Aries (March 20-April 19) — Self-assertive, sometimes bold, sometimes cloaking deep insecurity with that boldness, Aries is always up for an adventure. Your sign is the key that starts the engine of the universe, and that means you have extra motivation, even in the face of intimidating situations. Something in you just rises to the occasion and you make your presence known. Your friends count on you for this, though you often need their support and do a lot better as an initiator when you have a posse around you. There’s something truly childlike about Aries, and its natives can accomplish great things because they don’t stop to think about how whatever they’re attempting is supposedly impossible. You are constantly discovering new depths of your inner nature, surprised time and again that your interior world is such a dominant part of your personality. Aries is associated with the planet Mars. Learn about the placement of your Mars sign and you will learn more about your personality. Mars represents raw, unrefined energy, which can be expressed many ways. Your job is to do the refining, and to learn some political skills so that you can get along with people even as you push them to do what you believe needs to be done. That said, you want relationship situations that are balanced and authentic, even though it can be hard to find people who aren’t intimidated by you. You have desire, you have determination, you benefit the most from discipline and learning to be happy with gradual progress, and this includes getting to know potential friends and lovers. Remember, you don’t always have to be first and best, and intimate situations are the place to turn off your competitive nature. You can simply be you. Aries is a fire sign, and because it’s one of the signs that starts a season, it’s also considered a cardinal sign. It’s represented by the Ram, which is a very cool kind of full-strength sheep.
Taurus (April 19-May 20) — Calm, collected and attractive on the outside, raging like a tempest in the inside, Taurus is the blacksmith shop of the soul. If you’re a Taurus, you’ve incarnated at this time for the purpose of being shaped and tempered. Just be sure you go gently on yourself even during the tempering process. While you’re famous for your supposed stubbornness, few understand that you’re trying to work out your inner complexities and don’t want to make a move or a decision until you feel you’re all sorted out. But there is always more to sort, and at a certain point you have to go with the experiment of living. Change is challenging for you. It’s easier if you think it’s your idea, so make sure you keep coming up with new possibilities to keep yourself on the move. Remember that confidence and digging in your heels are two entirely different things. You must handle your possessive nature carefully so as not to alienate others, and remember that as much as you might like to be ‘taken possession of’, this doesn’t really work for you. At a certain point you will need your independence. Your sign is associated with the planet Venus, which is bright, beautiful and has an atmosphere of ammonia cooking at 900 degrees centigrade. It’s healthy to let some of that fire and passion out into the open. Taurus is a sign of the earth element, and is also a fixed sign, coming in the middle or peak of a season — which happens to be the season of Beltane, the pagan celebration of sex. Your erotic nature is more promiscuous than you may want to admit, however, you also have a strong drive to bond with others. You must find a balance between the two. To learn more about yourself, look up the sign of your Venus as well as your Moon, two elements in your chart closely associated with Taurus.
Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Gemini is one of the three human signs, illustrated by a person rather than some other kind of critter. And when a human appears, he/she appears in a pair. Isn’t that interesting? This comes with a question: what are the two sides of your nature? You’ve obviously identified a tendency to what’s called ‘dualism’ — the simultaneous expression of opposites. This is challenging, but it helps to have some self-knowledge and ongoing self awareness. Are the two sides of your Gemini nature about the immortal soul coexisting with the mortal ego? Are they about the relationship between mind and body? Are they the good twin and the evil twin? Whatever the case, you need many modes of expression and you may have three computers. You may have a special gift of creative collaboration, because you can shapeshift and respond to any human situation as the person you’re needed to be. Use this skill and it will get stronger. You also need a diverse group of friends to stimulate the many sides of your mind. And you need to turn your nearly obsessive inner dialog into something creative; capture it in writing, turn it into a play or TV show; explore your psyche in a therapy process. The challenge that most people feel with Gemini is that they ‘don’t know who they’re talking to’, since you are so multifaceted. But the better you know yourself, the more trustworthy you’ll be. If you’re aware of how people respond to you, and do your best to bridge this perception gap, your relationships will go more smoothly. You can also keep your friends guessing. I consider Gemini the kinkiest sign. It’s got to do with the whole twin thing — if you find your twin, you know how to make him or her feel good. Gemini is an air sign, and the first of the four mutable signs, which come at the end of a season. The planet associated with Gemini is Mercury, which is fast moving and androgynous. If you want to learn more about yourself, look where Mercury is placed in your chart.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Nurturing, loving, devoted, cuddly, milky and self-centered, Cancer has it all. Your sign is not multifaceted; rather, you change like the tides, and are a little different every single day. Less polite people call you moody. What, not everyone has moods? Why do they all take things so personally? Or is it you who takes others so personally? In any event, those born under your sign possess a certain desire for intimacy that is mingled with defensiveness about getting too close to others, and this can send a mixed message. It’s important that you have a sense of control in your relationships, but you don’t want to take that too far. You won’t respect weak people, so you may as well surround yourself with strong ones who respect your space. It is said that the crab walks sideways, and your most important learning in this life is to be direct about what you feel and what you want, without feeling guilty about it. Your inclination is to experience your relationships in a structured way; you would have more fun if you would be more flexible. Remember that the people you love now are not as powerful as your mother was, so don’t treat them like they’re her. Keep a Moon calendar on your desk and know the current phase and sign all the time. Cancer is one of the water signs, and is also a cardinal sign, being the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere and winter south of the equator. If you want to know more about yourself, study the position of the Moon in your chart, as well as what are called the lunar nodes. These will reveal the deeper elements of your nature, and more than any other sign, the Moon’s house, sign and aspects may reveal your most authentic nature.
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — Despite being represented by the star at the center of our solar system, your sign has a selfless and hard-working quality. You can be generous with others and frugal with yourself; you strive for a kind of perfection that is impossible to attain. The less well-adapted natives of Leo can be incredibly egocentric, which can give the rest a bad name; for the most part those born under your sign take being ‘at the center of things’ as a responsibility rather than a privilege. Remember always that your sign is ruled by the Sun. It’s the source of light and the energy that feeds all things. It’s better to identify with this than with any concept of ‘self’ that doesn’t really tell the story anyway. Your relationships are with humanity first and individual humans second. Make sure everyone you care about knows how deeply you really feel. Leo is a fire sign, and is also known as a fixed sign, coming at the peak of a season.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Virgo is a mentally oriented, highly intelligent, nervous sign that needs to remember it’s made of the element earth. That’s another way of saying that your life is a constant process of translating from idea to reality, and that can be challenging because ideas change so much faster than changes in the physical world. You have a fast, inventive mind but may squander that on doubt. Of all the signs, Virgo needs to cultivate self-esteem as a primary life lesson. This is one reason why so many Virgos opt for helping careers; it helps to feel useful. You have a way of contradicting yourself and expecting others not to notice; it would help if you admit these contradictions so you don’t leave everyone constantly wondering where they stand with you. Men born under this sign are advised to make good friends with their inner woman. Virgos can be extremely hard on themselves and need to learn how to replace the criticism with a balanced level of self-appreciation. The planet of Virgo is ever-changing Mercury, and Chiron is a close cousin. This is a mutable sign, coming at the end of a season, leading into the next.
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — This sign is about beauty in all its forms. No matter what a Libra does, it’s got the intention of elegance. Libra holds space for an ideal beauty that can only be emulated on this plane of reality. Nothing quite lives up to it; that may be the reason for the famous quality of ‘indecision’ behind this sign. I call Librans the ‘human blowtorch’, because they can be cool, calm and quiet and then turn into creative powerhouses when they turn up the gas. Libra is the sign associated with the concept of justice, which is the meaning of the scales, though this is also one of the primary signs associated with relationships and relating, which are important priorities for you. Libra is a cardinal sign, coming at the change of a season, though the initiative of this sign can take some time to come out. Libra is associated with the planet Venus, and Saturn is well-placed here as well.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — Scorpio is an emotional, fiery water sign, usually represented by a creature of the desert – the scorpion. You need water, literally and figuratively; as emotional as this sign is, it can be mentally fixated and lack the ability to ground in the realm of feelings. When Scorpios get detached from the feeling realm, that’s when they can live up to their dangerous astrological reputation. It’s vital that you not only think before you strike, but feel. This said, the passions of Scorpio are unparalleled, for those who can take that much fire and water blended into one body. Your sign is the one that rules over the sexual organs, deservedly so; you love the whole idea of surrender perhaps a shade more than you love control. It’s healthy for you to let go. Scorpio is a fixed sign, of the element water, traditionally ruled by Mars and in modern times by the potent antiplanet Pluto.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — At the gates of the galaxy stands a centaur, whose name is Chiron. Yours is the sign of the quest, the far-away and far out, and in a sense the library of the zodiac. Your reputation for being a freewheeling devil-be-damned type is entirely true until we get to your rock-solid values, which can be conservative and cautious. It’s good for you to understand that you have limits. If you try to be a perfectionist, you won’t get anything done, but you also need to remember what you’ve learned about technique, and how important those petty details can be. Remember that someone isn’t necessarily crowding your space by trying to be close to you, but it’s helpful if you’re honest that many things in your life are on your terms. You’re compelling enough that those who care about you will go along. Yours is a fire sign and is described as mutable because it’s right before a season changes. It’s ruled by the fat, happy planet Jupiter. Read articles about Chiron for additional guidance.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — The sign of tradition is also the sign of revolutionaries. Capricorn is the sign of all things old – you may love to go to estate sales and visit antique shops, not because you like things but because you like to contemplate the way things were in different times in history. Reputed to be an ambitious, hard worker, this is usually true, but the part about being ruthless is more of a myth than anything else. You prefer to get things done by agreement and arrangement rather than by force. Capricorn is crispy on the outside and deeply sensitive on the inside, a fact which most people may miss and which you would do well to inform them, so they know. This is the sign of the winter solstice, associated with the dark days of impending cold; you love the security of the home fires burning. Capricorn is an earth sign, of a cardinal type; the planet that rules your sign is Saturn.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Perhaps the most misunderstood sign of the zodiac, we can for sure say that the Aquarius personality values intelligence, ideas and loves a good theory. Yet there is a contradiction implied in the sign that is at once associated with constant changes, and is considered a fixed sign; we could say that the only constant is change, and you resist that as much as you invite it. Traditionally, Aquarius is ruled by Saturn, a fact that is nearly forgotten today; in modern astrology it’s usually considered with the more wild planet Uranus. This embodies the paradox over which you must often stretch your body and your soul. You seek both individuality and group identification, but lean more toward the first, which is a good thing: only an individual can be part of a group. This is one of the human signs, and an air sign, represented by a woman holding an urn of water – or a ruler to measure the depth of the Nile.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — The last sign of the zodiac embodies the idea that the world is created by opposite energies that compliment and balance one another; Pisces is the living embodiment of yin and yang. Pisces represents the primal waters to which the whole human experience eventually returns, and from which new ideas emerge. Your sign is associated with music, imagery and dreams. Life would be extremely boring without the release from the edgy world of the ego granted by Pisces. If you’re born under this sign, you have to watch your boundaries, have realistic expectations and remember that the world is ruled by love and not by guilt. If you have self-esteem issues, figure that out and deal with them promptly; you and everyone else will be happier, healthier and wealthier. Yours is a sign of the element water, categorized as a mutable sign because it’s at the end of the season and indeed the end of the astrological year. In traditional astrology it’s ruled by Jupiter and in modern times usually associated with the big blue planet Neptune.
