SIGN-BY-SIGN
November 2000

ARIES

ARIES (March 21-April 19)
It’s time for the two-year relationship checkup. Please scan back to the fall of 1998, size up where you were at then, and run through a sequence of the turns, twists and trysts. If you have been in one continuous relationship, check for which conflicts have come up repeatedly, which have been resolved and which have not been addressed. If you’ve been in a series of relationships, examine the common themes that have surfaced, and the unique qualities of each experience. And, most important and perhaps most difficult, explore the balance of power question. Who holds the high cards? Who has the influence and how do they get it and keep it? Here, events around November 7-10 will be especially revealing, and most interesting.

TAURUS

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
There is no easy solution to what you are being asked to do, or asked to give up. But it is about time that you had a face-to-face encounter with people or forces you seem intent on convincing yourself are so powerful and who seem to hold so much sway over your life. You are indeed being called upon to give something up, but if you must lay something or someone on the altar of sacrifice, why not have it be your perspective, which, subject as it is to what everyone else thinks, has cheated you out of seeing the world through your own eyes and feeling it with your own senses? Wouldn’t it be be nice to have your own opinion of yourself instead of constantly feeling you must deal with everyone else’s? In short, it’s your life.

GEMINI

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)
You will soon arrive at the breakthrough you have been working toward if you remember that the specific answer you seek is not in some external situation, but rather, in yourself; this, in turn, will work a lot better if you refrain from keeping secrets from yourself. Now is an especially treacherous time to seek the approval of others, especially in your work environment, where you may encounter the false and highly manipulative notion that you can do no right. In fact, you may very well be in the wrong place, but that particular revelation will need to light up inside of you before it means anything. At such a point, an appropriate path of action will become abundantly clear, and most likely, abundantly abundant.

CANCER

CANCER (June 21-July 22)
You can begin to defuse what has the potential to become an ugly situation in a relationship if you maintain an extraordinarily high level of awareness and don’t let yourself get dragged into negativity, or into other peoples’ karmic sagas. Just live your life. Much information that you need is available right now and will be revealed through creative action (creative, defined as the opposite of destructive). In particular, be on the lookout for getting involved in some kind of plans for Christmas that turn your stomach; that particular day is a major turning point in your life and in the history of your partnerships. It will begin building now into some bizarre exchange of pathological feelings, or an orgasmic release of much that drives you mad.

LEO

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)
Every time I get to the Leo horoscope, I go into “intensive care” mode, relating to the events of summer and fall 1999. Yet we’re all a safe distance from there, and what remains on your agenda are, for the most part, purely practical matters associated with implementing changes you learned were of the utmost importance on the spiritual and emotional levels. In other words, anything that was bad for you then is even worse for you now. The difference is that you are stronger now, and as this year winds to a close, you are in an unusually powerful position to make changes, arrangements, and organizational adjustments that both work well and stick in place. Search carefully for what is not functioning, and fix it.

VIRGO

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
Balancing inner and outer needs once again seems to be the most demanding responsibility you face, yet nothing matters more than the people and events inside your front door. The world out there will take care of itself just fine, but your world is the one that you must steward carefully, because the sweeping changes that are in progress cannot be reversed. I say this less as caution and more alerting you that the healing, processing, housecleaning and attention to personal detail to which you may feel compelled to attend are real opportunities. Changes you now make — and indeed, many that you have made this year — can benefit your life for decades. In short, you are creating a healthy environment and a sustainable life, in recognition that you are indeed human: no more, but no less.

LIBRA

LIBRA (Sep. 23-Oct. 22)
You are something of a master of the wise use of shared resources to begin with, but you now hold the keys to one particular financial saga that is unfolding. Yet the real story is unfolding on a much deeper level than money. The key you hold is a lesson in cooperation and, moreover, the often-stated but rarely appreciated idea that giving and receiving are one thing. It is typically stingy people who question this philosophy, but they would, of course, have little experience or motivation that would challenge their views. In any case, before you reach for your checkbook, which you are, of course, free to do, being the process now of creating the pathways of communication and alliance that can be woven into a solution that is unusually productive for everyone, and along the way teach a few people a good lesson.

SCORPIO

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)
All the setbacks in the world can be compensated by a recognizing single moment of opportunity, luck or visionary political genius. Take your pick. Unfortunately, you may be plagued by something wavering between doubt and paranoia. Give it a few weeks and you will see that what you were dealing with was desire rather than fear (the distinction can be subtle). But penetrate your fear and you will discover what you want, and are likely to acknowledge that you are ready for this now, not in the future. In other words, anything more than a little delay, perhaps a week or so, is unnecessary, especially if you are merely hesitating. But with the Sun in Scorpio supporting your every move, you have reason for confidence.

SAGITTARIUS

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21)
The Universe (as Saggies are likely to refer to it) is telling you something, if only you knew what it was. The messages have been coming in rather strange forms and, fortunately, not quite at the pace of the past couple of months. No doubt there are those among you who wonder Why Me? about 14 times a day, and others who are right in step with the cosmic blasts that are shaking the foundations of what you know, believe and perceive. At this point, however, a bit of chaos is better than a lot of obsession or evangelical thinking. You are already glowing like a torch. Your mere presence in a room is enough to focus the discussion on more important things than baseball. And for the moment, there is no end in sight: keep learning and exploring in your marvelously haphazard way.

CAPRICORN

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
All is quiet on the western front; however, toward month-end, someone who entered your life recently may provoke you into some revelations about the nature of some deeply personal issues. This is not the usual “battle of the sexes,” but rather the reconciliation of the sexes within yourself. I propose that this theme works out to be one of the more meaningful at this point in your life, and I further propose that its next stage is solving the mystery of whether you are declaratively a man or a woman, or some hybrid. You have much experimental data along these lines. You have explored in daring ways. But it’s time you understood something for sure, because you will be a lot happier once you are aligned with yourself. So listen to you, really listen, and accept provocation with an open heart.

AQUARIUS

AQUARIUS (Jan. 19-Feb. 18)
I have never been one to grasp the connection between celibacy and being spiritual, but then of course I could never wrap my head around the connection between killing people and being spiritual, a path that so many world religions espouse. However, the celibacy mystery may be looming in the temple known as your underwear. And this may seem like a sane option to the complexity of your relationships. But the path, if you ask me, is really about having a lot less structured relationships, ones with fewer legal and economic implications, and ones which steadfastly affirm life and not death. The Aquarius mind is typically split between the virtues of utter revolt and staunch conservatism. However, in the immortal words of Lou Reed, this is no time for marching bands. The future is within reach.

PISCES

PISCES (Feb. 19-Mar. 20)
Respect is a matter of the heart. This to say that love is a matter of respect. We call many things love in our culture, and most of the time we are mistaken, or using the idea of love to another advantage, or are being deceived. This works for the way we feel about others as much as it does for the way we feel about them. Beware of the double standard in which your love is expressed, on the deepest level, as respect, but this is not the way it works in return. And remember that at the core of self-love is self-respect. As you embark upon this most auspicious time of year, when, for an extended moment you manifest in a more visible, powerful way and when all your creations possess the power to grow beyond yourself, the core content is what will ultimately be expressed and reflected in the world. So remember, lots of things feel like love. Without respect, there is nothing.

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Cut the grease, clear your karma, be more free, have more sex. Eric Francis is a professional astrologer doing private consultations. For information about private readings, see http://www.PlanetWaves.net, or contact Eric at eric@PlanetWaves.net. Office phone: (845) 339-3339.

Eric Francis is an astrologer and writer roaming the galaxy, Visit his homepage at planetwaves.net, or e-mail him at eric@planetwaves.net.

Eric's favorite links this week:
Horoscopes4U.com RealAstrology.com Herstar.com