BY ERIC FRANCIS

We’ve just wrapped up another spell of Mercury retrograde, and passed by the Libra Equinox — but some of the most exciting astrology of the year is still ahead of us. That would involve Saturn, which changes signs to Libra on Oct. 29 and makes a square aspect to Pluto. Saturn changing signs is a refreshing change, particularly to one of its strongest signs of the lot. Its presence in Libra adds plenty to the already abundant airy energy of Aquarius; and the square to Pluto represents a kind of turning point that is often abused by regressive forces: we’re likely to be hearing a lot about the flu this fall, whether it really means something or not. The true theme of Saturn square Pluto is an adjustment to the structure of our lives, in particular, our relationships.

Aries (March 20-April 19)
You have long awaited a clearing of the decks in a longtime partnership, or in your concept of relationship. Certain aspects of your life have run ahead of progress in what most of us would consider the most necessary aspect of life — human contact. You have revised some of your largest goals and decided to claim your power. You have become determined to have the friends that suit your way of life. Be patient while the planets move into position to grant you a new perspective and a new experience on one-to-one bonding. I suggest you bide your time a little while longer and consciously choose to not rush into or out of any commitments. The cosmos has the next move.

Taurus (April 19- May 20)
If I said, “Your life is about to become what you have to offer, and the quality of your life will be measured by what you give rather than what you gain,” you might think you were on the losing end of a bargain. To the contrary, there is a benefit you have not counted, which is the measure of your self-worth being determined in a tangible way: through your participation in existence. Your tendency to be content with appearances deserves the trip to the recycling bin that it’s about to get. Every measure is now one of substance; you will know you’re in a new place when you crave offering yourself more than you’ve ever craved withholding.

Gemini (May 20- June 21)
To accomplish anything requires discipline; the more creative and original, the more it’s necessary to focus your mind and your actions. You’ve struggled with this idea for a while, painfully caught in your tendencies toward pettiness and emotional perfectionism. With the enormous force of will, you’ve opened up a space within yourself. It’s not that large, but the truth is, you feel freer there than you ever have before. Today, the past is less meaningful and I dare say less of a burden. This is progress, of a kind you rarely experience. You don’t need to ponder too long or too deep about what to do with this energy; you already know what you want, and you have for a long time.

Cancer (June 21- July 22)
You’re not the type to pick up and go, but I dare say you’re getting restless. You can trust that feeling: changes illustrated by your astrology suggest that there’s not a single corner of your life unaffected by the gust of progress that’s blowing through your awareness. If you feel that it’s time to set off in search of new horizons, new places, new people and possibly a new home, you can trust that instinct. If you feel driven by passion, longing or the need to resolve ancient grief, trust that as well. These moments do not come often, or we don’t expect them to; and most mortals rarely ever honor them when they do. It’s fair to say that the astrology now approaching will be impossible to ignore.

Leo (July 22- Aug. 23)
You know that your growth is about one thing overall: not being trapped in the past, or the strange tendencies of your family. Among the people you know, you alone have had the strength to do this with the full power of your heart and soul, and you have provided an inspiration to many in the process. There’s now something from your past of great value that you can retrieve and claim as your own. This gift involves a technique for adapting to people who tended toward extreme states of mind and who had no concept of balance, or of compromise, or of fairness. This may be something as simple as the full acknowledgement of how you became the person you are.

Virgo (Aug. 23- Sep. 22)
With Saturn about to leave your birth sign, this would be an excellent time for a review of the past two years. Which of your goals have come to fruition? Which have not? And now for the more difficult question, why or why not? Part of coming to terms with your weaknesses involves the simultaneous recognition of your strengths. With that awareness, it’s possible to borrow strength and wisdom from one part of your life and apply it to another. Indeed, it’s necessary to understand which of your values works for you and why; and to use that as leverage in your quest for independence and success. Three or four weeks’ reflection on these points will prove to be extremely useful.

Libra (Sep. 22 – Oct. 23)
Fear, when you look at it closely, is an extremely strange thing. For example, if you kept a running list of everything you were concerned about or scared would happen over the course of a week or even a year, you might be shocked to find out that not one thing on the list proved to be valid. From this, you could surmise that you have a measure of protection around you. Now, if you really grasp these facts, how would you apply them to your life? How would you live in such a way that you are less influenced by negative expectations? I know it’s not easy in this world, where so much can go so wrong; but now you have something approaching scientific proof that it will not.

Scorpio (Oct. 23- Nov. 22)
The relationship of your dreams is indeed of your dreams. Speaking to one so passionate as yourself, and one so devoted to expressing your true feelings, the question is about how to make those dreams into a reality. Step one may be renouncing everything that does not work for you. This way, you will make room for what works, or at least you’ll be able to conduct an experiment. The coming phase of your life will bring you face to face with the potential not just of being on your own because you want to be, but also the truth that nothing at all is better than something that does not serve you. The difference can be summed up in a word: honesty. And that’s a meaningful place from which to conduct any relationship — particularly with yourself.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 – Dec. 22)
Much that you’ve been anticipating is about to unfold, though as it does you will be taken into a dimension beyond your expectations, hopes and fears. What you have seen and what you are about to see over the course of this month reside somewhere between a hint and a warm-up. The main clue will be that your life is going in the right direction; that however long the shot, you are on the right trajectory. You may feel that you’ve got every reason to believe everything but this simple fact. You may be wondering when a difficult trend is going to reverse, and when you can finally focus your power again. You’re not a patient person by nature, though I assure you that the stars are not asking for much.

Capricorn (Dec. 22- Jan. 20)
It is true that your faith has been tested yet again. I trust that you’ve learned that you need to take care of the general goals and that the cosmos takes care of the details. The most meaningful thing you can do right now is hold a vision for your life. As I have suggested before, do not torture yourself over petty ethical matters, or even your nagging suspicion that you lack the integrity to succeed. This issue is little more than a means of torturing yourself. As you’ve discovered recently, you can direct your energy more constructively. What you have yet to discover is that you simply must do so, for reasons that will become obvious by the end of the month.

Aquarius (Jan. 20- Feb. 19)
This year has in many ways failed to live up to its potential, but this year is not over. When Jupiter stations direct in your birth sign later this month, you will get the clues you need to both straighten out your finances and set your personal values system in the right direction. More exists in these two issues than you may recognize. Though on one level it seems that our society makes too much of money, it is actually a holistic issue that in many ways indicates the state of your relationship to existence. Yet there is a deeper issue, which is living every day for what is important to you. That is the metatheme; that is the question; and before long you will have access to a new dimension of the answer.

Pisces (Feb. 19- March 20)
You likely feel that by now, you should have made more progress than you have; you deserve more success than you have; you are entitled to more credit for having faced the unknown with such bravery and compassion. Do not make the mistake of predicting the future based on the past. As each day passes it becomes more important that you seek what you have not experienced; that you conceive of a future that is not based on the limitations of your own history. Consider this logically; change implies that we enter new territory and have new experiences. Consider it intuitively: you know that something unusual is about to come to fruition. Trust that.