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Aries (March 20-April 19) — Work with people behind the scenes and you’ll have much more influence over the flow of events. You don’t need to reveal who is helping you, though you would be wise to seek assistance if you need it. This might come in the form of ideas, intel or a direct advocate who works on your behalf. Your true strength, however, will come when you remember to take a moment and ask for help on the inner, invisible or spiritual level. Summon your own strength and healing gift. It makes a difference to ask. Rather than pleading, simply state your request for the outcome that you want. Be courageous and declare your sincere desire for the best possible outcome. Then, trust yourself and the flow of events. While you’re at it, you may notice that someone is seeking your assistance, particularly with something you’re specially suited to offer. Your heart will guide you on what to do.

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — You are demonstrating what is possible, which is teaching you about the beautiful things your own creativity can accomplish. Yet at the same time, you’re serving as an example for many that it’s possible to live your life your way. This has a liberating effect on others. If you devote yourself to the greatest good for all concerned, you’ll discover there’s no limit on what you can accomplish for yourself. This collective approach takes you to the roots of your true spiritual calling. You can live for yourself in a way that benefits others. You can support others in a way that detracts nothing from your life. You are well aware of the pain and struggle that competing interests and win-lose situations create. You’re also aware that none of this crisis is necessary, though it takes creative people to come up with solutions where everyone comes out ahead.

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Mercury is now working its way forward again through your solar 8th house of contracts and agreements. The implication is that anything you signed up for or otherwise agreed to in recent months can now be renegotiated. Consider carefully which contracts or promises, whether formal or informal, are not working for you. Then figure out what, exactly, would be preferable or acceptable; and then propose that, and see what happens. It may be that everyone involved wants better terms, or that your counterpart(s) have some needs of their own that they want addressed. You’ll probably never know unless you speak up. This astrology relates to business and financial agreements, though it also potentially describes the terms of a sexual relationship. You don’t need to do things the way your grandparents did. You and the people in your life are free to do whatever you mutually agree to. And you don’t need anyone’s permission to be yourself.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — The asteroid goddess Vesta has returned to your sign, where it will remain through early May. Right now Vesta in Cancer and the Sun in Capricorn are face to face, which is reminding you of certain deep commitments that you’ve made to yourself and to others. The beauty of Vesta is that if you hold open the space for something to happen, usually it will. Rather than being about an urgent kind of need or motive, the commitments of Vesta are made real by a process of allowing and encouraging. Through this, you will get a look not just at how but also why your relationship patterns differ from those of the people around you. You serve a purpose in the lives of close partners different from anyone they’ve ever experienced. Your relationship patterns are unusual, though they exist for a reason that you will discover is loving, beautiful and sincere.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — You may feel like you have so much to work out that you don’t know where to begin. Don’t let your mind get lost in the seeming complexity of your circumstances, or overwhelmed by how much feels unresolved. You don’t need to have all the answers or solutions for everyone, and you must pause and remind yourself what really is not your problem. If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, you need to set some boundaries. If you notice yourself being called upon to make sacrifices that don’t seem fair, take a step back and reconsider your viewpoint. When the Sun enters your opposite sign Aquarius in a few days, you will find the present moment much more interesting than the lingering problems of the past, particularly those that are not your own. You like to have clear understandings with people, and you’re free to emphasize those relationships where there is a genuine mutual consideration.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — With so much happening in your opposite sign Pisces, you may feel like you have to disappear or be overwhelmed. Perhaps take the opposite approach and dive into the fray. You can afford to take bigger risks than you think; by which I mean social, creative and erotic experiments. You’re more conservative by nature than you may imagine yourself to be, by which I mean averse to what seems like taking chances. However, the little kid in you wants to have some fun. You seem to be feeling curious and you want to express that. You’re not going to go off the rails if you do — though you’re likely to discover something completely unexpected that will influence how you see yourself, and experience yourself. Any actual creative or amorous experience requires entering unknown territory. Then in that new and unpredictable space, you get to respond on the spot. That’s art; that’s love.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — You can think of your life as a study in what you have to offer rather than in what you need. You can try this approach no matter how much you may imagine you’re lacking, or how much abundance you currently have. Pass the good vibes forward. Make sure that the basic needs of everyone around you are met. If someone mentions a problem, find out a little more; there’s likely a way you can be of service. It’s one of those basic metaphysical facts that you discover your abundance through sharing it. You have considerable influence in setting the tone of your environment, particularly your work environment, and this influences many people around you. Pull open the blinds, water the plants, make sure there’s fresh coffee, and keep the positive, friendly and flirtatious vibes going around. They will come back to you in many ways.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — You’re walking that delightfully fine line between fantasy and reality. You seem to know what you want, though as you consider it and focus your ideas and make the possibility real, you may be feeling a little edgy. I suggest reassuring yourself with the idea that everything you do with passion is contributing to your healing process. I know that most notions of healing include the smell of rubbing alcohol, or perhaps aromatherapy, in a treatment room. You can take a wider view of your life and of your growth process. You can take a wider view of your devotional practice. You were born to celebrate the beauty of life. Remember this, from the poetry of the goddess: “all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals. And therefore let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, honor and humility, mirth and reverence within you.”

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — The more confident in yourself you are, the more generous you’ll be with close partners. The more insecure you are, the more likely you are to hold them to a standard and to be picky about the details of what’s happened in the past. Notice that you are the variable. Your point of view shifts how you perceive, and therefore treat, the people you care about. Therefore, focus on your self-assurance above all else. You may be feeling more emotional than usual; more oriented on your needs rather than your desires; more sensitive to the views of others. You can experience these feelings with no corresponding need to defend yourself or to assert yourself. You’re not usually the one who needs the reminder to be more objective and detached from your feelings; that’s your specialty. Today I’m here to remind you to take a deep breath and a step back, and remember that people care about you — and that you can be confident of that fact.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — You may not feel inclined to put your thoughts into words. From the look of your astrology, it’s all either way too personal, or way too confusing. Yet you need to bring the personal forward into your personal encounters. And one dependable way to get un-confused is to lay out what you’re thinking in front of you where you can see it. Start with the basic facts. Ask yourself where you stand with each of the important people who are now in your life. Consider the feeling of your environment. As you do this, you’ll begin to clarify your thoughts, which will make it easier to put your perceptions into words, which will help. You might take up the morning pages routine from The Artist’s Way — free-write three pages a day, every day, which you don’t read for a month or two. You need techniques like this to keep your mind awake and alert.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — One thing you don’t need to worry about is your public image. Sure, it’s almost always useless to concern yourself with what people think (especially since they so rarely do). However, at the moment, you’re perceived as something of an exemplar: one committed to doing the right thing, for the right reasons. If you have the feeling that your life would be easier if you didn’t have to do this, you are correct; and that’s a good sign. Keep taking the high road. Do the right thing instead of the popular thing. Maintain your policy of being friends with those who are unpopular or who are getting a raw deal. Your example of living as one who is true to your own values counts for more than you know. Carry on. Don’t worry about whether you’re making an impact. You are, where it counts the most — in the lives of individuals who respect you.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — If you could take a look at an astrology chart, you would see so many planets in your sign that your head might spin. Pisces is currently the center ring of the astrological circus, though there’s one aspect that stands out: Mars is conjunct Chiron. It’s rare enough that Mars comes to your sign (every two years), and rarer still that Chiron is with you (eight years out of every 50). Now the two are focused into one idea, and for you, this is an initiation into spiritual warriorship. Your recent and present experiences, what you’re learning, and what you discover, all point to you taking a bold step into a new dimension of your reality, and a truly new phase of your life. Focus your mind, think carefully, and act with precision. You are being bestowed with a new element of power, which in itself is neutral. You have the ability to use your gifts to heal or to harm, and in this you must be fully conscious. Make no assumptions. Be willing to walk the narrow way, celebrating as you go.