Photo by Priya Kale.

By Judith Gayle

THE WISDOM traditions have it that the answers we're all looking for are simple. Had you heard that before? I'd heard that all my life, and it took me years to "get it." Reflecting on my past, my experience tells me that when I finally dig through enough delusion and supposition and fear and confusion and wishful thinking and emotional drama, the answer is always simple. It's true.

Let's say you're spending more money than you have coming in and the bill collectors are calling. You now have a love/hate relationship with your answering machine. What to do? The answer is simple. Cut up the credit cards, knock off the extras, and tighten up your belt. Maybe you have to ride share to work. Or maybe you have to give the car back to the bank and get a bike. You'll probably have to do without some of the entertainments you use to distract yourself from harsher realities while you dig out. For a while, you'll feel as though you've taken a step back, that life is more challenging than it was before. I said it was simple -- I didn't say it was fun. Simple answers almost always involve biting the bullet. Which is, I suppose, another way of saying that we loaded the bullet in the first place. The answers are simple; we just don't like them.

I remember a cold tarot reading I did (when I did that kind of thing) where the energy was as sharp and pointy as the collection of swords that fell on the table. The young woman sitting in front of me was pale and pinched, her hands restless in her lap. We were looking at her primary relationship, and it was oppressive to say the least. She'd come with two of her friends for readings, and as we sat together around the table I gently explained what I was seeing. As I finished, and as I always did, I put the power back in her hands. Her silent sisters had their heads bowed. Tears streamed down her face and she asked, "Do I have to leave him?"

Ahhhhh -- the human heart. So conflicted, so tender. I'd seldom seen so miserable a little human sitting in front of me, a stranger, when I placed her decision, like a hot potato, back in her hands where it belonged. All I could say, at that moment, was the obvious.

"But are you happy now?"

I don't know what she decided to do when she went out the door. I don't know how her life turned out or if she released herself from what was surely a difficult and angst-filled situation. But I'll always remember her -- because for me, she's all of us. Solutions are simple, but they're no trip to Disneyland. Making the decisions is difficult and implementing them is no piece of cake. But life can be better when you get to the other side of the process.

I heard Bill Bradley, who competed against Al Gore for the presidential nomination, talking about his book, The New American Story. He favors simple answers. He says that if we developed the capacity to get the same gas mileage in our cars that's required in Europe, we'd never have to buy oil from OPEC again. If we followed the dots on that puppy's back, we would save ourselves, and the world, a few wars to boot. Bradley says there are similar simple strategies for all our big issues: environment, social security, military-industrial complex, health care.

There are people, corporations, systems and institutions standing in the way of that kind of simplicity -- "the way of the world." But we're hungry for it, in this nation and around the globe. We're in a kind of free fall, and we want solutions that work for all of us. Some days it feels as if just one more piece of bad news will bury us.

Another of Mr. Bradley's contentions is that the Democratic party, because it isn't base driven as are the Republicans, spends too much of its time looking for a Rock Star to lead them -- he says we've had that problem since JFK. Enter Barack Obama, a compelling and attractive newcomer who draws crowds of 20,000 enthusiastic supporters more than a year out from the presidential nomination. We want a hero who will untangle the snarl our nation is in, our finances are in, our international affairs are in. We want something "new." It should be noted that the Republicans can't seem to find their industrialized hero this campaign season -- they've built their house on sand.

While I think there are new ways to think about things, new ways of exploring our challenges and enlightened approaches to problems gone untried, I don't think there's much "new" out there -- nothing new under the sun, as they say. But there is something old that we haven't tried yet. We haven't tried getting rid of all the things that stand in the way of solutions. We get side-tracked in the "conventional wisdoms" -- "yes, but you can't do that because then this will happen," and "oh, but that would mean this, that and the other." You know -- all those things that they tell us are true, things we've believed because they said so, because it was easier to "let them do it." But now we see where these Deciders have taken us, and how full of holes their arguments.

I recently had a conversation with a family member whose political stand is 180 degrees from my own. When he complained bitterly about border issues, I mentioned that I was much more concerned about the Constitution than the border. I asked him how he felt about the changes to the Geneva convention and habeas corpus, about being a nation that not only approved but practiced torture for political ends. He looked startled, and then began the "yes, but's." Yes, but what if you knew someone had information that could lead to...yadda yadda. I told him that I couldn't have that conversation with him, that there was no compromise to being an ethical nation. Either we are or we aren't. If we aren't we should have the guts to say so -- if we aren't, then we shouldn't be outraged when Iran holds British sailors hostage that we may or may not see again. The precedent for ruthlessness has been set anew -- by us. We can't have it both ways.

We have some decisions to make. The answers are simple. Making them work won't be a picnic, but that's the bullet we'll have to bite. Surely in the last seven or so years we've done enough delusion and fear and wishful thinking to bring ourselves to that point of decision. And the question we have to ask ourselves is the one that's always on the table, in the end.

Are we happy now?

Planet Waves Live from The Blast! Eric Francis will be reporting from The Blast Astrology conference in Sedona, Arizona this weekend, interviewing some of the most interesting up-and-coming minds in astrology. These will include young astrologers you're hearing from for the first time, as well as some of the most established ones in the profession. Eric will also be doing a presentation on writing Sun-sign horoscopes that we will broadcast in full on Planet Waves -- so please look for this exciting coverage on our front page beginning late Friday afternoon in US time zones.

WE ARE just emerging from some intense astrology which has been evident in the world events. Our staff has been tracking the news with special focus on the recent Mercury Retrograde period and we have put together for you a representative sample of the news timeline for events as they occurred, listing also the prevailing astrological climate. Please click here to read this comprehensive selection.



By Carol McCloud

“Muluc Cosmos” by Carol McCloud

“Muluc Cosmos” by Carol McCloud

In the sky there is nobody asleep.
Nobody, nobody. Nobody is asleep.
The creatures of the moon
sniff and prowl about their cabins.
The living iguanas will come and bite
the men who do not dream,
and the man who rushes out with
his spirit broken will meet
on the street corner
the unbelievable alligator quiet beneath
the tender protest of the stars.

- Federico Garcia Lorca

THE MONTH begins on 6 Muluc, during the pulse of Kan, the dreaming lizard. Muluc is the day-sign associated with water and purification. After the clearing and letting go of the old cycles during last month's eclipse purge, we find ourselves at a new beginning, teetering in the darkness. This is a point in Mayan pulsing that can anchor our intention for the future.

Kan is a sign of the south, represented by the fire of the earth and marking a period of regeneration. It is a time for internal processing where being is more important than doing. It is the seedling and new beginning that we can nurture to grow tall into the symbolic maize that was ritually honored by the Maya. Notice the power of alchemy, during this pulse, as we find ourselves in nature, connected to the elements. Kan is a potent force in the merging of the above and below. Kan, the lizard, moves from sleeping to waking with ease.

In these realms without story, we are coming from the void of the earth and can look to dreams that we want to be living in the now, find their relevance in waking life and act upon them in each moment. Here we are pulling information from a nonlinear cauldron of time and looking into that which is and "will be" rather than that which "has been." During this time we will have to rely on faith. It is a time to surrender and trust, knowing that our choices will be sourced from spirit. We can choose to live our lives with the knowledge and wisdom of our future selves.

Kan, as the lizard or dragon, is reminding us of natural energies. Dragon lines are the balance between yin and yang, the Chi and life force energy. These dragon lines weave their way through our physical environment and up and down our spine, as we feel the earth below and cosmos within.

This time pulse brings through the energy and mystery of dragons and the earth. Dragons keep the earth's mysteries alive and show us how to connect with those mysteries. Dragon energy reminds us of the multi-dimensional truth of ourselves and the Earth and helps to activate forgotten aspects of ourselves. Kan is the seed that eventually brings forth new growth and blossoming.

The middle of the month will take us into the pulse of Caban, a day-sign related to the Phoenix and sacred smoke. This time is about awakening and awareness; as the sacred incense arises, so does the Phoenix bird within.

While Kan is the Dragon, Caban is the movement of the Earth and the Dragon's fire in action. The new moon at 27+ Aries will be during this pulse, on 9 Chicchan. Caban relates to the archetypal energies of the Earth and earthquakes. It is about the movement of Earth energies within our bodies and on the planet. It is our connection to the heartbeat, harmonics and synchronicities of the living Gaia.

The day-sign of 9 Chicchan, the serpent asks us to awaken our body with deep wisdom teachings. The serpent connects us to an encoded knowledge, our DNA, ancient history and information collected within our reservoir of cells. The ninth day relates to the gestation cycle and the highest manifestation of the feminine. This is a period of realization and completion as we shift to a new level with our intent.

From deep within the Earth and deep within our cells we are being asked to rebirth, regenerate some aspect of ourselves. With the springtime and sacred time-pulses teaching us about the nature of our world, it is a time to pay attention to both inner and outer realms, and enter the dreams of our own becoming. Awakened in consciousness. Continued.

April Highlights

Time-pulse/Trecana: Kan (Lizard)
March 27, 2007 - April 8, 2007

Time-pulse/Trecana: Caban (Earthquake)
April 9, 2007 - April 21, 2007

Time-pulse/Trecana: Oc (Dog)
April 22, 2007 - May 4, 2007

New Moon: 27+Aries April 17, 2007 - 9 Chicchan (Caban Pulse)



By Kirsti Melto


Full Moon in Libra - April 2, 2007, 17:15 UT

The FULL MOON at 12+ Libra is in conjunction with cubewano 2003 EL61 (at 13+ Libra) and plutino Rhadamanthus (at 14+ Libra).

In July 2005 the existence of three big and bright new objects was announced. One of them was Eris and another one was 2003 EL61. Mike Brown's team -- the discoverer of Eris and many of the recently found new planets -- nicknamed EL61 "Santa," because they were observing it around Christmastime in 2004. Officially it is still without a name.

EL61 is the third brightest Kuiper Belt Object and its size is about 3/4 of the size of Pluto. It is one of the strangest objects in our solar system. Mike Brown tells on his website that in the very distant past another object slammed into EL61 at high speed, and this giant impact led to all of the odd properties of EL61.

EL61 is the fastest rotating body and also the most bizarrely shaped body of its size class. The rotation period is only about four hours. The shape of EL61 is therefore stretched out and resembles an American football. The rotation time is near the point where body of this size starts to break down.

EL61 has two tiny moons and it is followed in its orbit around the Sun by a swarm of icy bodies that were originally ejected from the surface of EL61 during the giant impact.

EL61 is on an unstable orbit and possibly becomes a comet one day in the future, in perhaps 1 billion years. According to Mike Brown, it will probably be 10,000 times brighter than the spectacular comet Hale-Bopp, making it something like the brightness of the full moon and easily visible in the daytime sky.

Now back to the Libra Full Moon aspects. The Moon, 2003 EL61, and Rhadamanthus are sextile to Vesta and Ixion on the Great Attractor and form a trine aspect to Chiron-Nessus conjunction in Aquarius. The Moon semisquares plutino Orcus in Leo and sesquisquares Mars in Aquarius.

The Sun is trineing Vesta and Ixion on the Great Attractor. The Sun semisquares Mars and forms an accurate septile to Neptune.

Mercury and Uranus are on the North Node. They both are square to Jupiter and Quaoar in Sagittarius. Mercury makes a quincunx to Saturn in Leo and a sextile to Venus-Sedna conjunction in Taurus. Venus-Sedna conjunction squares both Saturn and Neptune and forms thus a T-square with the Saturn-Neptune opposition.

Mars at 27+ Aquarius opposes Orcus tightly, makes a trine to asteroid Arachne in Gemini, and sextiles retrograding Pluto on the Galactic Core. Pluto opposes Arachne. Mercury has passed its echo phase less than a week before, and now Mars has started to follow Mercury's footprints through the same degrees which Mercury went through during its retrogradation. Mars reached 25+ Aquarius -- the point where Mercury stationed direct -- on March 31, the same day on which Pluto stationed retrograde. Two days after the April New Moon Mars will have made its way through those degrees.

Asteroid Sphinx in Leo has stationed direct at the moment of the Full Moon. Sphinx is conjunct Saturn, sesquisquare the Aries Point, and quincunx Uranus and the North Node.

Chiron semisquares the Aries Point and Pluto on the Galactic Core. Chiron sextiles Vesta, Ixion and the Great Attractor. Chiron = Pluto/Aries Point. Vesta = Moon/Chiron.

Neptune septiles Pluto. Neptune = Sun/Pluto. Jupiter in Sagittarius sextiles Neptune, which in turn sextiles the triple conjunction of Asbolus, Eris, and 1992 QB1 in Aries. Asbolus, Eris, and 1992 QB1 are in triple conjunction within one degree.

Nessus = 10 Aquarius 30		Sedna = 19 Taurus 31
Ixion = 13 Sagittarius 24 r		1992 QB1 = 20 Aries 26
2003 EL61 = 13 Libra 31 r		Eris = 20 Aries 47
Rhadamanthus = 14 Libra 02 r		Asbolus = 21 Aries 07
Sphinx = 16 Leo 05 SD		Orcus = 27 Leo 13 r
Urania = 16 Aquarius 16		Arachne = 28 Gemini 42
Quaoar = 17 Sagittarius 39 r

Photo by Eric Francis.

By Priya Kale with Eric Francis

THERE IS a compelling force that is now pushing you forward into new territory which you can't see but only feel at the moment. A Mercury-Uranus conjunction on the North Node in your solar 12th house Pisces is the astrology you are speaking about here. This is potent astrology in a strange, difficult to see, difficult to feel angle of your chart. It's almost like listening to a dramatic movie through a wall; you can't look right at it, but you have some sense of the story. It would help if you could see, for sure.

The effects of this experience are far from an inert projection of light onto a screen. The astrology that is developing -- including Mars approaching Uranus on the North Node, which happens after Mercury, but is still a factor -- will, in its time, ripple out into your life as sweeping change, as awareness, and as something so all-encompassing that you will need to pause and reflect in order to fully appreciate the scale.

Usually such potent activity on the North Node involves a sense of mission in life, but this feels different than what we typically experience as such. Different, as in difficult to identify; yet your homing signal has never been more in tune, and this is coming from the depths of the cosmic ocean within you, as if the process involves choices made on another level in another time and place. Reading these signs feels distinctly like learning a new skill, but as your awareness grows, it will become easier to express your unique vision of the world.

One consequence of a lot of 12th house and Pisces activity is the potential for fear to get stirred up, like mud at the bottom of a lake. This is uncomfortable, but it's a great gift. Fear only hurts us when we're not aware of it; then, it can wreak havoc. So I suggest you consider your fear an ally. Use it as a form of fuel, and as an indicator of your high level of psychic energy. Learn about yourself; indeed, you need to persist in a policy of keeping no secrets from yourself at all. You need to know everything about yourself that there is to learn, boldly and honestly.

In the weeks following your solar return, you have available a sense of determination that's very typical of your sign, but on a level that you haven't seen in yourself before. Aside from all the activity in Pisces, there is unusual movement in the fire signs, specifically Jupiter in Sagittarius and Saturn in Leo. You now have the total ability, drive and energy to manifest your dreams into a concrete physical reality -- that is the result of having both Saturn and Leo so available.

In some ways your energy is so high that you can get carried away. To the extent that you are running full throttle right now, I would advise you to make sure you take the time to step off the merry-go-round once in a while, take stock of your goals and make sure you are still headed in the right direction, inasmuch as you can tell. The way you can tell is by feeling, and by sensing when the world seems to be resisting your goals. While you're at it, remember all work and no play makes for one very unhappy ram. Normally one would not need to say this to an Aries, but Saturn in Leo has you focused on things other than partying, or at best, less partying than usual.

You have more important things on your mind. To work with your goals, you need to figure out a way to gather around you those people who share your sense of purpose. There has been an ongoing questioning of you and your involvement in your community and social circle. You might have had some recent revelations that have put you in closer touch with reality. 

This awakening, whether it came as a shock or as a gradual awakening, has been causing you to restructure your life and your commitments. 

There may be times when you feel like your partner or prospective partner just doesn't get what you're trying to do, or feels that you are holding back. You, in turn, may have the same feeling about them. You are being challenged right now to do the hard work on your intimate relationships and to confront your insecurities when relating with another. Consciously avoid ego battles, or defending your territory, and seek to relate from that extremely aware part of you right now that is thrusting you through the waterfall towards the other side of the cave. Your ability to communicate is strong, and maybe showing your vulnerabilities will help foster a more open discussion of the feelings of both involved.

As you move into the coming year, trust your inner wisdom and seek to unite rather than conquer the world around you. You are in a pivotal position to shape the landscape of your life, and those of the people around you. Lead the way with integrity and humility, and listen to those voices deep within you that are guiding you over a threshold into a future that you have long dreamed of but hardly imagined possible.

Hello All! We are looking for couple of Web Assistants who can help with basic web projects (like building web pages such as this one.) Please contact Priya at priya@planetwaves.net with Web Assistant in the subject line if you are interested and would like to help out. Thanks!

Photo by Eric Francis.

Weekly Horoscope for Friday, March 30, 2007, #656 - By ERIC FRANCIS

Aries (March 20-April 19)
With the Sun crossing the peak of your sign this week, you are in rare form, with cooperation to the left and to the right. Even the people who seem to hold you back are, despite themselves, playing a supporting role. Yet I suggest you notice the way that certain people or situations represent the past, and others represent the future. Some are familiar and supposedly safe; others are unfamiliar and even a little bit strange. This is the map, and the Full Moon in your opposite sign, Libra, is a reminder that it's time to begin the journey. You are in a rare moment when the inner landscape is brightly illuminated, so I trust that you know exactly which way to go.
 
Taurus (April 19-May 20)
The stop and go quality of the moment involves the current approach to a Full Moon, and your ruling planet, Venus, about to make a square to Saturn. One represents an outer situation, and the other an inner situation. Let's take a moment and consider the nature of your doubt. I would sum it up as the question, "Is there enough?" Yet on a deeper level that is merely a question of trust. It is true that you have reasons to doubt yourself, and you may feel like you're clinging to the banks of a river about to get swept away by the current. Live with your eyes and ears open and many of your doubts will be resolved.
 
Gemini (May 20-June 21)
There has been so much going on in your professional life that you may wonder how you could take on more, come up with better goals or stronger ideas. But the show is not over yet, and it is a sort of show, because you're at your most visible at the moment and the world is your movie. A new surge of energy is coming into nearly all your activities in the outer world. Your goals are not only obviously worthwhile; you're also in the mood to make them happen. This is the time to remember your political manners. Politics is the art of getting things done, and the way we do that is not just by hard work -- it's also with cooperation, agreements and diplomacy.
 
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
You're in an unusual phase of life where you get to express your ideas as they pour into your heart and soul -- and they are abundant at the moment. As the next few weeks progress and planets follow the Sun from Pisces into Aries, the cycle of ideas to manifestation increases fairly rapidly. Thus, you need to be mindful of what you are feeling, thinking and desiring, because it will extend into what you are building in the world in a way that is not necessarily easy to notice. I suggest you stay close to your foundations: the values you respect in yourself the most deeply, your highest calling, and your sense of safety.
 
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23)
This is such a mysterious time in your life, you may finally have decided you have no clue where it's all heading. That is actually reassuring news because it means you're allowing some of your preconceptions to slip away. That, in turn, will help you make room for new ideas that are based on the extremely interesting discussions you've been having with partners and loved ones. I suggest you welcome any moment of uncertainty because it is a container that will hold something new, radical and brilliant. Remember -- such is most likely to arise out of a discussion with someone very close to you.
 
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
As usual, people are pulling and stretching you in some interesting directions, but now at least you seem to be seeking their guidance and influence consciously. This is a much better idea than the (earlier model) confrontation method, mainly because it's more creative and a lot more fun. You are well positioned to be learning what you always wanted to learn, and sharing energy with people in ways that have always seemed appealing, but were perhaps intimidating at the same time. You may want to look back and have a laugh at what intimidated you before; this way you can laugh at what intimidates you now.
 
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23)
You may feel backed into a corner by circumstances you don't understand or were not aware existed. You would be wise to ask how much any of this has to do with you. You may need to ask several times, from a few different points of view. As you shift viewpoints, I have a hunch you may feel like you're shopping around for a convenient way of looking at things, one that serves your own ends. This is absolutely correct. One's point of view accounts for a lot in life. How we choose to look at things is indeed how we see them. No matter how challenging your circumstances right now, there is a way to see them where you have both leverage and opportunities.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)
Take it easy on close partners right now. They are going through substantial changes and very likely making some decisions that require all their focus. There is a lot you can do to be supportive, mainly because you have a way of looking at the situation that reveals its relative ease rather than its apparent difficulty. Or, it may be that this particular form of growth and adjustment is less of a stretch for you. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Each of us is ahead of the curve in life in some respects, and behind the curve in others. But we are all ultimately working toward the same goal. Remember that as you journey with loved ones through the next week or so.
 
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22)
You can measure your energy, your feelings and your creative gifts, up to a point; there comes a moment when you need to open up and let it all flow, and this moment is somewhere around now. You may fear you'll spin out of control if you cut loose, but it would seem that a close personal relationship is serving as a point of orientation and grounding. This can work two ways, and I suggest you evaluate your situation to see if either may be in effect; you can focus on the relationship as a means of not going too far; or you can use it as an excuse to not go anywhere at all. You may want to cook up a third possibility.
 
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20)
You have been through quite a bit lately, and you seem to keep emerging from each new trial relatively unscathed. How long will your run of luck hold up? It depends on how you define luck. If you think that you're just throwing dice, probably not for so long. If you remember you're learning life skills, including deciding who and what is a healthy influence in your life and who and what is not, you have a lifetime of luck ahead of you. Remember that more often than not, you tend to err on the side of caution. You can afford to be a little more adventurous, especially with your ideas about life.
 
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19)
Mars has been in your sign for the past month, and this has given you a new taste for life. While other factors have, for some years, conspired to remind you of your limitations and of how fragile life is, Mars has given you the strength to push your limits and to expand your idea of what is truly yours. A sense of entitlement is potentially a dangerous thing; so, too, is the notion that you're entitled to nothing. But neither is strictly true. You have the sense, at least, to know you can make your own luck, solve your own problems, and push some obstacles out of the way. Lately you've learned to do this with the raw strength of your mind. As Mars moves across Pisces, you will learn to change reality with the strength of your imagination.
 
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
Fear is arguably a more powerful force than love in our world. It has certain advantages; you can get people to run from a gun a lot faster than you can get them to choose to do what they love. Mars has been taking you on a grand and not necessarily pleasant tour of your worst apprehension, the places where you feel your integrity is the weakest, and where you attack yourself with negative thinking. Because you have Aquarius in this house, the 12th, your unconscious patterns tend to be more like titanium etchings and less like the seawater. After all you've been through lately, at least you know what you're made of, and where you can let light shine between the spaces in your mind.