Mercury Direct, Nessus and Your Cue to Be One

Dear Friend and Reader:

In August, the sky starts to open up and the energy flows more freely. The obstacle course that we've been running since January morphs into the art studio / healing space indicated by the Leo-Virgo line, which the Sun is gradually approaching. If you've been having productivity or creativity challenges, prepare to focus and move forward. Granted, this is happening in August when most people would rather be taking it easy.

Moon Rising. Photo by Anthony Ayiomamitis.

Before we get there, though, there are (as ever) some highlights worth mentioning. Currently, Jupiter in Gemini is square Chiron in Pisces. This is an aspect associated with those who devote themselves to social causes; the wisdom attribute of Jupiter and the applied healing / focus quality of Chiron join forces in a provocative way. Start with yourself first and work your way into helping the world. Make your contribution from a solid place. As my friend Scott Kalechstein once said (as if describing this aspect), "get the word in before you get the word out."

The Aquarius Full Moon is Aug. 1. This is the Moon in Aquarius opposite the Sun in Leo. When you see a Full Moon on the first of the month, that hints that there will be a second Full Moon that month -- and that's called a Blue Moon. I have absolutely no interpretation of this whatsoever; it's pure trivia. (The Pisces Full Moon happens Aug. 31 -- more on that in a few weeks.)

In all sincerity this seems like a reasonable, easygoing Full Moon (it's trine Jupiter in Gemini, for example, which looks like a relaxed mental and emotional posture). Aug. 1 is a Wednesday, though that would be a great day to plan an extended weekend and (at least here in the Northern Hemisphere) start your midsummer holiday.

Next up is Mercury stationing direct on Aug. 8. It's been retrograde in Leo since July 14. That will begin the first extended stretch of 2012 with all of the inner planets direct. That condition lasts a whole three months, until Nov. 6, when Mercury stations retrograde on Election Day here in the United States. [I'll come back to that one as well -- let's just say that event will give us a moment to pause and reflect on the meaning of elections.] If you recall, we covered this in the Top Five Events of 2012 audio series.

Take advantage of this phase of direct inner planets, by which I mean tackle your biggest projects during this brief three-month phase. Use the remainder of the current Mercury retrograde (through Aug. 8) to prepare yourself for what you need to accomplish with all the red and yellow lights suddenly turning green. Summer is a nice time to chill out, though I suggest you keep your focus on your goals and intentions.

Photo by Eric Francis.

On Aug. 15, there is a conjunction of Mars and Saturn in Libra. There are a few ways to look at this aspect; I will sum up by saying that your sense of fairness is the thing to be working with as it approaches. This is not a time to cheat or to take advantage of anyone -- it will blow back in your face. Keep your balance and use the energy of Mars-Saturn to develop your goals and as an opportunity to take action on an important professional matter. It might be a tense time in relationships; if someone is acting immature, deal with them on something other than their level.

We then have the Leo New Moon on Aug. 17. This is a special event, as the Sun and Moon will be opposite centaur planet Nessus. Nessus is the third centaur, with two layers of meaning. The first is about understanding the connection between cause and effect, and altering the cycle when necessary. The second is that it relates directly to themes of sexual healing, including the healing of abuse legacies (part of the reason I've introduced my four-part series on erotic themes on Planet Waves FM, which began with Wednesday's edition). The essence of the New Moon opposite Nessus is cultivating an understanding of what is your material in a relationship and what belongs to someone else. Often we take on someone's abuse legacy, or project our own into the partnership. This is a time to sort this out.

There is one more notable event in August -- 1992 QB1 turns 20 years old. I keep mentioning this bit of space dust, which was the first planet ever discovered in an orbit beyond Pluto. That's in a place called the Kuiper Belt, a vast region of space just past Neptune where there are millions of little icy and rocky planets orbiting our Sun. I promise you that you won't read about this anywhere else, unless of course someone takes the lead from Planet Waves. I am planning a rousing tribute to 1992 QB1 in a late-August edition.

As you can see, 1992 QB1 is a planet with a temporary designation and no actual name. Dale O'Brien wrote to me and said, "It's already named! Cue: Be One." Now that's an apple from the very tree I've been barking up since I heard about this point not long after its discovery.

Enjoy your horoscope, which I'm offering with a few other short features. I'll see you Tuesday with the Inner Space monthly for August.

Lovingly,


Midyear Report Forthcoming

I am now working on your Midyear Report, a 12-sign audio devoted to putting your calling, your cash flow and your career in the same place. Many people are trying to do this, some of them spurred by our challenging economy -- which I think presents special opportunities for resourceful people with ideas and energy. Look for an announcement of that soon; it will come out after Mercury stations direct.


Shades of Grey: 2012 Olympics Opens Friday

The XXX Olympiad -- otherwise known as the 2012 Olympics -- opens Friday night in London. The ceremony starts at 9:00 pm London time, which means it's possible to cast a chart (for viewing purposes, please check your local listings for the time in your area). [View chart at this link.]

The 2012 Olympics were almost in Paris. This neon sculpture of the Olympic rings was erected next to (not around) the Eiffel Tower in 2005, which I photographed while I was living there. Photo by Eric.

This is a slippery chart full of all kinds of cryptic messages. There is tension behind the scenes, on many levels. For example, the Moon is void of course when the games begin (though it makes aspects to minor planets, which paint a nice complicated picture). As well, the ceremony happens just a day before the Sun-Mercury conjunction (the halfway mark of Mercury retrograde). That's a way of saying that the trickster is in the air, which Mitt Romney just demonstrated on his trip to London (see POL section below).

In our current world, I think that the Olympics are especially necessary. They're an example of what can be created for its own sake, without the Air Force being sent in, and where the profit motive isn't particularly successful. They are a testament to actual human achievement for its own sake; a statement of our potential. Woe be unto anyone who turns them into something cynical.

Where Mercury is a factor, it's helpful to look at what's happening in the Mercury-ruled signs, Virgo and Gemini. Virgo is on the 8th house of this particular chart (which means it's associated with money, banks, sponsorship and partnership). Gemini is on the 4th house -- (home base, security, father). Of the two the 8th concerns me the most; there's something dishonest about this Sun-Mercury retrograde setup. We could be looking at some sort of news about the games being rigged -- or for that matter, bungles involving news coverage itself.

The 8th in this chart also includes Libra, and there's a conjunction brewing there -- Mars and Saturn. But that conjunction doesn't happen till after the games end, so this is a setup for something that develops during the games that finally comes out when that conjunction happens. There may be a delayed reaction.

My buddy Astrodem notes that the Aquarius ascendant for this chart has an interesting Sabian symbol -- "A man who had for a time become the embodiment of a popular ideal is made to realize that as a person he is not the ideal." Translation: stern caution about performance-enhancing drugs. One Greek athlete has already been disqualified.

I think it's possible that we may see something never-before encountered from the Olympics -- a sex scandal. I am aware that the Olympic Village makes the old Studio 54 seem boring as a party spot; those kids know how to carry on, they have a ton of energy and this is their big moment. Athletes and sex go together like the ingredients of a peach melba. (As of Thursday night, long after this was written, Stephen Colbert was already doing comedy about sex and Olympic athletes.)

This newspaper headline appeared in Paris the day that London was selected to host the games -- and the day that the 7/7 false flag attacks in Tube stations and a Metro bus happened there. That felt a bit ominous. Photo by Eric Francis.

Therefore, I hope this is not a sex abuse scandal (which would translate to some form of rape). There are some dark shades to this chart (Scorpio Moon square Nessus, and opposite the Black Moon Lilith). Where there is sex, there is shadow, and we're looking right at it with that aspect. It would be lovely if we could relax and have the whole conversation -- light, shadow, body, soul; this chart is an invitation.

Last, everyone who worries is wondering about terrorism. The thing that makes me nervous is that London winning the Olympic bid was announced on July 6, 2005, and when that made news the next day, we had the 7/7 bombings in London. That was a ridiculously false flag attack (that day the police were running terrorism drills in the same four tube stations as where the bombs went off). I am not so concerned about terrorism as I am about Terrorism, Inc. -- that's to say, some kind of staged event. However, as the games begin, I can say that I don't feel that happening.

To the extent it's possible, today or any other day, this is something we can help with. Holding the whole thing in the light is a real-life exercise in creative visualization. I believe the more chatter there is in advance, the less likely that something weird will happen. The element of blindsiding the public is the essential ingredient in false flag attacks; there has to be shock value or what's the point?

Now as for all those fantastic athletes showing up from some 200 countries, who have prepared their whole lives for this event, nearly all of them in good faith -- well, let's see how they do.


Greenland Turned to Slush in Four Days

It's been a hot summer, with record temperatures, droughts and wildfires, being described as the worst since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. The American corn crop looks like it might fail as a result of the weather, which is expected to push up food prices (chickens and pigs eat corn).

Ice melt off in Greenland between July 8 and 12. This kind of thing has happened before -- but has it happened in four days? Well, it just did.

Meanwhile, a massive ice sheet covering most of Greenland has melted over a record area this year, with the melt covering 97% of the ice in just four days earlier this month. This happened between July 8 and 12. While climate change deniers say this kind of thing happens every 150 years or so, they cannot say for sure how long it took -- and four days seems pretty quick.

Though about half of the ice sheet normally melts during the summer months, the speed and scale of this year's melt was extraordinary -- the fastest in three decades of observation. One problem is that the melt off feeds on itself. Ice is white and reflects heat. When the ice melts, less heat is reflected and more ice is affected.

At its center, the ice sheet is nearly two miles thick. Melting even occurred at the Summit station, the coldest and highest place in Greenland. Ice core records show melting last occurred there in 1889. "When we see melt in places that we haven't seen before, at least in a long period of time, it makes you sit up and ask what's happening," said NASA chief scientist Waleed Abdalati.

While this kind of melt off may happen every 150 years or so, it's still alarming. The news comes just days after a massive iceberg, twice the size of Manhattan, broke off of the Petermann Glacier, one of the two main glaciers in Greenland. It's the second time in two years that parts of the Petermann Glacier have broken off after an ice island four times Manhattan's size cracked apart in August 2010.

Still, climate change deniers are on the march. One such website commenting on an expected rise of the oceans chirped, "An additional foot of sea level rise is about twice the amount the world has experienced since 1880. Our wealthier, more mobile, and more technologically advanced children's children's children should be able to adapt to it just fine."



Romney Slips on Mercury Retrograde; Bum Over Teapot in London

Mitt Romney began his international "charm offensive" with a visit to England with the perfect gaffe -- telling NBC's Brian Williams Wednesday that some of the challenges leading up to the games had been "disconcerting." Romney's resume includes overseeing the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, which he promptly outsourced to China.

Mitt Romney's astrologer forgot that Mercury was retrograde -- or left that out of the reading as sabotage. Here, Mitt is outside the famous black door at 10 Downing, speaking with reporters. Reuters photo.

"The stories about the private security firm not having enough people, the supposed strike of the immigration and customs officials -- that obviously is not something which is encouraging," the presumptive GOP nominee said.

Apparently he had not been advised that Mercury was retrograde, therefore, to be quiet and just wave at all the nice people.

His remark prompted a reply from Prime Minister David Cameron. "We are holding an Olympic Games in one of the busiest, most active, bustling cities anywhere in the world," Cameron said. "Of course it's easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere."

In later comments Romney forgot the name of British Labour Party leader Ed Miliband. Even for Romney, he was in rare form. And it gets better.

After he stepped outside the famous doors of No. 10 Downing St., the current prime minister's office, he admitted that he had been given a secret briefing with the head of MI6, the British intelligence agency. Aspiring U.S. presidents are not supposed to admit that they met with anyone in the organization, the existence of which was secret till 1994.

The Guardian asked, "Do we have a new Dubya on our hands?" Or as Howard Dean commented Thursday night on MSNBC, all that's missing from this trip is a visit to the Cayman Islands.


As News of the World Turns (and Pholus Keeps Going)

The Fall of the House of Murdoch continues in its illustration of the 'small cause, big effect' indicated by centaur planet Pholus in charts associated with this event. Two ex-editors of Rupert Murdoch's News of the World -- the original scandal sheet, profiting on the misery of others -- face 19 charges related to phone hacking, including former top executives of the company. When we covered this last year, we demonstrated how Pholus feels like a runway reaction, and predicted that this scandal would keep going for a long time.

Cover of The Guardian, one of Britain's left-leaning actual newspapers, from 2010, breaking the story of how News of the World writers hacked the phone of slain teenager Milly Dowler. After publishing her parents' anguished voicemails in the newspaper, they deleted the messages, leading her parents and police to believe she was still alive. This outraged England and sent the news across the Atlantic, forced the closure of the newspaper and has resulted in nine arrests.

Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson are among seven former members of the now-defunct British tabloid charged with conspiring to intercept communications. Between 2000 and 2006, the phones of 600 people were allegedly hacked into -- with the erasing of voicemail belonging to murdered 13-year-old Milly Dowler's phone leading to the paper's closure in July 2011. Brooks, a former chief executive of the newspaper division News International, naturally denies the charges.

Coulson, formerly British Prime Minister David Cameron's communications chief, also faces charges linked to the phone messages of Dowler and others. Check that out -- the current prime minister's former press secretary was charged criminally with hacking into the phone of a murdered girl, to sell more newspapers.

Last week Murdoch himself resigned from directorship of several subsidiaries of his News Corp, in a move announced as 'corporate housecleaning' in preparation for splitting Murdoch's newspaper holdings from his entertainment enterprises. Included in that split is FOX News which will be kept with the entertainment division. Some speculate it's more like a fire sale -- and Murdoch and his top staff are holding the matches. While many are downplaying Murdoch's resignation from his directorships as a public relations gesture, you can be sure it's a lot more meaningful to him, stepping down from leading the companies he created as the world looks on in disgust.

As we wrote of this incident last year, "Something new seems to be escaping from a structure in a way that can never be reversed: the truth of what went on behind the scenes. With Pluto in Capricorn we have the energy of the unstoppable force, combining with Pholus in Capricorn (in the natal charts of Murdoch and News of the World) to wreak havoc on one of the world's biggest companies and oldest, most established governments." What we're seeing is how the thing we rely on for supposed truth has become an instrument for disinformation and chaos. The consequences are only just beginning to clear out the whole toxic enterprise.



Groundbreaking Gay Activist was Historian of Cinema


If you have HBO or you can cozy up with a friend who does, don't miss this documentary. It's called Vito, and it's about the life of early gay activist Vito Russo, also the author of The Celluloid Closet. He was the first historian of the depiction of homosexuality in cinema, about which his book was written (covering Thomas Edison's early films up through contemporary cinema of the 1970s and early 1980s). The HBO documentary covers Russo's life as well as providing many examples of his observations about the early history of film through contemporary times.



Planet Waves FM: Pleasure, Play and Healing

Late Breaking News -- I was at Canyon Ranch in Lenox, MA this week, teaching astrology. I gave two presentations -- one on the development of the minor planets, and the other on sexuality and astrology. The links take you to high-quality recordings of the seminars. These are both designed for people without prior astrological training. -- efc

Author Sheri Winston.

This week's guest on Planet Waves FM is Sheri Winston, author of Women's Anatomy of Arousal: Secret Maps to Buried Pleasure. Our topic is pleasure, play and healing. Sheri is a gifted writer, teacher and guest and it was a real treat spending an hour hearing what she has to say. You can reach Sheri at her website.

I open the program with a recap of the news and a short summary of the astrology leading into this weekend's Mercury-Sun conjunction, which is the peak of Mercury retrograde. I also cover the Sun's aspects to Dionysus and Kassandra, which we've been writing about on this page as well.

Then we get into our conversation with Sheri, which I focus with my questions. As for Sheri's philosophy, just to give you an idea -- here is how she defines 'wholistic sexuality' on her website:

Wholistic Sexuality is about connection. First and foremost, your sexuality is about your connection with your Self -- that's your primary relationship.

Your Self includes all of you: body, mind, heart and spirit, past, present and future, genetics and environment -- everything that makes you uniquely and completely you.

Your sexuality is about who you are, not who you do (or don't) have sex with. Whatever you do or don't do -- you are a sexual being. Your sexuality is an inherent, inseparable and vital aspect of you.

I hope you'll spend some time checking out her site, and I'd love to hear any feedback about my conversation with her in this broadcast.




Monthly Horoscope for August 2012 | Eric's Zodiac Sign Descriptions

Our new zodiac glyphs are by Neisha Hirsch.

Aries (March 20-April 19) -- There's this concept from psychology that everyone would benefit from knowing about: projection. Projection is when you see your qualities, issues or challenges in another person. It's called 'projection' because it's like having a light on your forehead that shines your material onto them, rather than being anything that comes inherently from them. This kind of transaction makes relationships difficult because when it's happening, it verges on impossible for anyone to take responsibility for what is really their own, and thus open the way to have two people make their way through the world as conscious adults. This month, I suggest you listen to any accusation or claim you might make about another person and ask whether it has something to say about you. If you find yourself in any form of conflict, pause and do what's called 'withdraw your projections'. Start with taking full responsibility for being in the situation, and take ownership of your responses to it. Give others the opportunity to do the same thing, without pushing them in any way to do so; your example is enough. You're likely to discover that this reveals the conflict for what it is, and puts everyone in a position where it can be resolved. The problem with identifying projection is that it can be psychologically uncomfortable and vulnerable. It can feel weird to observe what you're doing, much less admit it. It's easier to go on projecting, which only pushes the conflict deeper. 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) -- Love is a gentle experience and needs to be handled delicately. When we say love and really feel it, I believe that most of the time what we really mean is trust. Trust is about being on level ground with someone, and sharing mutual respect. Much of what we call love exploits inequities between people. Though we're told these are economic issues, I've observed that most of them are emotionally rooted. Whose needs are 'more important' than the other's? Who is an inherently more supportive or generous person? Who can handle crisis better? I suggest that as August progresses, in matters of the heart, you go for the slow, conscious evolution process. Make sure that you're proceeding with trust first and affection second. When your affection runs ahead of your ability to trust someone, that's the moment to pause, because it's the moment when you're most likely to feel like you're out of control, and thus respond in ways that don't make sense (to you or to anyone). If your life emphasis is currently on a relationship, I suggest you take a couple of weeks and focus on your own inner emotional needs -- the ones that can only be met by growth, not by the presence of another person. Be aware of the unusual intensity that may be gathering around resolving a childhood issue centered on the theme of trust (particularly in communication). This will be far easier to resolve apart from a relationship than as the focus of one -- for example, I suggest you address it with a therapist or counselor rather than a lover or partner. 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) -- You may be inclined to push your luck in a relationship situation. This could translate a few ways, and will apply equally to established situations, new ones or ones that you are reaching for. You may want the situation to develop faster than it's currently moving, which could involve wanting someone to change or grow. You might be emphasizing the sexual aspect of a relationship when you're not quite ready for that. You may be feeling frustrated and experiencing an impulse to break free, wishing it could be with someone rather than from someone. I suggest you get clear what you're experiencing, then proceed to investigate the source of the feeling. The first question is, who is stuck? Who is experiencing inhibition? The chances are it's equally distributed among the people involved. Take ownership of your part. I also suggest you account for anger. What might look like desire is more likely to be a form of resentment, and it's likely to predate this situation -- all the more reason for you to be well-versed in the deeper roots of what you're experiencing. Last, I suggest you do a review of your relationship to risk. Go back about two years, and consider the kinds of chances you've taken, and why you've taken them. Do a little audit of how each of these has worked out, and why you think that is. The game of life is easier to play when you understand yourself, and when you stack the cards in your favor. What you learn this month will help you do both. 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 seem to be outgrowing something -- your physical space, your emotional orientation, a job, a relationship. You may be stoked and impulsive to make a sudden change, though I suggest you take a balanced approach to your situation. The change you make has to be the right change, and at the same time, it's essential to use a moment when you're really aware of what you want to change. This is the balance that you must reach, which comes down to knowing your priorities and keeping a focus on matters of timing. You may not be able to act at a moment of frustration, and it would be unwise to do so. Yet a mature person can keep a focus on what they need to shift or rearrange in their lives, and look for an opportunity to do so. At the same time, the world is changing around you, and events that take place a bit later in the year, especially in October, may provide the ideal circumstances -- or arrive with even greater changes that obviate the things you want to adjust now. That may seem like a long way off, though in truth it's right around the corner, and you may be able to get a sense of the trajectory of your life when Mars enters Scorpio later this month. You will, at least, get a taste of the territory you're going to be entering, and if you're paying attention you will learn enough to see, and address, certain obstacles well in advance of when you actually encounter them. Hello Cancer -- Eric has written a new description for your sign that you have access to from this link (no password needed). Your Cancer birthday reading is ready! It includes more than hour of astrology plus a tarot reading, and has been wildly popular (also great for Cancer rising people). Use this link to order.
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) -- The past few weeks have been an introspective time for you, and you may have gotten to know yourself in a whole new way. It seems you've made some deep commitments for how to proceed with your life; you're willing to make adjustments. Flexibility is an excellent property for you to develop, yet it's easy to have these experiences and then forget them. To remember, I suggest you begin making decisions based on what you have discovered to be true about yourself. That's the best way to reinforce learning: to use values and self-discovery as a practical tool. This will come in handy mid-month, around the time of the New Moon in your sign, when you face what seems to be an especially significant choice. If you have the feeling that this is about a relationship, you're correct, though really there are a lot more than two people involved. There is a family or a metaphorical family in the picture, and you have to be clear about how much emphasis to give their needs or their opinions. You might use Mr. Spock's analysis -- the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Or you might decide that what's best for you is best for everyone by default, because you have to be happy. In any event, this seems bigger than it really is. If you're feeling pressure, weigh and balance the two sides of the equation for a while and you will have the clarity you need. Trust that you're well-aligned with your truth. Hello Leo -- Eric has written a new description for your sign that you have access to from this link (no password needed). See below for a description of your 2012-2013 birthday reading, which is available now. Hello Leo and Leo Rising! I've finished your 2012-2013 birthday reading. This is composed of two 35-minute astrology sessions, plus a combined tarot and astrology reading. It covers all of the major astrology happening now -- with an emphasis on recovering a childhood dream. I also cover the influence on your relationships, your home environment and your finances. Astrologically this includes Mercury retrograde in your sign, the Leo New Moon, the Uranus-Pluto square, Saturn in Scorpio and more -- all in clear, easy to follow terms. This report is designed for those born with the Sun in Leo but is equally applicable for Leo rising. Visit this page to get access.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) -- Your solar chart looks like you've been having a beautiful experience of admitting to yourself what you really want, moving through often-impossible-to-access territory, as if you've been able to enter a dream consciously and ask all of the characters in that dream what they really think, and what they have to say about you. If your dream activity happens to be more prolific than normal or even if you've had one of those 'big dreams', make sure you write it down. It seems to me like you're doing some of the deepest exploration of self-acceptance in many years. There is, however, a chance that this has felt like facing all kinds of unpleasant truths about yourself or your past: things that happened to you that continue to stress you out or knock you off alance, even if in subtle ways. The solution set remains the same: this material is coming up for review and awareness, and you're situated perfectly to go into those places that you may have never accessed. If you seem to be stalking 'the truth' or if it seems to be stalking you, it's not as dangerous or disturbing in reality as it may be in your imagination. In any event to resolve the material, or even to find out what it is, you have to bring awareness there. I will say this: what happened to you in the past matters, and it influences your life more than you may think. That is, until you do something about it. 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) -- When the time comes to break free from your shell, do it gently. Given the astrology of the past month -- particularly, Mars in your sign after spending eight months in one of the most introspective angles of your chart -- you seem determined not just to think independently but be independent. Yet going back longer than this, you've been struggling with the authority principle: you simply don't want other people setting your limits, telling you what to do, or rearranging your boundaries for you. And, after spending a lot of time dealing with various shades of lurking fear, you've started to adjust the circumstances in your life to reflect this basic truth. As the astrology of August develops, you'll discover that you're not done making changes -- though as you consider your situation, I suggest you reflect on two things. One is the extent to which you're adjusting your inner psychological and emotional landscape rather than the world around you. You're in a challenging maturing process that, at the moment, is compelling you to see that in truth you live your life from the inside out. It's not always so obvious and there's plenty of evidence to the contrary, though as you strive to set yourself free from someone or something, remember that most of what you're liberating yourself from is from you. Second idea -- that something is a past concept of who you are. The past is gone, though now you're finally challenging one of its most enduring emotional artifacts. 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) -- Commitment is a dance, rather than a fixed entity. In our quest for permanence in a world that seems to change ever-faster every day, there's an idea that commitment is about grafting yourself to someone or something in a way that will never change. When you dance with someone, you hold them intentionally but gently, and with enough flexibility to move, and to let go and rejoin in another configuration. I suggest that this is the way to think of your relationships. Remember too that there are two things happening: one is the relationship or arrangement, and then there are your ideas about it. Your ideas will tend to dominate your reality, often obscuring the actual experience they're supposed to be describing. The good news is that your ideas are flexible, as are you -- and that's your most useful asset this month. Probing a bit deeper, you seem to be unraveling a question: what is your point of contact with another person? What's the basis of the relationship? Is it a conscious healing process, or is it an obsession with wounding? Is it an experience of emotional exchange, or is it more like a projection? Often one of these will masquerade for the other. This phenomenon is something worth investigating, even if you think you've gone down that road before. Your ability to take command of your life, something you now seem determined to do, depends on your knowing and understanding the difference -- and using the information consciously. 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) -- Your relationships are like seeing your reflection in one of those mirrors that magnifies whatever you're looking at, which in this case is yourself. Relationships tend to reveal our inner nature to both parties. However, what we see reflected is usually mistaken for some property of the other person involved. Though this may have an element of truth, I suggest you do an experiment where you take full ownership of whatever personal material you're presented with. Mainly I mean your responses to someone, the choices you make, the words you say, and the ways you feel about yourself -- in the context of the relationship. I am proposing that you assume this is all about you -- not about anyone else. In case you're inclined to be self-critical (a quality of your sign that's described only in the fine print), remember that who you truly are is a lot more than the tally of your faults and your assets. Who you are exists alongside those qualities, though you are not them, no matter how much you may feel like it. One of the happier challenges you have now is to relate to others as that 'who you really are' factor rather than all of the details -- and when you do that, it's what you will feel mirrored back to you. The key to this is not to get distracted by judgment of any kind. This may seem like walking across coals, though at the moment, you have plenty of support. 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) -- Handle issues involving authority like you're on the bomb squad. Rule one is, assume the thing is real. You don't want to provoke any conflicts with anyone who has authority over you, such as traffic cops, the IRS or your boss. If you're in a position of authority, carefully mind your ethics, your sense of fairness and most of all, your boundaries. If you practice a policy of holding the line, you will know where the line is. This is vital information if you find yourself arriving at a situation where you have to cross a boundary of some kind, exceed your authority or stand up to someone because the ethics of the situation demand that you do so. Do not do this casually or unconsciously. Rather, hold off on using this particular expression of power for when it's clear that it's your best (but not your only) option. That may happen once and once only in the next month. Meanwhile, if you feel anything like this brewing, I have one other suggestion. Additional information that may influence your thinking will emerge after Mercury stations direct on Aug. 8, and a second revelation is coming with the New Moon of Aug. 17. In the situation you're in, knowledge is power, and you don't have to impress anyone in order for that power to work. Your primary job is to know the facts, and to see the patterns develop as more information becomes available -- which it will. Till then, bide your time. 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) -- Pay attention to everything in your life that seems to be running in a cycle. There are two kinds of cycles to watch for. One is when something keeps happening repeatedly, such as the sensation that you keep having a similar kind of experience because you don't 'get the lesson'. The second is when you're involved in a series of events wherein one thing leads to another -- and the buck stops with you. When you have experiences like this, it can be frustrating and distracting, though apropos of your current astrology, it can shake your faith in your ability to make long-term plans and carry them out. You might feel like you're involved in a pattern that specifically makes believe that something you can envision and want to work for is unavailable to you. This is the time to challenge your beliefs, rather than feel like you're limited by them. One indication that you might be up against a belief that you want to challenge is that you're angry, though the anger isn't directed at any one person. It's more like being 'angry at God'. This is another way of saying 'angry at existence', which I would say is a fertile state of mind -- the kind of mental or emotional space where you know you want to make a change, but you may not be sure what change you want to make. Perhaps this question will help. You are someone who lives with a purpose, but do you have a mission? 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) -- Many have commented on the dualistic nature of Pisces -- you know, the two fish swimming in opposite directions, though connected to one another. This property runs deep in you, though it has its origins in the angle of your chart occupied by Gemini, the angle involving security and your emotions -- which aligns with the sign of the twins. For the past 18 months or so, you've been making special progress resolving various splits within your emotional body. As you've done this, you've encountered those inner divisions in a more direct way, with the purpose for this being recognizing your situation and doing something about it. Now, you're starting to see that these divisions that dominated your life for so long are beginning to heal. Elements of your nature that seemed to oppose one another are now more harmonious. Your living spaces are starting to feel more like you want them to feel, and you're more at home there -- the most significant living space being your presence within your own skin. There's a real gift here for you, as you embark on a time when you're much more likely to be in harmony with yourself than at odds with yourself. You will save time and energy, it'll be easier to determine what you want -- and to pursue that specific thing. And there is most certainly something that you want, which is the feeling of a settled life and a true home. The more you feed your passion for this, the more realistic it will seem as a creative goal. Hello Pisces -- Eric has written a new description for your sign that you have access to from this link (no password needed).