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March 31, 2006 | More on Retrogrades ACTUALLY I noticed the time period between December 2005 and March 2006 when I was working on Bridge to the Core. At that point, I was very glad it was a year away. Today, I am happy it's behind us. Of course, Mars retrograde in Taurus was at that point only six months away. And that looked formidable. But alas, we have come out on the other side, for the most part no worse for the wear, and a lot smarter. Retrograde inner planets are some of the most challenging experiences in astrology, at least in my experience. But like any astrological process, they represent a vital time of clearing, review, changing the patterns of our lives, and making decisions. Extreme emphasis is placed on one house and one sign (though sometimes they cross over to the their neighboring house and sign) and that allows, indeed, compels us to focus. In a sense, we get inner planets acting a lot more like outer planets, because they move so slowly and spend so much time in stationary position. Outer planets do this all the time. They are so far away that their retrogrades occur every year for much of the year, and we are accustomed to that feeling of slow, agonizing stationary non-movement as part of their normal process. For sure, I think that the outer planets would be a lot more challenging to deal with if they went faster. Taking it slow gives us time to get a handle on the issues, feelings, subject matter and the potentials we're being offered. The stage now shifts to some pretty significant outer planet events, principally the next approach of Saturn opposite Neptune. We have begun that process, which arrived with news like the big hurricanes last year, but also a general slow, gradual Neptune-styled awakening. I think for our era, Saturn opposite Neptune may be just what the cosmic doctor ordered. Neptune in Aquarius has most definitely been for the most part a long phase dominated by the drugs of television and religion. Add a little Saturn in Leo to that, and you get something solid; something meaningfully individual; something with a bit of substance. For those curious about retrograde planets, here is a compilation. Overview of retrogrades from Astrology Secrets Revealed: http://planetwaves.net/cainer/archive/002540.php And four more entries that cover the subject: http://planetwaves.net/cainer/archive/004100.php http://planetwaves.net/cainer/archive/003480.php http://planetwaves.net/cainer/archive/003310.php http://planetwaves.net/cainer/archive/002550.php Thursday, March 30 | The Swarm Passes WITH ANY LUCK we have all survived the combination of an Aries Point eclipse and mercury stationing direct more or less unscathed. Events of the past week wrap up a seemingly endless swarm of relentless planetary changes. Most notably, we have lived through an enormous spell of inner planet retrogrades that go back to last summer when (of course, in the middle of a Mercury retrograde) Mars entered Taurus and started warming up its retrograde in that sign, which it finally left behind for this cycle in February; in the midst of which it covered about half the sign in reverse before stationing direct at the end of last year. Mars is not retrograde very often, and it's not an energy we grow accustomed to as a result. Mars is retrograde (not counting shadow phases) 9.4% of the time. Two weeks later, in late December, Venus turned retrograde while making an exact conjunction to Chiron. Venus is retrograde even less than Mars, just 7.2% of the time. The Venus retrograde, which spanned Aquarius back to mid Capricorn, stretched until early March by my reckoning (when it began covering new territory in Aquarius). During that fairly long time, we experienced several Mercury retrogrades, with the most recent one ending March 25. Personal planets really are personal. They are tangible and palpable and you know they are up to something. And this nonstop run of inner planets throttling into reverse one after the next, sometimes two at a time, has been pretty darned special. In addition, last summer, Saturn entered the sign Leo. This is a big deal in part because Saturn changing signs always is -- and because Saturn in Leo is particularly heavy duty. In Astrology Secrets Revealed, I published information about the phenomenon of levees breaking and, soon enough, "Hurricane Katrina" became something new under the Sun, followed by "Hurricane Rita." But the obvious metaphor for physical levees breaking is stuck areas in our lives giving way to something different. In addition, over the past few months a variety of Centaur planets -- the earlier ones, which we're more familiar with, including Chiron, Pholus and Nessus -- all took up residency in new signs (much about this in the archives from both 2004, 05 and 06). Like bookends around this phase were the eclipses of late summer 2005 (annular solar eclipse of Sept. 3) and the total solar eclipse yesterday. True, a lot of this stuff was in motion by September, but that was the acceleration point. And it's sure been interesting -- take a moment and recount both personal history and world history during this phase from September till now. It seems like yesterday but so much has happened. I would dare say that despite the turbulence and chaos, and certain people doing their best to take advantage of it, it's been a productive time. Yesterday the energy shifted with a decisive thrust forward: a total eclipse on the Aries Point. We are out of this retrograde phase of personal history and the resounding message is that the future has arrived. Retrogrades emphasize the past, and what is internalized. Aries emphasizes the present, and what is expressed. The thing about eclipses like this is that once they start expressing themselves, they don't often stop. And the thing with activity on the Aries Point is that (in my experience) it's predictable that something is brewing -- but we're never quite sure what that is. These examples include the Sept. 11 incident, the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, where there was plenty of activity on the Aries Point in the weeks leading into that event. Just remember, one man's mystery is another man's conspiracy. Speaking of -- I thought this was entertaining. http://www.nymag.com/news/features/16464/index.html March 29 | Eclipse Pause THE 3/29 eclipse is within hand's reach. I think that the events of the past week or so have revealed some of the direction of things. I just got off the phone with someone in New Paltz who told me there is a peace conference happening in Turkey, in the path of totality; this is the only Middle Eastern country where both Jews and Arabs are welcome. The ground is rumbling and I hear the sound of people finding their voices. Remember, as Patric Walker would say, "The stars in their courses may guide us, but it is we ourselves who must row the boat." Eclipses are above all moments where we may shift the continuity -- that is, seek and find something different; make a choice; embark on a future different than the past. I don't think there is anybody who doesn't want something different, and this is a moment of choosing. To that end, I would summon the assistance of the gods and the saints, of our ancestors who want only the best for us, of Master Chiron and all our mentors of astrology, of Lord Krishna, Radha the wise, Allah, Jesus and the Masters of the Great White Lodge, Buddha the inner teacher, Amma, Yogananda, and all those who work with us in the light: please stand guard over our lives and our planet at this moment of decision. Yet more than that, I know that at the core of humanity is the light of fairness, love and freedom, and it is this spirit we need to reach within ourselves more than anything. It's the spirit of creation and healing that we are endowed with that we need to reach and let guide us through these crucial years of our history. It doesn't have a name but I know you feel it. From The Great Invocation:
And from Jerry: March 28 | Linking the Issues I RECEIVED an email from one of those Planet Waves readers who is a news hawk yesterday. We have a few of them and it's a lot of fun to know they are out there, scouring the issues and putting together the mosaic of reality. She was annoyed that last weekend's protests were over a proposed immigration law that is likely to fail anyway. She felt it would have been nice if that energy had been vented in he direction of something more important, like the war; I get the point. Personally when I saw news about the protest being over immigration, I thought wow that's pretty cool, this is a pretty subtle issue. People are standing up for the rights of others to be in the United States -- to keep it an open society. I immediately made the connection between this and Iraq. I see the war as part of a larger ethnic issue involving Muslims. This goes back a long way, but when I first heard "pro war" Americans referring to Muslims by derogatory names during Bush War I, that's when I got the message that something else was going on. If it was really true that Saddam was a threat to the legitimate feudal monarchy of Kuwait, why would we need to also stir up anger at individual people who live in those countries? Well, the answer is, it works to keep that violent spirit going. The proposed immigration law protested last weekend may, in theory, be aimed at Mexicans, but you can be sure it's really aimed at Muslims. It's always good to keep your eye on the large and larger agendas that are in play. I say this realizing that there are a lot of people out there who really do believe that 'Muslim' and 'terrorist' are synonyms. So, I see the link behind the scenes, even though it's not being mentioned. But what I really saw in that photo on the cover were a lot of people. And for whatever reason they were there, I assure you that's what they were seeing in the White House as well. A lot of people is a lot of people. The issue does not matter because the issue can always change. And in this particular case, as I see it, the issue is very germane to one of the larger issues of the Iraq war, which is racism. It takes time for movements to learn how to link the issues themselves. It's beautiful when it happens because so much more energy and sense of common ground are created. So many more people are included. And in truth there really is just one issue, which is social justice. The war in Iraq is the master issue. It is for the Big Boys, too -- because with that as the drum to pound on, all manner of other injustices can be pumped up and made into necessities -- like how to cut the budget, how to saddle the country with debt so that no money goes back to the people, how to keep the banks rich, and the arms dealers, and everyone else for whom national debt is personal profit. March 27, 2006 | Different Season The hammer of the gods PERHAPS it's a miracle, or maybe just the American people showing a pulse after half a decade of atrocities by their government -- but there were massive protests in western cities this week, aimed at legislation passed by the House of Representatives that would make it a felony for an immigrant to be in the United States illegally. It was one of the largest demonstrations in Los Angeles in years, with official estimates of 500,000 citizens pouring into the streets, and this was bolstered by protests of more than 50,000 in Phoenix and 10,000 in Dallas -- neither city being a gay marriage granola stronghold. Pretty encouraging developments as the Aries Point eclipse approaches on Wednesday. In addition, Paris is set to explode into a new round of protests this week, and the country seems on the verge of a national strike designed to stop the government from taking away employment rights from youth under the age of 26. I would be reluctant to be too enthusiastic about these developments -- since the amazing F-15 protests of 2003 fizzled out in about five minutes -- however, coming as these are with astrological developments that raise the energy level and start a whole new cycle of experience, that's another story entirely. Indeed, this week's total solar eclipse is the answer to the June 21, 2001 total solar eclipse that gave us the Sept. 11 attacks and the military coup that allowed for the takeover of the U.S. government by the Neocon cabal. Remember this in case you're wondering if eclipses mean anything. What that eclipse had going for it was precision -- it was on the first day of summer, four days into summer. And if you're a creep, you would want to capitalize on an eclipse in a water sign because you can keep things quiet longer. What this one has going for it is Aries, which can't keep nothin' quiet. And it's close enough to the first day of spring to count solidly as Aries Point territory, which is astrology shorthand for "full throttle" or as I call it, The Personal is Political. The Sun's cycle is building, as the days are growing longer here in the north. And while Cancer lacks no energy, Aries is the ignition key to the physical plane. If wanted to summon some energy, I would pick a fire sign any day. Imagine for a moment that every person who was at one of these marches represents five people who were aware of the issue, or wish they could be there. It may actually be more than that. Note that this was also the first time there were mass protests in the United States since the Republican National Committee met in the summer of 2004. Those were impressive, but mainly local to New York City. And they, too, were smothered out by the utterly depressing loss of the election to Bush and the Neocons. Today, we are in a different season. There have been three bitter and disgusting years of war, with a mounting death toll on both sides, and an outrageous price tag that our grandchildren will still be paying off. Congress, thanks to the revelations of Jack Abramoff, makes the pigs at the trough metaphor seem quaint. Today, the lies are transparent and anger is starting to ferment. And we can be sure that a lot of people have been holding in a lot of that anger for a long time. I'll tell ya, when that's the case, there are few things more fun than parading around the streets on a spring day drumming, bashing pots and pans or screaming your head off. Or taking a few pictures. March 25, 2006 | Oil Drilling in the Grand Canyon? EVERY NOW AND THEN I read something that explains it all. But not so often. Maybe once every 20 years. I read something yesterday that fit that description, which was distributed by Jude to Political Waves, so maybe you read it. The article, from Rolling Stone, is called "How To Be a Lobbyist Without Really Trying." It explains, in one article, what condition Congress is in; why they do not actually do anything; why they don't act on any issues; why nothing seems to matter. Well, it's all a game of pretend. And there seems to be no limit to how far you can push it. Yet to say that this is just about Congress or the political community would be to miss the point. We live in a society that facilitates and supports precisely this kind of thing. Getting out of it is not going to involve changing a government, it's going to involve reconsidering how we relate to one another, and taking a step out of our fantasies into reality. Here's a glimpse into a creepy world, but I don't think I've laughed so hard reading an article in months on end. http://snipurl.com/o4j5 March 24, 2006 | An Intriguing Week TALES OF INTRIGUE are coming in from the four corners of the Planet Waves coverage area. There is an atmosphere of sudden change and transformation in the air. Layers are peeling off the Big Lie, not to mention small and medium lies; it's been quite a while since I've seen anything vague resembling this. Mercury retrograde (now stationing direct, in its phase of maximum emphasis or focus) in Pisces is proving to be a little too slick even for some masters of the game, and fresh air is competing with the fog machine. My astrological advice is to carry a little bag of sand in your pocket, and when in doubt, throw some on the floor. Have I ever mentioned that I carry a flashlight all the time? I used to carry one only at night. And I had this little joke I made up to go with it. I would say to people, "Hey, do you know why I carry a flashlight?" Nearly everyone says, um, no. Then I would say, "Because it's dark at night." I liked this joke because it feels rather existential...like, it reveals a basic property of life on Earth that many people miss and don't prepare for. However, on a number of occasions, having a flashlight in my pocket (the newer LED matrix kind, efficient and also very bright, with a slightly purple hue) has come in handy during the day. You know, like if you suddenly descend into a basement where the lights don't work and then you can actually see where you're going, or if you're trying to read a cereal box in a parking garage. A flashlight is one of my metaphors for Chiron. It allows light to be brought into dark areas, or clarity into foggy ones. Chiron is a factor in the current planetary equation because it aspects the eclipse precisely and is making many aspects to planets...giving us a good clear look into Aquarius, which has been missing for a while; and it provides us with concrete documentation of what we need to know, usually, right when we need to know it. Chiron is a factor with impeccable timing. He must have been a drummer, too. When you're thinking of Chiron, remember: there are always documents. This is a Virgo factor much of the time, and Virgo keeps neat files and thrives on the details. In essence, with so much Pisces in the air, attending to the finer points is the only way to go. And in the modern world, just about everything winds up on tape or in digital format, or both. For example, did everyone read the transcript of Helen Thomas going after George Bush earlier this week? It's super short, it's officially documented, and it's fun, in a twisted way because it involves Iraq and nothing that involves Iraq is fun, but here we can see what happens when the big cheese starts to really slip his clutch. Helen Thomas has been covering the White House since about the time of Roosevelt. She is the senior White House correspondent and probably the last real one on the job. You cannot fool her. And at age 80-something, she really doesn't care what anybody thinks, especially a little backwater twerp in a suit. http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/032206A.shtml Note the pressure he seems to be under. Note how he is losing his ability to Be Cool, such as he had it. What you see in this transcript is what cool covers up. I've tried a few times to explain the combination of an approaching solar eclipse combined with a Mercury station (in Pisces) and the two rulers of Pisces in a long, seemingly endless square aspect. Today is March 24, a Friday. Wednesday, March 29 is the eclipse -- and no ordinary eclipse at that. This is a total solar on the Aries Point, and we are approaching it very quickly. The fact that it occurs 8 degrees from the Aries Point doesn't matter -- that's not so far, and it's in an exact sextile to Chiron. There has been nothing like this eclipse since June 21, 2001. The week leading into a big solar eclipse can feel like gas getting compressed in a cylinder. The piston presses...and presses...and then Bang, the power is released. But the Pisces factor is putting that pressure on the truth itself. Pisces is the sign of fog, fantasy and dreams, but it's also the sign of what you might call ultimate truths, or the ones that matter. One must respect the energy of Pisces like children who grow up on the coast, and mariners, are taught to respect the ocean. A beach may be nice and cozy, with ice cream and pretty people, but the ocean is larger than you, there are tides and undertows, and suddenly you can wind up in very deep water without realizing how you got there. And a lot of people who go out in small crafts wind up in trouble with storms blowing in. Alternately, if you use Mercury, your seacraft, and you have awareness, and you look at the weather and see how many of those triangular red flags are flying, and you bring your chart, and you don't underestimate the sea, you can move around pretty smoothly. But the ocean is still the ocean. To her, you're very small, and hey, you would make good fish food. So when a lot is happening in Pisces, it's best to pay attention, watch the tide, and hey with Mercury stationing, one cannot communicate too well or too clearly; one needs to make sure one is understood, that one speaks in clear terms, and understanding what others are saying, and that agreements are clear, and mutually understood. Because they matter a lot now. March 23, 2006 | Blog Pause! Hey there -- just wanted to mention to regular readers of my blog that I'm taking a day or two of. Lots of writing in progress...so stay tuned... e March 22, 2006 | Light and Dark DRIVING home on a long car trip today, my first experience driving in nearly a year, I stated telling my traveling partner stories I knew from offbeat mythologies. As I was rambling along, ignited by a sudden plunge into Paris rush hour traffic, a story from the Urantia Book came up. I told it as best I remembered it: the story of the first two human beings. What the Urantia Book is, who actually wrote it, and how it came into being is a long story. But essentially, the material is presented by angelic or higher-dimensional entities in a series of papers which have been collected into a book. The Urantia Book relates in some detail the history of our world (which it tells us is really called Urantia), the history of the local and larger universe, and the life and teachings of Jesus. The historical paper covering the first human beings was purportedly presented by an entity called a "Life Carrier." Andon and Fonta, the first two human beings, are, according to this work, the missing link. This link did not involve a skull that an anthropologist would find, but rather the decision to be human, and the emotonal and intellectual capacity to be so. They were a pair of twins, male and female, who were the first people to fall in love and communicate in language. They lived a little less than 100,000 years ago, and were the offspring of compassionate, not-so-very-bright, forest dwelling primates. Let's pick up the story of the founders of the human race in the Life Carrier's own words: 708§6 62:5.8 When about nine years of age, they journeyed off down the river one bright day and held a momentous conference. Every celestial intelligence stationed on Urantia, including myself, was present as an observer of the transactions of this noontide tryst. On this eventful day they arrived at an understanding to live with and for each other, and this was the first of a series of such agreements which finally culminated in the decision to flee from their inferior animal associates and to journey northward, little knowing that they were thus to found the human race. I offer this story as an illustration of something else: Note that there are limits set on the extent to which divine intervention in human affairs is permissible. Entities serving the light cannot arbitrarily influence the decisions of human beings. They can guide, assist and inspire, but our decisions are our own. Put in plain terms, God does not control us. That means we decide where to place our allegiances, and whether to act on what we discern. In this sense, our free will is the most important instrument of divinity. And, when a decision is made by us, it is really our own, and represents an actual step and many times crucial in our development. What I will politely call the 'dark side' does not work this way. Direct intervention and manipulation happen all the time. It is possible to yield one's free will entirely, and even to have it seized -- though usually it would appear that considerable cooperation is involved. In either case, the issue is specifically that free will is not honored. What I will kindly call 'liberties' are taken and in a very real sense control over human affairs can be seized away from those either willing to yield their autonomy or their conscience, or those who are incautious in their decisions, associations and actions. Others are actually preyed upon unwittingly. In my mind, this accounts for the vast differences between the effects and actions of what we think of as good and evil, particularly how long the light side takes to get its boots on before darkness has walked halfway around the world, to borrow an old phrase. We who seek to heal and love need to muster the inner strength to make up our minds and contribute positively and creatively to the world -- and this does indeed take time. This is because our free will is respected by those beings who observe and guide us, and, it would seem that looked at one way, learning to use our free will is the whole purpose of existence. Where manipulation, possession, forfeiture of responsibility, subjugation of others, subservience to objectives we really do not hold, and so on and on, are all fair game, then it's possible to be a lot more 'effective' a lot quicker. After all, there are no rules. In many ways, the first and only decision we make is whether we will honor our own free will, or not. Many people are hung up for decades and indeed for many lifetimes before they learn to make decisions, or to free themselves even from voluntary bonds. Making decisions involves seeing options; there is a perceptual ability that's prerequisite. As A Course in Miracles suggests, we learn to see through contrasts. Seeing what we do not want is critical because we can then make an actual decision. And lately, we are getting plenty of that. March 21, 2006 | Chumped ETHICALLY, we have a kind-of 'out' as regards the Iraq invasion: it was fraud. Fraud involves the actions of the perpetrator, rather than the actions of the victim. Basically, at least under United States federal law as I understand it, you have a right to be told the truth; those representing a product or service have an obligation to tell the truth, and to warn you of danger, or of potential danger. If someone lies to you intentionally, or conceals a danger they know about, or should know about, and that hurts you in some way, they have committed a kind of a crime (called an intentional tort). That is called fraud. There are all kinds of fraud. Most of the games are actually very old. But you don't have a responsibility to know about them in advance. I also realize that the federal government is not covered by its own fraud law. But if a well respected body of law applies to toasters, it should apply to a situation where we put our trust in the hands of government officials on life and death issues. At least we can discuss it in theory. Put in plain language, when it came to Iraq, we were chumped. I speak as a society; I recall the Feb. 15 protests where millions of people poured into the streets around the world a month before. Let's assume those people represented a minority of the population, a minority of public opinion. Let's pretend that 51% is what counts, whether informed or not, and they are the ones who got fooled. All the elements of fraud are present in this situation. Knowing falsehoods were told -- to government officials, to the United Nations, to the media, to Congress and most importantly, to the people of the Western world. Lots of people fell for it. Some of the smartest people I know fell for it. The lies were told intentionally; there was damage done. Politics is an area of expertise like plastic compound engineering, requiring years of study or, alternately, extremely sharp instincts and fairly deep contact with one's own dark side plus a heck of a lot of experience; and I am fully aware that this lack of basic knowledge, or ability to sense an extremely dark agenda or really huge lies, and general goodwill in people, is what was taken advantage of in the march to war in Iraq -- this, and a lot of fear pumped out around the clock for many months. Ala, brainwashing. Now, it's all turned out to be a lie and we have a big mess and a lot of people are getting hurt, and our faith has been violated. And at the core of the issue is fraud. We could well ask when our responsibility begins. Let's use the federal fraud statute as an example. Under this law, you have one year to bring your lawsuit from the time you figured out what happened, and can prove it. For up to year, it's your responsibility to straighten things out by bringing a suit; and after that, you have given your approval. The courts are not casual about when that one year starts to toll, because fraud is defined as a "self-concealing crime." However, in our case, the fraud has been exposed. Over and over again. And time is going by. In applying my seven or so Aquarius planets to this issue, I come up with this analysis. There are a lot of people who are embarrassed that they were chumped, and who don't want to admit it, or who are angry at themselves for having been taken advantage of. Totally understandable. By people, I mean individuals, as well as people in the media, which is actually a lot more serious and another issue entirely. It's an embarrassing feeling, to admit you were fooled with an old trick, manipulated, and having had one's basic lack of expertise on a technical issue like national security plied upon by religious hucksters putting images of mushroom clouds in our heads. Okay, now we know -- and then what? March 20 | Three Years I REMEMBER seeing my first anti-Iraq invasion protest in the summer of 2002, driving through Seattle one Sunday afternoon. It was a long, long march of people through the quiet streets of a neighborhood I happened to be passing through, thousands protesting something that had not yet begun and which I could not really believe would happen. I could not imagine a lie so big. That was one year after the Sept. 11 incident, which was used as a huge and disgusting grandstand for the invasion. Everyone from the top of government to the lowest White House reporter, if you ask them outright, will tell you that Iraq had nothing to do with Sept. 11 and yet that was the justification. Over and over again, the point was made, and is still being made, that Iraq was to blame for Sept. 11. It wasn't, but it was. It was, but it wasn't, really. Three years later, all the invasion of Iraq has brought is death, pain, misery, shattered families, fear, staggering national debt and profit for military contractors. And it may be the justification for the next war, if -- as seems to be the agenda -- Iran is the next country on the list to get bombed. To the extent that every single rationale for the invasion has been exposed as a lie, there are still people who will cling to those excuses by their fingernails. I remember going out one night in Seattle that autumn and talking to a friend I knew back in New York, a woman who was an activist and an idealist, and she said we needed to bomb Iraq because it would be good for women's rights; that Saddam had been mean to women. Today there are fewer people who will believe anything at all. Fewer, but not enough. Today there are more people who just cannot take the pain of this situation, who feel for every family that has lost a son or daughter, or two, or more; for everyone who has lost a parent or a husband or wife. There are more people who feel the pain of the lie that we are "spreading democracy" in Iraq. More, but not enough. To me, the deepest pain of this situation is the pain of my conscience. It is the pain of being an American and feeling personally responsible for what is happening, and that feeling is born of the deep belief that I hold that I am responsible for my country's actions. Yet what really shuts me down is the denial and silence that allows the war to persist. I agonize over the lies I read in the media -- lies which influence people to believe lies and to support endless murder for profit, but justified as some glorious policy. Am I dreaming? Am I not giving people credit? Is there some huge national or global uprising that I am missing? Some major newspaper crusading for peace and justice? Am I the one in denial? Must I accept that "these things take time"? I am also aware that I refuse to take any kind of mystical perspective on this grotesque situation. I cannot chalk it up to "a lesson for humanity." I cannot let it go with "this war is not real because God did not make it." I do not have the capacity to believe that somebody's God is going to intervene. I am disgusted to the point of nausea at that kind of condescending piety. And perhaps it is my lack of spiritual evolution, my lacking any trace of Zen detachment, the failure of my optimism, or the Devil getting me to lower my perception into that gutter where I feel the pain of people who are being murdered by my government, but I cannot stand back and let it all be. I cannot be silent, and I refuse to be silent. But I really don't know what to do, except to speak from my heart and my conscience. And not put on a uniform, or pick up a gun, or declare someone an enemy because of their religion or nationality. I don't know what to do except flatly refuse to believe the endless lies that spill from the fetid mouths and the dark, suspicious eyes of people I have a hard time accepting are human, but in whom I feel that I must somehow see the humanity. To say that the conduct of the United States in Iraq has thrown me into full-on spiritual crisis for three years would be an understatement. This holocaust, and the extent that deception about it is being perpetuated, has nearly drowned my faith. I know we have the power to stop it, but I just don't see that happening. Believing it's wrong is not enough. Feeling sorry for the people who we have killed is not enough. And I don't believe that having faith that "everything will be alright" is enough, either. So, three years after the United States, and yes, its accomplice England, attacked, invaded and occupied Iraq, with no justification and using fabricated evidence and with no regard for the humanity under its falling bombs, its depleted uranium shells and its phosphorous weapons, I feel paralyzed to do anything but express how I feel and tell the truth to the extent I know it. For the next three days, we're going to do that in photographs of fallen American and British servicemen and women. The point of portraying images only of coalition deaths is not to dishonor the Iraqis who have died or had their bodies and minds maimed. Anyone who opposes this war is fully aware of that vast, incalculable cost. Rather, the idea is that war is about national boundaries, our alleged defense, and the claim of national sovereignty. If that is the case, then let's glimpse at the human cost "we" have paid as Americans, in fulfillment of any claim of patriotism we may make -- remembering that every one of these photos depicting an American was, at one time, censored by the U.S. government. The war in Iraq is not about politics, terrorism, national policy, security, oil or any of the other hollow excuses that have been trumped up. All that it's about, in the end, is the consequences, and the price we are paying every day with our hearts and our souls. How much longer, and why? Planet Waves is a breath of newness that weaves a golden thread between the worlds of Inner and Outer. It is a necessary gift to the growing consciousness. Planet Waves is a Socio-spiritual "Motion" rather than a "new age movement." It is a wisdom school for those who live between the Already and the Not Yet, for those who deeply feel that we are all, indeed, One and forever interconnected in spirit, matter, energy, and truth. Planet Waves is a juncture of spiritual dialogue, political astuteness, intentionality, and creative, soul-full, expression! I have found a wayword Home at Planet Waves, I have had my soul fed, my heart softened, my hope renewed, and my eyes opened through the power of Planet Waves. Spiritually integrated, community motivated, socially demonstrated, and cosmically oriented...Planet Waves! -- Reader comment, submitted Sunday Sunday, March 19 | Of Necessities and Luxuries A Sermon offered by the Rev. Eric Francis, DD, BA, Uncertified Astrologer and former baseball card collector. To My Dear, Dear Flock, THANK YOU for coming to church on Sunday morning, the Church of Marketing here in the Holy Land of Capitalism. I know you could be doing much more interesting things right now, like eating a delicious Extra Value Meal at McDonald's, or shopping at Walmart. But grease is bad for you and Mercury is retrograde so it's better if you don't buy superdupersize fries or a brand new DVD player today. Today, I am pleased to inform the congregation of a revelation: Planet Waves is taking marketing more seriously. We are conducting an in-depth study to figure out where our subscription revenues come from, as well as going gangbusters to get my writing into magazines in England. Of course, the answer to the first question is simple: We are supported by you! All the Planet Waves projects you see anywhere, from this Web site to Astrology Secrets to the weekly mailings, are supported by our subscribers. Thank you, thank you, thank you. As part of this program, the discussion has come up: Is Planet Waves a luxury or a necessity? Astrology walks on the edge of this distinction. People look to it for wisdom when times are a little tricky or difficult; but it's a source of 'entertainment' for many. The articles that Planet Waves distributes can be counted as an intellectual luxury -- or as necessary bits of information in confusing times of world transition. I personally understand that everyone can do without an astrology publication, or an astrology news publication (such as we really are) -- but I would say that in times of moral tribulation like we are in, reliable viewpoints are the most important things you can have. Notice I did not and never will say that we present the objective truth, but at least you know what you are getting and who is providing it. At Planet Waves, there is always somebody to commend, complain to, or send information to. Try doing that with NBC television. Try having a discussion with a real person at CNN. Try getting the attention of your local newspaper, for that matter. Currently, the global crisis is fuelled by deception, marketing and violence. Basically, brainwashing and manipulative ads are put around the lies we call the news, and the news presents nonstop violence. Then, for this privilege, you pay a $50+ cable TV bill every month. I am surprised anybody thinks this is good for business, but it does seem to work. In the midst of such a crisis, there is little more valuable than a clear point of view -- and this is what Planet Waves offers you. We provide it in the form of horoscopes, astrology interpretations and a wide diversity of articles that look at the cosmic picture, and which provide historical perspective. We provide you news with a human angle; a spiritual point of view. News or astrology never just happens 'out there' -- we know the news is something that affects all of us, and we present in a human way. We include you in the news: your feelings, your responses, your ideas. At the very least, you need a viewpoint in the media that you can relate to -- and we at Planet Waves are devoted to providing you with this. Along with some really fun horoscopes, birthday reports, and the most innovative articles we can come up with. These present astrology in psychological depth, in clear language, and delivered directly to you. Clearly this is not a necessity, but I think we need to make it one. We need to think of what feeds us back as necessary. We need to think of what we can offer to others for free as a necessity -- and as a Planet Waves subscriber you are invited to do just that. We encourage forwarding and community distribution. Indeed, we do not discriminate against those who do not have money, while we are 100% supported by those who do. And I am fully aware that we are creating a responsible business model and setting an example for other premium Web services, though it does not seem to be catching on. I don't know of any who provide their services gratis to those who don't have the cash, but then, I don't know of any whose readers are as aware, excited and devoted as those who come to Planet Waves. In conclusion of this Sunday marketing sermon, I will leave you not with our beautiful credit card link, but rather a link to what our subscribers have to say about Planet Waves. Because they say it better than I could. Have a great day, and if you ever want to write to me, try francis@planetwaves.net . Here's the feedback link: http://www.planetwavesweekly.com/feedback.html Yours & truly, ERIC FRANCIS PS, your subscription is fully guaranteed. If you don't like it, we will give you a refund. If you are not in a position to pay, or need a discount, write to info@planetwaves.net and we will take care of you. If you're in the USA you can also call (877) 453-8265 for more information. Overnight Musical Interlude I am sure that most people don't know that Planet Waves has official theme music. It's not by the Beatles or 50 Cent; rather, it is the song, "When I Was a Lad" (the Admiral's song) from H.M.S. Pinafore, by Gilbert and Sullivan. http://diamond.boisestate.edu/gas/pinafore/a_lad.mp2 Here are the lyrics for those who are challenged with 19th century British going at full speed... http://www.leoslyrics.com/listlyrics.php?hid=Ct2xWRYwR0Q%3D And unless Dick Cheney quits, that is my blog for the weekend! I will be back with a Sunday subscription pitch tomorrow, our sacred holy marketing activity commemorating the religion of capitalism. e March 18 | Two More Dreams Greetings I have a comment about my lunar dream and recent nebula discovery. My dream: My husband and I traveled to an event, spiritual in nature. That evening in the hotel room we retired to bed. Then as I was sleeping I could not move and someone (I could only see a shadow on the wall) had a syringe and wanted something from my body - I could only think they wanted my DNA. So I could only think with my mind - how I could stop this intrusion. I kept thinking there maybe something on the night stand I could use to hit them with to stop this. I some how could reach for a lamp (I am assuming this was not clear) and hit them with it and stop this. IT worked and of course I awoke in a panic. Then on Thursday the announcement came through that they had found the Double Helix Nebula! Rev. Mary Scorpio sun & rising; Leo moon Hi Eric! I actually had a disturbing dream the night of the eclipse. It is strange as I usually do not recall my dreams and I certainly do not remember any dreams from previous eclipses (or perhaps I did not pay attention). But this one I actually wanted to forget which is why I did not write about it initially. As so many though have shared their dreams, I am certainly able to do so. I went through a divorce within the past 3 years and as painful as the experience was, I thought that I had put the pain of the experience of that marriage behind me until the dream. My dream was very simple. I was still married to my ex-husband and he was very calmly explaining to me over the phone how I was not going to be allowed to leave the marriage. He was not angry or argumentative, he was speaking to me in a very calm and methodical manner. I remember in my dream feeling completely trapped, scared, and my heart was racing. It was a horrible feeling. It is so difficult to explain how I felt in the dream except that I was trying to negotiate for my freedom and I was being told so coldly that there was no way out. I do not even remember what words were even being used. I just remember the feeling...panicked, fearful, trapped. Just recalling it actually brings back the sensations. It took me awhile when I was waking up to calm down and reorient myself to the present and that I did get my freedom, I am not trapped and I do not have to feel fearful. Blessings, Lynelle March 18 | More Eclipse Dreams Note -- Any that you may have submitted that you have not seen published, I misplaced! Please resend, in that case, and it helps if the word "dream" is in the subject header. I will keep this feature going as long as we have material to publish, and I think it would be really fun to have a special blog or bulletin board just for readers to check in with their astral adventures, like we're doing here. What do you think? Thanks for sharing, everyone. Yours & truly, e - in Paris Dear Eric: Mine were nothing to write home about (they were better a couple of days before the eclipse), but this one that my friend had was hilarious and very much in the lunar spirit. I have a good friend (and former roommate) named Aaron. He's 24 years old, a Cancer, and has been out of the closet for about a year now. Last night he told me about the dream he had on the night of the full moon. In it, he applied to become a member of NOW. He was notified of his rejection via a terse email message that said only: "Not a chick." Then he woke up feeling truly bummed. Amy Hi to e and the team, Again e, I am astounded by the timing and accuracy of your horoscopes, absolutely mind boggling. I had a dream on lunar eclipse night. i found myself in a scene with a pair of curtains that were huge and invisible actually. a guide was asking me to lift the corner of this veil and look behind it. so I did. They said it was the Jupiter square. lesley sun virgo moon in pisces and aries rising at 4* with a sun uranus pluto conjunct I just redirected via Cainer.com <http://Cainer.com> for my weekly perusal and notice the intriguing image of elephant seals on the front page. I had a dream Tuesday about elephant seals. I continue to read on only to find people sharing of their own dreams under the lunar influence. I thought it was a bit of a coincidence so I hope you don't mind if I share! It's brief as I only recall the exciting part. I was observing from behind some rocks these great big seals on a beach. I had moved in to get a closer look and quickly found myself in a dangerous situation. The seals became angry at the sight of someone in their space and lashed out with their tails but I moved out of the way quickly and missed getting slapped. I scrambled behind some more rocks and figured I needed to get to safety. To my left, about ten feet away there was a high harbour wall and I figured if I could make my way to it I could climb up. Suddenly I noticed a crocodile on the beach between me and the wall but I told myself to, "just wait till the right moment," and then run for it. So I paused, watched the croc and waited til he turned his back and ran. I make it to the wall, all 15 or so feet of it and somehow fling myself up, grab hold of the railing at the top and swing myself to safety. As soon as I had my feet on safe ground I realised what an incredible achievement it was to have done all that and felt quite amazed at my own ability to get out of a sticky situation and survive. This feeling stayed with me when I awoke. Feel like I rode out the lunar eclipse like an experienced surfer. Cheers Eric! - Ash [Libra sun, Aries rising, Virgo moon.] Dear Eric, I have been a dream explorer as long as I can remember life, part of dream circles, dream studies, dream groups, a dream practice of my own. I loved that you put this request out for collecting dreams around this event. Perhaps you have done this before. I hope you will do this again. Though I have felt my dreams walking along that line, before consciousness has the greater pull, and I am awake, none of my dreams -in sleeping- this period, surfaced long enough to be written on this plane. I have come to recognize and trust that this is deep working in my psyche and I let them go. They will come up, like porpoises, when they are ready to connect me to their presence. However, I have had nearly two weeks of a watery creative dreaming in a big and complex creative project I am working on, allowing me to go deeper and deeper into it, ride in its fluid mystical sensuality and transform and be transformed in it, simply by riding, allowing myself to be taken by this ethereal wave. A resulting sense of stability seems to be emerging within as this occurs. Very dreamy. Synchronicities crack open in pops, like the currents are charged with something juicy. Thank you for your attention to the psyche. Very enjoyable. -Bobbi For the past week give or take, my dreaming has been VERY broad-band, fast-streaming; too much going on in them (multi-layers and all) to specify any particular "story"; During waking hours I am practically vibrating as well (no, not from Starbucks OD) Focus is available, but at the eye of a storm. Clearly there is much "coming through" and "clearing". I have been tracking my dreaming since I was a child; this phenomenon is pretty unusual; that is, so much going on that it's impossible to track. Note this is NOT sleeplessness or that kind of night that comes with the brain "not turning off" while it mulls over daytime BS. No, this is dreamtime. BTW, my senses all seem to be on "high-input/output" stimulus right now too. I've never smelled so well! I was able to "capture" one portion of dreaming last night... Large black "spirit" of a woman came to me. I came to her as well (I am colored white). She wasn't beautiful so much as we would describe it; she was beautiful in her sensuality and spirituality. She was woman but with what I would have to describe as an eel's tail -- long and never ending and floating, swaying.......all of her was floating perhaps as one in water. She came to me and I came to her; she sucked my breasts until my milk overflowed for her pleasure. And for this, in return she then had a penis, and she penetrated me as she sucked and it was perfect mutual giving and receiving. There was no particular ending nor conclusion. Just a tremendous feeling of well-being. VERY nice, Raven March 17 | Your Lunar Eclipse Dreams Dear Mr. Francis, The lunar eclipse has caused me to somehow prowl more on the "darker" side of my desires. I'm a pretty fair and logical woman on almost all days, but recently I have been slipping under some strange and passionate currents. (Listening to the Doors has become a must for me these days!) First of all, the eclipse felt like it marked the end of something very significant in my life...this deep and penetrating obsession to have a romantic relationship with the most unobtainable man ever! I never fully realized how badly I desired this man before the eclipse...I was actually delusional enough to figure he was as interested as I was. I have consciously put this issue behind me, yet (since the eclipse this week) I am having dreams of him. In these dreams, we are talking, but I can never remember the conversation. At some points he is trying to be affectionate (hugging and kissing) but I pull away. I can hear his voice when I wake up and it scares me to death because it sounds like he's in the room. Like I said, consciously I am aware that my desires for him are unfounded...yet my unconscious hours are spent in turmoil. Luckily in real life, this man and I are decent friends...which means that this relationship isn't a total loss. However, I am hoping that the dreams stop at some point so I can finally move along. P.S. Last night on my way home from visiting my "forbidden" friend... I saw the now waning moon (think it was in Libra at the time) as it lit my way homeward. Thanks for your time, Jen Invited to share, I’d be delighted. This is post actual eclipse & is a first time eclipse dream for me. I am a Virgo (Sept. 1, 1936) w/Libra rising & moon in Pisces. Dream occurred night/early morning Wed/Thurs (15th/16th). The main character was a male whom I perceived as somewhat dangerous & darkly handsome. He had a full head of medium length black hair, black piercing eyes & refined features, and a great body dressed in black. He was very focused and had an agenda regarding a child. He expected me to be his accomplice or go-fer. We were staying together but he wasn’t interested in me sexually. He was looking for a specific female child and wanted to permanently take her away from her familiar environment. I didn’t want this to happen & tried to distract him off his focus by trying to seduce him. I was very seductive in appearance & actions but he wouldn’t be detracted from his mission. At times he would leave me alone as he searched. During those times, I sensed being followed by an older, white-haired man, also handsome. I perceived that this gentleman was going to imprison me. A few times the older pursuer & I locked eyes and came nearby but I successfully eluded his capture. Meanwhile the “dangerous” younger man returned. His countenance had changed to a more relaxed and pleasant facial expression. He was still not interested in me as a sexual partner but became very protective and treated me like an equal. The dream faded in & out from there on .... Thanks for allowing this sharing. In reading my horoscope during this time, I think I know the interpretation of my dream might mean I am moving into a more authentic & creative self. Warm regards, Carol Ann Good Morning - You asked about lunar dreams. I actually don't remember any dreams, but I woke up realizing I needed to do a meditation. Something I haven't done for a few years. Usually, in a meditation, I am wearing a long hooded cloak, quite medieval in appearance, and I have two or three guides. I go down a path, end up at a door (and the door always looks different), go through to a room or a whatever it is I am able to see that time. This time I started down the path in the cloak, alone. All of a sudden, I was sweating like a little pig, and needed to get out of that enveloping cloak. I took it off and hung it on a cloak hook, that seemed to be by the path. At first, I was wearing a long, iridescent dress, with hair down to me knees (Now I haven't had hair that long, since I was three years old). And then, just as suddenly, I was me, dressed in khaki pants, green shirt, socks-no shoes. Slowly, the animals that have been kind enough to spend their lives with me started to appear. Not only those on the other side, but those in the here and now. So it was me, and dogs, cats, guinea pigs, horses, and one barn owl. I was wondering where the heck I was, when I realized I was on the path at Mount Rainer that leads past a stream to a tiny meadow. In the spring the meadow is filled with blooming trilliums and is really beautiful. It is right next to the road, so is not a secret place, but I am not sure how many people ever discover it. I have been there many times since childhood. So I and the animals walked by the stream, where someone drinking water from their hands looked up and smiled at me, and then on to the meadow in full bloom where another person reading a book under a tree smiled at me. I laid out a picnic blanket, with food and snacks for the animals and myself, and anyone else that needed a restful moment and food. And then, I was back in my living room. End of meditation. They don't usually end that abruptly. But it seems that the Pisces (March 2nd) with Virgo rising, and a Cancer moon is discovering that it is alright to be who she really is. Gail in Washington Arranged marriage organized - the caterers, the flowers, the penguin suits - all in place. I am to marry family friend's son. Deeply unhappy, am unable to tell my mother no, as fear showing her my vulnerability and fear her judgment. At last moment on morning of wedding, I pull my father aside and tell him. For the first time in my (real and dream) life, he stands up for me, tells my mother and the wedding is cancelled. End of dream. In my real life: letting go of patterns related to parents viz illness and fear of rejection for being vulnerable. This dream tells me I have arrived. I can not thank you enough for your immaculate and inspirational work. Diane 8-7-1963 I had these dreams last night, the night of the eclipse- One- I was at a yoga studio/spa similar to the place I work-Tea Garden Springs Spa. A male yoga instructor was there, who looked like Jason Crandell the guy I took a hatha class from last week. We were talking about yoga and other things. We got on very well, and at one point I touched his hair, and he kissed me and whispered don't tell anyone this happened at the yoga studio (since even though we were co-workers, I was also his student). Then we were in his room and he had a record player and records lying around, and I saw a Bob Dylan record and was really excited that he liked Bob Dylan and asked him if he'd seen the documentary. Then I saw that he was currently playing a Jacobites record on the record player. I was really happy and excited, because the Jacobites were one of those obscure bands no one has seemed to heard of that I listened to a lot when I was a teenager. I asked him where he'd gotten the record and told him I'd been trying to find one without any luck. I was really happy to be hanging out with this guy who seemed so compatible. I told him that I didn't really like Jason Crandell's yoga class (though he looked like J.C. he in fact wasn't), because he seemed kind of cold and like he didn't bring a lot of heart or spirit into the class. I said I liked his classes better, as they seemed more soulful. I asked him when his birthday was to try and scope out his chart and he said May of 1969, so I knew he was only three months older than I was and in my head I did the calculations and realized his Venus was probably in Gemini, and was a little disappointed, because I was hoping he had an earth or water Venus, something more easy with my Venus in Cancer. Then we went to Whole Foods together, and then my sister and father were there and my dad was wearing these funky old reading glasses, the frames were big and covered his face, and I asked my sister when he was going to get new glasses, and she said they would be his father's day present, and I felt bad for him. Two- I'm at my house and we have a new black kitten, very small and cute and I'm playing with it, and I notice it seems in a little bit of distress, so I check out it's ears and see that it has this huge mass of ear wax and black fur that looks infected entirely blocking its ear. I realize I need to clean it out and am nervous and a bit grossed out, but I know what to do. I hold the kitten and get some tweezers and tissue paper and start pulling the gunk out of it's ear. It squirms a bit, but seems grateful. I look at the ear when the gunk is all gone and it seems inflamed and enlarged but basically ok. I think I'll put some lavendar oil in there to help with any infection or bacteria. I go to show Casey and Deborah my housemates, and Casey is making a lot of noise and the kitten is reacting strongly because it can hear so much better and I ask him to quiet down a bit, and explain that the kitten is really sensitive to noise right now. That's it, thanks, Fern This dream involved the really selfish people who have moved in next door and cannot do anything quietly. So really it was not a dream but a reality. I've had to call the police 7 times since Jan. to stop the chaos over there. I had to call twice last night, I guess the first time they just thought we were kidding. Anyway...so no real sleep last night. No real dream. But this behavior is like a dream. love, d I'm in a stone cell with a crucifix on the wall. I'm an abbess. There is someone else in the room with me, a man in black, a priest I think - but I never see his face. He has a very strong male energy and brings out feelings of both fear and excitement in me. Our meetings are elicit and he has a kind of power over me, which I both want to stop and at the same time, don't ever want it to stop. Just when I forget that I've ever had the dream, it returns. And it did last night. How timely. Weird, huh? Wonder what Freud would make of that. La Lula Last night was an eclipse of the full moon, though I didn't get to see it since the eclipse part was over before the moon came up around here, but I dreamt that I worked in a laboratory of some kind and everybody was doing experiments and there was this one that had a tiny little baby human, about as long as you palm as a byproduct. She was beautiful, tiny, bald, I don't think she had ears, but she "heard" somehow. She didn't open her eyes or cry but she yawned and smiled when you touched her or talked to her. She was delightful. They kept these "byproducts" in these largish test tube things. I don't know how long they lived or anything, but I went to her tube to play with her and I opened the top and her little shoulders wiggled and she turned her little head toward me and smiled and I gently got her out of there and she sat in my palm and smiled and peed, so I walked her over to the big sink and ran warm water over her and washed her off and went about trying to make a diaper of some kind for her. I don't know how she ate or anything, nobody really thought it was a big deal except me. From: Santa Fe, NM Hi, Eric, From Ohio, the heart of it all. In my equinox planning, I was thinking of traveling down to the ancient Ohio Moundbuilder sites, as I had in past years, with a group of land-reclaiming wilderness restoration folks. Last year they picked Serpent Mound, which in my experience would be a better choice for Midsummer, in terms of orientation and theme. The site I was most attracted to was the Seip Mound, a nearby collection of mounds used for burial. Now an elementary school, Paint Valley school, is located there. My dream was that in the exact location of sun lighting a certain location on the circle mound, (at the right angle, square, to the next mound in the Seip cluster), a family farm home, of people called the Thompson family, was there and had been victimized by a mysterious robbery, by, as near as could be determined, a woman in dark clothing. It was unclear in the dream what had been stolen, and how the detective work would complete. So, I am thinking of relocating. Still working in Marysville, at the Reformatory for Women, feeling more and more limited by restricted thinking and policies, the ignorant and under-educated leading the sheepish. Get back what the woman in dark clothing has stolen from me. Every five years, perhaps, a different correctional setting at least. Thanks for reading, persistence, and sharing so much of your life with us. Jamie Beatty, Taurus, Cancer rising, Aries Moon, born Mother Superior. Happiness is a warm gun Mama, yes it is. Peaceout. During tonight's eclipse I opened myself to write in poetic format some of what was beginning to be revealed -- see http://people.lulu.com/blogs/view.php?user_id=38353 libramoon's observatory The later revelation resulting from my parsing of that poem was about understanding the lie of the economic theories of history that I had grown up being taught. Because, ultimately, life is not about economics -- theories of scarcity which have us fighting amongst ourselves in fear of being without. Life is about a journey toward understanding who we are. Vocation is about dharma, sacred works that reveal our true selves and our true roles in the grand scheme and mundane community. Sorry if I'm coming off too "woo woo" but I am talking about revealed truth, in the sense of my living through the exigencies of experience over and over, learning as I am able to take in the gestalt of synthesis. The point is, when we look to teachings of economics, hierarchies, dualities, we miss most of the picture. We do not need to be slaves to wages to pay for the stuff we give ourselves instead of our dreams. Ultimately the necessities can be easily arranged for if that is a few hours of focus, while the rest of the day can be enjoyed free of economic concerns. Ultimately we are much better served spending our energies as our individual natures intend so we may all benefit from the diversity of creation rather than chaining ourselves to miserable semi-existences based on stockpiling wealth, so easily devalued or spoiled. Peace, Laurie Hi Eric Last night I woke to a full moon shine in through my roof window onto my bed and head…it was beautiful. I had been dreaming of a CD that was comprised of 3 different CD’s into one melody: i.e. each was superimposed over the other. It was named 'O! Wondrous Moon'. The past couple nights I have dreamed of opening the veil to alternate reality: dreams 3 & 4. I have had similar dreams in the past. See below. 1st dream…I am in a deep wood and feel the presence of a wolf who is NOT nice coming for me. My female deer totem (She is a reindeer with antlers…who is lame…one leg limps. A lame doe has actually been in my back yard several times after this dream…) leads me to a small cottage in the woods and shows me how to pull up the side of the house and roof and enter another space so as to escape the wolf. 2nd dream…several years later…I am in my backyard woods, which are ancient forest, landlocked, with a beautiful stream running through it…in the circle of ancient pines where I go to journey. There is a huge pine over 78 inches in girth that has probably been hit by lightning so it has three main trunks reaching to the sky and a “growth on the middle one” that has facial features. (Several friends of mine have either been afraid of this tree or instantly connected as I do.) I am in this real place in my dream and I go into a rock that exists by the base of the tree by “entering a crevice which I spread apart”. There is a woman trapped in the rock and I can talk with her but not release her. 3rd dream… just last week…I am with Spiderman (the comic hero) and he shows me how to 'cut a manhole' into space and enter another world beyond. 4th dream…2 nights ago…I am with my daughter (who is now 39-I am 57) and shaggy wolves are after her. I show her how I can 'use my hand and cut a hole into space' where we enter to escape the wolves. Regards, Kristy March 16 | Updates, updates Hi and Hello, First I'd like to welcome you if you're a new reader who has percolated over from Cainer.com this week. You've found your way to a place called Planet Waves, an Internet magazine that's based on astrology -- but which goes a lot further both with astrology, and without. As you'll see, our subject matter at Planet Waves ranges from horoscope columns to detailed articles on astrology and counseling. We also cover world affairs, sexuality and environmental issues. At the core of Planet Waves is our premium service, Planet Waves Weekly. This is the best way to get the most from Planet Waves. All the newest content is distributed to our subscribers, including two horoscpes eachweek and a weekly birthday report -- and we provide a special homepage that is fully searchable and has years of archives. Subscribers also get access to the amazing Parallel Worlds edition, which includes the annual horoscopes (2,000 words per sign), as well as many excellent articles by the Planet Waves writers. If you'd like to sign up, here is the link -- and remember all subscriptions are satisfaction guaranteed. You can find out about Planet Waves membership here -- lots of good info -- http://planetwavesweekly.com/ or subscribe directly here -- http://www.planetwavesweekly.com/sales/home.html Here is today's daily horoscope: http://planetwavesweekly.com/dadatemp/539600238.html ...and Wednesday's http://planetwavesweekly.com/dadatemp/1847026024.html Still to come is the Friday daily and the weekly, which will be distributed on Saturday. Tonight, check the front page of Cainer.com for Astrology Secrets Revealed, where I go over the strange and exciting astrology of the next two weeks. See you again soon... Yours & truly, ERIC FRANCIS Hunting the Moon I STEP into the snap chill of the April night and before the motion-detectors see me and flood the world with incandescent glare, I see the Moon, in the clouds, in the trees, in the east. Nothing could have prepared me for such a sudden breath: Not spending the better part of three days studying the energetics of the planets, not the secret desire to be here, not anything. I look at her. She looks at me, low and still and large. My mind interjects with a question: What sign is it in? Hmm. I don’t know. I do know there was an eclipse this morning. I know that Saturn conjoining the Moon can thwart the emotions, And some say that Saturn square the Moon, unless 'redeemed', can signify a lifetime of affliction by karma. She disappears into the clouds, and I am safe. One step and I am seen by the floodlights, which burst in and erase the entire sky. Minutes pass as I drive, and I stop at your house. Smeagol is playing Beware of Dog. I say hello but he ignores me, gone wild. Now I step away from the porch, closer to the night time, and she is back, lighting up the world. Alice Bailey says she is dead. Some say she is a lens of consciousness. I say she is silent and listening: listening to the silence. The buzz of a streetlight, some dogs barking, an occasional engine passing on Main Street, only make the silence louder. She is listening to me stand here with nothing to say, struck dumb, moonstruck, my boots solid in my two footprints. The Earth will turn and she will seem to traverse the night, and in the dark of morning she will set against the shadow of the Catskills, and I will watch from the ridge as we disappear.
-- Eric Francis March 15 | Sun square Pluto Note to new visitors: This week's subscriber birthday report is linked below! This is published each week covering birthdays in the Sun's current sign transit. AS I MENTIONED earlier in the week, we have stars, planets and asteroids flying around like pollen this week and into next. Well, actually it's a bit more orderly than that, but there is a lot of astrology happening. We are in a mini-cluster that leads through the weekend and into the bigger cluster on March 29. It's all related but you have to sort it out in your mind somehow. We could look at it all as one big wave of activity, for the most part conveniently located between a subtle lunar eclipse (last night) and a rather massive total solar eclipse (March 29). There is absolutely, positively nothing low key about the 3/29 eclipse, as it occurs so close to the first degree of Aries (happening a week after the equinox). In such times it's best to take things one event at a time, which is usually one day at a time. This is why the daily horoscope is a pretty good concept. The one thing we're looking at next, as in right now, is the Sun making a square to Pluto. For the next two years Pluto means Pluto + the Galactic Core. The Core stays put; Pluto moves; Pluto in Sagittarius is now conjunct the core for the first time in more than two centuries (and the Sun is at 90 degrees to this conjunction). Pluto on the GC is BIG news...something different...something never written about in an astrology book or experienced by a living astrologer. Even the old ones had no clue about the GC because it had not been discovered yet. A square puts the squeeze on. An aspect is an aspect, but how the energy is applied is the difference. Look around your life and notice all the right angles: those are squares, where floor meets wall, the way a door is situated in the building, the shape of a brick. We love right angles but we complain about squares. Without squares, life would pretty much fall apart. But we don't like them for some things, for example, who sits with their laptop screen at a right angle to the keyboard? When we have a transiting square like this, the words that Patric Walker used to use were "enforced changes," which is another way of saying we get a push. With Pluto there is no turning back. The energy is intense. With the GC involved -- well, we don't know exactly, but the suggestion is that we have two choices for what level to take the aspect on; we can go deep and dark, Pluto style (more my style unfortunately!); or we can 'jump to a new level' and take the Galactic Road (I am in training for this mode). Now, this kind of choice is not as easy as it may seem to some, and it's very easy, even obvious, to others. Partly it depends on how much responsibility you have, on how calm you can stay in the midst of a lot of movement, and what you're working out emotionally as a result of the same astrology. That is, with a Pluto square involved there is likely to be a whole underground level of processing that may not be visible on the surface and which may be drawing energy from the surface to the lower levels where it's needed. The best things to do are track how you feel, make the decisions you can make and look for options you don't see. Those are often the best ones of the lot. Here is a recent article from the subscriber section on Pluto squares that you may find useful. http://planetwavesweekly.com/dadatemp/20060217xx.html Here is the current subscriber birthday report, available to those who join the Planet Waves Weekly list: http://planetwavesweekly.com/dadatemp/1327961671.html And hey if you like these premium features and would like to subscribe, check here! http://planetwavesweekly.com/sales/home.html -- PS, If anyone had an eclipse dream you feel like sharing, please send it to francis@planetwaves.net Thank you! PPS, I finally did find the Moon, right outside my window, when I came back upstairs. March 15 | A Touch of Madness THERE IS definitely a touch of madness to a lunar eclipse. That touch touches many people at every Full Moon, but an eclipse has a special charge. It's a Full Moon and a New Moon combined; I look at it as living a month in a night. Anyway -- if you're feeling a bit edgy, it's that kind of night. And for everyone who just goes sailing through without being the least bit disturbed or perturbed, and is having an absolutely fine time being electrified by those high-voltage Virgo moonbeams, well, we won't hold it against you. -- So on that note, I've stepped outside...I am posting this blog by SMS text message, I am quick with two fingers. I am staying in Brussels tonight, and was surprised to discover how calm and quiet it feels outside...okay I had the television on...the Moon is nowhere to be found -- perhaps that's because it's an eclipse. Going out without my camera, with no place special to go, only looking for the Moon, I've discovered that the city has not taken down its Christmas lights yet, and that a street corner I thought was about 15 blocks away is actually just one block away, if you take the short route. But -- no sign of that Virgo Moon at the moment. But it must be here someplace... Catch you in the morning. Tonight's Lunar Eclipse Details - Courtesy of Jonathan Cainer Just before midnight tonight*, as the moon becomes completely full, the earth will cast a subtle shadow across its face. This 'darkening of the moon' is seen, in some traditions, as inauspicious. I prefer to think of it as 'cathartic'. Though we often find ourselves facing our fears at such times, we need no more worry about a penumbral eclipse than we need be afraid of our own shadow! *London time 11.35pm. Other timings: New York: 7.35pm, Tuesday; India: 4.35am, Wednesday; Perth: 7.35am, Wednesday. The eclipse is visible from all of Africa and Europe. Observers throughout most of North America will find the eclipse already in progress as the Moon rises on Tuesday evening. However, no eclipse will be visible from westernmost North America (Yukon, British Columbia, Alaska, Washington, Oregon and California) since the event ends there before moonrise. Similarly the event is not visible from Eastern Australia or north and central Japan. March 14 | Back from a Breather HOLLAND for my birthday -- that was fun. Living 4,000 miles from anyplace I've truly called home, The Netherlands always has that feeling for me. It had also been quite a while since I was able to totally disconnect from the whole stream of tracking the planets, communicating with you and my other readers, and my usual mode of being in touch with my Planet Waves co-creators during most waking hours. It's an odd feeling to sink into another reality, as in non-digital reality -- and just take a deep breath. And hey, okay it's digital but I've been taking pictures again. The light is coming back and the light in Holland is really beautiful, like there's a big hole in the sky that let's in these unusual rays. So I'll be sharing some of those images with you. I'm back just in time to stand in for Jonathan Cainer's daily horoscope for a long week, longer than usual because I'll be covering straight through the weekend and into next week. Jonathan never takes a break during a boring phase of astrology. By my reckoning it usually involves Mercury retrograde or an eclipse. This time, both are in the neighborhood, as is the vernal equinox...and quite a few square aspects: Sun square Pluto; Jupiter square Neptune; Mercury square Mars. Full on, cousins! All of this leads directly into the 3/29 cluster -- about which I will have more to say on Thursday, in Astrology Secrets Revealed. This basically involves three major events taking place centered on March 29: An eclipse of the Sun on the Aries Point...Pluto stationing retrograde on the Galactic Core...and the progressed Moon of the Inauguration chart reaching an exact opposition to Pluto. As you may know, I don't like making specific predictions. I could, and sometimes do, but prefer not to get in the way of the Fates. However, on the international news scene, I can tell you this with some confidence: it looks like we're in for some fairly big news either right close into the 3/29 eclipse, some time in the spring season, or both. Eclipses can reverberate for years, and they surely work their changes over the three to six months that follow them. But lately the astrology has been getting fast results, the Aries Point has been extremely sensitive, and there is a timing factor involved in 3/29 -- namely the progressed Moon in the Inauguration chart. I'll need to look for my best previous efforts at explaining this, but basically, we are in that zone where events happen that leave BushCo unable to do much of anything, combined with a major shift in perspective. The indictment of Scooter Libby last October was like a warning shot. 3/29 is a lot more than that, and the more of us who are aware in advance and who are watching the signs, the more minds are available to raise awareness. This awareness raising function is THE...the VERY...dare I say...spiritual piece of the whole puzzle. Anyone who avoids the news is right, it is entirely meaningless -- until you start paying attention and giving it meaning, or asking what the meaning is that you give to it and then deciding to give it a new meaning. Have a look at this compilation on the Aries Point and see if you get any clues; see if you recognize any familiar themes: http://www.planetwaves.net/cainer/archive/003790.php Catch you again tomorrow. Thanks for tuning in, and thank you to all the readers who submitted their comments for our "What We Can Do" series during the past week or so, and thanks for all the friendly birthday greetings. It was a fun one this year. Yours & truly, e Brussels, Europa What to Do | March 13 | From
Vennila
dear eric,
below is an announcement for installation that is
very much related to your cover series of 'what to do'. may be you can share it
amidst the community of peace workers...?
i shall be working on a larger (nation-wide)
project in the near future calling for personal peace action. if artists are
interested in collaboration, i welcome their association. there is need in
particular for people who are not afraid of web-work but in my universe
he(art)'s intent takes precedence over skill-set.
love,
vennila prayer flags (for peace)
An installation by artist Vennila nr
Kain
Date: March 15-24, 2006
Location: 112 W44th Street, Manhattan,
NY.
To mark the third anniversary of the official
declaration of the War on Iraq, artist Vennila nr Kain sets up her prayer flags
(for peace) in Times Square.
The installation is a delicate network of
crisscrossed prayer flags similar to the Tibetan prayers flags strung over
sacred spaces. The wind carries up the prayers from the flags to the realm of
gods, or as blessings over land.
In this case, the artist uses weathered images of
fallen soldiers as her prayer flags so that their lives (and death) may bring
about the possibility of peace over land. Spread amidst the prayer flags of
images of dead soldiers are four numerals corresponding to the current American
death toll in Iraq.
The floor is littered with shredded pure white
paper symbolizing the silent and unknown numbers of Iraqi men, women &
children and other incidental human cost of war such as contractors and security
guards, many of whom are hired from third world nations of this world.
The entire process of the installation, from
conception to preparation to execution is done very much with the lineage of
prayer flags and the war dead in mind, and hence in a prayerful, pacifist,
mindful, meditative manner while softly chanting for healing and peace.
This window installation is part of the ongoing
series of 'being peace' art created by the artist Vennila nr Kain. The series
began with the living art installation "Send A Salami To Your Boy In The Army"
incorporating aspects of ritual fasting, mourning & meditation for two weeks
in January 2004.
Project page: www.sendasalami.com
Vennila nr Kain is an actor,
poet, yogini, performance artist, humbly committed to the Gandhian philosophy of
being the change she wants to see in the world. She may be found at www.vennila.net
This installation is supported by chashama. www.chashama.org What to Do | Contribution from Stephen
Dear PLANET WAVES folks,
Drawing back from the fearful, angry, and violent present time on our
planet, we have the astrological cosmic perspective to put to use. It
permits us to know that the changing of the Ages, Pisces to Aquarius, is upon us
now, BIG TIME. We cannot settle down. Things are moving in great sweeps, and
we'll never be the same again!
The old greedy, selfish, ego-driven culture we've been immersed in for such
a long time is slowly, grudgingly evolving into a civilization that includes the
entire planet. Our survival as the human species means that we are all in this
together.
We need an entire-world-view in order to obtain a sense of ecological
balance, in order to anticipate new energy resources, other than deep dark oil,
that will power our future. Mental energy, heart energy, genius for
community to share our wisdom, will get us through this awesome time, and bring
us to a changed but better world.
Such ideas give the old oligarchs seething fits! They hate to give an inch.
They want all of us people of the world to pay them for their energy, their
products, their output. But, it is becoming more clear each day that their
methods are poisoning us and our planet. We need to shake away the sleeping
fearful cloak that keeps us silent and conforming. Let us speak our truth to
power. The energy is not yours to sell; the labor is not yours to enslave.
As we learn the cosmic perspective, we sense more clearly that we are not a
lonely species on an isolated world, but rather an evolving people on one of
many, many inhabited worlds in a vast universe of sentient beings. We are no
longer able to back away in horror, or hide away in fear. We now have a clearer
picture of what we need and where we need to change.
As sure as Spring, we are feeling the sap rising in the Northern lands. Let
changes come! We are on the way.
Stephen - a fellow traveler March 12 Continued | From Michelle
Hi
Eric Eric,
because of your work I've grown as a person. I've found that the most profound
change I've experienced has been an increase in my value of ethics, allowing
myself to live in a better world. March 12 | What to Do, Continued
From Karen:
Pointing fingers
and externalising the call for change is all very well but change, like charity,
begins at home. March 11 | What to Do | Contributions from Mary and Diana
From Mary:
I couldn't watch the Today Show the morning after the
election. I was horrified that we'd done it again, voted him BACK in, as if to
say he hadn't stolen the election the first go round. I've never felt so
deflated. We had worked hard in our little area of
Most of us in our little community, so visibly democrat now, went into hiding for a long time. Still I don't talk to or see the many who came together to fight against the warmongering. Such a blow was that defeat.
The nationwide trauma that we all suffered on 9/11 has systematically paralyzed us. I can get fired up now and again but it seems so pitiful in comparison to the powers that be, no match for the spin of Carl Rove, the unmitigated, unstoppable arrogance and greed of Dick Cheney, and absolute disaffection of their puppet, Bush, the "commander in chief."
We all must trust ourselves to awaken in our own perfect ways, in our personal lives. It's all about building bridges to others, letting go of what seems like polarity, and finding communion and growth. I found myself in a virtual sea of powerful Republicans recently and thought I would absolutely die. There were George W. lovers everywhere, these were the folks that made that election happen and there I was, this "yellow-dog democrat."
I didn't die, clearly, but that part of me that was buried and traumatized slowly re-emerged. I began building bridges to each PERSON, slowly, deliberately letting go of the staunch party affiliation.
Let go. Build a bridge. Move forward with the best intention. That's my plan for now.
Mary
Diana writes:
Right now, I scare myself. I have never been one to look at the world in
black and white and stereotypical terms. But the polarization in this nation is
forcing itself on me. Even me. I am terrified of the smug, ideological surety of
our government leaders. I have seen the enemy, and it is primary certitude. What
Bush and all the others lack is the ability to look in the mirror and shudder at
themselves. What scares
me is that I used to be an Independent. I voted for the person not the party.
Now I am so repulsed by the words -- Republican and Conservative and, worse, the
very word Christian, particularly when associated with values -- that I just
vote a straight ticket, something that I once condemned as mindless. It strikes
me now as the only rational alternative. The What to Do for me is to get
out the vote. That is how we got this pack of crooks in power. We have to
vote them out. And we need to do it with numbers enough that they can't cheat at
the ballot box and overlook the middle-ground of sanity that has usually
prevailed in this country. I intend to volunteer and maybe drive people to the
polls. Diana DeLuca March 10 | From Jeanne Treadway
Reconnect With Nature
Spring is returning
to the northern half of this glorious Earth. Each day brings hints of the coming
beauty. In my part of the world, globe willows now have their sweet and subtle
golden-green halo. These are the first trees to show new life around here and it
is wondrous finding more halos in the valley each day. Buds thicken on fruit
trees and soon will pop their abundant white blossoms. Elms have tiny raspberry
colored swirls which spiral through the air. Bees, awakened a bit early, stumble
around, dizzy with potential and impossible duties. Hey all, Pardon the interruption in the "What To Do" zone. I realized today is March 9, the anniversary of the Sullivan decision. I know not everybody gets excited about Supreme Court rulings but this happened close enough to my birthday that I take it personally. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Times_v._Sullivan Thanks to everyone helping out with the cover -- readers, Tracy for selecting blogs, April for doing the pre-wash, and Anatoly and Deirdre for keeping the cover photos rolling while I take it a bit easier during this Mercury Rx. A new (actually shortish) Astrology Secrets is posted, above -- it's called The Eclipse Trip. Because that's what we're on. And speaking of cover photos, if you've personally taken a picture you would like to see on the Planet Waves cover, please send it to anatoly@planetwaves.net . e March 9 | Contribution from Gail
Dear Eric: - Mike Ruppert states that the first thing to
do is GET OUT OF DEBT. You do not want you and yours, your home, etc. to be
owned by corporations. - Keep your faith in God, the basic goodness
of people, and the fact that there are many wonderful loving people out there
who are willing to help. 8. Before you dismiss all of this as
"conspiracy theory," do your homework, but not in network, corporate owned news
reporting. I strongly recommend "Powerdown," a book by Richard Heinberg,
available online. I also recommend Michael Ruppert's website, www.fromthewilderness.com. Another good
book is "Strategic Relocation: North American Guide to Safe Places," by Joel E.
Skousen. Modern History as Performance Art By Martha I stew about this night and day and then some. It seems to me that the first obstacle we face is our invisibility. Those of us, who are sickened, outraged, fed up-to-10-on-the-dial and furious are writing, news releasing, shouting-out every day. Our dilemma is that Bush pretends that we do not exist, quite literally. I continue to be shocked and in despair that our elected officials "seem" to share our awareness that the needle is about to hit the hot red part of the dial, but do nothing. Nothing meaningful, anyway. Are they enslaved by their self interest or by other more nefarious boundaries? I don't know. The powers that be seem to have an investment in fully ignoring the din rising up from over 1/2 of the US population and in the global community. Our invisibility C O N T I N U E S. How Bush continually manages to pretend we are not there -- in his speeches, his policies, his strategies and plans –- amazes me. I have been in denial, thinking that I was missing something, that we were just being ignored as opposed to being diluted. I see this widespread problem as our first and most major problem. Despite the myriad articles and pundits screaming on cable, with Cindy Sheehan, and writers pounding their keyboards . . . it is deleted . . . eliminated from Bush's history as soon as it hits his page. I think that we need faces and bodies and heartbeats and legs in overwhelming numbers to present themselves, visually and collectively, on the National Stage so that a roll call will be inevitable . . . almost as performance art. I think that on the grass roots level, mid-wifed via the web, perhaps . . . people need to make a date to leave their house, their job, their keyboard , their gym and walk out into the middle of their town green or community and be THERE in a visual way. All over the country, all at the same time. Perhaps each person holding a sign, mute, saying "CAN YOU SEE ME," " CAN YOU HEAR ME," "MY VOICE MATTERS." I'm inclined to be more strident than my polite idea indicates but it serves the thrust of my point. We are being, have been, and I believe will continue to be SUCCESSFULLY ignored. At our peril. At the peril of the slaughtering of Americans and Iraqis . . . The evil doers count on the good natured Americans being incapable of believing the horrors that are slowly being unfurled -- right before their eyes -- as being "real." I can hear them chuckle at how fast and loose they can play it, right in plain sight. My "what to do" is not much at all, e . . . but until we resolve the issue of our invisibility (and until we STOP enabling this invisibility to continue -- without playing into their hands, i.e. being jailed or otherwise) I don't see a damn thing changing. As always, my love to you and all the lightsticks at Planetwaves, Reader Contributions to Continue! Dear Readers: We are going to continue our What We Can Do series by readers in the Planet Waves blog. The essays have been excellent and the response positive. So, please submit your contribution to us in care of april@planetwaves.net The article choices will be made for the next few days by tracy@planetwaves.net If you've submitted something and have not seen it, please feel free to resubmit it. We'll post one longer or several shorter entries per day. So please think about what you feel we can do at this time of global change, set it in writing and send it in. Typing Guidelines - Important Please turn OFF your smart quotes; please use HTML format mail, not text only; please leave a space between the paragraphs; and please sign your name. We will publish the writing under your real name. If we have questions, someone will get back to you. Thanks for your contribution! Yours & truly, ERIC FRANCIS Brussels, Belgium March 8 | What to Do, continued By Pat Bishop What to do in the face of this worldwide disregard of life itself? Well, we've seen how religion is used as "The Great Excuse" for every horrifying desecration we are witnessing. It's spinning out of control: materialism at any cost; lying; cruelty; stealing; hatred; torture; fascism. It's deafening, it's loud, it's crude, it's ignorant, it's sociopathic, it's homicidal. It's ego run rampant and insane. Greed knows no limit or fulfillment. Do you know of any religion that goes for that kind of stuff? Of course not. So, it is not religion. Many of us learned faith early on in life that we could recognize in our viscera, our hearts, it becoming our modus operandi to not harm, choose love, and protect life. Real religion doesn't advertise. It's something inside that moves us without thought of strong-arming anyone to believe the way we do. Spirituality has a natural dignity that accommodates and reasons and forgives. I'm a practicing Buddhist who is not religious. Nobody knows about it and those who live with me but don't talk about spirituality much. I'm as confused as the next person, but I attempt to experience greater realities through simple discipline so that I may discover my heart every day I do this by stretching and challenging my all-too-human tendencies. One practice is called Tonglen, Sending and Taking. Like today, I breathed in Bush's heaviness and sadness, and sent him the gold of well-being. Hey, if he's happy and content, maybe he won't kill anymore, maybe he and his friends will lose interest. I start with one person and expand that until everyone in the world is touched by it. Energy is energy, and since we're all connected (believe you me, we are in fact) we affect and effect one another profoundly. Goodness is sound stuff. It is thoroughly sane and tough and will be there to carry on once these seemingly human underworlders are tied up and bagged. By who, you ask? By the weight of their own confusion they'll destroy themselves. Have no doubt. So whatever it is you do, whether it's prayer or ritual, it's a way of taking care of yourself and loved ones. Discipline's a good thing that can bring about freedom and youth and suppleness, the ability to have fun and love, and keep us from being grabby and mean most of the time. Kinda like combing your hair every day. Worth a try. When I speak of personal discipline it is meant as a means to target and create effective passion, or, effective action. It's a means of being so in the present that you can see the wider spectrum and probabilities being born. There is relaxed awareness and there is hyper awareness. Being all too familiar with the latter, some self-regulation is an absolute necessity when you care so damn much about what's happening around us. It's imperative that the big picture remains in view. Otherwise, I think I'd choke on my own grief and give up. Mercury's retrograde is like breathing in, otherwise we couldn't breathe out. Yeah, baby, we'd stop breathing. So what? It only goes against what we believe to be effective. We could go to the other extreme like some folks whose self-care is stultifyingly boring. Pull-up-the-anchor-I'm-aboard and fuck you. Old Mr. Death chases them with his scythe whooshing right behind. Absolutely useless. Dried branches scratching against the window or maybe glass harmonicas. They never know intimacy or risk or passion or walking through fire for love. So, do we choose non-involvement or coolness . . . or are we so passionate we regulate ourselves to wage protection and love with swords so sharp only one swoop of the blade does the job at the right time in precisely the right moment? No waste. No need for anesthetic. Aim that passion baby, feel and be involved in all of it, put your ass on the line, communicate and risk, be willing to be a fool, and breathe out your fire. March 7 | Reader Contributions: What to Do But first a correction: Today's entry by Patricia was Paquette, not Bishop -- Pat Bishop is another clear thinker and astrologer who has contributed to this series and whose name shows up regularly in my inbox. And here's the URL to Patricia Paquette's blog: http://www.pisces-chronicles.blogspot.com/ e Will the Real America Please Stand Up? Hi Eric, I've been reading your blog for a while now and I just have to get a few things of my chest. First of all, I'd like to thank you for your commitment to keeping your readers informed about the news that often doesn't get reported. I was very interested in what you wrote about what we can do in our everyday life and how it really does make a difference, whether we know it or not. I've been thinking a lot lately about responsibility, mostly the response part. I was particularly interested in what you said about mental habits, because it has recently occurred to me that these patterns reflect how we respond to ourselves and they reflect our relationship to ourselves. I wrote in my journal just yesterday - before reading your blog today - that my relationship to myself, and I mean how I talk to myself, respect myself, and think about myself, is actually the original relationship and every other relationship in my life is simply a carbon copy of it. I realized that if I am out of integrity with myself - fail to honor my true feelings, expressions, and beliefs - that I experience this inner conflict (often unconsciously) as tensions in my relationship with others or as tensions in my voice, body, and communications. I had been looking out there for answers when I realized (again, and perhaps on a deeper level this time) that I can only control the relationship with myself. I've been doing a lot of inner child work in my meditations lately, and I've seen how I often disregard my little girl by telling her to be quiet or that she is ridiculous for wanting what she wants; I've simply taken on my parents job for them. I also wanted to say a word about what you said about how many people feel ineffective in their lives and how I believe this is a reflection of their relationship with self. This feeling of being ineffective is, of course, what the powers that be want us to feel: apathetic. The power structures that we allow to run our country have secured their power by means of a web of relationships (us), and we are taught to believe that only the ones at the top matter. That is the lie built into the system that encourages people to feel that who they are does not make a difference and once the program is installed, we make it easy for them when we keep running the default program for them. And strangely enough it is a self-fulfilling prophecy. It's like what I just mentioned about doing my parents work for them, but in this case, instead of it being our parents, it is our government! In other words, our President fills in as the good old dad of our county. Yes, he just wants to protect us from ourselves - that is his role. But, for those who look carefully, they can see what lies beneath. We must break the negative feedback loop, personally and collectively, and start consciously making choices. Because the truth is just as we all make more difference than we can even imagine. We touch people everyday. Every face-to-face, computer-computer, or phone-to-phone encounter affects others either for good or evil. Every day we have a choice and that being said, when we blame others, we are simply saying others are more powerful than us and are unconsciously giving up our choice because it is easier than making choices in our lives and taking responsibility. We must ask ourselves first, "how do we respond to ourselves and then how do we respond to others?" Do we respond to ourselves with the love of a caring parent, or do we, as you mentioned Eric, belittle ourselves? I am by no means saying it is easy to make this jump in perception, in seeing just how powerful we are, but it is part of really growing up and deciding that we can no longer wait for others to create the world we want to live in. There is a strong pressure to remain inside the boundaries of what we know and of who we know ourselves to be. This pressure has been historically known as love, but as we awaken, what we are slowly discovering is the brand of love we were given was the low maintenance kind, otherwise known as control disguised as love. I mean, yes, we all need restraint, but not the mindless kind. That is what creating new structures for living requires - entering daily into the chaos of the unknown, like the explorers who braved the oceans to find the new world we now call America. I recently read that as the inheritors of the Age of Enlightenment we are now living in the Age of Responsibility. And lastly Eric, I want you to know that there are a lot of people who are committed to creating these new structures; however, we are not on the six o'clock news every night. I do feel for you though. I know how it is to be an ex-pat. I lived in the UK for two years and never felt so badly about being an American in my life. I was there during 9/11, but that is another story. I didn't ever want to return home and was depressed for quite awhile after I did return. I just had a hard time trying to live an American lifestyle. Everything was just too big and too much - it hurt my eyes! But the point is, as you well know, here in America, we have one construction of ourselves. Although, it seems each country you visit has a different version of the US. After a while I wanted to ask, "Will the real America please stand up?" I don't know if you have heard of Barbara Max Hubbard and her project "evolutionary consciousness." Her story is very connected to Pluto, for she was so moved to take a creative stance in shaping the world because of the power unleashed by the Atomic bomb she witnessed as a child during WWII. Also, if you haven't already, please check out the Alliance for Peace website which is an organization put together by regular citizens who want to make another option available (besides war) to negotiate conflict for the US and other nations. They plan to institute an Academy of Peace where young people, law enforcement, and other public officials can go to study conflict resolutions. This is not only good news for us internationally, but it also creates a means of combating spousal and child abuse domestically. When you think about all the millions and billions of dollars special interest groups spend to promote their agendas in Congress, it is a wonderful development to see the average Joe or Jane taking action in this way. I could go on and on with examples, but I think I've gone on long enough. Of course, I just saw a car bumper sticker today that said Impeach Bush and Cheney. After we've attempted to impeach each and every president that gets elected into office, we will soon have to take a look in the mirror. Our political choice can't be reduced to simply deciding what jeans to buy, and as they say, it starts in the home and through education, with patience, vision, commitment, and the true sense of just how much each and every one of us matter! If you give into indifference, then they've already won. Thanks for all you do! Adrienne March 6 | Reader contributions: What We Can Do MUCH as I love movies, I rarely have time to go, and I've grown not to trust many of them because of how I often feel sitting in a cinema. Having asked some of my colleagues at Planet Waves for their comments on the Oscars, and getting an overview, I've decided I have no comment, except that I appreciate how many of the nominees addressed serious issues and came from small studios. That does seem like a landmark, and like the choice not to retreat from the apparent debacle of Bowling for Columbine a few years ago. Starting today I'm going to post two reader letters each day (more if they are shorter) on my question last week, "What can we do?" The floor is still open for comments, which you may send to francis@planetwaves.net . However, if Dick Cheney resigns, I'll interrupt the series for five minutes to congratulate him and the rest of us. If you would like to submit a letter on the theme of "What can we do?" lease type neatly in a style as close to the published style you see here as you can do. For example (if your email program permits), please send in an HTML email, not plain text (so that the words wrap), leaving one space between the lines, using no indents, and no fancy characters like "smart quotes." Anyone who contributes to the Internet in any way would be wise to turn off all forms of auto-correct and auto-format, particularly those little "smart quotes" that mistranslate into weird things in some browsers and make everyone wonder why there is an upside down question mark in the middle of a sentence. This will help us copy edit to make it consistent for presentation here. Thank you to everyone who has contributed, and helped select and edit. Pat Bishop writes: Hi Eric, First, there's no one-size-fits-all "what to do." If you're one of those "yoga people" who focus exclusively on interior work, it's time to get out and act. If you're a life-long activist who's been marching in the streets, some interior work is probably long overdue. If you're a control freak who's used to ordering everyone else around, it's time to get your own house in order. If you've taken orders all your life and never questioned, it's time to start questioning authority. For me, it's an ongoing balancing act between internal and external. When your beliefs change, you have to put them in action or you're living a lie. When I'm in that state of imbalance, crises tend to happen to call my attention to the fact. Unfortunately, the reverse seems to be less true -- that is, if external events conflict with one's beliefs, the pressure to change one's beliefs has to be enormous in order to overcome the mind's defenses. I just wrote a blog entry that included that point, but I'll save that discussion for another time (very important, though). Second, I've found that inner work eventually leads back to the outside, because you get to the place where you don't just understand intellectually that we're all connected -- you know it, feel it, breathe it. If you go inside far enough, it's as though you enter a black hole or a Mobius strip and get catapaulted out the other side a changed person. It makes your activism much more effective, because you know what's important, what's worth fighting for, and what's not worth your energy. Third, it's been a long time since I've thought about the politics of repressing the sexual urge. Growing up Catholic, I know all about that one, and I can't even remember at what point I realized that making people feel guilty about something so natural and right meant literally having them by the balls. I never thought about it in terms of broader political control, although I suppose I should have, given that the Church, when it was conniving about all this, WAS in fact the political authority in Europe. In any case, I took back that power (all by myself, no help), and that alone makes my life meaningful, even if I do nothing for the next 20 years but sit on my butt in front of Friends re-runs. I've never heard you mention Susan Block, but I think you'd love her Web site and quickly become a convert. You can find her at http://drsusanblock.com While I think this discussion of sex is healthy and necessary, I haven't found a way to reconcile in my own mind the sacredness of sex with an "anything goes" open discussion that leaves no intimate stone unturned. I'm not familiar with Reich's work; only the basic premise as you describe in your blog, to which I was introduced several years ago. At the time, I was reading some ancient Sumerian literature -- the first stories EVER written, in all human history -- and I was struck that the narrator, the goddess Innanna (the archetypal woman, like Venus), leans against an apple tree marveling at her "wondrous vulva." She then hops into her "boat of heaven" to visit her father and comes back with the "me," which scholars describe as some sort of natural law, but which I read as creative ideas. The "boat of heaven" is openly acknowledged to be a euphemism for the vulva, and yet no one seems to get that this story is not about a literal visit to anyone, but a journey beyond consciousness (to my father's house), which yields creative ideas that until that time had never existed. And they're coming from a female goddess, not God! If people want to have fun and games with sex, that's great, and it sure rivals using it to beat up on each other, which seems more the norm these days. But for me, there's a vital creative element involved, and this goes mostly overlooked. It makes sense when you think about it in terms of brain chemistry and the nervous system, which maybe Reich does, for all I know, since I haven't read his work. What I've found so fascinating about all this, and have pondered for years, is not the political control angle, but the polarization and depression angle (in fact, one form of depression is called "bipolar disorder"). Depression is one of the most prevalent illnesses in the world and vastly under-reported -- not to mention vastly misunderstood. The current scientific thinking is that there's a disconnect in brain chemistry, and that this can be fixed with a drug. I see it as a disconnect in society as a whole, and repressed and/or rote sexuality seems to be a symptom of this rather than a cause. Another symptom is inactivity. When you're depressed, you don't have enough energy to do anything. You don't even want sex, so how are you going to get up the energy to protest in the streets? This is one of those topics that is an ongoing inquiry for me, subject to change on a moment's notice if a compelling new piece of new information comes in. OK, this is already longer than I'd meant it to be, and I have to get going. Thanks again, Eric, for your fine work. Now that I'm out there in the blogosphere, too, I know how much courage it takes to put yourself and your ideas on the line. Love, Pat We will post the URL to Pat's blog soon. I cannot find it at the moment. Carrie writes: Eric, I know well that feeling of not being able to accomplish things. It is not this that prevents me from writing my thoughts. It is the knowledge that what I have to say is not something people want to hear. The woman who taught me astrology read my chart and told me that I am the person who makes others uncomfortable. They see what I think and do and this makes them feel inadequate or that they fall short somehow. I don't set out to make them feel that way, they just do. She said I attract people that need to hear the message and at the same time, don't want to hear it. Their karma, she said, caused them be attracted to me but to also resent the things I say and do. I have a gift of saying things in a way that makes the issues I am speaking about perfectly clear. Even complex issues are clear to me and I can articulate them well. Even so, I am afraid of being a target if I say what I know or believe. I have long hidden my intelligence -- as early as fourth grade my teacher caught me deliberately writing the wrong answer on tests to keep the other kids from resenting me. I have felt the brunt of people's resentment all my life and do not wish to court that to a dangerous degree because now I have children to protect. So I do this: I raise my children to know the things I know, I teach them about the same things you are talking about, and I write little snippets of illumination in message boards to help others see just a little bit. Maybe it is not huge, but it is what I can do. I would love to write what I know, much like you do. Your blogs and forecasts seem to be telling me to go for it, but I have no idea how to do it or where to even start. But I am raising four children to be environmentally aware and to eschew consumerism for a better, less greedy life. With love, Carrie
... and I'll leave you with this thought ... your feedback on this interpretation welcome at francis@planetwaves.net ... as I say good night from the European capital ... and will catch you in the morning ... efc http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/030506Z.shtml
March 5 | from Political Waves, by Jude Hey all, this one falls into the "said it better than I can possibly say it" genre, so I am sharing it with you here. - efc I self-edit a lot -- trying to keep a balance between the things I intuit and the things I read. I'm more an "opinionator" than a "moderator" ... but I try not to get too far afield with that. As opinions have a way of reflecting on a persons idiosyncrasies, you know most of mine by now, and my belief that nothing that goes on in the world is without purpose. I've made a kind of peace with current events in the last year. I haven't had a rant in [gosh, some of you remember when I went off a lot] a long time. Of course, it's pretty easy to find rants now -- what I was intuiting back when I started with this list has come to pass so thoroughly that the op/ed's do it for me these days. As a very reasonable woman putting out very unreasonable news on a daily basis, I walk a tight-rope of a kind; I do not wish to add to the fear consciousness of the world and I don't want to be a simple Bush-Basher. The former makes us reactionary and stupid -- the latter is just too easy, like shooting fish in a barrel -- better, in my mind, to pump out examples of what's going wrong with the clear intention that at some point, we'll right it. It's my intention to focus on good outcome while detailing bad. The game is not lost, no matter what we read -- we're smack in the middle of it ... but it's damned dicey and we're better off knowing the particulars. Being oblivious to what's going on around us might make us happier at the moment -- but it hardly addresses the injustice or manipulation or meanness that will, in due time, come to visit us or those we love. The world that's being foisted on us at the moment is someone ELSE's nightmare, but we are responsible for it because we share its reality. As mass delusions go, this is a whopper. But eventually WE are going to fix this government ... if we don't count what's gone badly, and attend to its daily occurrence, we won't have a clue when the time comes. WE, as so many spiritual folks have acknowledged, are God's hands and feet, eyes and ears, on this plane. In short, I never lose sight of the "in the world, but not of it" concept -- I believe that Good will win ... that progress and enlightenment is inevitable; I also know my limitations in understanding the un-sanity of humankind. I know that there was indeed a Holocaust in our recent past -- that my own nation was built on the stress-fractured bones of indenture and soul-crippling slavery, and that now that comes with a two-car garage and a fist full of credit cards but it's basically the same -- that there are echo's today of the Inquisition that attempted to destroy in a frenzy of superstition and power and self-righteousness -- that civilizations at least as profound as ours have fallen into the black hole of history with only hints left to suggest their majesty. These things happen ... that can't be denied, but it can certainly be learned from. All of these outcomes were the product of choices. And it is also true that each heart that seeks liberty, that admires justice, and that works to achieve these things for all mankind is testimony to our human ability to rise above such circumstance and seek Light. Value justice. Work for common good. I believe that is the heart-signature of 21st century mankind. Look how far we've come -- in the last forty years we've spent our energy on looking at ourselves and attempting to heal; now it's time to make that big enough to embrace a planet. All we have to do to know this is true is to look at the polls -- people are responding to specific political questions, but those numbers reflect a bigger picture than just disenchantment with a leader ... what this government IS is no longer what people ARE. It's taken them a while to get past the smoke and mirrors, the hypocritical lies and rhetoric, to see what they were actually dealing with -- but now it's pretty clear they want no part of what they're looking at. We're working ourselves out of a dreadful situation, and it isn't clear how we're going to do that or how it's going to look. But we're well into it, we're finally making progress -- in identifying what we DON'T want, we clarify what we do. Day by day there are more of us joining that number, who want no part of torture or rendition or war or government control. And I can't think of better news for the day. A snip from Ekhart Tolle, below -- he frames it beautifully. -- Jude The Arising New Consciousness From "The New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle Most ancient religions and spiritual traditions share the common insight--that our "normal" state of mind is marred by a fundamental defect. However, out of this insight into the nature of the human condition -- we may call it the bad news--arises a second insight: the good news of the possibility of a radical transformation of human consciousness. In Hindu teachings (and sometimes in Buddhism also), this transformation is called enlightenment. In the teachings of Jesus, it is salvation, and in Buddhism, it is the end of suffering. Liberation and awakening are other terms used to describe this transformation. The greatest achievement of humanity is not its works of art, science, or technology, but the recognition of its own dysfunction, its own madness. In the distant past, this recognition already came to a few individuals. A man called Gautama Siddhartha, who lived 2,600 years ago in India, was perhaps the first who saw it with absolute clarity. Later, the title Buddha was conferred upon him. Buddha means "the awakened one." At about the same time, another of humanity's early awakened teachers emerged in China. His name was Lao Tzu. He left a record of his teaching in the form of one of the most profound spiritual books ever written, the Tao Te Ching. To recognize one's own insanity is, of course, the arising of sanity, the beginning of healing and transcendence. A new dimension of consciousness had begun to emerge on the planet, a first tentative flowering. Those rare individuals then spoke to their contemporaries. They spoke of sin, of suffering, of delusion. They said, "Look how you live. See what you are doing, the suffering you create." They then pointed to the possibility of awakening from the collective nightmare of "normal" human existence. They showed the way. The world was not yet ready for them, and yet they were a vital and necessary part of human awakening. Inevitably, they were mostly misunderstood by their contemporaries, as well as by subsequent generations. Their teachings, although both simple and powerful, became distorted and misinterpreted, in some cases even as they were recorded in writing by their disciples. Over the centuries, many things were added that had nothing to do with the original teachings, but were reflections of a fundamental misunderstanding. Some of the teachers were ridiculed, reviled, or killed; others came to be worshiped as gods. Teachings that pointed the way beyond the dysfunction of the human mind, the way out of the collective insanity, were distorted and became themselves part of the insanity. And so religions, to a large extent, became divisive rather than unifying forces. Instead of bringing about an ending of violence and hatred through a realization of the fundamental oneness of all life, they brought more violence and hatred, more divisions between people as well as between different religions and even within the same religion. They became ideologies, belief systems people could identify with and so use them to enhance their false sense of self. Through them, they could make themselves "right" and others "wrong" and thus define their identity through their enemies, the "others," the "nonbelievers" or "wrong believers" who not infrequently they saw themselves justified in killing. Man made "God" in his own image. The eternal, the infinite, and unnameable was reduced to a mental idol that you had to believe in and worship as "my god" or "our god." And yet ... and yet ... in spite of all the insane deeds perpetrated in the name of religion, the Truth to which they point still shines at their core. It still shines, however dimly, through layers upon layers of distortion and misinterpretation. It is unlikely, however, that you will be able to perceive it there unless you have at least already had glimpses of that Truth within yourself. Throughout history, there have always been rare individuals who experienced a shift in consciousness, and so realized within themselves that toward which all religions point. To describe the nonconceptual Truth, they then used the conceptual framework of their own religions. Through some of those men and women, "schools" or movements developed within all major religions that represented not only a rediscovery, but in some cases an intensification of the light of the original teaching. This is how Gnosticism and mysticism came into existence in early and medieval Christianity, Sufism in the Islamic religion, Hasidism and Kabbala in Judaism, Advaita Vendanta in Hinduism, Zen and Dzogchen in Buddhism. Most of these schools were iconoclastic. They did away with layers upon layers of deadening conceptualization and mental belief structures, and for this reason most of them were viewed with suspicion and often hostility by the established religious hierarchies. Unlike mainstream religion, their teachings emphasized realization and inner transformation. It is through those esoteric schools or movements that the major religions regained the transformative power of the original teachings, although in most cases, only a small minority of people had access to them. Their numbers were never large enough to have any significant impact on the deep collective unconsciousness of the majority. Over time, some of those schools themselves became too rigidly formalized or conceptualized to remain effective. Spirituality and Religion What is the role of the established religions in the arising of the new consciousness? Many people are already aware of the difference between spirituality and religion. They realize that having a belief system -- a set of thoughts that you regard as the absolute truth-does not make you spiritual no matter what the nature of those beliefs is. In fact, the more you make your thoughts (beliefs) into your identity, the more cut off you are from the spiritual dimension within yourself. Many "religious" people are stuck at that level. They equate truth with thought, and as they are completely identified with thought (their mind), they claim to be in sole possession of the truth in an unconscious attempt to protect their identity. They don't realize the limitations of thought. Unless you believe (think) exactly as they do, you are wrong in their eyes, and in the not-too-distant past, they would have felt justified in killing you for that. And some still do, even now. The new spirituality, the transformation of consciousness, is arising to a large extent outside of the structures of the existing institutionalized religions. There were always pockets of spirituality even in mind-dominated religions, although the institutionalized hierarchies felt threatened by them and often tried to suppress them. A large-scale opening of spirituality outside of the religious structures is an entirely new development. In the past, this would have been inconceivable, especially in the West, the most mind-dominated of all cultures, where the Christian church had a virtual franchise on spirituality. You couldn't just stand up and give a spiritual talk or publish a spiritual book unless you were sanctioned by the church, and if you were not, they would quickly silence you. But now, even within certain churches and religions, there are signs of change. It is heartwarming, and one is grateful for even the slightest signs of openness, such as Pope John Paul II visiting a mosque as well as a synagogue. Partly as a result of the spiritual teachings that have arisen outside the established religions, but also due to an influx of followers of ancient Eastern wisdom teachings, a growing number of followers of traditional religions are able to let go of identification with form, dogma, and rigid belief systems and discover the original depth that is hidden within their own spiritual tradition at the same time as they discover the depth within themselves. They realize that how "spiritual" you are has nothing to do with what you believe but everything to do with your state of consciousness. This, in turn, determines how you act in the world and interact with others. Those unable to look beyond form become even more deeply entrenched in their beliefs, that is to say, in their mind. We are witnessing not only an unprecedented influx of consciousness at this time but also an entrenchment and intensification of the ego. Some religious institutions will be open to the new consciousness; others will harden their doctrinal positions and become part of all those other man-made structures through which the collective ego will defend itself and "fight back." Some churches, sects, cults, or religious movements are basically collective egoic entities, as rigidly identified with their mental positions as the followers of any political ideology that is closed to any alternative interpretations of reality. But the ego is destined to dissolve, and all its ossified structures, whether they be religious or other institutions, corporations, or governments, will disintegrate from within, no matter how deeply entrenched they appear to be. The most rigid structures, the most impervious to change, will collapse first. This has already happened in the case of Soviet Communism. How deeply entrenched, how solid and monolithic it appeared, and yet within a few years, it disintegrated from within. No one foresaw this. All were taken by surprise. There are many more such surprises in store for us. ++ March 5 | Religious Interlude: Marketing Day AS REGULAR readers of this column know, Sunday is held sacred and sanctified for a marketing pitch; the Sabbath of Subscriptions; the day I get to remind you what else we have to offer, and also that Planet Waves and all its related services grow and thrive as a result of our one premium service, Planet Waves Weekly. PWW is the home of my weekly horoscope and birthday report, as well as a Friday series on astrology that ranges from covering your role in world affairs, to my current series on outer planet transits. So far in this series I've covered the Pluto Square, the Uranian opposition and introduced Saturn and Saturn transits, which continues next week. When you subscribe to Planet Waves Weekly, you get the new editions (usually three per week) and you also have instant access to three years of archives with many articles not published on Planet Waves. The outer planet series moves onto Chiron, before taking off in new and exciting directions, particularly as the 3/29 cluster of events unfolds. That series will explore one of the questions we most often hear from our readers about: what should I be doing in the world? In my reading, the events that occur simultaneously with the astrology of 3/29 will focus us on precisely that issue, because it will suddenly become abundantly obvious that our level in the world is shifting; that we need to take involvement to a whole new dimension. A total solar eclipse in Aries, for example, is an ultimate contact point between an individual human consciousness and the world-at-large. Pluto stationing retrograde on the Galactic Core is currently running an intense focus of energy through the planet's consciousness, pushing things toward a potential tipping point. And the progressions in the Cheney/Bush inauguration chart will be making a very loud sound (but hopefully not too loud). These three events happen in the space of about 24 hours and it will be high times for astrojournalism, because we have the angle that you won't read about in Time magazine, the Wall Street Journal, or even the International Quarterly Review of Tap Dancing. Astrology is the place where individual experience and growth, world events, and the collective experience of them all meet. Astrology is where the news of the world, and the news of the cosmos, picks up the thread of your personal story, and you get to weave yourself in. If you are someone who is waking up to your place in the world, or who feels a calling to participate in a greater way, Planet Waves Weekly is for you. You can currently subscribe for just over $1 a week, which is less than the cost of, well, just about anything you might spend money on. For what your monthly cellular bill goes for, we provide you with a full year of service. We do plan to make the maximum subscription term six months shortly, however, so if you would like to subscribe for a year, now is the time. There are two ways to subscribe -- on the Internet, or by calling our office. Both work well; the advantage of using the Net is that you get instant access to the newest materials, and the advantage of calling our office is that you can talk to Chelsea and discover that we are perhaps the ONLY Web site that actually answers the phone; and it's a freephone to boot. If you'd like to call, the number is (877) 453-8265 in the USA or 001 (206) 567-4455 from outside the USA (not a free call). If you would like to sign up on line, you can use this link: http://www.planetwavesweekly.com/sales/home.html And our subscriber feedback is here. No matter what I have to say, when subscribers say it in their own words, it comes out a lot better. http://planetwavesweekly.com/feedback.html I'll be back tomorrow with reader comments in the What To Do series. Thank you for your your subscription, for showing up, for reading my little Sunday sermon and and most of all for doing your part in the world. Yours & truly ERIC FRANCIS Brussels, Belgium PS: Subscriptions are guaranteed. If you EVER feel like it's not worth the money, you can write or call for a refund -- so your investment is a safe one. Also, we do make comp and reduced fee subscriptions available to those who need them, so call Monday if you would like to take advantage of that. And remember, your subscriptions give you access to the weekly (really three times weekly) service, as well as support Astrology Secrets Revealed and the free Planet Waves site. March 5 | Response from Arizona
Dear Eric, No offense to Ann, who wrote the above, but I live in Arizona too, and did not find the wonderful services she is speaking of. My family was a hair's breadth away from homelessness last month and there were NO services for families. If you are a homeless male alone, IF there was room, you could sleep in a shelter. If you are a battered wife with kids, IF there was room, they would put you up. If you are a family, there were no shelters in the city I lived in for families. Not only that, but all the charities I encountered have this amazing thing they do. Even if you can prove loss of income and total lack of any income, they will not help with utility or housing costs without a shut off notice. The bad thing about that is, shut off notices mean having to get even more money to reinstate you. They also get listed on your credit report which will make your car insurance go up. (If you still have a car, if not there was very limited public transportation in my city.) The bad credit ding will also affect your ability to get a good paying job because more and more employers are doing CREDIT CHECKS as a prerequisite to employment offers. The whole system is skewed and definitely NOT as wonderful or helping as Ann would have you believe. For instance, Arizona is the only state which has the shortest time between eviction notice and actual eviction...14 days. All other states take 30 days or more for evictions. A family laid off from their jobs that are facing eviction in Arizona would be out in two weeks...on the street with kids and often no where to go unless they live in the only two cities that have some shelters for families. Welfare will give you cash assistance only if there is NO other income of any kind, even though unemployment is not enough to pay the living expenses of a family. The cash assistance for a family of six is about $600, (less than the max unemployment you might get) which won't even pay the rent, much less utilities and transportation. Food stamps buy only food. You are expected to have a place to live, come up with reliable transportation in a city that has limited public transportation, have the means to buy the insurance and gas required for that transportation, buy the things to keep clean like soap, detergent, deodorant, shaving equipment, clothes, makeup, and pay for a phone for employers to contact you....all without any help from the same government we pay so many taxes into. Where do you get the money to pay for all those things? No churches in my city were willing to help much. No groups seemed to be set up to deal with the problem. What was that about the homeless getting so much help? Perhaps if the help happened BEFORE they became homeless, there would not BE so many homeless. In essence, the welfare system in the US is about giving a man a fish, not about helping him get the fishing equipment, keep the transportation to the lake where the fish are, keep the house to live in and cooking equipment to prepare the fish, keep the utensils to eat the fish and the means to wash himself and the utensils. If it were to do the latter, there would be a lot less homeless people. The most glaring issue Ann is silent on is WHY there are so many homeless families here and all over this country. Giving out blankets is nice and all, but children are damaged for life when they experience the total lack of security that homelessness means. Our society is damaging millions of kids every day because of the "ownership" ideology. America is an "exclusive" country, unless you are rich and well connected, you are excluded from having a secure life. Europe is an "inclusive" society because so many are included in social contracts and programs that protect them and provide health security and life security. Europe is not perfect, but they are a lot better in many ways than America is when it comes to how the people are cared and provided for. -- Carrie March 4 | Re: Victim Stuff I SPENT the day thinking about Anne's letter (see below). Be careful what you send me because I just might mull it over for a while. I have decided that she has a point, but on two accounts got it backwards. When I got in tonight, Anatoly, our web guy in the Ukraine, sent me an Instant Message. Planet Waves is kind of like full immersion English class for him and I happen to love hearing the perceptions and language of non-native English speakers. Here is what he asked me: "mmm...wot this woman means...Planet Waves Blog is full of victim ideology...victim is subject of criminal, accident etc..?" Exactly. Sticking to the most basic dictionary definition of victim (not the ambiguous 'spiritual' one we are growing accustomed to), Anatoly hit the nail on the head. My sense is that a crime is being committed on the grandest scale in the United States. That something is being taken from us, as a society, and as individuals; that the social contract is being breached and in effect, destroyed. And, I address those issues regularly. But there is a difference between pointing out a criminal act and having "victim mentality." In my response to Anne, I made these points:
Graft is Dick Cheney's company profiting wildly on all the contracts it's getting from his own office. Graft is the Carlyle Group, the actual BushCo and its military contractor holdings, profiting wildly from all the contracts they are getting, as we slide down the stream of what some hope will be eternal war. So, I am not really sure what she was on about. Every day I wake up and take action (writing and media organizing are my chosen primary forms of action at this point). And I encourage people to do something similar, which is to get involved and try to not feel like it's all so overwhelming that you just don't matter. The truth is, I do feel overwhelmed. I am very concerned at at times pretty scared about the direction things are moving in, and I wish I would not have to hear anything else about the proposals to use nuclear weapons on Iran. But as Melanie Reinhart once said to me, that is not despair. Despair is what happens when you look away. I think what I am saying is that we're only victims until we wake up. So let's wake up to the fact that we are being victimized and deal with it. March 4 | Reader Comment: Planet Waves Blog is on Victim Trip Hello Eric, The homeless get lots of aid here in the US. I work for the homeless on a daily basis along with hundreds of others in my city. They get a lot more than blankets passed out to them. AND, I live in Arizona, a patently Republican stronghold. Where I live there is an entire campus of services of any kind they could possibly want to help them above and beyond those that actively seek them out. Your point of view is skewed to make your point. But, in order to be credible, one needs to know what one speaks of. I don't think this kind of rhetoric is much different from what the other team has to say about you. It's an insult to those already actively engaged in the evolution of consciousness, those who work it every day. I don't HAVE a spiritual practice or training. I live it. Living it is the only way. Words aren't even close and rhetoric is worse and can be more disabling to one's beliefs. You are an incredibly,amazingly talented astrologer, but I find your blog is full of victim ideology, no matter how you dress it up. No victim has the power to change anything without until the victim consciousness within is balanced. The blog is out of balance if it leaves those actively engaged in all the change you seek unseen. Isn't there a better way to get your message out than constant finger pointing and denigrating what IS done well? Those of us who have joyfully given our lives to what you talk about as though it does not exist in the US could actually use a lot more support and encouragement.... I would love to hear more of that in your blog. Thanks, Anne March 4 | What to Do: Copy Edit! I HAVE a really nice collection of 'what to do' letters sitting in a folder that I am sure many people are eager to read, and I would like to ask a reader here to take over cleaning them up and getting them ready for publication. You would need to have some copy editing experience, know your thens from your thans, and be a bit obsessed about consistency. You need to know what I mean when I say em dashes and smart quotes (if you don't please volunteer for another job at Planet Waves! -- we do have a few). You need to know what I mean by HTML mail and Veranda 12. And you would need about three hours on your hands before Sunday morning East Coast time to go over them and get them to me in good form for posting (hence any time Saturday or overnight Saturday). One of my astrology colleagues in the great nation of Canada wrote to me today about the travesty of the destruction of the what is truly sacred ground for astrologers, the band of land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Without disparaging the lives that have been lost and the families that have been destroyed, the Earth and the history of humanity are also being shattered. Most people do not think about this, but when we went to school, that area was called "the cradle of civilization" because that is where all our knowledge was either developed, or imported to from some other place and took the earliest known root on Earth: writing, agriculture, mathematics, astrology and therefore astronomy, and much else that we take for granted today. I wrote about this in the summer of 2003. It is in the subscriber archives somewhere. I contend that this is not an accident. I don't really believe that Bush, Rumsfeld and Cheney are space aliens who have come here to destroy the planet -- but that is my working metaphor. In other words, we are not in the midst normal events, but rather we are experiencing a hostile takeover of our resources and weapons systems and they are slowly being turned against, well, against everyone. And it's amazing how difficult it is for most people to distinguish the "normal operation of government" from having this huge federal machine turned into something that does nothing but wreak devastation. It's done a lot of wreaking devastation in the past, as anyone who knows the history of Central America or South America from the 1940s to present can tell you. But it used to do other things occasionally too. Think about it. Seriously. What does the federal government DO? We all pay taxes. Even poor starving artists who never signed a 1040-EZ in their whole entire life can't drink a cup of coffee or dial the phone without paying federal taxes in some form. Okay, where does it all go? What do you GET for your money? In Europe, everyone gets health insurance. I realize that in the UK it kind of sucks, but at least it's there and there is a kind of ultimate safety net, and if you're in the Bahamas and you get sick, as a royal subject, you are taken care of. If you're a woman and you become pregnant, in many European countries you can take care of your baby for three years and not have to worry about work. If you get injured, you really get to go to the hospital without them picking through your walled and looking for every possible source of money. Those are just the health benefits. In Paris, the homeless are not arrested. To the contrary, people come around and give out blankets. In every city I've visited or lived in, the public transport is excellent. In Brussels, the turnstiles are open all the time, nobody checks your ticket. Even in San Fran with its beloved BART system, you still need a car. And you pay for that car; you pay a toll every time you cross a bridge; you pay high taxes when you register; you pay fuel taxes. Is public transportation infrastructure being developed? You tell me. In the US, welfare is cut, social programs are cut, school budgets are cut, city development money is cut, financial aid is cut. What do you get for your rather hefty federal taxes in the United States? I'll tell you. You get HALLIBURTON. You get war. You get these weird camps. You get billions of dollars in contracts for Blackwater Security to try to hold its own against an insurgency somewhere you've never been and will never go. And hey you even get the privilege of Bush flying around in his own private 747! Don't you feel like you live in a great country? Look at that big airplane he gets! My colleague also complained that more astrology Web pages were not speaking up about the war, or on social issues that are connected to it. The only other one at the moment, she said, is that of Philip Sedgwick; and I can tell you that Jonathan Cainer gives me free reign in the Astrology Secrets Revealed column and has many times spoken out. Are there others? Please let me know and we'll pass the information on. What I said to her is: the reason they are not speaking up is probably: business. Saying depressing things to your readers is allegedly bad for sales. Or it's the news, so it's unspiritual. I have thought this through for a second, and have decided to trust my readers. And not only to trust them, but to trust that what I need to say, indeed what my conscience dictates I must say, your are at least willing to consider -- but I know from my email it's much more than that. I can't get around it, anyway, because the job of Planet Waves is to cover news and astrology in an integrated way that opens the door for the personal growth factor in all of it. We do have a big issue on our hands with both the humanist and spiritual aspects of what we are seeing having few clear voices. One of them, however, is a retired investigative reporter named Bill Moyers. Here is something he said recently in one of his talks. "As difficult as it is, however, for journalists to fashion a readable narrative for complex issues without depressing our readers and viewers, there is an even harder challenge to pierce the ideology that governs official policy today. One of the biggest changes in politics in my lifetime is that the delusional is no longer marginal. It has come in from the fringe, to sit in the seat of power in the Oval Office and in Congress. For the first time in our history, ideology and theology hold a monopoly of power in Washington. Theology asserts propositions that cannot be proven true; ideologues hold stoutly to a world view despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality. When ideology and theology couple, their offspring are not always bad but they are always blind. And there is the danger: voters and politicians alike, oblivious to the facts. What can we do? Let's hear from our readers. Those who wish to help pull the copy together may write to me at francis@planetwaves.net. But you have to know about em dashes and smart quotes! Love, e March 3 | What To Do: Let's Stop Playing it Cool I KNOW that in writing this series, I'm contacting a lot of people who care. So I don't mean to get too preachy with those of you who are already willing to stick out your neck, and risk pissing off spouses, friends and bosses, to get a little movement going. I also try to put out useful arguments in the hope that they will get cloned or adopted and put to good use. And quite honestly I make these daily contributions partly out of social conscience, and partly so I don't go insane. My notebook has a lot of great ideas for what we can do: skills we can develop (I have a blog planned on learning flexibility; another on developing leadership skills; and another on communication skills); one on learning to take on one another's problems as our own, so we can get them solved; another on learning basic civics -- and teaching one another basic civics -- so that we know (to give one example) that the First Amendment covers things other than the right to have a pet. When I'm ready for a really good one, I'm going to get going on the ideas of Dr. Wilhelm Reich. Reich dedicated his medical practice, writing and study to understanding and healing the effects of suppressed orgasm in particular, and erotic feeling in general. He proved, to the extent that this can be done, that fascist methods of governing society are directly linked to shutting people down sexually. We need to draw a rather critical connection between "Abstinence Only Sex Education" widely taught in the United States, initiated under Ronald Reagan, lobbied into law in 1981 by the Heritage Foundation; and the tendency of the "free world" to become a little less free every hour or two. Reich, often said to be Freud's brightest student, wrote a book called The Function of the Orgasm. In it, he outlines in clear terms the ways in which politics is made ever more neurotic and reactionary as people lose the ability to touch one another, or to be touched, or to feel and share pleasure. I say lose, but in truth, I mean have taken from them, as faux moral dictate bashed into our consciousness and DNA. As we witnessed during the Clinton years, making sex into a huge dramatic morality play leads the way to something a lot darker. The connection is not merely coincidental. I would bet it all that Karl Rove cooked up that whole impeachment plot, which played into how ghastly so many people think that any form of sex is. One might think they are somehow outside the system, that these crazy politics don't affect them, and that they are free from all this. "They can make all the laws and rules they want, but I'm still going to do what I want." That is good as far as it goes (assuming you don't get caught doing whatever is now banned). When an atmosphere of fear and intolerance spreads widely through the media and the population, when nearly everybody is freaked out and worried, that tends to consume a lot of energy, and reduce the number of people who are willing to play with us. There is only so much fun one can have in the throes of moral crisis, and only so much fun the people around them can have. But that's now what I'm here to talk about today. Today I am here to complain about cool. By cool, I really mean playing it cool. I don't mean actually being cool-headed in the face of a crisis, or cool as in not being an asshole. I don't mean cool as in novel and interesting, like a really cool bug. I mean cool, as in acting like nothing is bothering you, whether it is nor not. And I don't mean you. I mean whoever you notice around you who is acting really cool about the world now, and what we need to do; and I do mean 'you' if that includes you, which I doubt. Cool is something we are taught by fashion and media. It's the attitude that nothing matters except how cool you are and to a lesser extent, how cool other people are. This creates the ebb and flow of fashion that keeps sales moving. It is a form of glamour, that is, an exterior gloss applied to the personality that covers up something (a lot) inside. A perfect idiot who knows nothing and cares even less can put on some cool and we can like him because he is...cool. You can be anything else you want, as long as you're cool. In psychological terms, I am speaking of an affect -- that is, an attitude taken on the surface. It has nothing to do with reality. Mood is something different; that is the inside. But sometimes affect can go so deep that it becomes a mood, a way of being, a psychological habit that tricks even oneself. Part of cool is not expressing one's feelings, particularly of love, sexual attraction or anger; never revealing a vulnerability; refusing to share a concern. Part of cool is not doing something because it's not cool. Cool is defined from generation to generation; it used to be that cool meant caring and being involved; now, as in many other times, cool means not caring, and not being involved, simply because it is not cool. It has many subtle forms. In our era, spirituality and religion are often involved, in the more educated people; they can become an excuse to act a certain way, like you know, we yoga people don't get worked up about injustice, we just work it all out on the inside. But you see, for what it's worth, I don't believe that line. There is a lot more to life than working it all out on the inside, and that, anyway, is something that very few people do alone, and in any event, it's a lot easier with help and encouragement. When life comes down to living, we're all in it together, and a big part of the cool problem is the illusion that everybody has it all taken care of on their own. We are all taught to be so cool, on our own little psychic islands, with each unique iPod doing its own unique shuffle. My old therapist Joe once quoted Paul McCartney to me, from the song "Hey Jude": It's only a fool who plays it cool Cool has two opposites that I can think of: caring, and passionate. That would be warm, and hot. Trust me, I totally realize these are just not cool. --- Wikipedia on Cool http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cool Here is an introduction to Wilhelm Reich http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Reich The Heritage Foundation http://www.heritage.org/ March 2 | What to Do, part two THERE IS a viewpoint that at this point in history we all need to 'let go and let God'. It would seem that a lot of the more spiritually oriented people are witnessing this time of global crisis and either hoping or certain that God is going to step in and do something -- or that despite our perceptions, the Divine plan is the perfect one. Yet I dread to think that such an idea would ever exempt people from participating in life, or taking an excuse to stand back and do nothing -- be it in the face of injustice, or in the presence of an inner calling to take action in the world. Also, like many people, I would love to believe that the Divine plan true, however, I will simply not accept the notion that God is making a huge civil war in Iraq as part of His 'plan'. I think if I offered to debate this with God, He would start laughing at me. Of course God is not making war, people are. Today I'd like to share some of my personal religious philosophy with you. Normally, I shy away from direct discussion of my religious beliefs because as an astrologer I want to speak to people of all religions. And I would rather just live my principles. But this bit of background may provide some useful perspective. I am what is called Quaker, yes, related to the guys on the oatmeal box. This is technically a form of Protestant religion, but it's minimalist. The official name of the faith is the Religious Society of Friends, based in Philadelphia -- in Pennsylvania, which is named for William Penn, the founder of the American Quakers (and also the name of my very ancient cat, who lives in New Jersey). Friends have very few religious beliefs. 'God' is defined as the 'Inner Light'. Meeting is held in silence, and individual members may speak during the meeting if moved to do so. There is no minister; each meeting has what's called a Ministry and Council Committee. Important decisions are left first to Ministry and Council, then to the whole meeting if necessary. Men and women actually participate equally. Now for a basic Quaker principle: We do not go to war. Simple. We are always present in time of war to assist those who do not want to go, whether on moral or religious grounds, or because they're scared, regardless of what faith they may or may not belong to. Quakers have a long history of standing up for social justice, and of getting involved. Most are actually very conservative people in their personal affect and choices, so you could not call them 'liberal', but rather, favoring fairness. Now, Quakers are sometimes called pacifists. And there is a history of what you might call passive resistance among the Quakers, but there are also others who are a bit more assertive; certainly, taking hundreds of boys before the Draft Board during Vietnam and getting them out of the draft, as many Quakers did in their communities, is not passive resistance. My huge, cryptic message is this. I just happen to come from a spiritual tradition for which social justice and religious principles are the same thing. I was not born into this, but chose it at the age of 14 after five years of experience at Quaker summer camps (Camp Onas in Ottsville, PA, and Camp Timberlake in Plymouth, VT). So for me, it's not such a big stretch to put my spiritual values into action. In Quaker faith, it's not a matter of whether to act, but rather, what is the most appropriate action. When the meeting acts as a group, there is never any discussion about 'whether we can be effective', but rather, 'okay, what's the right thing to do?' Often, the meeting just sits in silence for the right answer -- and there always is something handy that comes along. So, that is where I am coming from. There are many spiritual traditions that call for putting one's values into action, and that is, on many different levels. There are the basic levels of our home life and our work place, and the work we do every day -- and there is the (in fact not so different) level of 'the world' itself. It is all the world, and we are all part of it; the question is what level we allow ourselves to concerned about, and whether we will allow ourselves to take action on that level. There are two parts to making this real, I think: one of them is ceasing the mantra, 'I don't matter, I cannot be effective'. Another is allowing oneself to be moved to appropriate action. That does not mean taking on anything specific or proscribed, but rather, making a choice based on what one's guidance says, and then acting as part of the whole. There is also something about speaking up. I recognize that often, in the context of spiritual or religious teaching, people are taught to be quiet and keep their voices low. But honestly stating one's perceptions and values, and teaching oneself to have a voice, are important personal steps that anyone can begin with no special training or pre-taught ideas. So, too, is practicing listening what others have to say. Taken actively, both are fairly challenging aspects of putting spirituality to real live, use. The beauty of a world where there is so much injustice is that there's always a little someplace that we can, indeed, do justice. There is always someone who needs us to take one of their problems and make it our own for a while, and thus take it off their shoulders. And whatever level we decide to act on, or follow the guidance to act on, we will be making a positive contribution to the whole. These may be small contributions but they are very different than the feeling of being ineffective or meaningless. And it's a lot happier state of mind, because participating in the world is truly a satisfying experience, despite being pretty challenging some of the time. One of the things I appreciate most these days is that the 'anti-war movement' is calling itself the 'peace movement'. This is more than just a new name; it's a shift in orientation. That orientation can to a lot further. Much like happened during Vietnam, I am appreciating the way that many people are beginning to link the issues and take 'the war' as a reminder to work for social justice on whatever level they can. But there can always be more. The world always needs more people who take action because they love the place. Here is an article from Wikipedia that you might find interesting. It's long, but a few solid glances will tell you a lot. It kind of says the same thing over again, kind of like Gandhi himself. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi Thanks, everyone, for your 'What To Do' emails. I'll have those pulled together for presentation this weekend as guest blogs. Hello everyone, I am between countries at the moment, and will be continuing with the "What to Do" series Thursday morning. Thanks for your patience -- and meantime, I would love to hear your ideas for what to do because I am sure you have plenty of them. e Feb. 28 | What To Do, part one IT'S NOT always easy getting used to the idea that you're not totally ineffective. Based on any analysis you like, except for one, it's impossible that your life has no effect on the world: whether you look at physics, social science, biology or history, individual human beings shape and change the world. When they get together with their ideas, resources and energy, they have an exponentially greater effect. Except for one measure, psychology. People who believe they are ineffective, that their lives don't matter, or that they are helpless, almost always fall victim to their own psychic condition. The scenario I outlined yesterday -- a kind of massive standoff between the forces of greed and those of humanity -- is not necessary. It's not inevitable. And something a lot better is possible, if we're willing to believe it is, and if enough of us are willing to work for it. While I'm not here to give rosy predictions about the next 10 years, we all know what people can accomplish when they get together and take action, be it to create something or put an end to something -- and we've got some of both to do right now. Speaking for the United States and much of the 'free' world, we think it's normal that people are so devoted to being so out of it politically. In other countries were people have it a lot harder, being aware of social issues and politics is not an inconvenience or a luxury, it's a basic fact of life. Many people who do care think it's normal to live in a world where they feel like they're the only ones who do. That can be nearly as isolating as feeling useless or helpless. Anyone with experience getting something done knows a) it's usually impossible without a lot of help, and b) has a lot better chance of happening when people cooperate. But deep in there, the first step is getting just a little bit past the idea that you don't matter. Or, deciding that issue is irrelevant -- you're going to do what you can anyway. I get the sense that in the past week or so many people have come to one of these two realizations. There is the kind of resignation that we're accustomed to, that of despair, or feeling like there's no hope. Resignation can be turned the other way, too -- it can give way to resolve. But this us usually an entirely organic process. It's almost something that happens on a biochemical level, or like a psychological barrier yields and an idea we have about ourselves and the world changes. At other times, necessity is the motivation. Something just has to be done, so we do it, and the thought that we cannot never occurs to us. Over the next few days I'd like to talk about what we actually can do to help the world situation, in meaningful ways that fulfill one crucial requirement -- they don't set us back personally, but rather contribute to the growth and sense of meaning we want so much. I made a list tonight of 'things we can do' (while getting a long civics lesson about how the rather complex European Union government works), and one of the things that came up on the list is we can feel better about ourselves. While it sometimes happens that the work we do and making ourselves busy and productive lead to feeling better, usually we just decide to go there -- and then take action from a place of awareness. If you're someone with a mental habit of putting yourself down -- a lot of us are, and this is something I've struggled with on and off for a super long time -- it helps to keep an eye on that tendency. While it seems a difficult habit to break, it's also something that thrives in the dark, away from the light of awareness. One of the first steps, and really, one of the easiest, is giving yourself permission to honestly care. Do it with a clear conscience, no matter what anyone else may feel, or what you think they feel. Even if that's as far as you get, for now, because it's a really good start. I'll have more on this theme tomorrow. Thank you for all the really amazing mail that's come in the past few days. Feb. 27 | The Green Line in the Sand I'D LIKE to offer you a theory of what's happenin' here. I make no claim of originality, but the presentation and interpretation are my own. Let's put some pieces together. Just in terms of the basic operative facts of the moment, one movement that we're seeing is the Total Information program mining the Internet, harvesting emails, spying on citizens and even preparing to wage cyber warfare against bloggers and 'enemy computer networks'. Cyber warfare games were played just two weeks ago by the United States military and even received some mainstream press coverage. At the same time, I keep reading more and more about civilian labor campus and plans for martial law. This comes at the same time that the cabal in Washington is changing the rules for what is fair and legal, and switching to an unabashed 'what we say goes' system: torture, the 'rendering' of prisoners, prisoners held without charges, and anything being potentially an act of 'terrorism' including sending an email. Being aware of these things, one might get the feeling that the Powers That Be are getting ready for something. But just what, exactly? To sum up the past five years of history, the petroleum industry, collectively the biggest environmental criminals in existence, has fully taken over the United States and UK governments, and is spreading its influence on every possible level. The World Oil War has begun, under the guise of the 'war on terror'. Environmental activists are now considered 'ecoterrorists'. On the one hand, the oil is being sold as fast as possible for as much money as possible, with as little regard for the environment as possible. Huge profits are being made in the wake of many global disasters all of which coincidentally come back to oil -- from Katrina to Iraq. On the other, there is ample evidence that the oil is running out fast. Saudi Arabia is clearly past peak production (based on how much water is being pumped into the ground to get the oil out, and the lack of discoveries of any new fields), as is the United States. There are no honest estimates in public existence about how much of the stuff is really left; we know it's a finite amount in any case; and the corporate powers are intent on making sure that no real alternatives get on the market. The whole issue of taxing vegetable oil in the UK when people pour it into their fuel tanks is an example of this. Meanwhile, it is clear that the climate is in weird condition; the weather is going wiggy, and there are daily reports of the speed at which the polar caps are melting. Everywhere, scientists are sounding the alarm. And yet the oil is being burned as fast as possible. No bigshot opens his mouth and utters the word 'conservation'. And yet our entire society, from what this computer is made of to the energy that will send the message to you, is oil. In short, it would seem that the world is headed for a major environmental crisis concurrent with an oil crisis, which will have exponentially compounding effects affecting billions of people. And our governments and corporate governments, intent on making war, oil profits, war profits and various other forms of carbon dioxide profits, seem to be not only back-peddling on progress, but hunkering down, consolidating their power, and most of all, getting ready for something. What they are getting ready for is a global uprising on the one thing we all have in common: The environment. This includes food, water, weather, safe places to be, energy and economic issues, but the environment is what ultimately unites all people and is the one issue that, when confronted, transcends politics, nationality, race, religion and geography. It transcends any single issue like war or debt. A massive, global environmental uprising is an inevitability. At a certain point, it will be undeniable to the great masses of people that something in the ecosystem is wrong, and it will be evident that those who have the power to do something are not only doing nothing, but are pushing progress in the opposite direction and personally profiting along the way. Squandering the Earth for the sake of the few is the greatest crime in history. Further, economic pressures due to the energy crisis are going to make a lot of natives restless. The people playing this game -- the 'haves' playing on the 'have nots' -- know exactly what they are doing, and so might expect others to figure it out, too. If I were them, I would be bloody nervous. Particularly with the Internet loose and in the hands of hundreds of millions of people. That would scare the wits out of me if I were in that position and intent on keeping a grip on information, particularly preventing the spread of information about the political situation and the condition of the planet. Meantime, perpetuating a campaign of war, racism, bigotry, hatred, fear and greed through the 'mainstream' media would be THE obvious way to keep people anesthetized and entertained to death long enough to get away with the crime. There is a line being drawn, and it's the green line in the sand. When does it all begin? Well, it's already begun, but as outer planets change signs -- Pluto into Capricorn, Uranus in to Aries, Chiron and Neptune in to Pisces to name four -- all between now and 2011 -- the situation is going to escalate rapidly. These are not aspects or placements that come and go quickly; to the contrary, they show up for long durations, and form powerful aspects that are well known to provoke mass uprisings and revolutions. This escalation of energy includes the global environmental situation, and also the resulting standoff between the people of the Earth and those who pretend to be their masters, wardens and barons. What is clear, as well, is that there will be intervening factors. History is never an orderly, step by step process like those who try to manipulate it make it seem in their news conferences. And it would appear from the astrology of the next lunar cycle -- which encompasses two eclipses, one of the Moon and one of the Sun a month from Wednesday -- that we'll get a glimpse of what some of those intervening factors are about.
And this is really amazing...
Feb. 26 | Psychic Weather Advisory BEFORE I resume with my analysis of the entire world in Monday's edition, if nobody minds, I'll slip in a little mundane astrology -- a weather advisory re. the Pisces New Moon and also Mercury stationing retrograde in Pisces. That's a lot of Pisces, particularly given that Jupiter in Scorpio is trine both events, and there has been a lot of Neptune in the air the past couple of weeks. Here is the chart. This occurs in Europe and the UK very early Tuesday morning and in the USA, Monday evening. In Australia, it's a bit later in the day Tuesday. http://cainer.com/ericfrancis/gifs/uraniannewmoon.jpg There are a number of factors to this setup, and basically what you have is a situation where everything in Pisces is making contact with an outer planet. Indeed, the three most personal of the planets, Moon, Mercury and Sun, are all in close aspects to outer planets, to wit: the Moon and Sun conjunct Uranus; and Mercury simultaneously making a square to Pluto and the Galactic Core. Taken apart or together, these are both a setup for a turning point. But it will have its turbulent qualities (Uranus so prominent, as well as a Mercury station) as well as its harsh or extremely decisive moments (the Mercury to Pluto square). Mercury-Pluto is so precise as to be surgical. However, with Uranus and the Galactic Core involved, there is the influx of higher vibration energy that in contrast most of our concerns and ideologies pretty much wipe clean the kinds of considerations we have in our usual day-to-day affairs. There is a real feeling of getting rid of the chaff and keeping the grain; if burning off karma. The transitions do seem to be moving quickly, and they do seem meaningful. There seems to be a distinct shift in levels indicated in this New Moon chart, and what works or seems to function anyway at the lower vibrations does not usually work so well at the higher ones. So, on the Earth level there are turning points, but if you think in terms of a vertical or multidimensional axis, there is a process of leaving behind the conflict and shifting to a space where the contradictions lose their meaning. In terms of the Mercury-Pluto-Galactic Core square, which holds solid from now clear through the week because Mercury stations midweek and is thus stationary, there is an inner dichotomy of soul vs. emotions indicated; and getting clear on the emotional level while keeping your intentions focused on your deepest inner sense of direction. There is not really a conflict between these levels, but the square says we may experience it as one. And the station of Mercury says that there are decisions involved; that retrieving or resolving something from the past may be involved; that coming to closure on something -- which story continues through the next time Mercury comes back and squares Pluto in April -- is a big piece of the puzzle. The GC has a famously nonjudgmental quality. You could not say the same thing about Pluto, which seems to push everything to judgment; but the contrast in power between the two points is a little like a match next to the Sun. So it's Pluto itself that is coming in for a reckoning, and Mercury is in an interesting position. I would say this has something to do with making up one's mind, and aligning one's mind with soul and nothing else. Surely, this is all preparation for events to come, and there are many. Sunday, Feb. 26 | Holy Spiritual Marketing Day Dear Friend and Reader: MARKETING is a religion, and today is Sunday, so regular readers of this blog, and those who stumble in from the far corners of the ethers, get to experience one of my high-quality solicitations for you to invest in Planet Waves. I would not waste your money, but more to the point, I would never waste your time. This will be yet another superior level advertisement, written personally by me, carefully typed one letter at a time. Think of this letter any way you want: as communicating the mission of Planet Waves and inviting you in; as my contribution to the American Dream (and the economy); as my weekly motivational talk; as evidence of my pure-hearted determination to be a successful writer. As you wish. Your investment would come in the form of subscribing to Planet Waves Weekly, our premium [thrice] weekly service. We call it weekly, but it really comes out three times a week. The world needs more false advertising like this! Normally, when being subjected to a marketing pitch, you're told how much you GET for your money. Since Planet Waves gives you plenty for no fee at all, I'm at a slight disadvantage -- yet it's true that you do get something in PWW that is a more than a little extra -- and that is, a LOT of astrology. The top shelf stuff. The newest stuff -- first and best. You know, Absolut Chiron. Bombay Safire Saturn. Bailey's Irish Jupiter. The very finest Vancouver BC Northern Lights green-bud Venus. Gourmet Centaur planets, sprinkled with bits of the Galactic Core. How to surf your way through the coming Mercury retrograde. And my brilliant forthcoming masterpiece, "What Makes Dorks Tick?" Then there's my weekly horoscope, published every Friday and available only in/on Planet Waves Weekly. You also experience all four monthly horoscopes being emailed to you before they come up on the public web pages. 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Not in books, not on the Internet, not next to the funny pages -- and not even if you subscribe to the very excellent Pleiades Star-Journal, which does not exist on our planet. But even they subscribe to Planet Waves Weekly. Okay, that's what you get. And it's always good to get something for your money. But what you really get is you get to support Planet Waves and all of our projects that you love so much: Astrology Secrets Revealed, for example, and this daily blog, the photo of the day, our 24-hour newswire and so much more that makes Planet Waves your all-purpose vacation spot on the Internet. Plus, you get to forward Planet Waves Weekly to your friends as part of your subscription. Are we the coolest, or what? Plus, we offer you news with the insanity featured out. We are giving Big Brother what-for. You find some of the most fun, slightly outrageous sex-positive writing that you're going to find anywhere -- like my highly entertaining, informative, nutritious and orgasm-inspiring "Cunnilingus and Clover" feature from last week. Seriously, you can click on all 2.6 million astrology sites that come up in Google and you're not going to find anything like that -- except for right here. So, yes, marketing is a religion, but our real mission is having fun, keeping sanity's front porch light on, and making sure you get all the astrology you could ever want. And making sure you can give it away, too. Sign up now by credit card and you get instant access to the newest materials and archives. Catch you soon -- and thanks for reading. Here is the link to subscribe! http://planetwavesweekly.com/sales/home.html Yours truly, ERIC FRANCIS francis@planetwaves.net PS, subscribers will have instant access to Parallel Worlds, our 2006 annual horoscope Website. This features juicy, 2,000+ word horoscope interpretations, magnificent artwork and a lot of excellent articles. PPS, here is how our subscribers feel about Planet Waves Weekly. http://www.planetwavesweekly.com/feedback.html In high school, my friend Mike Ackerman & I had a party called "Sid Vicious is Dead but Punk Lives." I say the same tonight, upon finding this note in the handwriting of Johnny Rotten (John Lydon), refusing an invitation to the Sex Pistols' induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Gotta hand it to 'em...
http://www.thefilthandthefury.co.uk/images/congrat1a.jpg
Feb. 25 | The List ONE OF my readers emailed me yesterday to say how much she appreciated my blog. But she said she had to rise above a lot of fear to write to me, because she was concerned that her email might be intercepted and that she would, as result, get profiled. That was the word she used. I knew exactly what she was taking about, but I'd like to contemplate the idea here a little. Now, we're pretty sure that our electronic correspondence is being read by the government -- everyone (at least if you're on the Net, which is what matters in this case) has read about the NSA (National Security Agency) program of databasing billions of emails. And as a result of getting in the database, we have to deal with this idea of supposedly being profiled. Profiled as what? As a terrorist like Mohammed Atta, who we're supposed to be concerned about striking again? Or as an enemy of the regime? As an alleged sympathizer? Or as somebody who reads the newspaper? Profiled as one willing to have an opinion and express it to anyone, even in private correspondence? Profiled, in the Land of the Free, that great nation, where ideas are okay and we have what is called a Fourth Amendment right to be secure in our papers and our possessions? Profiled as someone who reads The Onion and laughs at Dick Cheney? How did we get from looking for terrorists, to somebody being afraid of sending an email to a friend? In yesterday's edition, I mentioned the 'chilling effect', which is a concept in First Amendment law. First Amendment is free speech, free press, freedom of religion, and the right to protest. Chilling effect is a form of censorship where a government entity basically freezes people out of feeling safe enough to express their views. This is a protected right, and the term is part of Supreme Court case law. In one form of censorship, a big pile of books might be confiscated. That's the obvious kind. Chilling effect is the sneaky kind: the psychological intimidation to self-censor. Then this slips into our private thoughts and starts to make boundaries about what is and is not an acceptable idea -- what novelist George Orwell called a "thought crime" in his book 1984. One of the great examples of a chill is when cops show up at protests and openly videotape the participants, even though nobody is doing anything wrong. This freaks a lot of people out because after all, they don't want to be on a police video tape. The effect of the taping is to play on people's deep fears of authority; and of surveillance, loss of privacy, and the expectation of punishment -- and as a result, to rather effectively scare some people enough not to come to the next protest. What you are exercising as a legal right -- your birth right -- is psychologically converted into a kind of pseudo crime. You can see why the founders of the American republic put these rights into the Constitution: they knew precisely the mentality of police (working on behalf of their higher authorities) that would someday come along and try to intimidate everyone for the sake of state power. They knew because they had witnessed the kingly, divine right of rulership mentality over and over, and had been personally subjected to it. And they waged a revolution. They did so to form a society were people would be free to live in peace, practice religion and do business; to pursue happiness, as they said it at the time. And they realized that was going to require a clear contract between the people and the government. Most of that contract is contained in the Bill of Rights, which I will post again at the end of this entry. As James Madison wrote 200 years ago, "Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm." Now, our current unenlightened statesmen and their minions cannot read every email. It seems they can't even find the email in their own office, when Dick Cheney is mentioned. I don't care how many terabytes of storage they have, I don't care how many GHz they run at, it doesn't matter how brilliant their sleuth programmers are, or how advanced their artificial intelligence programs are. In the best case scenario they are going to wind up with what is commonly called too much information. But still, in the back of everyone's minds, is notion that the NSA or somebody is keeping a list of everyone who speaks out, who dares to have an opinion and who dares to mutter it. If you're on that mythical list, the naughty person list, sooner or later, you're going to be in big trouble -- so you had better shut up. That, cousins, is called a social control program. Mind control. Brainwashing. I don't care if there's a list or not, and if there is, there's plenty of people on it I want to meet. The government should turn The List into a personals site or big chatroom so we can all get to know one another. Take a look at this news article about Morrissey and see if it makes more sense in the context of the chilling effect: how to send a signal to rock stars to shut the hell up, even though you really can't do anything about it. But first, here's your Bill of Rights. The really important ones these days are the First, the Fourth and the Fifth. http://planetwavesweekly.com/dadatemp/20060220x.html and flex those muscles... http://www.theonion.com/content/node/45572 Morrissey Quizzed By FBI Feb. 23 | All Hands On Deck YOU KNOW, cousins, I'm sick of all this heavy stuff myself. I spent most of the weekend and into the week reading about, and discussing among my friends, what I will politely call 'camps' in the United States -- which I would be less concerned about if the expenditure were not being blithely reported in The New York Times, or said by Halliburton (the parent company involved) to support "rapid development of new programs." Excuse me, but what the fuck is that supposed to mean? Why do I seriously even to think about the possibility of triple-decker boxcars outfitted with shackles, sponsored by our tax dollars? What do I tell people when they ask me, "Who are they for?" To make the point, why do I have to dig up an eight-year-old clipping about how the German concentration camp system started with a simple little torture yard in an urban neighborhood? You know what? I'm furious about this, and I am grieving something terrible happening. I'm furious that this is what my country has come to, and I am deeply sad to be seeing it happen. I'm disgusted that this is the example we're showing the world. I am embarrassed to be an American. I am shocked at the silence of so many people. I am terrified of the silence. It's all I can do to sleep at night. I want to work against this madness 24 hours a day. Then there is constant talk of another war, this time in Iran. More pain and suffering for political gain and oil. More blight on the face of a world that needs love and care, not endless bombs. Today, I was reading a sensible, well-reasoned article about the possibility of nuclear weapons being used on Iran, and the related possibility of a nuclear 9-11; I would not be so concerned if the same thoughts had not been occurring to me since the first 9-11. Because when people become desperate for power, and to cling to power, they can start to do very desperate things. Do I need to be the one to put it into words? Okay -- I will. We have a very serious problem on our hands. When I say we, I include you personally. And I am fully aware of the feeling that it may already be too late. I feel it too. I just get up every morning and do what I can. I don't do it because I want to. I do it because I have to. No, sorry, I'm not one of the, "Oh, it will all work out fine" types. I feel it's my responsibility to take action and to put my energy behind what I believe in. I feel it's my responsibility to actually respond. You know, part of the problem is that a lot of people we would expect to be speaking up are not. And that gives the idea that maybe there's not really anything wrong. I mean, everyone we thought had a social conscience. Neil Young or Bruce Springsteen or Bono; nice about taking care of Africa and all, but the US and UK are rapidly becoming police states, and our supposed leaders lie every time they open their mouths. Part of the problem is that I feel like I'm making an ass out of myself by saying something. And I am someone capable of saying absolutely anything I feel. So if I'm feeling like Chicken Little, how is everybody else feeling? One of my astrology clients last night said, "Somebody better do something -- I just never counted myself with that group." She said she was getting over the feeling that, "You've got to be perfect before you can do something." This is a big one, thinking when you finally do yoga well enough and make peace within, then you can speak up against injustice, because otherwise you're a hypocrite. Another is not wanting to be one of the bad, angry kids who goes to protests. Dad doesn't like those kids; they're just troublemakers. Another is wanting it to all go away. And how about all the other things you have to do? How about how difficult life is and how challenging it is to stay afloat? And how about the feeling that what you do won't make a bit of difference anyway? How about the fact that it's the only thing that possibly can? How about getting sick of excuses and sick of the silence and the complacency and sick of college students who don't know who the Secretary of State is? I forget which of the American founders said the time to be concerned is not when all your rights are gone, but rather when the first of them is encroached upon. We are well past that point. The mere fact that I have to worry that this communication to you may be intercepted by the 'National Security' apparatus is what's called a chilling effect violation of my right to freedom of press. I'm supposed to be scared and as a result, shut up. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled long ago that that was tantamount to censorship. To say these words to you, I am personally rising above an official policy of censorship. Monday, I posted the Bill of Rights to the Planet Waves Weekly list. And reading them, it occurred to me that they are under systematic attack. Like, that is the agenda, played out in reverse. Here is something I've wanted to write for a long time, and today found someone who had written it for me. I quote Bernard Weiner, co-editor of The Crisis Papers: "And so, under BushCheney, we've become an America that has codified torture in official state policy, that admits it went into a war under false premises but continues to keep our targeted troops there anyway, that spies on its citizens without court orders, that is willing to out a covert CIA agent (one who was probing the extent of Iran's nuclear program) for reasons of political retaliation, that 'disappears' American citizens into military jails and doesn't permit them any contact with the outside world, that flies suspects in its care to secret prisons abroad and 'renders' others to countries that use even more extreme torture measures, that passes laws permitting police agents to 'sneak and peek' into citizens' homes, phone records, computer databases, library requests, e-mails and medical records without permission or even informing those whose privacy had been violated, that neuters the Congress by saying it will listen to 'suggestions' but that the ultimate decisions are to be made by the Chief Executive, that emasculates the political opposition in Congress by cutting them out of the key decision-making processes, that declares the president has the right to violate the law whenever he so chooses and Congress and the courts have no role to play in reining in that power-grab, that keeps America on a permanent war footing in a never-ending battle against a tactic (terrorism), and on and on." How would you like me to say "wake up?" Should I be polite and reasonable, so I don't offend anyone, or should I scream, so somebody hears me? Said investigative journalist Bill Moyers, "What's right and good doesn't come naturally. You have to stand up and fight for it -- as if the cause depends on you, because it does. Allow yourself that conceit -- to believe that the flame of democracy will never go out as long as there's one candle in your hand." I've got something. It's yours, I'm giving it to you. Then you have to do something with it. Let it be more than sending an email. Pick up the phone and call someone; not a senator, but one of your friends. Call your mother. Call your dad. Call your kid. Go visit your neighbor. If they don't care, push the issue, show them a news clipping, start crying. Make the point. If you don't know enough to make your case, read truthout for two hours till you understand ONE issue well enough to explain it. If you feel inadequate, get over it. If you feel guilty for voting for Cheney-Bush, write a letter to your local newspaper apologizing. Anyway -- here you go. http://planetwavesweekly.com/dadatemp/20060220x.html Feb. 23 | Humble Beginnings: Notes from Germany NOTE: When I was traveling in Germany in 1998 with my friend Maria Henzler, I was writing for a magazine on Rob Brezny's Real Astrology site, and did a series on civil rights in Germany and the early days of the Nazi regime. I went to Deutchland, in part, with a mission of figuring out how it all happened, and to see how Germans were dealing with it today. In essence, the question was this: We all know how it ended. How did it begin? EARLY AFTERNOON Sunday and we're going to meet Bernhard for a tour of some Nazi artifacts. Two o'clock comes and we walk a few blocks. First he takes us to what remains of the old Erfurt synagogue. We explore the gutted building, and I wonder what they said to one another here during those years. Then we ride a streetcar across the cityscape, and then another, toward a place called Ilvers Gehoffen, which is now part of Erfurt but a century ago was its own town. We get off the trolley and walk, stopping to peek into the apartment house where Bernhard was born. He said he hadn't been back here since the late 60s when he was investigating Nazi atrocities. The neighborhood has that neutron bomb feeling -- all buildings, no people. We come to Feldstrasse, an ordinary-enough looking depressed urban street, with a row of small apartment houses. The neighborhood reminds me of somewhere in the desolate Bronx. In the middle of the block, on the front an apartment building, between two first-floor windows, is a memorial plaque, informing rare passers-by that on the other side of these buildings was a "protection arrest camp" where 100 anti-fascists were imprisoned, tortured and interrogated, and where in April 1933 four leaders of the "Erfurter Resistance Warriors" -- Heinze Sendhoff, Josef Ries, Waldemar Schapiro and Fritz Büchner, were imprisoned and, somewhere -- it's unclear where -- "killed like animals." It concludes somberly, "Their lives should be an example and obligation to all of us." This occurred less than 12 weeks after Hitler first took office as Reichs Chancellor, without, by the way, having been elected*. We are aghast at the swiftness of this. There is a big garage door near the sign leading under the apartment houses and into the warehouse on the other side, which is now occupied by a metal company. We walk around the block to the right, and behind the row of houses is a large and mostly-vacant city lot. There are a few dilapidated buildings and a lot of old bricks lying around with weeds growing. The metal company's building is behind a fence; there's also a brick building that looks like an old slaughterhouse you might see along the lower west side of Manhattan. This was it, this whole place. We are standing in what we believe was the very first concentration camp. Normally we are used to seeing the terrible results of the Holocaust; these are the humble and all-but-forgotten beginnings. I doubt whether any other Americans have come here. The warehouses are surrounded by numerous apartment buildings. Bernhard explains that there was an exercise yard for the prisoners, which we are now standing in. And here, he said, as we walk, was a very popular cinema where the good citizens would watch movies right next door to where prisoners were being tortured. We ponder this one for a while. At a little café across the street from the ruins, the Marmara Imbis Turkish Bar and Café, people are drinking coffee on the street. The psychology becomes very clear. Put the thing where everybody can see it and hear it. And naturally, nobody will complain. And if you lived in one of these apartments, on a hot summer night when the windows were open, you certainly might want another pillow to bury your head -- as Bernhard has informed us was the practice at the time this space was used as a torture prison. As we walk around surveying the scene, taking photographs, faces start to appear in those windows and eyes stare at us. I know that they know exactly why we are here, and the way they are gawking at us their anger is clear. We are acknowledging what they must somehow both deny and yet live with every day of their lives. Nothing changes here. We walk to a street car and head back to the hotel. I don't know it at the time, but I am slipping into shock, and it will be some weeks before I come out of it. -- *Hitler was initially appointed Reichs Chancellor by the aged and ineffectual then-German President Paul Hindenburg, and was elected head of state in 1934. He continued to hold the title Reichs Chancellor through his death in 1945. Here is a Wikipedia reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler#Hitler.27s_appointment_as_Chancellor Here is the article from which today's edition is excerpted: http://snipurl.com/mtne
And always remember...
Feb. 22 | News Bulletin I DON'T know if you've been following this astonishing story involving the Bush administration authorizing the sale of six ports to a company based in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Democrat and Republican lawmakers in Congress have lined up against the administration in their first-ever united attempt to block a Bush move. This deal represents the very height of the administration's hypocrisy and stupidity. Everything else that's done in the world is now on "national security" grounds, including reading your private email, arresting actors and photographing foreign infants as they come into the United States. So why are we selling off the nation's ports to a country that sponsors terrorism? Dubai, one of those places were there really is no such thing as human rights, is where Osama bin Laden was treated for kidney disease right before the Sept. 11 attacks. Nothing wrong with that; everybody has a right to a doctor. But if we're going bomb Afghanistan for being friendly to bin Laden, why do we go selling off ports in New York and New Orleans to a country that saved his life? There must be a reason. And it demonstrates to me that the administration represents someone other than the American people. So -- we have an actual political battle shaping up. I found this next link to be not-so-surprising, from the New York Daily News. http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022206Z.shtml Feb. 22 | Where Do You Go? MY FATHER is a professor at one of the poshest community colleges in the US. True, a community college is not the Ivy League, but if two-year colleges had an Ivy League this would be among them. There's even ivy growing on some of the buildings. He teaches communications: courses involving basic media, some television stuff, and one called Listening. He has grown frustrated with how little his students know when they show up -- like how to read, for instance. He has a new awareness test. The first day of class, he asks how many people know who Condoleeza Rice is. In a class of about 27-30 students, four or five raise their hands. That is well under 20 percent, people who obviously watch television but who are what you might call 'entertained to death'. As I mentioned yesterday, a number of us who work on this Web project have been considering the ongoing emergence of facts surrounding detention centers in the United States -- that is to say, camps, and some would say concentration camps -- yes, in the United States, a 'free country' that is 'spreading democracy'. Yes, the problem has a plausible deniability factor; they could be something else; maybe they're for rounding up Muslims, not exactly a comforting thought. Sure, anyone can say that it's alarmist to discuss this. It would not be the first time I'd heard that one. Naturally, as usual, paying attention is paranoid and ignorance is its own kind of demented bliss. It is true this has been an issue since the '80s and thanks to something called the Christic Institute, I've known of it personally since around 1991. Yes, FEMA (the sponsoring agency of this project, or the alt-government) is inept and the 'real' federal government is going broke on a war it cannot win in Iraq and Afghanistan and they may even go into Iran next. Yes, the administration is plagued with scandals (which is another way of saying high crimes committed are catching up with them), and yes, it is true, George Bush is not a genius and he cannot really inspire anyone; he is just at the heart of a huge patronage mill. Play an MP3 of the J.F.K. inaugural address, or M.L.K.'s "I Have A Dream," and you'll see what I mean about leaders who can inspire people. I am fully aware that our supposed leaders have next to no public support, but I'm also aware that they are in power without ever having had real majority support. Finally, I am aware that people turn into blithering fools when they are scared, and will allow anything in the name of taking the fear away. I really started to get worried back when I saw parents -- over and over again -- leave their kids in dormitories contaminated with dioxin and PCBs, knowing full well what they were doing because I had told them personally. But most disgusting to me was the student newspaper covering it up year after year. Always the same routine: the new editors come to me for the real deal and to get the documents; I show up or Fed Ex articles and test results neatly organized; they read them carefully, freak out and say nothing. Good little Nazis, just like the mainstream media we have today. Yet as a writer who can still feel in my body some of the responses I got to my early articles pointing out problems with the Iraq war -- the people who told me to bugger off; to do what I'm supposed to do, which is cast charts; to stop being an amateur political commentator and give us our astrological happy pills; I am still a little concerned about what I say here. It is also true, the times are changing, and I do get letters fairly regularly from people who ask me what they should be doing. I am also aware that devastating information is coming so fast that it is quite literally overwhelming to most, and this is a brilliant media tactic. And hey, all in all, our country is pretty dumbed-down. The people who know, often think knowing is enough. People who are spiritual think God or Goddess will save us. Many don't know what to think and most don't care at all. Sometimes people ask what is the limit; how far is too far. Well, I reached my limit a couple of decades ago and heck, I'm just 41. Then Bush War I pushed me way over the edge, and I never forgot it. In case you're interested, former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark has a documentary called Nowhere To Hide, about what it was like to be in the middle of that war; he was there. Anyway, I woke up to this email this morning. To borrow a line from my old New York Times ad: "Where do you go when judges break the law? You go public." The reader is in the Northeastern United States. Yes, it takes a four-year-old to see the issues: highly intelligent, and not indoctrinated. No previous ideas about what is and is not possible. Here is the email: "In this case, I think what's going on over here is nothing more and nothing less than what you're describing. We have what I'm told by a friend (who has a prominent position working for the state) is one of these detention 'spaces' right up the street. It's next to a train track/station, as I noted one of your news articles specifies, and I'm told it's a bunker, as well. The other day we drove by and my little boy (who just turned 4) said, 'Hey look, mama, it's an army village'. I told him he was right. But it's a funny looking one. It looked to me like an abandoned place, at first blush. From above ground it's very run down and looks like some old left over brick garages. But T., with a 4-year-old's eyes (and a lot of Aquarius and Mercury in the ascendant) told me there were trucks and army things there if I looked. I did and there were. Lots of them, in fact, and they were the kind of transport trucks 'they' use for carting people around. I know this from library books about army trucks that my son borrowed last year." Feb. 21 | Detention Centers in USA WE HAVE been discussing the issue of detention centers in the United States behind the scenes at Planet Waves the past few days, sorting out fact from fiction and, I think, coming to some terms as individuals with the situation. A friend in Oregon sent me this link tonight, which sums up the issue better than anything I've seen so far, and in a level-headed way. It's from tonight's Consortium News, by investigative reporter Robert Parry. It reads, in part: [R]ecent developments suggest that the Bush administration may already be contemplating what to do with Americans who are deemed insufficiently loyal or who disseminate information that may be considered helpful to the enemy. More at: http://www.consortiumnews.com/2006/022106a.html Home Page http://www.consortiumnews.com/index.html About Consortium News (interesting story)... http://www.consortiumnews.com/2004/122104.html Feb. 21 | More Fishy Times I HAVE a feeling that this is going to be an impressive Mercury retrograde in Pisces, as far as the whole 'transparency of reality' issue is concerned. Yet the utter strangeness of this moment in history is how see-through it's all become -- and how little this seems to move anything or anyone. I am aware that there are a LOT of concerned and attentive people; most of them don't know what to do. Many others are just stunned and at times this seems like a deer in the headlights kind of thing. And I've noticed this before. I was working earlier today (miraculously) on a chapter in my Planet Waves book, which project I last worked on the day the levee broke in New Orleans: today's chapter is called "When Nobody Believes the Truth (or Why I Became an Astrologer)." The theme is, when you violate the T.S. Eliot idea that "human kind cannot stand very much reality," you start to go nowhere fast. Astrology makes the shift toward fiction; toward suspension of disbelief; the mythological world is invoked; there is a story being told that is longer than the news cycle; longer than a presidential term; longer than a generation; longer than the history of a nation. And people show up looking for something, looking to be helped or help themselves, ready to grow, wanting to have a real conversation -- much more often than in the field of (for example) toxins fraud. When it comes to toxins, all people want is to be told it's safe -- by somebody or anybody. What's happening in our world is shocking, and yet my spiritual training warns me off of getting too emotionally involved or lending it too much credence. At the same time, I follow the basic idea of "notice what I am aware of." And somewhere in there is this process, sometimes subtle, sometimes not, is the art of choosing one's reality. I have seen a lot of weird stuff go by my desk, or happen in the world, since the age of 18, when I started taking reporting seriously. The weirdest of it has been people in suits, smiling, willing to kill people because it's their job: state officials whose job it was to move people back into a contaminated neighborhood called Love Canal, for example. I've also seen a lot of pretty mundane things that most "normal" people around me felt were absurd and then which in actual fact were true, or came true; covering education in New York State, for example, I was aware of a legislative plan for public college tuition to go to go up five-fold in a very short time, after a long tuition freeze. Most rational people thought my friends and I were morons and conspiracy theorists. And yet...tuition was soon five times what it was, in direct violation of the university's mission, keeping a lot of the poorer students out. Over and over, I've watched people tell me the most outrageous lies, right to my face, sure I would believe them. And people get pissed off when you don't believe their lies. And at the same time, it's necessary to entertain possibilities that other people think are just absurd. In a sense, one must have boundaries, but they need to be moving boundaries. Walls need doors; doors need locks that open and shut. Shortly after I set aside full time work covering environmental fraud, where I discovered things that really would defy the imagination of even of somebody like Aldus Huxley, I wound up working for these lawyers who needed me to get their story into The New York Times. I was hired to write and design one of those ads that appears on the Op-Ed page, usually for Exxon or somebody like that, making their case to the public, and to the state and national political communities. I'll see if I can find a link to the text, it must be out there somewhere. The advertorial explained what some would say was a really over-the-top conspiracy -- but a well-documented one -- for several political bosses to control the judicial system in New York State, essentially robbing voters of their choice of candidates. In other words, my job was to explain in The Times how judicial elections were rigged. Well, I did the piece, and we got into the Times, right onto the Op-Ed page, widely read on all levels of government. Then the phone at this mansion I was working out of rang a lot. I answered one time, and this guy said, listen, I've got a really big story. I said, well, okay. If you want to tell me about it, I'll listen -- but now is not the time. Meet me in New Paltz this weekend at the Main Street Bistro for lunch. He agreed. I picked a big, crowded restaurant where at any given time I might know 10 people in the room, including the wait staff and often the kitchen. So, I showed up and the guy showed up, and we got a table. It was a fairly large round table, and the restaurant was pretty full on a Saturday afternoon. He produced an envelope and emptied the contents, and spread these documents out, covering the whole tabletop like a kind of collage. Newspaper editorials, clippings, other stuff...what turned out to be his evidence of a Grand Conspiracy Theory of It All, with bits and pieces supposedly supported by things like The Wall Street Journal. I recognized some elements; others were new; others were really scary, including bits from something called HAARP, the 'nonlethal' weapons program that actually does exist and has started come to the surface in recent years. To him, it all fit together into something else. He seemed authentic, if a bit strange. But as a journalist, including one who specialized in putting together thousands of pieces of very large puzzles, and having at times to trust people I didn't necessarily know so well, I did not like the energy. It was all feeling very slippery and astral. Meanwhile, we ordered lunch, or rather I did. He didn't know what to get, so I ordered him another of what I was getting, this kind of rice plate with tofu and vegetables. When the meal came, he wouldn't eat his because he was sure it was poisoned. This pretty well stunned me, mostly because I knew the staff of the restaurant and ate there all the time and the notion of...well, you get it. Then I noticed that he had about 20 tiny acupuncture needles in his right ear, neatly placed in a little spiral, going around and into his ear canal. It looked pretty cool...very scifi, like these cosmic radio antennae, but it was genuinely strange. I don't think that's what tipped the scales for me: it might have been his fear of getting poisoned. It might have been something he said. Something was not adding up. Something made me doubt who he was, and what his intentions were. In retrospect, he was just a nut case with a theory and a few documents (kind of like some people said about me!). I got on-the-spot guidance for what to do. Without even thinking, I left money on the table, stood up, and said in a clear voice something akin to, "I don't want any part of this" -- and walked out. Come to think of it, I probably went home and did something really sensible -- study how planets and bits of space dust shape consciousness and history. -------- Here is the ad from The New York Times, describing what is called judicial cross endorsement. It's just the cached copy of the text from Google -- not my rather nice presentation. http://snipurl.com/mrs7 Feb. 20 | These Fishy Times EL SOL is in Pisces, the 12th sign of the zodiac, and the third month of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Each season begins with a cardinal sign (winter begins with Capricorn), peaks with a fixed sign (in this case Aquarius) and ends with a mutable sign (Pisces). Mutable signs are where one energy gives way to the next; one season to another. Pisces is an interesting sign because it comes at the end of the roundel of the seasons; Brit astrologers sometimes refer to it as the 'dustbin of the zodiac' as this is where a lot of karmic material is hidden. Pisces are intense people, and Pisces is always an interesting time of the year. We have the added treat of Mercury retrograde in Pisces this year as well. This to me is one of those bits of astrology that makes things completely transparent. It is the astrology of see-through reality. I think we're going to be doing a lot of seeing through as we come up on the Pisces New Moon exactly conjunct Uranus in the midst of Mercury swimming in several directions...a New Moon that is the one-month marker to the Aries total solar eclipse of 3/29. That is what I'm calling the 3/29 cluster that will rewrite the face of known reality a little. But we're ahead of ourselves...the fun big forthcoming event, the cinematic reality enhancer, the surprise package, is the this little New Moon conjunct Uranus. Here is what it looks like: http://planetwaves.net/chart.php?c=pisces_uranus I'll cover this more on Astrology Secrets Revealed (as I'm devoting Planet Waves Weekly to a series of studies on outer planet transits for the next few weeks). Speaking of cinematic, last night I saw the George Clooney film, "Good Night and Good Luck," about legendary broadcaster Edward R. Murrow's battle against anti-Commie crusader Sen. Joseph McCarthy. This was a time in history more frightening than what we are seeing now, with the war on terror being used to declare everyone the enemy, and as an excuse to do everything from search your library records to swipe all your emails and MP3 downloads. Great film...excellent, straightforward work...like Murrow himself, who is one of my investigative reporting luminaries; his basic premise, which I pretty much figured out on my own, is that both sides of a story rarely have equal value; that the truth is NOT somewhere in between. Essentially, if you look (time and time again), you will figure out that in any given controversy, somebody is full of shit. But thanks to the ubiquitous existence of human cowardliness and lack of resolve -- and watering things down to please the sponsors -- we have invented this notion of "journalistic objectivity" when all we really need to do is investigate the facts and give everyone full opportunity to respond. Of course when it comes time to write about somebody like Charlie Manson, we don't give him full opportunity to respond or a fair story...he is simply crazy because he supervised murders...but when it comes to somebody like Bush, who supervises murder on the federal payroll, we feel we must; and this is simply kissing the ass of power rather than speaking truth to power. And McCarthy went on and on for years, terrorizing people's lives and bullying the country over the "communist threat" and alleging that people were on the "Soviet payroll," when in reality it was a huge game played at the expense of everyone. Yes, there were spies. No, they were not people who attended union meetings or who subscribed to Worker's World. "Good Night and Good Luck" is one example of brave journalism getting results in an era very much like our own. It will demonstrate that the people you see on CNN every night basically ain't the real thing. They are what some politely call haircuts. Coincidentally, this morning, an article arrived in my inbox. Have a look, it's trippy. And by the way, as mentioned over the weekend, we are working on some detention center information for you, and will have it later in the week. February 18, 2006 UK police arrest stars of award-winning film "The Road to Guantanamo" under the Prevention of Terrorism Act Citing the "Prevention of Terrorism" act, British Police have arrested and interrogated three of the stars of the award-winning film "The Road to Guantanamo", together with the three ex-Guantanomo detainees on whose story the film is based. Acclaimed director Michael Winterbottom ("9 Songs", "A Cock and Bull Story", "24 Hour Party People", "Welcome to Sarajevo") had been showing the film at the Berlin Film Festival, where it has won a number of top awards. http://www.craigmurray.co.uk/archives/2006/02/uk_police_arres.html Feb. 19 | Sun in Pisces AS OF last night, the Sun is in Pisces. It's raining and cold in Paris. When I click on my "dashboard" feature, I am informed that it's sunny and a very pleasant 20 degrees Celsius. A few days ago, I thought of Bev Dulis, an astrology reading graduate I know from when I lived on Vashon Island. She is from the Seattle area. She's an underwater photographer, working in the cold, deep waters of Puget Sound and the surrounding areas. In case you're wondering, this is not diving off of Key West into warm, sun-flooded and reef-filled waters. Every point to the contrary. Bev has shared many of her photos for us to use on Planet Waves for the next few weeks, which we will move to our "fixture pages" such as the horoscope homepage, and archive in the gallery. The critter depicted on the home page is just 2.5 inches long (about 5cm). You will meet great Pacific octopii and lots of other really interesting kids. Bev's photography last made an appearance on Planet Waves in 2003. To see more, go to this archive and scroll down to Pisces (you're tripping around the Middle Ages of Planet Waves here): http://ericfrancis.com/whatsnew.html All the articles are decorated with her work. I'm going to skip the "How One Becomes A Good Nazi" blog today. Here is the latest link to your comments on anger, action and what you learned during Mars retrograde: http://planetwavesweekly.com/dadatemp/20060219.html However, I will include the homepage of the Buchenwald and Mittelbau Dora concentration camp memorials. There were many German camps. The one I visited over two days in the summer of 1998 was Buchenwald. I looked through these photos last night. Every detail came back to me; the place makes an impression. It certainly made an impression on the 34,000 people who were tortured, shot in the throat, or died of disease there, and the many more who came through, having committed no crime but existing. In particular, Buchenwald was initially the camp where political dissidents were taken: intellectuals, those with understanding of history, photographers, and so on. Later this orderly system broke down and it became a somewhat more ordinary prison camp. Buchenwald and dozens of places like it sprung up in the midst of an economic depression in the mid- to late-1930s, to the approval of all the well-healed middle class people in Germany; the kind that would be driving SUVs and living in nice suburban homes today. Basically, they turned their backs -- and the industrialists of the era benefited from the "free" labor. Buchenwald prisoners worked off-site at more than 100 business locations in the Weimar region. The first people to be rounded up were the anti-Fascists: the people with a tendency to speak out against injustice. Next were the "work shy" -- the unemployed, the homeless, those without permanent addresses. Then it went on, until racial and religious groups were targeted: Sinti and Romany people ('Gypsies'); Jews; and many others. Remember, this is what you don't want to happen in your country. And it happened in a country just like the ones we live in today just 75 years ago. Am I here to scare you? I'm here to ask you to wake up. When I posted a comment about detention camps in the United States being developed under a $400 million contract from Halliburton, just one person wrote to me. If I had my way, everyone would be flown to Germany and taken on tours of the remnants of Nazi atrocities. Everyone. Starting with politicians and cops. Official Site, in English Feb. 18 | Donald Rumsfeld's Big Quote (revised with follow-up below) http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/09/04/september11/main520830.shtml ONE of the ways I keep up with the news is that there are some talented people in the Planet Waves network who sweep the news pages, do Google searches and set up keyword alerts (a number of these update automatically at http://planetwaves.info/ ). This morning, the CBS link I posted earlier today appeared in my inbox as a result of one of these efforts. I did not realize until five minutes ago that it was a story from September 2002, six months before the attack on Iraq began. The article is about notes that surfaced a year after Sept. 11 on the response of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Mind you, not long ago his title would have been Secretary of War, but the title was edited after WWII to seem friendlier. The CBS News article states, "With the intelligence all pointing toward bin Laden, Rumsfeld ordered the military to begin working on strike plans. And at 2:40 p.m., the notes quote Rumsfeld as saying he wanted 'best info fast. Judge whether good enough hit S.H.' – meaning Saddam Hussein – 'at same time. Not only UBL' – the initials used to identify Osama bin Laden. "Now, nearly one year later, there is still very little evidence Iraq was involved in the Sept. 11 attacks. But if these notes are accurate, that didn't matter to Rumsfeld. "'Go massive', the notes quote him as saying. 'Sweep it all up. Things related and not'." How much interpretation does this require? I think a little. Whenever handling a document, check and remember the date. This is six months before invasion and bombing Iraq. We have a clear statement of intent and foreknowledge. By "sweep it all up" he means start the bombing, on a "massive" scale, as he says. By "things related and not" he means it does not matter whether a country is really implicated; bomb them too. And it was clear at that time, and has been clear many times since, that Iraq was not involved in Sept. 11. But this is the Big Lie of the Bush administration (or one of them; the other is who really did pull off Sept. 11). When a country gets bombed, a lot of civilians get killed. That is, people like you and me and your cousins. The justification for this, in military terms, is called collateral damage -- that is, in order to strike seemingly legitimate enemy military targets, you have to do a little killing of uninvolved people on the side. Even if one accepts that rationale, now it's gone, because when you "retaliate" against a country whether "related or not" you're just committing murder for its own sake. Never mind more than 2,000 American service members who have been killed and tens of thousands injured. When do the war crimes trials begin? Tomorrow if I'm feeling up to it, I would like offer some insight from my travels in Germany in 1998 about how it is that people became professional government killers for its own sake -- the SS men of the Nazi government; and how it is that so many ordinary people went along with it. Here is the second batch of reader responses to my query below: http://planetwavesweekly.com/dadatemp/20060218x.html And here is the first set: http://planetwavesweekly.com/dadatemp/20060218.html FOLLOW UP TO RUMSFELD QUOTE... Eric, The last link in my email of this morning (which was how I got the cbs link in the first place) http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/02/17/204749.php Eric: a blogger who'd done a Freedom of Information thing and got the notes in question and they confirm that Rumsfeld said this. Excerpt from Blog: On July 23, 2005, I submitted an electronic Freedom of Information Act request to the Department of Defense seeking DoD staffer Steven Cambone's notes from meetings with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on the afternoon of September 11, 2001. Cambone's notes were cited heavily in the 9/11 Commission Report's reconstruction of the day's events. On February 10, 2006, I received a response from the DoD which includes partially-redacted copies of Cambone's notes. The released notes document Donald Rumsfeld's 2:40 PM instructions to General Myers to find the "[b]est info fast . . . judge whether good enough [to] hit S.H. [Saddam Hussein] at same time - not only UBL [Usama Bin Laden]" (as discussed on p. 334-335 of the 9/11 Commission Report and in Bob Woodward's Plan of Attack). In addition, the documents confirm the contents of CBS News' Sept. 4, 2002 report "Plans For Iraq Attack Began on 9/11," which quoted Rumsfeld's notes as stating: "Go massive . . . Sweep it all up. Things related and not." These lines were not mentioned in the 9/11 Commission Report or Woodward's Plan of Attack, and to my knowledge, have not been independently confirmed by any other source. After the Rathergate fiasco, I wondered if CBS had been fooled into publishing a story that, from a publicity perspective, seemed too good to be true (see Blogcritics.org post CBS Report on Rumsfeld's 9/11 Notes Under Scrutiny). These documents prove that CBS was right on this one. end of excerpt. M Notice to Political Waves Readers WE ARE in the process of moving our free, all-politics list off of Yahoo! Groups and onto Google Groups. Yahoo! has just been spazzing out way too much the past few months for our sanity, and we've reached the limit (spoiled as we are at Planet Waves on technology that actually works). So, if you're a PolWaves subscriber, watch the list for instructions on the switch. To everyone else, this is an awesome list, consisting of posted news articles selected and commented on from the most unusual hybrid of deeply spiritual but extremely worldly and down to Earth perspective by our moderator, Jude. The new group is called politicalwaves@googlegroups.com. e PS: Here is the first wave of reader replies to my question below, about being pissed off. It sure looks like some people have figured out they have a right to their own opinion and are not going to get a spanking from Donald Rumsfeld. These are some genuinely thoughtful and impassioned comments. To avoid clogging the blog with a long scroll, I've posted it to a special page on Planet Waves Weekly, our premium subscriber service. This page bypasses the password. http://planetwavesweekly.com/dadatemp/20060218.html PS, This is impressive. Remember, he is talking about human civilization here. Human lives. Little kids and their moms and dads.
"Go massive. Sweep it all up. Things related and not."
Feb. 17 | Adios, Mars in Taurus, by Eric (revised) TODAY is the day, even in Europe (where it happens just before midnight), when Mars ambles or thunders or thinks its way or whatever it does, into Gemini. The Mars cycle is an interesting one; our nearest planetary neighbor, probable home of a civilization at one time, spends about six months in one sign for each time around the Sun, then 18 months in the other 11 signs. This has the feeling of a slingshot; it builds up momentum, gets charged up with energy, then blazes around the zodiac. You can look a the qualities of orbits and get images for how the astrologers and lore masters of old came up with their descriptions of the energy. I have not been keeping a Mars in Taurus news timeline. The chaos factor is so high that most people would think it was just another normal six months of scandals, wars and planetary psychosis, coupled with a few new CDs I haven't heard of. But in reality it's been anything but, and I think it would be pretty interesting to see the events played by in quick motion. But there has been a definite change in the atmosphere; I think we are taking less for granted, be it lovely or evil. Off the top of my head, here is what we learned: -- Scotter Libby, assistant to George W. Bush and chief of staff of Dick Cheney, was indicted for lying to FBI agents and obstructing justice in association with the Valerie Plame spy outing incident. Did we learn anything positive? Personally, I learned a lot and got a lot done. In fact it was one of the most productive phases of my astrology career. On the world scene, however, I'm having some difficulty discerning signs of progress, and while I get a lot of email from people feeling a lot of things, I don't get much from people who are feeling any anger at these situations. I would really like to hear from you on that one -- what have you learned between late July and today? Are you pissed off? Why or why not? Please drop me a note at francis@planetwaves.net . What I learned at the acupuncturis a little while ago is that my deep pulse is getting stronger, and that meridians are not actually named for the organs they are connected to; they are named for other organs. This is why it's important to use the Chinese names, so you don't get confusing images in your head. Here is Arwynne O'Neill's article on previous Mars retrogrades in Taurus, called Whole Mars Review. http://planetwaves.net/contents/whole_mars_review.html We'll also have some more Political Waves for you. Honest, I'm not holding out -- it's been a pretty busy week. Note above, we've got a link to Astrology Secrets Revealed -- "Shot in the Foot," above. But to see the latest Political Waves, click that link on the Planet Waves main page. -- Eric Francis Paris Feb. 16 | Yet More Strained Credibility by Jude from Political Waves IT STRAINS credibility to discover this amount of missing money in the FEMA assistance program. New Orleans continues as a gaping hole of need, and survivors are still farmed out around the country, likely to remain so in the foreseeable future. THEY can't get help ... but "tens of thousands of fraudulent" applicants DID? I know, I know -- stuff happens, Rummy sez so. But "hundreds of MILLIONS of dollars?" I watched 60 Minutes the other night, viewed amazing footage of open flatbed trucks carrying huge blocks of clear-wrapped currency into Iraq. I can see how, on foreign shores and in the midst of chaos, language barriers, guns and blood, some of that might go missing [but not the amount they've reported -- not by a long shot.] And we'll not even discuss that doing something like that even in PEACE time is ... well ... incredibly stupid, let alone unprofessional. I guess that's the point, isn't it. Can this government do ANYTHING RIGHT?? Can they govern AT ALL?? Are they ALL blithering idiots? David Gergen, former adviser to four presidents and pundit, says that the Bushies know how to run, but they don't know what to do after that. AMEN! It's easy to be an armchair critic, here, looking in at what must have been an overwhelming task [either of them ... pick one]. But the bottom line remains that there has never -- NEVER -- been an administration that LOST so much money in misadventure and so quickly. BILLIONS! They treat it like it isn't theirs ... which, of course, it isn't ... it's ours. And borrowed, at that. Meanwhile, Iraq and New Orleans are still needy money pits and places of sorrow and shame. The report, the trailers, the morgue -- a collection. The last piece gives you hints as big as elephants, as do they all if you look carefully, about waste. It really is stunning, the ineptitude and mindless bureaucracy. -- Jude Katrina fund lost millions to cheats Feb. 15 | Summary of Cheney Incident Press Coverage This Washington Post link below is an excellent summary of coverage of Dick Cheney shooting a fellow hunter, landing him in the intensive care unit and and leading to a heart attack. I'll have more to say on Astrology Secrets Revealed tomorrow night. Thanks to Mary for sending this in. Open prediction: one way or another, Dick will be out of office before Summer Solstice. I would say by May 11, latest; March 21, earliest. This will clear the way for getting rid of Shrub. Everybody is hesitating on impeaching Bush because nobody wants to have Cheney as president. Well, maybe Lynne does. But I am sure that even dyed in the wool Republicans shudder to think. Even amongst crooks and liars, the guy is a total embarrassment. He's just more powerful than most of the rest...and hey...now we know he can shoot you in the face with a shotgun and not even say he's sorry. http://snipurl.com/gcpw ef PS, for those who are curious, here are some links to Cheney's charts, beginning with the chart of the event. Dick Cheney's Natal Chart http://planetwaves.net/chart.php?c=cheney Cheney's Current Progressed Chart http://planetwaves.net/chart.php?c=cheney_progressed Cheney, Progressed to May 11 http://planetwaves.net/chart.php?c=cheney_progr_may11x Archives 2006: December 1 to January 4 | January 5 to February 14 | February 15 to April 1 Archives 2005: Dec. 29 to Feb. 7 | Feb. 8 to March 15 | March 16 to April 25 | April 26 to May 25 | May 26 to July 17 | July 18 to August 9 | August 10 to September 19 | September 21 to October 19 | October 22 to December 1 Archives 2004: Oct. 25 to Nov. 9 | Nov. 10 to 23 | Nov. 24 to Dec. 28 |