In the Wake of the Flood

What if it were true?

What if the Earth was reeling in our abuse of the environment and humanity's endless tampering with nature? What if the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunamis were a message of some kind, a warning of what can come if we don't take action?

What if the global problems we face continue on their current course (carbon dioxide buildup, ozone thinning, overuse of fossil fuels, clearing of forests and rain forests, massive over-fishing, oceans dying)? And what if, as a result, the storms, heat waves, locusts, droughts, famines, the rise in the planet's temperature, the resulting melting of the icecaps, the raising of the sea level, and the corresponding drop in the ocean's salinity all go on, with severe consequences?

And what if we actually take notice of this, in a deep and meaningful way?

What if we experience the unpleasant awakening to the reality that most politicians are ignoring the situation at the very time when it should be their first priority, and come to terms with the notion that this has nothing to do with 'insufficient scientific evidence' of the problem? Rather, the delay is strictly designed to favor their selfish, narrow business, religious and political interests?

Yet in spite of this, what if, right now, it's not too late to have our choices and actions produce meaningful results?

What if the Earth is indeed a conscious entity, known to some as Gaia, and could respond to our sincere attempts to make a difference?

More at: http://cainer.com/ericfrancis/eric.html


Bridge to the Core

Bridge to the Core, the 2005 annual horoscope, is on course for publication Wednesday, steady as she goes, all hands on deck. As usual, this will be a truly unusual astrology package, offered only to subscribers of Planet Waves. If you are already a subscriber, you will be provided with a keyword next week.

Bridge to the Core includes an interesting mix of Western and Mayan astrology with the help of Carol Burkhart; a new way to think of 2012; detailed sign write-ups for each of the 12 Sun-signs; and new writing by me, Jeanne Treadway and others; and lots of great bridge imagery.

Now is a great time to encourage your friends to subscribe. If they've been appreciating your forwarding of the publication, please suggest that they support our efforts -- we have recently learned that only about 2% of visitors to the site sign up! This has certainly put fuel in our tanks to do our good work, and I will tell you that it's still quote a luxury to be getting paid for writing the horoscope column. Imagine what we could do with 4% or 5% of our readers subscribing. So please encourage your friends.

Subscriptions begin at as little as $8.95 per month. To learn more, please visit this link: http://planetwaves.net/2005horoscope.html

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Speaking of the Core

Even though the Sun is in Capricorn (and here in the Northern Hemisphere) the days are getting longer and it's officially winter, there are still remnants of the Sagittarius experience, including newly arrived Mars, Pluto, Venus -- and Mercury about to wrap up the very end of its two-month retrograde experience in an exact conjunction to the Galactic Core.

Set your watch; the big moment is Friday, Jan. 7 at 10:03:28 pm CET, when Mercury aligns with the core, where it stationed retrograde on Nov. 30. The Galactic Core is the massive cluster of stars at the center of the Milky Way, which is our local region of space. Conceivably, when Mercury, the planet of the mind, aligns with this point, we're going to get some information from deep within ourselves, something unusually divine in nature, or a revelation of some sort. The exact aspect is Friday at 4:03:28 pm EST and 1:03:28 pm PST. But it's within close orb all day and into tomorrow.

This particular retrograde, which occurred entirely in Sagittarius, seems to go back an eternity; I think we've all lived a year in two months. While the station retrograde was Nov. 30, Mercury entered its shadow phase on Nov. 20, less than three weeks after the presidential election. With all that's happened, this has been one of the most intense retrograde phases in living memory, and in true Sagittarius style, the attention of the international community has been summoned.

Quick definition of the term 'shadow phase', made clear by the eminent astrologer Jim Shawvan: this is the time when Mercury occupies any of the degrees of the coming retrograde, is actually retrograde, or is working its way back through the degrees where it was recently retrograde.

We now have an approximately two month phase when Mercury is neither in shadow phase nor retrograde. The next shadow phase begins March 5, at Aries 1°44'. The station retrograde occurs March 20 (just before Aries Equinox) at Aries 14° 06'; the station direct occurs April 12 at Aries 1°44; and the shadow phase ends in time for Beltane, May 1, at Aries 14°06. [Hopefully the little 'degree' sign translated well into everyone's email program; sorry if not.]

Here is a link to some of Jim's writing that will help clarify:
http://www.jshawvan.homestead.com/mercrx2004.html


Parent Waves

It's certainly a busy time here as your raging idealist friends at Planet Waves get ready to launch two major projects within days of one another. The first edition of Planet Waves Parenting is about ready to go. We have some excellent material on tap for you in the first few editions, and it's a great pleasure to be serving in the capacity of editor, coordinating the efforts of a new Planet Waves staff. Below is our sample home page, featuring my old friend Maria and her daughter Theresa Sarah, who were the inspirations for the project. For readers interested in submitting content to the Raising Kids Now feature, this is a little reminder.

Link: http://planetwavesparenting.net/



Planet Waves by Eric Francis
For Friday, Jan. 7, 2005 - weekly horoscope #540

Happy Birthday, Capricorn!

You can finally afford to put your fears behind you. There are no problems without solutions, and everything in this world is subject to the conscious intentions you bring to the many situations of your life. Only one thing is required, which is that you believe in yourself. One gets good at this by daily practice.

With practice, everything becomes an opportunity to either withdraw faith in yourself, or to invest that faith. But we rarely see the choice for what it is, and it's clear that the world offers us many opportunities to judge it as an unfair place. Those who have found themselves in a world of honesty, truth and equanimity have often arrived there through various acts of will, commitment and devotion. If the stars have one message for you this year, it is simply that love begets love. And one other: love is not a notion, it is an experience.

At the moment, you have plenty of wind in your sails and more than a few rock-solid accomplishments behind you. You have faced some of your worst fears in actual, real-life situations, and you're still walking, living, learning and loving. Any doubt or negative feeling you have about yourself can be transcended, as long as you become conscious of these things; if you have an enemy, it is that sleepy quality most people bring to their lives.

Your thoughts, feelings and energy affect others profoundly, on a scale you cannot imagine. With so much activity in Sagittarius, your inner world is amplified and, in a sense, broadcast to the outer world whether you realize it or not. Something truly beautiful is developing, though, that will give you a chance to recognize how powerful your powers of creation really are, and if you invest every possible moment looking at the loving side of life, you will see precisely that manifest within you and before your eyes.

Truly, all the evidence, the stars and the nearest Tarot deck are stacked in your favor.


Aries (March 20-April 19)
You may think you're aspiring to something great in the world, and it would not surprise me in the least if you found yourself accomplishing just that. What you're really doing, though, is aspiring to express something within yourself. You have by now figured out that it's not what you do, but rather who you become that matters the most. While we live in a world that emphasizes doing rather than being, it's up to you to keep the order of operations straight. This will remind you that in most ways, the world is a product of your imagination. Or, put another way, you are long since through being anyone's victim.

Taurus (April 19-May 20)
You can get your way, and I think you know it. The test will be whether you use your creative powers to design a version of 'your way' that works perfectly for everyone around you. The world is based on partnership, and you have what people want the most; this is another way of saying you have something to offer that has a high value. Yet that value is only what you make of it, which depends on your willingness to accept the vital role you play in the lives of others. Remember how important certain people are to you. That will give you a clue how important you are to them.

Gemini (May 20-June 21)
If all the months of sideways approaches, foggy communications and vague commitments have had any effect, that has been to teach you to appreciate when people are direct. You're also learning that it's far easier to be authentic than to conceal your motives, or to use appearances or glamour to create an image you cannot live up to. In this spirit, beware of making long speeches before you introduce your subject matter. Cut the first paragraph in any piece of writing and get to the point. In short, stop making excuses, and say what you want, because if there was ever a time you could get it, it's right now.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)
You've been through nearly every trial and tribulation in your personal relationships the past three years, though it's finally becoming apparent that there was a point to it all. One thing we can say is that you've learned that when you're driving the car of human inter-relation, it's best to stay awake at the wheel. Consciousness has its privileges. The more sensitive you are, the less effort you must expend, the less lonely you will feel, and the more your presence in people's lives will matter to them. One place your presence is a true gift of healing is where you work. And it's where you're most likely to find love.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23)
Most people don't understand that you're not merely courageous, but rather that you actually put time and energy into dealing with your fears. Months of emphasis on this project seem to have gotten the results of clarifying one particular work-related situation. You know you can only do what you can do, and that is truly enough. You're also something of a modern master of applying creativity where most people apply brute force or long labor. Lately you have a way of seeing the simplest idea that connects the problem and the solution; now, look at the most pressing situation in your own life and apply the same theory; it will work.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
Your chart gives the feeling of someone cooking a steak over a volcano. You certainly have plenty of energy these days, and you need to put some of that Virgo intelligence for which you're internationally famous to work organizing that energy. I suggest you stop and think before you do anything at all, be it emptying the dishwasher, buying groceries or moving into a new house. In other words, nothing is trivial right now. Everything you think and do has one thing in common -- your mind. If you cultivate excellent habits in the small things you do, you will get excellent results in the big ones.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23)
You get the lusty mind award these days. When it comes to writing or speaking, nothing at all is too intense, impassioned or out of the question. Yet at the same time, you know that what's bubbling up from deep inside your mind is a sign of life and strength, and the most reassuring evidence in ages that your creative spirit is alive deep within you. I suggest you let that spirit out of the bindings that have somehow contained it in recent seasons. Because you seek freedom in your ideas above all else, this gesture will go a long way toward demonstrating that you, yourself, are free.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)
Life is never perfect; at best, life is in balance, we have room to grow. That's another way of saying room for improvement. I suggest you expand into that space, and set aside the caution you've cultivated for so long around your decisions and actions. That strategy worked well in the long run, because most of what you had to do was preserve your earlier gains. As usual, you survived, which is what a Scorpio does best. At the moment you're in possession of some rare commodities, talents, or gifts, which will more than finance your long-wished for projects and plans.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22)
If you've made mistakes any time recently, now is the time to compensate for them. It is, however, more likely that you'll be calling the shots where others have made serious errors in judgment over which you had no say. Miraculously, you have the influence, the power and the clarity to decide what will be best for you, now that others have attempted and failed. Take it easy, though, because at the moment, small moves count for a lot. Run the bigger decisions past people you trust, but make up your own mind despite what anyone says or thinks.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20)
Recent confrontations or stand-offs may have been annoying. Yet if nothing else they revealed how weak were the positions of certain people who have seemed full of bluster and emotion. When people start breaking their own rules, you can be sure that their arguments are about to fall flat on their face. Go about your business, set your agenda, and define the rules of the game as you see fit. You do have a plan, and it's time you put it to work. By the time others catch up to you, they will have very little to say about any of this, and they'll be glad for your goodwill.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19)
You need space and time that you can truly call your own, though at the moment you seem to be flavor of the month. Though this offers some consolation for the times people seemed to forget you were on the planet, you still have a responsibility to keep a handle on your emotional needs. People will appreciate your presence all the more for not being able to take it for granted. Make sure you pick and choose wisely where you invest your time and energy, but to put it even simpler, make sure you choose. You don't owe anyone anything, and the opportunities that present themselves this week are all your own.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
With success comes responsibility -- and that responsibility can far exceed the apparent rewards, and even what you have the power to control. But you do have your influence, and it's running pretty high right now. While you have a platform, make sure you state in clear terms what you think is right. As someone whose conscience bears far too many burdens, you're in a position to spread the load of life to people who are far less obsessed with ethics, but who will respond if they hear something sensible. In other words, relax, and let others help you get the work done. Let this be your formula for unusual success.

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Planet Waves for Friday, Jan. 7, 2005, with horoscope #540

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