Planet Waves Weekly for October 1, 2004

The Line

Where were we? Ah yes.

Planets continue to collect in Libra. Presently, four of the seven planets of antiquity are transiting that sign: the Sun, Jupiter, Mars and Mercury, all of which crossed the highly sensitive Libra point during the past eight days, beginning with the equinox on Sept. 22. Ceres, the first known minor planet (or 'asteroid') which, at the time of its discovery in 1801, was considered an actual planetary discovery (the second after Uranus 20 years earlier), makes its Libra ingress on October 3. This unusual activity in Libra culminates around the time of a partial solar eclipse on the 13th/14th, depending on your time zone, when the Sun and Moon meet in an exact alignment that touches Chiron, 90 degrees away in Capricorn, and Pluto, about 60 degrees away in Sagittarius.

The imaginary line that divides Aries from Pisces and Virgo from Libra -- in other words, the line that separates the first six signs from the second six -- is that which bears the message, "The political is personal" and its converse, "The personal is political." The first six signs of the zodiac have, for the most part, private implications. These signs and their corresponding houses* tell a story of inner unfoldment. They carry the themes of self-consciousness and initiative (Aries), of the development of values and self-value (Taurus), of learning communication and community skills (Gemini), of relating to one's family and defining one's sense of security in this process (Cancer), of creative and amorous experimentation (Leo), and finally of developing productive activity, becoming educated, and learning to take care of oneself and to some extent others (Virgo).

Beginning in Libra, we have our first direct encounter with the other half, sometimes thought of as the better half (an obsolete expression once used to describe one's partner), but in any case with the other. Libra begins the journey through the world outside oneself, one's father's house and one's mother's garden. We begin to encounter themes like marriage, the legal profession and court system, and sex in Libra. So far, the other six signs have given us considerable inner resources; Taurus and Leo both provide key ingredients of the vital force that stands for one's personal experience of sex and desire. But Libra puts us onto level ground with another human being to experience that potency, to the extent that we can.

It also mixes the public sector with the private experience of relating. Consider that you cross that private-to-public line when you go to City Hall with your girlfriend or boyfriend, fill out some forms, and seek the blessing of your relationship by a judge. Something pretty interesting has happened; the public sphere and the private are shown to be neighbors, and the government has touched our lives directly. Unfortunately, it's not always so loving. In the modern world of political brutality, Libra has certainly been turned into a battleground. Legislatures, courts and government officials make their incursions into people's bedrooms by way of this sign, one that is directly involved in the public domain but which is still very close to home.

We could take this one step further still and say that the most direct exchange of public karma and private karma occurs in Libra. Ruling the legal profession (which uses the scales of justice to represent itself), Libra is the place where individuals take up the role of court officer (lawyer) and assist other members of society in bringing or responding to lawsuits. Some of these lawyers become judges. Most politicians are lawyers and enter the public sector through the route of legal training and practice. These days, much of that profession is involved in family law: the dissolving of contracts and the settlement of property and custody disputes that arise directly out of marital contracts.

Sex and The Other

Because Libra is the first sign that brings in the experience of 'the other' directly, it is a key place to look for values about sex and sexual orientation. In Libra we may encounter truly significant questions about what it means to relate to another person sexually, including those of ethics, how relationship and sexuality co-mingle, and how we become prepared for a healthy and fulfilling sexual life. However, because our society is so dominated by the fog of marketing, war, addiction and religion, these are questions that are rarely asked and rarely answered.

They are very much on the personal/political line; I'll give an example. Most gay and lesbian people go through a process of what is called coming out, or what used to be called coming out of the closet. In other words, their sexual orientation shifts from being a totally private experience or one shared with close friends, siblings and early experimental partners, to one that is made public to the world. On the inner side of existence this involves directly coming to terms with the truth of who one is. There is the quality of inner recognition and self-acceptance. The main idea is, "This is how I am, and I love myself this way." On the outer side of the journey, coming out involves a confrontation with one's family, friends, employers and sometimes one's spouse, in which one's sexual orientation and identity are claimed as a matter of public right. Various equal protection laws are invoked in the process, invoking public power and not just recognition by one's peers. In other words, there is actual legal power in the act of coming out of the closet as gay or lesbian.

People who have not gone through this process can have little appreciation for the maturity and guts that are required to do so. One of the greatest gifts that gay and lesbian culture offers to so-called 'straight' culture is this energy of coming out, of declaring one's sexual reality, values and identity to the world, and then living honestly within the community. The straight world does get echoes of the process at key moments. For example, a semi-public person (school teacher, hairdresser, doctor) going through a divorce will almost always experience a process of coming out of the closet. At a certain point, one must inform one's students or colleagues and live differently within the community. After being thought of as married for so long, being thought of as single can be strange, and is a distinct change of status. And there is the issue of having (allegedly) failed at what is considered normal, traditional and valuable (marriage), which is publicly owned up to.

Yet the extent to which heterosexuality, its values and its secrets, remain in the closet is somewhat shocking, when you look at it. In Western culture and particularly the United States, there is a real issue of how to convey information about sex to one's children, or to children in general. We live in a time when even the loving discussion of sex can be construed as abusive or taboo. This problem has been addressed by attempting to ban the whole conversation, at least in public forums such as school. Consider the issue of Abstinence Only Sex Education, which is taught in 49 of the United States. This is a Christian-designed educational program that is given funding by the federal government for use in the public schools. The only state that cannot take the federal money is California, where state law bans sex education that is not scientifically accurate.

This supposed educational program indoctrinates adolescents with the idea that the only appropriate sex is no sex until heterosexual marriage. Homosexuality is not dealt with, despite the widely-accepted fact that at least 10% of the population is gay, and the probability that a very high proportion of kids are experimenting sexually with peers of their own gender. In addition, students are taught that birth control is ineffective and that condoms don't actually prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Young students are made to sign an abstinence pledge, promising they will abstain from sexual contact until they get married. The result? A federal study demonstrates that this delays the onset of sexual activity by just 12 weeks and when that sex does happen, it's far likelier to be unprotected sex, resulting in a higher rate of pregnancy and disease in young people.

Let's consider how this might work, were it working well. Playful erotic behavior would start in the 5th house or Leo at some point in childhood or early adolescence. In the 6th or Virgo, the health and reproductive issues surrounding sex would be discussed sensibly -- preferably before puberty, when people need to know what's coming next -- and young people would be somewhat more prepared mentally for the inevitable sexual experiences that follow. Information would be made available for self-exploration and self-education as well; after all kids can, and do, read books. By the 7th house or Libra, we would be ready to begin relationships that put that information to good use. I am noticing that in this model, sex education shows up as a 6th house issue -- on the private side of the line, but also on the border between public and private. It certainly seems reasonable that some aspect of sex education has to be publicly sanctioned and taught in schools -- for instance, what has been established by science. The problem arises when one particular ideology takes over the public sector: an anti-sex, anti-gay, allegedly traditional and generally repressive one.

It's not that values are not being taught and the issue of sex is not being raised; rather, it's just a question of whose values, and who is defining the issues -- and why!

Eclipses Come to Libra

I hear many people say they have no interest or involvement in politics, and many feel this way based on the idea that 'it doesn't affect my life'. But look at any page of any newspaper on any day and you will find an example of how the public sphere reaches into the mindset, values, and daily conduct of our households. Every issue from public policy about arthritis medicine to court rulings about sex toys to the possibility of a federal military draft are all deeply personal, and in fact, every discussion about politics has personal implications or it would not be happening at all.

Now we have a whole lot of planets collecting in Libra, and a series of eclipses coming to this sign -- with the first one in less than two weeks. For those curious about such things, the last eclipse of the Sun in Libra occurred on Oct. 12, 1996 and was a partial eclipse. There will be an annular eclipse of the Sun in Libra in October 2005. Note that with this transit of the Moon's north node through Libra (which is why eclipses are returning to this neighborhood), there happen to be no eclipses of the Moon in this sign; they will return in 2014. When solar eclipses occur in Libra this time around, the lunar eclipses occur either in other signs -- for instance, the corresponding lunar eclipse to this solar eclipse is in Taurus on Oct. 28.

Just for a little refresher or introductory course on eclipses. They occur twice a year. In the most general sense, they move on an approximately 18 year cycle, loosely but dependably following the lunar nodes. The nodes will eventually reverse positions every nine years, so eclipses will come to the neighborhood of a sign polarity (such as Aries and Libra) with that frequency. They tend to come in pairs, a solar and a lunar separated by two weeks. Occasionally they come in groups of three, but all clustered within one lunar month. A solar eclipse is always a New Moon, lunar eclipse is always a Full Moon. Depending on when they fall, the eclipses won't always follow the polarity of the nodes exactly, such as with the current pair occurring as a solar eclipse in Libra, followed by a lunar eclipse in Taurus two weeks later. The nodes are currently at the very beginning of Taurus and Scorpio. Their average motion is always retrograde. Shortly the nodes will return to Aries and Libra.

Working with the Energy of Eclipses

Eclipses are surrounded by phases of time that are distinct in their qualities, having much in common. While each is unique, eclipses time feels a little like the tide unexpectedly coming in. In fact, tides can be unusually accentuate at eclipse time. Generally, there is a sense of acceleration of personal events, a feeling of instability, a sense of fate operating more tangibly, enforced changes with the feeling that 'it's time for that', an intensification of news events, and an increase in the sense of impact that these events have on people. Eclipses can bring large numbers of people together -- there are many examples, but like the sign Libra, eclipses occur on nodes that merge the public and private spheres of life. They are meeting places.

Individuals with accentuated lunar nodes, strongly aspected lunar nodes, or born at the time of eclipses can have lives marked by an unusual degree of public contact. This seems to be because both the nodes and eclipses represent several different cycles coming together (solar, lunar and the solar-lunar), and different celestial spheres coming together (the ecliptic with the path of the Moon). And the nodes seem to assist in leaping across long phases of time and are often associated with reincarnation, past life mastery, reputations and social contacts brought in from different incarnations.

Eclipses have a lot to do with one's sense of purpose, and often come with life events that somehow seem to change our path in life.

Observing and working with eclipses is one of the best ways to move into the experience of astrology rather than the intellectual pursuit of astrology. Eclipses are experiences and they are always visible, somewhere. But even more than they are visible, they are palpable: it's easy to feel them, if you know what you're feeling for.

One of the most useful things to do is hang loose and be as flexible as possible. This does not mean ceasing to be at the wheel of one's life, but rather -- to the contrary -- being prepared to make decisions and adjustments as the need arises. With so much activity in Libra, the question is not, 'What is going to happen next?' but rather, 'What is the right thing to happen next?', 'What do I want to happen next?' and 'Who do I want with me when it happens?' You know you face limits, but most of them are temporary. That, if nothing else, will be the lesson and message of the next few weeks, if you're askin' me.

More news as it becomes available.

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*Footnote: While there is significant correspondence between houses and signs, for example, Aries and the 1st house, Taurus and the 2nd house, and so on, there are very meaningful differences between signs and houses. Knowing a little about these makes it a lot easier to read a chart. I will write about this on the Cainer site if someone writes in with a question, but here is the simple version. A sign represents the cosmic energy in its clear form and the corresponding house represents how it expresses itself on Earth. A simple and not adequate example could be: Aries represents the quality of self-awareness and the 1st house represents the act of individuating and expressing oneself. Houses have more specific meaning than do signs. Signs are like a vibratory field; houses are like a theatrical stage where we express energy in a particular way.

Libra Birthdays, Continued

I can barely imagine how it feels to be a Libra these days, but it must feel like quite a lot. Not only have many big planets arrived in your sign (with more on the way), the first solar eclipse in nearly nine years is on its way. This must feel like a very important birthday and, if it doesn't, take my word: it is.

This extraordinary activity in your sign follows the Venus occultation of the Sun back in June, so we know that something has been up for a while. It really started when Chiron arrived in Capricorn back in late 2001 and this story took another major turn with the arrival of Saturn into Cancer in the really, really strange summer of 2003. Both of these transits spoke to one issue: your parents. Since I don't reside in your brain, I have no idea what you think about your parents, how you relate to them, the impact they had on you or whatever else, however I can tell you that the astrology has something to say about this, and a big shift has been under way.

This process should be working to create a new layer of self-identity between you and them, and also to help you define the psychological issues that you've been left with from childhood. There are some quick questions I can run past you to check the extent to which you may be somehow involved in mental patterns that bind you to them negatively. For example, how are you doing with your career? How are you doing with a dwelling space, and do you feel secure on the planet? If I said the word 'emotion' and asked you to free-associate a second word, would you say something more like 'pain' or 'turbulence', or more like 'satisfaction'?

To the extent that you feel like you're emotionally satisfied, and succeeding in your enterprises, I would say you are a qualified graduate of childhood. To the extent that you do not, I would propose that you have a bit of work to do, and that you might as well get that investigation going.

I want to point something out, which is that most people resist looking honestly at their parents because they love them and would defend them at all costs. To question their effectiveness or competence can seem like a terrible betrayal, and it may come associated with a lot of guilt. After all, these people did so much for us and gave us life in the first place. Guilt is something that all Librans get an extra dose of, particularly guilt surrounding feeling safe and secure in the world. Though I may be speaking only to a few brave souls with this comment, I want to suggest that you temporarily drop any loyalty you may feel to your parents and early caregivers -- drop it for long enough to look honestly at what happened to you as a child.

There is a reason your expectations from life are so low. There is a reason love has so many conditions on it. There is a reason that you feel like feeling is something you have to do in a box or structure rather than just be with and flow with, which is much more in tune with your true nature, actually.

And I recognize that events of the past three or four years have been unlikely to offer much to make you feel any safer going with the flow. But I suggest you're a heck of a lot safer with the information you now possess, information you did not have, say, back in the summer of 2001. Um, what was up that summer, anyway? Quite a lot, I know, but why don't you do some research, read your diaries, look at your emails, dig out scraps of paper and history and ask your kids? And don't forget to ask your parents, if they are available to ask. Check in with both their personal experiences and with their perceptions of you. I have no clue what you'll find out, but I do have clues that it would be worthwhile making the inquiry. What the experience of these past years may have done, however, is give you some insight into why you are such an emotionally complicated person. Nothing against complication -- just that it gets a little tiresome at times.

Now, onto other things. I would love to make you a big sign that says, 'Welcome to the Present, Gateway to the Future'. If you're feeling a bit tricksterish, add, 'Population: 14'. Why 14? Well mainly because it's a low number. Not a lot of people are in the present and when we deal with the past meaningfully and show up in This Moment, it can at first be a lonely place, unless you're really perceptive and suddenly begin to notice the other 13 people nearby who are on this particular wavelength.

Then the trick is staying there. One of the best anchors is relationship, that is, human contact. You are extraordinarily magnetic right now and really are unlikely to be having much difficulty attracting people to you, for whatever purpose you need. You, however, are the one who needs to make the approach and not take a passive position in any of your activities. I know that not every Libra spends their time waiting for something to happen, but many do, and this is just not the hour, day, week or year for that. Women, in particular, need extra reminders in this world that part of the responsibility for equality is the responsibility for initiative. You can let other people take that initiative, but that is different than creating your life your way, from an idea.

By this time you should have a pretty good idea of what kind of life you want, and if not, I suggest you get out your notebook and make a few notes. You are, at the moment, working with significant power of manifestation, but as I have been suggesting, it's not the kind where you snap your fingers, but rather, the kind that calls on you to get up and go someplace, speak to someone, build something and put it on the ground with a good foundation and a dry roof.

Libra Moon and Libra rising, if you think I'm talking to you, I am.

Catch you next week.

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Planet Waves Weekly Horoscope
By ERIC FRANCIS
For Friday, Oct. 1, 2004

Aries (March 20-April 19)
Be mindful enough to include yourself in the events that are developing all around you. This may seem like a perfectly odd thing to say to an Aries, but that's what I'm here to tell you. Look for your right position in the constellation of events; seek the right people; and most of all, sense where you feel safe and comfortable. For the foreseeable future it's likely you'll feel like the hands of fate are shaping your world, and you may find yourself in the presence of rather large events and personalities that are truly humbling. As well, the intensity and urgency of the emotions of others can be somewhat overwhelming. Remember how you feel, and remember that you feel.

Taurus (April 19-May 20)
You can try any strategy you want to avoid the emotional aspect of a meeting or relationship, and some of these strategies will work. But you cannot avoid the psychic impact, the creative inspiration or the sense of liberation from your old patterns that are likely to be unleashed over the next few days. The emotional realm of the relationship remains a potential space you can explore at any time, though if you're feeling resistance I suggest you consider whether it's merely one more layer of resistance to change that's all too easy for you to get lost in. You can live your life in your head, or you can live your life. The choice is yours.

Gemini (May 20-June 21)
Few would accuse Geminis of being overly cautious, but astrologers might propose otherwise. Yet this is no time for deciding everything on the merits of safety, stability or perfect balance, and besides which, the cards of life are stacked in your favor -- all 52 of them, in fact. Now you have to play the game. Your worst fear probably involves risking your hard-won self-sufficiency, but what is your self-sufficiency for if you don't actually exercise it in some tangible way? It is one thing to feel safe; it's another thing to feel secure in the face of change and progress. The choice is yours.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)
You are either standing on solid ground or sailing in an unusually solid ship. Either way, you have the integrity not just to endure the changes that are coming, but also to maximize their potential. I suggest you spend some time thinking about your father and how far he made it in life. We both know that he did his best, but you're going to do better, and this is a moment when you get to go far beyond the limits on happiness and success that he felt were binding him to reality. There were certain chances he was not willing to take; there was only so much he would actually attempt. Please, make a better example of yourself.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23)
You know there is such a thing as a community. Most people, sad to say, do not. You are now in a role of leadership where your local community is concerned, and this has everything to do with the fact that you live in a larger world than most people. Though you know a lot, you don't think you know everything. If you did, you would not be driven by the insatiable sense of curiosity that is still alive and well in your heart, somehow having survived school, religion and many years of work. Remember to honor that above all else. As the next two weeks or so develop, you're likely to find many uses for both your knowledge and power of inquiry, but remember the best thing you can teach people is how to ask questions.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
Money is a game, or at least it can be when you have a little. If you don't, you're left with the ever-important (but particularly now) job of figuring out just what your value is and where you can intersect with your society. A lot of people have a lot of trouble with this. It's necessary to think in terms of purpose; there is something you do or possess that is of use to others. I assure you, if you can do it, or think it, there is someone not so far away who has a need for just that. As for the game, remember that you win some and you lose some; you are, however, very likely to be on the winning side of the equation for the foreseeable future -- so keep playing and see what you learn.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23)
The cosmic spotlight has been cast on your sign and in many respects onto you. As opposed to last week or two weeks ago, I doubt that much is stuck or hung up in your mind, and just about everything should be moving. If not, look to yourself for the blockages. There really is such a thing as fear of success, which exists in part because success implies change. Change, however, is about all you can depend on right now, so I strongly suggest you put it to work for you rather than against you. It's funny, every country has wind. The Dutch are among the few who have windmills. People are strange, but the wind is blowing -- so give it a job. Start with a deep breath.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)
Listen to your dreams. They are talking to you, and they are going to speak until they have your full attention. Dreaming is both a symbolic and real journey to the 'other world', the 'other side' of consciousness and the other self you carry within you. That other self is seeking expression in the physical world, and it is bound by none of the rules that seem to trap us into such boring lives here. The effect is so powerful as to help you suspend the rules of life for long enough to make significant changes on the material level. You are good at applying the power of your mind to the affairs of the world; now you need to remember that you're a visionary, which means you can see what other people cannot.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 - Dec. 22)
In recent horoscopes I've been emphasizing the theme of public recognition for your efforts, but I have not specifically addressed the raise you deserve and are likely to get. The best thing you can do is ask. Meanwhile, this is an extraordinarily enterprising time in your life, one in which you are likely to discover that people are certain that whatever you're thinking is an excellent idea. You merely need to present it to them, remembering a few flourishes of color, style and beauty -- people love beauty and anyone with half a pulse finds it irresistible. Brains and brilliance are good things, but this is your main asset at the moment. So stand in the light, where people can see you.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20)
Chiron and Nessus (two planets in the centaur group) have recently turned to direct motion in your birth sign. That's the signal that you've spent enough time dealing with some serious past issues and can now turn your attention to the present. Just in time, too, because you're being offered quite a few possibilities for improving your lot in life. Promotions of any kind would be natural, for example. You just need to remember that you're healthy enough to finally make some big changes and take on a new level of responsibility. Yes, you may bear a sense of vulnerability from certain events in recent history, events which may have taught you that life is risky and unpredictable. But not so bad as you think.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19)
Though you're accustomed to everything being a long struggle you must endure for ages, open a little space in your heart for ease and freedom. A little is all it will take. It has suddenly become rather natural for you to espouse what you hold to be your highest truth. What you hold and experience as right for you becomes the truth you can explore and live, no matter what anyone else says. You stand in a genuinely rare moment of being able to extract yourself from the patterns of society. I suggest that you find the boundaries of your old world and make a project of exceeding them one at a time. Go past your own ideas; go past your old neighborhood. Consider a new cosmology.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
Open yourself up to contact with a female teacher or mentor of extraordinary intelligence, power and influence. This is unlikely to be a conventional relationship of any kind you'll find in the dictionary; on the contrary, there is the imagery of an enlightening, creative and high-energy connection that changes both of your lives, mostly on the mental level. This other person is likely to serve in your life in the role of protector as well as teacher. You are likely to serve in their life as someone whose raw energy, innovation and sense of freedom will loosen up their adherence on tradition and structure. In general, doors open, so turn knobs and cross thresholds.

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