Dear Friend and Reader:
This morning I dreamed I was walking around on a street corner, and hanging inside of a phone booth was a complete stack of set lists from a music tour that had ended the previous night. I looked through them with interest, curious why someone would go through the trouble of carefully making the lists, which were written on beautifully designed forms, and then leave them hanging somewhere. I took them and made them my own.
From the dream I received the message that one tour is over and complete, another is soon to begin. I am in Montauk at the moment, reflecting on everything that has happened this year, something few of us have had a chance to do.
We now live in the age of the new planet Eris. This distant world is an influence that represents a special kind of chaos: the one we are soaked in right now. It’s been so long since we had any semblance of a different environment that it’s nearly impossible to see what we are experiencing for what it really is. Some may remember.
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Monthly Horoscopes and Publishing Schedule Notes
Your extended monthly horoscope for October was published on Thursday, Oct. 1. We published your extended monthly horoscope for September on Wednesday, Sept. 2. Please note: we normally publish the extended monthly horoscope after the Sun has entered a new sign.
Aries (March 20-April 19) — You have far greater influence than you may think. However, if you’re not regulating your emotions, then you’re likely to stir up chaos in your environment and think you have no influence at all. You will keep spin control on your environment by doing so with yourself. There are people around you who are modeling stability and balance. This is not coming at the expense of their vitality or creativity. Rather, it is a product of two qualities. One is applied intelligence. The other is the practiced ability to change, and to help others change. Look around for who is setting a positive example for you, and spend some time with them learning their methods. Meanwhile, you are still in the midst of Mars retrograde, which is a deep review. If you are over the age of 40, you may be experiencing one of the most comprehensive personal inner delves of your entire life. If you are younger, you are being taken on an introspective journey that will set the template for what would be helpful to do on a regular basis. You may notice that people tend to be obsessed with the past without learning much from it. They tend to be stuck in the ways of the past without the benefits of true wisdom that could be found there. These are not luxuries and you cannot afford to waste your time. Use what you know, use what you’re learning, and make sure you have reference points around you in the form of people with whom you can reality check on a regular basis.
Taurus (April 19-May 20) — Your beliefs are changing, and that is leading to your taking action. The question is, which beliefs are leading to which choices? This is less about the world around you and far more about your perception of it. The structure of your psyche, your personal expectations and the myths you live by are what tend to influence your worldview the most. Now, those things are shifting, shaking and collapsing. You have few reference points for how to perceive the world — in a time when it’s already difficult to make sense of things. Yet your personal mythology is not going to save you. Your latent past impressions of life are not going to give you clear vision; they are throwing various obstacles in front of your eyes. Your expectations about life have proven to be false many times. So what else is left? The first time you look at the world through a clear lens, or no lens at all, the effect is stunning. Even one glimpse can lead people to entirely reevaluate their existence and their purpose. Yet that would be the point of avoiding such a thing. Preconceived ideas serve a purpose, which is to lock the mind in the past. This prevents the actual confrontation with existence known as being alive. It is a ‘safe space’ where everything is predictable and ‘makes sense’. However, when that crumbles, you’re left standing where you are. From there, you can open your eyes or not; you can listen to what you hear or not; you can stand at a crossroads, or choose some direction in which to travel. Just remember, your beliefs are not strong enough to hold up the whole world, and never were.
Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Mercury’s station retrograde on Oct. 13 is encouraging you strongly to take care of unfinished business related to your health. Any lingering conditions, questions or material can now be addressed with an enhanced opportunity for success. This includes both physical health issues, workplace health, and also emotional and psychological matters that have been left unaddressed or have been lurking behind the curtain. Those may be the most significant, as yours is one of the signs that has the strongest association between emotional health and overall health. You may now be able to tap into underlying subject matter that may be quite sensitive, to the degree where you tend to tune it out. If something fitting that description bubbles to awareness, you can treat it as coming up for healing. This may be subtle; it may be overt. You are unlikely to be confronted directly but rather to be presented with an opportunity or occasion to consider or review something. Even thinking it through carefully, in the sense of feeling while you think and doing a thorough review, will help you make progress. If you’re going to speak with someone, make sure that it’s someone who has successfully resolved something similar. You will be able to tell this because the things resolved are, specifically, anger, guilt and self-blame. Addressing those things in particular is the healing I’m talking about. There is also one other matter: making sure that what you pass forward is healing and not further damage to anyone. There is only one way to do that, in truth, which is to take care of yourself and not be vexed by the past.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) — To succeed, you must embrace that you are different, and that you do things differently — and then live that truth. I don’t just mean different, though. I mean outstanding in the form of standing out. When you listen to people say what they want from life, for many, it is the courage to assert themselves, to be real, and to live without compromising themselves. Those are worthy goals, though the intention is not enough. There are ways to get there, and there are developmental experiences necessary. Most of those involve addressing the fear associated with taking such risks, or perceived risks; if that factor did not exist, nobody would hesitate. For example, anyone who speaks out and stands out becomes a target, whether for the projections of others, or some more significant controversy. Yet when you break down the issues, it’s all about family, and one’s sense of acceptance. What most people fear the most is rejection. And so by living lives of seeming safety, through not risking being cast off in some way, the result is smothering in self-deception. There is nothing safe about this, in any sense of the word. Your truth is your life. Nothing short of living your truth deserves the term. That means standing up to people you perceive as powerful. And that, in turn, means understanding your family of origin and its conditioning on you, and the ways you were coerced into backing down so as not to threaten others. Slogans such as “speak truth to power” do not clarify this process. It is about emotional growth, and you are ready.
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — What you have to say may be simple and clear, yet you may wonder how it could be possible that anyone will ever hear you. You may develop your ideas and wonder how they are ever going to cut through the noise. I suggest you concern yourself with nothing other than presenting yourself in such a way that you may be understood. This is why people do not become writers. It takes work to be understood. It is also why people become liars: it is easy to use deception to convince people that they understand something, usually by grossly oversimplifying it, or fabricating a more emotionally acceptable version of events. However, it is now your mission to be understood. You have something to say, and it’s your responsibility to do so in a way that comes across. The part about how far your message goes is not your responsibility. All you can do is mediate between what you need to say and how it may be received by others. This will take experimentation, and it will require your personal ability to shift perspectives from speaker to listener. Based on your current solar chart, I can offer a couple of ideas. One is that understatement helps. You do not need to argue loudly, nor over-emphasize your case. Also, people respect and are drawn to beauty, which in this situation means balance, and a touch of elegance. Slow down and make your points carefully. Writing is almost always about rewriting, so you will need to be flexible and patient. Yet in all of this, you must never, ever compromise the basic truth you are asserting. It would be a good idea to start with whatever that is, and proceed from there.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — You will fare better financially if you’re not too tied up in the affairs of others. Keep count of your assets, and keep control of them as well. Your whole life right now is about extracting yourself from where others control you. Yet if you’re paying attention you will see how much of that ‘control’ is really just a head trip, a compilation of all you have not resolved. So while you may assert yourself against others, remember you’re actually pushing back against your own beliefs about yourself. True, most of those ideas came from other people, though they are your property now. Therefore, you can relax about having to fight back or struggle or make any demands. All you need is to make up your mind about what you want and let that be your guide. By guide, I mean the thing that becomes the basis of your decisions. It is crucial in this process that you sort out the difference between inner authority and outer. It is not always so easy to see. The two are often confused. Yet it is possible to learn the difference, and then master it — and for you, now is the time. This is the same difference as that between ‘self’ and ‘other’, something that is blurred by oppressive situations, and agreements you don’t want to be in. The place to start is with understanding your needs and your motives. I know others present endless fodder for intrigue, though please do not be distracted by the spiritual equivalent of gossip. Your life is about you. No debate is possible here.
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — The Oct. 16 New Moon in your birth sign puts you face to face with your challenges, which is right where you want to be. Call people and things what they are. However, the deeper matter is your investment in the past, particularly addressing any nostalgia about your family. This includes toxic residue, memories and influences, which can be like a box of old photos you keep looking through without noticing anything different. If you study these images and your memories with a little detachment, you will see new things. Turn them upside down. Recite the lines others said to you and feel how it might have felt to say them. William Faulkner once wrote, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” Not only that, the past keeps changing. It squirms around and rearranges itself, yet is often viewed as a fixed thing. Once you see it changing before your eyes, you will know that your interpretation of the past is unreliable. It is possible to see things an entirely new way, and to be informed by that, and at the same time set free from what seemed to bind you. Then, it is up to you to find your way to the present, and when you get here, it’s going to look a lot different than it did yesterday. That is how you know you have arrived. You do not need to work out the past. You do not need to resolve all that was done to you. You do not need to account for every bit of jetsam and flotsam in your aura. You merely need to be truthful with yourself and with others. And you may decide that this is a truly pleasant activity.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — Now is not the time to come to any final determinations about anything. Final is a strong word, though you tend to make up your mind and that is that, and at the moment such would be ill advised. You do not have a clear view of your own life, and at the same time, you may be experiencing a sense of pressure from a source you cannot identify. Hence, you don’t have a basis for any decision you might make, though I would also caution that your observations are all likely to be a little skewed as well. So you might not take them so seriously at the moment, and just watch the movie of your life from a slight distance and without your usual emotional investment. You really can do this. You will have increasing clarity after the New Moon on the 16th, then after the Sun enters your sign on the 22nd. Still — keep observing. Mercury stations direct on Nov. 3 and finally, Jupiter makes its last conjunction to Pluto on Nov. 12. So if you start to rearrange your life before those things occur, you will have this sense of wishing you knew then what you know now, though there will be no turning back. Give yourself time and space to work out the questions you have, in writing if possible, and preferably in a notebook. This way you will have a record of all the things you thought and be able to follow the route to your point of view — and beyond it. You are heading somewhere different. You are heading toward a new understanding of your existence. Trace your steps carefully.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — The crucial phase you are at is coming to an understanding of your values. Since that word is overused, another way to say this is your personal constitution. That is the most basic and fundamental level of law upon which all other laws are based. It’s the place you come back to when making decisions about right and wrong. Though your sign tends to be viewed as forward-thinking, you tend to have old-school values and even a measure of orthodox thinking. This includes a perspective on right and wrong that is based on the past, has an orientation in tradition, and that can be somewhat rigid. What you are learning is to be adaptable, flexible and movable. You will benefit more from understanding and working with the spirit of the law much more than the letter of the law. Traditions die and can suffocate their adherents if they are not keeping up with the times. You are a living, growing, evolving being. You are learning about yourself every day, which is one of the privileges of being both sentient and self-aware. Most of what your soul is calling for now is direct experience. In recent decades, the line has been blurred between the real and the virtual. This word has long carried the meaning “being something in essence or effect, though not actually or in fact,” and more recently, an illusion created by software. The experience you need is the kind that demonstrates to you that you exist in fact, and are not an illusion created by computer code. The challenges are greater. The risks are higher. The difference is everything.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — Your world centers around you. If you start from that premise, it will be easier where “you” are part of what is “around you.” There is freedom in doing this, of the kind you want and need, which is the ability to choose your destiny or at least set an agenda for yourself that you can follow, express and live with. You are gradually coming into alignment with yourself, and making important discoveries about your reality every day. You are now at the point where you must express these discoveries in a tangible way if you want to develop your potential. It is easy to sit around waiting for a moment that never arrives — the perfect invitation or opportunity. This is the thing you must make for yourself, and take for yourself. There can be no other leader in your life except for yourself. I recognize that we are in the time of outer authority, even autocracy, when many people are waiting around to be told what to do. That, however, is not really about expressing yourself. The point of contention is taking that step into being visible, being real, being seen as an example — and the potential to fail. You might be amazed how these factors can all add up to paralysis, yet you’ve likely experienced it a few times. What I think is going on underneath is the need for approval, and the fear that you might somehow not have this when you think you need it the most. That moment, however, is when you need it the very least and when it can be the most debilitating. In all ways, this is the time to cut the apron strings and encounter the big, beautiful, dangerous world.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — You might be pretty restless, or agitated. If you’re connected to yourself, you might be experiencing this astrology as motivation — so I suggest you connect. There’s some deep element of your psyche that is wanting to shake loose from the past. If you are feeling frustration, consider whether that is the point of contention, and then imagine yourself cracking through a psychic husk. You are growing from the inside out right now. You are catching up with yourself. That’s the beautiful part, and the one you will appreciate forever. Yet the feeling of vulnerability you may be experiencing is also essential to your progress. It is evidence that you are actually in motion within yourself. So don’t back off from that feeling in any of its potential forms, which may include uncertainty, embarrassment, or the urge to throw your whole life into your progress. That is going to happen whether you plan it or not, want it or not — so you may as well figure out what you want and align yourself with your desire. There is a mental aspect to this, though ultimately, you will know what you want because you feel driven and motivated. It’s that feeling of wanting to clear your agenda entirely and do that one thing. If you have the feeling that you would do it if only you could, the chances are high that you can, though you will need to make some decisions and get busy. If you are doing the thing you want, then focus on that and do more of it. Powerful forces are at work in your life, and when that is the case, your commitment is worth a thousand times its usual value. And that is something.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — You are in one of those ‘damn the torpedoes’ moments, whatever they may represent in your life. Now is the time to resolve to let nothing stop you, which means keepin’ on, every day, one step at a time. Do not let the opinions of others slow you down. You have a different perspective than they do. Do not let the fears of others interfere with your mission; you have worked for and earned your courage. Most of all, resist any temptation to be anything other than truly yourself. This is where there can be no compromise. You cannot be anyone but yourself, so there is no point trying, or even meekly considering the possibility. Yet to be real means to feel like you’re on the edge, such as on the margin of public opinion, or the cusp of your own consciousness. You are indeed exploring a borderland, and you will find that this becomes more interesting as the days and weeks go on. Note that if you are feeling fear, panic, polarization, or any form of emotional hype, that is a sign of lack of confidence, and some evidence that you are attempting to compromise. Borrowing another nautical concept, what you want to feel is steady as she goes. Yes, there is plenty that can go wrong. Any ship can founder. An unexpected storm may blow in. A meteorite may hit the Earth. Your mother might call when you’re doing something important. True, true. You have a mission and you know what it is. Others in the equation can and will be exceedingly helpful, though they are counting on your steady guidance, and your balanced, circumspect point of view.