| Terra | Counterpunch | Sign dates below are approximate. They now overlap by one day. The date and time of the Sun's ingress to the new sign changes a little each year, so please check with an astrologer if you want the exact position of your Sun, and while you're at it, your rising sign -- this horoscope is written for both your Sun and rising signs. If you find that some other sign's interpretations work for you, then go for it. Astrology Readings on CD by Eric Francis | | Aries (March 20-April 21) | | In these days and weeks, you may discover you have a lot in common with people you thought you shared nothing with at all. One of the cosmic jokes of Aries is the extent to which this sign represents true bold individualism, and yet at the same time, everything about it is linked to the karma of the entire human race (the zodiac begins with something called the Aries Point, which the Sun crosses each year at the Vernal Equinox, and this is responsible for the effect). This seeming paradox makes sense if you consider that unless we experience ourselves as individuals, we don't really experience ourselves at all. And it seems that a lot of people around you are at long last figuring this out. Now, it may be that you are observing something you have previously missed. Or it may be that time has advanced, and with it, something has shifted in the collective consciousness. Or, more probably, you are provoking something very positive in the people you know. | | Taurus (April 21-May 20) | | There is an immediacy to the sky at the moment that may be calling forth your worst doubts, while at the same time you possess an idea that your intuition is positively superb. And this intuition points to an end to the long delay in gratification that you have endured. Can the two ideas be reconciled? Facing this question of "which voice is true" is one of the major crossroads along the path to wholeness and inner listening. To me, the answer boils down to which you want to be true. People who have faced with the worst conditions possible on this planet have survived merely because they wanted or needed to do so, and this was always closely related to their definition of their purpose (rather than, for example, their physical strength). But your chart speaks not of difficulty, but rather of strength and opportunity, of the promise of a new level of independence, and the rewards of your efforts. If you think the odds are in some way stacked against you, choose again. | | Gemini (May 20-June 21) | | Please look back at the history of the past year and see if you can put into words what it was that you have been trying to accomplish, regardless of whether you feel you succeeded or failed. Chances are you didn't get the whole job done; adversity has certainly been a recurring theme in all of our lives, though it does turn out that you are better adapted to unexpected changes than most. I suggest you put your objectives into language specifically for the purpose of being able to assess them, to investigate where they came from, and to define the resources you will need to make them happen. Words are a very Gemini thing, and it is best to write them down, so you can read them later. But more to the point, it would seem you need to redefine some aspects of your plan before something you recently began goes too far. The astrology of this spring holds one or two major opportunities to change the unchangeable, to move the immovable and, as it may turn out, to do the impossible. Wise would it be to use them well. | | Cancer (June 21-July 22) | | A season is about to change, and this is a defining moment, though particularly for Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn (the cardinal signs, which begin the four seasons, and are all closely related). The theme of definition is particularly strong in your relationships, owing to two extraordinary influences: Jupiter in your own sign, and Chiron in your opposite sign, Capricorn. This particular astrology is a true ray of light compared to some of the extremes of (at times meaningless) stress and duress to which we have been subjected for several long seasons. It's not necessarily "easy" astrology -- Chiron always presents challenges, but they are never meaningless -- but it will prove, in the end, to be extremely helpful. Remember that you are looking for something, or rather, someone, very specific, and seeking very specific qualities within the people you are already associating with. Remember that you may be more conscious of them than they are of you, or of themselves. Remember that you will play very different roles in one another's lives, and that this difference is vital to the health and fruitfulness of the relationship, and all the others that branch out from it. | | Leo (July 22-Aug. 22) | | Because of its association with Leo, the Sun's journey through the heavens is a vivid picture of your journey through consciousness. Typically viewed as extremely stable and unchanging, Leo is like a light that shines through many colored lenses. We now find you in Pisces, the least tangible of the signs, particularly since the concept of "self" more or less dissolves here. One possible Pisces experience for Leo is a push (or more likely a slip) into the self-unself game of existence here in the physical world. Is this identity I carry around all day really me? Do these thoughts I think constitute a whole person, or is there more? If I give up my thoughts, do I still exist? Pisces gives you some tremendous power to forget, and it would seem that you need to do this in a big way. Recent events have accounted for considerably less than your picture of a perfect life. But in giving them up, you will discover that you are much larger than your past, freer than your peers and connected to a vast spiritual resource, right now, right where you are. | | Virgo (Aug. 22-Sep. 22) | | One of the issues for any kind person in this world is how far we can go with compassion before hurting ourselves. The prevailing economy of the Western world is based on a take what you can, keep what you can mentality, of which most people are unwitting victims rather than profiteers -- especially generous people, because the prevailing worldview does not support giving back to them. It could well be that kindness is about forgetting the question of the effects of being a giving person on ourselves, which teaches us that we can exceed our limits. But as you know, the question of "too much" knocks you on the head every now and then. At this juncture, a few of things are clear. People are starting to get a renewed sense of who you really are. There is more nourishment available to you from outside than usual. And you are free to feel safe being the righteous warrior for kindness you are now inspired to be. | | Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) | | In my seven years of writing horoscopes, I have never gotten more chaotic vibes from the Libra dimension. I have no rational explanation for this, and suspect that I may be picking up on something a touch more subtle than the events or perceptions of the work-a-day world. With the events of 9/11, the astrology pointed to Libra functioning as a kind of vent for cosmic forces that did considerable damage to the fabric of reality, but which also changed several key facets of life that desperately needed to change. The planetary alignment in your chart now shifts into a more clear and direct setup than in recent months, which is likely to allow you to work with certain tangible factors: familiar people, important adjustments to the conditions of right and wrong in your life, and reckoning your accounts with the world. Venus and the Sun soon to be moving through your opposite sign Aries suggest that something unusual is being offered to you, in a sense, something in compensation for having served so many others so well for so long. You don't need to think of it that way; nobody has to owe you anything; you are free to graciously receive offerings that will serve their givers as much as they serve you. | | Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) | | Once again you are in the position of chief negotiator. I feel like I keep writing this; maybe I am just dreaming. Why is it, this time? Of course, it's because you can handle confrontation better than anyone around you. Scorpio really does understand the art of give and take, that life in any form is based on an exchange. Thanks to a series of lessons well-learned, you see an endpoint to confrontation, or at least a path beyond it, and are now rarely inclined to have friction in your life merely for its own value. But what you still possess is a gift for not going straight into avoidance mode when things get intense, as have so many people for so many generations before you (at least three, it would seem). Now, one series of events that is on your horizon has the power to free you one more time, and one more way, from the legacy you have struggled with for so long. I suggest you take these experiences with full consciousness, gratitude, and holding the idea that they contain rather awesome information about who you are, information unavailable any other way. | | Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) | | I am sure you are sick of the equation, "It could be so good, but why is it so horrendous?" I am sure you have grown bored with asking the question, "Why isn't my life a little closer to my ideal?" And I am sure you have noticed how completely messed up the lives of so many people are, true victims who lack not just your material well-being but also your philosophical perspective that, at least, makes your own personal difficulties meaningful. It is this perspective that you need to depend on now. As the global situation becomes more critical, there will be an influx of energies from beyond: call it from the galaxy or call it from God, designed to meet negativity and deception with healing and truth. This puts you in a special position of service, and in order to serve well, you need to relax, pay attention, and make your moves exactly when your inner voice says to do so. In the meanwhile, you can reasonably expect some improvements to your mundane circumstances that will make your days more than a bit less of a grind. | | Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) | | On one level, Capricorn involves itself with the dictates of right and wrong, with what you might call Higher Law. And on another, it is the essence of service to humanity on a level that is, at this time, by far the most corrupted dimension of life on our planet. I speak of corporations, governmental bodies and abusive parents, all of which are charged to serve, and all of which primarily take away, and demand the payment of tribute. As an individual born under this sign, you have reached a point in your journey where you must decide where you stand in relation to this whole game, unavoidable as it is. This is not merely a question of "whose side are you on," but rather, what actually constitutes the difference between right and wrong action? If something is deemed okay, does that make it okay? What is your role in the improper conduct of others? What is the highest and most clear purpose to which you can direct your personal ambition? | | Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) | | The wave of whatever-it-was that just blew through your life may have left you spinning, but then, you are an Aquarius and you're made of some durable stuff. I offer you a few words of reorientation toward your original purpose, which I hope will assist you in designing a strategy for living. The symbolism of your sign is that of the water bearer, an ancient and forgotten god whose container holds and then pours out the waters that nourish all of humanity. Following this metaphor, and based upon the current sky, you're at a time in your life when that container is filling up. And, unlike many people you see in the world, your purpose here is not to withhold and covet, but rather to give, to share and to be part of the cosmic flow. Your emotions, which are now running hotter than usual, are very much part of this process. The filling up part is about allowing yourself to feel, particularly your passion, anger, and the curiously human sensation known as raw desire. The giving part is allowing the world to know who you are without hesitation. For as Paul McCartney said, it's only a fool who plays it cool by making his world a little colder. | | Pisces (Feb. 19-Mar. 20) | | This is a turning point, in the grandest sense of the word. Turning points are never easy. I would sum it up this way. In the process of breaking free from the influences of your parents, you are now at a critical moment. You know that your evolution depends on going beyond their concepts of you, and beyond the limited idea of yourself that was constructed of their influences, and those of the people who came before them. This does not make your parents bad people. But it does make them products of their own less-than-perfect past, or at least representatives of the past, relative to where you stand today. And this is what you get to go beyond. This challenge feels extraordinary because there are so many aspects of yourself, your relationships, your emotional life and your highest aspirations that you must now completely reassess, yet in truth they are all one thing. Have faith in yourself and you will have the strength to accomplish all of this, and more, in this truly original moment of your life. | Search | Horoscopes | What's New | Index | Consultations  Space graphic above from the Rosette Nebula in Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Sulfur.
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