Aries (March 20-April 19) — On Sunday, your ruler Mars will enter Capricorn, your 10th house of career and life aims. About half a day later, Mercury stations retrograde in Pisces. These two seemingly contrasting events together describe something rather exciting: a phase of experimentation. You’re already asking searching questions about who you really are. During the next few weeks, you’ll get to try out different roles and identities, and figure out whether they suit you, at least in the present. This is not a time to make firm commitments, or lasting impacts. Yet you have the chance to explore pretty thoroughly any concept that takes your fancy. Don’t worry about practicalities or possibilities for now; normal rules of play are suspended.
Taurus (April 19-May 20) — While you’re working out the latest riddle of who you are becoming, be aware that time pressure is not a factor. This matter is too important to rush, and the current phase is one of sitting quietly with yourself and looking for the drives that run deep; the ones that burn with primal energy. More than anything just now, they will guide you in the direction you need. Other considerations will come into play eventually, though further down the line. For the present, turn inward: hear the rhythm of your heart and the ring of the blacksmith’s anvil at the core of you. In that is your indefatigable strength and resilience, your internal compass always pointing true north. And in that you may safely trust.
Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Your ruler Mercury is about to station retrograde in your fellow mutable sign Pisces. In a way, this represents the next phase of your current journey of self-discovery, as you gradually rewrite the rulebook. Part of this process is unraveling long-held beliefs regarding your character, and especially what makes you happy. With this comes an end to certain rituals or habits that had grown entrenched in your life: routines you might once have developed with good reason, but are now no longer serving you. What replaces these is ultimately for you to determine. The next few weeks at least, however, are mostly about gathering information, trying out a few new things, and fitting the pieces together.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Mars entering your opposite sign Sunday implies focusing your energy on a specific collaborative work. Its precise nature, however, is up to you, and as Mercury prepares to reverse course, it looks as if you’ll have a few options. You might ask yourself something along the lines of, “Where can I give my most passionate and sincere devotion?” This is your most important consideration, though it will probably also narrow the field of choices. During the next few weeks, an answer should slowly and gently take shape in your mind. Don’t push the river: let it flow into place at its own speed. Meanwhile, cultivate your noblest impulses and your best company, and spend time in places sacred to you.
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — When in a close relationship, there is often the temptation to lose oneself in the other, because society teaches that we need this bond to feel complete. It is harder in some ways to practice self-love and self-trust to the degree we bestow these things on partners. Yet the chart for Mercury retrograde this weekend suggests you are forming a deeper connection with your own being. You’re learning how to absorb more of the warmth and light with which you so generously and copiously bless others. As you do this, you’ll recognize the delightful truth that it’s not a zero-sum game. Humans are mortal creatures, but we have an infinite capacity to give and receive love. Don’t hold back.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Remember that when it comes to your life and personal decisions, your own judgment is crucial. Nobody knows your needs or ways better than you. If you’ve been less inclined to trust your own opinion than those of others, particularly lately, Mercury’s forthcoming retrograde in your opposite sign will help you redress that balance. Loved ones might well have plenty to say, and at least some of their input will surely be valuable. However, ultimately you must take chief responsibility for choosing wisely. This is easier than you may think; your power of discernment is one of the most finely honed tools in the zodiac, though it works far more efficiently if you place your faith in it.
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — Mercury is preparing to change direction on Sunday. To an extent, this moment tends to feel like waiting to go on stage or enter a job interview. It’s a sense that accompanies taking a risk, which includes doing anything especially creative or skillful. There is always some uncertainty as to how we will be received. It’s tempting to shy away from this feeling and return to the comfort of familiarity. However, I would suggest you do the opposite at this time. Instead, lean in to the dissonant feeling; explore it, and notice its subtleties and twists. There is a wealth of inventive material in here, which could supply you with inspiration of a kind you might never have encountered before. Let your imagination dance.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — We’ve all heard about those moments when a child’s searing honesty causes embarrassment or amusement in the grown-ups around them. Younger kids especially have not yet developed the armor used broadly by adults to help them maintain social conventions, and stay safe and hidden, which is arguably what that’s really about. Much of everyday communication includes image control, which seems to involve a lot of obfuscation, fudging and hidden subtext, and occasionally outright lies. We could all learn a lot from children’s uncomplicated view of life and their modes of expression. Listen carefully to the young people around you, and consider what you’d say if there were no barriers.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — Current charts describe you turning your attention to matters involving helping someone in need, or correcting an injustice. Your choice of cause isn’t necessarily the most significant thing here. What’s much more important is that you know clearly why you are attracted to the work; and that it brings out the best in you. This task also doesn’t have to be entirely formalized, or a permanent life calling. Some of the best kinds of good deed are unsung and momentary, performed in between the lightning and the thunderclap. Just notice when the opportunities arise and go with whatever you feel drawn to. You could well be in for some pretty unique and invaluable experiences.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — Mars will enter your sign on Sunday, representing another emerging perspective on last month’s Saturn-Pluto conjunction. Mars can help instigate any changes that are needed; it has a tendency to silence caveats, and just get on with the job at hand. This can be somewhat rough around the edges, but also very useful if you’re feeling stuck or confused. While Mercury is retrograde, you’ll want to seek a happy medium between this influence of Mars and your various doubts and questions regarding the best way forward. It’s important that you know as much of your route as possible before venturing forth. However, you also need to avoid letting fear prevent you from moving at all. Summon your courage, and keep it stoked.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Humans, pretty much by definition, rarely have the capacity to predict future events with any certainty. Too many factors tend to be involved in most scenarios for the outcome to be clear. That said, at times one can guess what is likely to happen in specific situations. An opportunity is about to arrive on your doorstep — or perhaps it has already made itself known. This has arisen from an organic sequence of events. You seem unusually aware of what it means, and what will probably result if you take it up, and likewise if you don’t. Where you might be unsure is in precisely what is complicating matters. During the next month or so, that question would be worth investigating.
Astrology Studio for Pisces | A New Reading by Eric Francis
This is a momentous time in collective history, and a turning point in your life. As the year develops, most of the movement — including Pisces’ ruling planet Jupiter, and the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction — will be pointing into Aquarius, the most sensitive and innermost angle of your chart. I will also cover the retrogrades of Venus and Mars, and the forthcoming Jupiter-Pluto conjunction in your friendship sign Capricorn. Mostly, I will help you orient on your profound journey, and offer guidance how to harmonize with the world at this unusual time. Pre-order this reading here.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — As Mercury stations retrograde in your sign this weekend, note that you may experience one or two circumstances where things don’t turn out quite as you expected, or where something surprises you. Occasionally this type of event is necessary to help you re-examine particular beliefs or assumptions. For example, you might (as we all do) become carried away with a specific theory, such that you lose sight of the initial idea or reality from which it sprang. The process of rectifying this may be discomfiting at times. However, it’s worth seeing that through rather than clinging to false concepts, and potentially facing another confrontation on the same subject. Keep an open mind instead.
