Dear Friend and Reader:

Wednesday afternoon, the Sun ingressed Virgo, beginning the third and last month of the season. This is always true of the mutable signs, Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces. At the end of each of those signs, the Sun begins a new season. Virgo is an earth sign, ruled by Mercury. Though many people are taking time off from work this time of year, the mental quality of Virgo is a great time to accomplish challenging tasks that require a high level of focus.

Photo by Eric Francis for Book of Blue.

In German, the word for Virgo is Jungrfrau, meaning young woman — that’s a bit more literal and easier to understand than our word, which implies virginity. However as you’ll read, there is something of a mystery embedded in this sign.

I’ve said this a few times, though it’s worth another reminder: for the first time all year, the inner planets (Mercury, Venus and Mars) are in direct motion, and none of them are about to station retrograde. While our complex lives never quite facilitate the simplicity we dream of, it helps at least in the midst of complexity to have the inner planets moving forward, and eclipses out of the way as well (the next Mercury retrograde, and the next eclipses, take place in November, both of which will directly affect the U.S. presidential elections — more about this soon).

While it may be tempting to relax after the turbulence of the past seven months, I suggest you strike a balance between easing off and easing into some real accomplishments. Set your agenda carefully, and make sure you include your most significant goals.

Meanwhile, the Sun is opposing Neptune. That was exact earlier today, but we’ve been feeling it all week and it’s in full effect through the weekend. While the Virgo Sun is mentally focused, its meeting with Neptune in Pisces is calling for some imagination. It may also be inviting you to indulge in many of the things for which Neptune is famous: things that change your consciousness, art, music, cinema and intense fantasy. The Sun opposite Neptune can feel like a mystical kind of Full Moon, though more inspiring than agitated.

Just remember to keep a grip. When there’s a lot of Neptune in the picture, there’s a necessity for maintaining your integrity (tell the truth, drive sober, and don’t finalize important decisions till the aspect passes). This aspect has an idealistic streak, which will tend to overlook the details; give the details time to come into focus.

That will happen soon enough, as the Sun gradually slips into an opposition with Chiron in Pisces. That is exact on Aug. 30, and is a turning point in the tone for the Sun’s transit through Virgo. That’s how Chiron almost always works; it’s a moment of clarity.

Chiron (relatively new to its visit to Pisces, a sign it occupies for about eight years of every 51) has a strong association with Virgo (not exactly rulership, but rather in traditional terms, something that feels more like exaltation or natural resonance). Chiron is about a kind of hyper-awareness, and in Pisces, it represents a focused spiritual vigilance.

Photo by Eric Francis for Book of Blue.

Sun opposite Chiron asks two questions: one is, what is the mode of expression of that vigilance? The Sun is about expression, illumination, creativity and a measure of glory in what we’ve accomplished. Chiron is holding up a powerful mirror to the Sun. Do you feel like you’re adequately expressing yourself? Do you want to go deeper into what you’re doing, expressing yourself from closer to your core?

What arises around the time of this opposition will help you see how you can do that, though beware that you may have to confront a sense of inadequacy as you do. Think of Sun opposite Chiron as the acupuncture needle that guides you to direct your energy with more focus and purpose. What I’m saying is that this will be easier and more pleasant if you maintain your awareness through the Sun-Neptune part of the trip, and don’t zone out into denial — to which Chiron invariably serves as an antidote.

As for Virgo itself.

In traditional astrology, it’s ruled by another planet — Mercury, which is always worth considering when we’re mulling over the meaning of this sign. Fred Gettings, in his excellent astrology dictionary, describes Virgo as a sign “deeply committed to the intellectual process.” Those of us who know and love Virgos are familiar with intelligent, clever, somewhat nervous people who can never seem to do enough. But this is not mental activity for its own buzz; there appears to be something inherently spiritual, transcendent of ego and dedicated to world service that is apparent in who many Virgos are and what they represent.

Virgos had best put these qualities to good use. They have a lot of energy to burn and have an inherent need to be of genuine assistance to the world. When they are fulfilling this role, they are generally quite happy and involved; when not, they can become annoying, particularly to themselves. Many astrologers feel that the keywords of Virgo are I Serve, and many born under this sign know exactly what they’re talking about.

Alice A. Bailey, in her 1951 book Esoteric Astrology, addresses some of what may be going on beneath this impulse. (Note, if you buy this book and try to read it and can’t figure it out, please write to me; it’s also worth a short ‘reader’s guide’ kind of article on how to work with it.)

“The sign Virgo is one of the most significant in the zodiac,” she writes in her introduction to this sign, “for its symbology concerns the whole goal of the evolutionary process, which is to shield, nurture and finally reveal the hidden spiritual reality. This every form veils, but the human form is equipped and fitted to manifest it in a manner different to any other expression of divinity and so make tangible and objective that for which the whole creative process was intended.”

I think the first sentence of that statement is pretty easy to grasp, but I had to read the second one a few times. Remember, she is writing from an esoteric or occult viewpoint, which takes the view that the physical world is like drapery hung over the inner life. One could just as easily reason that all of nature, including human nature, is the living expression of divinity at every moment.

Photo by Eric Francis for Book of Blue.

She is saying, essentially, that every form in nature veils the inner life of spirit; that the soul is hidden within what we see every day. But there is something in the human form (represented by Virgo) that is in a position to make divinity tangible in a way unique in all the world (or universe), and which is the intent of the entire evolutionary process. This notion rates the human experience as the most important on the planet (debatable, and also a position held by some religions), but maybe if we took that seriously, we would be kinder to other living things and the planet herself. Humans really are in the position of noblesse oblige. Many humans claim that we’re special; certainly, much has been given to us. The concept suggests that “noble ancestry constrains to honorable behavior; privilege entails to responsibility.”

Next, she adds a bit of interesting, ancient data, which we don’t have any conventional way to verify. “The word Virgo itself is a descendant of and corruption of the ancient Atlantean root name which was applied to the mother principle in those far-off times. This Virgin was the founder of the matriarchy which then dominated civilization and to which various myths and legends bear evidence and which have come down to us concerning Lilith, the last Virgin Goddess of Atlantean times.”

In other words, the sign Virgo represents the feminine principle of divinity in its entirety. We might think of that as the spirit that animates mater-mother-matter, our entire earthly life, our bodies, and all we do and create within the material plane.

Bailey also associates Virgo with Mary, “who carries the [evolutionary] process down to the plane or place of incarnation, the physical plane, and there gives birth to the Christ child.” She adds that “Virgo is, therefore, the opposite pole of spirit and stands for the relation of these two after they have been brought together.”

In other words, Virgo represents the physical embodiment of spirit; the form into which the soul incarnates.

Everyone has Virgo somewhere in their chart, and thus, working in their lives. I would offer the idea that the urge or impulse to bring the divine force into our lives tangibly, as healing and service, that each of us encounters where Virgo is in our charts is the impulse to give birth to something intended to heal the world.

Let’s see where that takes us this month.

Lovingly,

 

Midyear Career / Financial Report Rings the Bell

Dear Friend and Reader:

I’ve been doing 12-sign audio reports for a couple of years, and we’ve never had one that’s had the kind of response the 2012 Midyear Report is getting. This is the first with a specific theme: I cover the relationship between employment, financial security and calling. This is the issue that I have been hearing about the most, and I am starting to receive many requests for private business and career consulting. It’s a perfect use of astrology to help people focus on their true calling, their true service and their creative passion.

In this particular reading, I work with the possibility that you might be considering a career change, looking for work, or venturing into starting your own business. They are all related, and I study those relationships. I look carefully at the Uranus-Pluto square, the sign change of Saturn and many other key transits now, and present my findings in not just clear but motivating language and energy.

This reading is indeed a motivational talk, but one keyed carefully to your current astrology.

The report includes all 12 signs, so you can explore your professional life from several angles. The readings (recommended for your Sun, rising sign and career house) are each 45 minutes long. Response has been incredible. These readings felt strong and solid coming through, though I never expected a reader to say: “It touched me so deeply. Even thinking of it right now, after some time has passed, I have tears. I look forward to the info moving through me for many days to come.”

Another wrote, “I listened to the Virgo report last night; so astute, so in depth. Thank you, Eric. Always amazed at how closely your interpretations fit my life, as though you were writing for me personally.”

And another: “I just listened to the midyear report for my Sun sign only. In all the years I have been getting your reports (9 years or so) I have never heard one so right on! Thank you! I feel as though a huge weight has been lifted off my mind.”

This kind of response is truly an honor to receive.

You can order the 2012 Midyear Report at this link. Please let me know how it works for you.

Lovingly,

 

Uranus square Pluto: Whose Revolution, Exactly?

This week as the Sun ingressed Virgo, the sign of the goddess, the Republican party outdid itself, putting into the national platform the statement that it supports a constitutional amendment banning abortion — basically, a ‘right to life’ amendment. Its candidates for president and vice president support this position.

We know where this can go: Margaret Atwood wrote about it in her novel The Handmaid’s Tale. It’s the story of a theocracy taking over the United States, which turns all pregnancy into a government-controlled commodity. In it, Handmaids are fertile women whose sole function is to bear children for the ruling elite. They dress in a red habit, and are produced by re-educating fertile women who have broken the gender and social laws. Owing to the need for fertile Handmaids, the government gradually increases the number of gender-crimes.

Also this week, U.S. Rep. Todd Akin of Missouri, the Republican candidate for senator from that state, claimed that pregnancy from rape is “really rare” because “if it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” His statement caused an uproar that has spread internationally.

It’s led even the most zealous members of his party to try to distance themselves from him, demanding that he drop out of the race, though he refused to, and a key withdrawal deadline passed this week. As we might expect, Akin is not going to pull out.

According to his reasoning, abortion even in the case of rape is not necessary, and should not be a legal right. What he meant by “legitimate rape” is actually “forced rape,” which is redundant. This, as opposed to a false claim of rape, or some other form of rape, all of which are deconstructed in this searing article that appeared Tuesday on Jezebel.com. Anyone who has to say “forced rape” understands neither rape nor sex.

Most contemporary abortion opponents, at least the ones participating in politics, believe that women should be legally compelled to carry to term a child conceived by rape or incest. This is another way of saying that women would have no control over who impregnates them or whose child they give birth to. Many believe that even if the mother’s life is threatened, there should not be an exception.

The way these views get traction is because most people do oppose abortion, as a personal option, and in principle — and most people understand that circumstances sometimes compel many people to go against their views and make a difficult choice. You might call that the mature approach to the issue, and one that leaves room for personal choice and values that we cannot foresee or that are deeply individual.

Republicans had to push back against Akin’s statement, trying to get him to quit his senate race; he refused to, allowing a critical deadline to pass on Tuesday. The problem here was that most of the people pushing back agree with Akin; they just don’t put it in such clear terms. Looked at one way, Akin is outing his colleagues, and their attempts to distance themselves are a big charade.

Let’s briefly key this into the current astrology and see how it describes this development. We’re in the midst of Uranus square Pluto, which spans from 2012 to 2015 with a wide margin on either side. This is revolutionary astrology, characterized by the square’s placement close to the personal-is-political Aries Point — an imaginary cross in the heavens that spans the first degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn.

Uranus in Aries can be militant and egocentric; Pluto in Capricorn is about fundamental changes to the structure of society. It is arriving with some collapse, some reform and a wild sense of uncertainty. Pluto in Capricorn also opens up the scars of the past: of family patterns and political oppression. Of all the signs, Capricorn is the one that most clearly describes legacy material, and Pluto is going deep into this territory.

Birth scene from a 2003 opera version of The Handmaid’s Tale, produced by the English National Opera. Sam Meier, in her article for Policy Mic, notes its alarming resonance with Akin’s statements and the war on women by the American Taliban.

Uranus square Pluto is revolutionary, though we need to ask: whose revolution? Whose vision for society will be implemented? At the moment, the rear guard — the people who are doing everything they can to reverse a century of political and social gains by women — are the ones who seem to be taking control. Said another way, women are the latest focus of a power-grab, with intensity similar to what we saw directed at terrorists after the Sept. 11 incident.

Whether people who understand what’s going on — and in particular, women who understand what’s going on — rise to the occasion and address the real issues, remains to be seen. This is an intelligence test for women, and not just in the United States, because these views are spreading. But for now, it’s a kind of political IQ for American women.

Part of why this whole infection can flourish is because so many people have been denied real sex education, and instead have been subjected to Abstinence Only indoctrination. This is the program of religious zealots who are now taking advantage of the ignorance they have propagated.

It’s telling that the issues of rape and abortion have been conflated into one viewpoint that seems to support rape and not merely oppose abortion, but to criminalize pregnancy. Consider that if abortion is made illegal, then the termination of any pregnancy — no matter how it happens — becomes a potential crime scene. Virginia already tried to pass a law making it a crime for a woman not to report a miscarriage, presumably because it might have been an abortion.

This week, one of my readers wrote to me: “I live in a state in Mexico (Guanajuato) where there are women in prison because they have either aborted or miscarried and were unable to prove that it was through natural causes. In Mexican Spanish (at least), the word for an abortion and a miscarriage is the same, abortar. You have to clarify natural causes through the words espontáneo or no provocado.”

In the past, I have said that Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that makes abortion a constitutional right (which is related closely to the right to use contraception), is the closest thing we have to an Equal Rights Amendment.

However, lately my views have evolved. I now believe it’s the only thing between women and the possibility of being prosecuted for murder if they have a miscarriage, or choose to abort a pregnancy, even one caused by a rapist. That would be revolutionary indeed — but I don’t think it’s your kind of revolution.

 

Planet Waves monthly horoscopes provide a broader perspective that surveys the themes of the coming month and often, the weeks that follow. The September Monthly horoscope is below in this issue. Inner Space for August was published Tuesday, July 31. The new Inner Space (a short, concise monthly) will appear Tuesday, Sept. 4. The August Moonshine Horoscope was published Friday, Aug. 17. Please note that the longer monthly horoscope (what you have below) is being incorporated into the Friday issue after the Sun has entered a new sign; Inner Space still publishes on Tuesdays.

 

Planet Waves Monthly Horoscopes for September 2012 | Eric’s Zodiac Sign DescriptionsVirgo Birthdays This Week

For those with a birthday in the vicinity, it’s going to be helpful to keep your relationships in perspective this year. You may have an inclination to be idealistic, though it could be so subtle that you don’t even notice it. One key to happiness is going to be finding a balance between expressing how you want things to be, and noticing how they actually are. You may be inclined to overlook certain issues, though those issues will resolve themselves more easily if you pay attention and keep the discussion going. Note carefully the influence of alcohol and other substances on your emotional environment. Moderation is key, as is understanding the way that substances might cloud your judgment. There are, in truth, no secrets that you can keep from yourself, and there are certain facts that are pressing for acknowledgment. I believe you’ll be much happier when you keep them closer to the surface, which will facilitate healing and keep denial to a minimum. Note to Virgos: I am nearly done with your birthday astrology and tarot reading, which focuses on relationships — and which I plan to have ready Monday. The reading will also work for people with Virgo rising.

Aries (March 20-April 19) — There are people who insist that the best sex happens after a huge fight with one’s partner, and this is one description of your charts right now. We could however apply it to many areas of your life, and many different kinds of partnerships. The way the astrology is describing it, your MO seems to be resist until you decide to submit. While this is helping maintain your reputation of someone who is not afraid to stand up to authority (in whatever form it may take), I don’t think it’s helping your peace of mind. If you’re looking for some dependable success and/or a stable situation in a relationship, it would help if you expressed yourself in a way that invites collaboration. I’m aware of the sensation of giving up one’s individuality to do that. However, I would propose that it’s the best way to find your identity. Your astrology is configured in such a way that you are extremely, boldly and assertively yourself, and then in equal measure (on a half-moment’s notice) you’re able to have your identity disappear into a relationship. You can consider your rebellious moments as attempts to define your identity within a partnership. This would be a lot simpler if you didn’t view this process as standing up to authority but rather an experience of meeting another person on level ground. The boring part of this is that it’s not as dramatic or brimming with pathos. The sensation is more like a conversation across a table, which can go anywhere you mutually decide. Hello Aries — Eric has written a new description for your sign that you have access to from this link (no password needed).
Taurus (April 19-May 20) — You are seeking freedom, and it looks like you encounter the same obstacle over and over again. This is an attribute of your character, as it’s currently set up. Something has suddenly shifted over the past few weeks, where you’re aware of this obstacle in a new way, and more determined than ever to let it go. What you’re doing in these weeks of your life can serve as a foundation or entry point to the process. You have the potential to see and understand the issue in a new way. This will prove to be helpful if you remember what you’re learning. Unraveling whatever block, interference or past injury you’re working with may take a while — figure about 18 months from now, if you stay with yourself. What you’re working with goes back longer than you may recognize. To work it out in so short of a time will be a miracle, and your willingness is essential to that happening. I suggest one thing. What you think the problem is may be incorrect. What you think the solution is may not actually be the one. It’s essential that you consider your situation as a moving dynamic, and that you consider yourself a work in progress. I would share with you some lines of the poet T. S. Eliot, who understood a lot about the human condition. He wrote: “I have heard the key / Turn in the door once and turn once only / We think of the key, each in his prison / Thinking of the key, each confirms a prison.” Hello Taurus — Eric has written a new description for your sign that you have access to from this link (no password needed). If you would like to hear your Taurus birthday reading, please visit this link.
Gemini (May 20-June 21) — You may have a tendency to be overly reactive with partners, loved ones or colleagues this month — and the closer you are to the person, the more reactive you might be. Lurking underneath this is an expectation that people will be like you, or perceive the world as you do. And there is something else with how powerfully you can identify with people close to you, and how self-conscious that can make you feel when the identification no longer works. Underneath all of this is something about identifying with your mom, and part of the reason there is some struggle here is that you’re not her. Yet there is some bond that I suggest you look at; that may be how you respond to her sense of loss that you’re now an adult, or how she responded to you in the years when you were becoming an adult. I suggest you ask yourself an honest question: did she resist your becoming an adult? Did she strive to delay any aspect of your maturity? If so, I suggest you get inside this dynamic and understand how it still may be controlling your life. One angle to look at is the expectations you have on partners. Another is how you respond to drugs or alcohol in your environment. And there’s one last: do you ever feel like you’re concealing an iron fist inside a velvet glove? It may work for some things, though it’s not that helpful where intimacy is concerned. And there is another approach. Hello Gemini — Eric has written a new description for your sign that you have access to from this link (no password needed). Your Gemini birthday reading is ready! Click here for an hour of astrology plus a tarot reading by Eric.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) — You’re figuring out that you need more room for yourself — both outer space and inner space. You may think it’s taken you a while to understand this, but really, not as long as you might imagine — and you’re really ready. Over the next couple of months, your creative aspirations are going to take a step forward. This strongly implies you’re getting serious about desires that may have only seemed like fancy ideas in the past. If you’re feeling like you have to rearrange your home or office, or get into something bigger, that’s probably a real signal. Then there is the more elusive concept of inner space. That’s another way of saying: is there room in your life for you? If there is not, it’s time to start making some adjustments. This will begin with your positive priorities — not what you need to cut. I suggest you focus on getting clear what you want to do, and what your space needs will be. Then start clearing things out of the way. This will help you focus your efforts. If you start by clearing out your time, you may not quite know what to do first. So I suggest you set your agenda and then make room for what you know you want to do. The upsurge in your creative energy will have a way of displacing what’s not necessary, what’s redundant and what’s no longer serving you. Meanwhile, if you’re feeling cramped, consider that a good sign — evidence that you’re about to molt, as crabs must often do, though this is a big one. Hello Cancer — Eric has written a new description for your sign that you have access to from this link (no password needed). Your Cancer birthday reading is ready! It includes more than an hour of astrology plus a tarot reading, and has been wildly popular (also great for Cancer rising people). Use this link to order.
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — Your mind is getting bigger, and it’s likely that your physical space will soon need to accommodate your growth. This may not happen tomorrow, though if you’re feeling antsy or restless, consider whether your home environment actually accommodates who you have become in recent years. Yet there is also something here about outgrowing certain long-held emotional tendencies that have shaped your psyche. As a child, this may have led you to a kind of submissiveness that you seem ready to let go of. That letting go may come with the feeling of getting a grip on your emotions, taking charge of your space, and recognizing that you’re the only person who can make sure that you’re not manipulated by others. What may be useful for you to know is that the way that’s most likely to happen is when others pick up on your passion and use that against you. With Mars becoming more active in your chart for the next couple of months, you may be able to observe how this happens — and figure out what you can do about it. While you’re considering ways you can make more space, along the same theme, I suggest you create emotional space for yourself. Space translates to time and peace of mind, though in the event that you move locations, make sure that some part of that structure belongs to you and you alone. Create a sanctuary that’s free from the influences and ideas of others, and this will become a living metaphor for your emotions. Hello Leo — Eric has written a new description for your sign that you have access to from this link (no password needed). See below for a description of your 2012-2013 birthday reading, which is available now.   Hello Leo and Leo Rising! I’ve finished your 2012-2013 birthday reading. This is composed of two 35-minute astrology sessions, plus a combined tarot and astrology reading. It covers all of the major astrology happening now — with an emphasis on recovering a childhood dream. I also cover the influence on your relationships, your home environment and your finances. Astrologically this includes Mercury retrograde in your sign, the Leo New Moon, the Uranus-Pluto square, Saturn in Scorpio and more — all in clear, easy to follow terms. This report is designed for those born with the Sun in Leo but is equally applicable for Leo rising. Visit this page to get access.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — During the past few years, you’ve learned a lot about what’s the most meaningful to you — and a lot about what you do with your money. The lessons and learning have come in many forms and have covered many topics, including the value that you place on relationships. Yet if you’ve been even vaguely responsive to some powerful astrology, the main thing you’ve gained is a new level of self-respect. You may not walk around every day humming about how good you feel about yourself, though you have built a foundation, and you’re standing on it. Think of that foundation as a conscious relationship to yourself. You may be noticing how many people around you seem to be standing on nothing at all, and who seem to lack any conscious relationship to who they are. If you’ve learned nothing else in the recent years, it’s that you must engage with yourself consciously, and that this inner encounter is the foundation of all your other relationships. It’s not merely the floor you walk on; it’s what holds up the floor. You’re embarking on a time in your life when your outer-world encounters with others are deeper, more provocative and call on you to possess actual maturity. Not everyone has the integrity that you have, and not everyone is interested. Others are in a learning process, and some will be profound teachers. When in doubt, come back to yourself, and remember that everything stems from the value that you place on your own life. Hello Virgo — Eric will have your birthday report next week. He’s also written a new description for your sign that you have access to from this link.
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — Saturn is getting ready to make its exit from your sign. It’s been there since right around Halloween 2009, and its arrival may have been attended by all kinds of fanfare. Saturn’s exit is a time for a review not only of that two- to three-year phase of your life; it’s time for a life review, centered on the theme of coming to terms with yourself. If you’re familiar with astrology, Saturn in one’s own sign is a little like the Saturn return: it’s a get-serious point, and an opportunity to leverage yourself to a new point of maturity. The way the world is currently configured, that’s always a miracle; and it’s rarely easy. We’re conditioned regularly to deny who we are, and to pretend we’re someone else. As for maturity, many places that concept seems to be a museum piece. To the extent you’ve progressed along these lines, count yourself fortunate — though first I suggest you take stock of everything that’s happened since this transit began. When Saturn changes signs to Scorpio in October, the theme shifts to self-esteem — another astounding deficit in our society, and where you will encounter a phase of enforced growth. These processes are always easier if you understand yourself and your agenda, and have a sense of what you need to accomplish. It’s always a bit more than you think — though today I would remind you that in the past few years you’ve come a lot further than you may believe. Hello Libra — Eric has written a new description for your sign that you have access to from this link (no password needed).
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — Be mindful of your tendency to expect disaster in matters of the heart. Nothing else would serve to create that more dependably than negative expectations. This works differently from superstition or ordinary paranoia. For example, the fear that your house might burn down is not particularly incendiary. You can check your extension cords, the stove and candles. But similar fears projected onto a relationship can have a profound effect on the emotional dynamic. Your fear will tend to increase as passion, interest and vulnerability become more real to you. This is a situation calling for mindfulness, and for honesty. Yet the one thing that is not called for is control, which will only stoke your fears. And nihilism — expectation that all is for naught, so what’s the point anyway — is a form of attempted control (mainly, of your own emotions). Your fear level will drop as you set yourself free to have the experience. If someone in your life means a lot to you, be willing to go where the situation takes you. Be willing to share yourself in a way that’s more generous than you might ordinarily, and by share, I mean generosity without expectation. Withholding is yet another form of attempted control that will serve only to strip you of your influence. I would remind you of this: we tend to love who and what we take care of. When you subtract that from the equation, you’re trying to limit your own vulnerability, which is like trying to have sex in a Tyvek suit. Hello Scorpio — Eric has written a new description for your sign that you have access to from this link (no password needed).
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — You may notice that people around you are especially reactive to what you say and do — as if it takes exceedingly little to set them off. Even stranger, you may notice that their reactions bear no resemblance to anything you said, or anything you consciously think or feel. So what’s going on? Well, often intense reactions are both powered and assigned their theme by the one having the reaction. You might serve as a catalyst and then as a projection screen, though it will be helpful if you keep an arm’s length on anything people close to you are experiencing, without disavowing your responsibility. It’s as if you’re in an extended training program of learning how not to take things personally, while remaining accountable. As a Sagittarius you’re supposed to be aloof. Yet you get as emotionally invested as anyone else, and you’re in particularly deep these days. You might also be wondering why it is that certain people respond or react to you the way that they do, if for no other reason than promoting peace and harmony in your life. This is a great time for an inquiry into your ethics and your boundaries, and that would start as an inner journey — and your ancestors are involved. I suggest you investigate the different sides of your family as individual projects, going back as many generations as you can. You may think you’re the union of all these different clans, though their influences tend to operate a lot more independently of one another than you may think. Hello Sagittarius — Eric has written a new description for your sign that you have access to from this link (no password needed).
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — Just in time for the equinox, Uranus makes its second of seven squares to Pluto in your sign. Translated into plain English, this is about getting a fire lit under your ass. The sensation may be like a restless emotional stirring that you just have to act on. However, I suggest you concentrate your energy and not make any moves in a lurch. Saturn, your ruling planet, is getting ready to make one of its relatively rare changes of sign; it ingresses Scorpio in October. You may want to make some decisions now, before that happens — the kind of moves that will shape your life and help you create your future. Yet while Saturn is in Libra, you’re still working through unfinished business, and you’re still getting a sense of what you want. So I suggest you take this bit of astrological experience I am sharing to heart: wait until Saturn changes signs before making any significant structural changes in your life. Focus on completion, and on getting clear about what agenda you want to create for the next two-and-a-half years. You have considerable potential to develop your income — particularly from business-related activities. You’re likely to see a return on what you’ve worked so hard on during the past few years. Remember that your single most valuable asset is your reputation. Your second most valuable asset is your adaptability. And your passion not just for what you’re doing but for who you are is a close third place. Hello Capricorn — Eric has written a new description for your sign that you have access to from this link (no password needed).
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — You’re getting ready for some big professional moves — or depending on how you think astrology works, the universe is preparing to unveil some of its plans. As this experience unfolds, I suggest you place a high value on the role of collaboration. There is a prevailing view (seen in many political ads these days) that the only way to succeed is to ‘go it alone’ and succeed by the grit of your teeth. In fact, you always succeed by collaboration. This is more or less true for everyone, though it’s especially meaningful for you. As you engage in these collaborations, you have to walk a number of fine lines. Control is a theme, whether it refers to you seeking power over others or they seeking power over you. The other side of this is learning to engage energy in a meaningful and creative way, no matter who is the boss or who ultimately controls the resources. Then there is the question of who sets the agenda. Given certain facts of your chart, this has to be a transparent process, where the agenda — that is, the goals, and the values that inform them — are considered something of a sacred text. Most significant is that you have to be you in your partnerships. So make sure that as you enter into new ventures, there is room for who you are and who you’re becoming, and that you choose collaborators that you actually admire for their ethics and sensitivity, as well as for their achievements. Hello Aquarius — Eric has written a new description for your sign that you have access to from this link (no password needed).
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Who exactly is in your life, why are they there and what do you exchange with them? These have become significant questions the past few years that Saturn has been in Libra. You’ve had little choice other than to look at them closely, and do the growth work necessary to get some actual answers. You may have been through a long phase of paring down who you think of as a friend. You may have decided at some point that it would make a lot of sense to consider carefully who you engage with sexually, because so much happens in those encounters. Now as Saturn gets ready to ingress Scorpio, you’re about to begin a new phase of your life — and your relationship to yourself. I suggest you take this month as a review phase, and write a summary of your important relationships and what you’ve learned from them. This review could go back to mid-2009, when Saturn first ingressed Libra, or you could go back to 2007, when Saturn entered your relationship sign Virgo. I trust you’ve figured out that you have a responsibility to yourself that you must be vigilant about all the time. If you don’t rate that need as a priority higher than your responsibility to others, you will be of little help to yourself or anyone else. It is high time that you stopped allowing your tendency to share to be used against you, and interrupt the flow of situations where your loss is someone else’s gain. Existing on mutual terms is eminently possible, if you focus on that goal. Hello Pisces — Eric has written a new description for your sign that you have access to from this link (no password needed).