The Singles Movement, Self-Awareness Month and the Big Wedding

Dear Friend and Reader:

The title of Eric's lead article in today's subscriber issue is, "May is Self-Awareness Month." Now, you've probably noticed by now that every month counts as Self-Awareness Month at Planet Waves. So what's so special about May? Besides what a great month it is, and Beltane?

Photo by Eric Francis - Blue Studio, New York.

Our story today begins with our discovery of the Singles' Movement. Yes, there is advocacy for every other kind of relationship form (including L, G, B, T and Q); it seems that advocates for being single have appeared on the cosmic radar. Now, this is interesting, given how many people seem to be perpetually single but don't like it. Being openly single somehow manages to have an aura of controversy, but I guess that makes sense when a billion people get near a TV to watch a wedding.

There's a sexual angle to being single, and that, too, is controversial. You don't find anyone advocating hookups, and friends with benefits is presumed to be impossible. So what about solo sex?

For that we need one paragraph of history. Back in 1994, Joycelyn Elders was fired from the position of U.S. Surgeon General for merely implying that masturbation could be helpful subject matter for safer sex education in schools. In the wake of that event, the folks at the Good Vibrations sex toy stores in the San Francisco Bay Area declared May to be Masturbation Month. That's right -- we have a whole month dedicated to an activity almost everyone engages in, yet many still can barely discuss. Now, this points to a real disconnect in our culture and therefore in ourselves, to various degrees.

It's the kind of disconnect that many people come running to astrology to try to work out. There's all the relationship subject matter; and there is the deeper psychological stuff. This is what Jungian psychology calls our 'shadow material': the envy, shame, jealousy, fear, etc. that undermine our self-esteem, our relationships and our growth if ignored. Those elements are in our charts. When we study astrology, we're called on to see them for what they are -- parts of a whole being who must live as such in order to grow.

Here's the funny thing: it seems the singles' movement doesn't like to talk about self-sexuality. And now that it's about to be Masturbation Month, Planet Waves is here to take up some of the slack.

One thing Eric has noticed and written about numerous times is the power of conscious masturbation to act as a key to the core of our sexuality, and to help us open the doors to the rooms where this shadow material hides. It's also a way to center us on pleasure, love and acceptance. You get to experience your mind as free in fantasy and your body as your own, and see any judgment for what it is: a projection that can be shrunk down to size, given back or released. It's a way to get to know yourself, to take control over your pleasure, and to be more independent in your relationships.

That's what today's edition of Planet Waves is about. And speaking of weddings with a billion people watching, we covered today's big royal event (intending no irony), with an article discussing whether the wedding was planned by astrologers, or if the date was chosen randomly. We've posted that article to the Planet Waves blog at this link.

Meantime if you would like to read Eric's full treatment of the singles / self-sex topic, along with this week's horoscopes, please click here. To continue the journey toward self-awareness with Planet Waves every month, click here.

Happy Beltane, everyone!

Yours & truly,

Amanda Painter