Autumn Equinox, New Moon and Fiery Last Days of Summer

Dear Friend and Reader:

These last days of Northern Hemisphere summer arrive with a potent aspect — Mars square Neptune. This is the one that says “make sure you can tell fantasy from reality.” I covered this in the most recent edition of my subscriber newsletter, which you can see here.

After going to press last night, I realized I didn’t cover the sexual dimension of this aspect, which is pretty darned interesting. Nowhere in life is the concept of fantasy, and its connection to what one might actually do, so vital as the realm of sexuality.  Most sex happens in fantasy. Most of that fantasy does not quite match up with what happens in physical time and space — though many people want it to.

Mars square Neptune allows or enables you to bend or blur the line between fantasy and reality. This must be done carefully, because it’s a special kind of power, though now is a time when the line is especially soft. You can use that, starting in the realm of the imagination (keeping it hot and risqué) and then guiding your experiences into manifestation.

That aspect is exact Sunday. Monday the Sun ingresses Libra, the sign of relationships, balance and beauty. That is a shift of energy on many fronts, including a change of seasons, of signs and also of the Sun’s hemisphere — a major turning point in the year.

That’s followed by the Libra New Moon about 36 hours later, which will give the equinox/Libra energy a push. I know that Scorpio is supposedly the sign of sex, though an author named Alice Bailey, who wrote only one book on astrology — very compelling, at that — tells astrology students that if you want to understand sex, understand Libra.

I’ll be covering this on my new webcast scheduled to run Tuesday at Planet Waves FM. You can also listen to the current edition (and archives) there as well, no charge, no credit card — open to everyone.

Here is your Sex By Sign horoscope for this week.

w/love, your astrologer,
Eric Francis

ARIES (March 20-April 19)
Does sex exist first to make babies, or does it exist to celebrate life and pleasure, and also make babies? Well it all depends on who you ask. If you ask some religious authority, they will likely tell you it’s about kids and only kids. There is another story, which is that sex is an experience of our core humanity — and new kids occasionally come along for the ride, so to speak.

TAURUS (April 19-May 20)
Obsession over sexual health and STIs is not necessarily helpful. It’s important to have some consciousness about this, though test results are not the end-all of the issue. Test results can be meaningful, but more important is assessing someone’s self-care, whether they maintain their immune system, whether they are honest and most of all getting a feeling for what kinds of risks they are inclined to take — in the future, when it matters most.

GEMINI (May 20-June 21)
Stoke your curiosity and feel what direction it’s pulling you in. That’s the direction to go, the one that feels a little unfamiliar but somehow necessary and drawing you into the vortex. You don’t need to be self-protective or defensive; you don’t need any strategy other than paying attention and having fun. Oh, and you don’t need to be the prettiest or most beautiful — you are more than beautiful enough as you are, and competition will ruin the fun.

CANCER (June 21-July 22)
Sex is not all about security and pregnancy is not a path to security. It may be the furthest thing from your mind right now, though to be fair we would need to assess any seemingly unconscious motives you might have. You stand on solid ground with yourself. Indeed your ‘ground of being’ is so solid that you would be wise to go deeper into it and investigate what is there — and find out how secure you really are.

LEO (July 22-Aug. 23)
Don’t get lost in words. Skip the PowerPoint proposal with classical music and take bold action on your desires. They are likely to include sex and some favorite creative mode you have, both of which you may feel inclined to overindulge in. That’s the spirit of the moment — a little excess, however, with a caveat about avoiding known self-destructive options. You need to feed some deep desires, and you now have the opening to do that well.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
It cannot be said often enough that all love starts with selflove. All relationships start with your relationship to yourself. All sex originates with masturbation, which is your inner erotic feedback loop. You can now bring all of these ideas together into one experience. Far from making you narcissistic or self-centered, getting into that space and exploring there will likely take you into a mode where all you want is to share the feeling with others.

LIBRA (Sept. 22-Oct. 23)
You can get what you want. And you can get it without sucking up to anyone, or reverting to any form of ‘daddy pleasing’. Be direct and be bold — along with being clear and polite. People will respect you more if you stand your full height, though be aware that the view of humanity is different from that level. Keep a keen eye out for the self-destructive tendencies of others, and your own. They are a trap.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)
Ask yourself what aspects of your sexuality are creative, and which are self-destructive. Many people have tendencies that they know hurt them but which seem to feel good — such as sex with someone who they know in their heart is not the right person to be connecting with. Yet those energy bonds can run deep. Look honestly at how you feel after any encounter, and that will help you make up your mind about what is good for you.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 22)
Your desire is a magnet, and you don’t need to do much, or assert yourself, if you want to draw people to you. Be your friendly self and watch who notices you. Listen for who is capable of spontaneous honesty. Be aware that your need for sex is being driven by an unusually emotional state right now. You are not looking for anything ordinary. You are looking for something truly unusual — and real.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 20)
Your fantasies might be churning right now, filled with all kinds of cryptic adventures, inappropriate people, unusual places and odd encounters. It’s a good thing that this is all going on in your imagination, though I am an advocate of bringing even the wildest fantasies into physical form. I would remind you that this week you have a spotlight shining on you; you won’t be able to keep a secret.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19)
If you’re not ordinarily the type to be extroverted about your sexual desires, intentions and theories, now is the time to experiment. You will learn all kinds of things, you will see many reactions, and you’ll experience some praise and some judgment. Think of all you would not have learned, had you not opened up and let everyone know what is on your mind. As for who you meet — that will be even more interesting.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)
The Sun and Moon enter your house of The Sex You Want, which for you is so essential to relationships as to be the same concept. In fact it would be wise to have no relationships in your life that are not at least supportive of your sexual freedom and also acknowledging its depth of importance in your life. Yet the person or people with whom this matters the most are the ones you honor by calling lover.