Paris, March 2, 2005

Dear Friend and Reader:

A couple of times a week, I get a note from someone saying, "I know about your comp subscription policy, but I feel bad about taking advantage of it."

That policy is simple -- we run a business that does not discriminate for lack of funds. Since email takes no paper, postage or copying, the overhead for adding a new subscriber is pretty low, so it's not like it costs us much to do it; and we need to wake up in the morning and do the rest of what we do anyway.

However, that's not the heart of the business policy: the heart is that I do this work for the sake of doing it -- to learn and to share -- and not for the sake of making money.

I do happen to like money, and I need money to live and support the business. Many people who can subscribe do, and some give considerably more (our supporters and sustainers). However, my staff feel and I , unanimously, that it's a better way to live and do business if we make sure that everyone who wants to be included is. We feel more free and better about our work doing so. And it also recalls the days when every word of Planet Waves was free. We have left a door open to that original ideology of the site -- that we exclude no one.

Comps are the least we can offer in this nutty world. So if you get one, please feel good about it. And yes, we really think it would be a fine thing if more businesses operated this way. Gift economies really do work; they are an affirmation of life's actual abundance, which we generally don't discover till we share it.

And we find that people are responsible about the comp policy. Many of our comp subscribers one day sign up, because they can, and because they want to support the work they appreciate.

Regardless, if you feel like putting energy back into the Planet Waves project, there are many ways you can do that. It really helps when people spread the word about our work, or encourage their friends who like the site to subscribe. We do base about 90% of our revenue on subscriptions, and the way we get many of them is that people spread the word and share their enthusiasm.

There are other ways to help. You can send the horoscope to newspaper and magazine editors or Web sites for them to consider (very, very helpful, especially if you follow up with a call); you can talk us up on astrology discussion groups; you can contribute something to the site, such as an idea, a photograph, news articles you've read, or a piece of writing. You are always free to print our work and pass it on.

Many different kinds of energy make the Planet Waves world go round. And you get the benefits of all of it.

And if you're someone who benefits from our work and you happen to be in a position to subscribe, you will be doing a lot of good -- supporting astrology, helping out human-created, commercial-free media, and building a Web site that knows freedom begins with the freedom to think and feel what you truly need to.

If you already receive a comp and can afford to pay, and truly support, love and appreciate Planet Waves, please take a moment and subscribe. We have come a long way since we began offering paid subscriptions.

In a short time, a special daily area will be added for subscribers, giving you the astrological news of the day EVERY day, and we've got quite a few other excellent plans in the works. But you already knew that about us -- we're an industrious little crew, plotting and scheming to do better work, and keep the good vibes spreading.

Please pass it on.

Yours truly,

ERIC FRANCIS


PS, I want to make sure everyone knows about my page on Jonathan Cainer's excellent daily Web site. It's an in-depth weekly astrology Q & A page, now in its 40th edition, that you're welcome to explore, or to submit questions to. This is a free service that is made possible by subscriptions to Planet Waves Weekly. While you're there, have a look around the rest of the Web page -- it's an impressive site that takes an open-minded and compassionate view on astrology that I support whole-heartedly.

That link is here:
http://cainer.com/ericfrancis/eric.html

And the subscription link is here. It's friendly and easy, and there are lots of discount categories. Have a look!
http://planetwavesweekly.com/sales/home.html