Scorpio (October 23-November 22)
Family of choice is rapidly becoming a more important influence in the world than family of origin. This makes sense to be, because the nuclear family is basically a creation of marketing culture, and humans are inherently tribal. It is this aspect of your life that is coming into focus now. The implication of your charts is that you are discovering, perhaps once again, that you are profoundly different than most of the people you know. By my reading you may feel you’re so different in the context of your values around home, family and tribe that you have long feared that you would never fit in. Everyone reaches this point at some time in their life; you have been here so many times that it’s starting to perplex you as to why. There are really two ways you can go, at this juncture. One is to try to conform; to seem normal; to set aside some of the things you might count as frivolous in exchange for something perhaps more necessary—such as a relationship as society defines it. The other way to go is to plunge all the way into what about you is absolutely different, and vow to be that person. As with so many simple things that it took Bob Dylan to remind us, “If you try to be anyone but yourself, you will fail.”
Sagittarius (November 22-December 22)
I feel like I’m starting to repeat myself on this subject of your ideas, your ability to work with them and their influence in your life. Remember our society’s profound phobia of being different, of thinking differently, and even of having an original thought. It is a phobia (generally with its origins some time around kindergarten) that borders on manic, though in appearance it is often subdued. Be aware of this as you pursue a concept that you know is profoundly important to you. You don’t need anyone’s permission for what you are thinking or doing, and indeed this is an opportunity to step outside the notion that you do. This may be the easy part, anyway. The real struggle we face is what to do with freedom. Like many commentators on human potential before me, I am of the view that freedom is the most terrifying state of mind for “civilized” people—in part because it implies a) the necessity to take responsibility and b) being wrong, or a potential lack of civility. Freedom must, by is nature, embrace every possibility. Mars conjunct Chiron this month reminds us that what has the power to heal will also have the power to do harm, and this is why consciously directed intention, connected to conscious action, is the safest, most productive place you can place the focus of your mind right now. No other will ever suffice.
Capricorn (December 22-January 20)
With the world in the throes of money problems and the media delivering daily promises that the economy will seize like an engine without oil, this is your time to be resourceful. You do have resources; it’s a question of whether you know it or not, and whether you are willing to take a chance putting them to work for you. These resources will come in two forms, people and ideas. Despite its reputation for high achievement, your sign is one of the more retreating ones in the zodiac. But Pluto is pushing you to come out of your shell and express your passion. This would include focusing on aspects of your life that have deeper personal meaning than most Westerners are accustomed to ever experiencing. There may be many important values, goals or needs that are surfacing, and have been over the last couple of months, and the prevailing question is: where do you start? How do you do it all? It will not be long before one of them can be seen to be more important in its own right, and hold a key to the rest. This will take discernment and focus, which may be in short supply right now. That is the place to start. If you know what is important to you and moreover why it is important, you will see the obvious choices for what they are.
Aquarius (January 20-February 19)
For a decade of your life, that is, dating back to approximately 1998, the prevailing influence on your personality was one that created a sense of obscurity about who you are. At best, this often came with a sense of being lost; at its worst, the feeling that you were living a lie. Yet the doubt and fog served a purpose, which was to melt away psychic patterns that, had they persisted, might have created a toxic mentality from which it would have been extremely difficult to escape. The process has started to change over the past few years, and very recently something seems to have thrown itself into a whole new direction. And I do mean thrown: the current astrology has come at you like a gale-force wind, with many changes, rapid inner and outer developments and perhaps a good splash of chaos for seasoning. In the midst of this, something is coming into high-resolution focus. I could write a book describing this one particular aspect, but in the simplest terms it is about mastering the ability to direct your willpower, your intention, and your sense of presence in the world—all as one entity. Feel that. Let this become who you are. The fog has cleared, the past is over, and you are sailing on the high seas.