"Phoenix" by Carol Burkhart
September 2000 | By Eric Francis
America Online members can reach Eric at keyword MYSTIC.
ARIES (March 21-April 19)
You may feel compelled or pressured to work in modes that you would normally consider excessively verbal or cognitive, but even if you're one of those intuitive types afraid that words get in the way of the truth, fear not. It's a truly amazing time to let words do the talking, particularly in writing, and to do your thinking by projecting onto paper or the computer screen. From the looks of things, there will be no shortage of what to write about; no scarcity of awesome relationship experiences in which the universe is mirrored back into your glowing face; no shortage of people with whom you may explore ideas or with whom you can share your work. Just keep it all (you) flowing. If you're getting overheated, frustrated or angry, easy does it -- you're just not writing enough.TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
It would serve you well to consider what in your belief system is an idea based on tradition and teaching, and what is based on your own personal observations, discoveries and practical needs. Many of the decisions and opportunities presented to you this month will require just such analysis and little more -- but more is contained this process than you may realize. It could require considerable meditation to discover aspects of your life and decision-making process that are influenced only by your direct experience rather than by ideas laminated and tattooed into your thoughts by everyone from your 9th grade track coach to your minister to your college professors. The question, in the end, is about who has authority over your mind, and hence, over your choices, though I will say this: Beware of sacrifice.GEMINI (May 21-June 20)
Much now depends on how you handle anger, passion and aggression, particularly within your home. We tend to view these as independent entities rather than as one power-source in the psyche, and as a result, we live as fragmented people. So if you let yourself be provoked, you can search for unity and balance within your responses to the provocation. Disagreements with relatives and living partners are merely aspects of life where energy needs venting, and such can occur in ways that are creative or destructive. Damage occurs when we submit to fearful ideas about others or get trapped in the supposed weakness of our position. Growth occurs when we allow ourselves the seeming luxury of depth of awareness. Nobody can threaten you, your position is strong, and you are in an excellent position to learn, teach and -- most important -- to change your mind.CANCER (June 21-July 22)
If you're finding yourself lost in a newfound sense of isolation, I promise you that it's an illusion; snap out of it. While it's true there are not a lot of people in your midst who are "like you," there are many who share sufficient values, who resonate with your ideals, who support you in conscience, and who are simply curious enough to see what you have to offer and share. Is that not sufficient? The stars seem aligned in such a way that you'll be compelled to notice your opportunities as a creative act -- noticing as an artform -- and then to take steps toward exploring them as part of a program designed to put you in the role of creator in your life. This is an active role, not a passive one. Reaching out to others and setting your ideas in motion will prove that just because others are not necessarily beating a path to your door, mutual exchange is right within reach.LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)
Watch how these next weeks gradually guide your mind to peace, and restore possession of a sense of meaning and choice to your world. Keep these three concepts close at hand: peace of mind, meaning and choice. They will work like a tripod. No one leg is more important than any other, but without any one, the structure will fall. Weave gently between them. Lean on them in turn. Of the three, peace of mind may seem like the most elusive, but that is a gift of this season. Meaning or purpose seems to slip from the grasp of most people, if they ever held it, but it's directly related to what we feel we have to offer the world in gifts -- so give of yourself, and discover what you have. The issue of free choice has dogged philosophers for eons, but I am not speaking here of theoretical choice, rather of noticing what you can accept, what you can do, and what you can release.VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
You are blessed, perhaps temporarily but in such a way that you will never forget, with a penetrating power of insight that can pierce the veils of this world and grant you the blessing vision into all the realms of reality. In simple terms, trust that you can see through the denials, distortions and bullshit, and discern with your senses, emotions and mind what is real and what is not. My hunch is that this will manifest as some kind of enhanced state of miraculous reality, and with this you have the freedom to do what you will: turn it to cash, to poetry, to aspiration, to freedom, to wisdom, or to the fulfillment of your desires. But there is some way of being, some process or project or level of community interaction, that will grant you all of these at once. Seek it with open eyes and an open mind.LIBRA (Sep. 23-Oct. 22)
If you hit some rough water on the way to your birthday, please don't take it as a premonition that you're facing a difficult year. Far to the contrary. I see the next few weeks as a time in which you can finally purge yourself of some greatly exaggerated cosmic fears, and at the same time connect with the higher truth of who you are. Note how this equation works: fear of a certain kind conceals the truth, and thus points the way to it. It's a truly valuable resource. Yet the long-term outlook is so bright for Librans, there are so many gifts in store and ways out of what you no longer want, that you may indeed forget to work with this particular universal balancing tool. Stay in communication with your fears, and the fears of those around you. Look for their origins in consciousness, space and time. The rest -- and there is quite a bit -- will take care of itself.SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)
Too often, humans exist in a split universe; one side contains their ideals, and the other side contains their beliefs about what is possible. What we call "action" is almost always constrained or governed by these beliefs, which are far more durable and fixed than our dreams and visions in the parallel universe. This game can go on for quite a while, as we dare ourselves to be real, but for you the game is up. Yet at this time you are blessed with an unusual ability to mediate between the worlds; to call thoughts and desires into manifestation; to adjust your beliefs based on the unusual experiences you're having which offer physical proof that your dreams are more real than you previously thought. But please take heed: this is not an opportunity to squander on hope, ambivalence or sadness. Fortune favors the bold, and the glad of heart.SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21)
Astrology is the study of change. Astrologers work with concepts like progression, which means progress, and transit, which means movement, and for you the momentum of both is gathering exponentially. Yet I must encourage you to do a full systems check and make sure you're really getting the message; that you are exchanging old for new in certain select, highly sensitive aspects of your life. My own prejudice is that you're way too inclined to make major compromises in your relationships, and that the force of evolution and the necessity to have real exchanges could combine to make a potentially explosive situation in the not-so-distant future. While nothing needs to blow up, certain aspects of one specific relationship need to be completely dismantled so that you can proceed in life and love with a clear head, and not drugged, dragged down or threatened by the past.CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
The changes you have been promised and which we both know are inevitable may seem slow in coming to fruition. Capricorns have a reputation for taking a long time to do things, but an eternity of this could make the most patient among you lust for haste and aggression. But I can offer you a formula that will help you accelerate the process: continue to explore the borderland where work meets play. For excellent reasons, your attention and probable agendas are poised at this threshold for many months. Consider what a struggle it is for people of the world to have meaningful recreation and creative work. It is one of the tragedies of our times that people spend much of their lives in offices they consider hell, and are restricted at the same time from exploring their favorite aspects of what is, in all honesty, a short visit to the planet. In other words, what I am saying is that through living fully, you will become a teacher who will help many find their freedom.AQUARIUS (Jan. 19-Feb. 18)
I haven't mentioned the revolution/revelation blazing through your world in the aspect of life known as marriage, but it's pretty wild. Setting my own freakish leanings on the subject aside (for now), it doesn't take a team of Cornell sociologists to observe that the "institution of marriage" is in a lot of trouble, unstable against the tides of time and change of this world, contrary to the changing emotions of the human animal, and based on many presumptions that are no longer true, if ever they were. Such times as these are fertile for creative innovations, and nothing is too wild for you to consider experimenting with. Just remember that while partners or your lawfully wedded spouse may not be equipped to move at your speed quite yet, one never knows; you are, after all, an important part of their life. Keep talking, keep listening, and look inside for the opportunity to take one more creative leap to mutual freedom.PISCES (Feb. 19-Mar. 20)
The word of the month is "foundation." I suggest you observe the structures upon which the institutions of the world are built. Consider corporations, families, charitable projects and institutions like art museums. Consider buildings, bridges and the chassis of cars and trucks. And consider your own life. For in your own roundabout, subtle and very effective way, you have laid important foundations upon which you can raise the structures of your life-to-be. Just how stable those foundations are you will see in the coming two months, and I think you'll be impressed with your work. Meanwhile, keep designing, and let your designs be inspired, because the time has arrived to begin building gradually upwards. And never forget the other foundation upon which your worldly foundation rests.What's New | Contents | Inside, Outside Planet Waves Digital Media
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