Photos by Paloma Todd.

Eric Francis has been reporting from The Blast Astrology conference in Sedona, Arizona this pastweekend, interviewing some of the most interesting up-and-coming minds in astrology. These include young astrologers you're hearing from for the first time, as well as some of the most established ones in the profession. Eric also did a presentation on writing Sun-sign horoscopes that we will broadcast in full on Planet Waves – lots of new interviews have been posted, so check it out!

We are, thankfully, in a completely new astrological act, with the Aries Sun picking up a grand fire trine (Saturn in Leo trine Vesta, Jupiter and Pluto in Sagg). Vesta, the Roman goddess of hearth and home, takes center stage this month as she crosses a galactic point called the Great Attractor. The question of "home" is a cosmic one. Home is what usually makes the difference between the feeling of existing in a hostile universe or a friendly one. Those with the ability to make home often feel safe; those who cannot tend to live on the psychological edge. But now we can extend the question to the galactic scale: Where are we, and do we really belong here? We need an answer to that.
 
Aries (March 20-April 19)
Springtime has a way of focusing you on your relationships, or your desire for them. If life has been chilly in this regard lately, you may want to look for romantic adventure a little further from home. I don't suggest you set off in search of that in particular, but rather for your fortunes in general. Limitations in one area of your life point to a great sense of expansion in others. Some aspects of living are calling for discipline; others are calling for a bold and unfettered time of exploring. Do a little (or more) of each, in its proper place and time.
 
Taurus (April 19-May 20)
Venus in your sign is reminding you how much you have to give, but what good is that if you have nobody to give to? What shows up in your charts, though, is the willingness of others to share with you. To the extent this is true, it will require an adjustment on your part to be open to receive. Over a phase going back several long years, you've grown way too accustomed to the power trips of others, rather than the pleasure trips. This has only enhanced your reticence to exchange openly with others, because too often, it turned out to be a trap. What if that were no longer true?
 
Gemini (May 20-June 21)
You may be in one of those phases where you don't seem to see the inside of your house for a while. Between arriving home at night and leaving the next morning, you may want to take out half an hour and feel like you belong where you live. Life has been taking you on some interesting professional adventures, and your recent achievements lack nothing for originality, impact and excitement. People are starting to figure out who you are. The more time you spend doing that, inside your own four walls, the more your strokes of genius will feel like part of your life instead of the whole thing.
 
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
There are some people who don't feel like they're home unless they have someone to come home to. How are you doing in this regard? The focus of your chart currently seems to be a domestic encounter of some kind, perhaps involving someone from your past, or a prior partner. You may be considering what it means to associate love with your home. I suggest you tell yourself your life story through this lens. It may be that you were more in tune with your personal truth in the past, and it may be that the past holds some important secrets for you.
 
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23)
It would appear that a productive breakthrough has arrived following an intense phase in your personal relationships. The goal of human involvement, often forgotten, more often neglected, is to make life better for everyone. Yet we can't forget or neglect that quality and still have it be true. Typically, you're the person to be reminding others of this fact, and doing a little more than your part to maintain a healthy environment. For the next few weeks, I suggest you trust you've set a good enough example that others will pick up on it and take the lead. They have something to offer -- they just need to figure it out.
 
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
This year's quest is about finding your true home. If it takes a year that would be quick, though the chances are it's gone on for a long time and you're now getting results. The key element is not where you are, but rather how you relate to where you are. Vesta in Sagittarius is suggesting you must define your space your way. The history of Vesta worship says that the place to begin is the fireplace, be it real or symbolic, a hearth or a stove. That space where fire is tended becomes the point of devotion from which a healthy living space grows outward.


Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23)
You may be in a challenging time when it comes to maintaining honest discussion in your intimate partnerships. It's not that anyone wants to be dishonest -- rather, there is so much to say, it's so difficult to understand all the feelings involved, and much of what you need to say feels irrelevant. Past history is a factor, and recent events may be prodding you into more of a traditional partnership role than you were considering just a few weeks ago. But you seem to have one thing on your mind that you won't rest until you say. I suggest you take the chance, open your mouth and discover what it is.
 
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)
Lately you may feel like you live on top of the stove. But all that heat seems to be bringing you to a boil. Discomfort is your best friend, including any potential consternation in your household, among your friends, or the continuing loss of illusions from which you are suffering. Every shred of annoying material, be it emotional or environmental, is pointing you toward freedom, indeed, pushing you there aggressively. The only catch is you need to match your feelings with awareness. The price of liberation is noticing, no more and no less.
 
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22)
Jupiter in your sign has been holding a long trine to Saturn in Leo. This is offering you some stability and a rare opportunity to feel like the most exotic bird in your tree. You are typically someone whose home resembles a youth hostel, a train station or a United Nations conference, and you take it all in stride. Pay attention now because someone you're not expecting is about to show up, though you may not notice in the midst of the ongoing shuffle of your household. Don't miss that phone message or note on the refrigerator.
 
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20)
You've been able to straighten out numerous financial issues the past few weeks, but you've mainly gone through the top few layers. Now comes the creative part, which is recognizing how resourceful you are, and making sure those resources are being put to good use. You've obviously missed the main fact of your financial life, which is that your ongoing willingness to make sacrifices has put you in an unusually strong position, whether that means being free of debt or having access to valuable non-cash resources. Keep the inventory going.
 
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19)
You may be pushing yourself too hard to notice a subtle discovery worth all the effort you've exerted the past month or so. And while you may be experiencing a sense of lack, loss or separation in one part of your life, something or someone fulfilling and real is making itself known in another. Go past the illusion of isolation, or the feeling that you're 'too different' in a world that seems to demand that the most unique thing about a person is their ring-tone. Remember, it's not your phone that matters, it's who calls you. Make sure you answer.
 
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
Get over any sense of fatigue you may be feeling, and start crawling out of your psychic hole toward the clear light of day. This is a moment of revelation, of beautiful, shocking and startling awareness about who you are, what you want and what you need. You're accustomed to long delays between such revelations and what you're able to do about them, but in fact you've been warming up to this one for a long time. When you suddenly get the message, it may have that odd, familiar feeling to it -- even though you could swear it's brand new news.