 July 2002 Planet Waves by Eric Francis
| | Above, the Very Large Array of radio telescopes in New Mexico, courtesy of Astronomy Picture of the Day. | | 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) | | In what seems to be a theme for the month but rather magnificently for you, the whole experience of intelligence is taking up residence on the emotional level of your life. This is the only intelligence that matters, at our particular point in history. We have more than enough bridges, factories, radar systems, nuclear power plants and calculus texts. Our libraries are brimming with data. What we don't have in a particularly accessible way is a spirit of mental power that factors in sensitivity, or a widespread vision of spiritual life that factors in compassion. We live in a time when the ends are still justifying the means. There is a different, a very different, energy moving through your life now, and it's about to transform your view of the world. And I would remind you that even if you don't know it, you're an example for a great many people. | | Taurus (April 21-May 20) | | It may be nobler to give than receive, however that saying goes, but in reality, it is far more difficult to receive. Our under-nourished, exploitative culture creates a lot of people who only have output mode. Learning to take in nourishment is a many-years project for most people, requiring journeys into unexplored and, at times, mighty strange terrain. But where most come out is thus: if you seek fulfillment, be willing to offer yourself a little more of what you need, and you'll likely be finding yourself with a lot more. 'Fulfillment' comes from an Indo-European root from which also derive the words full, fill, plentitude, replenish, folk, plural, plus, surplus, poly-, accomplish, complete, compliment, implement, supply and plethora. The most interesting word on that list, if you ask me, is 'folk'. And I have a feeling that they all come as a package. | | Gemini (May 20-June 21) | | There are a number of psychological models which view a person as composed of parts. It's related to when we say, "Part of me wants to go the beach, but part of me wants to sit here and write." One such model is Integrated Family Systems or IFS. Parts in that system include various child parts and their friends, exiled parts, helper parts (some not so friendly), manager parts, firefighter parts and so on. Recent times have seen you in an intense period of integration of your inner compartments. Parts may be talking to one another finally, and some may be bursting and returning their energy to the whole being, the unifying identity known as self. It is self you seek, but the parts need an opportunity to speak. Listen, and tell them you've heard them. This way, they will leave you alone, and then you'll get to be you, not them. | | Cancer (June 21-July 22) | | Events mid-month will help clarify the true condition of your relationships. In essence, you don't know someone until you're familiar with their relationship to their own dark side. Typically, we pretend our partners don't have a dark side. But humans not only have those unlit and unexplored regions; these are often their most vital and attractive aspect. As for the rest of what we call soul, most of it involves how we deal with our power struggles, hormonal impulses and fear of death. So, having learned a few unexpected things about yourself in recent months, and being in an unusually strong position in life, take a look at those close to you. It is fair to speculate, and fair to inquire, and reasonable to note insights that take you closer to solving the mystery that has been your love life for the past couple of years. | | Leo (July 22-Aug. 22) | | You would do a well to bring a little peace and love into your mental life, not to mention your ideas about money. Your ultimate aim in either domain is intelligence, but an intelligence informed by sensitivity. Remember that please. True intelligence is emotional; emotions are an experience; experience leads to the ability to choose what is really best for you, and the people who depend on you. At present, there is a lot you don't know, and much that you can't possibly know or see, so you have little choice but to fly by an inner sense, which you can only really summon in a state of relative peace. And you might be wondering how you can muster that with all the excitement, potential, ideas and messages boiling in your subconscious and in your dreams. That's simple: make peace with the excitement. Sit calmly with it. There is more to come and it will help to be on friendly terms. | | Virgo (Aug. 22-Sep. 22) | | Your world is expanding rapidly now. Yet there is a meeting point between what was and what is, as if an important part of the past has found its way into your present life, and possibly your future, though in a whole new context. You don't need to be troubled by its presence; you're the boss. Aspects for the coming weeks suggest that people -- many people -- may be coming into or through your life. There are some whose role will be pivotal. You will recognize them because they are different, and because they speak to a child aspect of who you are, a child who is not afraid to be powerfully creative, even brilliantly so, and who is not afraid to be angry, serious, hot, horny, loving and free. | | Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) | | I wish I knew the actual story behind what is going on in your life, but you are working a corner of your chart which functions more or less like this. The more emotionally connected you are, the more grounded and aware, the more power will flow through your professional activities and the more your reputation will spread. There is a direct connection, though shifts in family structure over recent decades have obscured it somewhat. But it is no less vital. Staying connected to kith and kin, and to your ancestral traditions, is the secret ingredient that will allow you to explore the world of your true work with the potential for truly stunning success. But remember to maintain the balance; look up, and look down; look to the future, and look to the past; look to innovation, and look to tradition; consider your reputation, and consider your integrity. And stay in the moment all the while. | | Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) | | With any luck, or maybe it's grace, you'll soon find yourself in one of those rare, stunning moments of clarity in which you can feel what some would call your higher self like it was, well, actually you. I guess you could say that the orders of reality are heading in for a merger. The gift is ultimately that your two genuinely diverse levels of priorities (what would really be great if it happened, and what must be so), your two entirely different obsessions with time (the deep past and the deep present) and your two unusual modes of thought (belief in perfect structure, and belief in easygoing compassion) will all be listening to one another. I am not sure what this means exactly, but if you've got anything really difficult on your agenda to work out, or, maybe, for instance, something to publish, every wind is blowing in the right direction. | | Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) | | No dream of predictability or stability can change another person, but you have to admit there's a certain calculus to their changes of late. And we can hold out faith that this mysterious other is at least heading in a positive direction, granted, maybe not your own. But you never know, though do you really care? Okay, anyway, by now you may be wondering about your part in all this. Some facets of the nouveau psychology movement are doing well at erasing the concept of self-blame. I think was codified in pop culture with the line, "Will, it's not your fault" from Good Will Hunting. That being said, it is given to you to deal with the unprocessed psychological legacies of your rather complicated parents, which legacies may be in bloom like dandelions for a brief upcoming spell, during which you can actually do something about them, and even appreciate them in new, surprising ways. | | Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) | | There may be no need to resist the impulse to search for bits and pieces of yourself in other people, but it would be a great idea not to believe they have something that you don't. Or more accurately, there is a compatibility of needs between you and them that you're not quite seeing. Now, sometimes we can see our blind spots by looking around them, and other times by looking straight into them. This is straight-in country. Straight in means communication, that highly unusual two-way process of speaking and listening, but also of taking in and changing your mind. But there are two perspectives to gather, and share. There is, for one, the story you want to hear. And there is, for another, the story you don't want to hear. The first is important. The second is more important. In all cases, please take notes. | | Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) | | Set the time machine for April 2, 1995, and the months that followed. Go hunting for diaries, notebooks, folders, calendars, letters and any physical artifacts you can find. Ask friends and ex's about your life at this time. Consider your most cherished goals and tune into the sense you had that you could really be free. Potential is just that -- a kind of energy reserve, or an idea yet to be expressed. For these seven years, you have tried many experiments. You have probably been many places. And, more lately, a new sense of spirituality has descended on your life, or perhaps you have risen to it. In the coming months, there is much that you can do to make all those potentials real. There is some unfinished part of the project that you can bring to completion. Now would be a good time to start. | | Pisces (Feb. 19-Mar. 20) | | It's as if every possible point of contact between your creative life and your professional life is happening at once. Whatever it is you've been cooking, there are people waiting to eat. But the key, as usual where unusual endeavors are concerned, will be aligning yourself with just the right few individuals who can help you make just the right few things happen. Stated another way, it will serve you well to remember: your job is not to reach everyone with whatever it is you're doing. Your job is only to reach those who matter. Where you have a choice, I suggest you make decisions for who to work with based on communication style. Direct is preferable. Clear is more preferable. Avoid the avoiders, elude the eluders, and don't even consider being aggressive with aggressors. And remember: food is prepared with fire and sharp objects. Handle with care. | | Search | Horoscopes | What's New | Index | Consultations  Space graphic above from the Rosette Nebula in Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Sulfur.
Credit: T. A. Rector, B. Wolpa, M. Hanna. | | | | | |