Planet Waves for August 2001 by Eric Francis

 


August 2001 | By Eric Francis

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Sign dates are approximate. If you are born near a changeover (cusp), please ask an astrologer to look up your sun sign, or check an online chart service such as Centaur Research Project, which will give you the exact position of your Sun if you know your time of birth and then you translate it to GMT (Universal Time, or UT). If in doubt, ask a geek! Or, buy your chart from these people for about five bucks. Want some book suggestions? Check here. The horoscopes below work for both your Sun sign and rising signs.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)
Now you know what it feels like to be a Sagittarian at its best: to stretch your bow way back, to hold your mark firmly in sight, to breathe, and to let your arrow fly. You have endured being put on hold for several long months, and have survived life with your initiative trapped in a kind of motionless inertia. Those days are over, and it would be unwise to waste time fearing their return. What now occurs is the gathering of energy that precedes the actual manifestation of any important vision. And though I do not know what it is, the stars are clear that what you have developed, imagined or discovered in these months is of extraordinary value and potency. As for making your vision real, go one clear step at a time, gather your new momentum slowly, and keep making decisions. The important thing, as I think you know, is that you have shifted directions. One monumental choice awaits you, but you now know more than enough to negotiate your future.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
If you have not noticed yet, life will require some adjustments to make the most of the influx of energy, people, and opportunities that have suddenly transformed your world. The main adjustment is spatial. You need more space, and not just in your physical world, but also in your belief systems. Far too many of your notions are true only on the abstract level. But several will work extraordinarily well in the here-and-now physical world, and you need to find out which those are, and let the rest go. The cost of maintaining false beliefs will be the loss of such tremendous potential you cannot even imagine it, but the reward for believing what is true is a life that is finally rich with feeling and abundance -- something you've worked and waited for over many years. One clue: your most valuable idea is likely to come from somebody else. Please don't let that bother you. It's high time you learned to accept nurturing and good ideas are a form of care and love.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)
If you learned to worry less, you would have more mental and emotional resources available to devote to the real circumstances to which you must respond in the coming weeks. Worrying is a habit. Contentment is also a habit. Somewhere we are given the idea that worrying helps us deal with life's circumstances, and that once we've done all that and have laid everything neatly to rest and have achieved everything necessary, then we get to be content, and have all the happiness we deserve. Fortunately it does not work that way; this would be an enormous waste of time. You are surely faced with some urgent situations, you can truly stand up to the tasks at hand. Please, just stop worrying, and think about creative solutions instead.

CANCER (June 21-July 22)
You came to this Earth to become yourself. For the sign Cancer, incarnation is a special and perhaps even new experience. And in any life, periods of personal blossoming such as you are experiencing are both beautiful and critical times. Now that you are coming into yourself so powerfully, you may be wondering what to do. I'll tell you: exactly what you want. Planetary forces that may seem to complicate the lives of those around you are working very much in your favor, and today, every option remains open. This is the moment when most people freeze. So much seems to be at stake. You will need to make choices, but what is at issue is the basis of those choices. It may be tempting to opt for things that seem to preserve your options for the future when, in reality, following your dearest wish or deepest need right now will do just that -- and provide the most fulfilling rewards today.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) -
You've been searching the world in recent years for your special niche, a place, a role, a job, a way of life you can call your own. This is a necessary quest for anyone who considers herself an individual: not to retreat and do one's thing alone, but rather to take one's core reality into the culture and relate to others as you are. Most people choose to adapt, or do what they call "survive." To really find one's correct place or life process (called Dharma in Hindi, the approximate English equivalent of which is "right livelihood") can and often does take years, and can be mingled with tremendous crisis and many sidetracks which hopefully lead back to the main idea. Other people set about the task fairly young, and with clear determination; maybe they've done it before. In any case, current events and potent aspects are aligned to give you a great push in the right direction. This may be a strange sensation, and you may find yourself feeling vulnerable and in rather unfamiliar territory. That is how you'll know you're in the right place.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
"Experience has taught us that we have only one enduring weapon in our struggle against mental illness: the emotional discovery and emotional acceptance of the truth of the individual and unique history of our childhood." So writes Alice Miller, beginning her profoundly influential book, The Drama of the Gifted Child. Yet many people feel that to look at their childhood is to rehash the past or to go in circles, but often they're already doing just that. I suggest you look at, and recognize, what was done to you, for in so doing, you take back the very power that was taken from you. Don't be afraid to seize the reins of your inner parents and do the job that was not done properly. A child cannot survive alone in this world, and you are needing to raise yourself, to take the steps to truly becoming the man or the woman you need to be. Then and only then will you be able to take advantage of the astonishing opportunities you are being presented with now and in the coming months.

LIBRA (Sep. 23-Oct. 22)
Listen to people and you'll hear many of them say, "I'm doing this but I'm really supposed to be doing that." Or my least favorite, "I want to do ___, but I need to go to school [for two to five years] first." We persist in this game of avoiding or deferring our dreams even under the best circumstances, at which points we are afraid to take the so-called leap. I assure you, however, that there has rarely been a better time to take the little step across that little divide that seems to separate you from who you really are. In your mind, it looks like the Grand Canyon. In truth, it's more like a meadow. There are so many forces working in your favor that if you're struggling or feeling hung up, get yourself into the office of a good therapist and talk it out today. It's not that this is such a short-lived opportunity; rather, there is no need to live your life merely being tantalized by hope.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)
Something has to give. You know that what you value and what another person close to you values are never going to add up to a whole number. It may even be difficult to get this person to agree to a basic concept of what the problem is, which is of course the problem. A compromise is called for, but the question is, who does the compromising? Though Scorpio is renowned for its prowess and determination, we both know it's not that simple. This particular confrontation (if you haven't noticed, that's what it is) is going to come down to whose values emerge from closer to the core of their being. Is someone relying on tradition? Are there unspoken expectations? Is everyone living up to their supposed level of maturity? Why not ask these questions? If you put yourself, and whoever you are dealing with (be it business or personal) to the test, you stand only to gain.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21)
Someone, somewhere, has a little coming-to-terms with reality on their agenda, and that reality is you. It may be someone you consider an adversary; it may be someone you consider a partner. Who knows, in this world, it could be both. But this person or entity (it could be a company) has finally moved into a position where you can get a clear shot. There's no need to keep expecting some kind of mature meeting of the minds -- or rather, the most mature possible encounter will involve you stating your position in absolutely certain terms. This is not a bluff. You know what you want, what you need and who you are. You are also accustomed to doing more compromising than is your due. And, furthermore, what you have learned in the past three or four months is more than adequate to put some spark in your piston. Just be precise. Please. Very, very precise.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
You may be wondering whether it's really necessary to learn compassion by being in pain over and over again. There are better teachers, but we must choose them. The best teacher is an inner voice, a stream of information and supportive vibes that many people before you have used to deduce the presence and the reality of God. Leaving out any potential references to religion here, I'll just refer to your Inner Teacher. A couple of pointers. There is only one time that your Inner Teacher is available, and that is Now. Since it's always Now, you don't have much to worry about, unless you are actually someplace else. You will also have to figure out whether you have the kind of Inner Teacher who speaks first, or second, that is, after the other voice or voices that harass and threaten you, or right before them. It will also help to learn the feeling tone of your Inner Teacher, so you recognize this voice when you sense its presence -- which is all around you right now, by the way.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 19-Feb. 18)
Compelling forces now push you to expand, to serve your community or to enforce a certain necessary idealism in the world around you. In these years, there are few Aquarians who are not on some level demanding progress in a world where old-fashioned, boring ways of life are disguised in silicone and mylar as something grand and fancy, and you are a kind of revolutionary for cultural truth. But the more compelling project would be to use this same energy to break down the remaining inner walls and inflexibilities that seem to encase your child self. Take a look at your children or those near you. Note the curiosity and sense of adventure in their simplest desires and actions. It is this quality, when left reasonably functional in an adult, that we call creativity. One thing is clear: the place you call work is starting to be a lot more fun, and to feel a lot more like home. You may even have a secret friend there. These are all very good signs.

PISCES (Feb. 19-Mar. 20)
Before long it's likely to be abundantly clear not just what direction you need to take, but how you intend to get there. The larger influences are doing their work and are out of your hands. More practical matters are very much in-hand, in your home and in your immediate vicinity. If you haven't noticed, a long-forgotten sense of play and adventure is returning to your life, and it would serve you well to apply this to everything and everyone despite the obviously serious nature of the present moment. Your sense of play is the measure of your potential (be it business, artistic or personal), and I think you're finally remembering this. Leave the scourge of seriousness to those with less imagination than yourself. Mediate and integrate -- that is, bring together -- that which is nourishing and joyous, and that which demands your highest integrity. This is a winning formula, and you know it.++

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24-hour voicemail with contact information: (845) 339-3339