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Photo of the chart for the Aug. 21, 2017, total solar eclipse (set for Washington, D.C.) and The Sun tarot card from the Voyager Tarot deck by James Wanless. Photo by Eric Francis.
Summer of Trust: The Great American Eclipse
Dear Friend and Reader:
On Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, the Moon will pass in front of the Sun, blocking the Sun and casting a shadow over the Pacific Ocean. As the Moon moves and the Earth turns, the shadow will pass just south of Portland, Oregon, traveling southeast, reaching maximum intensity near Memphis, Tennessee, passing through South Carolina and then out into the Atlantic.
This is the first eclipse to touch both coasts of the United States since 1918, though that one had maximum intensity over the Pacific Ocean south of Alaska, not on land. The Aug. 21 event will be the first eclipse to make landfall exclusively in the United States dating back to 1776. In that sense, it's an unprecedented event, arriving at an unprecedented time in U.S. history.
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Path of totality, The Great American Eclipse of Aug. 21. This is the first eclipse of its kind in American history, spanning both coasts and peaking over the mainland. |
Everyone paying attention knows that our nation needs some kind of shift. We need healing. Some think it has to be political, others spiritual, others social and economic. There are many different notions regarding in what direction these changes need to go. That might be the one thing that all sides agree on: change is necessary.
In astrology, eclipses represent watershed events. They can arrive with sweeping changes, and represent before and after moments. This works personally, and it works collectively -- and it's especially true for the place where the individual and the collective intersect. Said another way, eclipses represent collective events that can have deep personal influence. They represent change. And with the shadow falling across the United States, change is imminent. It's an open question what kind of change we get, and what kind we create.
Of course, it's rare that anyone has the idea that "we can create change," much less a concept of what that change might be. As is written in the Declaration of Independence, "All experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed."
Said another way, people tend to put up with bullshit because it's inconvenient, difficult or seemingly impossible to make any real changes. That idea is, of course, self-perpetuating, particularly as the problems get worse. And it leaves the business of change to people with agendas and advertising budgets. Their changes usually don't work so well for you, unless you really think it's a good idea to eat a cheeseburger between two slabs of fried chicken, wash it down with Diet Coke, then take diabetes and blood pressure drugs.
When you look at the problems United States society is facing, it's easy to decide that there's no solution. It's not just that people can't agree on the problem; rather, one person's disaster is another person's boon.
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Trump supporter expresses her unmitigated transcendent ecstasy at actually meeting the candidate. Photo by Brian Snyder. |
For one constituency, protecting women's hard-won right to autonomy over their bodies is allegedly a direct affront to God (and let's get back to killing Muslims and executing prisoners). For one constituency, providing social services is a moral obligation of society; for another, voting for leaders who cut off the voters' own social services is something to celebrate and gloat over.
Sci-fi author Isaac Asimov got it right when he said in a 1980 Newsweek interview, "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge'."
The cult of ignorance is currently camped out alongside the information superhighway, throwing beer bottles at passing vehicles. The ignorant now have a voice, and many with a very, very powerful voice have taken advantage of the ignorance and the divisions it's caused.
When we add to that the destabilizing effect of electronic media, which has led to the idea that there's no such thing as the truth and who cares anyway, we have a real problem on our hands -- a problem that many think is merely theoretical and that few people can even see. Then we admit the 'smart' phone is ruining everything, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.
As the Aug. 21 eclipse approaches, the pressure is going to increase, and we're likely to see even more fracturing and polarization in the political discussion. Pressure can induce madness, particularly in the weak, and in those who lack intellectual and spiritual grounding. It's also essential to remember that information is moving at lightning speed, every day, all the time. So what are we looking at? What's the nature of this watershed moment?
The Setup Happened in Late May
It may be a moment of total chaos: of the maelstrom of contemporary life whipping up into its wildest frenzy yet. It may be a moment of profound unity. The last time we had that was Sept. 12, 2001.
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This is what sexual pain looks like. Photo by Mike Sagar. |
In terms of specifics, it's important not to entirely conflate the nation with the federal government, though the two are functions of one another. Many things that affect the whole United States involve the government. Many problems come back to the government for solutions, which are not forthcoming.
For a couple of years now, the United States has been dealing with the Donald Trump problem. Of course, Trump is not the Trump problem -- it only seems like he is. The underlying issue involves technological change, and many people feeling either totally confused, or left behind by the "new economy" of the internet. The technology problem manifests personally as well. All of our previously dependable cultural reference points seem to have dropped through the floor, and at the same time, so have many inner reference points, such as the concept of meaning.
It's one thing to search for meaning and seem to not find it. It's another thing entirely to decide that there's no such thing as meaning and call the search off.
Here's how Eric McLuhan, media philosopher and professor of English, describes the situation: "The body is everywhere assaulted by all of our new media, a state which has resulted in deep disorientation of intellect and destabilization of culture throughout the world. In the age of disembodied communication, the meaning and significance and experience of the body is utterly transformed and distorted."
Saturday Night Live's writers got it right when, commenting on recent government antics, they said, "Nothing matters. Absolutely nothing matters anymore.” McLuhan is describing the cause; SNL is describing the effect. Of course, different things matter as the times change. Yet the hyperbolic blasé attitude of society at this moment certainly is frustrating, particularly as so many of the blasé claim to care so very much. That's probably just a game, since caring gives one a good image but is inconvenient, and not doing anything is so easy, and it doesn't matter -- as long as one seems to care somewhat. It would be more fun to hang out with pro-lifers. At least they actually give a shit.
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Feisty young women protesting for "religious freedom" at the peak of the Anti-Sixties way back in 2014. They had no idea what their mothers and grandmothers went through to get the modest (and now threatened) rights that women currently have. Photo by Doug Mills. |
That said, in May we started to see the chickens come home to roost in the narrative of the Trump administration. Between Trump firing FBI director James Comey to block the investigation of the Trump campaign's ties to Russia, and the naming of a special counsel to investigate those ties, there were daily missteps of stunning proportion, nearly all of which look like part of a cover-up.
Let's see, we learned that Trump tried to get Comey to back off of the investigation of Michael Flynn, the short-lived national security advisor; we learned that Trump knew Flynn was under federal investigation when he was nominated and sent before the Senate for confirmation; we learned that Jeff Sessions, the attorney general, had a role in the firing of Comey, even though he had allegedly recused himself from all matters involving Russia (because he lied to the Senate during his confirmation hearings about meetings with Russian officials); and on and on ad nauseam.
Here's an interesting fact about the Aug. 21 eclipse: it comes within one degree of Donald Trump's ascendant. The ascendant, possibly the most sensitive point in a natal horoscope, is the exact degree of the rising sign -- in Trump's case, the last degree of Leo. This eclipse happens in the next-to-last degree of Leo, so it's going to have an effect on Trump and everyone connected to him.
The special counsel's investigation is likely to be well underway by then, and so too are the inquiries in the House and Senate. To me it looks like the Trump administration is going to be on extremely shaky ground by August. And that means more change, more confusion, more chaos and more mystery about what happens next. The astrology looks like Trump finally explodes. Something, such as his own self-loathing (the other side of narcissism), might get him long before impeachment or indictment.
What the World Needs Now is Trust
This still doesn't tell us where we, as individuals, fit into the picture. And as individuals, many, many people are in rough shape, unable to actually deal with the mounting pressures in their own lives.
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The usual state of affairs under full digital conditions. The iPhone and other "smart" phones arrived at the dawn of the Uranus conjunct Eris era. This is the obsession with glamour, the deconstruction of the body, and the shattering of social relationships, under the influence of both factors. |
I recently gave up a storefront in uptown Kingston. On the window was inscribed a quote attributed to Anais Nin: "We don't see things as they are. We see them as we are." That said, here is what I'm noticing, which I think is considerably different from who I am.
One thing I'm noticing is many people avoiding eye contact in public. I'm noticing the ever-burgeoning rise of social phobia. I'm noticing that many people won't do something unless they're getting paid for it, which is another way of saying that the motive of doing things for their own sake is evaporating rapidly.
I'm noticing anger, particularly from women. They don't talk about it much; you can see it on their faces, which often look like they're cast in stone. Attempting to start a conversation is widely seen as an affront. I notice many young men walking around the streets with a vacuous expression in their eyes. I see many people avoiding one another; I notice many people who seem terrified to go off-script even for a moment, or to embark on anything without a supposedly guaranteed outcome.
I walk into a busy café and half of the people are typing into computers or other devices. This is just an outer representation of what seems to be a society whose members are growing increasingly socially crippled, and unable to have a conversation without panicking or getting offended.
I hear, or hear of, many conversations that conflate attraction to another person with sexual objectification -- or worse, with rape.
I hear talk of revolution and fostering change, without the meekest awareness that to do that, we have to get together and talk and listen to one another; to make any change at all, we need to be willing to work together -- for no money, and no promise of success.
Underlying all of this is a profound lack of trust in one another, and in society, which must be rooted in people's lack of trust in themselves, their perceptions and their assessments of people.
The United States is heading for a paradigm shift. Sooner or later, that will include the seemingly shocking discovery that we can't trust politicians -- which only seems to induce more cynicism, which is a form of radical distrust in existence.
This is a spiritual problem, and it's a social problem. For a paradigm shift to be even vaguely helpful or meaningful, it must include trust. In order to trust one another enough to start the conversation, someone is going to need to take a risk.
I would, in that light, propose that it's the people who have a spiritual life, who have some grounding, and who have found a basis for trusting themselves and trusting existence, that should take the first step, many times a day. It's only the people who can see and hold awareness of this corner that we've painted ourselves into, or been unwittingly shoved into, who can plot a way out. If you cannot see a problem, you surely cannot solve it -- so those who see the problem must be the ones who take the first steps.
One way or another, we must heal our damaged trust.
Your friendly neighborhood astrologer,
Planet Waves (ISSN 1933-9135) is published each Tuesday and Thursday evening in Kingston, New York, by Chiron Return, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. Core Community membership: $197/year. Editor and Publisher: Eric Francis Coppolino. Web Developer: Anatoly Ryzhenko. Astrology Editor: Amanda Painter. Astrology Fact Checker: Len Wallick. Special Project Designer: Lizanne Webb. Copy Editor and Fact Checker: Jessica Keet. Eric's Assistant: Ellen Dockery. Client Services: Amy Elliott. Media Consultant: Andrew Ellis Marshall McLuhan. Music Director: Daniel Sternstein. Bass and Drums: Daniel Grimsland. Additional Research, Writing and Opinions: Amy Jacobs, Cindy Ragusa and Carol van Strum.
You're Not a One-Sided Coin
By Amanda Painter
Increasingly in our highly polarized political landscape, we are called upon to reconcile vastly differing viewpoints. Often it seems impossible. Yet this week's main astrology offers a useful reminder: reconciliation begins with your own inner contradictions, and then extends into your most immediate, intimate one-on-one relationships.
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Live sand dollar; photo by Amanda Painter. |
The two major aspects at play are both exact today: the Gemini New Moon (which is the Sun and Moon conjunct in Gemini), and a square between Venus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn.
I'm actually going to begin with the Venus-Pluto square, for a very specific reason: it speaks of relationship dynamics. And for many people, it's easier to focus on a relationship than it is to look within.
The Venus-Pluto square is exact at 12:22 pm EDT today (16:22 UTC). With Venus in fiery, assertive Aries, it's possible you're experiencing this as some kind of intensely emotional or sexual experience that is completely altering your awareness in a relationship. It might feel very compelling, and could be genuinely positive.
However, it’s more likely that you’re noticing certain changes in a relationship that need to be more fully acknowledged. This can be a source of tension: people tend to crave stability in their relationships above all else. The (often painful) irony is, of course, that the more one clings out of insecurity and tries to control a partner or a relationship dynamic, the less stable a relationship becomes.
Relationships, like people, need the flexibility to morph, to move through cycles, to deepen or broaden. Like people, relationships require room to change and grow in order to be healthy and active. Blocking that process or pretending it’s not happening does not preserve the relationship; it merely fosters frustration, resentment and a tendency to get hung up on what is not working (or on fear).
Continue reading →
Dear Friend of Planet Waves:
I don't say this out loud often, but the world is a scary place right now. While many spiritual traditions say that fear is never an appropriate response to life, it's certainly understandable. It's so intense that I have to talk myself down from the tree every now and then, and put myself back on solid ground.
Here's what I think is the most frightening thing: the dim recognition that we cannot really do anything about the world's problems. Even when you get to a place where you feel somewhat confident and stable, the crises of the planet -- psychological, environmental, political, economic, all of it -- are always right outside the front door. And people seem frozen, struggling even for the concept of solutions.
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Uranus, the planet of revolution. |
Think of it. Aware, sensitive people know there are problems, and we also feel the seeming paralysis. Not only that, we're inundated with influences to shut down our awareness and sensitivity; and consciousness-raising tools are difficult to find, and they're not usually so world-savvy: that is, they're rarely grounded in actual experience.
Really, I'm amazed anyone finds any peace of mind at all. It is a struggle if not impossible, and it takes experience. And as Lou Reed said, a busload of faith.
My job these days is to fashion tools. Using astrology, spiritual paths, and everything I've learned both in therapy and working with people, I make resources that will help you learn, seek self-understanding, and meet the world around you eye to eye. I don't provide answers. I'm good at something much better, and more relevant: which is helping you to ask the right questions.
I reckon that with the world as overly complicated and insane as it is, astrology is one of the few tools capable of embracing both problem and solution, both private and collective. This is the gift we have, which we need like never before.
My approach to astrology is designed to point you inward, in a way that feels safe, sane and loving. Right now I'm working on a new project, timed for spring 2017: INVOLUTION: The Revolution is Within.
As far as I can tell, our only option is to grow. That means that the revolution won't be in the streets -- or at least it won't start there. For us, in our time, the revolution must be within. That's the thing that's been lacking -- and it's the cause of most of the problem.
In this 12-sign reading (which covers your Sun, Moon and rising signs, and those of your loved ones), I will look at the last seasons of Chiron in Pisces and Uranus in Aries. We'll tap into Uranus conjunct Eris in a whole new way.
Yet the most helpful thing in this reading will be my first interpretation of the Great American Eclipse of August 21, 2017 -- which will streak across the entire United States from coast to coast. That eclipse will change life as we know it in the United States, and you'll want to have your surf board positioned correctly when the wave comes in.
Read more...
Eric Francis Presents: Business, Finance and Astrology
Dear Friend of Planet Waves:
On Saturday, June 3, I'll be offering my first-ever class on business, finance and money. This is a wide subject; I'm planning to focus on understanding the most basic dynamics of personal cash flow, accessing your personal resources and connecting your creativity to money.
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Eric Francis. Photo by Jeff Bisti. |
In a half-day class, we'll be able to define the main subjects, see how they relate to the chart structure, and then do some personal cases. This will be a strong beginning, and if you start reading from a strong premise, you will get a better result.
Bear in mind how emotionally charged the money issue is. It relates to our parents and to the values of our families; it's intertwined in relationships; and it's connected to self-esteem. We will focus on some of these emotional and psychological aspects of money as well, using both example charts and the charts of students in the class.
As for my background: I've been in business on my own since 1989, mostly in publishing and consulting. I've also worked with many, many hundreds of clients since 1995 on everything from planning the charts of business inceptions, to negotiating financial settlements, to seeking raises and promotions.
As a Planet Waves member, you get a special discount on this class. Thank you for trusting me as your astrology teacher, and for participating in Planet Waves.
With love,
Class Details | Sign Up Here!
- Class takes place Saturday, June 3 at noon ET (East Coast), 9 am PT (West Coast), 5 pm BST (London), 6 pm CED (Paris).
- The class will be taught as a live teleconference, and recorded for future review.
- This is a participation class; it's more effective and more fun with more participation.
- You can call in by phone or Skype, or listen online. However, you will need to be at a computer, not merely on a phone or device, for full benefit, since you need to have the class materials in front of you big enough to see.
Here's what some of my students have said about my teaching:
"Eric never loses sight of the whole person. This is incredibly rare with skilled astrologers in practice and to be able to deliver this to people in class is no easy feat. His is a truly holistic approach and what he delivers is truly one of a kind -- something born of a moment that is as true in that moment as it is later on."
-- Suzana Da Costa
"Eric is able to transmit his knowledge of astrology with generosity. I appreciate very much the fact that he insists on having our own perspective and context interpretation. His view of astrology as an art but also as a form of therapy is very intriguing to me. Eric is a great communicator."
-- Yohainna Abdala
"Technology is a wonderful thing when it connects people together to follow their passion. Eric is a great teacher as he empowers people to think creatively. Bless."
-- Pauline Jones
Sign up today for this unique and fun class to discover how to make the most of your creative gifts.
While the U.S. Postal Service might not be the first to use thermochromic ink to make a fun interactive commemorative stamp, it definitely chose a very fitting occasion. The eclipse image, taken by astrophysicist Fred Espenak, is of the March 29, 2006, eclipse as viewed from Jalu, Libya. Special thanks to Lizanne Webb for sending this cool news our way.
A First-Class Eclipse
By Amanda Painter
To celebrate the first total solar eclipse to cross the entire continental U.S. since 1918, the United States Postal Service is going thermo-solar: on June 20 (the solstice) it is issuing a special commemorative stamp featuring the image of a solar eclipse.
Even cooler: the stamp features thermochromic ink. So after you place your finger on the image of the dark disc, your body heat will reveal an image of the Moon. Both the eclipse photo and the photo used for the Moon image were taken by astrophysicist Fred Espenak, whose nickname is "Mr. Eclipse." USPS art director Antonio Alcala designed the stamp.
The day-of-issue ceremony will occur at University of Wyoming Art Museum in Laramie on June 20. According to an article about the stamp on Hypoallergenic.com, the UW Art Museum has a special solstice feature built into the architecture: at noon on June 20 sunlight will pass through a tube and light up a silver dollar set into the floor.
Although you'll have to wait until Aug. 21 to see the eclipse itself, you can pre-order your own sheet of eclipse stamps (which feature a map of the eclipse's path on the back of the pane) in early June. In a blog post about the stamp the USPS says delivery will occur after the June 20 issuance.
New program every Tuesday at 7 pm at PlanetWaves.FM.
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Radiohead: (l-r) Jonny Greenwood, Colin Greenwood, Thom Yorke, Ed O'Brien and Philip Selway. |
This Week on Planet Waves FM
The Message is Fear: Bombing in Manchester
We have two corrections on the first segment -- please see below.
Dear Friend and Listener:
The word terror means extreme fear, and that's the goal of terrorism. In this week's edition of Planet Waves FM [play episode here] I look at the chart for the bombing at Manchester Arena on Monday night, and ask what, exactly, we might learn from these events.
I consider what's happened in the context of the light-speed, extended nervous system of the internet -- and how this would be an entirely different event if we were to hear about it three days from now in a newspaper article.
The program also includes an overview of the current astrology and a preview of the Great American Eclipse of August 2017.
My musical guest is Radiohead, my go-to for when the going gets rough. We survey their music between 1993 and 2016.
Planet Waves is noncommercial community radio broadcasting to the internet. We're supported entirely by your memberships, reading purchases and contributions. If you'd like to sign up for a membership, please visit this link. We're counting on you.
Thanks for tuning in.
With love,
Corrections:
-- The British burned down Kingston, NY, in 1777, not 1977 as I state at 12:56 in the program. However, if you live around here, sometimes it does feel like it happened in 1977.
-- At 14:04 I say that the British Prime Minister during Gulf War II was Tony Major; I meant to say Tony Blair.
Your Monthly Horoscopes -- and our Publishing Schedule Notes
Your extended monthly horoscopes for June are published below in this issue. We published your extended monthly horoscopes for May on Thursday, April 20. Your Moonshine horoscopes for the Scorpio Full Moon were published on Thursday, May 11. Please note: we normally publish the extended monthly horoscope on the first Thursday after the Sun has entered a new sign.
Planet Waves Monthly Horoscope for June 2017, #1153 | By Eric Francis
Aries (March 20-April 19) -- You may be thinking one thing and feeling another. Which is correct? Time will tell, though if you're in a hurry to make up your mind, you'll want to go with what you feel rather than what you believe. Evidence of that might come with the experience that no matter how hard you try to convince yourself of something, you don't believe it. The attempt at convincing rather than the not believing indicates what your real position is. You have other evidence; you have many clues; this is not as complicated as you may think, though there's a reason why you may be having difficulty accepting what you know: it would challenge your larger belief system. For most people, human nature guides them to alter the facts, or choose from among the facts, to prevent a belief from being invalidated. Yet you're at the point in your hard-won maturity where you must go beyond protecting false ideologies. It's time to shed those like a husk and learn to invest your faith in the truth of what you know. You're at a distinct advantage over most people: you have actual priorities and values, and you're willing to speak up about them. You're even willing to be unpopular if you need to. Be confident in your own intelligence, and daring enough to speak truth to power, including your own power. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.
Taurus (April 19-May 20) -- Venus returns to your sign on June 6, after making some fancy moves in Pisces and Aries through much of the spring. You may decide you have no idea what all the fuss was about. After a long and mysterious journey, you've arrived in a familiar place. Yet what you went through was not only meaningful, it was an irreplaceable, once-in-a-lifetime sequence of events that provoked something rare for the human race these days: a desire to understand yourself. This, in turn, extends into your partnerships, whether business or personal. What you must always remember is that your inner life influences your relationships more than it does for others. Unlike many people you know, you cannot conceal your inner reality and still be happy in a relationship. It just feels awkward, as if you're living a double life. What you learned through your many self-inquiries over the past few months is exactly what you'll benefit from sharing with people around you. This will lead to real conversations, the kind where you don't know where they'll lead. You might say that, for the purposes of your growth, anything that's predictable isn't real; it's a contrivance. That is, in part, because nothing is actually predictable; but moreover, the attempt to make it so merely subtracts from your potential rather than adding to it. Therefore, stay in unfamiliar territory as much as you possibly can. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.
Gemini Birthdays, Gemini Rising:
Set Your New Moon Intentions with Your 2017 Reading
"2017 Birthday Reading was expansive and mind-blowing, and absolutely on the money in everything. You helped me immeasurably as I change and change and grow, and change some more. What a time!"
-- Linsey
Dear Friend and Reader:
Earlier today was the Gemini New Moon: the Sun and Moon merging in your sign. It represents the ability to reconcile different forms of awareness, different viewpoints -- even the 'two different people' you may feel that you are.
Do your inner twins usually get along? Or do you find yourself often at odds with yourself?
Finding that point of reconciliation is only one of the topics your 2017 Gemini Birthday Reading is designed to address. Eric understands that some very sensitive areas of your chart have some very powerful planets moving through them -- and that you're in a position to make the most of what is being offered to you.
Your reading is two 30-minute segments of studio-quality audio astrology, plus a separate tarot reading (video or audio) for your year ahead.
It's like getting a chart reading and a life-coaching session all in one -- for a fraction of the cost.
Eric offers these readings as a dependable resource you can listen to over and over throughout the year when you need a touchstone, a moment of guidance or just a steady presence to help you focus on your deepest needs and desires, and reorient on your highest potential.
"There is no way I can begin to describe how spot on you are with this reading concerning the place I have been finding myself in over the few years and in particular from last year onwards. Very astutely described! You say something I literally keep thinking whenever I find myself among people. You are actually quoting a very frequent thought of mine. This is stunning."
-- Alexandra Marx, Gemini
When you pre-order your 2017 Gemini Birthday Reading, not only do you lock in the lowest price we offer -- you set the intention to begin your year with full, focused, integrated consciousness. With all that's going on in the world around you, that's a bold and empowering step.
Wishing you an excellent year,
Amanda Painter
P.S. You can also take advantage of the discounted price when you pre-order the 2017 Gemini Birthday Reading as a gift -- for anyone with a Gemini Sun, rising sign or Moon.
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