Week of July 30th, 2014

Body Issues? It’s Time to Get Naked    

Earlier this week, an email from Adina Rivers, an advocate for sexual freedom, floated into my inbox.

“Sit naked in front of the mirror and answer this question: ‘Do you love what you see?’ A recent study found that over 90% of people do not like their bodies. If you are one of them chances are high that your sex life isn’t as fulfilling as it could be. Why? Well, if you do not feel safe in your body you cannot fully open yourself to feel sexual pleasure.”

She included a video, which I clicked. It’s about nakedness and how this is the thing that helps relieve people of their negative body- image. It seems a paradox — the usual thought is when your body is perfect, you’ll feel good and then you’ll feel better getting naked.

Negative Body Image: How To Heal It (We Are Naaccckkkid)

Except it never works that way. Even if you work for years to get the perfect body, you’re unlikely to feel like that’s true because you’ve cultivated the habit of seeing and correcting supposed imperfections. Fortunately, the ‘just get naked’ method works great. I know this from my photography, which involves taking pictures of nudes in mirrors. The liberation usually comes after the photo session, not before.

Getting naked is the liberating part. Start with yourself. Do ordinary things undressed. Just hang out that way. Then get a large mirror and put it where you can see yourself and keep doing those everyday things.

Pretty soon you will indeed go beyond the ordinary.

With love, your astrologer
Eric Francis Coppolino

ARIES (March 20-April 19)
Group sex is one of the hottest fantasies there is, even among the seemingly prim and proper. It takes sex to a new level: a witness present, the factor of bisexuality and diversity and that means many new experiences. You may have been craving this for a while and now feel the courage and freedom to experiment. Choose someone you trust and whose heart is open. And I suggest you have three experiences before. you make up your mind whether you like it.

TAURUS (April 19-May 20)
Stay turned on all the time. Try it as a Zen exercise. Remember constantly how good sex is, how much you want it, who you want and why and what you want to try next. Don’t allow ‘ordinary consciousness’ to mask or screen out your real feelings. Observe how people respond to you. Notice how they notice you. Imagine they can smell you from across the room. Notice what it’s like to really be alive.

GEMINI (May 20-June 21)
Consider the relationship between sex and health. It’s easy to see, and it’s meaningful. Vitality and sex are so closely related as to be inseparable. Let your blood flow through your veins. Make the connection between desire and the desire to live, and to live well. There is one other aspect to this — which is productivity, mainly of your ideas, which may be bursting out of you right now. Your mind will thrive in an environment rich in sweat and pheromones.

CANCER (June 21-July 22)
Venus in your sign is sweet, like fruit, like honey, like fresh water. Go out in your natural scent — no perfume, deodorant, aftershave. You are a natural entity and you want to attract other natural entities who notice who you are and what you’ve got to share. Take some time and make a few homemade meals for yourself and for friends. Remember the wisdom of the Kama Sutra — those who can blend flavors skillfully are also excellent at lovemaking.

LEO (July 22-Aug. 23)
With the Sun and Jupiter in your sign, this is a moment of luck and love. Yet it would help immensely if you could relax a little and if possible, cast off any semblance of rigidity or control, which are two real challenges for Leo. One factor that may be pushing you to fear the worst can also stoke your hottest fantasies and desires. Yet you may need to face a shadow or two, which is natural when there is bright light.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
Have you considered that you’re the object of someone’s fantasies? Well, probably more than one person. It may be a good few people and you probably have no idea who they are. Some people are creeped out by such a concept — I suggest you be open to it and consider how good it feels to be noticed, desired and appreciated. You certainly have a few fantasy lovers of your own, so it’s only fair. With at least one of them, the feeling is mutual.

LIBRA (Sep. 22-Oct. 23)
Offer yourself generously to the people around you. Imagine that you are wealthy, wise and benevolent, and are always willing to lend an ear to people in need, particularly of connections or information. These same qualities also make you glow radiantly. Be confident, be present in every situation, greet people by name, and you will meet some sexy individuals who float your boat. And by your good graces, I would predict that at least two people will find connections they might otherwise have missed.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)
Mars is in your sign now, which makes you a font of hormones, pheromones and all-around desirable beauty. I am aware that these things make plenty of people nervous. Being looked at, being seen, being noticed, can all lead to panic attacks. I suggest you conduct an experiment and see what it’s like not to feel this way — to refuse to let it take hold of you, even vaguely. Yes, you are experiencing your real power. With a modicum of awareness, that will work very well for you.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 22)
Most people have no concept how sex was practiced in other cultures and at other times in history, and your astrology is suggesting you expand your horizons. Unlike in American culture, and Christian religion, certain cultures and religions take more open-minded approaches to sex. I suggest you go on a hunt for these things. They might come in the form of Tantra, Kama Sutra or any philosophy that acknowledges something may be missing from our concept of sex — and strives to find it.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 20)
Sex is to be shared. Yes, the prevailing sex-economy says hold back, don’t be too generous and keep the price high. I always wonder what moron came up with that. Sex is the most abundant resource in the universe except maybe for air, and you can afford to be generous. The central question is not what you want to get; the central question is about what would be fun, what you would enjoy, and what would make someone else happy. Try it — you’ll like it.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19)
Keep your options open, and exercise them at the same time. Life is not a zero-sum-game — a game with one winner and a bunch of losers. Your life is an ever-expanding field of potential. No matter who you are with, you are free to keep your heart open and to stay open to the universe. Yes, these are days that will make you wish you were in an open relationship, or a totally free- range lover. These things are possible, and they are very possible right now.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)
Whatever you share offers both healing and pleasure. Therefore, you have as a personal resource what many people crave, need and desire. If you look at the world from that point of view rather than from the viewpoint of what you need, you will find you’re surrounded by abundance. The truth is, you have what you need, and what you don’t have you can live without, so there is no real urgency — and that is the best time to give and to receive.