Water Sign Theater
Photo by Eric Francis
What is it about 2013 that makes its astrology distinctive? In a word, water. That means a year of exploring the nuances of, and the existence of, emotion, empathy and intuition. If you’ve ever wanted to take up photography, painting, music or filmmaking, now is the perfect time.
The Asian year of the Water Snake begins this month, which accents the Western astrology perfectly (more on that closer to the event). Over the past few years, there has been a gradual accumulation of planets in water signs, calling attention to corresponding issues with actual water on our planet.
To those with strong water sign charts (for example, Sun, Moon or rising sign in one of the water signs Cancer, Scorpio or Pisces), the world feels a little more like home when there are planets in those signs. There is space and a kind of invitation to open up the emotional spectrum, and to feel ourselves, one another and existence itself.
We are constantly interacting with material objects, electricity, data, money, ideas, concepts, paper, metal and machines that burn fuel flying across the sky and speeding across the countryside. How much time do we spend with water? Let’s see, 10 minutes in the shower, 10 minutes doing the dishes and an extra 15 minutes chatting by the water cooler. Water is the missing element in most of our lives. We live in a kind of desert.
My old friend Be’jamin once said the world is divided between those who drink water and those who do not. Those who do are in the minority. Pepsi in any form is not water Smart Water is neither.
Rising Tide, 2010 to Present
Over recent years, planets have been moving into water signs. As happens with water, the tide rises slowly and steadily. It’s now about to come to a crest. But let’s take the story back a few years.
In 2010, Chiron began its ingress to Pisces, which started things off. That is Chiron for you — leading the way. (Well, Uranus had been in Pisces for six years prior, but that wasn’t very watery; it was like a hot tub with a short circuit).
The very day that Chiron ingressed Pisces for the first time, the Deepwater Horizon oil platform exploded. We watched for 90 agonizing days as crude oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico. Chiron will be in Pisces through 2018-2019, and is a constant reminder to take care of the oceans, lakes and rivers. However, it’s never really clear how to do this, since the problem comes from industry. Fighting industry, its lawyers and its scamming environmental consultants is never easy, but we all have to participate in the old heave-ho that will be necessary to set things right. Every product choice, indignant phone call to customer relations and public meeting in your community counts, as does doing what you can personally.
Neptune, a watery blue planet named for the god of oceans (and earthquakes) began its ingress into Pisces in 2011, completing that ingress in early 2012.
Meanwhile, Uranus left Pisces with a bang in March 2011. I mean several bangs, starting with an earthquake and tsunami followed by multiple reactors in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station exploding and melting down, and then spilling unknown, though vast, quantities of radiation into the air, the ocean and the groundwater.
It’s fair to say that the combination of Uranus in Pisces and Neptune in Aquarius was not good for water: through these transits, hydraulic fracturing became all the rage. This is a process of gas extraction that consumes millions of gallons of water per gas well, and leaves the Earth and groundwater contaminated with many toxic chemicals — all to do what solar or wind energy could do more cheaply and cleanly.
In October 2012, Saturn ingressed Scorpio for the first time since the early 1980s. This is providing some stability to the planets in Pisces. Chiron and Neptune give us more water and more awareness of the feeling level of existence. Saturn is here to help keep that yin energy in balance, and also help dredge out the territory deep at the bottom of things.
In human consciousness, the Saturn in Scorpio factor brings up the theme of emotional maturity. Oh, that thing! It’s about learning to have some modicum of boundaries around our feelings, some sense of containment. We are said to live in a society where yang energy is out of balance — our aggressive, competitive and warlike society.
Just as strong a case can be made that we struggle with emotional stability and maturity. That people are not encouraged to grow up is a problem. That there are so many constantly refreshing sources of instability is an even worse situation.
Saturn in Scorpio is the territory where sex meets the emotions — the hormone drive, hormonal cycles, the deep emotional need to connect sexually in a way that’s not merely physical, and any time we exchange or merge DNA. Saturn in Scorpio is here to help us dredge out these channels. They are so cluttered with emotional discharge it’s amazing anyone knows what they feel.
There is a big problem with ignorance around sexually transmitted infections, which is a form of passing around karma through sex. Saturn is saying: wise up, grow up and get a grip.
We also face a significant problem of hormone pollution. Everything you consume that has touched plastic (including cans, which are plastic-lined), and many, many other products, contain hormonally active chemicals. Then there are untold millions of people consuming hormone birth control and discharging it into the public waterways.
In many areas of the United States and other countries, there are just nine short steps between what you flush down the toilet and what comes out of your kitchen faucet. The sewage per se is the last thing we need to worry about; the problem is the contaminants, such as the drugs and in many places, PCBs at the bottom of riverbeds. PCBs are a form of liquid plastic that was used through most of the 20th century and which still finds its way into nearly everything. They are hormonally active chemicals, like every pesticide, dioxin and most heavy metals.
I often wonder about the effects of all of this hormone pollution on our behavior and the ways in which we interrelate, which are so dependent on hormones and pheromones. I wonder about how much of the gender anarchy that’s so popular now is fueled by toxins on the parts-per-billion level. For years I have been proposing that there is a behavior problem with these contaminants.
Now, that turns out to have some validity. A recent retrospective of prior studies associates reduced lead rates with lower rates of violent crime. The researchers looked at every other social or economic explanation for the trends they could think of — and it turns out that lead is the probable culprit in unexplained, wide-scale violent behavior. We can only wonder what the thousands of other chemicals are contributing to planetary insanity, as well as the political madness that is swallowing all common sense and reason.
One vision I would offer for Saturn in Scorpio is coming to terms with this issue, both as an environmental pollutant and as an emotional pollutant. How many people do you know who suffer from some endocrine disorder? Common ones include endometriosis, diabetes, thyroid problems, pituitary disorders and obesity (often undiagnosed as a hormonal issue).
Saturn in Scorpio is calling for awareness — and for a kind of purge. Do you know the sources of hormone pollution in your diet? Do you consider things like high fructose corn syrup as one of them? What about the hormones present in milk and meat? It’s time to get a grip on these issues.
One other not-so-minor point: Scorpio is associated with jealousy and possessiveness, and all the dramas that often ensue from there. Of all emotions, I think jealousy is the one that (suitably) people are the most covetous of; it’s treated like an entitlement. I would say more people feel entitled to be jealous than feel entitled to be happy. This is not serving anyone’s creative, constructive or loving purpose.
Saturn in Scorpio is going to push the issue, which has a first cousin — the truth about the sex we want, the sex we actually get and our whole history. Most of this is left out of the relationship discussion, which is convenient until it is not so convenient at all.
Clip and Save — More Water in 2013
That’s just the background! In mid-2013, Jupiter joins Saturn, Chiron and Neptune in the water signs, as it ingresses Cancer. By July and August, there’s an impressive lineup in Cancer, which brings the water issue to the most personal level. That’s the dimension of home, nourishment and the choice whether to nurture ourselves and those around us.
Cancer is about the most tangible level of actual human feelings. Yes it has the intuitive dimension, but really it’s where feelings come home to the gut level, the bosom and maternal instinct. I would propose that this is about a reconsideration of how and whether we take care of ourselves, our families and those we say we love.
What is the balance of giving and receiving in your life? What are your motives to share, or to express your needs? Can you discern a need from a desire?
Mercury ingresses Cancer on May 31, where it stays through Aug. 8 (more on that in a moment). Through nearly all of the month of June, Venus is in Cancer.
Meanwhile, Jupiter ingresses Cancer on June 25, a few days after the Sun does. It’s there for about one year. This is the faster-acting piece of the grand trine — Jupiter spends just a year in Cancer; and when it shows up it will be accompanied by several other quick-movers passing through this sign.
Mars enters Cancer on July 13, where it stays through Aug. 27. So through Northern Hemisphere spring and summer, there will be a rather impressive grand trine in the water signs, involving the following planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter (all buzzing around in Cancer) as well as Saturn, Chiron and Neptune. If you count times when the Sun and Moon are in water signs, all of the traditional planets will be part of that grand trine for part of the year.
There’s one more fun thing to consider: every time Mercury is retrograde, it will be in a water sign. Indeed, during the retrograde phase it will not leave the water sign it’s in — that is, it doesn’t dip into the neighboring sign.
The Mercury retrograde beginning Feb. 23 is exclusively in Pisces (Venus, Mars, Neptune, Chiron and the Sun will also be there). The one beginning June 26 will be exclusively in Cancer. It will be joined by the Sun, Mars, Vesta and Jupiter. The one beginning Oct. 21 will be exclusively in Scorpio, joined by the Sun, Saturn and the North Node.
Okay, that’s a lot of water. This is coming from someone with about 10 water placements in my natal chart, depending on what you count, and it still feels like a lot of water. The meta theme here is that it’s time to connect with the truth that we are beings made of water, with feelings attuned to water, which flow like water.
We need to nourish our bodies with water, and take care of the Earth’s limited supply of fresh water. And it’s time to imbibe those forms of watery creative expression, and tune into the ‘psychic’ or intuitive realm — which will be coming through more distinctly (that’s a topic deserving of another article). Water is the medium of intuition. Imagine that all water resonates with all other water.
There are no secrets and no point trying to keep them. Sooner or later, anyone aspiring to a more spiritually grounded life figures this out.
Aries (March 20-April 19)
You may find yourself drawn into social environments, though I suggest you take a strategic approach — spend only as much time there as it takes to meet your objective. That might include meeting the one person you know you were ‘supposed’ to meet, having one conversation, making a cameo and moving on, or hanging out in the back room during your own party. I say this for two reasons, besides the fact that the social realm can be a waste of time, energy and aspiration. One current reason is you need to be careful of group dynamics, and conscious when you’re in their midst. I would encourage you not to surrender your power to a group. Another is that small shifts in trajectory will take you in significantly different directions from the one you’re currently moving in, and it’s necessary to be aware of when you feel that change. Last is that you have deeper pleasures waiting for you than those you can have in public, hence, the social realm is merely a means to something better, and that something better is the thing you want. Part of creating it will involve setting up the environment for it to manifest; the idea that comes to mind is containment, a kind of world apart. Make sure that your home is prepared, with various libations and the implements of pleasure (soft lighting, clean sheets, phones disconnected, suitable music) and then go with the flow.
Order your 2013 reading from Eric Francis now, in LISTEN, the 2013 annual edition of Planet Waves.
Taurus (April 19-May 20)
Your charts indicate some unusual progress in your career, though if you’re part of an organization, remember that you’re not in this alone. I suggest that your real success is about being a positive, professional influence on the people around you as well as on the creative flow. There’s something about understanding the nature of how choices and actions turn to consequences, and the ways that process can be intervened in early on to create better outcomes. That’s another way of saying be proactive and what, to you, may feel like vigilant. If you’re working with others in their leadership capacity, remember that you have extra influence because of that contact; use it judiciously. The theme of this moment is that it’s not all about you, and in connecting with that, you may discover a realm of personal satisfaction that you’ve never felt before. Many people fear that they will have to ‘give themselves up’ to be part of something larger than they are, though if that’s true, then there is some other problem. Your current astrology is about discovering, encountering and fully engaging who you are, within a context. If you use your sense of perspective and maturity to see that context, you may notice that you have the sensation of being a visitor, not just to this particular situation but to the world itself. The nice thing about being a visitor is that you can exchange a sense of ownership for a sense of stewardship. I think you will like it.
Order your 2013 reading from Eric Francis now, in LISTEN, the 2013 annual edition of Planet Waves.
Gemini (May 20-June 21)
Take care handling your professional affairs this month. Your chart indicates the possibility of some authentic success or breakthrough, particularly in matters where your creative life intersects with your work life. You could discover a bold, vivid sense of purpose. However, if you are not 100% impeccable on matters of communication, that will come back to you. Therefore, begin now making sure that your intentions are precisely aligned with your words. Keep people up to date about what in your life influences them. I suggest you be careful about any tendency you may have to yield to your doubts and change your mind. I know that change is in the nature of the universe and you in particular have a mental state that’s constantly on the move. Often you decide that there’s something that just looks like it might be better. However, you and the people around you will benefit from your consistency through any relatively brief phase of doubt, challenge or adversity. Being a pro means sticking with things through moments of uncertainty, and being true to your vision. Therefore, trust your original intentions, and I strongly suggest, honor your original commitment, at least through the Mercury retrograde from Feb. 23 through March 17. You may have the sensation of swimming upstream during this phase, or meeting some inner resistance, though the real rewards are on the other side of this event, if you give yourself the gift of consistency.
Order your 2013 reading from Eric Francis now, in LISTEN, the 2013 annual edition of Planet Waves.
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
Some of the most appealing people you meet this month will resemble you the least. As one born under the sign Cancer, familiarity is something you treasure, understandably enough. I suggest that this month you place an enhanced value on what is different, interesting and which challenges your emotional perspective. For example, if you have a tactile approach to contact, or if you like affection demonstrated openly, you may experience some unusual pleasures from someone who takes a more detached approach. Overall, actually, a bit of detachment would be a good approach; I suggest that you sidestep any urge to make a ‘permanent’ bond with someone at this point. The wheel of your life is spinning pretty quickly, and there’s still no telling where it’s going to stop. Therefore, this is a good time to place a high value on your freedom of movement and your freedom to choose. Leave your options open — particularly if you feel pressured to make a decision by your friends (or by some other social pressure) to make a commitment you don’t feel right about making. It’s not always obvious when these kinds of influences are applied, or when we’re falling for them; I suggest you pay careful attention. The idea here, as I’ve suggested, is to leave some options open for the near future, when many other options are likely to manifest. Chances are you’ll discover that you can have worthwhile experiences in the moment, without clinging to them.
Order your 2013 reading from Eric Francis now, in LISTEN, the 2013 annual edition of Planet Waves.
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23)
Don’t be too hard on yourself, and make sure that you depend on the presence of others in your life to take care of you as much as you take care of them. They are there and they are willing to help. However, don’t expect anyone to read your mind. Be as clear as you can be about what you want and need. This may bring up some interesting emotional dynamics for you. These in turn may include various shades of wondering whether your environment really is friendly, whether you can trust people to support you, and so on — most of which have no reality in the present, but are more like relics from ancient history. It can be challenging to see these relics for what they are, as they tend to show up in consciousness as something real and immediate. It’s just not always obvious that they are some kind of memory fragment bubbling to the surface, pretending to be real now. The thing to watch out for is projection: for example, ascribing your own fears to someone else. You may need to be vigilant about claiming what you own, so that you can be clear about who others really are and what they are offering you. If anything gets in the way of an authentic exchange, check for projection. If you can keep this boundary clear, an unusual alignment that happens around the 10th of the month may represent a meaningful turning point not just in one relationship but in how you experience all relationships.
Order your 2013 reading from Eric Francis now, in LISTEN, the 2013 annual edition of Planet Waves.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
The planets seem aligned to reveal just how much someone in your life means to you, despite any challenges that may exist in the relationship. The situation looks like the perfect setup for healing, though if you miss that particular point (for example, by getting caught in any drama, or by misinterpreting someone’s desire for you as a form of aggression), you may find yourself in an unnecessarily complex situation. It will be helpful if you use your intuition and anticipate someone’s needs in advance — or use your experience with them and remember where they are coming from. It’s not up to you to fix anyone, but it will serve both your purposes and theirs if you hold open the space for their emotional process. This may feel like you’re going against the grain of your personality, though that’s exactly what you need to do for the benefit of making space for your own emotional process. By offering your empathy to someone you care about, you’re learning to offer your empathy to yourself. This really is a case of ‘you cannot give what you do not have’. In this situation, trust will be one of the most meaningful forms of empathy, including allowing the space for someone to change their mind a few times without deciding that they are trying to deceive you in some way. I don’t think that’s true; there are deep, potentially ambiguous feelings involved, though this does not dampen your love in any way.
Order your 2013 reading from Eric Francis now, in LISTEN, the 2013 annual edition of Planet Waves.
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23)
Your creativity may, at the moment, be in service of something else, something besides your personal creative aspirations. From the look of your solar chart, that could work well for you, as a way of deepening your talent, establishing yourself professionally and as a satisfying way to express yourself. Creativity is often confused with something personal. At times, that is true, though this attribute is over-emphasized in our romanticized, glory-oriented notions of what it means to express oneself. You are playing a pivotal role within some organization or group structure. Your devotion is providing stability to guide others around you through various everyday challenges and the occasional unusual challenge. This is a situation where the more you put in, the more you will get back, though you don’t have to think of it that way; rather, the more you put in, the better things will go, for you and for everyone. If you maintain awareness of how there are certain challenges inherent in human nature, you will see the way those challenges can be subverted, minimized or even resolved through creative thinking. You seem to have ideas that are ahead of the crowd or the curve, and I suggest you not hold back. Say what you’re thinking. Be clear when you notice a problem, even if you don’t have a solution for it; your mere acknowledgment of the issue will set the creative process and the group mind into motion. But that’s not enough; make sure you follow through.
Order your 2013 reading from Eric Francis now, in LISTEN, the 2013 annual edition of Planet Waves.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)
You’re headed for a passionate month, though you’ve likely already noticed this developing. The sign Pisces, one of the most dependable sources of pleasure in your life, is gradually filling up with planets, which will reach a peak in the coming weeks. You may find yourself taking emotional and erotic risks you’ve only dreamed of, though never imagined you could make real. This is a healthy, creative place for you to hang out. I would caution you about one thing, though, which is a potentially slippery aspect of emotional communication that might appear late in the month. No two humans ever agree on everything. It’s up to us to find and honor the common ground that we might share. You will be able to help matters considerably with your willingness to listen, and to really understand where someone else is coming from. This will help you identify the mutual space you can share with someone, based on actual intimate knowledge. Remember that you have more flexibility than you credit yourself for, and more than you generally like to offer. I suggest you go the whole distance being generous with yourself. The pleasure you may share in this time of your life is a luxury and a privilege, though some would say it’s a basic human need. These things all may be true, and you can still offer your life to the improvement of the human condition, starting with the people you care about the most.
Order your 2013 reading from Eric Francis now, in LISTEN, the 2013 annual edition of Planet Waves.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22)
What you think and how you feel are related, though they are two different things. Listen to both your thoughts and your feelings and you’ll get a dialog going, and get closer to a deeper level of personal truth. If you can reach that level of awareness of what’s actually real for you, you will discover that it’s a lot easier to get along with others. Said another way, honoring your inner reality opens up a capacity for intimacy that would decidedly not be there otherwise. Once you’re clear with yourself, any ambiguity that someone else may feel is a lot easier to work with. Once you have that inner dialog going, it becomes easier to set priorities that apply both in the world that exists within your personal space, and the bigger world outside your home. Speaking of, you are currently in contact with what is, in truth, a significant professional goal. You may doubt your ability to fulfill this one, and as the astrology has been developing, it tends to appear and then disappear from your radar. I suggest that you put this into manual mode. This particular goal may seem to fade away, though that’s an illusion; it will be back soon enough, and I would urge you to focus on it even when it’s not a priority knocking on your head all the time. Part of the sense of relief of not having it annoy you is the feeling of not being up to the task, though I assure you that is not true.
Order your 2013 reading from Eric Francis now, in LISTEN, the 2013 annual edition of Planet Waves.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20)
You have a rare opportunity to both tidy up your finances and take a significant step toward increased revenue from your profession. As for the tidying up, this is a matter of intention, discipline and structure. In the current version of the world I recommend that anyone serious about earning money from professional activities get a professional accountant on their team. Money flows toward structure. But it also flows toward purpose, and this is a time to focus your purpose. It’s not a time to drift and see what the future may hold; it is, to say it simply, time to get real. There is a purpose you are here to fulfill, and though you may live a while, you’re not going to live forever. That’s part of honoring the fact that things take time to develop and generally do not develop ‘on their own’. What you are doing seems to require actual planning, as well as cooperation and the cultivation of a niche market of some kind. It also seems to depend on the involvement of friends or associates with more experience than you have. To benefit from that knowledge base, you will need to open the side of your mind that is not inquisitive for its own sake, but rather focused on learning toward a specific goal. This is a new method of gaining understanding, one that may make you feel submissive to your subject matter for a while. I would rate that as a positive development.
Order your 2013 reading from Eric Francis now, in LISTEN, the 2013 annual edition of Planet Waves.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19)
Remember what is the most meaningful to you. You might forget, or take it for granted. Who you value, what you value and what ideas you hold dear are worth not only contemplating, but acting on. Love in any form is an active process, though as frantic as the world is (and as your world gets at times), what you crave is love in action. I would add that this is not a magical process, but a human experience of making your way through an uncertain world; it’s the very opposite of taking anything for granted. In this spirit, I would propose that for you, failure is a means to success. Willingness to make mistakes is a key element of what is called ‘correct action’ that can lead to a good, whole and wholesome destination. You are a person who loves ideas, though fully engaging in the beauty of being a creature of blood and flesh and feelings is essential to your participation in the human family right now. Spirit is our home, though you are an incarnation, and that has a purpose — to embrace the complexities and challenges of existence rather than to avoid them in any way, and that includes embracing what you care deeply about but which in some way challenges you. You’ve probably thought of all of this before, though in my reading of the planets, now is a poignant moment for getting it from the realm of theory to that of tangible reality.
Order your 2013 reading from Eric Francis now, in LISTEN, the 2013 annual edition of Planet Waves.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
An unusual alignment is gathering in your sign, which indicates an atypical, as in truly special, time in your life. Find a balance between moving with the flow and guiding yourself toward the destinations that you choose — and note that choosing is key. You may be tempted with moments when pushing the river seems like the thing to do, and others when drifting seems like the thing to do; consider this consciously so you do the right thing at the right time. Mars, Mercury and Chiron (among other influences) in your sign are saying focus on what you want, who you want and what you want to create. For a while you may feel like you are merely fantasizing, or asserting yourself into an energy field that is not exactly responsive, but I would urge you not to fall for that. You’re in one of the most workable environments you’ve ever been in, with lavish resources available to you. Rather than getting caught in the opinions or intentions of others, take what they say under advisement and allow it to inform you without any obligation to act. The complications of others are not yours, and you provide plenty of help, guidance and support merely by being yourself. By the time the Sun ingresses your sign on the 19th, you will feel the strength of your presence on the planet, and recognize that you’re an attractive, creative force, as well as one to be reckoned with.
Order your 2013 reading from Eric Francis now, in LISTEN, the 2013 annual edition of Planet Waves.