Photos of this week's transit of Venus, taken by Anthony Ayiomamitis in Athens. Technically this is called the moment of third contact -- the third time that the rim of Venus touches the rim of the Sun. Fourth contact is when the other side of Venus touches the rim of the solar disk and the transit ends. The scattered black dots are Sun spots, which are associated with ejections from the Sun. See additional photo by Anthony below in the CREATE section of this issue, illustrating our tribute to Ray Bradbury.

Through an Arch or Doorway

Dear Friend and Reader:

One thing to keep in mind about an event like the transit of Venus is that you will see most of its influence in the long run.

NASA image of the transit of Venus, as Venus makes contact with the solar disk earlier this week. This image was created from the live video feed provided by the space-based Solar Dynamics Observatory.

While many are experiencing turning points that would be appropriate for the solar and lunar eclipses that we've just experienced the past few weeks, it may take some time to gain the perspective necessary to see the transit of Venus for the watershed event that it is. It's a little like passing through an arch or doorway, which leaves you at the beginning of a new phase of exploration.

That is part of using astrology well -- noticing how these things work in hindsight, then using future events as visioning tools. However, another view is that we're running out of runway when it comes to getting ourselves together, when you factor in the many larger and deeper missions, personal and collective, that we know we need to act on. More on that in a moment.

Many of our readers made the effort to see the event, seeking out university astronomy departments, science museums, friendly amateur astronomers and other places where telescopes were set up. A few used pinhole cameras and some just seemed to look up at the Sun. The subtle influences of such an event run deeper than whether you see it or not. One of the gifts of personally witnessing a rare astronomical event is a sense of perspective, by which I mean a sense of our place within the solar system, and observing personally that it's real.

It's one thing to see planets in the night sky where they often appear, amidst the stars. It's another thing to see a planet in daylight, in the context of another nearby body, the Sun. Most of the time we don't feel like we live within a solar system. Watching Venus go by, it's difficult to miss.

Photo of transit of Venus, seen with a pinhole camera, taken "in the middle of somewhere with a group of butterfly fanatics" in China. Photographer is A. Dong, provided by Planet Waves reader Sam.

As for my own viewing experience: I felt a bit like Basho, the 17th century Japanese poet, who would walk for a month to witness the Full Moon rise over a particular temple site, only to arrive on a cloudy evening. I've been tracking the approach of this event carefully since 2004. Due to my travel schedule associated with UAC (last week's astrology conference in New Orleans), I decided (with many appealing options) to conserve my energy and stay close to home.

It turned out that there was dense cloud cover over much of the Northeastern U.S., though I hear a few people in Brooklyn did get a peek when the clouds parted. Where I was, looking west over our old mountains here, we never caught a glimpse of the Sun.

From an astrology standpoint, I believe it was more meaningful to tune into the transit of Venus energetically rather than to see it, though of course, the visual always helps bring things into a real-world, physical context, rather than merely conceptual.

If you're looking for the influences this event is having on you, remember that we've been talking about an event with a wide orb. This week was the focal point, though on many levels of personal and collective experience, the transit of Venus reaches into the past and the future, with this week as an epicenter. The changes that are centered now will ripple into the future, and if you're observant you will be able to trace them back to 2004, when the first Venus transit of this pair happened. Consider what was going on in June of that month and see if you can discern the turning point, and the connection to what you're doing, or what is happening to you, now.

If you're observant about changes of course in your life, you may have a sense of your relationship to this astrology. It might be obvious, though I suggest you consider carefully the factors of context that actually evoke meaning. Even as you may be making certain decisions under a microscope, also use the widest possible lens to look at your life. We are still at the fulcrum of this event. While the transit itself has passed, we remain close to it, with much of the leverage that it offers.

Planet Waves reader Kristina Holmes gets a look at the transit of Venus at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

The transit of Venus is what I call a threshold event; it's not the kind of thing that wears off. Rather, it's a point of initiation or crossing into another phase of existence. Consciously or not, we're rooting our changes and developments here, usually in the form of decisions. The more consciously you do that, the stronger your tap will be into the creative energy associated with the transit. If you've been working with the process of this transit, don't stop! You can deepen your experience by looking at your astrology chart and figuring out where this is influencing you the most, or the point of deepest contact.

Then there are forms of inner progress that you may be feeling, and these too will take time to grow roots and establish themselves. Like nearly all forms of growth, this is often more fragile than we usually imagine. At the same time, as is the tendency in orthopedic surgery, we have to stand up and walk on the newly repaired part of ourselves to build both strength and confidence. If you have not noticed, much of what we think of as 'growth' and 'healing' and 'spiritual training' rarely ever leave the realm of theory -- and it can take some constant encouragement to actually start taking the risks necessary to make real changes.

Conscious readiness is often a meaningful factor in taking action, though I'm sure you've noticed how much time you sometimes spend hesitating or waiting for something to happen. That's a great habit to squirm out of -- you have much better options.

Every facet of the current astrology is helping with that. We have just experienced a cluster of four eclipse-like events (solar and lunar eclipses, the Venus transit and the Moon's occultation of Pluto nearly simultaneous with the transit). If you think of the cosmos as speaking with this concentration of events, this is a sign that it's really trying to get our attention. Said another way, many cycles are going off together -- like the alarm clock, the phone and the doorbell ringing at the same time.

Schwoebel family and friends watch the transit using their hands and the back door as ultraviolet filters.

While in some ways there is a revolution of consciousness going on, and gradual change is undeniably happening, you may be aware that necessity is currently outstripping progress. Much of the United States was turned into a fracking project long before most people had ever heard that word (and if nobody prevents it, Europe and China are next). Our government became a theocracy while we were distracted by our leaders bombing Islamic countries. We are living with "Christianity" as a religion of judgment, cruelty, privilege and control.

As of today, none of our cultural systems seem able to handle the changes and necessity for awareness that would get us to organize and take action on the many situations that are calling for it -- and also the calling you may be feeling to get involved. We are just starting to make the connections between personal healing and planetary healing, still uncertain whether to trust that process.

We are still staring right into the sold-out political system; many courts, including the Supreme Court, stacked with reactionaries whose pretense of public service is laughable; banks functioning as little other than parasites, and the system remaining on the brink; Monsanto suing organic farmers for "patent infringement" when organic fields are contaminated by Monsanto's toxic pollen; and the minds and emotions of most people embalmed by the images in television advertising. Speaking of, Scott Walker was able to buy about $25 million worth of that and convince Wisconsin voters that they really do want to end labor unions.

We could ask what it would take for a mass awakening to happen. The better question is what is provoking you to wake up, and what is your point of involvement? At what moment do you decide you have to live differently, reaching from what you know is your true purpose? At what point do you (or did you) commit yourself to what you truly value?

Over Brooklyn, the clouds parted for a few moments, allowing a view of the transit of Venus. Photo by George Hirschfeld.

It would help on every front were we to awaken to the concept of mutual interests. As A Course in Miracles notes, healing begins the moment you don't see your interests as being separate from those of others.

There's a reason so-called conservatism pushes its 'every man for himself' way of life -- if people are competing or self-absorbed, they won't join together against the bigger forces that are doing things to them, their children and the whole planet. There is still the illusion of competition between what works for one and what works for all. Separation and the obsession with separate interests leads to conflict and chaos. Messengers to the contrary are trying to seduce you into being an egocentric fool.

Humans are naturally tribal. We need one another, and it takes the most impressive, expensive disinformation campaign in history to get so many people to think otherwise. I suggest that you make peace with the fact that in whatever you're doing, whatever your plans, whatever you want to accomplish, you will need the support of some kind of community -- and in turn, you will be offering your efforts to something larger than yourself.

At the same time, you have to take full responsibility for your own creative spark, and not depend on others to get you going or provide you with the solution. This may seem like a paradox. It's simply the fact that your journey starts with you and branches outward from there.

It will be relatively easy to see how this week contained a personal turning point. The collective level is a different story. In hindsight, we will be able to look back and see if this moment contained the seed of an awakening or a missed opportunity. For now, 2012 remains up for grabs.

Lovingly,



Weekend Astrology & The Next Burst

As Len noted yesterday, both Mercury and Jupiter are changing signs in close proximity. Together these two planets rule a third of all the signs in traditional astrology -- Gemini and Virgo ruled by Mercury and Sagittarius and Pisces ruled by Jupiter. That's to say, they rule all of the mutable signs. So when these two planets change signs, a lot of people go through changes of pace, direction, emphasis and theme.

David Arner performs his tribute to Hermes at RPI in Troy, NY last month. Photo by his astrology student Eric Francis.

Mercury has ingressed Cancer, and Monday, Jupiter ingresses Gemini. Mercury moves much faster than Jupiter and it will be in Cancer until June 15. Jupiter will be in Gemini until late June 2013.

Friday, the Gemini Sun (gradually separating from its square to Mars) opposes Pholus in Sagittarius -- the centaur-class minor planet with the small cause and the big effect (ain't that life?). Actually, the Sun has been and still is skating past a whole diversity of the newer points in Sagittarius -- including experiencing the transit of Venus opposite the Great Attractor, a massive nucleus of some kind in deep space, which is pulling galaxies toward it like a magnet draw bits of iron dust.

Also in Sagittarius are Ixion (issues of right and wrong, as well as second chances), Narcissus (who melted into his own reflection), and Quaoar (creation myths; family patterns). Then there's the Galactic Center -- the black hole core of our big gorgeous swirl of stars, where we reside on the outskirts along a side road.

Gemini offers one last act before the Sun swims to solstice -- a second New Moon (the first was an eclipse, with the Sun in the first degree of the sign). When that happens, we get a perk from the lunar cycle being shorter than the solar cycle.

It takes the Sun about 30 days to go through a sign, and the Moon goes round the whole cycle in a shade over 28 days. So a New Moon on the 1st day of Gemini leads to another New Moon in the 29th degree of Gemini. It turns out that this degree has been making guest appearances in the charts for a diversity of intense, weird things that happen on Earth, from Sept. 11 to WikiLeaks to Fukushima (and even the Titanic). All these charts and several more in their class have one common feature.

One way to look at this is to say that it ties all those charts together by having that one degree occupied by a prominent point in the horoscope (the Moon, for instance). And speaking of, we're about to have a New Moon in this degree, ringing all those charts. That would be happening on June 19, and it's both the latest 'gee whiz' chart and also the beginning of another cluster of world changing-type events.

Next in order is the solstice on June 20, followed by Uranus square Pluto, the first of seven passes, on June 24, and then Venus stations direct on June 27. All of this is shortly after Venus makes its heliacal rise (it appears in the sky as the morning star) -- its incarnation as the star of love. As they say in showbiz, timing is everything -- and Venus couldn't be better with hers.


Let the Sun Shine (or Leave it to the Germans)

Solar Village in Germany built by German solar architect Rolf Disch. Photo credit: Solarsiedlung.de

In an announcement sure to give environmentalists (and anyone who sees the Fukushima disaster for what it is) some heart and useful hard data, Reuters is reporting that German solar power plants produced a world-record 22 gigawatts of electricity -- equal to 20 nuclear power stations running at full capacity -- through the midday hours on May 25 and 26, according to the head of a renewable energy think tank. Following the Fukushima disaster last year, the German government decided to close eight plants immediately and shut down the remaining nine by 2022 -- effectively abandoning nuclear power completely. Renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and bio-mass will fill the country's energy needs. The 22 gigawatts of solar power on May 26 met nearly 50 percent of the nation's midday electricity needs on a non-workday (the total the previous day equaled about a third of the workday need). There's still plenty of sunshine where that came from. Norbert Allnoch, director of the Institute of the Renewable Energy Industry in Muenster, noted that this spike in solar production shows that gas- and coal-fired plants are also needed in fewer numbers.


Gemini Astrology Emphasizes Relationship to Self

This week's Gemini astrology emphasizes the healing of your relationship to yourself. Astrology is all about studying polarities (and Esoteric Astrology emphasizes the study of triangular relationships). Yet Gemini speaks to the inner relationship, the one that's considered the most taboo and a topic we don't usually want to talk about. The current astrology is about our different inner facts coming into a state of harmony or unity, which is more about consciousness than it is about anything else. Each of us is actually a whole being, and it's only an idea that can make us feel separated from ourselves. The transit of Venus was the solar system offering a vision of how it feels to connect with yourself and what can happen when you do that. Though most of our lives have been a mix of the usual and the unusual this week, below the surface there is deep alchemy happening, and a clear invitation to relate to yourself in a clear and direct way. This can cause some turmoil in the world around you as partners in any codependent relationships you may be involved with resist losing that part of you that they thought was part of them.


LDS on LSD? Mormons Embrace LGBT

Marisa Black, my friend and fellow writer for Dodson and Ross (and a recovering Mormon with a lot of interesting stories to tell), has been updating me on how Mormons in Salt Lake City are finally getting hip to the idea that it's normal to be lesbian, gay or bisexual. First she sent me this video produced by students at Brigham Young University (scroll down a bit for the video). It takes nine minutes to watch and will convince you the world is changing. Then a little while later she sent this blog post, from Monday, about the Mormon church expressing what is in truth unprecedented and (to me) rather stunning tolerance, with its members marching in the pride parade. Mending divisions -- whether cultural or those in your own psyche (they tend to mirror each other, by the way) -- does not often happen overnight. Using whatever insights you've glimpsed this last week or two, see what you can allow or shepherd along these lines.


Manning's Lawyers Move to Dismiss 10 Charges

Lawyers for Bradley Manning, the alleged Army whistleblower accused of leaking a massive collection of governmental material to online whistleblowing organization WikiLeaks, moved to dismiss 10 of the 22 counts against him. Manning appeared in court Wednesday on the first day of a three-day pre-trial hearing. His defense team says the counts are either unlawfully vague or fall short of amounting to a prosecutable offense; his military trial is scheduled for September. Manning, who had been kept in solitary confinement for more than 11 months, was moved from Quantico Marine base in Virginia to Fort Leavenworth in Kansas in late April, where he was finally able to move freely around other military prisoners.


Scott Walker Survives Recall Election

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker survived an historic recall election, prevailing over Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. Walker won the recall by a margin slightly wider than he originally won office -- 53 to 46 percent. To do that, he had to outspend Barrett by a seven-to-one margin, so were this election graded on a curve, Walker actually lost. However, that's now how the votes are counted, so Walker became the first governor in the country to survive a recall election.

He came into office with the Tea Party sweep of 2010, heavily funded by the Koch brothers -- the oil and chemical guys who are buying up all the political franchises. He wasted no time implementing his fiscally "conservative" agenda, most of which involved getting legislation passed that stripped public employee unions of their collective bargaining rights.

Do you remember the massive protests and occupation of the Wisconsin state house after Walker made that move? Remember all the Democratic state legislators fleeing across state lines so that a vote on the measure could not be forced? All of that momentum rolled into a massive recall movement many anticipated would be hard to stop.

What got in the way? In a word: money. Lots and lots of money, the flow of which was opened up by the 2010 Citizens United decision.

John Nichols, a correspondent for The Nation, told Democracy Now! on Wednesday, "We always like to tell ourselves that if the people get organized enough, they can offset any amount of money. But in Wisconsin, we got a pretty powerful lesson about this new era we're entering into with unlimited cash ... It's something we should be taking a good look at -- not merely for Wisconsin, but for the whole country."

Nichols also criticized the Democratic National Committee and President Obama for mostly staying on the sidelines: "The comparison between tens of millions of dollars and an all-in effort by the RNC and by national Republicans [versus] a tweet from President Obama, I think, sums it up a little bit painfully."

Our own DC-based astropolitical analyst, Astrodem, had this to say on the Planet Waves blog this week: "Exit polling analysis shows that large numbers of Wisconsin voters didn't think a recall was legitimate in this situation. Recalls, in their view, should be reserved only for official misconduct. The fact that most voters in a fairly progressive state don't consider stripping union rights to be official misconduct tells you all you need to know about the future of the labor movement." (That said, you can read more about Walker's apparent misconduct here -- scroll down to see the stats.)

Unfortunately, a dwindling labor movement is just one of many signs that if those who consider themselves at all progressive don't truly organize and activate to provide a counter-balance that's further left than the current Democratic party, the Dems are likely to be sucked further and further right by the vacuum in the wake of the Republicans' movement into the realm of the criminal. This isn't about politicians playing games; this affects the roots of our socio-economic health as a country.

You can read more of Astrodem's thoughts on the issue here.

Sunrise over Athens, with the transit of Venus barely visible. In the U.S., we got to see the beginning of the transit toward sundown if skies were clear; in Europe, they could see the end of the transit at sunrise. This photo was taken by astrophotographer Anthony Ayiomamitis, who also took the series at the top of this page. Editorial comment: with transits of Venus dating back forever (and calculations predicting the events going back thousands of years), people didn't realize the Earth was round?

Ray Bradbury Summoned by Venus

In the midst of this week's unusual grouping of planetary alignments, Ray Bradbury departed the Earth. He was 91 years old. The beloved and prolific writer who had written so much about Mars died during a rare event involving Venus. If we were to have a clue that this week's astrology is more evocative of science fiction than science or astrology, this was it.

Bradbury offered the world such classics as The Martian Chronicles, Fahrenheit 451, Something Wicked This Way Comes, and The Veldt (which you can read on Planet Waves) among others. He learned to write by devouring books in libraries, and paying for time on the public typewriters there in dimes he had collected, writing as fast as he could before the thing shut off.

There is no greater tribute to Ray Bradbury than to keep reading his glorious array of books, stories, and articles. He was more than a 'science fiction' writer and can hardly be pinned down to a genre. His great genius was in never forgetting what it is to be a child, to look through a child's common sense eyes at the illogical behavior of adults, to thrill at the mysteries awaiting behind every cloud and tree.

His stories always manage to evoke the child's sense of wonder as well as the fears and griefs common to us all. His own words say more than I can conjure in celebration:

As a boy of ten years I could imagine nothing finer than running to the library on a windy October night, pushed by the cold wind and traveling with autumn leaves to arrive at the wonderful place, the library, where I would stand for a moment in the wide open door and call into the deeps: 'Are you there?'

And all the silent voices of the ghosts of my most loved authors would answer from buried years, naming themselves Poe and Hawthorne and Dickens and Verne and Burroughs and Wells, and their whispering, promising answer was: 'Yes'.

And I would step in to join the shadows.

He has joined those shadows forever now -- partying over the sherry with his best-loved authors and answering "Yes" when we call from the library door.


Find Your Current Monthly Horoscopes Here -- and Schedule News!

The Planet Waves June monthly horoscope and an extensive article about the Transit of Venus were published Wednesday, May 23. Note, the week of the long monthly, there is not a regular Friday edition in order to give us a chance to catch up with ourselves. Inner Space for June was published on Tuesday, May 29. We've delayed the Moonshine horoscope by Genevieve Hathaway until next week. The most recent Moonshine (for May) was published on May 8. The next Planet Waves monthly is for July and will be published the evening of Wednesday, June 20, the day of the Cancer ingress of the Sun. Note, we always begin publishing monthly horoscopes for the new month after the Sun has changed signs. -- efc



Planet Waves FM recorded mid-transit of Venus

I recorded this edition of Planet Waves FM before learning that Scott Walker had won his recall election in Wisconsin Tuesday -- the first governor to do so (two past U.S. governors have been recalled). In this edition I describe some of the astrology surrounding the transit, and talk about my appearance on Coast to Coast AM. This edition was recorded somewhat off the cuff but I've hardly ever received more email from my listeners; it seems to have resonated with the moment.





Friday, June 8, 2012. Weekly Horoscope #906 | Eric's Zodiac Sign Descriptions

Our new zodiac glyphs are by Neisha Hirsch.

Gemini Birthdays: Living As If

If you discovered secret information that you were now aligned with your purpose or deepest calling in life, how would you live? What if that information came with the provision that you might not spontaneously feel any different, or have anything 'happen to you', but rather that you're free to make your choices as if you know exactly what you're doing? The message of your astrology is that something within you has come into focus, though you have to live this from the inside out. That requires taking a chance, because there may not be sources of outer reassurance that you're 'doing things right'. In fact you may be encountering resistance or doubts, and the only answer to those is to focus inwardly and remain in contact with your purpose as you make each decision. You are the one who will get to moderate between the various facets of your psyche, which may offer a diversity of opinions on the most significant issues in your life. As you do this, you will discover that those facets, and their various viewpoints, are aspects of who you are, but not YOU in the proper sense of that idea. As you gain practice with this, you will discover that actual you, which will gradually have a stronger voice in guiding the direction of your life, and finally, have the only voice. Here is a clue: in the past few days you've learned something significant about who this is.

ATTENTION ALL GEMINIS -- This week I finished your Gemini birthday reading. The themes include deepening your relationship to yourself, gaining the ability to observe life from the viewpoints of others, and thereby opening up a new phase of your relationships. In your professional and creative aspects of living, I offer some ideas about how to focus your visions for the longterm and put your highest ideals into useful service.

This reading includes two segments of astrology, which cover the transit of Venus, Jupiter ingressing your sign, Chiron and Neptune in your career angle, and the Uranus-Pluto square. There's a third short (experimental) section of audio that interprets Mercury retrogrades for the next year, and finally, a tarot reading using the Voyager tarot by James Wanless. Thanks for your patience with this report! I trust you will decide it was worth the wait. You may purchase access at this link. Note, this appears on a Flash player and we provide a downloadable archive so you can get it into iTunes if you have an iPod, iPhone or some other Apple device.

Aries (March 20-April 19) -- Your actions (and even your thoughts) could have unintended consequences, so I suggest you make gentle, careful moves over the next few days. Be mindful of situations where 'one thing leads to another', i.e., where something said under the influence of alcohol can take on an unintended life of its own. In particular, be mindful of when you're acting on belief and when you're acting on good information. The two will have a tendency to disguise as one another, and it's vital that you be able to spot your biases. Subject all your suppositions to fact-checking, and be careful when you notice you've made up your mind before the data is in. Intuition is often trustworthy, though right now you need a few layers of intellectual safety net below you. And, notably, any seeming need to rush to a conclusion or a decision is probably a false alarm. Take the time to think. Hello Aries -- Eric has written a new description for your sign that you have access to from this link (no password needed).
Taurus (April 19-May 20) -- Don't try to judge your own progress. There are too many wheels in spin for you to predict where you're going to emerge from your current adventure, or is it odyssey? Meanwhile, you can learn plenty from studying people's reactions to you. They might be stronger than you're accustomed to; if some people express adulation and others extreme irritation, taking the average won't help you determine the truth -- rather, experiment with not taking opinions so seriously. You could find yourself diving into situations beyond what you think of as your better judgment, perhaps inspired by someone who lacks your usual resistance to risk. You tend to overthink things, something you may find yourself bypassing these days. You can afford to live in a way that, for you, seems daring -- your luck is better than you think, as long as you stay in the moment and don't make any promises. Hello Taurus -- Eric has written a new description for your sign that you have access to from this link (no password needed) If you would like to hear your Taurus birthday reading, please visit this link.
Gemini (May 20-June 21) -- How much do you want to be influenced by someone else? Keep that question in mind; once you imbibe any influence at all, the effect could be a total and unexpected transformation. If you're encountering someone you perceive as famous, you might want to consider your relationship to their notoriety. Does it serve as an example? Is it useful? Are you starstruck? Or are you able to set it aside entirely and meet them on mutual ground? That would be the best possible scenario, though this may require you to project yourself into the future a bit, and to imagine the person you're striving to become. No role model is ever 100% what we want to be, and other factors indicate that you're feeling more deeply than usual about your own goals and values. The most useful modeling you can do right now involves adapting learning methods that help you focus on what is most important to you. Hello Gemini -- Eric has written a new description for your sign that you have access to from this link (no password needed). Your Gemini birthday reading is ready! Click here for an hour of astrology plus a tarot reading by Eric.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) -- You have many opportunities for exchange open to you. Don't worry if at first they don't seem like the kind of plunge into the impassioned abyss that you've been longing for. When you're wading out into shallow water, remember, it can get deeper suddenly and unexpectedly -- and it's likely to do so. Yet you won't be out of your depth as long as you stay in communication with yourself and anyone with whom you're closely involved. Communication begins with the prefix co, which means it should go both ways. Be responsive to what your own psyche is telling you. Be responsive to your environment. And notice what the people in your environment are telegraphing as individuals and as a group. The group dynamic is the one to watch with utmost attention -- there's a lot going on there, and you're a more significant influence than you may think. Hello Cancer -- Eric has written a new description for your sign that you have access to from this link (no password needed).
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) -- The chances are that by the time you read this, you'll already be moving ahead with your plan. I suggest you treat this a little like surfing or hang-gliding: a somewhat dangerous but compelling activity that utilizes forces more powerful than yourself. That's the thing to remember and respect -- what you're doing goes beyond your own personal power. In such situations, the thing to look for is how you can influence the developments rather than take control. Your influence is real, and it can be potent; control is an illusion, and it will likely backfire. Therefore, lean in the direction you want to go. Trace the trajectory of your recent movement, and see if you can figure out what direction that indicates you're traveling. Think in terms of your immediate, intermediate and long-term objectives. Any correct choice you make now will have the quality of supporting all three. Hello Leo -- Eric has written a new description for your sign that you have access to from this link (no password needed). Spring Checkpoint: Individual Signs Now Available We will soon figure out that it's actually 2012. The recent retrogrades of Mars and Mercury seemed to create a delay, but really this winter and early spring has been a phase of gestation. Over the next four weeks, the energy starts to pick up pace dramatically, and we will discover where we are and that something unusual, and beautiful, is happening. Even as we approach the truly beautiful potential of the astrology that's developing, many people are struggling with their day-to-day lives. There are more questions than answers; the economic and political situations seem hopeless; the pace of existence is going so fast that there seems to be nowhere to get in a little meaning, or seek some peace of mind. Here is where astrology can help. Astrology looks at the longer cycles, and the deeper themes -- and can help you see your life in context of the present moment, no matter how chaotic it may be. Context means a sense of where you fit in that will help you see your potential and make better choices. For years, I've been helping my clients prepare for making the most of the astrology of the 2012 era. Based on this experience, and many years of study, I've prepared a set of readings for all 12 signs (and rising signs, and Moon signs) that guides you through this astrology, step by step. I cover the most challenging and energized developments of this spring, which includes eclipses, Venus retrograde, the Venus transit of the Sun, and then a few days after the Sun ingresses Cancer, the Uranus-Pluto square. Each sign gets a half-hour discussion. These came through loud and clear, with strength and meaning. I spent a week designing and recording them, and I am grateful to be able to offer them to you as a tool to help you guide your decisions, as you seek deeper meaning along your journey. Spring 2012 is a kind of checkpoint along the way to wherever you are going. But really it's a calling into the adventure of existence, a bold invitation to go beyond your past limits and explore something truly new about yourself. Signs are now available individually for an amazingly low price, cheaper than the paper shopping bag costs at Jimmy Choo -- order your reading here. The report is getting rave reviews from people who are currently working with it, including these words from a customer named Donna: "OMG -- thank you thank you thank you -- just spent this morning listening to my [Spring Report] info, and am so blown away by the accuracy (and relief!) in this experience. Thanks so very much for your part in supporting this work and for showing up in the way that you do!". Here is the link to order. Please drop us a note if you have any questions. Lovingly,
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) -- Be careful not to take on all the troubles of the world -- or to take personal responsibility for starting the revolution. Rather, allow yourself to be revolutionized, and give yourself permission to participate in the ways that work for you. What works will be what takes you out of your safe zone, particularly of your ideas. At the moment you lack the ability to isolate yourself from challenging ideas by making them abstract. Indeed, you have the ability to take everything personally. That's why I suggest you emphasize learning and participation rather than taking on anything larger than yourself as a huge burden or mission. If you're actually called to take action in a larger way, you will be the first to find out about it -- and you're unlikely to be alone. The salient message of your astrology is to observe, learn and engage yourself in ways that are nourishing to you, then gradually embrace your leadership role with that as its basis. Hello Virgo -- Eric has written a new description for your sign that you have access to from this link (no password needed).
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) -- You have room in your life, and in your mind, only for what is authentic and valid for you. You could say that this is about believing only what is true, though in support of this, I suggest you consider the possibility that 'belief' is not actually a value. Rather, it's more like a substitute for one. Base your viewpoints and opinions on what you observe and can document, and make sure you question those things on a regular basis. This is less about questioning your assumptions and more about figuring out when you're making them at all. This will help you foster radical discernment, and inspire you to dismantle your illusions -- neither of which are especially popular on iTunes. Yet as you devote yourself to these things, you will meet others who are dedicated to both the truth and their personal truth -- which often comes with the character trait of being able to change one's mind. Hello Libra -- Eric has written a new description for your sign that you have access to from this link (no password needed).
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) -- Precision is the key, particularly when you're among friends, or in public, or projecting your thoughts into any public forum (the Internet included). I mean precision of thought, speech and action, which are directly related. What you say has impact, and it will be attributed personally to you -- so be mindful of being even vaguely aggressive or critical. Instead, make a point of being helpful and constructive, pointing out what is good about the world and the works of humankind (such as your friends and colleagues). If you must point out anything wrong, save it for the calmest one-to-one discussions you can create. I suggest, however, that you do triple-diligence when it comes to collecting your facts and understanding the circumstances behind anything you perceive. Meanwhile, I truly suggest you put your energy into visioning what you want to create in your own life. That's not about all those other people -- it's about you. Hello Scorpio -- Eric has written a new description for your sign that you have access to from this link (no password needed).
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) -- You can see the potential in a certain relationship, and the benefits of liberating yourself from the attachments of your past. Yet it's vital that you be realistic rather than idealistic, which means use what you know. If you find yourself feeling powerless, look for the ways that you're not actually putting your knowledge to work. Meanwhile, if you're going to be idealistic, at least know something about your ideals. Limit yourself to three of them and be specific about what they are. That's another way of saying know what you want, then check everything you might be inclined to reach for against that list, to make sure you're using your time and energy wisely. This will help you discern the difference between a false desire and an authentic one. Meanwhile, if any of your ideals get popped along the way, be grateful for that fact. You need solid, dependable ones, made of real substance, not the kind that are like soap bubbles. Hello Sagittarius -- Eric has written a new description for your sign that you have access to from this link (no password needed).
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) -- It's not always about sex, but usually it is -- especially lately. And when that's true, there are those moments when you have to unleash the furies. You don't have to release them all at once, though -- try letting them out of their cages one at a time, and see how that feels. Meanwhile, every time you worry about your 'reputation', I would propose that's a mirage for fear of your own power. In other words, what you believe is 'bad for your image' (or some desire that allegedly threatens your position) may be the very thing that is good for your strength and integrity. You seem to feel like you're visible right now, and like you have some influence in the world. This is lining up with your passion and a touch of inner chaos in a way that might threaten to unravel everything you've built (which seems to be trapping a lot of energy). If that's true, then I would say keep going. Hello Capricorn -- Eric has written a new description for your sign that you have access to from this link (no password needed).
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -- Be aware any time the idea of sacrifice comes up -- listen for the word, and for the notion. The concept comes in two forms. One is what you supposedly must give up, in order to have something else you want, or to appease someone in power. That's worth questioning carefully. The other notion is to 'make sacred', with the image of laying it on an altar. For your purposes now, these are both false concepts, which cover over something else. If you pause and consider what that is, it will be easy enough to discover, lurking right beneath the surface. The truth is, you don't have to make any offerings to get more of what you want from life, and the false belief that you must do so is directly interfering with your process of establishing a goal, and taking action to make it real. While you're figuring out what you don't need to sacrifice, I suggest you check for other points of interference as well. Hello Aquarius -- Eric has written a new description for your sign that you have access to from this link (no password needed).
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) -- Monitor how you feel at all times. As you do, you may notice that you can guide your feelings. Apropos of your nature this sensation is more like the flow of water. Thematically, there is a question beneath the surface of that water -- how does success feel to you? You have ideas, plans and maybe a financial goal or two, though what would it feel like to be exactly where you want to be? Once you tune into that sensation, stay in contact with it. This might come with some relief from time pressure, or economic pressure. It might be the feeling of what it would be like not to be at the edge of your tether where commitments to others are concerned. Use your imagination here and start to open up your inner space of success as viscerally and in as much detail as you can. Then keep returning your attention there, if you ever wander off. Keep coming back and experimenting with this, till the space is big enough for you to enter. Hello Pisces -- Eric has written a new description for your sign that you have access to from this link (no password needed).