Aries (March 20-April 19) — Two events this week, the Sun entering your opposite sign Libra, and Mercury stationing retrograde in Libra, place the emphasis of your life on your relationships. If someone is seeking clarity, spend some time with them and offer that clarity. Notice if any of the questions people around you are asking also reflect themes, concerns or unspoken matters that you might have on your mind. That, actually, would be an excellent place to start. What have you had on your mind that you have not vocalized? What’s your concern about those specific topics — or just one topic — that’s prompted your silence? You may need to consider that carefully, even reflecting on what you may have withheld without even recognizing that fact. It’s possible, however, that you feel your potential to disrupt your relationships by being real. I have news for you — the only thing that can really up-end your life is not being fully authentic all the time. That may seem to come at a cost, but consider that an investment.

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — You certainly have a lot on your plate, though you’ll feel better once the Sun changes signs next week. Till then don’t stress. Pay enough attention to the details so that you know they’re covered, and leave yourself enough time and energy to have fun with the many creative aspects of what you’re doing. Remember that structure, planning and organization are tools to support your adventures, not take the place of them. As regards the sign-change of Saturn (from Scorpio into Sagittarius) I would take a similar approach. The purpose of a relationship structure is to support the relationship, not weigh down on the people involved. So make sure that your structures are minimal and that they are flexible. I suggest that they be based on agreements, not on rules; on ethics rather than morals; and that you invest more in building bridges than constructing walls. The most productive changes over the past few years have involved your focus on maturity and gathering mature people around you. This approach to life will continue to serve you well.

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Mercury, the Gemini planet, stations retrograde Thursday in Libra — the place in your chart where you can go pearl-diving for ideas (your 5th solar house). There you might find concepts for movies, books and art installations. Yet anything can benefit from a creative approach, and nothing says creative like Mercury retrograde in the 5th. It’s one of those movements that can shake up your approach to life. Any new viewpoint or angle would be well-served by curiosity. I could write a book about this, though I’ll sum it up in a sentence or two: curiosity will keep your mind fresh and alive. Inquire of others and of yourself. Know when you don’t know and seek out any missing information. More than anything, apply your curiosity to yourself. Allow your experience of living each day to be an exploration of what you don’t know about your inner life, and by extension, the world. Since this is happening in Libra, here are two more ideas: apply the principle of balance, whatever that means to you. And above all else, emphasize beauty. Make sure your presentation is tasteful and elegant, and you can do anything you want.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — One theme of your life over many recent years has been leveling the playing field. You are learning to see people as your equals, which means first and foremost not being intimidated by them. This whole intimidation thing involves people not having made the transition into adulthood; therefore they tend to walk around in the world expecting everyone to be some sort of parent figure. People like to think of one another as equals, but parent-child-type interactions still dominate the world of supposed adults. Aspects over the next few days and weeks will call your attention to the quality of these exchanges. Your job is to see them for what they are. This will, in turn, help you recognize the ways in which you still may be under the psychological shadow of your parents. This is simply not helpful to anyone, and the sooner you either begin dealing with this or finish a job well underway, the happier you will be. The truth is people really do want to look at others on level ground; just about everyone is desperately craving being an adult in a world among other adults. Get clear and set the example.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — Turn your attention to financial matters. If you do, you have considerable opportunity to profit from your efforts. I would remind you of something, which is that you can sell your time, your labor or your ideas. Likely you will be involved in all three, though I suggest you emphasize your ideas. I know that for most people this might feel like walking out over the edge of a cliff and standing on air, which is actually a pretty good metaphor. I can, however, make it seem a bit more practical than that. You have a skill for being able to please everyone, contrary to the usual advice that nobody should really try to do that. Your role could be to create language that serves everyone; to mediate between parties and help them discover common ground; and to write in such a way that everyone understands everyone else’s position. You might be involved in helping create a consensus. Here’s the key to that lock: Look for the common values among everyone involved. Look for the things everyone already agrees upon. Then build consensus on that foundation.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Don’t be distracted by any anxiety you might feel, especially over financial matters. Rather, get the information you need, and focus on keeping yourself motivated. You may make some discoveries over the next few weeks about how you can better allocate your personal resources, whether they involve money or talent. Any time you see something that seems wrinkled, iron it out and look for ideas in the patterns you observe. Yet if you’re looking for the key to success, here is what I would propose: The time has come to act wholly in accord with your values. You’re likely to be pushed and, in a sense, tested on this matter — the one about whether you actually agree with what you say and what you do. Most people are so accustomed to compromising their values that the notion of acting only in accord with themselves is nerve-wracking and might even seem impossible. It will help if you take some time and make a careful note of who and what you actually support, who and what you have faith in, and what, exactly, matters the most. Then, what to do will be obvious.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — I am hearing from Libras all over the world today, and I know it’s been an intense few years. You may be looking for some relief from nonstop changes that have taken you far from any known comfort zone. Help is on the way. I do suggest you take advantage of Mercury retrograde in your sign and devote yourself to a time of reflection on the many changes that have come through your life. We live in times when anything and everything moves too fast, where change is pushed for its own sake and where there seems to be no actual safe space. For a number of reasons you’ve been subject to more turbulence than most others, though it’s pushing you to seek higher ground, to be solid and centered and to really, truly know where you stand with yourself. That has not been easy. One gift of the now-developing aspects is that they will guide you to ask better questions — to make deeper inquiries, based on perspectives you have not noticed yet. Take any chance at all to slow down and tune in. Take any opportunity to focus on your own wellness. Honor your own reality and others will rise to the occasion.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — Saturn leaves your sign Thursday after what has, no doubt, been an interesting two years. The question I have is, in what ways have you come to terms with who you are? By that, I mean: what have you resolved in the way of games you were playing with yourself — such as the little tease, hide-and-seek and catch me if you can? Saturn’s message has been a rousing, bold, italic statement of: This is who you are; deal with it. The great part is that when you actually relate to yourself from a sincere place, you like who you are. And if you do, you know that others might as well, which speaks to what is perhaps the single deepest insecurity that Scorpios have to address. You still have to address diversity though. Even if people like you, there are many who you consider smarter, prettier, braver or more liberated. Now comes the moment of truth: does that recognition mean that you feel yourself as anything less? Or do others around you represent a statement of your potential? If this whole spiritual thing is really true, then all those other people are in fact expressions of you. Therefore, you have no need to be afraid of them. Or anything.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — Saturn enters your sign Thursday, and it will remain with you for more than two years. On one level this will call on you to focus your priorities and structure your life in a careful and conscious way. You will be summoned to be your own authority, in effect preempting anyone or anything that would allow others power over your life. If at any time you experience Saturn as some kind of burden or overbearing influence, remember this — take back your power. Look for where you gave it away, and make the decisions you need to make to maintain your sense of dominion over your life. This is especially true where financial matters are concerned; that’s an easy place for people to claim power over you. Therefore you must be the master of your money. Rely closely on numbers and documentation rather than on opinions, assessments and estimates. In the urgent (and often ignored) growth task of getting your parents out of the way of your chosen destiny, understanding and respecting money and its power are central issues. For you, so intent on freedom, this is essential.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — A mix of different influences seems to be acting on your confidence in contradictory ways. One factor — the Sun about to enter Libra — is drawing you out of your shell and reminding you how much you want to accomplish. However, Mercury stationing retrograde Thursday is a point of hesitation or nervousness, as if the timing is not quite right. There is also a more potent influence — one that will be with you for years, which is Saturn ingressing Sagittarius, your 12th house. This is the transit that says it’s time to know yourself — as in really know. There is no room for faking this, as we are so often taught to do. You must know yourself even if that means starting with the admission that you do not, that you have a lot to learn, or that you’re afraid of who you might be. It’s as if you’re confronting the great unknown known as yourself, and you’re not sure what to do. Here is a clue: Engaging that inner unknown may not feel like confidence, but I promise you it’s the source of your confidence. You may think being self-assured comes from knowing who you are. I would say its deeper source is dancing with your own uncertainty — and dancing with feeling.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Many factors are hinting that it’s time to widen your horizons. That might start with taking a journey in some unusual direction and noticing what you discover. What your chart is calling for is perspective — of time, of distance, of ideas that give you a different way to think about your existence. For a long time you’ve been seeking your special place in the world — one that works for both you and the world. You know this is possible; you know that your vision at its very best matches what the world needs the most right now. It always takes a combination of practice, effort and whatever luck is to make this happen. Right now you have the benefits of all three of these factors. Yet more vital to any or all of them is that you feed your life with a vision. That requires imagination and a deftness with ideas; it requires flexibility; and more than anything you must maintain a sense of perspective. Always know that you’re looking at the world from a point of view, and notice what that line of vision is. Notice how different the world looks when you shift your point of view. Remember.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — You’re embarking on what A Course in Miracles describes as a phase of achievement. This follows a long trail of things like undoing what was not right, sorting out what helps you and what does not, settling in, unsettling and various other twists and turns — and now you know it’s time to establish something solid in the world. Therefore you must hold clearly in your mind what you want to achieve. You’re not being given a free pass, though the way is opening, leading you through obstacles you may have decided would never budge. As you do this, mastering something called the authority issue is central to your success. You are inclined to trust your life to a Higher Power. I would imagine that you believe in, or have faith in, a Divine plan. Now you must take up your role in that plan, which is to say, make your decisions carefully. You have learned plenty, and making decisions means using what you know. You might say that your central responsibility is to be aware of what you know and to put it to good use — not some time later, but today, right now.

Aries (March 20-April 19) — On our planet, it’s a helpful idea to keep busy with something productive that serves the greatest good for all concerned. If you have something of that nature that you love to do, and want to do more of it, then do more of it now — now, as in right now and over the next few days and weeks. Make an impression on yourself. Set a pattern, in your mind, in your schedule and in your energy field. While you’re doing this, the solar eclipse of Sept. 13 describes the perfect opportunity to strike a balance between productivity and self-care. Part of the pattern you can establish is doing both, with each not at the expense of the other. Yet the deeper value is service, which is a concept not well understood in our profit-driven culture. I am not suggesting there’s any issue with living well. I am suggesting that within your personal cosmic order, you will feel better if that’s connected to daily activity that enhances the lives of the people you come into contact with. One measure of whether this is working for you is the accumulation and sharing of knowledge. If you’re learning and teaching, you’re on the right path.

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — This weekend’s solar eclipse is encouraging you to try a whole new thing creatively, by which I mean exploring in some direction you’ve never gone before. It’s true that your current endeavors will be expanding over the next year, though there’s a kind of leavening or catalyst that you will activate by doing something actually new for you. By new, I would include a passion that you gave up long ago, or have wanted to do for a long time. What you want is the feeling of unfamiliarity. You want something that shifts the continuity of your self-creative process. There is something here about sex as well. Anyone who has read more than 100 words of my writing knows I’m an advocate for developing a conscious, nourishing sexuality. For you, there are two elements that now come into focus. One of them is receiving. Open up to that. Another is a sense of experimentation — the willingness to try what is unusual, interesting and perhaps a little challenging to your sense of order and control. This, too, is a kind of leavening or catalyst for many things; many new horizons.

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — You seem to be torn between craving security and knowing that you must take chances. The two concepts do not necessarily conflict. They could, of course — though let’s consider the ways they support one another. The reason someone would dare to do something unusual would be to build a better life. One reason one would want to have some grounding (known in our culture, over-simplistically, as security) would be to live a little more adventurously. The kind of grounding that you stand to gain over the next few weeks will be the product of your not clinging to a concept of what is supposedly safe. What you may notice is that what gave you the feeling of security yesterday no longer matters tomorrow. What made you nervous yesterday may suddenly emerge as the thing you need to do, in order to feel at home on the planet. You might take that as your mantra — feeling at home here on Earth. What offers you that feeling? If you think in terms of feeling at home rather than ‘safe’ or ‘secure’ you will see and be aware of much more tangible options to choose from.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — The written word — it was and remains vital for the advance of humanity and of society, and it is vital for you, your happiness, your growth and your evolutionary journey. It always has been, though now this comes into focus with new meaning, even urgency. In exploring your ideas in writing, you will discover how much you have to say. You will enter a new world of ideas that transports you beyond the reality that you now know. This will help guide you into a new existence. I suggest you describe your reality, describe what you want, and describe who you are and who you want to be. You can say what you need to say to anyone — this would be an excellent time. The feeling you’re looking for is the sensation that both writing, and sharing your writing, bring you to a point of no return. When you get near that sensation of ‘oh my god I can’t believe I’m saying this’, you know you’re heading the right way — so keep writing. I suggest you not appease yourself with the idea that nobody has to see your words. Rather, take the opposite approach — in sharing my personal truth, I make it real.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — Venus has returned to direct motion in your sign, to some great relief. Yet you may now be feeling the urgency of moving forward with your plans. I suggest you do this not swiftly or urgently, but persistently. Part of what you’re doing is establishing yourself as someone with knowledge and credibility. Yet deeper than that are the personal impressions people have of you as someone with empathy, someone who is available, and someone who respects commitment. This is more meaningful than establishing, for example, your expertise. You might also focus on demonstrating that you’re an accountable person, which means you take responsibility for what you do and what you say. We live in a time when this whole concept is under siege in some places. Yet there are those who are holding strong, and they are the people you want to associate with. You are, slowly and gradually, making your way to a new level of involvement with the world. This will happen stitch by stitch, from promise made to promise kept.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Your relationships exist because you exist. It is therefore a physical — and you might say metaphysical — impossibility to put your relationships before yourself. You are what’s doing the relating; your presence is what constitutes the existence of a relationship to anyone to whom you’re connected. Therefore, I suggest you pay attention and strive above all to feel your own presence in the world. It may seem ridiculous to suggest that anyone would face a question about whether they exist. Perhaps, though one would then have to account for all the people who act like they’re not really there; who act like they’re not present in their own life. The solar eclipse in your sign on Sept. 13 is calling on you to stand fully in your own world, your senses, your choices and most of all your potential. Claim the power of decision for yourself, and recognize that anything you’ve chosen in the past, you can choose again for it to have substance and validity from one day to the next. That same idea suggests you can in fact opt out of whatever you want to.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — You may be feeling as if you have to make some major change in your life, though I think this mostly involves the message you deliver to the world. That message is more than words, though those include the words that describe your idea of who you are. And it is this I suggest you consider carefully. There’s a strong element of considering who you are not that’s brewing in your astrology now. That’s good as far as it goes — though ultimately you cannot describe yourself by process of elimination, such as, “I’m not all those other things! Now you know who I am.” What you’re seeking is some affirmative statement of your reality. When you succeed at making one or more such affirmative statements, you’re likely to get a strong response of some kind. Notice how you, in turn, respond to that; note how you interpret it; and what you choose to do next. There’s enormous tension in our culture between wanting desperately to be seen, and terror of being seen. This includes physical beauty but I think it describes one’s emotional or intellectual being even more intensely. I suggest you study that seeming conflict in yourself and see what you discover.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — You seem to be making up your mind about who you are. Remember this is not a final decision. Neither is making up your mind about who you are not. You are subject to change, as is everyone else, and the world around you. Once you remember that, any decisions you’re making will not seem like such a big deal. There is one possible exception, however, which is allowing others to define you. How would that happen? It would start with your own uncertainty, leading to little panic attacks. If you combine that with some idea that others need to see you as perfect, that’s the recipe for being defined by them. The only remedy for this is to assert yourself, as you are, as imperfect as you may (or may not) see yourself. Perfection is not a value. What is a value is that your learning process, your journey of self-development and self-creation, involves an active dynamic with the world around you. By this I mean that the many interactions you have with others are not predictable; and that you must be the mediator of those exchanges. You decide what things mean, and mean about you, which hints at one thing — the need to be practical above all else.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — Planets and unusual events are moving in the direction of your 10th house — that of achievement, reputation and accountability. First among these markers is Jupiter, your guiding planet, making a one-year visit to your 10th house. That means you can, and would be wise to, identify with your highest potential. You can identify with that quality of being known as a person of accomplishment and integrity. With that comes the responsibility for what you do, and taking success as a matter of duty. In other words, for you being brilliant and shining out into the world are not matters of glory as much as they are getting the job done well. I know this is not the way of the world these days. I know that the money-for-nothing era has metastasized into pure madness. You, however, are still in the era of late nights perfecting your task, and being known for being prepared, for being grounded and intelligent, and for persisting. Last night I flipped on the TV to PBS and caught a few minutes of American Masters on Jimi Hendrix, your brother Sagittarian. One of his associates said, “He was an amazing guitarist but he worked for it. You would never see him without a guitar in his hands.”

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — Saturn, the Capricorn planet, does seem to be taking forever to cross that very last degree of Scorpio. Seen symbolically, this is like hesitation before some vast journey to an unknown destination. Saturn is standing on the edge of a state of mind, of a phase of your growth, of an emotional condition characterized by one thing — uncertainty. The thing is that you still have a strong connection to false certainty, including the idea that you can control certain things clearly not under your domain. Once Saturn changes signs, all pretend notions of control might vanish, or you will have the chance to let them go. You would do this for no other reason than the fact that they are useless to you. The new element you’re entering is lighter than all of this. Yet if the rays of light are brighter, the shadows are darker, though at least you can see the contrast between them. This is not so easy with Saturn in Scorpio, where everything seems to be some shade of blue, black or gray. You need contrast now; you will benefit from it and thrive on it.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — I am sure you could use some relief from the many responsibilities that have been placed on your shoulders the past three years, and the ones that you’ve taken on as a matter of choice. You did this because it was the thing to do, and I reckon that it actually was. In my reading of the charts, that condition is shifting. Your concept of responsibility is shifting, as is the pressure to achieve and perform. Now you have the option of doing, of living, of exploring, for its own sake. The thing to remember is that you’re someone with an emotionally-rooted sense of duty. I know there’s a psychological dimension and a powerful social one, I would just note that the anchor of your sense of responsibility is in your feeling-body. And this has been emphasized profoundly the past two years, with much else going on at the same time. If I had to sum up the sign change of Saturn for you, it’s about engaging your potential in a new way — what you can do rather than what you must do. What you want rather than what you need. This certainly comes with its own challenges, though I think you’ll like them better.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Give partners, loved ones and lovers room to move around. They may seem more certain than they are, and are likely to reconsider things they were certain of a week or three or six weeks ago. Get accustomed to being in a changing environment where all your relationships are concerned. Just to give a few examples, Jupiter is now in your opposite sign, which for you is an invitation to contact. There’s about to be a solar eclipse, which is another way of saying movement and change, with the potential for progress. Venus and Mars are working toward a conjunction in your opposite sign. The message I’m seeing in these patterns is for you to be open to the many possibilities, which means pay attention to your whole environment. Rather than just focusing on your life and what you want, notice the wider world for as many hours a day as you can. Notice what is changing; notice what people are saying; notice the ways in which others are becoming flexible enough to relate to the world in a way that’s a bit closer to what you recognize and can abide. It’s true that you’re the protagonist of your own story; we are each the hero in our own dream. Spread out your mind and embrace the full horizon, the background, the unusual way the light falls on the Earth these days.

Aries (March 20-April 19) — It’s time to let yourself out of whatever bottle you’ve been hanging out in. You may be thinking that close partners or lovers are the ones who have been hesitating, and your current scenario may be the result of a mutual reaction. However, only you can move your own energy. Only you can make your decisions. Only you can set yourself free and, notably, only if you want to. While your relationship life seems to be your highest priority or most compelling interest, for that to work at all you need to focus on yourself, your feelings and most of all your willingness to take risks. That’s a matter of confidence. If you focus on what you want, you can indeed afford to let the dice tumble where they may. If you are distracted by what others want, your chances of success are not quite as clear. One thing to always keep in mind is that many turns of events yet to unfold over the next few months were set in motion back in early January. Live the adventure.

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — Venus, the planet associated with Taurus, stations direct this week after spending much of the summer retrograde. This suggests a few shifts in your personal environment — one of which will be emphasizing the present rather than certain elements of the past, potentially household or family issues, which have taken some time and energy to resolve. The real threshold that I see is your stepping into understanding that you are the foundation of your own life. You, as in not anyone else: for example, partners or family. Your independence is the most significant ingredient in your personal happiness. You have learned many times that if you cannot count on others, you must count on yourself. But now you will see that if you can count on yourself, it takes significant pressure off of your relationships, leaving you and the people close to you free to experience things based on desire and not on need. The activating agent here is being real with yourself all the time. You may need to toss aside your expectations and just ask yourself: “What is so?”

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — You don’t need to live your life wondering when the fun is going to run out. It’s true that several different factors are guiding you to take a more focused and serious approach to existence. This may include the idea that you need to shift your relationships and choose one that really works, even if that means sacrificing something. I suggest you take the opposite approach, and filter out the people who are not participating in what you want; people who don’t really recognize you. They have plenty of other opportunities and so do you. Yet where you may start is with yourself. It’s rare indeed that people focus on their inner relationship. Most of what we do with others ends up being a distraction from having an inner life; from being content on your own. Even the thought of this is often experienced as scary, dangerous, undesirable or impossible — but somehow inevitable. Saturn soon to arrive in your opposite sign Sagittarius is a bold invitation to get to know yourself, like only you can.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — You can now focus an idea or a project that has seemed difficult to condense into some tangible form. It’s likely that whatever form this ends up becoming — be it imagery, music, a novel, an art installation — it will start with writing. Begin by describing what has seemed ethereal or challenging to describe. See if you can convey the feeling and the central concept. Note, this may not directly involve a creative project; it may involve a change you want to make in your life, or your environment. The more clearly you relate the basic elements and focus your desire for a specific outcome, the more attainable it will seem. Any feelings that something is impossible to create are likely the result of lack of clarity about what it is. So think of this process as being about getting clear, and then concentrating something in cohesive mental form — that is, a description. Once you get past any initial awkwardness, it will be easy to refine and modify your verbal sketch, adding additional detail; as you do, the methods will come into focus.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — Venus has been retrograde in your sign for the past six weeks. This has been like training for a new mission, ambition or goal. Think of what you’ve been experiencing as preparation or training for a new phase of your life. If you’ve been hesitating, stop and ask yourself what you really want and whether you’re finally ready to move forward with full commitment. I say this aware of how elusive this ‘full commitment’ thing is. We tend to think of goals as being outside of ourselves, like a ladder or mountain to climb. Whatever you may want to do in the world, the real objective is inside yourself. You are learning to embody an idea or an ideal of some kind. You might think of this as cultivating a state or being associated with leadership. The first requirement of leading others is self-respect, and this too has been one of the learning goals of Venus retrograde in your sign. The message: accountability for your life goes all the way to the top — that is, beginning and ending with you.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — This is your birthday season, and the Sun in your sign is joined by Jupiter — the planet of promise and potential, which shows up every 12 years. You may well be asking yourself what is possible. You may be asking yourself what you’re capable of. Or, you may be wondering what’s going to come to you; when your ship is going to come in. A year is short, and it would be better if you learn the message of Jupiter sooner rather than later: take initiative. Then, be patient as you assemble the pieces of your dream. Remember that anything going from concept (or fantasy) into physical reality will require some translation, and it won’t necessarily manifest as you were envisioning it. That’s enough to deter most people from persisting in creating something for themselves; don’t let it deter you. Engage your curiosity about what will manifest. Allow for what you have not planned or envisioned. Let your process take unusual turns; and most of all, don’t bother yourself with what anyone else may think. If there is one necessary step on the way to tapping your real creativity, that’s the one.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — This is going to be an interesting week for you socially. Try to get out of the house or the office, every day if you can. Notice the difference between your day worlds and your night worlds. They will be as different as, well, night and day. The essence of your current astrology is a revelation of how you perceive yourself as a social being, or a public being — as someone perceived by others. This is usually awkward territory for people; they tend to carry distortions about how people see them, what makes them attractive, what others will notice, and so on. I am not suggesting you should worry about these things. To the contrary, what seems to be happening is that you are slipping into a more confident space, a sense of ease about who you are, what image you project and how people see you. The key to this is confidence. You can start with caring less, and being yourself more. I suggest you push this, that you take more social risks, and that you immediately process and work through any residual discomfort you may feel and get right back to being yourself. Yes, it takes practice.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — You have every reason to be confident, though you still may be hesitating. It’s true that there are certain decisions you have to make, and that there’s a possibility you’ll need to leave some people in the past. Yet it’s just as likely that your relationships will transform, if you take the first steps. What I suggest you avoid is not doing something because someone else seems reluctant. As bold as you are, you still need the support and encouragement of others sometimes, though it would be excellent if you took a step and took initiative, particularly social, on your own timing and your own terms. The story of your life the past few years is about your desire to be a bolder, more ambitious person. You’ve reached a time in your life when others need your leadership more than you need theirs. Most of that involves where you will allow your mind to go; your actual state of releasing your inhibitions rather than fostering them. They no longer protect you from jealous or envious people. You are much bigger than that.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — Much of the frenzy about God on our planet is really about sex. How else could you get so many people so riled up? Of course, it’s only religion that insists this cannot and must not be true. We’re told over and over that our bodies and our feelings are not just sinful, but — in the words of one holy book — an attack on God. This is an overt way to say something that’s usually distributed in background-level toxic doses. I would say that it’s time for you to question this doctrine, but the question has probably been brewing for a while. That brew is coming to a boil; one of many signs that your body temperature, and emotional temperature, will be running a few degrees hotter the next few years. It’s essential that you invest your passion in tangible desires. You cannot capture lightning in a bottle, though you can invest your motivation into what is the most meaningful — that is, into those people and experiences you’ve wanted for a long time. While you’re at it, make friends with sex every chance you get. Think of it as the hearth at the center of your home.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — Saturn is oh so slowly working its way toward Sagittarius. This may be coming with the feeling, “When will the past finally be over?” Well, this is perhaps the most complex psychological issue that humans must engage, if they want to actually exist with the full power of their minds, their creativity, their ability to choose. We could start with the last on that list, choice. Pick a decision that you’re having difficulty making, or sticking to. Then be brutally honest and map out all the little hang-ups that are getting in your way. The more ridiculous they are, the better — various potential consequences, fear of how others will respond, what you might get entangled in, whatever phobias you might have of being yourself, and so on. What are these concepts connected to? If you put that out in plain language, you will get a snapshot of your relationship to the past. One thing that Saturn in Sagittarius will ensure is that you deepen your relationship to yourself. That deepening will take you into the place inhabited by your ancestors, where you will get to confront them and your relationship to them. Remember, you don’t owe them anything, and whoever you thought they were, they are now ascended masters who want to see you live the way you choose to live and no less.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — You seem to have put certain relationship matters on hold, or to be proceeding on a wait-and-see basis. Whatever is revealed this week, as Venus stations direct in your opposite sign Leo, you might well be done waiting and ready to start seeing. So what do you see? Who do you see? Look carefully and better still, listen attentively. The one matter you may be ready to fully engage or indeed confront is what happens to your autonomy when you enter into a close relationship with someone else. You are long past the time when you can give up your individuality and personal volition for the sake of companionship. It’s likely you would rather be ‘alone’ than give up who you really are, what you really want to do, or to have to shut down some aspect of yourself. For you, the thing to do is stay open and available at the same time you exchange love and affirmation with others. The story of your life for the next two years of Saturn in Sagittarius is to stand in your own personal space of who you are. Easier said than done, but easier done than not done.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — There’s plenty of you to go around. Your sign represents the ocean and the cosmic ocean. Currently Pisces is home to sea-god Neptune and master healer and mentor Chiron. And Jupiter, the classical planet associated with Pisces, is in your relationship sign Virgo. That means: take initiative. Offer what you have. Be bold about this, and consider every proposal that involves someone else to be an offering of yourself. Many factors suggest that you are the activating agency in your environment. You supply the fertilizing power, the water to sprout the seeds, the creative liquid that melts the paint and inspires movement and exploration. It is therefore essential that you be bolder than you might ordinarily be — that you be the one to start the conversation, to make the offer. Start the project, make the call, get the canvases out of the closet, tune the instrument, charge the camera battery, clean out your car and get ready to go someplace. Every influence in your chart is saying it’s time to live and to live well. This is what I’m talking about.

Aries (March 20-April 19) — For many people, work is toil. It’s the place where they must leave their soul behind. You may have been struggling with this idea, feeling or experience in recent years; it plagues nearly all of society. But some people figure out how to do what they love, or at least love what they do, and have it support them. You’re in a position to create this for yourself, though you will need to be bold and imaginative, and most of all, actually apply your intelligence to your circumstances. There are no pre-made solutions to this issue; indeed, the problem itself is created by all of the predictable paths the world has laid out for people to follow thoughtlessly. So the first things to set aside are predictability and thoughtlessness. You must take some chances, and take advantage of the odd opportunities that arise by surprise from time to time. Count on the fact that the world is full of urgent necessities, and there are ways to make yourself useful that serve the needs of others. But don’t start there. Start with what you love, then notice how
practical it is.

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — Looked at one way, life is an emotional experience. Everything else may be a disguise to hide that fact. But you don’t need to look far to see that how we feel, and in particular how you feel, determines what is possible, what you think is possible, what you want and what you need. If you feel good, it doesn’t matter if you’re sitting in your favorite old leather chair or on your favorite park bench or a nice big rock you happened to notice. If you’re feeling good, a Snickers bar can feel as nourishing as a lobster dinner or vegan banquet. Therefore, focus on how you feel. For you this is like tapping into a core of energy within you that is, in truth, infinite. Imagine that you pull up an old carpet in your home, or rip up some old floors, and suddenly you’re looking right at the Sun blazing into your home. By the way, those old floors or rugs may represent some inheritance from your family that only serves to block your light. You
may think it holds you up, or like it’s some essential ground of being, but you might want to test that theory assertively.

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Your charts tell a story of someone or something coming home to you. Therefore, prepare your home; give yourself the perfect living space for who you are and how you prefer to exist. One place to focus on first is your kitchen. Scrub it down. Clean out all of your food storage areas. Dig out and clean your refrigerator, your pantry, your dish closets. Toss out anything that is not wholesome and useful, and replace it with what is fresh and more to your preference. Invest in new, high-quality bedsheets. This is an energetic ritual as well as a practical one. Its design is to open a flow of abundance directly into your home, and to prepare your space for healthy, nourishing relationships. Doing this will put you in contact with some of your deepest values, which, contrary to any description of your sign that I’ve ever read, focus on all matters of home and family. You may not have fully encountered the depth of your affinity or indeed passion for this aspect of life, though when you do it will be a pleasant discovery.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Jupiter’s ingress into Virgo is an invitation to write the thing you’ve always wanted to write. True, not everyone is a writer, but just about everyone has some project lurking around the back of their mind that they want to focus and get onto paper. This may involve a skill you want to preserve, such as to share it with others, now or in the future. You may have already started this project, and if you have, take advantage of that and be undeterred by the fact that you have not completed it in the past. If you’re feeling judgmental of your work, get over that fast (and perhaps remind yourself of all the manuscripts rescued from trash cans and fireplaces that went on to great acclaim). Among the many people you know, you set the example of devotion to knowledge for its own sake. But you have the added advantage of ideas being the basis of community, by which I mean local, physical, nourishing community. If you’re looking for a way to get down from the high-wire act or tin-can-with-strings conversation of the Internet, speak about real things with real people, face to face, where you live.

New Moon Special: Last Chance for Pre-order Price on Leo!

Dear Leo Sun, rising or Moon:

Eric has just finished your 2015 Birthday Reading, and will have an audio preview for you soon. In the meantime, you can still take advantage of the discounted pre-order price for a limited time.

This is one of the most affordable, useful and excellent reading packages in the entire astrological profession. It will make an awesome gift for anyone with Leo Sun, Moon or rising.

Tomorrow is the Leo New Moon, which begins a new lunar cycle. This is one of the primary ‘reset buttons’ for your solar year, and an important time to listen carefully to your inner voice.

According to the astrology, you have an essential mission ahead of you this year. This reading is an indispensible tool that touches on the very things you’ve been questioning, thinking about or trying to work out.

Your Leo Birthday Reading includes two sessions of astrology of at least 30 minutes each, a tarot reading using the Voyager Tarot deck by James Wanless, and an extended written description of your astrological sign. You also get the charts and tarot spread Eric uses, plus instant access to last year’s reading, so you can review the last 12 months.

I hope you’ll order your Leo Birthday Reading at the discounted price while you still can. It’s going to be quite a year.

Yours & truly,

Amanda Painter

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — Venus retrograde in your sign is about to reach its peak. This is described by the Venus-Sun conjunction that takes place Saturday. To my eyes, this is the chart of a personal discovery. Planet-spotters may be aware of the grand fire trine that’s taking shape, which involves Venus and the Sun, and then many other bodies distinctly of the modern age. While our modern society raves about new, it’s obsessed with retro. There’s a little of the old mixed in with this discovery, but mostly it involves what is unknown or unfamiliar. Therefore, travel in those directions. Take unfamiliar routes, converse with people you don’t know, do things you’ve never done. Push the experimental quality of everything you do. One theme of Venus retrograde for you is that of embodying your actions and your desires. They have no existence outside you; therefore, take them in and take them on wholly. Aspire to be like the pilot who is one with her airplane, the cellist who is one with his instrument, the thinker who is one with her ideas. Master your tools and allow your mastery to flow through you in the form of what you discover.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Jupiter has entered your birth sign, which is an invitation to stretch your potential. This will feel a little like pulling a tight glove over your hand and wiggling in — perhaps a little uncomfortable at first, and you may doubt that you’ll actually get a good fit. Give it a little time, focused effort and practical experience. Then you’ll discover that this thing called potential is a natural substance you can work with, expand, discover and develop an understanding of how to use. Consider this from every angle — your capacity for happiness, for good work, for creativity, for earning, for sharing, for pleasure. You are a conduit through which energy passes; that can take any form. Therefore, practice expanding in every way. Imagine what it feels like to be what you want to be, in the place you want to be. The awkward or unnatural feeling will dissolve. Don’t worry whether you deserve anything or not — I consider that a false
concept. You are alive, and it’s your prerogative to live as well and as fully as you can.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — You’re entering a phase of introspection more profound than you’re accustomed to. The Libra psyche can be prone to a struggle with interior space. It’s as if you often lack sufficient room to move around within your own mind, or you encounter ideas that push the limits of your psychic capacity. Where there is a space issue, it’s necessary to be efficient and, to a real degree, clever. Let that start with drawing your awareness inward. Imagine you’re in a psychology experiment where you’re blindfolded and exploring an unfamiliar space. Describe that space to yourself, and map it out. Notice where you bump into things, where you feel like you have some room to move, and where you feel cramped and restricted. Pay attention to any frustration you feel with not being able to see what you’re doing. I would remind you that the cool, detached input of eyesight can offer anything but vision; often it’s capable only of delivering false images and undependable feedback. Breathe into the darkness and let other, subtler senses emerge.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — I’m noticing two potentially competing qualities of your charts — bold independence and the craving for leadership, and some question about being unpopular or not liked by others. Any thought form of being socially awkward will compromise your sense of mission. The truth is, you don’t know what other people really think, and further, it hardly matters. Most of what you see around you are the projections of your own mind, and I suggest you take full responsibility for them. Reel them in and take the hooks and barbs off the ends of the lines. If you actually understand that the views of others do not matter, you will do wonders to get out of your own way. What does matter is the feeling that you bring to your life, to your activities and to your world. What matters is your ability to envision something greater or at least more interesting than currently exists. Express yourself boldly and notice how you feel, then notice who responds in a positive way. You don’t need fans; if anything, you would benefit from collaborators
and a community of conscience. That begins with you.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — In many ways you’re reaching a peak moment in your life. It’s true that certain psychological hangups may be lingering around, though I assure you any such feelings are the remnants of a previous time in your life. They are weak and scattered and can only influence you if you focus on them. Therefore, reach beyond any sense of isolation you may feel, and know that a breakthrough is not merely around the corner, but happening right now. Yet this is not a one-step delivery to success. What you have are a set of ingredients you can combine in many forms to create many different outcomes. The best of those have one thing in common — you take over your life as your own authority. Ideally, nobody ever tells you what to do, and whenever someone does, stop and figure out how you got there. Stay
several steps ahead of all such games. Set your own quality standards, and your own objectives. Establish solid working relationships with anyone you encounter who is in a position of responsibility or power. Set your own terms and be ready to negotiate pleasantly.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — You seem to be standing on the edge of something you don’t understand. How wide that edge is, and how deep is the abyss, are part of the mystery. Sometimes you feel like you’re peering into another dimension, which might hint at the question about where you are now, and how you got here. This mystery that’s got your attention is in fact you. There are times when it’s more or less compelling, and there are times when it’s more or less easy to avoid. For a long time your inner realm was too hot to handle, or to approach directly. You’ve cooled off a little; you’re dealing with less interior chaos than you have in a while (ponder 2006 through 2012 for comparison). Now it’s time to go in, and face this whole reality directly. But you don’t have to dive off of your ledge. You’re not as unstable as you think. It will be
immensely helpful, initially, to consider the differences between inner reality and outer; and to notice how the two seem to transpose between one another. This way you can keep your focus where it needs to be for a while, which is inward; and choose people who understand that, with whom you can take extended inner journeys.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Now is an excellent time to check in with the people who were important to you in the past, and to notice how strongly you still may feel about them. The rules of supposedly monogamous engagement force us to abandon people all too often, which serves another dark purpose of leaving many unresolved situations behind. It’s time to shine some light on this aspect of your life. Choose a few people who you truly miss, or to whom you have something to say, and look them up. Don’t worry about whether they’re happy to hear from you — allow curiosity to guide you. You may rekindle some beautiful, old flames, and you’ll also learn something about your tendencies in relationships that will help you light the way forward. One of your projects for the next two years is making the most of your own individualistic
tendencies. Aquarius is at once a social sign and a reclusive one. You need to have your actual place among those you know, and care about, and within any groups or collaborations. Remember that, and experiment with the idea that the world around you will welcome this the moment that you do.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Make room for your relationships. In the seasons of your life, you’ve arrived at a time of harvest, though you must be prepared to receive the abundance of nature. That means being open, paying attention to the people around you, and seeking a place of understanding with them. As a Pisces, you have the capacity for greater understanding, and you’re also a bit more of a mystery to others than you may think. So you need to lead the way when it comes to holding open a space of ease and acceptance. In service of that, it would help if you chose not to be a perfectionist, and to have as few expectations of your fellow humans as is humanly possible. Take things as they come, and take every opportunity to choose consciously who and what you want. You have figured out that the world has tried to set many limits on your bliss, be they rules about who is appropriate or who is not, and an ongoing attempt to turn individual emotional and sexual orientation into a homogenized product. Set yourself free of these things one day at a time, and love the way that is right for you.

Aries (March 20-April 19) — It appears as though a new chapter and another (quite separate) new verse are opening up for you. For the near future at least, it may seem as if you are living through both a song and a story at once. The story probably has to do with some newfound freedom you’ve labored for weeks to write into your private life. Your new song, on the other hand, is almost certainly represented by a new level of community involvement that seems, more than anything else, to have chosen you. Your mission is therefore straightforward, if not simple: to remain whole. In order for that to happen, it will be important for you to arrange things so that your personal and public life support each other rather than being at odds. Eschew compartmentalization at every turn. Instead, use your personal moments to support testing and defining yourself in the world, rather than letting them sap those efforts. — by Len Wallick

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — You would help your own cause by paying special attention to the people, places and situations you take for granted the most. Consider developing your enhanced awareness in three steps. The first step will require you to both catch yourself and acknowledge being caught in moments of inattention, without feeling either diminished or defensive about the experience. The next step will require a concerted ongoing attempt to remember when you are most vulnerable to ‘spacing out’, then applying yourself to see those situations coming. Finally, once you know when to focus on focusing, make a special effort to see what’s unexpected or new in what you have otherwise become accustomed to. This is not a good time for you to drive on cruise control or fly on autopilot in any sense. Rather, it’s your time to update and ground your sense of all you know and love best. — by Len Wallick

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — For you, and for the next several months, the spotlight of attention will likely be a fickle thing. If you are now the subject of acclaim, you may do yourself a service to remember that a season of exaltation is often fleeting. On the other hand, if others have placed you and what you have to offer on their back burner, count your blessings, but don’t count yourself out. Interestingly, regardless of your relationship to the spotlight now, your strategy for getting to a playable, even promising endgame will be much the same. To begin with, strive to be more discriminating regarding what others see of you. Pay attention to your appearance, and be conscious of whether any of your habits will detract from your better qualities. Most importantly, choose where you want to shine. It’s not necessary — or even advisable — to take center stage at all times; exhibiting occasional grace will get you quite far enough. — by Len Wallick

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — You are not a machine. Do not be unrealistic in expectations of yourself. You are a unique and exceptional human being, not a human doing. You have intrinsically human qualities that make you special and worthy of receiving all the love you have to offer and then some. Yes, you should allow yourself to be inspired by others in setting (or resetting) your aspirations. Even so, it will do you no good in the long run to cultivate ambitions through which you pretend to be something or somebody other than your best and most authentic self. Since this appears to be a time to redefine (or at least refine) your mission while also remembering who and what you are, be realistic. Look back no further than four or five weeks. If you can manage to recall and apply only your most recent experiences and the lessons learned, you will have (and be) enough to get further ahead without getting lost. — by Len Wallick

Leo Birthday Reading: Roar Into Your Solar Year

How can this chart be for all Leos, when you nailed each important event, prompting, frustration and calling of my personal life all in this one reading? OMG. — CM

Dear Friend and Reader:Believe it or not, you still have time to take advantage of the discounted pre-order price on the 2015 Leo Birthday Reading, at just $24.95. As you likely know, after these readings publish, the price increases.

If you or someone you love has a Leo Sun, Moon or rising sign, this is a gift sure to make them purr.

The reading focuses on Venus’ retrograde phase, and its extended visit to your sign. Venus will not fully leave Leo until early October — and Eric will have a lot to say about how you can use this energy to boost your self-esteem and courage.

The astrology also indicates that you likely have an important mission for the coming year.

Eric was hoping to record the audio for this before departing on his much-needed vacation. Unfortunately he was not able to do so, and it will now publish soon after his return. This means you can still get the Leo Birthday Reading at the lowest, pre-order price — and we know it will be worth the wait.

Your Leo Birthday Reading includes two sessions of astrology of at least 30 minutes each, a tarot reading using the Voyager Tarot deck by James Wanless, and an extended written description of your astrological sign. Eric will provide images of the charts and tarot spread he uses.

When you order, you’ll also receive instant access to last year’s reading, so you can review it — and all of your progress these last 12 months — as Venus backtracks.

The 2015 Leo Birthday Reading is an essential tool for the coming year, for everyone with Leo Sun, Moon or rising. Pre-order it now for just $24.95, as a gift for yourself or the Leo you love.

Best wishes,

Amy Elliott
Planet Waves Client Services

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — Here’s looking at you, kid. Actually, let’s change that line. Instead of allowing us to lift a glass in salutation to your shining countenance, encourage us to look for (rather than at) you. After all the effort you have put in to find yourself since your birthday last year, you don’t want to keep what you have discovered under a bushel basket. Instead you will want to show the world what has become of you. To do so, step away from the grindstone for the next few weeks at least. Cut back on the chores so you can get out more. Hang out with old friends you might have neglected, and give new acquaintances more than a passing glance. Take time to converse for its own sake. If you do so, you will not need to fear boredom or small talk. What you have developed and discovered in yourself over the past 12 months is subject matter you are bound to see reflected in, and by, others. — by Len Wallick

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — When people (most likely from your distant past) have admonished you not to put off until tomorrow what you can do today, they were almost certainly speaking to responsibilities, work, chores and drudgery. Knowing you, you took that advice to heart and integrated the work ethic you received into a fine appreciation for diligence and your imperative for industriousness. The downside of strictly conscientious behavior, however, is that as it stifles your own playfulness, it can make you inclined to be extra strict with others, and pass on to them more than just a stolid warning to favor the proverbial ant over the legendary grasshopper. It’s time for you to add a bit of your own experience with curiosity’s ability to cure rather than kill. There’s reason as well to share with others how simple, undirected play can foment joy without precluding wealth. — by Len Wallick

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — It’s likely that you have paid your dues in full over the past two or three years. Therefore, do not think of yourself as owing any more to others than is absolutely necessary to keep your relationships in reciprocal balance. Let go of obligations you have already met, no matter how fulfilling it was for you to meet them. Instead, take some time to go back and pick up where you left off with yourself. Take stock of all you have passed up in order to be of selfless service, and consider how and when it might be appropriate to be a little more selfish to serve your own (possibly arrested) development. Think of what you can be rather than what you can do. Release the past and reach into the future. Who knows, if you reach far enough, you might actually be able to touch and grasp another hand previously unseen, which has long been reaching for you. — by Len Wallick

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — You are almost done. Whether you know it or not, the toil and even tears that have possibly accompanied you for years have almost run their course. In place of what you have endured, something enduring will remain. As you might already have noticed, your life’s trials and your responses to them have slowly but steadily been forming a structure that will contain much of what is yet to come for you. To be more content with what that container finally turns out to be, attend to it now. Look around you and note how the order and form of your life has changed, and think about how you want things to finally shape up. While this is probably not a good time to tear your life down and start over, it’s not too late to make more room where you need it and even trim a little excess so as to lighten your load. — by Len Wallick

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — Regardless of what your devotions are or where your enthusiasms lie, you know that attending to them long enough and consistently will show results. You also know from experience that those results are not likely to accrue with perceptible momentum. Instead, a prolonged investment in effort will most often test your faith before you wake up one fine morning to a gratifying realization that you have ‘made it’. The astrology indicates you are about to embark on another prolonged voyage of endeavor, which will once again challenge you to keep faith that a substantial payoff is somewhere over the horizon. To keep yourself going, even when immediate gratification is nowhere to be found, set an intent now. Let that intent be your determination to focus on the quality of your upcoming journey. Allow the destination to take care of itself. — by Len Wallick

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — If you are not ‘feeling it’, there is no reason to extend yourself to the limit now. Don’t feel bad if something tells you to hold back. While it’s inevitable that you will someday want to push for the top of the symbolic mountain you have long been ascending, the timing has to be right. Just as with actual climbing, you will need all external conditions to be optimal within reason. It will also be necessary for you to commit to a specific path of ascent. In order for that to happen, however, your internal conditions will need to develop to a point where you feel assured of your success, and you’re impatient to git ‘er done once and for all. In the meantime, it is vital that you at least take no steps back unless absolutely necessary for your survival or wellbeing. So take care of yourself even as you bide your time. When the time comes, you will not only be ready but fully able to conquer that summit. — by Len Wallick

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — The very heavens know that you are well aware what you are about. The question is whether you are still clearly seeing the vision you set out to pursue, and are fully present to it. While things may not have gone according to your original plan, you also know that much of life is what happens while those plans are being made. You also know that going through changes is not the same as going through defeat. Only your choice to give up can result in failure for you at this point, and you don’t want that. What you have already accomplished stands on its own as a legitimate success, even though you are entirely right to have even higher aspirations. Additionally, the opportunities you have rightfully earned are too good to simply squander. Therefore, even if you continue to err here and drop a stitch there, do everything you can to persevere, for doing so will indeed serve to further you. — by Len Wallick

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Things are about to get very interesting for you in a promising way. The results will not be immediately apparent until about this time next year. Even so, you will be able to go a long way toward determining the outcome for yourself if you can simply define and whole-heartedly accept what satisfaction means for you. Doing so could very well force you to make some choices between material and spiritual satisfaction, which will not necessarily entail compromise. Indeed, it’s very probable you will be quite pleasantly surprised by just how often you can have your proverbial cake and eat it too. In other words, the next 12 months or so will not be about choosing one thing to the exclusion of another. Rather, the focus of your life will probably come down to what card needs to be played first so every card that follows will be set up to be a sure winner in turn. — by Len Wallick

Aries (March 20-April 19) — What you’re seeking is something within yourself. You may have the temptation to search in the world around you, though that’s not where you’ll find what you’re looking for. I believe that this is an engineered issue that in effect pits people against themselves. Turning this quest around, by which I mean inward, is one of the great achievements in anyone’s life, and what we might call the inner/outer issue is surely a meaningful one for you. The question translates to whether you’re a complete entity unto yourself. The outer search is a way of convincing yourself that you’re something other than whole and fulfilled. You might begin by pausing that; by giving your relationships a break; by at least committing to developing your inner journey. You might even remind yourself that you have one, and that it’s likely to be a longstanding commitment, often distracted by relationships in particular. You have what you need. You are what you need.

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — You’re probably figuring out that the way to access your true brilliance and what some call talent is to go with your creative flow. Just let yourself be yourself and do what you feel like doing and you will come up with great ideas. The challenge, as you’ve encountered many times, involves this thing that is described as the inner critic. If not for this, you and many other people would be much happier and more productive, and access their flow of ideas with greater ease. You have more control over this than you may think. You could go a long way toward subverting this insidious thing by getting your hands into your work. By this I mean your hands rather than your mind. Your hands have no comment about how good or bad you supposedly are. Once you put your body into the material you’re working with, the problem is just about solved. You can supplant the after-the-fact qualitative assessment by counting what you’ve learned from any project, including the subtle points.

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — You’re being called to fulfill your mission in life, though that might be the nature of your crisis at the moment. You have so much going for you, and you know it. You have a genuine desire to succeed — and not only that, to do what you must do in order to succeed. Yet it would help if you focused your vision. Make an effort to be specific about what success would mean, and what it would entail. There seem to be two major forces at work here — one that is offering you clear ideas, and another that’s offering you an inspired but vague vision. The clear ideas come with questions, perhaps about your capabilities. The vague ideas are difficult to grasp and are easy to get lost in. So you might forget the whole idea of a goal for a while, and invest your energy gaining confidence in what you do, by doing more of it. I believe that the real issue is that you feel insecure, and this would undermine anyone. Therefore, practice — and keep your ears open for the sound of opportunity.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Friday’s Full Moon in Aquarius streaks across the resources angle of your chart — that is, your personal resources (Sun in Leo) and those that you share (Moon in Aquarius). It would be easy for you to overextend yourself. Therefore, even though you’re probably in a state of relative abundance, I suggest you conserve what you have, and more to the point, put it to work for yourself. Others are not as needy as they seem, or as they make themselves out to be. You on the other hand are both resourceful and generous with your resources. So take care of yourself, and as a general guide, take care of those who take care of you. If others invest in you, return the favor. But keep this all as close to home as you can. You are likely to have a diversity of needs and desires of your own that you have not attended to lately, and this would be a fine time to do so. Yes, you may seem to be under some pressure, which is the nature of the Full Moon. Clean sheets, a bath and a meal you cook for yourself will go a long way.

Leo Birthday Reading 2015: Stoke Your Fire

How can this chart be for all Leos, when you nailed each important event, prompting, frustration and calling of my personal life all in this one reading? OMG. — CM

Dear Friend and Reader:If you have a Leo Sun, Moon or rising sign (or you love someone who does), you should know that Eric will be finished with your 2015 Leo Birthday Reading soon — and the price will increase after it publishes. This year’s reading focuses on Venus’ retrograde phase, and its extended visit to your sign.

Venus has been in Leo since early June, and with one brief exception it will be there until early October. That’s a lot of Venus, and it points to your getting the message about some important mission on which you must now embark.

For you this represents a glorious opportunity to reconnect with the ultimate essence of you: your core values, your integrity, and your personal brilliance. If you’re looking to strengthen your self-esteem or to reconnect with your personal flame and boost your courage for this year’s mission, Eric will have plenty to say in this reading to guide you there.

Your Birthday Reading includes two sessions of astrology of at least 30 minutes each, a tarot reading using the Voyager Tarot deck by James Wanless, and an extended written description of your astrological sign. Eric will provide images of the charts and tarot spread he uses, so you can follow his ideas if you wish. You’ll also receive access to last year’s reading, so you can review your year as Venus backtracks.

You can pre-order the Leo Reading now for only $24.95; note that the price will increase after the reading publishes. So why wait? We’ll let you (or the gift recipient) know as soon as it’s ready.

Love and Light,

Amy Elliott
Planet Waves Client Services

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — Venus is now retrograde in your birth sign, a rare and beautiful theme. We could say many things about this, though the one overarching theme is: identify with your purpose. Embody what you do, and when you take action, let yourself be moved by the deepest core of who you are. That’s the intersection of Venus, the ruler of your 10th house, and your sign. I know that many people would have no idea what I’m saying, though your calling to do this is so clear and so bold that clearly you get it. What you’re doing is a combination of taking on your true mission and, at the same time, allowing yourself to identify fully with that mission. Work is not about going to work, doing something and leaving. For you, work must be a direct expression of your existence. While you can apply this to any activity, you might recognize along the journey of this Venus retrograde that you really need to do something more personally meaningful. And you would thank yourself for the rest of your life, if you chose that.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — It’s as if something is trying to be born through you, but has retreated back in the direction of the cosmic womb. Instead of pushing harder, you might want to follow that thing in the direction that it’s headed — toward what some call the unconscious. Thing is, that’s far from the right word for this place, this source of so much vitality. I suggest you use the birth metaphor and consider the story of your own entry into the planet. What were the basic facts? What was the environment prior to your birth, and around the time of your emergence? This is called the ‘birth script’ — and in many ways it reveals the story of one’s life so far. This story has a way of repeating itself until it’s identified, worked with and resolved. Over the next few months many aspects of who you are will be emerging, one by one, from the cosmic womb into the light of day. It will be worth every bit of focus you put on relaxing and allowing this birth process to happen.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — You often walk a fine line between being a someone who is well-respected and well-regarded in your community, and not giving a toss what people think. I would propose that the two are aspects of the same personal quality that you possess. Your independence is one of your most endearing qualities, and thanks to Venus retrograde you are getting an opportunity to explore this. I would propose that it’s pretense in any form that leads to people feeling uncomfortable or out of place in any social situation, or in a relationship. It’s pretense that eats at confidence, and that makes almost any conversation seem unwieldy. It’s the feeling of judging yourself that leads to the sensation of others judging you. In the coming weeks, you will have a series of glorious opportunities to burst through this whole realm of existence. In the end, what you’ll learn is how to get out of your own way and let your light shine. When in doubt, be bold — or said another way, a little bolder than you think you can.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — By all rights this should be a time of achievement for you, and of being recognized for what you’re the best at. Yet there seems to be something holding you back; possibly something in a relationship, or more precisely, something you’re holding onto involving a partner or collaborator. On one level this is a complex situation, though ultimately the way to resolve it is to go beyond the past. But here’s where the plot thickens: What past, exactly, are you trying to go beyond? In other words, how far back does this go? Track your current scenario as it’s manifested other times before. Once you see that this is a pattern, you’re likely to un-snag yourself of that one lingering insecurity. That, in turn, will help you remember and claim some key achievements of that past. These will remind you that you’ve been through this territory before and come out on top of your game.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — You may be wondering when the time is right to put your plan into motion, and if so I would say right now. It’s true that you may be experiencing some kind of complication. Yet in truth it’s an opportunity to make your way in the world. Yes, this may be disguised as a riddle or a paradox of some kind. Yet you are headed in a clear direction despite this appearance. Whatever you’re now experiencing is a reminder to attend to the details of your work, and of your life. You cannot delegate that which absolutely must be done correctly. Even if you’re being assisted by some kind of professional, you must take full responsibility for every step of the project. Even as you put your inner control freak to work, it’s essential that you do one thing even better — take command of your vision. You are in a rare, formative moment where you get to accept full responsibility for your life, in the happiest possible way.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — You seem to be in a position when you must make use of someone else’s resources — be they of your family, of another person, or of the community. But I don’t believe you need as much help as you think. It would help immensely if you were to apply your considerable ingenuity to the situation. You’ll likely figure out that some form of cooperation is in order, though that’s been true all your life. You are resourceful only to the extent that you can cooperate, collaborate and co-create with others. You may have the idea that you can ‘go it alone’, though that’s not true of any individual or any economy. Ask yourself questions such as how you can be of support to the people around you, and how they can be of support to you in a way that is mutually beneficial. This counts for everyone in your life; everyone you encounter, or who encounters you. Indeed, it’s a central question of your existence.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Friday’s magnificent Full Moon in your birth sign is offering you some unusual ability to spark or initiate events, with very little effort on your part. You might say you live in a moment of the small cause with the big effect. Therefore, be conscious, and a little cautious. Understand your intentions and consider the law of unintended consequences. By all of this, I mean apply your power gently, including the power of thought and of reasoning. A little goes a long way. Rely on the power of suggestion rather than of persuasion. Assume others know you’re right without having to say so yourself. Politely inquire what others know rather than telling them what you know. Remind others of the authority they have rather than the authority you have. You can afford to do this, as you hold considerable sway over the situations in your life. Though many things are moving around you, you remain stable, and it would be wise to remind yourself of that fact.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — You can turn any situation to your advantage. In fact, that situation is likely to turn to your advantage, if you let it. For this to work you need to keep in a positive state of mind, and not be deterred by others who might be polarized in other directions. Positive, in part, means focusing on the present. There are people in your environment who cannot get their heads or their feelings out of the past. This will not work for you; it never did. Yet focusing on what is happening now, and on who people are now, and what they say now, will provide all the information you need. Proceed from moment to moment, individual to individual, circumstance to circumstance, and you cannot go wrong. You have, if you tune in, a kind of clairvoyance available, which will tip you off to just about any situation where you need to understand the dynamics. Pay attention — to your senses and to your mind.