  By Eric Francis | |
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| November 30, 2001. There is a full moon today (Nov. 30 at 12:48 p.m. PST) and the theme can be summed up in one word: Sacrifice. This idea is the cause of so much of the sadness and depression in the world. In effect, sacrifice is the one idea holding together the entire belief system of our planet. There is so little we do or expect that does not have its basis in one person losing so that another may gain. If you are caught in this world view, you might want to try experimenting with the idea that the more you give, the more you find out that you have. This may seem contradictory, but how else would you find out what you have, unless you start sharing it? Some call it abundance consciousness. Imagine a whole community or culture based on this idea (we see a little of it working on the Internet, where every person with a noncommerical web page adds a subject to the total database, to which we can all have open access). This can work on many levels, in almost any time or place. Try it and see. Reader Tip: Sincerity is the key to successful divination. This may seem obvious -- but it's based on ancient Chinese wisdom found in the Tao Te Ching. The single most important factor in working with a client is your desire to assist them. People come to readers in need, not because everything is going great, and they are both vulnerable and sensitive to who is expressing sincere compassion for them. Your sensitivity will speak for itself; just come from your heart. It's far more important than being accurate or impressive. December 7, 2001. There is a strong polarity in the air these days between conformity and rebellion. The Sun's journey across Sagittarius is now firing up the free-spirited people, and the side of all of us that longs for the gift of believing what we know to be true, rather than what we are told is true. In terms of spiritual growth process, this is one of the most meaningful issues of our time in history. It would be wise of all those who follow astrology to turn their eyes to the Sagittarius solar eclipse in one week, on Dec. 14 at 12:47 p.m. PST. Solar eclipses create high-pressure environments, and coupled with the psychic pressure exerted by the holidays approaching, it's important to find dependable ways to let go of tension and anxiety. This eclipse will raise some powerful questions and feelings that most people would rather leave unfelt and unasked. But the coming conjunction of Pluto and Venus, which mixes the themes of soul and sex, demands that we know the difference between religion and natural spirituality. Reader Tip: Know your spread! You can be more effective in the first minute of a reading if you work with a simple spread and know the meaning of each position very well. You program the spread yourself -- you decide what the positions mean. There is no need to follow the books; the first position in your spread can have the meaning "why is this client calling" and the second, "what was the meaning of the last significant event before they called?" December 14, 2001. There's a solar eclipse today and it sets the tone of the coming weeks. Yet experience teaches that this event has the power to help us set the tone of the next six months, so the focus needs to be on the long-term, a perfect Sagittarian theme. Eclipses are like one-way doors, but it's more like door with a stiff wind blowing through. We are pushed, or vacuumed, sometimes forcefully, into a new stage of life. At times, much can seem out of control, and the need to focus on immediate concerns can distract us from the crucial element of taking the long view. But I would propose that the two are not so different right now, a probability suggested by the fact that this is the first Sagittarius eclipse in about 8 years. You could say that the only way to the future is through today, words which ring a bit ominously as I write them. Note also that Chiron, the planet of healing, has just entered Capricorn for the first time in about 50 years. Among other things, this represents learning a new set of survival skills on the most practical of levels. Reader Tip: Get your client talking. This is the difference between reading and fortune telling. Try to be discern from the first statements out of a person's mouth something about their state of mind, and any used car salesman will tell you that five seconds should be all it takes; often it does take longer, though we improve with practice. But the sooner you can get a person to answer a basic question, the sooner you will get a real window into their mind. You might ask, "What wisdom do you seek from the cards now?" or "Would you say this is a meaningful turning point in your life?" or some version of the ever-important question for psychics and healers of all kinds, "Where does it hurt?" December 21, 2001. Old stuff is the theme of the week. Old pain, old wounds, old lovers, reflecting on the way our father struggled when we were kids, and many other related subjects are likely to arise, seemingly out of nowhere. Anyone who experienced abuse as a child may discover that they are in some pain about what seemed to be over long ago. The sky is extremely complicated right now, and this time of year is a moment of celestial speedup and compressed experience (winter solstice is Dec. 21 at 11:22 a.m. PST). In the old times this season was called Saturnalia. Our present culture goads us into a holiday based on obligation and purchasing of material objects. Earlier, this this was the season of an extended celebration, complete with gluttonous feasts and other let's say heathen activities. These days, most people drag themselves through, waiting for Dec. 26. Remember to take time for yourself, and if you're out buying gifts, invest in something meaningful for yourself. You deserve it. Reader Tip: Conflicting cards present us with a person in conflict. This may seem like a no-brainer, but often, reading a spread, we see cards that just don't add up, or one card in a spread which seems like it doesn't belong there. Well what makes you think the client adds up? But this is usually the most profitable time to do inner work, because inner strife is, well, somehow good for the soul. Difficulty presents us with motivation to make life better, to face our problems, and finally, to make some decisions. Often, your entire role will be to assist a client in choosing. December 28, 2001. The question for the week is, how does one see in the dark? We had better ask an owl or a cat. One answer is that we need to open our eyes wide, and then make better use of low-light. We night not be able to see color so well, but we can see shape and movement very effectively. We can also smell and hear, and add our sensory data up instead of dividing it up. We need to rely more on memory. But for humans, the deepest need is to develop inner vision. The current emphasis on Capricorn right now is seeming to ground us in some very mundane issues, but time will show that these things will take care of themselves. What counts the most right now is taking quiet time to look within, to reflect, to ask ourselves questions, and to explore those dark spaces of our souls which beg us for attention. You might say that the way to see in the dark is to light a candle, with the flame representing the inner light that never dies, and which makes the difference between seeing everything, or nothing at all. Reader Tip: Sometimes the less you say, the more people hear. This is often the case. Giving a lot of advice sometimes can be detrimental. But if you can leave a client with one or two sold ideas he or she can take with them, you will have done a true service. It may take a bit of listening to state your ideas in the unique way that a unique person needs to hear them in their particular state of mind. But this is a skill you can learn. It helps to use the client's language even if the idea is not as precise as you might have stated it, so speak in their words whenever possible. Friday, Nov. 2 Friday, Nov. 9 Friday, Nov. 16 Friday, Nov. 23 Friday, Nov. 30
Oct. 5 Oct. 12 Oct. 19 Oct. 26 Oct. 26 - Rewrite With the Sun now in Scorpio and the sky visibly darkening much earlier, these days are considered the most psychic time of the year. It's often said that the "veil between the worlds" is the thinnest just before Halloween, which is one of the four High Sabbats of the old religion, known as Samhain (pronounced"sa-wen"), an ancient festival in which the dead are honored and death itself is mocked. Much has shifted in the past week: Mercury and Neptune both finally stationed direct, for example, and the Sun's movement into Scorpio lifted us emotionally. But in the next few days, potent energies build fast, as we race toward the Taurus Full Moon (exact Nov. 1 at 5:42 am GMT), and most important, the second encounter of the Saturn-Pluto opposition (exact Nov. 2) that has been rewriting world history. It's good that this is a season of enhanced psychic powers: We'll need them. ++ | |
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