Japan and Madison: Uranus Makes Its Move
Dear Friend of Planet Waves,

As we were going to press, we got news of the huge earthquake in Japan just in time to include an early report of its astrology in the subscriber issue that went out this morning. The chart has some very interesting points, including links to the Aug. 11, 1999 total solar eclipse and the charts for Sept. 11 and the Banda Aceh earthquake. Eric's coverage of this event is also available on the Planet Waves blog, where we will continue to update coverage.

The earthquake is clearly linked to today's big astrological move: Uranus is leaving Pisces and entering Aries, where it will stay for the next seven years. Uranus is a pretty charged planet in any case, and now it is moving into one of the hottest points in the whole zodiac: the first degree of Aries, known as the Aries Point. Eric writes, "Bringing Uranus into such a prominent place as the first degree of the zodiac amplifies its influence, and Uranus is already pretty hot: its characteristics include fast, surprising developments; future-oriented thinking; moments of revolution; and shocking surges of awareness."

In fact, we've been discussing these very themes quite a lot lately in the context of the uprisings in the Middle East, North Africa and now Madison, WI. We're seeing "shocking surges of awareness" all over the news, and for some, what counts as 'the news' is coming closer and closer to home. People in Wisconsin are not the only ones being urged to wake up and take action -- we're all feeling this astrology; we're all part of this current moment. The cultural forces trying to keep the status quo are pushing down on all of us, and the astrological forces are urging all of us upward into our highest selves.

We're in transition to a mode of existence that some will make with more eagerness than others, and what we're seeing in Madison is, in part, the clash between those who get it and those who don't; or rather, between those with 'power' and an oppressive agenda and those resisting that agenda to progress toward the new. Those progressing toward the new are the ones harnessing true power, and Eric's lead article in today's issue breaks this down, bringing the events in Madison -- which most of us are watching remotely -- into contact with the individual lives of each and every one of us. Eric tells the story of Uranus in Aires on a personal level in Wednesday's free podcast, focusing on "individual change based on a visualization process." You can listen to that here. Uranus is bringing real electricity to the idea that "the personal is political," and we have some choice in how we engage in our present to create our future.

Yours & truly,

Amanda Painter