Category Archives: Monthly Horoscope

Monthly Horoscope

Planet Waves Monthly Horoscope for August 2014

Aries (March 20-April 19) — You get to live a little bolder than usual, though I don’t mean impulsively. I mean taking thoughtful risks, knowing what you stand to lose and stand to gain. I also mean a commitment to development over time — at least one year, and maybe more. This is the kind of risk that involves taking a chance on what you want to see grow and develop in the world, what you might call a daring vision. Based on these criteria, casino gambling would not be included. It’s not nearly creative enough, plus there is too much risk for a very low potential for monetary or spiritual reward. There are all kinds of thrilling sports, and while you probably like them and would have lots of fun, your charts are describing something more. You want the kind of adventure that requires intelligence, passion and the potential to learn and grow. I suggest you consider your options and then make contact with the long-term benefits of what you want to do, and aim your choices in the direction of what has lasting value. Right now the way society is organized, there are few opportunities for intellectual risks, or rather, they are not especially popular or considered sexy. Don’t let that deter you. Eventually wisdom will come back into style, and you’ll be in the right place at the right time.

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Taurus (April 19-May 20) — Your charts describe a time of domestic bliss. For some that is a shack on the beach and for others it’s a duplex on the Upper West Side. What is it for you? How do you want your home to be? Forget, for a moment, what you think you can afford, or what you think you deserve. Rather, let your imagination run free for a while and imagine the visuals, the quality of the light, the kinds of spaces you want. Imagine what will help you work, what will help you sleep and what will improve your quality of life. Think about how you want to use energy and how you would therefore plan for the environmental footprint of wherever you would live. I am not sure the context, but someone commented on the Planet Waves website, quoting one of their teachers, who said, “Space is intelligence.” I love when a three-word equation gives me something to think about for weeks (and this one may last for years). As you develop your ideas about physical space, your mind will change. They will evolve, in particular, away from the concepts of your parents. It is likely that your ideal living space is distinctly different from where you grew up, and now you get to think through what kind of space you want and perhaps most significantly, where you want to be.

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — You’ve been involved in some unusually deep soul searching in recent seasons of your life, and working out some concept of your value. I would say that you’ve been through a time of making up your mind that life is worth living. That phase of reflection for its own sake has drawn to a close, and now is the time to come out of your shell and express yourself. You certainly have plenty going on in your mind, and I think you know or at least suspect that they are great ideas. Remember, thinking about an idea is not writing about that idea. Thinking about art is not making art. You could slip into a pattern where all you do is think about your possibilities, which is easy and self-satisfying. I’m suggesting that you get yourself busy making your ideas real. This is a translation from imagination to physical form, which you might think of as the great leap of humankind. One interesting attribute of your solar chart is that when you fire up your own creative process, you will invite collaborators. They may be of a higher caliber than you’re expecting and may in many ways surpass your own current abilities. That would be a perfect scenario, since you have a lot to say and you also have a lot to learn about how to say it.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Money requires focus, and several recent astrological events are hinting strongly at a state of abundance — and that you must match the emphasis of the planets with your own effort and awareness. This calls for a vision, which is a way of saying an elaborated set of goals. Most people respond to the notion of anything financial or even the meekest reference to money with worry and irritation. I suggest you go in the other direction, which would be bold intrigue. Consider that how you feel about money is a reflection of how you feel about yourself, notice what that sensation is and then begin to make any necessary adjustments. Remember, though, that the larger theme of resources is involved, and financial resources are just one type. Many other kinds are necessary. Among them all is having faith in yourself. This is not a thing possessed but rather a skill that you cultivate, exercise and develop. By resources I mean to include them all, and to suggest that you have what it takes, whatever you are doing and whatever is required. Have faith that there is plenty to go around in the world. This is one vivid moment in your life when if you seek abundance you will find it. And you will be finding it for a reason, for a purpose, which you know and which is up to you to express.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — You have every advantage leaning in your favor, yet you may still feel insecure. In the past you might have worried about bad things happening, not having enough or whether you could take care of the people you’re responsible for. Insecurity 2.0 is about wondering whether you have what it takes to live up to your own potential. You may feel a sense of promise that life is offering, but you don’t know how to manifest it. You may have so many options available that you don’t know what to choose — and you know that if you choose them all, you may be spread too thin. Let’s go back to the beginning — all those factors working for you, described by the Sun, Mercury and Jupiter in your sign (and a spectacular New Moon beginning the Sun’s run through Leo). That all points to something new, though I would ask if you’re carrying some regret or sense of loss from the past. Are you thinking, “life cannot be as good as it might have been”? That would fit the scenario. I assure you that it can be, though it will be necessary to call forth some passion and courage from within. This cannot be applied from the outside. It’s the part of a goal that has nothing to do with the goal — it has everything to do with you.

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Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — You may be wondering why relationships have to be so challenging. You may even be wondering if they need to be that way. I think that mostly this involves the various rules and definitions we put around connecting with others, which includes various regulations around sex. There’s also a kind of seeming ‘unconsciousness’ hanging like a fog over the whole region of life where people connect emotionally and sexually. It is this slumber from which humanity needs to awaken. Mixed in with the fog are all kinds of moralism, judgment, expectations and unresolved baggage from the past, and from past generations. By this measure, waking up is not especially appealing, as these are the things to which one usually awakens. On a good day there is also love, passion and desire, and though these would rightfully be the incentive to connect, they’re not exactly in style right now. They involve something real, and tactile, and where there is the risk of not being in control all the time. And if there is one thing our society is addicted to at this moment, it’s control. Where does this leave you? I would say it leaves you free to evaluate what you want, which I think is going to take some honesty and a risk. You might also evaluate what you are wholly willing to offer — which will definitely take some honesty and a risk.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — Mars has finally left your sign, which changes a relationship dynamic that seems like it’s been stuck for months. The actual dynamic that changes is a resounding message of looking to yourself for the fulfillment that in the past you would seek only in relationships. We have this idea, perpetuated by generations before us (but basically a romantic concept) that we must seek completion in another person. This is a setup for incomplete people seeking completion with one another, and never finding it. This is so taken for granted that people who do not play this game are considered weird, and those who work toward a sense of inner fulfillment and resilience have relatively little to discuss with others who avoid this whole topic. That is a disclaimer — reaching into yourself for your opposite polarity may have the effect of alienating you from certain people who play a mean game of gotta-be-normal. Yet other factors in your astrology suggest that you are so resplendent, visible and bold that you are a powerful example for your friends. You have the chance to deepen your relationship to yourself and to find a place where your relationships to others are not based on a neurotic need for self-completion. Hold that energy and you can have experiences of actual sharing and exchange rooted in being a whole person who appreciates the company of other whole people.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — After spending eight months in a strange and sensitive angle of your chart (known as the solar 12th house), your ruling planet Mars has ingressed your sign. This may have arrived with the sensation of your ear pressure equalizing after a fast elevator ride. And you may suddenly have the added confidence of knowing what you want. In consciousness and in biology, the human experience is driven by desire. It has all kinds of names, with various inflections of good and evil attached to them, though they amount to the same thing. That thing is the desire to live and to experience life, and it’s likely that you’ve been infused with this sensation in a whole new way. The question is how you respond and/or react. Lately you seem more given to the moralistic/control side of the spectrum than is useful. It would be helpful to recognize when you’re judging yourself and others for something that is either natural or not harming anyone. You may feel some need to live up to an image, that is, to be perceived a certain way for the sake of your reputation. If there’s a devil, this is it. While you must always be mindful of integrity, that is different from any form of obsession over what people may think about you. There is only one person who needs to respect you, and that is you — with any luck, just for being real.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — Focus on your plans, by which I mean specific plans to go specific places or do specific things. Did I say specific? Most people work with general plans, such as “I will be a musician” or “I will be rich” or “Someday I will write something.” Or to give another example, “Someday I won’t have to do this job I don’t like.” The combined action of Mars and Jupiter is calling for you to focus your self-knowledge into a course of action. Remember that this does not need to be a ‘permanent commitment’ or ‘what you want to do for the rest of your life’. It’s what’s significant now, that your soul is calling for you to do now. There may be a place involved, though not necessarily. If you are getting information about a place, I suggest you test your theory and actually go there. In general I would say the theme of your solar chart is test your theory. If you are into a particular art form or method of personal expression, design a project that you bring to completion — make sure you choose your scale so you can go from start to finish in a few weeks or months, rather than something designed to go on for years. You will both benefit and build confidence from the feeling of intending and then achieving. Then do something new.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — You may have this idea that you’re on the right track but heading toward an obstacle of some kind. You might also consider what could intervene long before that obstacle materializes. Said another way, nothing is certain; everything exists in a state of potential or of probability. Those factors are changing constantly as various factors blend and new factors emerge. It would be mighty healthy of you to think in some concept other than what you want as the guaranteed outcome. It’s not only how often this leads to misery. The fact that there is no absolute certainty is your best ally right now, because it keeps your potential open. Most people get panicky if they make contact with their potential or have anything less than the illusion of control. You don’t need illusions of anything right now; you need to be in the moment, responding to your environment, and aware of your feelings. Notice the ways in which you limit yourself, whether it’s with language (such as how you speak to yourself, or describe your possibilities) or by trying in any way to limit the range of your emotions. I suggest you have a long talk with yourself about the concept of appropriate. If you have a tendency to cram yourself into a box, this is the one. There is such a thing as appropriate, but it’s a lot more inappropriate than you may think.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — You have a whole new world of relationships opening up with Jupiter spending the next year in your opposite sign Leo. That’s likely to manifest as more and as better, though I suggest you keep your eye on a few factors. For example, notice when a situation you’re in does not offer you space to live up to your potential as you feel it. Jupiter is likely to arrive with a longing for freedom. You certainly have the option to hunker down and wait for it to pass by — or you can respond in a creative way. Another theme of this transit involves making sure that people are who you perceive them to be. You’re likely to see many wonderful attributes in people, and I suggest that you get to know them well enough to see past your own projections. Note, this is the projection of the style of seeing only the best in people. This may be true, with some of them, though because Jupiter (especially in Leo) is so closely associated with image and appearance, it will be very helpful to make a policy of going past those layers, and actually getting down to the substance of who someone is. At the same time, your charts are calling on you to act, speak and choose from an authoritative place of confidence and commitment. May the world rise to meet you.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — This can be one of the most productive times in your life. You have many options. You have tremendous freedom, in part because you’ve invested so much in mastering your skills — though freedom is also an invitation to choose carefully. Best of all, your energy is running strong and solid, and all you need to do is maintain yourself with basic movement, good food, water and as much sunlight as possible and you will remain in good spirits. With Jupiter in Leo, your 6th house of service and wellbeing, the two go together. There may have been times when you’ve resented how much you offer to the world, and you’ve noticed how little a great many people offer back, to anyone. Now that has been flipped on its head. You are the example of what is possible, and you are an inspiration to many people who might not believe it otherwise. You don’t need to say much about this, unless you have an appropriate occasion. In offering yourself, you improve your life and the lives of others. Yet you also do something on the meta level, which is to demonstrate that this is a viable way of life for many who want nothing more than to offer themselves in some way. Meanwhile, I would remind you again: choose what you want to do the most, and make sure you include that in your business plan.

Planet Waves Monthly Horoscope for July 2014

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Aries (March 20-April 19) — Embrace the ever-present chaos factor. There is no getting around this; in fact it’s so close to your core, and enmeshed in our time of history, it’s what you want to indulge rather than avoid. Chaos can go two ways — toxic or creative. Creative would mean accepting that who you are is a constant work in progress, and that the ability to change rather than be stuck is a sign of vitality. Meanwhile, you are approaching a replay of opportunities that you may have missed earlier this year, and now you will be able to do more about them. You have more space in your life, and in your mind. Ultimately this will become a matter of commitment, but not in the usual sense, involving someone else. This is about commitment to yourself and to devoting yourself to who you are and what you do. Other people may be involved, but in truth there is just one moving part, which is you allowing yourself to feel passion. Ultimately this will be the factor that gets you beyond any contradictions, within yourself or within your environment, and which becomes the galvanizing factor in your psyche. Therefore, allow yourself to feel strongly about something you really want to experiment with. Allow yourself to take action and to bring your body and soul into the experiment. And remember — it is an experiment; or rather, you are.

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Taurus (April 19-May 20) — You may have too much to sort out emotionally or otherwise. If you want to resolve whatever is occupying your thoughts, you’ll need to make some observations and come to deeper understandings like a scientist would, and then slowly integrate them. I am suggesting that you try an approach that differs from the usual “don’t keep your feelings up in your head” advice that goes around, though for a reason — you seem to have so much happening that you need a method of evaluation. One thing you can evaluate is the priority level of any given situation or its sub-parts. You cannot do this based on an emotional response or reaction alone. There are things going on in your environment that are wholly the property of others, that have an influence on your life and that you have to address and adapt to. And in such a situation, the emotional level is not going to be helpful. Now, there are mental traps you need to be aware of, and one way to know you’re in one is when you find yourself going around and around. That is not evaluation, thought or observation. It is the emotions trying to run the mind. Over the next two months some situations in your personal life that have long seemed intractable are going to move. This will build gradually rather than all at once, as will your clarity.

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Gemini (May 20-June 21) — The biggest mistake you could make is not trusting yourself. This can be projected and disguised many different ways, and I suggest you be vigilant about them. I will give you an example. You might have an idea about what is right for you, but then get distracted by some form of, “Another person would disapprove of this decision that I am making for myself.” Then the cover story becomes your own seeming hesitation, when in reality, the underlying issue is that you’re basically serving two masters. Now, you might ask who the prototype is for this other master. Your solar chart suggests that it’s something about needing to have your father’s approval. This topic is some old stuff, and it appears to run in your family. The thing is, it does not necessarily take its original form in the way it’s manifesting currently. Indeed, it can seep into any relationship dynamics, especially if they take any form of the parental model. The challenging part is that we hardly know any other model, and many people are not interested — they just want to be told what to do. The first step out of this pattern is going beyond exactly that. You have your own opinions. You have your own ideas. You even trust them. If you get into an argument with yourself, pause and ask yourself and ask who, exactly, are the parties to this debate.

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Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Now that you’ve taken a tour of your supposed psychological tendencies, you can claim who you are in the most positive sense. Growth and healing are not just a quest for fixing what is wrong with you, nor are they about making yourself acceptable to others on their terms. They are about identifying the best of who you are and putting that very quality forward. You could say that you need to believe in yourself first in order to do this. Or you could experiment with the idea that asserting your strongest, best qualities will help you discover the reasons to believe in yourself. One approach is theoretical; the other is practical. It will be worth daring; it will be worth the small risk that’s involved, and worth persisting for a while. With the Sun and then Jupiter entering your neighboring sign Leo, you’re about to have a lot of support on the theme of feeling good about yourself. You may not feel it today, though I think in a matter of a few weeks you will be surprised at how much has changed in your approach to self-understanding. A rising tide raises all boats, and when you see certain boats rise you may even make the connection that they are rising along with your positive affirmation of who you are; your self-respect will have effects that you did not dream possible.

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Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — You seem to have a choice of responsibility in name only, or responsibility without a name. Either way, you’re being asked to step up to something larger; you are hearing a calling, though it’s complex and not easy to translate. What happens comes down to how you interpret that calling, and how you choose to respond. There’s considerable tension involved in the whole situation, and you may be feeling it pull on you, perhaps threatening to pull you apart, without recognizing it’s there, much less knowing what exactly it is. If so, I suggest you carefully review any situations that seem to compete with one another, and any elements of your life where factors within them seem to compete. As you do this, notice what you determine is not subject to change or to movement, and what you determine is. Your assessment may or may not be correct, though it will help if, for example, when you determine something cannot change, you ask yourself why it cannot change. If you determine something can change, notice what you do about that — whether you invest energy in making the change. Back to my original premise. Responsibility in name only is easy to control and requires no flexibility. Responsibility without a name requires your full commitment both to flexibility and exchanging the concept of control for something much more productive, which is influence.

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Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — You’ve said many times that you want people around you who are more sensitive and whose feelings are closer to the surface. Yet how do you respond when you actually encounter them? I suggest you observe yourself carefully over the next few weeks and see what you notice. You have a few choices for what to do. One is to go into paralysis mode — to freeze up, to put on a facade, to go passive. Another is to push them away. Neither of these is likely to be what you want, but they’re fairly typical responses to those who in some way ‘threaten’ us by being willing to feel. Another is to engage with them directly, no matter how uncomfortable it may make you. In this context, uncomfortable equates to vulnerable. I am describing one of the core crises of our culture, one that is largely being driven by our relationship to technology. In the world as it is, it’s easy to avoid just about anything, it’s easy to have the feeling of control (for example, by ignoring someone’s communications) and therefore easy to weave yourself into a state of isolation. In this sense, obsession with text messages is not so different from obsession with porn. One of the prices you pay to get out of this is allowing authentic contact to happen when you have the opportunity, which always happens today, not tomorrow.

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Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — This month, two planets describing forces that have shaped and even defined your existence move on to other signs. Jupiter exits the cardinal cross and ingresses Leo, which represents a windfall or step up in the world. Your point of view shifts from parental to peer-to-peer. More significantly, Mars will exit Libra, where it’s been since early December, and ingress Scorpio. Mars plus Libra has been an odd mix — maybe one of the strangest in astrology; we’ve all had to live with it, and you’ve experienced it most directly. Putting it politely, this transit has been provocative. The result has been to put you into contact with a new dimension of who you are. You may not have changed your boundaries much, but you discovered what they are, and you discovered that you need to work with them consciously. The deeper question is about what motivates you, what drives you, what values exist on the level of breathing, and this I reckon you’ve made some progress understanding. You have one more quest before you fully engage this energy. It involves exaggerated feelings, and recognizing when they are in some way taking over your mind. You must be able to safely handle intensity, passion, lust and the drive for experience. But that’s different from anything exaggerated.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — So — what good is fear? I mean obsessive fear, anxiety, worry and panic? What purpose has it served during the past few seasons, besides providing a way to burn up energy? I know these emotions are rampant, and they’re usually considered something that cannot change. Now, one option is that you can compromise with fear, which will basically leave you stuck. Or you can take a stand within yourself. Fear is actually a toxic form of desire, and the antidote to fear is clear, bold desire. Like many things, I know this logic is reversed by the world (such as in the form, “if I were only unafraid, I could allow myself to desire”). Yet it’s easy to see that this is self-defeating. Desire is the starting point. Consider the outcome you want in any situation. This is the most important factor. Once you know that, the steps and the logic leading to it will become clear. If the steps do not become obvious, go back to your stated outcome, consider it carefully, and make sure it’s what you want, and make sure it’s described in a legible way. Make sure there are no hidden compromises involved. What you’re about to discover is that you want more from life, and to accomplish that, you must be willing to admit that it’s true.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — As Jupiter shifts into fire sign Leo for a one-year visit, you will discover your horizons are expanding vastly. This is partly a factor of having resolved or removed yourself from so many past agreements, engagements and entanglements. Your sense of time, of distance, of your own potential and of devotion to your talents are all about to go into expansion mode, as is your faith in yourself (or your higher power, however you prefer). The key now is finding out what this new phase of your life has to offer you before getting involved in anything that might limit your options. The opportunities and the temptations to limit yourself will be disguised as something else. Someone or some situation may call on you to compromise a core value in a covert way. It might seem minor at first. For hypothetical example, you may do your best work at night, an old fact of which you’re fully aware. But being absorbed in your work evenings might not be tenable to a relationship partner. That can lead to tension or to conflict, which can be distracting you from exploring something you know is essential. You know what is right; one question is whether you will you see this as what it really is. Remember — you have yet to discover what life is about to offer you. Keep your options open.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — In the many months that Mars has been traveling through your 10th house of achievement and reputation, you’ve become more sensitive than ever to the opinions of other people in your life, and have discovered that all power and influence are based in relationships. This has come at a price: allowing others more influence in your life than you really want. You will now need to maintain awareness of those relationships and how they work while being more brassy, doing more of what you want and worrying less what people think. This is a fine line to walk, since you still may have the idea that your reputation is on the line. Yet you know that you cannot allow the bounds of your reality to be determined by others. There is a solution set to this seeming paradox, which is that people tend to respect those who are confident even if they don’t agree with them, or even like them. Rather than worrying whether others in some way object to you, pay attention to how they are in fact responding. If someone objects, notice how you handle it. Do you immediately want to yield to them, or do you ask yourself whether they are entitled to an opinion, and what that opinion counts for? Think of this as the next stage of leadership. It’s one where politics matters, but only to a limited degree.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Now is the time to go from working on relationships to actually experiencing them. The difference could be emphasized more, though it tends to disappear into the haze. Now, it will rise like the Sun over your life. While you could identify a psychological dimension to anything, that recognition may be for the sole purpose of avoiding it. There will still be a strong temptation to analyze certain things till they are very nearly lifeless, which is part of a well-established pattern in the lives of many people. It often serves a purpose, which is to siphon off passion, and to create a seemingly sophisticated rationale for denial. I suggest you get the energy flowing in the opposite direction — toward passion, funneling vitality into your interests and your relationships rather than away from it. Take any opportunity not to analyze, to say you don’t know and have that be OK, even to take the risk of not caring about the motives of others. If you’re wondering about other people, pay attention to their actions and you will have more than enough information to work with. In a similar vein, I suggest you notice how obvious the choices you want to make really are. They require relatively little thinking and absolutely no overthinking. If something requires analysis, focus it on one question — whether something is in accord with your values. Remember — your values are intuitive.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Many factors have compelled you to stay focused in the moment, while also getting more in touch with the longer view of your existence. It’s true, to connect with that longer view you’ve had to climb what seems like an endless mountain, never seeming to reach the top. However, it seems like every now and then you turn around and get a look at the territory behind you and figure out how far you’ve come and what you’ve really accomplished. In doing this you’ve made progress getting out of the netherworld of “what might happen” in exchange for being clear about what is happening and what you want to do. The use of time is essential to maturity. Here on Earth, it’s not merely that time is finite for any individual; there’s also the not-so-small matter of not knowing how long life will last. That contradiction causes more problems than most people are aware of; for many it prevents them from making any real commitments. It’s only by being able to handle these two variables at once that you can make any actual progress. This month, Mars moves in your favor by entering water sign Scorpio after its nearly endlessly complex trip through Libra. This will allow you to take advantage of many factors that in the past seemed to only hold you back. Remember, your past problems are your future assets.

Planet Waves Monthly Horoscope for June 2014

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Aries (March 20-April 19) — It’s time to update your files on a relationship. All year long you’ve been in a phase of review or reconsideration of an important partnership. The question phase is over, and it’s time to apply the things you’ve learned. The core question that it’s time to answer is, what are you doing in this involvement? You may decide that it’s productive; you may decide it’s not working for you at all; you may decide that the situation is workable and that you’re still committed to it. However, you need to know where you stand, and anyone else involved must know that too. This meeting must be on level ground, with all parties agreeing that the situation is fair and mutually beneficial. This is likely to require some ongoing, careful thought on your part. For example, if you decide that the situation is not perfect but is workable, then the details have to be worked out. If you decide that it’s not worth going forward, then an exit strategy must be negotiated. And if you feel strongly about moving ahead with the relationship, you still have to do some careful review of the history of your involvement so that you don’t repeat any mistakes going forward. Whatever you do, it’s clear that you need to proceed with full information and a solid commitment. There are significant challenges ahead, and you have the ability to turn them all to your advantage.

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — Your relationships seem to throw you one opportunity after the next to rise above your own nature. The world is constantly demanding a higher level of maturity, attention and commitment. Such is the nature of Saturn in your opposite sign Scorpio. This transit won’t last forever, it’s indeed challenging and I promise you one thing: you will miss it when it’s over. Saturn presents challenges, and it also offers the circumstances that you need to meet them. In that sense, Saturn is eminently even-handed, though you may not see it that way. Speaking in the more immediate sense, but also related to Saturn, the theme of this month is a focus on money. It’s vital that you rethink some recent decisions, not waste your resources and make the most of the situations where you are compensated for your work. It’s essential that you find the meeting place between what you’re good at and its value to others, and maximize that relationship. Make sure you focus your efforts on what really matters to the person or organization that is paying you. Remember that you’re part of something larger than yourself, and that your role is to contribute energy and ideas. Reach for a whole-system approach — also known as a plus-plus symbiosis, or the greatest good for all concerned. That’s not the way of the world, but soon we’ll have no other choice.

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — This month’s astrology illustrates an idea that’s dear to my heart: that self-esteem and one’s financial situation are closely related. I know that money supply is often blamed on the economy, and one’s place in life seems to be about how many credentials or connections one has. I think it’s much more obviously an emotional connection to feeling good about who you are, good enough to assert yourself to others and to excel at your work. This is one of the most basic measures of self-esteem — whether you feel you have a role in society. It also works the other way: the more you cultivate your talent and assert yourself as a gifted person, the more likely you are to develop those qualities. There are always ups and downs along the way, and dealing with them in a mature way is a significant part of personal growth. One aspect of this is being passionate about your talents, which means enough to take a risk on them. Then there’s one more bit. You may need to give up something in order to move forward doing what you’re best at. That might be your time, it might be some other interest, it might be a financial involvement or it might be an attachment to not succeeding. This is not really a sacrifice — in time, you’ll figure out that it was an exchange.

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Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Use a series of rare aspects this month to work out conflicts in your motives, the ‘mixed signal’ phenomenon and other unresolved material that will come to your awareness. You will be able to get underneath the surface of subject matter you’ve long puzzled over, and psychic material you’ve had a vague sense of but could never put your finger on. This will key directly into healing modalities that become available, plus mentors or practitioners you encounter, who actually understand something about the nature of what you’re experiencing, and can actually help. Perhaps the most significant thing you should know about your astrology, and that is not visible on the level of the ordinary planets, is what a profound time of healing and learning this is for you. On some level you suspect this intuitively, though I want to confirm it for you as an astrologer. And I want to let you know how big this really is. I’m not just talking about healing; I am talking about you tuning up your entire system to be able to receive rare and highly specific teachings, information and what you might think of as galactic data. I know this is a bit more New Agey than I usually get, though that is what the charts say. And the next four to six weeks will be a time of focusing your learning patterns and opening up to possibilities you never imagined.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — You play a unique role in the culture, and this month your charts are describing that as a publicist for something weird, intriguing or that goes against the normal grain of society. It could be your project, it could involve someone close to you and it might also be that you’re going to be taken on a tour of all that dances to the tune of its own drummer. You’re likely to make some big scores or turn up a few gems in your process of exploring and experimenting with some aspect of culture. But you may not know what they are, so the idea is to be very observant and to treat everything as a potential gem. Doing this involves being more than a consumer or passive participant in the world around you. Think of yourself more as a cosmic talent scout, someone surveying new artistic or business territory, or going to unusual places and finding the most creative people. In these weeks you have the potential to cultivate or discover ways to increase your income, but there are two caveats. One is that you must be following your true calling. The second is that you need to be flexible enough to adjust and adapt to a continually changing environment. As it turns out, this aspect of life is one of your most adaptable, and where you have the most natural curiosity.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Examine carefully your values as they relate to the spiritual and financial aspects of your life. They’re not really separate; indeed, they are inseparable except for an idea, and that is the idea I’m suggesting you look at. This is not an easy idea to translate out of the charts, but here’s my best throw. It’s not necessary to give up success to have some form of spiritual growth, or not in the way that you think. Western religion is all over the map on this one — some say that wealth is a reward from God, some say that one must give it all up to get any respect from God. But what does God have to do with it? Who is this mysterious authority figure making bold, sweeping and seemingly contradictory statements about what must be so? And why do they apply to you? I suggest you examine carefully the concept of sacrifice — that which you must give up in order to make something sacred, or to win the favor of God. Your charts in my reading reveal a passionate drive for something that includes devotion, creative passion, a visionary quality and the potential for monetary success. There are, as you well know, two ways to read nearly anything; of the two this is the creative, life-affirming one, the one where you come out the winner, in harmony with existence.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — Yours is known to be one of the most laid-back signs, but you know this is an act. In fact you are one of the most driven and determined individuals you know, once you make up your mind what you want — and as long as you don’t simmer in resentment and regret, uncertain whether you deserve something. Now, you always have the option to hook into that, but it’s old, and it’s the very thing you’re trying to let go of — so I suggest you cut your losses, give back what is not yours, and move on with a clear conscience. If you have to make amends to anyone, do so sincerely and move on. If you need to apologize to anyone, do so and get on with your life. And one other thing: if you have to forgive anyone, including yourself, then integrate that into everything else you’re doing as part of the move-on process. Forgiveness is not stuffing something, or forgetting something, or demanding that someone take the blame. It’s the opposite of all these things, and though nobody can really explain the process, it does exist and it seems to be easier if you ask for help in whatever spiritual language you speak. The most important thing nearly everyone agrees on about forgiveness is that in truth, it’s not about anyone but yourself.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — In most of my recent Scorpio commentaries, I’ve explored the concept of fear, and the way your charts are describing how you’re working it out. The sum total of this topic is that the most poignant, threatening subject of fear is oneself. This manifests many ways, including as fear associated with dropping the charade and being oneself. It’s always fear that keeps the game of being ‘someone else’ going. It manifests as fear of one’s potential. Or it can express itself as the quality of needing to hide behind a barricade, concerned what will happen if you come out. And one of the most common, and for you debilitating, ways it can manifest is fear of your sexuality. All of the pseudo-conservatism we are seeing in our current era of history, and false modesty and intentional ignorance of biology, are all expressions of fear of sex and sexuality. This is especially distressing and debilitating for you because your sign is all about sex: the sign that in ancient astrology rules the sex organs, and in modern astrology one’s hormones, desire and the nuances of attraction. Because life emerges from sex, the fear of sex, in any form, is fear of life. You who want to be alive need to align with your desire and your erotic power, as if it were the cosmic gift that it actually is.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — Much that you could not talk about, or find anyone willing to discuss, is about to become a household topic. It will be up to you to make them a household topic, though you know it’s time for you and the people around you to speak in an open way about what is obvious. You can initiate the discussion gently, and you may be surprised to see that people respond. Seen one way, they are reflecting you and responding to your commitment to truth. Seen another way, they are tapping the underside of their own nature, and that particular aspect has more in common with who you are than it does with who they usually are, or think they are. Therefore, I would encourage you to have all the unusual, irreverent or taboo discussions that you’ve ever wanted to have. Get good at it. Find out how easy it is to lure people into revealing the truth of who they are, and use that information wisely. In one sense you will be looking into a mirror — but a mirror so clear, it will be entirely convincing that what you see is not a reflection. You don’t need to believe it’s a reflection — you can merely ask yourself how you would respond if what you were seeing reveal itself in others was, hypothetically, some aspect of yourself.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — This is your take-charge moment, though for the next few weeks as Mercury treks backwards through Gemini, I suggest you keep this fact concealed. Rather, work with people on their familiar level of the game, of the company or of society. Learn everything you can, about them and about what they do. There is a style of leadership (such as onboard a ship) where the captain must have mastered every single station, task and routine that any of his or her sailors must do. This is the approach that I suggest you take. As you do so, establish relationships with everyone you know who is doing those tasks and make sure they know you appreciate them. Once Mercury stations direct, you will then step into a coordinating role. Again, this will not be the ordinary kind of top-down leadership that our society seems to worship, leading to the $25 million CEO who cannot actually do anything. As time goes on, and you demonstrate your competence and skill by passing through a series of initiations or tests, you will earn the respect of those around you. Along the way, I suggest you think of everyone as your potential benefactor and supporter rather than as a competitor. This will be a refreshing change, and who knows, maybe other people around you will start to pick up on the idea.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — You seem to be having doubts about your power or your influence, and at the same time you seem to be tamping yourself down intentionally. This may be the best approach for the next few weeks as you work out some ethical issues that seem to be bothering you. This may be stuff that has been hanging around for a while, but which you’ve just been able to focus into a coherent thought. The question relates to one or both of your parents, which is why you can go for so long working something out that you don’t even know exists; it showed up before you were born, and you thought it belonged there. This would be a good moment to question everything you’ve taken for granted, any words of self-defeating ‘wisdom’ that any parent, teacher, caregiver or other authority figure ever delivered to you. One way to find such material if it’s buried is to consider any self-defeating thoughts you have and ask yourself where you learned them. They came from somewhere, but they will have little influence without your support and willingness to play along. It will then be up to you to teach yourself what is right, and to follow that teaching and see how it works. It will help if you gather others around you who affirm what you both know is true. There’s strength in numbers, especially for an Aquarius.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — This is a rare and beautiful moment in your life — especially if you remember that the best thing you can do for yourself is to believe in yourself. Have faith in your abilities and your goals. Know that you have the talent and the strength to accomplish what you set out to do. Trust that you have more than just enough; you have more than enough to make whatever happen. All you need is faith, and that is indeed a sign of strength. If you can’t muster that, then even the most basic modicum of trust in yourself will suffice. Tune into this on an emotional level, not just a mental one. Connect with the feeling of competence. If there are two sides to the argument, listen to both and choose carefully which one you believe. Most of all, allow yourself to feel desire and hunger for accomplishment. What you cannot do yourself you are capable of finding others who are loyal to you to do; be bold and ask for what you need. People will respond to your confidence, and this will create a cycle that feeds on itself. Your astrology portrays a time in your life when you possess unusual gifts, yet ones that are distinctly human. That is all you need to be, though I would add that most descriptions of what human means fall woefully short of what is possible — though the difference is almost always crossed by that distinctly human quality of faith in oneself.

Planet Waves Monthly Horoscopes for May 2014

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Aries (March 20-April 19) — There’s a fine line between being lost and being found. Have you ever become disoriented, then certain you knew where you were, then discovered you did not know, and then finally figured it out? That’s different from cruising along confidently, sure of where you’re going — a quality you would love your existence to have. Yet to be there, you would need to know where you stand with yourself, and where you stand with others. That is the quest of the moment. I suggest you start with where you stand with yourself. It will be tempting to consider what you would do based on another person’s feelings, or to plot out your life based on what might happen in a relationship. The order of the moment seems to be how you can live your life spontaneously as yourself, following your plan for your own existence. Yes, it’s possible that plan involves investing your whole consciousness and intent within the life of someone else. You might ask yourself how that’s worked out for you in the past, and how much of what you have wanted to accomplish you actually have accomplished. Or closer to the point, to what extent do you feel that your way of relating to others has interfered with your ability to actually live your life? Once you sort this out, it’s likely to prompt you to redefine many things you took for granted in the past.

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Taurus (April 19-May 20) — The opening you’re trying to pass through is as narrow or as wide as your mind. Rather than push harder, I suggest you notice what you’re thinking and feel whether it’s flexible enough to stretch. In principle, thought should be the most flexible thing in existence; it’s made purely of ideas. Yet it seems that humanity has figured out how to cut through stone, mold steel and forge new elements more readily than it can change its mind, especially on a collective level. It’s challenging enough making any decisions at all, and more complex when a second person is added to the equation. Your intimate partners are on their own path at the moment, making choices entirely outside the realm where you can consciously influence them. But you have all the influence in the world over your own choices, if you can think of yourself as an individual and not as part of something larger. You might say that’s the challenge of the moment. This relates to how as a much younger person you could not make a move without some version of family approval. You may have figured out that you can, but in truth it takes most people a long, long time to get there. In order to accomplish this, you don’t need to assert your individuality to other people — you need to assert it to yourself.

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — There are karmic implications to sex. If nothing else, that has been the resounding message of the lengthy Mars retrograde that draws to a close over the next few weeks. Karma is merely an analysis of cause and effect, which is a simple law that says every cause has many potential effects and any effect has many potential causes. But the heart of the matter is that there is a relationship between the two sides of the equation. In our era, most of the karma around sex is created due to lies, secrets and silence. We would remove many of the implications of sex were we to open up and tell the truth — but at the same time, many relationships as we know them would crumble. People who go through this almost always emerge with a better life, a lighter conscience and a more direct way of relating. As Mars comes to a halt in Libra, your 5th solar house, you’re being invited to clear the air of anything that is lingering; of all that you have not said; to express the basic, elementary truth of your heart and soul. The risk involved is shifting, tipping or upsetting the seeming balance of your existing relationships. You might ask: is it really balance, or is it a balancing act? How do you tell the difference? Balance is easy; a balancing act is a struggle.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — When you meet someone new, something that seems likely to be happening frequently for you right now, go right to the level of values. Cut past the superficiality and niceties and do your best to identify what you actually have in common with the person. Listen for clues about what he or she counts as the most significant elements of their existence. Listen for what matters to them. You don’t have time for anything else. What matters, that is, what exists on the values level, is the foundation of the relationship. You can only build on a foundation, so if you’re looking to create something, or to have your encounters with others serve a productive purpose, establish whether that deeper layer exists. It is unlikely to be based on appearances or the fact that you might be in the same line of work, or like similar music. You must be perceptive, and take into account both first impressions and what you learn over time. Notice when you’re ‘overlooking’ things or pretending they don’t matter. I have observed that people will indeed tell you where they are coming from, and that the only thing you need to do is listen and use the information you collect. What I am talking about here is the cultivation of trust. There are rare instances when trust is intuitive, and that intuition is correct. More often, you must use your conscious mind.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — It’s time to assess your relationship to the technology that surrounds you. There are days when you love it and days when you want to throw it all in the nearest swimming pool. I believe that the ‘technology issue’ currently represents the most critical turning point of the human race, and you may be feeling this in spades right now. You are more susceptible to its influences than many other people. I suggest you investigate how your use of devices has influenced your existence. Has interconnectivity connected you or isolated you? How much more time do you spend inside versus outside as contrasted to earlier in your life? When you think back 10 or 20 years, how was your social life different, in particular your group involvements? What about your one-on-one intimacies? Do you trust people more or less? One last thought: where do you think the infiltration of humanity by technology is headed, on the largest scale you can imagine? These questions are more complex than they may seem; they are the stuff that sociologists will be looking at for many decades to come. Yet within the emotional and spiritual levels of your life, the answers are accessible to you, and they will be meaningful. If there is something you’re concerned about on your behalf or that of your children, I suggest you make adjustments now.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Managing your finances, and working your way to true prosperity, is a matter of balance. Many different elements are involved, similar to the ‘credits’ and ‘debits’ lines on a bank statement, but more complex. There is the equation where time must balance out with money; making more money often means investing more time. There is the time and energy equation; sometimes you have time, but you have to manage your energy. Perhaps the most significant one is, how do you go beyond a linear model, that is, a dollar-per-hour model of supporting yourself? That’s a way of asking, what is the value on your intelligence? In order to support yourself on your ideas, you must understand the value of your ideas to others — and then connect with those other people. These are some of the themes that are described by Mars stationing direct in a few weeks, and working them out all month long will help you set yourself on a productive path. One more thing: there is no substitute for commitment; there is no alternative to applying yourself fully to what you want to do. Often where there is a question of money or of self-support, commitment is the heart of the matter. The dedication you must offer can seem like it requires a sacrifice. Yet in truth, what you offer must be wholly voluntary.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — After nearly three months of Mars retrograde in your sign, I trust you’ve done some thinking about what you want. It looks like you’ve learned about what you don’t want. Mostly your charts suggest you’ve seen what happens when you set the whole matter of desire aside, and just ‘let things happen’ and ‘see how they work out’. One hint from your astrology is learning to experience desire without guilt. To do that, you might need to use guilt as a way of discerning the degree to which you actually want someone or something. Guilt is a toxin, but for you it also may be a sign of authenticity. How is this possible? Guilt is an indicator of having been pruned, controlled and manipulated. It’s an emotional response that clues you into being under the perceived control of someone else, whether in the distant past, the recent past, or by someone in your life now. Authentic desire is one of the most dependable methods of navigation through the physical plane. For that to work, you must take hold of the freedom, indeed, the necessity, to want what you want, and also learn the art of unraveling guilt so that you have true authority over your life. This is one of the most challenging growth lessons in existence, but it’s also one that delivers both immediate and long-term results.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — For months, Mars has been retrograde in Libra, the most sensitive angle of your solar chart. This has provoked your imagination and your anxiety, and stirred you up emotionally. Now the retrograde is about to end, though once Mars stations direct on May 19, it will take more than two months to reach your sign. This phase takes the discussion to the subject of privacy and secrecy. Two months is enough time to make decisions about what you share and what you hide in your relationships. I suggest you make a careful inventory of what you allow others to know about you and what you choose to conceal, and why. Along with that, I suggest you look at any strategies you may have to insulate yourself, such as keeping separate groups of friends for different purposes, or managing whether certain individuals do or do not get to meet certain other individuals in your life. All of these scenarios present not just a map of your concept of intimacy, but of your concept of reality. These last phases of the Mars retrograde process are likely to emphasize the fact that you must live in a transparent way if you’re going to trust existence. Every secret you keep affirms that the world is dangerous and threatening. Every time you reveal yourself, you demonstrate that it’s safe to be alive as the person you really are.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — By now you have a pretty good idea who your friends are. You seem to have learned the value of both being appreciated and of pissing people off. It’s not that being annoying is a viable way of life, but in noticing who is irritated by you and who welcomes you, you can have an accurate sense of where you belong. Your life is not about popularity — it’s about finding your strongest, most viable place in society and working from that point of advantage. Carving out your niche is usually a process of trial and error, and for that to work you need both. Creating a space for yourself on the planet can have some brilliant moments, and it will inevitably get on some people’s nerves. Being your own person requires a measure of not taking things personally. It’s just that you’ve been so sensitive to what people feel, and it has not been easy for you to have a thick skin. One thing to consider is the extreme importance of allowing others to own their feelings, which implies that you do not own or control their feelings. When you’re handed something you don’t want, you have a right to pass it right back. In this process of establishing boundaries, you will take possession of what you feel, and what you intend to accomplish. That is the crucial step.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — With Mars stationing direct in your 10th house — the one that goes ‘all the way to the top’ — remember that leadership and authority are about relationships. These are not equal or level relationships, either. They are about authority, yet they also can be fair. What’s significant is that you are the one who must define fairness, and to do that, you must have a balanced mind, which is another way of saying equanimity. This is an interesting concept. It’s about one’s inner state, which has a way of expanding and reaching into the feelings of others. The relationships you’re building must be built on trust, and where you are in a position of authority, your willingness to play your role is a fundamental element of that trust. As the month unfolds, you’re likely to have a series of opportunities to step up to new challenges. I suggest you do this incrementally, never taking on more than you can handle. The goal is not to have power; the goals, if I may suggest a few, are to explore the feeling of competence, and what it’s like to collaborate with others in a satisfying way. Emphasize the quality of what you get done rather than how much or how impressive it is. If you’re concerned what others watching you might think, clearly, this is the focus.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — You may have the feeling that a close personal relationship has become so narrow that it’s not working for you. You are being called into a wider experience of life; you need your personal intimacies to grow and expand with you. One consideration here is that we are conditioned to create relationships that are ‘general partnerships’ rather than ‘limited partnerships’. In a general partnership, one size theoretically has to fit all, and one relationship is supposed to meet all purposes in our lives, which is plainly not practical in most situations. It might be, if you have an extremely retreating life, few ambitions and you don’t consider yourself on a path of rapid growth — none of which apply to you. Another dimension to this is that you need intense experiences. That’s just part of your nature. To have those experiences in a relationship, you need someone who can go there with you. You do a lot of guiding people into this concept, though that’s different from engaging with bold individuals who go there because they want to. Though this represents a big step from the seemingly intractable concept of one-on-one relationships that’s expected everywhere but hookup culture, you may need specific partners for specific aspects of who you are. This requires both confidence and mastery over your own life, and associating with others who trust you and who have authentic self-esteem.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Emphasize the positive. If you do, you’ll experience less resistance, and as a result, you will have more time and energy. Enough is going well that you can get a foothold in those aspects of your life and build from there. What this will do is push the issue of whether you have faith in yourself. Everyone experiences insecurity; Pisces has its own special variety, which can be debilitating in a subtle way. Yet the other side of that is that you possess the potential for faith that can get actual results. The fact that two centaurs are in your sign — Chiron and Nessus — reveals the possibility that you are sensitive to how dark the world is right now. There is no way you can deny this, even if such an approach worked in the past. Yet both of these planets also grant an unusual power of self-healing. That is the first and most significant step toward expanding your creativity and sense of mission into a working method that has a beneficial influence on the world. At this stage of your life it’s essential that you never take your own healing process for granted, and equally vital that you not get hung up in it, as if it’s the only thing there is. Work with your collaborators, use your time well and extend your creative awareness to everyone whose life you touch.

Planet Waves Monthly Horoscope for April 2014

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Aries (March 20-April 19) — You may be feeling confident, brassy and ambitious, though I suggest you monitor the world for your own reflection every time you turn around. You need feedback in realtime, and you need it from multiple sources. You have Uranus in your sign, which may be leading you to feel unstoppable. Jupiter in Cancer is offering a sense of safety while Pluto in Capricorn is suggesting that the sky is the limit. But your ruling planet Mars is in your opposite sign Libra. This suggests a more fragile and less easy-to-read situation than you may imagine, particularly as the energy heats up mid-month. Therefore, it’s essential that you tune into your navigation and feedback systems as soon as you can, so that you begin to notice the ways that the echo of your environment comes back to you. You may not think, or want to think, that this is somehow an expression of your own energy. The purpose of this feedback is not to judge it but rather to evaluate it. So before getting caught in your own opinion, notice the ways that shifting your approach to people and circumstances and altering your energetic posture actually gets a result. The nice thing here is while there may be some subtlety to what you’re perceiving and how you have to adapt, the feedback and the results should come quickly.

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Taurus (April 19-May 20) — You are well-placed to experience this month’s grand cross event in a supporting role, as an observer and voluntary participant. Your ruling planet Venus is in Pisces, happy, resourceful and a safe distance from the fireworks. Yet there is another dimension to this month’s activity, which involves a solar eclipse in your birth sign on April 29. Eclipses in your sign are ‘before and after’ events, demarcation points that shift the way you think about yourself. The theme of this eclipse is your identity as a relationship partner. Among the reasons that might be challenging is that it’s not easy for you to shift any facet of your identity; you tend to camp out in what you know. Yet most of what we know about ‘being a partner’ comes from two sources: our parents, most of whom struggled to have a single clue about this, and the rest from social conditioning such as fairy tales, movies, television and then a whole heap of peer pressure. The beauty of an eclipse is that it’s a wildcard. Circumstances may seem to be operating outside of your control, yet in truth you have the full power of choice. Give yourself a break, observe what is right for you, and remember most people around you will be so invested in other matters they are unlikely to notice, much less judge, your conclusions.

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — You must keep your wits about you at all times, and be realistic at every turn. That means making no assumptions, which is a miracle in a world where so few people even know when they are doing so. Therefore, the first step is being aware when your perceptions are supported by actual data rather than by something you would like to be true, or by something that someone is trying to convince you is true. We are about to enter one of those ‘all is fair in love and war’ phases of social history where for a while it may seem like all bets are off and none of yesterday’s rules apply. As Graham Nash said, you who are on the road must have a code that you can live by. You need your own personal code, your way of life, that is distinct from anything that was ever imposed on you, and which depends on what you have learned from all your travels. Most of all your guide to living must be informed by the outcomes that you want, measured not so much in material things but rather in the form of ethics, cooperation, the value you place on your relationships and most of all, the value you place on the future. These are things that count, and the things I suggest you keep right at the front of your mind, every step you take.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Your sign has a unique position amongst the many unusual developments of this month. The two main events are a cardinal grand cross (see related article) and a water grand trine. Yours is the only cardinal water sign — that is, the only sign directly involved in both configurations. The planet involved is Jupiter, currently in Cancer and very happy there. Jupiter indicates that you have plenty of resources to apply to what may feel like an increasingly demanding or complicated situation. You may be in a helping role — this may or may not be directly about your personal existence (in other words, it may reach far beyond). Yet despite your state of abundance, you will need to allocate your resources thoughtfully. You’ll need to take care of yourself before you take any responsibility for the many people who may be making demands on you. Be on the lookout for overreactions by others; stay away from drama queens and those who seem to exist without purpose. Focus on those who are being true to themselves and who are connected to the greater whole. Notice who is being self-serving, who is taking advantage of others and who is just taking up space. Notice, that is, so you can also identify who is in a supporting role. Help those who are making a difference.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — It is time to step up and take leadership whether or not you think you are ready. For this to work, your idea of leadership needs to evolve. It’s not a supporting or coordinating role; those are the people that leaders need around them, and I suggest you get a few supporters and coordinators onto your team. Leadership is making sure the right thing happens at the right time. That will take cooperation, and so right up top of the concepts of leadership is the one who focuses a group effort. I know this is a quality more typically assigned to Aquarius, and I have noticed that many Leos have a heck of a time with the whole recruiting and delegating thing. However, putting that skill to work will be necessary if you want to use this extraordinary moment and achieve at least a few truly unusual things, even as the world seems to go mad. I recognize the extent to which this type of leadership may seem to involve a profound shift of orientation for you. Maybe it will seem more within reach if you think of it like how you want your family to run — as a fully cooperative entity. Teach young people all the time. Shift your emphasis from doing things personally to making sure that others do them as well as, or better than, you.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Events of this month may seem like a huge spectacle, something that you’re destined to witness rather than participate in. It’s also possible that what you see will seem so close to home that you will fail to notice what is happening outside your immediate environment. I suggest you go beyond what seems to be directly personal and reach with your awareness into wider circles. Make contact with those who have a global perspective, those who are not caught in their own little reality bubble — that will help take you beyond the limits of your own perception. You may be feeling a bit boxed into your reality, as if you’re reluctant to change your mind about something. Yet everything you’re seeing, hearing and experiencing is howling and cheering for you to do precisely that, to get in tune with the moment. If you are feeling like “I don’t want to change my own mind; I would rather have it changed for me,” that is what will happen, but it won’t be the most pleasant or creative way to experience the current astrology. The more creative approach will include allowing others to gently lead you beyond what is familiar. Some of those experiences will come through your relationships and some will come as a result of them. Still, the idea is the same — embrace others who are willing to take you beyond yourself.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — Mars retrograde in your sign is about to take center stage. Mars represents a process that started long ago and over which you have little control; it seems to represent something that you must go through and experience at full intensity. Or perhaps it would be more appropriate to say that would be the best course of action. Yet several factors describe the way you might be inclined to take this experience in an unconscious way, acting out the past, or that of your ancestors. For you, there are two keys to this astrology. One is to remain fully present in your experience of what is happening. Find people who are willing to help you stay grounded and give you honest feedback, and moreover, who are able to provide a sense of context. The other is to maintain your compassion at all times. The theme of Mars retrograde in Libra is a dangerously slippery form of inwardly directed anger. Venus, the actual planet that represents you, is placed in Pisces, where you are being invited to see your life from a whole other perspective. The time has arrived to devote yourself to healing as a full-time occupation. If you want to do your part in helping resolve the global crisis and guiding humanity through its raging adolescence, your own healing process is the place to begin — and now is the time.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — It would be easier to deal with fear if we could recognize it when we see it. Yet the problem with fear, and its first cousins guilt and anger, is that most of the time, we don’t recognize them when we see them, or feel them. They take so many forms, come wrapped in so many packages and dressed in so many disguises, we could be dealing with them all day and still not know it. And that is precisely what we do. Your job is to know when you’re dealing with these emotions, and when they are driving you. It is only this awareness that will protect you from being manipulated and manipulating others. Only this awareness will allow you to connect with more loving motives. At the moment, it seems like the entire ‘outer’ world we are witnessing is being driven by dark emotions and self-serving motives. At the same time many things seem wrapped in a blend of ambivalence and ignorance that could lead otherwise intelligent people to support the cause of (for example) fracking or genetically modified foods. Yet neither your most wholesome survival instincts nor your most sublime creative guidance will be apparent when you’re caught in the deceptive, slippery haze of fear, or guilt, or anger. And that is what you must now focus every skill and grain of wit into transcending. If there is a road to truth, it is surely the same one away from lies.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — You seem to be central to many events and activities around you. Actually, this appears to be so true that the most significant thing you can avoid is losing yourself in the midst of all the excitement, the drama and the goings-on. Whether you recognize it or not, the resources that are being drawn on are your emotional resources. You might think it’s your creative talent, your money or your ideas; you might have those moments when you think it’s your sexual energy (and you would be getting closer). The thing you have, that which others want and think they need or are just drawn to without understanding at all, is your emotional pool. You might be saying, “The Only Astrology Book You Ever Need said Sagittarians aren’t so emotional,” though astrology books don’t really point to this quality about you. Yet it’s as real as you are, and it’s present right now, and I suggest you insulate yourself a bit and keep a meter on what you share with others, so that you have sufficient reserves of your own. In addition, it’s imperative that you set your own course in life without being distracted by those with whom you’re sexually involved or with whom you may share a bank account. This is a time when you must be absolutely free to make your own decisions, and make them without hesitation.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — Of the many messages I could deliver at the time of the grand cross, at the top of the list is to protect your reputation. Like a bookstore, reputations take years to build and can burn in minutes. There is no indication in your chart that this will happen, but many factors conspire to raise the probability level. Therefore I suggest you temper your ambitions for the moment and focus on maintaining what you’ve currently got going on. You have plenty of responsibility, and some of what you’re being required to do is sufficiently ambiguous as to require considerable thought. One potential risk is ending up taking responsibility for the actions of someone else, so I suggest you refrain, for the moment, from doing anyone else’s bidding, no matter how politically expedient it may be. There are also likely to be a few matters from the past that are coming up for closure, especially involving your professional activities. Take care of them. The planets in their courses are, as you know, holding out a vision of success, yet it’s vital that you allow this to unfold in due time, and that you skip no steps on the way to getting there. Soon enough, once you’ve passed unscathed through your current adventure thanks to your persistent vigilance, you will once again be able to throw caution to the four winds.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Despite the considerable fuss and turmoil of the world, you seem intent on grounding yourself in your home, with your partner, with your family or in your community (these, in some combination). That looks like the right idea at the right time. You are in a position to build your life from the center outward, similar to how a tree grows. You would have to be pretty tuned into nature to look at a tree and say, “Gee, I see it growing right now.” (Such is possible.) But you would have to be pretty out of it to look at the tree year after year and not notice that it’s filling out and becoming taller and stronger. Your professional activities are in a similar pattern of nearly imperceptible growth, but increasingly solid rooting. Your ruling planet Saturn is in your solar 10th house — perhaps its most functional place. The work of the 10th house is the slow building of one’s professional purpose, identity and image. Keep that process slow, and continue to make sure that your reputation is built on absolutely solid ground, making sure that every career-oriented contact you make has an actual emotional — that is to say, human — basis to the relationship. Take the time to slowly and meticulously orient around the goals that you hold the most dear to your heart. Then, work that blend of ‘make it happen’ and ‘let it happen’.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Whatever may be going on around you, the waters deep within the Pisces sea can be clear and calm. They will be, if you remember to leave any trouble and turmoil at the surface. The spiritual reservoir of your sign is full right now, in part because the water trine that’s holding out a veil of protection over the world involves all three of the planets associated with your sign — Venus, Jupiter and Neptune. Yet this is also hinting that you will be in a vital supporting role to certain people around you, maybe to many people. It’s essential that you keep yourself nourished, rested and organized. Take the ‘self sacrificing’ thing about Pisces and set it aside — whoever invented that did a service to nobody. Your charts are about the pleasure you can experience, the creative expansion, the art and the music that you can experience, even amidst any strange and chaotic developments of the world. The thing to remember is that you don’t owe anyone anything, and that your life is a gift to yourself. If you live sincerely and in balance, you will be available to support others in unusual ways that sidestep many of the typical notions of what community or world service is about. The direct and rather bold message of your chart is that what serves you will serve others — a happy state of affairs.

Planet Waves Monthly Horoscope for March 2014

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Aries (March 20-April 19) — You seem to be holding onto a lot of energy that you absolutely must express. I don’t mean a modest amount of energy; I mean on a volcanic scale. Energy always finds a way into manifestation. Given what you’re working with you must take up the power of directing it in a constructive way. That’s not a given, and there are no guarantees. The closest you can come is a commitment to yourself to be aware from moment to moment where you focus your mind, particularly in your intimate relationships. You may need some time away from a partner, or space to experiment in entirely new ways. Any relationship is likely to either feel the stress or come along for the journey, though I suggest you not try to push or drag anyone into what is inherently about you alone. If you value the relationship, be honest about what you’re experiencing and negotiate the space you need. At the heart of the matter seems to be an experiment in emotional independence for the purpose of exploring and experiencing life in ways you may have long dreamed of. This will not be a predictable process, and once you admit that it’s happening, you will be on a journey with a life of its own. Or rather, a journey of discovering, perhaps once again, that you have a life of your own.

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — You may feel like you’re trying to fit your ideas about yourself through a tiny opening — as if it’s impossible to have enough context to make a real decision about who you are or what you want. The tight space you’re going through will help you prioritize and focus. Think of what you’re doing as making micro-decisions, and consider any choice or adjustment a microcosm of the whole. It’s not merely that small choices add up to larger direction. Rather, each stems from a larger idea of what you want. There is tremendous power contained in reckoning these details and seeing their relationship to who you are. It’s easy to think that our lives hinge on the huge decisions we make. Yet even the most monumental changes of direction require many small adjustments to make them real. Therefore, you can think of each little observation or maneuver as an affirmation of who you are and what you want. This can involve the details of what you eat, how you spend money, how you spend your time (especially that) and where you invest your emotional energy. Your charts suggest you’re at a major crossroads that may not come across as such. You may have no specific validation — yet. Therefore, live well and live consciously, and trust that you’re coming around one of the most significant turns in many years.

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Situations that were puzzling or seemed impossible will start to make more sense — in direct proportion to how weird they seemed before. In particular the last few days of February into the first few days of March may have that sensation of walking on the ceiling, playing music backwards looking for the secret messages or waking up being able to perform magic tricks that you don’t remember learning. Or, alternately, if you find yourself in a crunch point where you feel like you have no clue how to handle yourself, pay attention to how quickly your environment is changing. Then, adapt from moment to moment. That’s your specialty anyway, but usually you do this in autopilot mode. The challenge of the moment is doing everything manually, taking each breath consciously, and noticing the unusual openings that may come in the most mundane transactions. Many of those will be interior. The adventure of Mars retrograde in your 5th house makes possible a creative and sexual self-discovery experience like nothing you’ve ever felt. Your ability to experience life from both sides of the coin, your curiosity about the dynamics of desire and power, and a rare moment when you will allow yourself to say anything, well, it will all add up to a bold few months — as bold as you want. In fact, you may open doors that you’ll never want to close.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — With all the activity now unfolding in Aries and Libra, you may feel like your life is hanging in the balance. Yet you have plenty of influence over which way things go, you are protected by forces that may seem too large to see, and best of all, you are opening up to the people close to you. One theme that stands out in your charts is making peace with women, and if you are a woman, you may include making peace with yourself. There appears to be a trust issue that has been pushed beyond the point where you can ignore it, or live peacefully with the question unresolved. Part of this involves trusting yourself. Part is about trusting people to be transparent about their agendas and true to their own values. Bear in mind that the chaos and confusion so many people are in is not of their own making. It was imposed on them. Yet as a person comes of age and attains both adult power and responsibility, the option to step out of that pain and turbulence opens up. If your life is in the balance, it’s over the question of whether you can admit your deepest truth to yourself. That is, you may cycle through a diversity of desires, ideas and feelings which may at times seem to conflict. Actually each is a different facet of the same truth of who you are.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — Your most intimate relationships are in transition, which means you’re being called upon to be especially flexible and resilient. One particular idea comes under the microscope — that of ‘the perfect marriage’. I believe there is such a thing, indeed I have evidence that there is. The perfection comes not from the static quality of the relationship but rather from its ability to grow, to change and to transform with the people involved. There must be a mutual commitment to healing; mutual respect for each person’s physical and psychic integrity. With that includes recognition of free choice in all matters, especially relating to the partnership itself. I recognize this violates most of the commonplace definitions and concepts of marriage, which seem to be focused around rigid concepts and presumption of ownership. That model is not going to survive the onslaught of the 21st century, and your life is too full and too rich to be constrained by any factor not of your choosing. Here is the challenge: when established structures change, there needs to be a new set of ideas and guidelines to replace them. Those are best if driven by what the people involved agree to as their bottom-line, most essential values. Any relationship between two people will either be based on a dominant-submissive model, or based on consensus. Consensus is based on mutual values. That is the starting point and that is the destination.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — You must focus on the question of what is real and what is not. This will not be as obvious as it seems. I suggest you not assume you have this one right, no matter how confident you feel. Indeed I suggest you not assume anything, and make careful note of the facts of the situation. Opinions can be deceiving, and it’s essential to recognize them when you experience them. Facts are statements that can be documented and proven true or false. They are not about an emotional rationale or persuasive feeling; whether a fact stands up comes down to the data that supports it, preferably collected over time. The first area of your life to go over carefully is your relationships with loved ones, friends and partners. Do you have any outstanding commitments to them? Is there anything that got lost in the shuffle of the past couple of busy months? Is there anything you need to clear up? If you have made yourself invisible or have gone below the radar, if you’ve left facts out of the story or are avoiding anyone, now is the time to engage with them in a meaningful way. As you do this review, I suggest you consider the way in which your self-esteem may be influencing you. Consider how you act toward others when you’re feeling good about yourself and when you’re not. Your observations may surprise you.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — Mars is about to station retrograde in your sign. That spans from March 1 to May 19. The retrograde process actually reaches back to early December, when Mars first entered Libra. So if you notice any shifts, changes or shakeups in the coming week or two, take the story back to late last year. The theme of this retrograde is profound self-discovery, though it may seem at first that others are the forum for what you learn, and you are the forum for their learning. That will work for a while, as you explore your inner dynamics within the context of a relationship. Yet as the retrograde progresses, you may feel the need to have certain experiences on your own. The forces involved are too powerful to cling to anyone or anything. If you feel a need, desire or obligation to maintain a connection or commitment, make sure you proceed in a way that is open and honest, and most of all, that works for you. If your personal needs require you to shift the pattern of relating, do so in a way that preserves trust and your options in the future. Said another way, you can live your life without burning your bridges — something you would come to regret. Your emotional involvement with someone may be intricate and delicate, and that calls for special handling, high awareness and always — always — remembering who you are.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — Fear is a fact of life on Earth, the planet of eat or be eaten. How you handle your fear is not a given; you have many options. How you exercise them will make a difference. Let’s start with the basics: fear is a form of energy and it points to a deeper energy source. If you treat it that way, and seek understanding of what is not immediately obvious, you will learn that fear does not need to be debilitating, and that in fact it can be empowering. The first thing to do is let your fear speak. Get the message of what it’s saying. Translate it into terms that are clear, and that lend themselves to decisions. You’re likely to feel the most panicky when you feel like you lack the power to choose. Therefore, information that leads to a state where you can make decisions is what you want and need to have. Indeed, we could call this the theme of the entire Mars retrograde. This is a set of transits intimately linked to you because both of your ruling planets — Mars and Pluto — are so directly involved. When this fully takes shape in late April, you are likely to feel some serious pressure to make progress on many things you have set aside or left for the future. The thing to remember is to get the information you need in order to make an informed decision, and then another.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — Don’t worry if you think people don’t like you, or if you’re having some difficulty managing your social relationships. I suggest you take the events of the next few months as an extended opportunity to learn where you really stand with people, and also to learn how to build your overall standing in the community. I don’t mean your popularity — I mean real things like trust, dependability, loyalty and the willingness to stand up for what you believe in, even if it’s going to piss off some people. Though you have it in you to be the supreme diplomat, you are also a Sagittarius, and your sign is equipped with a sharp edge. Still, it may be necessary to err on the side of asserting yourself. Do that firmly, directly and with understatement. Be a keen observer for passive-aggressive tendencies in yourself or in others. The ‘passive’ part is just a ruse for the ‘aggressive’ part, so get underneath that if necessary and suss out the source of that energy. Meanwhile, any relationship or encounter can lead to contact with anyone. That’s a good incentive to say friendly things about people, and a reminder that in your life, the usual seven degrees of separation between you and any other person is about to be reduced to one or two degrees of separation. The world is small, and it’s getting smaller.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — You will be summoned to leadership in the coming months, perhaps immediately. Events and your own desire for integrity and achievement will give you the opportunity to exceed your current abilities and expectations of yourself. What you must be cautious of is any moment when you’re doing something that cannot be reversed. This could be applied to many different situations, but I really mean decisions from which there is no going back. Despite that, you will need to be bold, and I suggest you assert that by listening to people you respect and taking what they say under advisement. That does not mean ‘take all advice’, it means consider what people say. This is basic politics and it’s also common sense. Speaking of politics — know who your allies are, and put them to work for you. Seek their assistance, and make sure they know how much you appreciate their contribution. Leadership is not all about the leader — it’s all about the people who surround and interrelate with that person. You want one or two people who are not afraid to disagree with you, assuming you have determined they are intelligent and respectful. When life is coming at you from all corners, make sure you have those corners covered. At the same time, you will command respect by standing on your own and never shrinking from a decision.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — There are those moments when you’re sure it’s the dark night of the soul — when you have no sense of direction, and when you doubt whether you have the strength to go on. But lately, you are experiencing these junctures as something more like a nearly impossible alchemy of transformation. This process goes as deep into you as anything ever has. No matter how challenging your inner life may seem (speaking of the next three months or so), or how isolated you may feel from time to time, you have a truly amazing phase of your life approaching when you can change everything by changing yourself. Or rather, you will be given all you need to make deep inner changes, which will manifest in your seemingly outer life. You may feel like you’re making only slow progress on your journey to self-knowledge and personal healing. Yet with these things, what you have is less important than what you do with them. If you use the self-knowledge you have gained, you will inevitably build on it. If you trust the process of your healing and allow that commitment to guide you in all of the decisions you make, you will advance your healing dependably. As you move through this territory, I have one suggestion. Be bold, and keep no secrets from others. Then be even more daring and keep no secrets from yourself.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — This monthly column marks my 20th anniversary as an astrologer and my 50th anniversary being on the planet. I’m happy to have made it half a century, though I am equally grateful to have devoted two decades of my life to daily study of, writing about and teaching astrology. I’m especially grateful to be a Pisces astrologer, because to me that means I have an understanding of all the rivers (that is, the signs) that flow into the ocean. The Sun is now in Pisces, and is making conjunctions to Neptune and Chiron in our birth sign. That means the waters are flowing freely at the moment, and it happens to be the season of your birthday. This setup means that you have equal access to intellect and intuition; to creativity and healing ability; to your expressive gift and your ability to receive and to listen. Make sure you put all these factors consciously into the mix of your life. Don’t leave anything out. You know you’re on a mission, and I suggest you give this everything you have, and make sure you collect the rewards of your efforts as you go. You are the specialist at long-range planning and deferred gratification. I suggest you adjust that slightly, focus on bringing what you’ve worked on forever to fruition, allow it to feed you and continue to learn whatever you can from anyone who is successful.

Planet Waves Monthly Horoscopes for February 2014

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Aries (March 20-April 19) — Give partners and loved ones extra time and wiggle room to hesitate. Give them extra space to be self-centered. While you’re at it, give yourself that space as well; once you figure out you need these things, you’ll be more understanding of why others do as well. Over the next few weeks, you will gain a better understanding of where both you and partners are coming from. Remember that a partner or loved one’s lack of confidence may be associated with a memory that long predates your association. People will often allow their own past impressions to influence or even dictate what happens in a present-time situation. Ideally we would not do this, however, it’s more likely that the first step is learning to notice when it’s happening. This is the theme of the year for you — to know and understand the nature of projection, perhaps the most common psychological phenomenon. Projection is when you see something about yourself existing exclusively outside of yourself. As a clever writer recently pointed out, projection can only happen in the dark. So the first step is to gradually turn up the lights so you can see what is happening. The second step is to keep asking yourself what belongs to you and what belongs to someone else, and not to be satisfied with an answer till you have several points of documentation.

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Taurus (April 19-May 20) — Venus will soon complete a rare retrograde (nothing of its kind has happened since 1803), which has taught you many things about the social conditioning that helped shape your character. One theme is the extent to which people who influenced you as a child were serving their own interests but tried to make it seem like they were doing you a favor. While this helped make you into the gritty and self-reliant person that you are, it’s taken a cost — and you seem determined to reclaim what you’ve given up. When the retrograde ends on Jan. 31, you may be left with the feeling that you’ve come close to some profound truth but could not break through to the core idea. The barrier between how far you’ve gone and what you actually want to possess is thin enough to push your hand through. It may not look that way, but it will feel that way if you use your tactile senses. In practical terms, when you encounter a belief about yourself or about the world, notice how you feel. Anything involving guilt can be considered suspect. Same for obligation you feel that does not have something productive in it for everyone, or where you come out on the short end of the deal. Question any form of any equation that includes, “You should dislike yourself because…”

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Current aspects may have you rethinking a career or business plan. That’s actually a great idea. You seem to have a good idea, though what you need to do is balance your idealistic concept of what is possible against a diversity of practical concerns. Give yourself time for this — you seem to be involved in a thought process that will take about six weeks. My first question is not ‘is this thing too idealistic’ but rather, are you reaching for what you know would be the very best goal? However, before you get there, I suggest you strip your plan down to its most basic elements — what you want and why, what you need and why, what you want to accomplish. Consider how you manage your reputation. To what extent is your strategy defensive (laying low, protecting your supposed image) and to what extent is your strategy proactive (carefully cultivating the reputation you want, and deserve, for what you’ve accomplished)? Gradually, your logical mind will take over, and I suggest you run all your ideas through this particular mental filter. Keep reducing your idea till you’ve arrived at the bare essence, and understand every element of your plan or idea. Then toward the end of the month, you’re likely to rethink it yet again, only this time with greater clarity. At that point you will find the missing piece, the creative gem, the love in the dream.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — I suggest you concern yourself less about how you are perceived by others and use that energy to focus on the substance of your goals. We live in a time when appearances are dangerously overtaking reality, and when glamour as a metric is prevailing over the quality of someone’s character. You could say this has been going on since the first motion picture was released, yet in truth it’s something that is happening from moment to moment. You continually get the choice which to feed, appearance or reality. Meanwhile, in a similar vein, you seem ready to question a belief that until now you’ve taken for granted. This belief is influencing a relationship. It’s not showing up as definitively helpful or unhelpful, but rather as something that you need to understand thoroughly. The belief is influencing the way you make your agreements with others, in a sense, biasing you. It will indeed be helpful if you know what that bias is, and you will soon have the clarity and mental tools to do so. This is a matter calling for careful analysis, of your own thought patterns as well as the specific elements of your commitments. What do you expect of others and what do they expect of you? How realistic are those expectations and what are they grounded in? You will have happier relationships for knowing these things.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — You seem to be seeking a compromise on a matter involving shared finances, or perhaps more accurately, a question about sexual values in an intimate relationship. The scenario seems to be going in the direction of someone’s fantasy of how things can be, though leaving out some of the more obvious practicalities. This is definitely a scenario that deserves to have logic, data or some form of science prevail, rather than any form of make-believe or let’s see what happens. And logic will indeed prevail, so I suggest you hold the line and be patient while the planets shuffle around in a pattern that describes the renegotiation of the relationship in a more holistic way. In other words, the discussion is likely to start on one topic, and then expand into other topics that are related on the level of shared values. This comes down to understanding the values you have in common, and those that you do not. I would remind you here that you’re in a somewhat vulnerable position when it comes to others overpowering you. It will not work so well to resist forcefully, so instead, I suggest you use persistence. Time is on your side. What is obvious to you will become obvious to others as the discussion moves along, and the result will be a new understanding of your relationship, built on level ground.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — If you’re hesitating about a relationship commitment, I would remind you that there is no rush. You may sense that you’re heading for deep water, or like you’re gradually being drawn into a situation that you don’t fully understand. When you are ready, this may be fully appropriate. Yet if you’re uncertain of yourself, slow down and observe your environment. The first thing to listen to is your intuition. If you suspect that you’re not being given full information, or if you have a hunch that you’re in any way being deceived, then pause and begin to look more deeply into the facts. You don’t need to do this in an accusatory way, but rather in a way that seeks grounding in objective information. Consciously seek the truth, and make sure that you actually understand what you learn. Address any denial factor that may be present; be mindful of what you ‘don’t want to know’ or ‘refuse to believe’. This process will take a bit of scrupulous honesty with yourself, though there may be clues that get you closer to the heart of the matter. I suggest you investigate with extra care any situation involving alcohol, or the influence of mood-altering drugs, be they prescription or otherwise. The question to ask is: how is this influencing your relationship to reality? How is it influencing intimacy? You want to know.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — The past five weeks of Venus retrograde seem to have been designed to help you understand the impact of your family history, and your complex emotions. The two are related; partly why your emotions are so complex is because you filter them through so many past impressions and memories. Yet many of those are not your own; they are habits and values you picked up from various people who influenced you. Take the time to sort out what belongs to you and what does not. Once you claim what is your own and let go of what belongs to others, you will feel a lot less lost, and be able to call yourself more fully present. This does not necessarily involve severing ties to anyone, though at times that is necessary. But it will help you immensely to know when someone else’s emotions became a point of orientation for you more important than your own feelings, and to see the distortion that created. That may go in two directions at once — being overly self-centered at times, and not being able to find your center at others. Understanding why you are the way you are is a theme that persists through most of the year. You’re likely to continue your review of the past, which is for the sole purpose of helping you know yourself better. That, in turn, will help you have clearer, more trusting relationships.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — It’s essential for your wellbeing to sort out what influences in your life are nourishing and which are depleting. This is not as easy as it seems in a society where it’s considered normal for people to eat unhealthy food for the sake of ating, to have relationships for the sake of relationships and to purchase many things that they don’t need and barely even want. Since that is the cultural standard, it’s necessary to take the time to figure out whether something you take in — be it food, entertainment, information, family influences or emotional contact — actually sustains you. It would be worthwhile to consider this question in the context of any sexual influence as well. I think the concept of ‘addiction’ is overused and misunderstood, but it begins to have meaning when there is the quality of some influence potentially controlling your life. If during the next few weeks you find yourself at a full stop, or feel like you can no longer effectively negotiate with yourself, that’s the time to take some time and inquire about the issue of control. There is often an associated question about whether you want the responsibility implied by self-determination. The most common reason I’ve seen people abandon their power is because it seems to offer liberation from the consequences of their own mistakes. That’s one form of liberation that will never serve you.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — You could have things be a lot easier than they currently are; you seem to have figured out that allowing yourself to be involved in complex situations is a way of learning about yourself. You seem to be in a scenario where your connection to someone else is like a personal development laboratory, or where you’re seeking self-actualization in the context of a relationship. You may have also figured out that such a thing does not work for you, and are resisting being so immersed in someone else, or anyone, with every cell in your being. There does seem to be a question lurking behind all of this, which is the extent to which you allow yourself to feel your feelings, and whether you need the assistance of someone else who resonates with you. This is a good question, with many implications — though the main theme is that of emotional independence. You would do well to ask, especially under your current astrology, whether that is possible, and if it is, what it means. At one extreme of the spectrum is the loner, with no emotional investments. At the other is someone codependent, whose emotional state is totally invested in what others think. The balancing point is healthy interdependence. That is built of mutual respect, self-reflection, communication and honoring for yourself and for everyone else what measure of freedom we have here on Earth.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — Something seems to have happened to you over the past couple of months, involving coming into deeper contact with your creative gifts and your sexuality. You probably know or can guess that I consider these elements of humanity to be closely related, stemming right from the same source. To develop one, it’s essential to develop the other. Venus retrograde in your sign beginning at the solstice, spanning through the end of January, has done something magnificent for you: you have embodied something that was previously abstract or that existed in potential. You have taken steps to reclaim gifts that may have previously made you nervous, that you took for granted or considered something that only had relevance when you were younger. Here is the ongoing challenge: Devotion to artistry and the arts of erotic love requires self-focus. Even in our narcissistic culture, that can be considered suspect, and it can certainly be an irritant (or threatening) to people who have never considered any such quest. You need courage to persist on this mission, and you need to be willing to wrap your whole life around what will seem like a form of over-focus. Yet the idea is not to get lost in yourself — in order for your work or your discovery to have relevance, it’s necessary to find yourself. You are well on the way. Keep going.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Something is shifting for you on a deep inward level, which may feel like the healing of a kind of isolation or loneliness that has followed you around for a while. This has taken you a step closer to your soul, just when you were wondering if such a thing was even possible. Pay attention and you’ll notice that this keeps happening, with a slightly different feeling each time, though each time feeling like you’ve seated yourself in your own existence a little more firmly. It helps to make peace with the solitary nature of existence, or at least the compelling sensation of that effect. It’s the feeling of being alone in the universe that is a step in the awakening of every spiritually conscious person. That sensation of isolation does two things — it can come with the choice to give up looking outside yourself for what you can only find within; and it’s what opens the space to have the awakening of how alone you are not. That awakening is the dawn of authentic selflove. Nearly everyone who arrives there has earned it. They have faced their own darkness, to some real extent, and the mystery of their own existence. You are not done, but if your charts mean anything, you’re working with many more resources than you had just a few short months ago.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — You may feel like you’re dancing around the choice to immerse yourself totally in who you are — as if you’re playing a game of approach-avoid. Let’s assume that is true for a moment. When you feel any kind of approach-avoid, the first thing to check for is guilt. Fully soaking in your own reality implies that you will be yourself, and express yourself, without any reservations. Approach-avoid might show up as hesitancy with people knowing who you actually are, as if hiding it from yourself could in some way prevent them from finding out. That almost never works. People already recognize you and most are grateful for the example you provide. Some don’t seem that way, it’s true; you make some people nervous. I suggest, however, that you not underestimate the influence you have even on their lives. That said, it does not matter what anyone else thinks. Rather than avoiding anything, you actually seem to have come close to a discovery that you want to investigate, or have made an observation about yourself that you want to verify with some additional inner questing. I believe you’re about to discover how much sense you make; that is, that your seemingly most unworldly dreams, when subjected to logical analysis, actually make perfect sense. My saying this matters little, though — when you figure it out, it’ll rock your world and boost your confidence.

Planet Waves Monthly Horoscope — January 2014

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Aries (March 20-April 19) — You’re figuring out that you’re capable of great things. Yet none of it will be possible without fostering cooperation. There is, of course, the danger of giving away your power to others by depending on them for the completion of your goals, so you need to know about that potential pitfall and remain in full alignment with yourself. That means being the primary authority in your life. Cooperation is a peer-to-peer enterprise, a consultative role, an exchange of ideas, but without the competition or authority stuff that we’re so accustomed to in nearly every facet of existence. This is a seed moment for you, particularly where your work and your contribution to society are concerned. If you’ve been having ideas that you believed could change the world (and it looks like that’s been true for years) this is the time to act on them. The gift of the present moment is twofold: one facet is the birth of a new kind of confidence, despite whatever confusion you may be feeling. You are starting to trust that you can have an actual impact. Another is discovering evidence that you were on the right path all along. You have already learned most of what you need to know, and what you gained in the past is one of your greatest resources today.

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Taurus (April 19-May 20) — Faith is your rock, or said another way, the axis around which your world turns. Yes, you may have your doubts. They will come and go. But they are part of the ‘turning world’ rather than the beam of faith around which it spins. Despite many challenges and the demand to call yourself fully present for everything you do, you’ve maintained a steady course of growth, of achievement and living in the moment rather than being lost in ancient history. Your chart suggests that you’ve been burrowing your own path through the remnants left to you by many ancestors whose combined influence has added up to little more than a reason to pretend you don’t have the strength to do what you came to the world to do. Once you admit that you possess actual faith in yourself, you will see your doubts in perspective, and they will be far less meaningful. The one element that is calling for a special focus is the exchange of resources angle of your chart — the zone where you share a field of influence with another person, often in intimate situations. You seem to come up against one circumstance after the next where there is a question — though as you’re probably learning, the solution is always spiritual. Love, forgiveness and understanding will light your way.

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — The edgy quality of your charts may be a reminder of the fragile, transient nature of existence, and this is summoning you into unfamiliar territory. That alone would be a value — the waste of time that the world withstands is a terrible loss, and most of it involves denial about beginnings and endings. You seem to be fully aware that time is transient and that relationships are experiences that exist only in the moment we notice them. With the world moving so fast, there is precious little time to waste. Many factors in your astrology have drawn you out to a region where you will feel better addressing people about what actually matters than you will engaging in any form of diversion or games. While superficiality is smothering consciousness, you are being confronted with facts about yourself that are calling you to engage fully with reality. This translates directly to having a respectful relationship with the unknown, and that which you don’t understand. It no longer serves you to do anything else — there are great rewards possible when you focus only on what is true. You may think this requires more courage than you have; courage is an option you can choose, and is almost always helpful. Meanwhile, I suggest you use curiosity and persistence as your main assets on this quest.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — It’s time to reclaim the young person you are inside — or be aware that little kid is claiming you. Recent years of your life have come with a maturity campaign, which has been a necessary part of your growth and have contributed significantly to your wellbeing. Yet at the same time, your chart illustrates a moment when you’re on a dare to make an impression on the world, to define your own terms and to be free from needless authority. One of the ways you render external authority as pointless is to take over the process yourself, which accounts for the value of your drive to be a mature adult. Without some discipline, you cannot get very much done. Yet the child in you wants to come out. There are a few ways that can happen — remembering what gives you the most pleasure in life, and doing those things, are among them. There is also a relationship encounter that will open the door to the playful, loving child that you are. This experience will call for a blend of maturity and thirst for freedom. The door is opening into a realm where all your relationships can deepen, as if you’ve mysteriously walked into common ground you didn’t know existed. It always has — you are opening up to it in a new way.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — Focus on your health, which will mainly require managing your work responsibilities and your stress level differently than you currently do. You need to make some structural changes, including to your schedule and possibly to your physical work space. This is a quality-of-life issue, and you have the focusing power and determination to make real, lasting changes that help you and will improve your efficiency. If you’re facing puzzles or questions, most of the solutions or answers seem to be hiding in plain sight. One thing that may not be so obvious is addressing certain issues that are still hanging out in your life from early childhood. This may include insecurities that you’ve never quite been able to get a handle on, as well as the residual conditioning of being burdened with more than was appropriate for a child. These matters have a way of hanging on and sometimes become more challenging to address as time goes on, though the astrology of this time in your life is centered on making a clean sweep emotionally, as well as making sure your physical space is up to the task of supporting your life. It would be simpler to say take a holistic approach, where every aspect of your life, and every person in your life, is supportive of all the others.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — There is no question that relationships remain the focal point of your life this year, though the theme brings a deeper focus on sexuality. I would describe this as seeking a purpose rather than treating it as something that’s just there, or that can be taken for granted. Most people don’t consider the notion of existing with a sexual purpose, though they also don’t consider how disorienting the lack of one can be, and how it leads directly to giving away one’s power. You will begin to make discoveries the moment you make the commitment to doing so, and harness your creativity and life-force energy as you make contact with how real and how vital these themes are for you. The connection point to your relational experiences may seem intuitive or obvious, though it’s worth stating. What is healing and empowering to you will either strengthen the people in your life, or have a way of repelling them. You’ve needed to overcome the fear of that particular effect for a while; now you’ve reached the point where you must be in harmony with the people with whom you’re intimate, because you are now capable of embracing them more deeply than ever. To do this safely and honestly, having a sense of purpose, and sharing it openly, is essential.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — Let this be the year you succeed at not making the same mistakes as in the past. Mistakes are excellent learning laboratories, though for that purpose, usually one or two tries is sufficient. This is your time to learn from past errors in judgment or less-than-careful decisions, whether they happened recently or in the distant past. Mars in your sign for most of the year will give you plenty of opportunities to review; so too will the retrograde of Venus that began recently. So much historical data may be bubbling to the surface that you may be overwhelmed. But it’s all going to boil down to one thing, which is how you make decisions. I am familiar with the special struggle that many born under your sign personally describe. It’s not that you don’t make up your mind; it’s about how you hesitate before doing so. That hesitation is different than considering the factors involved in a particular choice. These days, you’re likely to be pushed in some direction by circumstances or by someone close to you if you don’t choose a direction of your own. Though this may temporarily relieve the burden of making the decision, it doesn’t take away responsibility for the consequences. You know what is right for you. You always have and you always will. Trust that.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — You may be feeling like you’re under some strange pressure, which on one level feels like the necessity to get control of your life. On another level you’re being pushed to cut loose, and to dive into your passions, your fears and the desire that you’ve spent so much time denying. So what do you do, hold fast or let go? Saturn in your sign is providing a boundary. Though it may feel like you have to make necessary changes, Saturn’s real message is about getting to know yourself. Meanwhile, Mars, your ruling planet, will be spending much of the year in the zone of your chart where you conceal your deepest feelings, needs and anxieties. Unless you follow Mars into that mysterious realm, you may feel like you’ve ‘gone missing’. If that happens, take it as a message to look within rather than obsessing over circumstances, other people or external responsibilities. You will get your work done; you will keep your promises. The time has come to keep a promise to yourself, which is to clarify your inner relationship as your top priority. Though many would think this idea as comprehensible as Mandarin, you know this already. The calling to absolute self-honesty has been nagging you very nearly forever, and it’s high time you answer.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — Your life is not as complicated as it seems. It’s true that your sign is currently hosting one of the most impressive collections of planets I’ve ever seen (all of them ‘minor’ planets, but no less potent). You are indeed facing many deep spiritual issues, and it will help you to see them that way rather than as psychological. The prevailing theme of the next few seasons is about how you invest your life into the lives of others. It’s necessary to learn a mode of sharing with others that is not a general partnership/total surrender but rather a limited partnership on certain topics or themes. I don’t mean to imply being partially committed. I mean being wholly committed in specific ways, such that you are able to reserve enough of your time, space and vital force to create your own existence the way you want it. As you may know, it’s also time to get serious about money. It may seem like some great mystery how to acquire or concentrate the stuff, but it’s actually a practical matter based on specific skills. Make a point of acquiring those skills at the same time you do something more fundamental, which is make sure you don’t violate your own values or principles. There is no conflict here — they are really the same thing.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — You know that you cannot be content with anything superficial or make believe, so you may as well not lose any more sleep over that. You’re discovering that you have something to say, and you may be wondering if anyone wants to listen. You can set that one aside too; your charts say that it’s time to get the word in before you get the word out. As you invest your energy in self-knowledge, and making the changes you have wanted to make for so long, you will become your message. Part of what you’re seeking in this process is an understanding of how things got to be the way they are. This applies to your life, and to any aspect of the world that you are seeking to influence, change, develop or in some way correct. The story of the world the way you perceive it corresponds directly to the story of your life. The changes you are going through connect to the urgent need for progress in the world. You are a kind of personal intersection between the two, but in order not to have that become a burden, I suggest you focus on your life and your learning process, and take action only when you feel profoundly moved to do so. Less is more — and when the time comes, that will be plenty.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — You may be feeling like you have too much responsibility and not enough in the way of personal resources to support what you have to do. This can include money, though I am really talking about inner resources of the emotional and spiritual kind. I can see why you would feel that way; yet I can also see that you have many hidden resources that you may not have discovered yet. These might manifest as energy, ideas or strength that you can access if you want. The key thing to remember is that they are there waiting for you. To find them, you must go underneath your outer circumstances and make contact with the underlying nature of your situation. This should not be hard — the dimension where this information and energy reside are bursting with life, wanting your attention, if only you would turn it there. You may have the sensation that you would evoke chaos or tap into something that you don’t really want to know about, though I assure you that this is life-giving information. If there is chaos, that’s the thing that provides the fuel for your strength and creativity. Think of it this way: you face no situation for which you lack resources. It’s a matter of having some faith, making contact and making use of what you discover.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Old friends will get you far this year, and they will be happy to hear from you. I suggest you look up everyone in your life whom you consider to have been a positive influence, and even a few people whom you think were a little dodgy, and see where they are at today. This will provide a point of grounding and orientation in what promises to be a truly extraordinary time in your life, especially where your mission is concerned. You are someone with a mission, and you are imaginative enough to dream it into reality. At the moment, your dream machine is running at full strength. You’ve never been someone who has done things just for business. You always act with a creative, social or spiritual purpose, which you then extend into your professional affairs. Some call this ‘right livelihood’. I would call it being aligned with your purpose, and then extending that into your personal relationships, your community and the world. It just happens that business is an excellent vehicle to conduct this kind of energy, and conditions are favorable to get the vibes rippling out into the world. You’re about to find out how much you have done right, how much you have left to accomplish, and that you possess the determination and talent to make it happen in high style.