Aries (March 20-April 19) — The Sun’s ingress into the most sensitive angle of your chart on the 18th commences a phase of deep internal review for you. Events the past few weeks have kept you involved in the social world, which is the perfect thing for this particular moment. Keep doing that, and then honor the calling to spend plenty of time alone, reflecting on the many events of the past year that have so changed your life, and all of known reality. You will benefit from a deep internal audit of your state of being: from true personal inquiry. That, however, is a skill, and it’s one that is not taught anymore and that has been worn down in many who previously had it. Living digital lives has taken us outside ourselves. Turning our attention inward seems as appealing to some as jumping into the water on a cold day, or wandering into a dark cave. Yet you contain your reality, and you need a sense of your inner being. The only way to get there is to ease back and find your way inside yourself. If you feel like this is strange and unfamiliar territory, then you might consider how that came to be. Look back through your old journals. Not your old Live Journal or Blogspot — your physical written journals, letters and photographs, and notice what has changed.
Taurus (April 19-May 20) — You may be concerned about maintaining a boundary between what is your responsibility and what belongs to others. You may not want to take on too much. You may have personal priorities to attend to. Yet there is no separating those things from something else that is trying to get your attention, something much larger than yourself. There are people who naturally have that sense, and others who cannot see past the rims of their eyeglasses, for whom everything is merely personal. You are in an extended time of personal reinvention, described by Uranus in your birth sign. People begin such transits one way and often end up entirely different people. One way you are changing is by extending your concept of “self” to something that includes many more people. Your life is no longer about minding your own business. Neither is it about minding the business of others but rather the business of society. Parents, teachers and therapists tell us not to take on what is not really ours. Your chart advises differently.
Gemini (May 20-June 21) — You are about to make a discovery. Or rather, you will, if you notice, and if you are willing to give up a false idea about something. Learning means a few things. For one, it means changing. For another, it often means having been wrong. Anyone attached to staying the same, by which I mean in their ideation (in this case), will not want to make the change necessary to learn successfully. Anyone who is attached to being right will not be able to be wrong enough to actually learn, and that, sadly, is where many people are stuck. Making a discovery is not seen by everyone as a reward. For many, it is the last thing they want, as making a discovery could require them to change many other things about their life and it is seemingly easier to live in denial. For you, to do this would be to miss one of the greatest opportunities of your life so far. Embrace that what you learn will change you. Accept that change is necessary, and to have your beliefs corrected is only helpful.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) — With the Sun’s move to your fellow water sign Pisces, you are likely to have a more optimistic outlook. Matters that seemed complex will have a tendency to feel simpler. Yet this mostly depends on you acknowledging something you learn just as Mercury stations direct (exact Feb. 20 at 8:52 pm EST). There is an idea I learned in therapy, which is “use what you know.” We might add to that, “Know when you don’t know.” Between these two concepts, we could devise a mind-map of our whole society. We can infer why people are resistant to gaining knowledge: because it imparts a responsibility to actually do something about it. That is exactly the ethos I suggest you live by. Take full responsibility for the implications of what you’re aware of. Know that in many cases you’re also responsible for what you’re not aware of. This may not be true in some strict legal sense, though it is very true in both the moral and practical senses. It’s a big job staying aware and informed. It’s an even bigger job dealing with the implications of what is so. The decisions you make this week could have far-reaching implications, and you don’t want any of them to be based on assumptions.
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — You may now have a sense of how fuzzy some of your agreements are. Now, however, is the time to figure out where you stand with people. That means more than anything figuring out where you stand with yourself. This is always the challenge, when it comes to getting clear with others. You’re in a situation where it’s vitally important to be on level ground with yourself. This is of course the great challenge of human existence, particularly as our awareness is not only under assault all the time, but constantly for sale or for rent. What you must be cautious about is your idealism. It is one thing to be optimistic, and to see the best in people. However, not everyone’s motives are wholesome. Not everyone is honest. And it can take some serious scrutiny to filter out who is real from who is not. Nobody has a perfect batting average no matter how much they may practice. The Sun moving through one of the most sensitive areas of your chart for the next few weeks is about cleaning up your boundaries. And before you get there, you will get the opportunity to find out where they are.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Seeking the truth is not so popular these days. It’s easy to understand why: those who did not do so and who are certain they are right are threatened by those who inquire. You, however, have an inquiring mind, and this has been running at peak potential lately with Mercury retrograde in Aquarius. The sign associated with advances in science and technology is in your house of healing (Aquarius is 6 places from Virgo, hence the 6th solar house). Right now, as in this moment, there is a movement to merge medicine, technology, biology and health. That is dangerous because an experienced herbalist is more likely to help you than all the molecular biology in the world. All this science stuff is the opposite of the Holistic Principle, which is what you would live by in a perfect world: all of life is one expression (described magnificently in the book The Biophilia Hypothesis by Ed Wilson). You are a whole person, and the key to your wellbeing is your wholeness. The more you investigate that, and explore and experience it, the better able you will be to take care of yourself and those you love.
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — Put your plan into physical form. It’s probably a fantastic scheme, with well-thought-through strategies. However, you need to get it into the third-dimension: into physical space and time. That means build a model, hold a rehearsal, write the proposal, and generally clear the space and put it where you can see it. Even if we’re talking about some form of digital art, make it as tangible as possible. You will need a good few run-throughs, redesigns or rewrites to discover the bugs and work them out. This transition from theory to lived reality is something that is going out of style fast, but which humanity dispenses with to its peril. You are here in your body to do things with your body, whatever that might mean to you: as long as it means physical form. One other bit. There is an influence in your chart that is cautioning you about daddy-pleasing. This is going on at manic proportions, though the message is the loudest and clearest for you: make your own choices. Listen for that voice of disapproval, or the notion that you must construct yourself in someone else’s image in order to be acceptable — and go beyond it with the bold determination of knowing, “My life is my life.”
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — The Venus-Mars square, now active in your chart, does not have a good reputation. I once dug through 10 old astrology books writing an article about it, and there was hardly a kind word to be found. Yet they all missed the point, which is the struggle that humans have to integrate both genders. From time to time this gets thrown up on the big board as the existential crisis du jour, usually in the form of political battling or an alleged existential disaster. And it’s always about accepting someone else, and not something within yourself. Women demanding their rights become the symbol of womanliness. Gay people demanding rights become the symbol of your gayness. Men standing behind a row of barbecues become the symbol of all that is wrong with the world. This is all a missed opportunity to accept, admit and acknowledge who you are. And it’s not merely about your identity. It’s about how you feel, who you want, what you want, and what you need — for real, not merely because someone finally said it’s OK. Which is unlikely to happen, unless that someone is you.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — So what are you doing now? Your chart suggests you could finish all five books you have going, all three movies, and your top-five favorite ideas for websites. You have more power running through the language and mind angle of your chart than a lightning storm on Saturn. I suggest, however, that you focus on your single most important priority. It is likely to be the thing calling you today, right now. It may not be your “favorite” thing (but it might); that is irrelevant. It’s what needs to happen and happen well enough such that only you can do it. For this purpose, your mantra does not need to be about reminding yourself how brilliant you are. Rather, remind yourself: “I am efficient. I will find the best way to get this done. I will set limits on my creativity and work with what I’ve got. I respect time and necessity. I will use my creativity as a tool, not as the thing that rules me.” And so on. You must be the one in control of your mind and your personal resources. That does not mean all of destiny or the fate of the world, only your personal abilities and assets. That is quite enough.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — You choose your community. You do this from your available options, a little at a time. But it’s not like getting into Harvard or the Church of Scientology where you must pay, and do exactly what is expected of you at all times. Community is not about being deemed worthy or not on a black and white basis: acceptable or not. There must be flexibility, and also a commitment to honesty. Those are the two qualities to notice with your senses and, your emotional body and your physical body. To put it simply, you want food and not the promise of food. You want warm acceptance, not the pretext that if you are eventually good enough, you will be accepted. Yet those pretexts are pervasive, and worse, they are soaked into most people at a very young age. The bottom line is, to find your place, you must be willing to be alone for a while. Yet you do not want a substitute for the thing you need or desire; you want the real thing. Having nothing for a while, or delaying gratification, is better than an imitation, though you must recognize that when you use and feel it. This is about one thing only: being real with yourself at all times.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Many people never succeed at getting their financial lives in order. Yet this is a metaphor for taking ownership of one’s existence. It is a metaphor for being a self-directed person who is not under the thumb of others. And this always comes back to parents, and the institutions that substitute for them in our lives: governments, banks, employers, and quite often partners — among others. While the emphasis of your life now shifts to the financial aspects of your experience, there is much more to the story than how much money you have, or need. What we are talking about is being responsible for your existence. That means moving on from all those who may end up with the role of encouraging you not to be wholly in possession of your life. These are assigned roles, though they may seem like fate, destiny, or circumstances beyond your control. You now have Jupiter and Saturn in your sign. That is a way of saying there must be no matters that you do not take hold of with the full force of your being. This is a time like no other. Use it wisely.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — The Sun enters your sign this week (Thursday at 5:44 am EST), which always comes as a relief. The water signs in general and Pisces in particular thrive when the Sun is in a water sign. You need to be in your element. Yet it’s vital to recognize that ultimately your element is within yourself. Yes, everyone needs an inner life, and in these days of inside-out digital chaos, few people have one. For you this is not an option, particularly now, with so many planets moving through the most sensitive angle of your chart (Aquarius, your 12th solar house). If I may be so bold, the challenge you face is how not to feel like a prisoner of your own life. You have much more freedom than you may recognize — now you must figure out how to make that real. The first thing you can do is exercise your options. Get out whenever you can, by which I mean outside and away from the all-consuming digital realm. You may need to push, pull or lure yourself, and you’ll need to remember how good you feel when you succeed. Then, the next thing to do is indulge in any and all forms of physical sensuality. That is the one thing lacking from the in-silico universe of the cyber realm. Get wet. Get real.