintaining a boundary between what is your responsibility and what belongs to others. You may not want to take on too much. You may have personal priorities to attend to. Yet there is no separating those things from something else that is trying to get your attention, something much larger than yourself. There are people who naturally have that sense, and others who cannot see past the rims of their eyeglasses, for whom everything is merely personal. You are in an extended time of personal reinvention, described by Uranus in your birth sign. People begin such transits one way and often end up entirely different people. One way you are changing is by extending your concept of “self” to something that includes many more people. Your life is no longer about minding your own business. Neither is it about minding the business of others but rather the business of society. Parents, teachers and therapists tell us not to take on what is not really ours. Your chart advises differently.
Gemini (May 20-June 21) — You are about to make a discovery. Or rather, you will, if you notice, and if you are willing to give up a false idea about something. Learning means a few things. For one, it means changing. For another, it often means having been wrong. Anyone attached to staying the same, by which I mean in their ideation (in this case), will not want to make the change necessary to learn successfully. Anyone who is attached to being right will not be able to be wrong enough to actually learn, and that, sadly, is where many people are stuck. Making a discovery is not seen by everyone as a reward. For many, it is the last thing they want, as making a discovery could require them to change many other things about their life and it is seemingly easier to live in denial. For you, to do this would be to miss one of the greatest opportunities of your life so far. Embrace that what you learn will change you. Accept that change is necessary, and to have your beliefs corrected is only helpful.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) — With the Sun’s move to your fellow water sign Pisces, you are likely to have a more optimistic outlook. Matters that seemed complex will have a tendency to feel simpler. Yet this mostly depends on you acknowledging something you learn just as Mercury stations direct (exact Feb. 20 at 8:52 pm EST). There is an idea I learned in therapy, which is “use what you know.” We might add to that, “Know when you don’t know.” Between these two concepts, we could devise a mind-map of our whole society. We can infer why people are resistant to gaining knowledge: because it imparts a responsibility to actually do something about it. That is exactly the ethos I suggest you live by. Take full responsibility for the implications of what you’re aware of. Know that in many cases you’re also responsible for what you’re not aware of. This may not be true in some strict legal sense, though it is very true in both the moral and practical senses. It’s a big job staying aware and informed. It’s an even bigger job dealing with the implications of what is so. The decisions you make this week could have far-reaching implications, and you don’t want any of them to be based on assumptions.
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — You may now have a sense of how fuzzy some of your agreements are. Now, however, is the time to figure out where you stand with people. That means more than anything figuring out where you stand with yourself. This is always the challenge, when it comes to getting clear with others. You’re in a situation where it’s vitally important to be on level ground with yourself. This is of course the great challenge of human existence, particularly as our awareness is not only under assault all the time, but constantly for sale or for rent. What you must be cautious about is your idealism. It is one thing to be optimistic, and to see the best in people. However, not everyone’s motives are wholesome. Not everyone is honest. And it can take some serious scrutiny to filter out who is real from who is not. Nobody has a perfect batting average no matter how much they may practice. The Sun moving through one of the most sensitive areas of your chart for the next few weeks is about cleaning up your boundaries. And before you get there, you will get the opportunity to find out where they are.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Seeking the truth is not so popular these days. It’s easy to understand why: those who did not do so and who are certain they are right are threatened by those who inquire. You, however, have an inquiring mind, and this has been running at peak potential lately with Mercury retrograde in Aquarius. The sign associated with advances in science and technology is in your house of healing (Aquarius is 6 places from Virgo, hence the 6th solar house). Right now, as in this moment, there is a movement to merge medicine, technology, biology and health. That is dangerous because an experienced herbalist is more likely to help you than all the molecular biology in the world. All this science stuff is the opposite of the Holistic Principle, which is what you would live by in a perfect world: all of life is one expression (described magnificently in the book The Biophilia Hypothesis by Ed Wilson). You are a whole person, and the key to your wellbeing is your wholeness. The more you investigate that, and explore and experience it, the better able you will be to take care of yourself and those you love.
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — Put your plan into physical form. It’s probably a fantastic scheme, with well-thought-through strategies. However, you need to get it into the third-dimension: into physical space and time. That means build a model, hold a rehearsal, write the proposal, and generally clear the space and put it where you can see it. Even if we’re talking about some form of digital art, make it as tangible as possible. You will need a good few run-throughs, redesigns or rewrites to discover the bugs and work them out. This transition from theory to lived reality is something that is going out of style fast, but which humanity dispenses with to its peril. You are here in your body to do things with your body, whatever that might mean to you: as long as it means physical form. One other bit. There is an influence in your chart that is cautioning you about daddy-pleasing. This is going on at manic proportions, though the message is the loudest and clearest for you: make your own choices. Listen for that voice of disapproval, or the notion that you must construct yourself in someone else’s image in order to be acceptable — and go beyond it with the bold determination of knowing, “My life is my life.”
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — The Venus-Mars square, now active in your chart, does not have a good reputation. I once dug through 10 old astrology books writing an article about it, and there was hardly a kind word to be found. Yet they all missed the point, which is the struggle that humans have to integrate both genders. From time to time this gets thrown up on the big board as the existential crisis du jour, usually in the form of political battling or an alleged existential disaster. And it’s always about accepting someone else, and not something within yourself. Women demanding their rights become the symbol of womanliness. Gay people demanding rights become the symbol of your gayness. Men standing behind a row of barbecues become the symbol of all that is wrong with the world. This is all a missed opportunity to accept, admit and acknowledge who you are. And it’s not merely about your identity. It’s about how you feel, who you want, what you want, and what you need — for real, not merely because someone finally said it’s OK. Which is unlikely to happen, unless that someone is you.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — So what are you doing now? Your chart suggests you could finish all five books you have going, all three movies, and your top-five favorite ideas for websites. You have more power running through the language and mind angle of your chart than a lightning storm on Saturn. I suggest, however, that you focus on your single most important priority. It is likely to be the thing calling you today, right now. It may not be your “favorite” thing (but it might); that is irrelevant. It’s what needs to happen and happen well enough such that only you can do it. For this purpose, your mantra does not need to be about reminding yourself how brilliant you are. Rather, remind yourself: “I am efficient. I will find the best way to get this done. I will set limits on my creativity and work with what I’ve got. I respect time and necessity. I will use my creativity as a tool, not as the thing that rules me.” And so on. You must be the one in control of your mind and your personal resources. That does not mean all of destiny or the fate of the world, only your personal abilities and assets. That is quite enough.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — You choose your community. You do this from your available options, a little at a time. But it’s not like getting into Harvard or the Church of Scientology where you must pay, and do exactly what is expected of you at all times. Community is not about being deemed worthy or not on a black and white basis: acceptable or not. There must be flexibility, and also a commitment to honesty. Those are the two qualities to notice with your senses and, your emotional body and your physical body. To put it simply, you want food and not the promise of food. You want warm acceptance, not the pretext that if you are eventually good enough, you will be accepted. Yet those pretexts are pervasive, and worse, they are soaked into most people at a very young age. The bottom line is, to find your place, you must be willing to be alone for a while. Yet you do not want a substitute for the thing you need or desire; you want the real thing. Having nothing for a while, or delaying gratification, is better than an imitation, though you must recognize that when you use and feel it. This is about one thing only: being real with yourself at all times.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Many people never succeed at getting their financial lives in order. Yet this is a metaphor for taking ownership of one’s existence. It is a metaphor for being a self-directed person who is not under the thumb of others. And this always comes back to parents, and the institutions that substitute for them in our lives: governments, banks, employers, and quite often partners — among others. While the emphasis of your life now shifts to the financial aspects of your experience, there is much more to the story than how much money you have, or need. What we are talking about is being responsible for your existence. That means moving on from all those who may end up with the role of encouraging you not to be wholly in possession of your life. These are assigned roles, though they may seem like fate, destiny, or circumstances beyond your control. You now have Jupiter and Saturn in your sign. That is a way of saying there must be no matters that you do not take hold of with the full force of your being. This is a time like no other. Use it wisely.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — The Sun enters your sign this week (Thursday at 5:44 am EST), which always comes as a relief. The water signs in general and Pisces in particular thrive when the Sun is in a water sign. You need to be in your element. Yet it’s vital to recognize that ultimately your element is within yourself. Yes, everyone needs an inner life, and in these days of inside-out digital chaos, few people have one. For you this is not an option, particularly now, with so many planets moving through the most sensitive angle of your chart (Aquarius, your 12th solar house). If I may be so bold, the challenge you face is how not to feel like a prisoner of your own life. You have much more freedom than you may recognize — now you must figure out how to make that real. The first thing you can do is exercise your options. Get out whenever you can, by which I mean outside and away from the all-consuming digital realm. You may need to push, pull or lure yourself, and you’ll need to remember how good you feel when you succeed. Then, the next thing to do is indulge in any and all forms of physical sensuality. That is the one thing lacking from the in-silico universe of the cyber realm. Get wet. Get real.
The essence of “abuse,” and perhaps the most damaging and long-term aspect of abuse…is not the nature of the abuse – physical, emotional, mental or spiritual – but the pattern that is created and the effect that it has on the psyche of the individual.
Regardless of the nature of the abuse or its frequency, once the pattern of abuse is laid – that there will be abuse, at any time, without notice, for any reason, real or imagined…the abused person then lives in a state of low grade (or more) state of fear and/or anxiety; restlessly and relentlessly awaiting the next episode of abuse.
This is perhaps, the most damaging aspect of abuse…a change in consciousness itself.
You could say that Americans have been at the effect of “abuse” for several years now; the inundation of media, marketing, advertising, technology, and dysfunctional politics – also specifically, the 24/7 news cycle, thanks to Ted Turner – in our daily lives has put us on tenterhooks all day, every day, about…what will happen next?
Add to that, most folks are using their time, energy, and attention simply “trying to keep up” with their multiple technological, media and social media channels…at the expense of common sense, an ability to recollect the critical lessons of history, and the ability to discern fact from fiction, truth from lies, and reality from illusion.
And of course…the Trump administration amplified this exponentially.
The combination of choosing to live in the “digital reality” and Trump…has tangibly altered not only our reality, but also our consciousness itself.
The other day, a friend of mine with whom I was exploring this with said, “We’re being brainwashed.”
I agreed. Except…we’re brainwashing ourselves. Or should I say, we’re allowing ourselves to be brainwashed; we’re choosing to give our time, attention and energy to these things.
I recognize it seems too simple, too simplistic, sophomoric, unsexy…but unless and until we recognize that it is only “we” who can save ourselves from continuing to slide down this slippery slope…we will continue to descend with increasing speed and momentum.
It wasn’t that long ago…that we chose differently. That the answering machine handled our calls, that we connected and conversed, hugged and cuddled, disagreed and discoursed…and valued one another and our humanity.
Because the bottom line is…without our humanity, we will possess nothing of value. And that which we are giving our energy to…is disconnecting us from our humanity.
Neither God, nor our government, will “save us;” from a spiritual perspective, the whole point is for us as individuals to choose to save ourselves. In doing so…we love and support everyone around us. “Love” here being…the real kind.
The kind that says…”I see you. I want to connect with you. I want to spend time with you. I want to get to know you. I want to share with you, and for you to share with me. I want a real relationship with you!”
Do you remember this kind of love? This “way” of love? I hope you do…we need it.