Aries (March
20-April 19)
In the words of Lou Reed, You cant always trust your mother,
but I would translate that to: You cant always trust what
your mother wants for you. Its well worth pondering for a
while, but there were things that your mother did not know about, experiences
she didnt have, and fears she passed along to you. And there were
desires she had never dared to taste. There is a universe of possibilities
opening up for you now. Some may seem strange, others beyond hope, yet
others too fearful to even think about. There is, I can see, some kind
of fog hanging over your most worldly desires and cosmic aspirations,
made no more clear by your shocking passion and poignant curiosity. But
whatever uncertainty you feel, the unknown is your friend, the fertile
void from which all real possibilities emerge.
Taurus (April 19-May
20)
Our current years, if you ask me, stand out as some of the more interesting
times in the history of religion. It was the Austrian psychoanalyst
Carl Jung who warned that most religion is a cover-up for, or designed
as protection from, direct religious experience. In short, today we
are tending to move past doctrine and back into direct contact with
the numinous, often looking right at the great mystery. Your charts
tell me you are in the midst of a new kind of spiritual awakening or
renewal, though it may not feel that way. Your tendency to think of
God or Goddess through filters, tradition, or structure may seem like
its getting in the way, though I suggest you let it serve as a
conduit for your dawning reality. When in doubt, go deeper into your
spiritual tradition, and seek not only for what it teaches about right
thought, but also about right action.
Gemini (May 20-June 21)
As you read these words in late January or early February, Mercury is
blowing past Earth in one of its thrice-annual retrogrades. As with
events for Taurus, there are potent religious or spiritual (if you prefer)
overtones here, but the framework is a more immediate revolution of
your ideas about what you call yourself. This yourself-thing
is misunderstood and entirely taken for granted by most people, and
its potential almost always underestimated in vast ways. Remember those
three concepts: misunderstanding, taking for granted, and underestimating
potential. Relating to what? To you! I am aware that youve been
extremely preoccupied dealing with personal crises or getting out of
pain and isolation for so long that down looks like up. But please,
youd better check both directions just to make sure youre
clear which is which.
Cancer (June 21-July
22)
Between what is perfectly uncertain and absolutely certain in your closest
partnerships is a narrow window of true potential. This window is not
always open, and its view is most unfamiliar. Whole worlds have arisen
in a short time. New dimensions of what is possible to share with another
person have emerged in your perception. I would say this probably feels
a little daunting, really amazing and also scary because you know it
may not happen any time soon. But some days your entire perspective
is obscured by doubt, fog, and mystery. Though security ranks among
your actual priorities, you are also capable of embracing deeply uncertain
realities. In a strange way, you can draw a sense of perfect safety
in just how mysterious and unpredictable your situation is. I would
call this putting all your personal attributes to work for you, rather
than against one another, just when you need to the most.
Leo (July 22-Aug 23)
To lack the courage to dare does not mean that you are in any way incompetent
or worthless. The world is presenting a very complicated and not-so-inviting
landscape right now. One particular situation is especially disturbing,
and appears to be shaking your confidence. Its obvious that a
philosophy of deal with it, learn from it is one of the
best means of handling adversity. Yet real feelings are involved: Your
own. Why deny this? Why deny yourself? The situation or relationship
by which you are confronted has a chilly, impersonal, or indifferent
air. Yet logic holds no water, or rather the type of logic thats
required seems to change every day. But at which point will you figure
out that this is not a reflection of your worth or potential, only an
overwhelming distraction that could just as easily be calling you beyond
its own chaos?
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
By now, you have figured out that all the events, developments, and
unusual emotional challenges left their mark on you were there for a
reason, which was to get you closer to the entity known as your soul.
The soul bears a kind of wound by its nature, what we could call the
wound of existence. But religions insistence that soul is star
of the cosmic show is but a piece of the puzzle. There are a couple
of priests Id like to walk up to and remind that it was through
the marriage of Psyche and Eros that the soul was made immortal. What
has happened over the years of your life has called you ever deeper
toward the depths of yourself, bringing you to a space of consciousness
that in its utter fullness is only half-complete. What occurs next will
be no less beautiful for its feeling of sudden surprise or unexpected
beauty, or the revelation that you are, indeed, a whole person.
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23)
While the modern notion of a good job is better than a slightly
older version, which was any job at all, there are apt to be many messages
reminding you that you deserve more, are capable of more, and have more
to offer. I dont speak of more as a quantity, but
rather as a quality, which is not measured so well in linear terms.
While a physical change or improvement of your workspace is a real possibility,
what I see blooming in some magnificent ways is your approach to what
you do, and what you make of the situation you have right now. The trick
will be allowing yourself to get drawn into the present moment of your
life, seduced by two things. One is the beauty of work well done. The
other is the security of knowing that, for what may be the first time
in years, you are noticing that just about everyone around you agrees
that your chosen role in the world is very good for the world.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov.
22)
By now I really hope you are coming to terms with what a profoundly
mental being you really are. I mean, its stunning, and Ive
never read any cookbook description of Scorpio that says mind
that can pull a 747 down the runway. But is that necessary? Is
there not some concealed need to prove youre more than just an
over-emoted ball of hormones pulling that airplane? What would it feel
like to completely update your mental files, to vastly simplify your
thought process, to work on many levels at once, and to pour the intelligence
of your body into your intellectual machinery? What if you could get
yourself out of the trap of linear time and its drawn-out approach to
problem-solving? The way is open, and your life really would benefit
immensely from efficiency, ease, and some space to wiggle in the wisdom
of your own patently unique logic.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22
- Dec. 22)
I dont claim to have the bottom line on reincarnation; I will
leave that to the Hindus. But Ive noticed something I call the
reincarnation effect, which is an apparent phenomenon of people being
affected or influenced by unresolved past life experiences, encountering
people from prior incarnations, and the spontaneous recollection of
past life knowledge. I dont know how it happens or whether the
past is involved, but it works. For the next year or more, this effect
may be so strong in your life that you cant miss it. Yet of the
several possibilities for how it manifests, the influx of intelligence
from beyond your current reality framework is by far the most awesome
right now. You know youve been working off some crazy karma for
the past year or two. Now, stay tuned for the benefits in wisdom, justice,
and a blast of true freedom.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan.
20)
This by far is one of the most fascinating astrological phases for Capricorn
through which any of us have ever lived. The early 1990s were the closest
comparable times, but still (for most) dim by contrast. Fascinating?
It is, as long as youre content to contain all the mystery, strangeness,
and dark monsters of the cosmos. I know that you are being given the
chance to make peace with all of who you are on the deepest possible
level, for now. But you may also think that youre being subjected
to a kind of inner freak show that is threatening to drive you mad.
Well, I look at it this way. Fear always threatens to push us to insanity,
but stops just short of doing so. And the creative impulse always pushes
us toward brilliance, but usually we stop it just short of breaking
free. But at this point it appears that youre not willing to go
halfway with anything, so now you get to choose which to choose.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb.
19)
Your ongoing wild ride is leading you somewhere, even if you find yourself
catapulted back through ancient territory, long-ago-forgotten dilemmas
and an assortment of scary ideas. In the words of the bard Robert Hunter,
you must inch your way through dead dreams to another land, and you
are on the borders of that land right now. Part of what you are given
to do in these weeks is come to terms with your own nature in a whole
new way. I surmise that you have not really made peace with, or gotten
to the bottom of, your complexity, your intensity, or your awesome intelligence.
And this seems like something of minor importance as you try to do something
much harder: Make peace with living in what often feels like a hostile
or amoral universe, and in times when it seems that, culturally, we
are flushing ourselves down the very pipes of creation. But I assure
you: the more pressing task is the first.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March
20)
There are miracles in the air, and in your heart, and in your mind.
You stand at the contact point between who you are and who you need
to be. You have reached the juncture where preparation meets opportunity.
In order to activate this potential, you may need to depend on some
very old wisdom, some deep tradition that you may have abandoned or
forgotten. Remember this, Pisces child. Of all the signs, your relationship
to the past is the most productive, because you have the gift of seeing
all things in perspective, if only you will look. Here is one perspective
that you may have forgotten in all your lifetimes of doing other things:
This universe was made as a creative experiment, and your life was co-created
by you and the Divine to participate in it. You possess a gift, one
that the world needs, and is prepared to embrace, and to reward. The
only price is faith.