Planet Waves Weekly | June 20, 2003

Exponentially Increasing Randomness

Dear Astrolonaut:

Last week, the International Astronomical Union announced the names of four Centaurs and an additional trans-Neptunian planet. This brings to a total of 11 those planets given names in the Centaur class, the first of which was Chirion (discovered 1977) and of which there are now about 50 all told. The newly named ones are: 52872 Okyrhoe (1998 SG35), 52975 Cyllarus (1998 TF35), 31824 Elatus (1999 UG5), and 32532 Thereus (2001 PT13). The new trans-Neptunian planet is called 53311 Deucalion (1999 HU11). The number before the name refers to the permanent minor planet catalogue number; the year and code after the name refer to the initial provisional designation, which tells you when the planet was sighted.

Chiron, for example, is 2060 Chiron (1977 UB). I am including the proper designations so it's easier for us to do further research and to have the data correct for when this article winds up in Google. By the way, the discovery date of Thereus is controversial, because the Minor Planet Center has announced a triple identification: 2001 PT13, 1999 NE2 and 1995 MM6 were found to be the same body. To my knowledge, this has never happened before, and it will be interesting to compare the three discovery charts and factor this strange development into the delineation of the Centaur.

These naming announcements follow close on the heels of 49036 Pelion (1998 QM107, a Centaur) and 38628 Huya (2000 EB173, a trans-Neptunian), both of which were named last month. In an issue soon, I'll go over the known themes associated with these critters.

These bodies are not asteroids. There are distinctions both astrological and astronomical between asteroids and the other classes of minor planets, but for our purposes, asteroids have one job, Centaurs have another, and the trans-Neptunians (which come in two flavors) have others. Like tools in a big woodworking shop, all of these points have their role. You don't use them all every day and some are pretty specialized. But my philosophy is to be as well-rehearsed as possible when the time comes to plug something in, so I tend to work with new bodies as much as possible, both in personal charts and horoscope column charts.

Now, note that by 1977, astronomers had catalogued just 2,060 minor planets. The discovery of Chiron at that time was a big fuss. There was something new, and both the scientific community and the astrology community responded as if there was something new and (not only that) really exciting happening. By contrast, the discovery of Pluto was all but ignored until Isabelle Hickey came out with a pamphlet in the late 1970s and Jeff Green wrote the first full-on book in English in the 80s.

[See this article for details on the history of Pluto.]

By 2000, Varuna had been discovered beyond Pluto and was given minor planet catalog number 20,000. Then in 2002 Quaoar was discovered -- the largest discovery in our solar system since Pluto (and a billion miles further from the sun than Pluto), and was given minor planet catalog number 50,000. Today the minor count stands at more than 60,000 catalogued items, not counting the ones whose orbits are too unsure to get permanent designations at this time. Are you noticing the rate of increase of the discoveries? It's pretty much exponential. In the last three years there have been more than 30,000 minor planets discovered orbiting our sun. The first 20,000 of these, starting with 1 Ceres (which may soon be reclassified as a planet), discovered in 1801, took two centuries to find. There was an enormous increase beginning with the discovery of Pholus, the second Centaur, in 1992, which is very much in the nature of Pholus.

For those who follow astrology, there may be some obvious questions. Do these planets have any meaning? If so, what is the meaning? Are they more like driveway shale or like sand on the beach? Or are we dealing with thousands of Plutos and Chirons? And for the more important question in my view, how do we work with them? No astrologer except ones practicing today has ever faced the mere prospect of 60,000+ (and counting fast) planets. Even using the most sophisticated chart 100 years ago, with all the well-documented traditional fixed stars, Arabic parts, midpoints (if they existed), progressions, asteroids and so on, you would still get a fraction of today's head-count, and most astrologers did not bother with those details anyway.

For some people, these planets have no allure at all. They are an annoyance, a way to get overwhelmed, and for some, a challenge to their past ideas about all the charts (including their own) that are so familiar. To be fair, this is a big change in the nature of reality, and people usually like to ignore big changes for a long time before they make a note of what's happening. Most people don't have any grasp at all on the Theory of Relativity after nearly a century. Many people still think the sun goes around the Earth.

For other people, granted, relatively few, this is clearly the astrological opportunity of all their lifetimes. We not only have so many new planets, we have the birth charts of these worlds (in the form of discovery charts), the re-emergence of long-forgotten mythologies, and most awesome of all, a collection of gods forming on the outer-reaches of the solar system that bring together deities from India, indigenous America, the Greek world and elsewhere (these are creation and resurrection gods who are the 'Cubewanos', planets near the orbit of 1992 QB1, the first thing ever discovered beyond the orbit of Pluto).

I am partial to minor planets because before I knew about Chiron, I could not read an astrological chart. It was the key that unlocked astrology for me. I then began working with it closely, letting its path through the solar system guide my exploration of my clients' lives with them. In the midst of some extraordinarily revealing conversations, I would intrude with a reality check: we are chasing a comet around the sun. It worked very well and it still does today. And it's there for all to see and work with.

Hence, from my first charts (in 1994 and 1995), I would always look at the chart with Chiron and the four major asteroids, Ceres, Juno, Pallas and Vesta. It just seemed logical. I got a copy of Martha Lang Wescott's Mechanics of the Future so I would have some resources to work with, in addition to books about Chiron. After nine years of work with the four first asteroids, I'm still learning something interesting about them on a regular basis.

It took me a long time to get into the next two Centaurs, Pholus and Nessus, but that journey began on my trip to Europe in 1998, when I encountered two resources: Melanie Reinhart's book To The Edge and Beyond, and a book by Robert von Heeren and Dieter Koch called Pholus: Wanderer Between Saturn and Neptune (only available in German). When I got to Germany, I looked up Robert, and he started explaining things like no book could, and handed me a lot of material on paper, including an ephemeris for 1992 QB1. On that trip, I researched my own Pholus and Nessus cycles and tuned into their processes. Melanie's book is just superb at delineating the spiritual and psychological processes of Pholus and Nessus. My lover Maria helped translate whatever was in German and we started piecing things together. It took a while for these planets to fully 'turn on' but eventually they started coming through loud and clear.

Yet the question remains: how do we deal with all these new discoveries? My suggestion is surrender, study and listen to the people whose charts you read. Astrologers stand with their clients at the threshold to the unknown. It's appropriate that they get some of that feeling of mystery and strangeness. This is, as Rick Levine points out, the end of the Cartesian worldview where math will solve anything. Nature is revealing itself as chaos, and chaos is revealing itself as amazingly elegant.

Astrologers embarking on this journey have to get used to not knowing our own charts, and to being in a continuous learning curve even steeper than that which astrology often presents. There is the element of embracing chaos, and looking for patterns in the chaos without the direct focus of the rational mind. Having all these planets to deal with compels us to use another faculty. In order to embrace what Terence McKenna called exponentially increasing randomness, we have to step back and observe and be with the process that astrology represents.

The astrologers who grow up using this method will have the distinct advantage of never being able to think they know everything, but very likely being able to find anything they need in their charts. One look at the minor planet catalog and that becomes really obvious.

Young astrologers who are initiated at this time also have the advantage of confronting the issues and spiritual themes presented by the newer planets that are not distinctly addressed by any other planet, asteroid or sign. I'll use Pholus and Nessus as examples, since I've talked plenty about Chiron. I'm going to do this without getting into the mythology, though the delineation of Pholus and Nessus has a lot to do with their respective myths. To some degree all the Centaurs I've worked with have a resonance with Chiron. They help raise awareness, they accelerate the speed of events and processes, and they represent an abandoned part of the soul that is coming back to consciousness and self-possession now.

Pholus in particular deals with multigenerational patterns of any kind, generally three or four generations back. It points us to the fact that the conditions and issues we face did not begin when we were born; they began generations ago. We know from science and various 'alternative' health and spiritual disciplines that material is transmitted from generation to generation genetically, including memories; that it's passed along energetically; that it's passed on by limbic resonance (such as emotional patterning in the family of origin), and then there's good old-fashioned karma: the sum total of all we've already created.

Pholus -- its natal placement and its transits -- gives us a compass pointer on these themes, helping us by offering clues about what our clients are looking for. It also deals with addiction patterns and the relationship between desire and a substance (which are always multigenerational issues in nature). Pholus also addresses the sudden unloosing of long-restrained energy, including in a family lineage. In astrology, we often have to consider these groupings of themes intuitively and see the connections between them (this method is good for figuring out what a house is about). Most often I've seen Pholus appear prominently where a person is taking on the role of the one in the generational line who wants to get it right, who wants to heal all this stuff they've inherited from all those weird people who came before.

Nessus is about power dynamics and the dynamics of abuse, very important themes today in the western world, as we discover we were all abused as kids (and I mean it). Power and abuse dynamics always appear in relationships first, then they appear in one's inner emotional patterning, and the relationship pattern of that lifetime. Nessus tells us that physical abuse and psychological abuse work about the same way, and reminds us that quite often psychological abuse is more insidious because so often we don't know it's happening and we don't think it happened.

Nessus can point to the circumstances that surround rape, incest, sexually-transmitted diseases and, moreover, the relationship patterns that create these things. Put two charts together and you can see something about how these dynamics appear between people. Nessus can be used to investigate the lives of our parents and their relationships to others in the family. In most of our charts, Nessus is in a conjunction to another Centaur named Hylonome (hy-la-na-me). This went on for quite a long time and represents the darker side of the 1950s and 1960s in which we were all suffering enormously as kids under the social changes of the era and our parents' frequent inability to process the lives they were somehow forced to live or not live. (This conjunction was a theme of one of the first newsletters in this series, which if I get a few requests, I will re-post).

Now, another astrologer not using these points could certainly figure out some of what happened along the themes covered by Pholus and Nessus. Obviously many astrologers do an excellent job without using any new planets at all. But no other planets specifically speak to these issues as directly. While there is a challenge in learning the meaning and function of the points -- which is by no means a cut and dried process, since they are constantly evolving -- there is the more difficult matter of looking at the issues so directly and recognizing them as something we all have in common.

But most of all, they put us into contact with the great unknown known as ourselves. ++

For further chaos --

Trans-Neptunian Object Catalogue
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/lists/TNOs.html

Centaur and Scattered Disk Object Catalogue
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/lists/Centaurs.html

Galactic Currents: A Journey Through Mayan Time
The Cimi time pulse begins June 18, 2003

By Carol Burkhart
http://www.GalacticAlchemy.com

The 13 day of the time-pulse are a cycle of manifestation and transformation. The Mayan calendar connects us to a self aware universal matrix of time. What you intend in the beginning of the pulse will find its way into your reality by accessing the consciousness of each days process. The pulse of Cimi teaches us about the principle of Surrender, it is about death, rebirth, and making our way through the darkness. It is a process of how we can learn to let go and flow through the river of all time. Cimi trans-mutes our reality like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. It is a time period where we can become who we want to be by surrendering what we are not. A period where we allow ourselves to be in this state of transition, a state of not knowing, of being in a process that has no guarantees and learning to be okay with whatever becomes of it.

6/18 1 CIMI (Death) White/North - Today we begin our journey into the realms of Cimi, through the dark recesses of the transformational journey into the unknown. Cimi relates to the direction of North, and of the Wisdom of our ancestors. It is a point in the cycle that brings luck and good fortune. For the Mayan people we are here on this Earth to grow and evolve. The transformational process of Death is not to be feared, it is a journey that we all must undertake to achieve a new level of wisdom and knowledge. When one is fully in resonance with the cycles of our planet and the cycles of time that become manifest through our attention to the sacred Mayan calendar, we can begin to see how meaningful each step on the path is and trust that there is nothing to fear beyond each present moment. What lies ahead is limitless and our direction solid when anchored in timelessness. During times of renewal we are indeed protected by the wisdom of our innocence.

6/19 2 MANIK (Deer) Black/West - The second day is the polarization of the pulse. Polarized, but put in balance. The energies here are of Manik the Deer, and this day provides us with a quiet and compassionate energy. The Piscian Moon conjuncts Mars and Uranus and asks us to be gentle with ourselves. There is a trine of Saturn in Cancer to this point and it becomes a good day to spend our time in quiet reflection. Lots of powerful energies out there and all conflicts can be resolved as we allow ourselves to be open in dreamtime healing.

6/20 3 LAMAT (Rabbit) Yellow/South - The third day is a good time to awaken ourselves and become open to this new creative energy and harmony. This day begins the Summer Solstice energies. The power of the Sun is supported by the star energies of Lamat. Lamat is a process that helps us grow and prosper in our relationships. It is associated to the planet Venus and as such, it has to do with our biggest relationship and to how much we are willing to value ourselves within the confines and limits of togetherness. This days energy can provide the catalyst which eventually infuses a harmonious outcome to any endeavor. The moon in Pisces means we are still able to deeply connect to that dreamtime void of endless possibilities. There is also some indication towards intoxication associated with this daysign, especially with the moon in Pisces it would be wise to stay away from situations that involve substances that may take us out of control. This daysign is associated with the glyphs of both Rabbit and Star and relates to the emergence of the seedlings planted in our growing communities. When highly evolved this is the day of the peacemaker.

6/21 4 MULUC (Moon) Red/East - Today is the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, and begins a new period in the planetary cycle. After today the days become shorter again. We are in a period here with Muluc, the Moon, that connects us to some deep emotional clearings. This is a period where the sun is actually moving to its farthest point from the sun (aphelion). There is an interesting interplay of dark and light on this day when our solar star is at its brightest and most potent. And yet it is also the point where the darkness must begin to creep back.

Muluc is the daysign that also means water and as such it is not only connected to our strong feelings and emotions it is also a necessity of life. If not contained, water can cause much damage. As the moon reaches last quarter and then moves into Aries we will sense a surge of something deeper stirring, a powerful shift that comes to the surface and wakes us up inside. Be open to these shifts and surges, remembering that no matter how deep the waters or powerful the waves, the ocean will always remain steady and grounded on the planet. No matter how fast we seem to be moving we aren't really going anywhere at all. We can learn to manage our most powerful energies and emotions as we find the boundaries we need for containment. But how do we create boundaries that allow us to be unbounded? This is the trick question. It is learning to fly, to navigate the uncharted spaces of time. This is also how we can learn to connect to the fourth day in the pulse, and anchor into these energies of all four directions and dimensions. Once anchored this kind of energetic balancing act can be a powerful shamanic tool of healing for ourselves, for others and for the planet.

6/22 5 OC (Dog) White/North - The fifth day of the pulse will create an energetic shift that helps to transport us up into a fifth dimensional harmonic of space-time reality. Having learned to ground and anchor into the fourth dimensional harmonic of the 4th day we are now moving into a much faster and more mystical layer in the process. Five creates chaos, it is the element of ether and movement that elevates us to a higher level in the creative process. The daysign or glyph for this day is Oc, the Dog. The day of 5 OC, is about how deeply connected we are to a community. It is about our love and loyalties to our "Companions of Destiny." For these past three days, (June 20, 21, 22) this community theme has probably come to the surface in more ways than one. Tonight is a good time to join together with those nearest and dearest.

6/23 6 CHUEN (Monkey) Black/West - Today the moon moves into Taurus and we have an exact conjunction of Mars and Uranus in Pisces at 3 degrees. Mars in Pisces will show us a new layer of the heroic archetype and during its retrograde in this watery sign of the fishes (beginning July 29) we will learn something about the deeper layer of the compassionate warrior. Uranus adds an element of rebellion here and reminds me of a favorite book by William J. Murray called Anarchic Harmony: The Spirituality of Social Disobedience. It is a book which speaks to the individual. to the heart, providing a new mythology for the spiritual warrior. This relates both to the Piscian Mars/Uranus and to Chuen. This day of Chuen, the monkey or dolphin, is a trickster and artist. This daysign gives us direct access to the child within, whether it is healed or wounded we can learn to speak to that inner child and create a space to play and grow. This is about preparing ourselves to write a new story. To re-write the past. Six creates a flow of energies. We are looking at things from a tranquility that comes from knowing how to deal with imbalances. The lesson for today is to learn to tune into that conduit of "Now." This Intensity of "Now" will be a theme for the next 20 days. This is a good day to lock our attention into that flow and be prepared for anything. No expectations!!!

6/24 7 EB (Road) Yellow/South - Day seven in the pulse is the day of merging, it forces us to walk the tight rope two worlds. This walking between worlds becomes a final test. On this day we can tap into these realms via a portal or thin veil, it brings heaven down to earth. Eb is symbolized by the Human or the Road. This is then about the journey as we move up the ladder and evolve on our path. Eb is a wise leader and knowledgeable in matters of business. This day has many planetary aspects that provide us with new teachings and experiences on our spiritual path. This is the quest of merging and rediscovering what it means to be human. The Sun/Saturn in Cancer trining Uranus/Mars will add some strong medicine to our Yang energies and Pluto in Sagittarius opposing Venus in Gemini will be equally strong for our Yin. As we learn to balance what is male and female within ourselves, a whole new more evolved Human will emerge.

6/25 8 BEN (Reed) Red/East - Ben is the glyph of the walker between worlds. Ben is the spiritual warrior. On the path of transcendence Ben is a crusader of truth and integrity. Day eight is an integrity check. Within this 13 day period of transformation are you certain of what you are trying to manifest in your life? This day is another long Void of course moon and will last most of the day and into the morning. During the dreamtime we are able to access powerful realms during a VOC moon. To ask the questions you are seeking is to receive great teachings during our nightly download. Be open to what is out there -- in the "void" -- and you will come away with a powerful new understanding of yourself and the path you have chosen.

6/26 9 IX (Jaguar) White/North - The Ninth day is another shift along the 13 day spiraling cycle. It is a day that completes our journey through the material plane and takes us into higher realms. This daysign is the Jaguar Shaman and is about time and timelessness relating to a powerful cult of wisdom teachings that have a symbology similar to that of the ancient magi of Persia. These are the riders of dimensional realms. These journeymen are much more than mere Astrologers or Priests they not only interpret the stars, they make magic with them. The moon in Gemini takes this whole day into the power of the trickster. We are capable of shifts that can effect us more directly when we are in a state of mirth.

6/27 10 MEN (Eagle) Black/West - Ten is the ending and the beginning of our known world. Men is the daysign and glyph of the visionary. When we take our visions up, out and above the mundane we can see just how high we can fly. This day will show us some new possibilities in these realms.

6/28 11 CIB (Warrior) Yellow/South - This eleventh day of Cib is a day of dissolution and of movement into the realms of the Nagual aspect of oneself. This is the impeccability of living with efficiency, with elegance, utilizing our energy to the utmost. Cib teaches us to become that conduit between Heaven and Earth. It is learning to align ones personality with ones soul and managing to move back and forth despite what difficulties are presented. It is learning to take actions and make decisions in accordance with the nagual or soul aspect. When one views these days of Cib and learns to walk the path of Impeccability there is much that can be accomplished in the realms of awareness and transformation.

6/29 12 CABAN (Earth) Red/East - The twelfth day is always a time to reflect what has been accomplished during the 13 day pulse. It is a time of understanding and gathering in groups of like minded souls. This day of Caban is the new moon in Cancer and a time to be centered in ones heart and the planetary heart. The point of nurturance and inner peace is a resonant frequency in planetary harmonics. Each of us is able to connect to that point in our own way. The heartbeat, vibration, pulsation of the Earth is the deep understanding of Caban. This heartbeat is a voice that reflects our deepest knowing it sings, tones and vibrates at a level beyond judgment. It is the synchronistic pulse of new birth within womb of the goddess.

6/30 13 ETZNAB (Mirror) White/North - This day of 13 Etznab is a time of endlessness and ascension. It is the double edged sword. Of being able to see both sides. It is about the truth that comes from an all knowing and all seeing matrix or morphogenic field. But in entering this point we can only bring back that which can be communicated in a language known and understood in the realms of the material world. This daysign does not originate from here. Through this lens we move into a space of otherworldliness, beyond all known realms. On this day we have Mercury conjoining with Saturn. This will help us in our ability to communicate and translate our experience of the collective into readable and understandable terms. Perhaps on this day we will be able to bring back one small piece of the indescribable essence of all that is. ++

Solstice Mythology and Tradition

By Constance Perenyi

On June 21 as the twins of Gemini yield to Cancer the crab, we observe the longest day of the year. Summer Solstice, or Alban Hefin as it is known in Welsh, heralds solar celebrations across the British Isles. At dawn, the sun's rays illuminate astronomical markers of the great megalithic circles at Stonehenge in England, the Ring of Brodgar on Orkney, and the Callanish standing stones in the Outer Hebrides.

Midsummer is closely associated with Druidry, and even today the British Druid Order is permitted to celebrate the day at Stonehenge. The festival traditionally begins at dusk on Solstice eve when fires are lit to ritually encourage the sun to rise full, to climb into the sky and ripen the fruit of the trees, the grains of the field. At the first light of dawn, celebrants who kept watch through the night honor the power of the solar deity. And then at noon, the rite switches tone in recognition of the cycle of the seasons. After the sun hangs high for three days it begins its descent into the darkness of winter. The Sun King is fatally wounded at his peak and the process of his death and rebirth begins anew.

The spiral of the year was and continues to be enacted with bonfires, a tradition revived in the 1920s in Cornwall. The rites hearken back to the ancient practice of rolling a burning wheel down a hillside. In the vale of Glamorgan in Wales, crowds once gathered to watch the spectacle with anticipation. If the cartwheel was no longer aflame when it reached the bottom, it foretold a poor harvest. If however it was still blazing, farmers cheered their good fortune.

In Ireland, Solstice was understood as one of three nights of the year in which the spirit world was more accessible. At Samhain, or Halloween, and at Beltane the veil parted between the domains of the living and the dead. At midsummer, it was the fairy folk who joined human revelers. Knockainey, the hill in County Limerick considered sacred to the fairy Queen Aine, glowed with torches in her honor. It is said that Aine revealed herself as the flames died down and lead the villagers home. Her name translates as 'brightness' and she is likely related to an ancient solar goddess. As late as the nineteenth century, families in the area still claimed connection to the fairy queen speaking in endearing terms of her as a woman, indeed 'the best-hearted woman that ever lived'.

On June 24th, when the days begin to get shorter, the celebrations came to a close. After Christianity took root throughout the Celtic lands, the 24th was reserved for the feast of John the Baptist. Preceding Jesus by exactly six months, John was born early to announce Christ's coming. In Britain, St. John's wort is harvested at midsummer. Valued by Celts as an herbal 'demon chaser', the plant is now valued by modern medicine for its anti-depressive qualities. With its vivid yellow flowers, St. John's wort is a symbol of both its namesake and the brilliant solstice sun. ++

Current Astrological Highlights

We are now at the summer solstice, the sun's furthest distance northward and the longest days in the northern hemisphere. We have the shortest nights of the year for a while, then they grow longer. In the southern hemisphere, the days start getting longer and in the northern hemisphere, they start getting shorter. As you've read above, this is a time of celebration and mystery. You won't need to travel far to find it.

This week, the sun and Earth aligned with the Galactic Core (which is in late Sagittarius). Mars entered Pisces and will remain there for six months because at the end of July, it begins a long retrograde in that sign. Mars joins Saturn and Uranus in the watery signs -- which will make a big and helpful difference in the lives of people with strong water charts.

Right now there's an interesting configuration between Mars and Saturn in Pisces, trine Saturn and Kronos (see last week's issue) in Cancer with Achilles and Juno in early Scorpio. We will know more about what that means when events around the solstice emerge over the weekend and next week.

Mercury and Venus are moving fast in Gemini, and make a brilliant conjunction exactly on the solstice. This conjunction is EXACTLY opposite the Great Attractor -- very interesting, very interesting -- is Ceres is also in Gemini. Jupiter has crossed the Leo midpoint and is now getting set to clear the sign of the Cat and head for the sign of the Virgin over the summer.

Planet Waves by Eric Francis
http://www.PlanetWaves.net/

Birthdays This Week

There is a hidden gift in your anniversary chart that will take some time to emerge, but emerge it will. Until then you can proceed through life with what the Quakers call 'faithful expectancy' that the world is working to your benefit behind the scenes. Let your intuition lead you, and let your appreciation for beauty be the most articulate guidance in that process. Follow what you love even if you can't see it; to feel what you love is quite enough on the way to getting there.

Saturn's presence in your birth sign may have you wondering whether you can live up to the demands and expectations of the world as you grow into this distinct stage of your life. This is certainly a challenging time in history to respond to any kind of calling to leadership or responsibility. You have, perhaps, little choice in the matter of whether you respond, but enormous latitude in how you respond. While your motives count for a great deal right now, they never were in doubt.

What is worth questioning is how you came to fear your own strength to such a degree, a condition of which you may be catching a glimpse now. It's fair enough to respect that what has the power to create can also be used to destroy. What has the power to heal can also be used to hurt. What makes the difference are the choices we make. But what you're blessed with now is a true gift of maturity beyond your years, and I speak even if you're somewhat advanced in your journey on the planet. But to those who are facing the wide ocean of time, you can trust that you've got a strong enough ship to get you at least to the next few destinations on your agenda.

If you're wondering what agenda, there is something of the aforementioned surprise package about very well-crafted plans that are taking shape in your unconscious. Give them time to work out.

In your personal relationships, there is the single most important quest of seeing the world from the viewpoint of those closest to you. You do not have to adopt their vision, you merely need to get a real look at what they understand and why. In truth you have far more in common with others than you may now imagine; though it's possible that certain people very close to you have made significant advances on issues you're just beginning to get a grasp on. When it comes down to beginning a real discussion, you may seem separated by a gulf. But at the end of the conversation -- which may last months -- you are likely to find how much that you share on a deep level.

You will know the 'real people' in your life by their complete inhibition when it comes to being different and challenging authority. That authority may well be an awareness of how we tend to take on the job of our oppressors, and the gift they offer will be to help you free not just your mind, but also your heart.

Aries (March 20-April 19)
I've said a few times this year that you need to pay attention to what seem like your worst fears, because they contain the seeds of your highest visions. No matter what you may be feeling, you can trust that there is a guardrail in place, or if you prefer a psychic metaphor, a guardian spirit. If you lapse in consciousness, you'll be caught and awakened. But this guardian is highly negotiable. If you ask, you'll be allowed past your limitations one at a time; the safety barriers open manually. That's another way of saying be careful what you ask for, and be mindful of where you are at all times. A good mantra for these days: Where am I and what I am doing here?

Taurus (April 19-May 20)
You are well-poised for a business or financial move that is the product of your new-found maturity and flexibility. The personality traits you've possessed since birth were given to you as gifts, not to imprison you. One of those is determination. Another is being self-possessed. Any transaction is an exchange and depends on the willingness of both parties to mutually change. If you happen to find yourself in a situation where you're the willing party and someone else is not, remember that you have more than enough of what you need, or you can certainly make do. But it appears quite a lot more than that is in the stars.

Gemini (May 20-June 21)
Not everyone thinks beauty is beautiful. If not for this controversy, we'd live in a truly peaceful world. As you step into your beauty, people are going to react differently to you than they have in the past. You are a different person now than you were then, and change of any kind engenders responses from those around you in more casual roles, and often from those with whom you are intimately bonded. You can trust that the right people will be attracted to you and the right people will be repelled. The important thing is that you not take on the burden of their feelings, no matter what they are.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)
Though you may have had your doubts recently and felt that life was asking more of you than you had to give, developments in the coming days should prove that you've got more strength of will and character than you ever imagined. One of the lessons, or rather privileges, of the next few seasons is an opportunity to express your more rebellious tendencies in wholly mature ways. You can do this because you've had practice, but the Sun joining Saturn in your birth sign will set you years ahead of what you thought was your rightful degree of experience.

Leo (July 22-Aug 23)
El Sol enters Cancer with the solstice Saturday, and Jupiter is currently in your birth sign. The two planets are in what's called mutual reception, a truly benevolent situation. It's as if both planets are in both signs. This will not only ease and speed your current process of confronting the fears that have risen to the surface recently, but will also refresh your sense of direction well in advance of your birthday. It's also a sign that your vitality is stronger than you have imagined, and that the more clearly you hold your sense of purpose in mind, the more circumstances will rise to support you in the form of what some call "luck."

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
Emphasis now shifts to the angle of your chart where your role as a giver of gifts to the world is accentuated. We all know you're a fussy critter and aren't going to accept any old role as a world-server. But your filters just got finer. If you find your efforts frustrated, consider the specifics. Are you really focussed on what you inwardly know you "should" be doing? If not, now is the time. Because you have something very specific to offer the world, in terms of a vision but more specifically in terms of putting that into action. But there's one added challenge: It hasn't been done before.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23)
You have no need to fear that you will abuse your power. That's because you know the true source of your strength, and are aware of the truth that you're merely its servant in this world. The rebelliousness and restlessness you may feel are, on the highest level, callings to leadership. Libra is the original sign of "art for art's sake." But now you are blending purpose with the creative impulse, and that means setting your mind and your goals on a mission that you devote yourself to carrying out. No matter what you think you're doing, remember, you are building something, including your own reputation.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)
Mars has joined Uranus in your fellow water sign Pisces, and Saturn is recently enough arrived in Cancer that you're still adapting to the change of inner scenery. Thus begins a rare period in your life, one in which you will find yourself supported in doing your best work and reaching your highest aspirations. This is to say that when you encounter a problem, a lack or a need, you can seek assistance or a solution with faith. The world has caught up to you in some significant ways, but just in time for you to leap ahead and plunge into a whole new realm of possibilities. Remember where you've been so recently.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 - Dec. 22)
If you involve yourself in the heavy details of what you expect from relationships or get too bogged down in struggling for equality in your exchanges, you're likely to miss the possibilities of what the world is offering you right now. And they are many. There is at least one very significant direct gift being offered to you, though you're not necessarily going to see it as such. Look closely please. You have many options as well. There is a way over, through and around every situation that may arise, particularly if it's contractual or financial. Not a compromise, but an authentic win-win of the kind that's not supposed to be possible.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20)
The next couple of years are likely to arrive with what seem like ups and downs in relationships. But if you'll notice, they are very different kinds of fluctuations than you've had in the past, with a sense of definition and the promise of really resolving things. Part of what you're resolving is what you don't want, and that will become increasingly clear. Part of what you're resolving is what you really do want, which is by far the more rare kind of revelation. That's where you need to maintain your emphasis, including being very clear about what you have to offer, and noticing where it is actually received.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19)
Emotional issues that have dogged you for years are now so clear and so available to your awareness that you have an opportunity to resolve them. Give them names. Consider how people perceive you as insensitive when you're really no such thing. Or how difficult it's been for you to actually know what you're feeling sufficiently to express it. Here is what you need to do, though: meet people at their depth. Dive into the water. Reach for those you want to be close to. You will find that they are expecting you.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
The thrust has been turned up yet again. Move slowly and with consciousness -- the second may come more easily than the first. You have a lot of power on your hands right now, and will be seeing the effects of your current actions for quite some time to come: make them good. Resurrect old plans that seemed to go nowhere in the past, particularly a few that you've forgotten. There are several whose time have arrived, even if you don't believe the world can respond to what you know is so innovative. At this point in time, many, many people are susceptible to your various influences, but it's the few you need to reach who count the most.