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The Sagittarius eclipse conjunct two deep space points is an opening to something much greater than we can currently see. We need this enhanced vision as we embark into the Aquarian Era.
Dear Friend and Reader:
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 since 1965, when the Uranus-Pluto conjunction happened.
We are now experiencing the closing sequence for 2020, which also begins a major new era in astrology that lasts through 2044. I am calling this An Aquarian Era. It’s difficult for the human mind to think in these terms, these long cycles of time — particularly in an era where it’s difficult to remember last week, or to have any concept of the future at all.
However, the future is upon us. And it is upon us now.
While there are many other insults and assaults of our era, preventing people from being together is currently the most serious affront to humanity. Being together is the most important thing. The ability to breathe the same air is one of the most fundamental social and biological experiences that we can have as living creatures. When we cannot breathe the same air, we are all turned into outcasts from our own lives, our bodies, our environment and one another.
Monday’s total solar eclipse represents a point of acceleration leading into the next stage of the historical process. Pointed at both the Galactic Core and the Great Attractor, it represents a spiritual opening: that is, a portal to what is way beyond normal waking consciousness, deep into the unknown.
This eclipse also describes conclusively an ending to the influences of 2020 and a radical point of embarking into the future. Some of this will happen organically; some will happen based on our conscious use of the incoming energies — which are incoming from within you, and all of us.
Everything, for you, depends upon your personal density level. You will experience things as you are, much more than as they are.
Jupiter, Saturn and then Pluto
That future is described by the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in Aquarius — the beginning of the Aquarian Era (not the Aquarian Age, that’s another topic, though they are related — I will cover this in Friday’s Planet Waves FM).
They have one thing in common, which is the pattern-forming property of Aquarius, its involvement with technology, and how this will shape the human experience.
The question of the Aquarian Era is: what does it mean to be human?
There are no assurances that this will be positive. Aquarius is a human sign that is deeply involved with electricity and all advances associated with it. Electricity has strange effects on the human form, mainly serving to drive us out of our bodies. When you make an overseas telephone call, or use the internet, you leap halfway around the world, and exist in multiple places at once.
Humans for millions of years have been accustomed to more ordinary means of migration, farming, making things and trading in marketplaces. We are not designed to fly or travel in time, and if we are adapting to do so, it must be conscious or else it can be destabilizing of both people and society.
The question of the Aquarian Era is: what does it mean to be human? What does it mean to you? We are fast forgetting, as one of the most significant things it means is to be together.
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Breathing the Same Air
While there are many other insults and assaults of our era, regulating how we gather is currently the most serious affront to humanity. Being together is the most important thing. The ability to breathe the same air is one of the most fundamental social and biological experiences that we can have. When we cannot breathe the same air, we are all turned into outcasts from our own lives and our own bodies.
This also happens when robots take over our thoughts (all digital devices and platforms count), to which we surrender our ability to think coherently.
Now we are facing constant attempts to merge humans with computers, and to have all natural human DNA essentially become the property of “science,” which means the government.
This is a spiritual matter, and the eclipse in Sagittarius describes an opening to something greater, by which I mean a wider vision, more spiritually grounded. That would translate to a state of curiosity, openness and love in the form of respect for the unknown. How we handle this event, personally and collectively, will have much influence on how we develop our future in the Aquarian era. We are choosing what kind of world and what kind of society we want to live in, which will determine who we get to be, living in whatever we create.
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The Nature and Meaning of Fear
I am not fond of making distinctions between “ego” and “spiritual,” though one is called for today. Ego as described by A Course in Miracles and similar philosophies is a personality construct that is grounded in guilt and fear. When you see people frantic about anything, en masse, such as identifying with disease and death, and attacking others, that is textbook ego.
The death that we are being sold is not the real one: there is no transformation involved; it’s merely a loss.
That kind of obsession with anxiety and panic is not what it means to be alive. Yes, it’s ‘safe’ in its own way, and many people thrive on it, though it’s a dance of death and we are watching that unfold right now. Notably, it’s conducted largely in the realm of fantasy. The death that we are being sold is not the real one: there is no transformation involved; it’s merely a loss.
Fear serves a purpose. It’s dangerous to try to talk people out of their fears. That’s because many people build their whole personality on them. Or, they construct a reality that cannot be challenged, lest their whole mind fall apart. Let that house of cards crumble. Let yourself live on the solid ground of an honest search for the truth, and being open to the unknown.
The Opening Beyond What We Know
As Monday’s eclipse points into the two most important deep space features in the chart — the core of our own galaxy, and the core of the galactic supercluster we inhabit — it is inherently a spiritual invitation. It will have its influences and its effects without anyone needing to do anything.
Yet it’s possible to be more or less available; more or less flexible; more or less willing to forget what you thought you knew and to embrace some new understanding, knowledge and potential.
You don’t need to do much. Let your mind open, move through the day slowly, and keep breathing.
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All Of Us Here – Astrology for Our Moment
In honor of Jupiter and Saturn in Aquarius, the 2021 Planet Waves annual readings are called ALL OF US HERE. These are audio readings for all 12 Sun signs and rising signs.
For the next few days, we will be offering all 12 signs of ALL OF US HERE for $88.These extended audio readings will synchronize you with the astrology of the forthcoming year.
They include a video introduction wherein I describe the charts — done by Dec. 21, the day of the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction.
There is also a separate written reading called AN AQUARIAN ERA for $88, which covers Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto in Aquarius from 2021-2024 – this is available for pre-order for all 12 signs. It is your best introduction to Pluto in Aquarius (2023-2044).
Now Playing on Planet Waves FM: Full-Day Workshop with Dr. Tom Cowan and Dr. Andy Kaufman
Listen on Planet Waves FM
Chiron Return, our nonprofit arm, publishes Covid19 News every day, in fact several times a day. We have updated about 1,000 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
Monthly Horoscopes and Publishing Schedule Notes
Your extended monthly horoscope for December was published on Monday, Nov. 30. We published your extended monthly horoscope for November on Thursday, Oct. 29. Please note: we normally publish the extended monthly horoscope after the Sun has entered a new sign.
Monday Evening Horoscope #257 for December 14, 2020
By Eric Francis Coppolino
Aries (March 20-April 19) — One misunderstanding of ‘spiritual’ is that it involves incense, yoga mats and ideas that sound nice. In truth, spiritual is the confrontation and conscious relationship with existence. This includes a direct engagement with the unknown and the unseen. While this may not happen every day, it does happen — and humans are adept at missing their opportunities. There is a reason for this. To witness something outside of our known reality has a way of compelling a change of mind, of cosmology, and way of life, and that is inconvenient. But there is something more. Anyone who has built their psychic structure on fear is likely to feel it threatened by anything that might contradict that. You are being called to open your mind, and your heart, and learn something new. This means challenging the basis of your fears of negative outcomes, and also the fear of your own potential. Allow yourself to be guided by your own wisdom. Others are counting on your ability to tap into your own wisdom and to be brave enough to honestly live your truth.
Taurus (April 19-May 20) — As long as you feel something is being taken from you, that is how you will live, and that is what you will see as real. And if you approach your encounters with other people as them offering you a gift, that is what you will receive. So much is up to you right now. You will experience the world on the level of density that you choose. Today’s eclipse of the Sun is a potential breakthrough for you, and by that I mean on a lifetime scale. This looks like an opening into understanding your deepest fears, and taking them as teachers rather than as threats. All of this presents challenges, I know. Yet the challenges persist as you resist, and expand toward you letting go into what you’ve come so far to learn in these very days. You are about to experience a boost in what we might call your ‘worldly power’. Yet to be used with meaning and with fairness, your abilities in this world need to be informed by a deeper source and held to a standard well beyond what society usually requires. And that door is open now.
Gemini (May 20-June 21) — You tend to live in a world so large, you get intimidated by the possibilities. You might tune them out entirely, or go into ‘think globally, act locally’ mode. Yet there are times when the appropriate thing is to look as far over the horizon as you can and consider where you actually are, and what you are called upon to do — that is, by your soul’s purpose. To that, many are called and few respond. You are being called. To a degree, you have the choice whether and how to dance with the possibilities. This is not, however, like responding to a job listing, which people have enough difficulty with. You may be summoned to a challenge where you have no concept of how you will rise to it. What you see may stretch your beliefs and your notion of who you are. Allow yourself to be shaken. Allow yourself to be pushed and stretched. Feel your perceptions encounter direct knowledge. Let the filters fall from your brain and your senses. Open the reducing valve of perception. And remember, you are looking into a mirror.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) — This may have been one of the most challenging years of your life, on top of many other events that have compounded since late 2017. Whatever that was, it’s about to come to an end, and something new and different is about to begin. Remember all that you’ve learned during this meaningful era of your life. Account for what you have gained and what you have lost. Be grateful for some of what has been removed, if you determine that it was not serving your greater good. You are moving on from this era a changed person. Recognize that change, and inhabit your new level of experience and maturity. You will need it sooner than you think. And remember, as you go forward from here, that you are not doing so alone. You are not alone. There are strong, wise and powerful people around you, if you would only open yourself up to their presence and their assistance. It is true that you bear special responsibilities right now and that means having to handle special challenges of a collective nature. Be yourself, no matter what anyone says.
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — There are those who are terrified of their own creativity. This may seem like an extreme statement, though it’s a significant part of the madness we see in the world. By creativity I do not mean the ability to paint or play the piccolo. I mean the ability to create. For much of the past three years, you’ve been preoccupied by necessity and have in many ways been on the defensive. Today is the turning point, and this week represents a shift of your momentum in a way that you’ve rarely if ever experienced before. There’s no telling what your outer environment will offer to you, as the astrology we’re experiencing is unprecedented in the modern era. Yet whatever that is, the real ‘change comes from within,’ borrowing a bit from the Zen Master Hot Dog Cart joke (‘make me one with everything’). Tap into your power fearlessly and allow your mind to be blown. Invite in the changes that will expand your consciousness and reveal that you are indeed one with yourself — and everything.
Tailored for Virgo Sun and rising, this new audio reading by Eric Francis introduces you to your astrology through the autumn of 2021. We will take maximum advantage of the power you are drawing from the Earth signs at the time of your solar return: Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn, as well as Uranus in Taurus. This is a grand earth trine, and the thing to do is gather momentum in the direction you want to go, and then point yourself there. Eric describes the influence of Jupiter and Saturn ingressing Aquarius later this year. The reading looks closely at Chiron in Aries, accompanied by Mars retrograde in Aries — your most important relationship house. Now with full transcript. Order now for instant access. This reading is included with the Backstage Pass.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Yours is an Earth sign though you stand on cosmic foundations. Yes, that is true of every living being. Yet Virgo is oriented such that your connection to yourself and to the world seems to have you floating on the great abyss. Not everyone wants to know this, and it’s easy to allow yourself to be distracted by the state of the kitchen sponges, or solving whatever problems your friends are having. You know there is something more to existence, but life on Earth is so busy and consuming. However, that something more is calling on you to recognize that in truth, it’s your home, the ground of your being, and your only safety. When you feel grounded and safe, that is when you open up to the possibilities and to your own potential. More than that, when you feel safe, your own truth is available to you. Yet you must know how to get yourself there, which begins with handling your anxiety in a deft and clever way. You must be smarter than your fear, which you are — though living that way takes practice.
Notes to Myself is Ready | Astrology Studio for Libra
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — You are a person of big ideas, sometimes so big you have no notion of how to manifest them. Yet don’t let that stop you from keeping your mind open, and attempting what may seem impossible. You don’t need to do the impossible all at once; you merely need to have a go at it, and if that does not work out, collect what you have learned and try again. Some would say everything seems impossible till it’s done — and I would add that those are the only things worth devoting yourself to. Devote yourself to what is unprecedented. Devote yourself to what is unfamiliar. Embrace ideas that you don’t understand, well enough to grok them. Stay on the edge of your consciousness. When you do so, the correct emotional approach is a blend of curiosity and apprehensiveness. Do not be bullish about this. Do not be brazen. Rather, move gently, intuitively and with a touch of wanderlust. New ideas will take you to new places. Learning to understand what seems strange will transform you. Accept nothing less.
The Scorpio File: Astrology Studio 2020
What’s in the Scorpio file? Does anyone really know? This year for your solar return, Mercury is retrograde in your sign. Adding to the mystery, Mars, your classical ruling planet, is retrograde in Aries, about to station direct. Then Jupiter forms a conjunction with Pluto, which takes the story to the level of your soul’s mission on Earth. In this 76-minute astrology reading, Eric Francis unravels the secrets of your sign, and helps you guide yourself through this strange new time we are living in. Price is $44. Original music by Vision Quest. Get instant access here!
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — Amidst much cosmic fanfare, your ruling planet Mars is still working out the details of the retrograde in Aries earlier this year. The last stage of that is about to come into focus, as Mars forms a conjunction to Eris and a square to Pluto simultaneously between now and Dec. 23. Under normal circumstances, this could be confrontational, aggressive, volatile and even violent astrology. Yet it’s all on the level of personality; it’s on the level of where heads bang rather than where spirits meet or souls engage the deeper work of this lifetime. Two features stand out of this aspect pattern. One is the urgency of bringing your whole nature together as one person, rather than defining yourself by your tendencies, or by your ‘roles’ in life. Train yourself to be the same person everywhere, with everyone, whether you’re meeting the president of the United States, the president of your company, your cousin or helping someone you’ve never met. At the same time, please honor the fact that your work and your service are where you will do the deepest work of finding yourself. In the end, your work is who you are.
The most exuberant astrology reading ever.
Astrology Studio for Sagittarius, 2020-2021
Dear Friend and Sagittarius Sun, Moon, or Rising:
Without Sagittarius, we would all be lost. Home of the two centers of our local universe (the Galactic Core and the Great Attractor), Sagittarius is the homing signal in the zodiac. It reminds us of our cosmic origins, and this is a role you serve in the lives of many.
Sagittarius season is particularly exciting this year, with two eclipses involving your sign, including the Dec. 14 eclipse conjunct a planet named for the Goddess of the Stars.
The image above is as close of an image as we can get to the Galactic Core, which is packed with millions of whipping stars jammed so close that it’s light out all the time, in every direction.
And you are invited to view this new video on why I think that Sagittarius is the most interesting sign.
You may order here. This is a 70-minute audio reading featuring original music by Vision Quest. This reading is ready and available for instant access.
Thank you for your business and your trust.
With love,
PS — This reading is included with the Backstage Pass. If you have questions about that, please give us a ring at (845) 481-5616.
Here is a sample of your Sagittarius reading — Live from the Galactic Center
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — Today’s solar eclipse in your birth sign has wiped the slate of your life clean. Or it will have, if you take the final step and release your attachments to the past, whether ‘negative’ or ‘positive’. This includes assessing your abilities and your potential based on what you’ve done in the past. There are different perspectives on the meaning and purpose of history, whether personal or collective. However, we might suspend that discussion and get right to the point: your future is upon you, now. If you turn away, you will diminish your ability to engage with life and to create yourself into the person you want to be and in truth know you are. Be aware that nothing is going to be handed to you; there are challenges involved, and the most significant one is learning how to think differently than you currently do. When you run into any limitation, consider it first a limitation of thought. In theory, anything is possible. But in reality, nothing is possible if you don’t at least consider that it may be so. And that is all about your thoughts.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — This week, Jupiter and Saturn leave your sign, ending a three-year phase of your life. Has it been challenging? Has it been difficult? Has it been amazing? Are you knackered after going flat-out for years? Are you a different person? All of the above may be true. While important elements of this growth phase will continue, it’s now time to stabilize yourself and focus your priorities. To do that means to make a heartfelt assessment of what really matters to you. Most people have an idea, and then do their version of putting it off until retirement. It’s now time to live as if this is the only time there is. It’s time to live as if we are not going to be here forever. And that, above all, means making your decisions based on your actual values: on what is on the deepest level meaningful to you, and fulfilling of your purpose. Start by stating that purpose out loud as you understand it today. Keep doing so until you reach an understanding with yourself.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Jupiter and Saturn are about to crack through the thin shell between Capricorn and your sign. Together, these transits represent the awakening of a lifetime. Together, they will alter the shape of your life. You get creative input on how this happens. You don’t have total control, though you have significant influence. The first thing to do is to loosen up your mind. Recognize your preconceptions for what they are, and allow them to thaw. You have many ideas about ‘how the world is,’ though many of them no longer check out. You can be happy about that, because far greater possibilities exist. Think of Jupiter and Saturn not only as adding substance but also as changing the shape of your psyche, allowing you to take on new dimensions and new forms. Think of Monday’s eclipse in Sagittarius as allowing you access to a much wider world, different people, new friendships and new collaborations. You will attract what is on your vibration level. Keep it positive, and meditate on these words: Healing is real.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Two things are happening at once: you are focusing your aspirations and your life plans, some of which will require you to be much more out front and visible than usual. At the same time, you understand that you must also be a more private person, less exposed to the public. These might seem like competing principles, and you need to take care that they are in harmony with one another, so that you are in harmony with yourself. Above all, that would be an ideal primary goal for your life: inner peace. The radical shift in dynamics of your chart suggests that you will be able to remove yourself from the public fray (whether that means social media, or your duties as TV news broadcaster, YouTuber, mayor of your city, or president of your company). A whole new kind of interior space is about to open up. An era of public contention and controversy is about to end, which will give you more time, space and resources to fulfill your highest callings. All of this depends on your ability to self-regulate, so get good at it sooner rather than later.
Dear Eric and all valued beings out there,
For months I have read your, and others’ writings, coming from a point maybe of near-despair at the conditions in the US, and I think much of Europe right now. I’m reading about a culture of fear, separation, anger.
Meanwhile, here in New Zealand, I’m thinking about gathering tonight in an Italian restaurant with a community group for our Christmas end-of-year celebration, planning my own Christmas day gathering. I haven’t thought about Covid or lockdown for months. We have a band practice weekly and hug madly. There are two retreats taking shape right now. After Christmas too, loads of us will pile up to a friend’s forest-beach space in the same way we’ve done for 20 years. So long as the government keeps that virus out of the community.
Once the cases here rose past 50 and the trajectory was steep mid/end March, we went into lockdown. Everybody did it. Nobody would have dreamed of breaking those rules. Neighbours checked in on each other – I even got a food box! There was no panic-laden TV or media hype at all. The Prime Minister and the health guy did a public broadcast daily at 1pm and gave us the stats. We nearly all had a bubble with a companion, and folks moved in with each other to make it so.
The experience of glorious car-free silence and pristine air was amazing. Everyone had a payout to live on. Nobody lacked health care. Even the homeless all got a motel room. Yes, some had a bad time, not least the ones isolated with an abusive partner, or essential workers who were stressed. For some it was the first holiday for 10 years. I’ve never seen so many out walking the streets with kids and dogs, and teddy bears peeking out everywhere. There was a second little wave of cases, a briefer lockdown in August, but since early October, life is entirely normal.
We have no Covid in the community at all, the cases all come in on planes, and go into 5-star hotels for two weeks. Nobody is in ICU, in fact nobody is in hospital. The general online ‘culture’ around Covid right now is typified here https://twitter.com/minhealthnz. We’ve had about 1750 confirmed cases and 25 deaths. Our population is about the same as Alabama, which has had 300,000 cases and over 4000 deaths. Go figure.
We used Zoom and still do. I’ve not connected with so many people in my life. I’m working on a project now with folks from all over the USA, Canada and much of Europe, meeting several times a week. No, it’s not tactile, we don’t sit on the back porch watching the sun go down together, but I would never have known their faces and loved them without this tech. And this time has illuminated stuff for us. How in NZ now we have to get to grips with inequality, with proper stewardship of the natural world, to unlock the grip of the farming and fishing lobbies on what kind of country we want to be and do it for real.
But what about America? How can your country be in this space? How can so many people not care if folks don’t have healthcare or food, why is there such limited interpersonal trust? Is this all down to external powers against whom you have no power? It’s been awhile since I read the first article on the crisis of empathy, care and compassion in the US, and here’s a good version to ponder psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-art-living-free/202006/empathy-crisis-in-america
Eric, you wrote a long time ago extolling potlucks. Here’s to potlucks, just as soon as they’re possible. And loooong phone calls, like we used to do, which we can still do anywhere, unrestricted – call your phone company and change your plan – to dear friends, near friends, distant friends. To being a friend, unremittingly for at least a couple of hours a day?
Hey, how are you doing, sweetheart, how are you feeling – the real you, really? To ask because we care. Just that can change so much. As George Harrison said, for the forest to be green, all the trees must be green. Just a few trees at a time might seem so insignificant, but given how nature tends to propagate what thrives, it’s a hell of a good start.
Love always,
Susie