Planet Waves by Eric Francis

 


By Eric Francis | July 18, 2002

Above: Black Rock City, 2001 (Burning Man), photo by Maurizio Niccolai, all rights reserved.

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We are now shifting stages yet again in the Great Curve. The planets are continuing in what's sometimes called a locomotive pattern, clustered in a close group that has moved from Gemini to Cancer and is now beginning the shift into Leo. As of a few days ago, Mars has returned to the fixed fire sign for the first time since 2000, soon to be joined by the Sun, Vesta, Mercury, and Jupiter, the largest planet, which made his most recent prior visit to Leo in 1991. We're still under the influence of Jupiter in Cancer for about 10 more days, but the transition has definitely begun. Interesting that the current energy is colored by the "all work, no reward" themes of minor planet Vesta, but if we consider our activities as being for the greater good, and wait for self-centered Leo to start running the show, we'll be just fine.

The rising tide of fire is fine news for Aries, Leo and Sagittarius, who love the feeling of an overload of fiery energy (as a bonus, asteroid Eros enters Aries just before the Leo New Moon Aug. 8). For air signs, there will be a need to "keep cool" and allow yourself to be taken by the energy; there is not much to think about, and plenty to do and feel. For earth signs, I can see the effect being a bit overwhelming to your yin nature unless you play up your fiery planets and, perhaps, dare to indulge your passions. Would that be so bad? Forget about control; this is life. Water signs? As someone with a grand water trine and exceedingly little fire in my chart, I'm looking forward to the energy, and to the world's response. Those planets can kick a lot more butt than can I.

Meanwhile -- stress is something we all need to watch out for. I have learned a lot this week about asking for help, and about discovering my limits on offering help. But I remain an advocate of doing everything you can for your brothers and sisters, within tolerance limits. This world runs on cooperation. Whoever the heck decided that competition was a better way to do things was pretty nuts and probably had no friends.


Speaking of cooperation, I am sure that not all my readers have heard of Burning Man. There are about six million ways to describe this event, which is held in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada the week before each Labor Day weekend, but the easiest way is to say that it's a vast gathering of the tribes, people from all over the world but about half from the Left Coast, where anything can happen. But most of what happens is a lot of fun and a lot of cooperation. Getting there (via Reno), and getting prepared (article forthcoming), are a bit of a job, but I assure you it's worth the investment. You ain't seen nothin' like this, and you ain't felt it, either. The people, the art, the land... beyond belief, but who needs to believe. For participation information, you can use this link.

To find out about Planet Waves camp at Burning Man please email me at PlanetCamp@PlanetWaves.net. Please include your phone numbers.

Sign dates below are approximate. They now overlap by one day. The date and time of the Sun's ingress to the new sign changes a little each year, so please check with an astrologer if you want the exact position of your Sun, and while you're at it, your rising sign -- this horoscope is written for both your Sun and rising signs. If you find that some other sign's interpretations work for you, then go for it.

Aries (March 20-April 21)
You have little choice but to indulge your child self, but if you've got anything in common with most adults in our culture, when you do, you run right into the hurts that child has suffered. We know kids are stifled and held back; we know it's happened to us. To stretch into the world beyond the box can be difficult, and the mind can work to keep the body and its passions in a jar. But this is not your fate. You now have the most important ingredient in working yourself through to freedom, be it creative, sexual, recreational or a combination of all of the above -- and that ingredient is curiosity. Follow it, play with it, allow it to live and breathe, and you will find yourself taking step by step beyond the life you once knew.

Taurus (April 21-May 20)
It's not true that anger is what anger does. Another kind of anger is what it doesn't do, And, among the experiences conditioned out of us is the expression of anything resembling that "bad" emotion. But we would do well to question who said it was bad, and why. Go ahead, I dare you. Okay, our parents and teachers said it was bad. But why? So we wouldn't express our anger at them for everything they have done. Instead, we were taught to suppress it, which is another way of saying taking it out on ourselves. You can learn a better way to live, and you can learn soon. Yet being present for your anger is step one of lesson one.

Gemini (May 20-June 21)
There seems to be a bit of sibling rivalry in the neighborhood; either that or you're writing your first book, which no doubt would be erotic enough to embarrass Oscar Wilde. The now-developing wave of fire energy takes getting used to. Fire does not equivocate like air; it consumes. Fire is a totally reactive process, wherein something starts in one form and ends up in a completely different form, with a major release of energy. The trouble you may face is taking this from the level of idea to the level of physical reality. To do so you will have to give up something of yourself, or so it will seem, but that is the exchange you need to make to have the full benefits of this power. Participate. It will be really good for you.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)
Easy does it -- the pressure has been enormous, this sense of too much of something, too much of everything, or too much of nothing. I'm just guessing but my hunch is that Jupiter leaving your sign, and a lot of other planets doing the same, will feel pretty fine. They are not going far. Planets in Leo work well for people with a strong Cancer signature; Leo is your house of wealth, and, as the sign of gold and sunshine, it's not a bad place to have a lot of cosmic activity. I suggest you remind yourself you've done your best during what you know was a rare opportunity to get your life on track. Once the dust clears and you look at the scenery, and sure, the numbers, I propose you'll like what you see. But hey, if it's money you're after, now is a fine time to keep your mind on the game, and to play touch -- well, I meant tough, but both work, though not at the same time.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 22)
The lion in you is roaring, but you may still be a little hesitant to give it a full bellow. Stay with the hesitation, please: there is a lot about to unfold, to enter the manifest world, and you're just seeing the beginning of changes that will be coming into your life. The current setup may be reminding you how confined you really feel in the life you've been living, and the reason for this is that you're trying to fit a lot into your relatively small, confined space. For the moment, feel that tight quality of the world, and feel your yearning for freedom. Look around at what walls you would knock down, what you would clear out to make room for the new or for the sake of empty space, and consider what parking lots would be better as gardens.

Virgo (Aug. 22-Sep. 22)
Jealousy is not a virtue. Just as hitting kids was considered fine not so long ago, we are starting to understand that even speaking to kids condescendingly is, and was, abusive, and that includes the way that most of us were treated growing up. The same is true of jealousy in our personal relationships, and this includes a variety of supposedly normal behaviors, from score-keeping to control tactics. We all have a lot to learn about this, and yet letting go of jealousy, or refusing to condone it, is not enough. We really do need to figure out that our relationships are based on love, or fear. Those are the only two choices, but sometimes it's not so obvious.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23)
At a certain point you have to trust that you've done enough and that you've accomplished what you set out to do. At a certain point, the agenda of achievement needs to shift from making things happen to interacting in creative ways with the community, and allowing your best attributes to have a home in the world without having to prove themselves to anyone. And there is a time to focus on the rewards of your work. As the month, and indeed, the next year, progress, rewards are near the top of the list of priorities, as proposed by the planets (but who's complaining). In capitalist society there tend to be a few kings and a whole lot of slaves. But you are not a slave, and your first reward is being your own person.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)
I can't imagine what you'd be like in conquer-the-world mode, but I'd sure like to watch. In fact, I'd sure like to hire you as the director of my creative team. Originality, energy, an enterprising spirit, and an honest social conscience are all attributes that you can be bringing out of yourself and into the world -- such is your leadership calling now. Vital to this experience being fun and productive in the long-term is that you set your own agenda. Even if you work for someone else, you have the prerogative to do your job the best way you know how. So if the people who supervise you are making it difficult for you to serve them, show them this horoscope and tell them I said to get out of the way. And if you're in business or the creative arts for yourself, this is your time to shine.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22)
There is something to be said for standing back from the unlimited possibilities of life in the universe, but this ain't the time. It's your turn on the cosmic teacup ride known as astrology to be immersed in the awareness of all worlds, and exploring the idea that you can be anyone and anything you want. Most of us haven't heard that one for a while. But more to the point is the issue of what you don't want to be. There is likely to be something you are holding onto from the past, something that you either were, or that you were told you were, and this can be creating some difficulty for your current desire to express what you want to be. To deduce the nature of the old issue, you might do well to divine it out, such as with Tarot cards, the I Ching or asking your dreams to reveal pictures of it -- or just wait, because you'll be getting information about it soon enough.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20)
If you're not having the hottest sex of the past two years, you may suddenly have a sense of death knocking at your door. In transformational psychology, this is usually considered a good sign, because awareness of death is a powerful harbinger of a shift in spiritual levels, and a sign that something is about to be born or created. A great deal more in the way of planetary energies are shifting in this direction for you, a condition which is likely to open up the throttle on both the speed and intensity of the exchanges in your life. It's reasonable to expect your relationships to be in at least minor havoc, unless you have a partner with whom you can move quickly through the levels of personal reality. Be prepared to let anything go, and, as well, to receive anything that's offered.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19)
Aquarians are the people said by legions of astrologers and astrology hobbyists to be great friends and terrible lovers. Your ability to maintain emotional distance and objectivity are among the reasons for this; but love affairs are neither. Yet no class of people, and no individual, is rightly doomed to have trouble in their relationships as a fact of life. But I suggest you challenge yourself to match the quality and level of passion that is available to you now. Standing back or playing it cool is not going to work, anyway, and if you try, you'll miss all the fun. If you somehow have the idea that you lack the capacity to heat up or cut loose, remember: if you're human, you can do it.

Pisces (Feb. 19-Mar. 20)
The Sun's magnificent conjunction to Jupiter this week says that you'll receive one last parting gift from the Jupiter in Cancer era of your life. And with planets beginning to storm into Leo, your solar sixth house of work and service, we are getting a glimpse of the true nature of Pisces: at best, work is play. And this true nature is likely to emerge into your life, at about the highest RPMs a person can stand to endure. Hence, you're going to need to maintain focus, eliminate anything unnecessary, and do what you can to run a high level of energy without burning out. You do have help in this regard, and it's available for the asking. Just make sure that when someone is helping you, they are working from your agenda, not their own. Your agenda, by the way, would do best to include drinking a lot of water. Fire is hot, and water evaporates.

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Space graphic above from the Rosette Nebula in Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Sulfur.
Credit: T. A. Rector, B. Wolpa, M. Hanna. Planet Waves logo by Eric, and Via Keller.