Lemonade for April

Phantom in Paris, 2nd arrond. Photo by Eric Francis.

Aries (March 20-April 19)
Your reputation is nearly everything to you, and you can trust that any damage that’s been done recently was temporary. People are willing to forgive your exaggerations and willingness to push their boundaries as long as you’re true to your own cause, so the first thing to pay attention to is whether you’re really doing that. You probably are, as long as you’re not being driven by a sense of what is missing, but rather what you want to create. I would propose that if something feels like it’s missing, check again, and you’ll probably notice it’s right there.

Taurus (April 19-May 20)
You have reached a turning point in your development, which will basically test your self-confidence. The get-real quality of the moment involves allowing the decisions you have made about who you are to guide your life. There is a logical process in motion. You understand something, then that becomes a cause, with an effect. The effect proceeds and you learn something new about yourself. This is the opposite of being stuck. The cost, if there is one, involves what feels like an ongoing risk, and that is another way of saying walking out to the edge of familiar territory at least once a day and going a little further than you thought was safe yesterday.

Gemini (May 20-June 21)
Recent developments have gone a long way not only to shake you out of your sleepy dreams, but also to awaken you to the new world you’ve been creating so carefully. At this point, all that matters is being true to yourself with each decision you make. That’s all you need to be concerned with. If you’re feeling fear, ask if it’s a real fear. If you’re feeling a need to be free, ask if that’s what you really want. The thing about what you truly value is that it has the power to change you, and this is what most people fear most of the time. Admitting the truth means making decisions based on that truth — cause for celebration, often overlooked.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)
All you need to do is let your inspiration flow; a decision is all this will require: surrendering to the stream of your thoughts and ideas, and your willingness to expand the boundaries of what you think of as real. You could help yourself by letting go of two or three things or ideas you previously thought of as real, to make room for the stunning gifts that are coming your way, potentially from very far away, or from a whole different world, culture or way of life. At the same time you have an exceptionally strong presence in the world, and the better you feel, the more vivid and enduring that presence will become.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23)
We have all kinds of influences pushing us to be sexy, but very few encouraging us to relate to one another with sex as a means of celebrating and communicating. We’re told that sex is about power and commitment, not a gift we can give or receive freely. You of all people have the confidence in yourself to make up your own mind about what your own sexuality means to you. In so doing, you will inspire others to feel their own strength and beauty. Many have pointed out that sex spreads karma around, as if it were a trap; few have noted that it can be the karma of liberation, throwing off old fetters and being truly free.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
You’re under so many influences, it may seem impossible to tell who and what is shaping you, and in what ways. The impact you’ve made the past few months on many people close to you seems to be pouring back in your direction all at once. The vision you’ve shared with so much effort and intensity has indeed shaped the world, and this is now a world you live in and relate to from hour to hour. Remember, you have a right to choose. You seem to need people to approach you in a refined, well-thought-through way. It may take the person you want the most a little time to figure that out, but I suggest you give them three chances.

Café scene in Paris, 2nd arrond. Photo by Eric Francis.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23)
The problem with marriage, for most people, is that there is only so interesting one other person can be. Though I’m someone who has lived polyamorously for nearly all of my adult life, I’m going based on what many monogamous people have said to me again and again. We do put one another under a lot of pressure to be so much to us. Whatever may have occurred the past couple of months, I suggest you chalk it up not just to being human, but alive. You can no longer pretend not to feel, not to desire, not to need, and most of all, not to yearn for experience. The people you care about most are more like you than you may have thus far admitted. Or rather, maybe you are more like them.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)
Recent events have shown just how far you can go pushing your own boundaries of security. You’ve revealed that you’re surprisingly willing to question your assumptions and live outside your previously fixed emotional patterns. What have you learned from this experiment? You better remember, because you’ll be needing it as the landscape develops from a kind of exploration of your emotional history and needs to an explosion of passion, creativity and craving for intimacy. You need a lot less than you have to share, and the people around you will benefit, a lot, from being shared with. That is, as long as you feel safe doing it.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22)
You are doing some brilliant thinking, and have been for a while — but at the moment not with your guts. The kind of thinking you need the most, and the kind that’s on its way, is the kind you can feel percolating out of your skin with your sweat. The intelligence that summons your animal instincts, your sense of smell, your hormones and your urge to survive. Go for spiritual in an earthy kind of way; earthy in a wet, and a little wild. The life force is just that, it’s a force pushing you to live and experience your life, in all its dimensions, expressing all the facets of who you are. Remember the words of Aleister Crowley: you’re seeking “the freedom that brings sanity.”

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20)
There is nothing familiar about creativity. Every adventure, advance or discovery, no matter how small, needs to come with a touch of the unfamiliar. That is where you’re headed at the moment, to the edge of your cozy zone, the castle walls or your familiar identity. There is a guardrail, but you’re on the other side than you usually are. It’s there if you need to grab hold of something, but I suggest you not even consider that possibility. Err on the side of what you do not know. Freedom is what you’ve never seen before, the place you’ve never been, the feeling you’ve never had.

Aquarius
 (Jan. 20-Feb. 19)
You have a role in the world, and that role is evolving quickly. The person you need to be in the world is the one who does not quite know who you are. That’s the person who is fully authentic in the moment, because you are free to be in the moment without any past judgments or history clouding your experience. It’s difficult to get there as an act of will, but the guidance of the stars is leading you there one step at a time. There comes a moment of discovery, a moment when you decide you know less than ever, and when the people around you seem like you’ve never quite met them. Say hello and let the story begin.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
You may feel suspended between two realities, two phases of your life, two moments in history. There is a third way, that goes between the familiar one and the one that seems to be confronting you with the need to make a choice. I suggest that anytime we are faced with a dilemma, consider the possibility that it’s a false dilemma. Two options is better than one, but it’s not really enough for a real choice. You have one basic set of needs, and it doesn’t appear to meet the reality you’re standing in the middle of. But make a note, that reality is changing fast, and it’s strongly subject to the influence of your imagination. Feed that fire love rather than fear and you will have a clean fire burning in your heart.

Soiree in Paris, 2nd arrond. Photo by Eric Francis.

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