Tuesday, November 8, 2005 FOR THE MOMENT, the grand fixed cross has moved on. But the configuration returns in early December and again in mid January (in high style, with a Full Moon), and there is the long-term astrology to think of. By that I am referencing the ongoing, long-term conjunction of Chiron and Nessus in late Capricorn and early Aquarius that has been one of the more energized minor planet events of the past eight or so months. Both Chiron and Nessus (a Centaur, much like Chiron, discovered 1993) are in their last moments in Capricorn -- a cycle that has pretty much defined the "post 9/11 world" and its nonstop obsessions with corporate and governmental power, or rather their obsessions with us. At the moment, the Moon is in Aquarius, sextile (at 60 degrees) to Mercury in Sagittarius. Mercury is getting ready to station retrograde on Nov. 14, through Dec. 4 (it's been in shadow phase for about two weeks, which I've neglected to mention in the midst of so much else going on). So what happens in early December is that both Mars and Mercury, two of the more noticeable planets, station direct within about one week of one another. At the same time, Venus is getting ready for a rare retrograde in Aquarius and Capricorn. The year caps off with the first of three squares of Jupiter and Saturn in the fixed signs, which comes to its first peak when Version 2 of the grand fixed cross returns Dec. 5 (Mars, Saturn, Jupiter and Neptune, with the Sun in Sagittarius on the Great Attractor) and then again in Version 3 on January 15 (same planets, same signs, just a little further along and Mars in direct motion -- oh, and Chiron is back in Aquarius to stay, along with Nessus -- and that is a  big difference because with this shift, the emphasis comes back to "the people" rather than "the powers that be"). All in all, we're in the midst of a full-on inner planet shuffle, with Mercury, Venus and Mars chanting directions all around our heads during the next three months, and some slow movers (Jupiter, Saturn, Chiron) setting the backdrop. It's definitely a time to take advantage of these kinds of changes and seeming instability rather than get caught in the shuffle. But to do this it's necessary to keep obligations down to a minimum and actually deal with your environment rather than expectations, or to be guided exclusively by fear. It's likely that the fear factory is going to keep churning out its fraudulent products over the next few months, and that as the DC dinosaur begins to lose its grip it's going to thrash and continue unleashing the furies. Your life goes on, but as the planet heats up, your private life continues and develops in ever closer proximity to all the other lives around you. Whether we realize it or not, we are at this phase of history being pushed closer and closer together. And at the same time we are being taken to the core of ourselves. And believe it or not, it's possible to sleep through such intense or awesome developments; under most circumstances, as long as society is functioning, it's possible to withdraw. By March (once again) an entirely new reality takes hold -- as Pluto comes within a quarter of a degree of the Galactic Center and its massive black hole. And some people will sleep through this as well. Do yourself a huge favor -- stay up, take part, pay attention, reach out. The world will reach back. Okay, I've got some horoscopes to write, in particular Lemonade for January and the next couple of weeklies. If you'd like to receive those and support Planet Waves, its people and its projects, you're cordially invited to do so. The 2006 annual horoscope is in progress -- called Parallel Worlds. For the past two months I've been organizing the writing team (for the articles) and the astrology research project. With any luck at all, we've got quite a fun astrology project to offer you. If you'd like to get psyched up, here are some recent comments you may not have seen, from my colleagues...     http://planetwavesweekly.com/book/quotes.html And if you'd like to catapult right to the signup page, here you go. Every subscription DIRECTLY supports our work, and as you've seen over the past three years that we've been offering them, our entire project has only grown and improved.     http://planetwavesweekly.com/sales/home.html Remember, comp subscriptions are available by writing to us. Thanks for tuning in, and please do your best to have a clear and loving day.     live from Paris, staying safe          e PS, for those who missed the bonus edition over the weekend, you can sign up for it here. It's one of my more recent articles on sexuality -- a true story, too. Click here: http://planetwaves.net/button.html