No Borders Here
Each night outside my window, the Moon rises, a little bigger, a little brighter, and 50 minutes later. The second quarter toward full always seems to arrive quickly, and the Pisces Full Moon is exact soon, Monday, Aug. 30 at 3:22 a.m. GMD. When the Moon is near full phase, look for it rising on the horizon around sunset. Full Moon watchers on the East Coast will be able to see a nearly perfectly round, waxing Luna-Diana arise Monday evening. The exact lunation occurs on the 29th at 10:22 p.m. Eastern Time and at 7:22 p.m. Pacific Time. In Perth, Australia and surrounds, the Moon is full at 10:22 a.m. the morning of the 30th.
From the look of the chart and the general trend of the news, this is an event that will help give the Full Moon its reputation for mania, wild swings of emotion and surprising, even shocking events. Cops and diner waitresses in New Jersey will agree. This particular Pisces Full Moon verges on psychedelic, occurring just a few degrees away from Uranus, the most spontaneous and radical of the planets, and close to the centaur planet Pelion (sacred mountain territory, spiritual aspiration, home of Chiron). In Virgo, on the other side of the sky, is a conjunction of the Sun, Mars and Ceres. So the Full Moon, which is a polarity between the two lights (Sun and Moon) with the Earth in the middle, is joined on either side by planets that portend excitement, conflict, passion and a few surprises.
To make things extra specially interesting, the Full Moon occurs in the thick of the Mercury storm as the retrograde ends in Leo three days later, Sept. 2. Between the influences of Pisces and Leo, the certified drama queens of astrological folklore, this would be a good week to start free-basing Prozac. The Pisces Moon, like most things Pisces, is particularly famous for existing in an atmosphere of highly negotiable boundaries, which some people experience as no boundaries at all. Combine this with Uranus and you have a clear case of lightning in a bottle, hold the bottle. Imagine the misty, fantasy-driven realm of the final sign illuminated by the green jolt of Uranus. Then, over the next few days, Mercury in Leo delivers the news.
That this happens in the midst of the Republican National Convention (which some psychos decided to put just uptown from the old World Trade Center site) is really, really, really over-the-top. It's difficult to imagine a more volatile planetary setup, or place, to have the convention. If ever there was a time to regard broadcast media as a form of perverse entertainment untrustworthy of anything at all, this is it. FYI, William Rivers Pitt of truthout.org will be inside the convention and the site with full press credentials, and will have continuing updates from the scene, including nightly video updates and blogs from the convention floor. There will be spies in the house of love.
Meanwhile, we can be sure that Bush's astrologer, confined to the White House basement, is cooking up new ways to sabotage the boss, while certain Arab astrologers, their work on these charts long completed, are enjoying the fireworks from a safe distance with hookahs, harems and assorted Piscean delicacies. Herbalists I know in the Hudson Valley will be out wildcrafting mugwort, the official herb of the Pisces Full Moon; please save me some.
And the unsuspecting (and even well-intentioned) may find themselves getting caught in petty emotional dramas they had best avoid entirely in place of far more creative activities. I mean it. You will regret trying to influence anyone's mood or decisions during this little sequence of events; if people are on your wavelength, perhaps go there, and if they are not, go somewhere else. Psychodramas are contagious right now. Mood, affect and emotions are likely to be highly volatile these days, given that the Moon's peak comes in the most psychic, visionary and often delusional sign, and is aspecting two planets that will be serving like spark plugs, Mars and Uranus. So like, be cool, man -- or be creative. Because this is a very creative moment.
But on a not so creative note, these days I've been glued to Internet news sites despite AOL-UK's exorbitant international fees, tracking developments of some stories by the hour. I spent the morning studying charts of the crash of the two Russian airliners within four minutes of one another, and learning something about the situation in Chechnya on which the air crashes are being pegged by some people as terrorism. As I worked over the charts and attempted to collect some relevant background on the ongoing hostilities between the predominantly Muslim former Soviet state and Moscow, I kept having the feeling that most people in Europe and the U.S. would perceive the loss of these two airliners as something that happened in the other world, the odd dimension behind the old Iron Curtain. And I kept having another feeling that the events were somehow deeply relevant to what we are going through in the West.
In looking at the charts for a news event, it's a good idea to have a question in mind, which can help crystallize the process of interpreting the charts. I finally decided on, "Was this terrorism, or an accident?" I searched through William Lilly's section on horary in Christian Astrology (horary being the astrology of the moment, usually applied to questions) for a while and came up with at least one idea: he says the approach of the Moon to a planet in the 8th house, in a horary chart, is always dangerous. Good call. The Moon was in partile (one degree or less) conjunction to Pluto in Sagittarius in the 8th house as the planes fell. But I did not find a relevant case that I could apply to the situation yet; I always do; and my horary mentors on the East Coast will get calls later today.
Such a powerful event in Sagittarius points to some kind of religious motives, if this event was indeed terrorism or sabotage, and the first takeoff chart strongly suggests sabotage. With two doomed flights originating from the same airport and falling out of the sky within four minutes, accidents are highly unlikely. True, anything is possible. Whatever happened, to think that the whole thing occurred under an exact Moon-Pluto conjunction, to the degree, is ominous. These charts are dark, and driven by deep, lone-wolf kinds of motives. This is not a formula for stability in the world, but that may be the whole idea.
We live in a time when politics are being mixed with religion at every possible opportunity. This is no safer than drunk driving. People who like this situation like it specifically because it works so well to manipulate events, to delude people against their best interests, and to take responsibility out of the hands of individuals. While religion at its best teaches people conscience, the way much religion is used today is completely devoid of morality or ethics. I recently learned that the Koran forbids Muslims from bearing arms. And personally I have a hard time figuring out what Christians are doing with M-16s either.
Done correctly, the art of running society and getting along with other countries requires contemplation of facts and necessities, and a sense of fairness, plus reasoning, compromise and negotiation -- difficult enough under the best circumstances. Mix that with religion and the ends start to justify the means very quickly. Delusions take over fast. Suddenly God is on everyone's side, and few people are left on mankind's side. The purported approach of the Apocalypse -- glue being sniffed by a variety of factions right now -- becomes the rationale for policies that make destruction of the planet and the breakdown of its delicate order come even faster. The whole business has a drug-like feeling and when the anesthesia or drunken binge wears off, the pain sets in. Some people may find that the world did not end like they expected; rather, their children have inherited a place in tatters.
We tend to forget that the people who make it to the top rarely get there because they are so intelligent, but rather because they are good at consolidating power -- something rarely done in ethical ways, or for motives that serve the collective good. I often recommend that people curious about life read books about sex, but I would really suggest that any concerned citizen read something on Watergate. It will open your eyes. You can make it simple, pop some popcorn, and rent All The President's Men at the local video joint. In the United States in particular, people have a tendency to view politicians as something greater than human. This is largely an effect of television, which tends to deify people. (All The President's Men will convince you that investigative reporters are dedicated, cool and gutsy -- and get results. Fine by me.) We forget that politicians have to wipe their ass just like everyone else. But more than that, we forget that they are merely politicians. They are not great thinkers, or in general particularly well-educated. And they are not God. God knows if they can even play chess, write a sentence, or peel a banana. Why bother? Their job is to move up, to survive, and to collect power for its own sake.
Through various miracles such as Madison Avenue, this is sold back to us as something holy.
Also developing under the current wild, wild sky are tense situations in Kufa and Najaf. In Kufa, 25 people were killed by mortar fire Thursday in an apparently otherwise peaceful protest outside the mosque there. The U.S. military denied involvement in the attack. The protest was in support of "fighters loyal to renegade Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr" at the standoff in Najaf, according to CNN.com. In Najaf, militants are holding one of the Islamic world's holiest shrines hostage in an extremely tense situation that could have grave consequences if it goes poorly, and nothing seems to go well in Iraq except the insurgency.
After a year-plus of nonstop, brutal warfare, plus many disgusting revelations, these Arab names are barely familiar, and the issues are still extremely confusing. Do we really have any idea of the significance of these people and places, and the different factions involved? And to whom does it matter that we're all so ignorant? Do we still try to convince ourselves that this is about fighting terrorism? Or is it simply war for its own sake? And what on Earth is that about?
In Mannheim, just a few miles from where I am staying in Germany, a military judge ruled that the images of sexual abuse and torture from the Abu Ghraib prison must be released to the public. (The hearing was moved to Mannheim for security reasons at the insistence of attorneys, though I contacted the press officers too late to get credentials for the packed event.) So we can expect to be confronted with many more images of the gory reality of war and its underbelly, rape and torture. None of these images or reports compare to actually being there. In other developments, Rumsfeld was also directly implicated in the scandal, as were military doctors; the scandal will widen yet again, particularly as Jupiter transits important charts involved with these events.
Yet it's worth contemplating how a relatively small (though significant) war in a relatively small country a great distance from the U.S. and the U.K -- which countries created the disaster -- can take over consciousness and set the tone of life. Every minute, 'news' of the war is broadcast over hundreds of radio and television stations, projecting images and the feeling of constant violence into our homes, cars, minds, relationships and families. In the U.S. and U.K., numerous newspapers carry the war on the cover each day. In the U.S., TV sets are left on around the clock in many households. So the whole thing is magnified many times over. Television is primarily a form of entertainment media. To borrow language from Rob Brezsny, we are being soaked in the World Entertainment War. Think of what this does to our overall experience of life, and our ability to relate, think, feel and emote. And just think, the whole thing is sponsored by advertising that is raking in billions of dollars for the networks and much more for the advertisers.
Given this equation, the choice not to tune into the whole business seems extremely reasonable and sensible, and even a true act of protest. The problem is that it's not going to actually resolve the problem, and a problem it is. At the same time, I don't think it's actually possible to ignore the situation at all. It's far too pervasive. And in reality, as time goes on, it's going to begin to take a greater toll, in conscience, in life, in economic cost and in emotional expenditure. The situation is intractable -- the U.S. simply cannot get out -- and the loss of life is going to become something evermore difficult for more and more people to stomach as it comes home to more and more towns. There will, I believe, need to be a military draft enacted to support the war effort. For a long time we will be asking ourselves how we got into this. We will be shocked when explaining this to our kids in 10 or 20 years.
I've been sending the signal for nearly a year that this autumn is going to be a highly volatile, even scary time in history. We need to be ready, and to hold center, and support one another. As I look at the charts with one eye and the world situation with the other, that feeling deepens. Each month, September through January, brings an escalation of energy, and it's radically different each month. The charts for the Sept. 11 attacks come under some very significant transits in late September and early October. Charts for both the presidential election and the inauguration are extremely challenging, and the Capricorn New Moon, right before the Inauguration, suggests strongly that the credibility of the administration's new term, or the new administration, is going to be caving in even before it begins. Some would say this is the moment we've all been waiting for. ++
Virgo Birthdays, Part the Second
Most people strive for predictability and stability in their relationships. I suggest you go for innovation, spontaneity, and above all else, freedom. The 'freedom question' is one that is rarely spoken of openly though every person involved in a loving relationship must confront it. The very liberty that allows the emotional expression of love and erotic desire is so often negated by how intent we are on structuring our relationships and making them last, or holding to a particular pattern. As therapy guru Ron Kurtz once said to me in an Oregon supermarket, stability and romance have nothing in common.
No matter what happens, I don't suggest you force the issue of predictability, in particular because you are likely to be driven by forces that contradict any form of structure or consistency. There is something more important at work in your life. And these influences have been building for a while.
When you experience the peaks of experience that are likely to come your way, you may want to cling to them. I recommend living life like you're listening to a symphony, letting one movement lead to the next. If you can do this, the changes will be a lot more pleasant and you will tend to trust the future rather than dread it. The more you let go, the more trust you can afford to have. Just let people be people; let them evolve; let them teach you to take the ride of life. Let them be interesting, sexy, passionate, creative and quirky. Learn from them!
In writing these general reports, I am keenly aware of addressing an audience consisting of those who are married, single, happy, not so happy, looking, not looking, desperate, utterly disgusted, and celebrating life either wildly or placidly. I even see a few hands going up in the 'all of the above' category. This most bizarre Pisces Full Moon, conjunct Uranus and opposite Mars, is a totally different animal for everyone. It may play havoc on the insecure; people inclined to be emotional surfers or those deeply desiring change, are likely to love it. In any event, whatever unfolds is likely to be extraordinarily difficult to predict, to control or to grasp the meaning of, and more than a few of you, Virgos born some days on either side of the lunation, and the rest of you, may be shocked at what unfolds.
Questions like, what am I doing here? How did I get here? What am I doing with this person? How did I get into this? How do I get out of this? Wow, who the heck are these people? How do I get my freedom? -- will all answer themselves in time. The one thing you can absolutely trust is that life is in motion. Understanding takes time, and meaning has many layers. And to approach life from an intellectual perspective (even if disguised as spiritual) may well deny you the full-on experience of life you so dearly desire.
Now, the strange part involves Mars in Virgo. This placement tends to make people have some very specific ideas about life, and to be quite demanding, and it fans the flames of control. I hope that you will put this energy to work in positive ways, such as being perceptive, or devoting your energy to certain other matters that will respond to your desire to have things a specific way. Learn how to take apart an engine, for example, or how to fix your computer. But more personally, I hope that you will get the message that you want what you want, and recognize that this is merely information, not a promise of how the world will respond. Desire is always a gamble, because we might not get what we want. Some would say we have a better chance of getting it when we know what it is; others would say that we just have to take the ride of life and accept what comes. You don't have much of a choice these days, as you are beginning to be extremely specific about what you want and what you need.
Ah, but how and whether they come to be? That much is best left open.
Virgos have a reputation for being calculating and leaning toward safe options. This is often attributed to a general posture in life of mental analysis. When we start to think of the possibilities and what can go wrong, it's possible to be intimidated, and this often happens. To the extent that you possess any of this fabled 'Virgoness', you have a big opportunity to let it go. The incentive is that life is likely to become unusually rewarding if you do, and the myth of control, self-control or control of events, will be seen for the queasy notion that it is.
Yet given that so much of this influence is coming from Pisces, the sign that involves others, it's possible that you're going to view it as originating from outside you. Astrology suggests that whether by synchronicity or manifestation, we are part of what we create. At the very least, it is given to us to make the best use of who and what shows up, and this would be a wise devotion. It would seem that what is happening now is the result of a great deal of inner work that you have been doing for many years, even back to the mid-1990s, when a particular crisis of emotional security may have been a prominent feature of your life.
That set an agenda for years to come. The main benefit of this personal project has been to allow you to be more independent, more confident in yourself, and less needing things to be any particular way. Now you are ready for more.
One last thing for this week. The presence of the planet Ceres (said by some to be an asteroid, but I don't buy it) reminds you that the losses you have suffered are never far from your heart or mind. While others may go through life swallowing or discarding their personal histories, yours is very close to you at all times. And as much as you are given to remember the truth of what you've experienced, the time has come to go beyond it. You know that you contain both light and dark, and that you can walk a very dangerous line if you allow yourself to be informed by the pain of past events that you carry. While you are all the wiser for what you've been through, and the more cautious, ultimately, to live is a risk. Life requires courage, and you are no fool for daring. ++
Planet Waves Horoscope
by ERIC FRANCIS
for the week of August 27, 2004
Aries (March 20-April 19)
You seem to be pushing against an obstacle you cannot see. Could it be your attachment to some idea? We live in a time where ideas are used to justify anything, yet when they are rarely scrutinized. I suggest you start making sense of something lurking in the depths of your emotions, because if you do you'll save yourself a lot of work. Concepts can be flexible, but not if we don't know what they are. Of course we're lucky in today's world to have one other person available for a serious discussion of anything, but it will help if you set the agenda and buy the beer.
Taurus (April 19-May 20)
Beware of paradoxes, and culturally accepted rules that contradict common sense or reality. You may feel highly resistant to bucking the tide, but then living under the thumb of authority is getting boring. It's true that time will likely make certain more superficial issues go away, but not the deeper ones. They will remain to haunt you, if you let them. You're now being presented with the perfect situation in which to assert your intelligence, reasoning and the independence you have so dearly earned, at such great cost. That may not convince you to believe in yourself; but success will.
Gemini (May 20-June 21)
Woe be unto anyone who is not friends with chaos. It's not that one must let one's laundry run amok or watch as the dishes burst to life. One must however be in relationship to the creative force that keeps the world turning, and that force is divine madness. It is after all the wild river that creates the architect who designs the bridge, not the other way round. Developments of the next seven days will certainly test your skills and your patience, but you need to keep laughing along with the cosmic joke right now, because it's bearing a fabulous gift, and besides, it's awfully funny.
Cancer (June 2-July 22)
The energy in your life is not as stuck as you may think, and developments of the next week will dramatize that. But don't let things get out of hand; maintain a more or less steady posture. You are being offered something, and it may be fun, but it may work out to be a kind of false freedom. I suggest you keep some options and some energy in reserve for a few extra days, after the big uproar has passed. Meantime, the coming events will at least be interesting and will provide inspiration for the many creative tasks you're considering -- so take notes.
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23)
Partnership and joint financial issues have certainly been a bit strange lately. But you've also been able to get results even with the wind and a bit of rain blowing in some unexpected directions. Keep your eye on one money-related situation that developed recently. You must keep track of the details in an orderly and meticulous way. If you do, something extraordinarily positive will come as a result. Developments and breakthroughs are often the result of minor bungles and complications.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
This weekend's Full Moon in your opposite sign could bring a few surprises in a relationship situation. With any luck you'll get a full dose of the chakra juice you've been craving so dearly. But if it happens that the situation quickly dissolves into another state, or if someone involved decides to move on, just let it be. In making changes it often happens that we carry the last energy impression from the end of one situation into the beginning of another. In any event this is a peak moment calling for your full attention. So pour it on.
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23)
You are experiencing far too much anxiety for your own good. Worrying will not get the job done, besides which, you cannot rightly expect anything much to resolve itself with the planets in their current state. So please stop worrying. You are only wasting precious energy you could be allocating to sitting under a tree or hiding in the back of your favorite cafe scribbling in your notebook. I can assure you that as the next four weeks progress, each issue you are dealing with will resolve itself one by one. This will not be by magic, but miracles arise from love, not fear.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)
People may see you as a demanding friend, but if they're honest, they'll see you as a true friend. You need, I think, to be smoother of a politician at the moment. You have some awesome ideas, but you might want to find ways to give other people credit for them. You can use a similar ploy to have other people suggest the work that you know needs to get done. They will be more likely to actually make it happen if they own it. I'm loathe to suggest you contribute to the reputation of Scorpio as manipulative. But it's okay to be a psychologist.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22)
This has certainly been an ambitious year for you, but as the current days progress you need to keep your focus on your home life rather than your professional one. And unfortunately for you there is a difference. Think long-term. You cannot get anything done without maintaining peace at home, or without enjoying the prosperity you work so hard to create. But there is a partner who is now demanding your attention on non work-related matters who is likely to be an important ally when your career calls for you to really give it your all. At the moment, let momentum carry you; the work will get done.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20)
The timing is good for you to take a short trip, something spontaneous and fun. You may be hearing a call to far-off shores but it's likely that responsibilities and possibly relationship commitments are keeping you rather preoccupied. But at the same time your current restlessness is nothing to be ignored, and you're unlikely to get much accomplished under current conditions anyway. Travel is always good for shifting your point of view and such will rather likely set you ahead in your work rather than behind. This is always a good selling point for a Capricorn. Anyway -- have fun.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19)
Important elements of your financial life are running in cycles, and you can take advantage of certain opportunities that are available now but will not be available forever, or indeed, for long. For the foreseeable future there are liable to be somewhat sudden shifts in your personal fortunes, but you can at any time play this condition to your advantage. At the moment there are certain specific ways you can be of technical assistance to a partner or associate, and any help you offer will benefit both of you substantially. Just take your opportunity while you have it; the hard work will pay off.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
I highly recommend that you keep your plans open for the next week, and make as few solid commitments as possible. Between the stunning Pisces Full Moon on the 30th and Mercury stationing direct on the 2nd, you need to be well prepared for unexpected opportunities. It may be that a new cycle of experience seems to begin before the old one has worked its way out, but the next month brings the most significant transitions of the year in what has been a year full of surprises. Keep your options open and save your money. Both will come in handy just at the right moment.
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