The War Comes Home, to Boston

Dear Friend and Reader:

As of our distribution time, two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing had been identified. After a robbery last night at a Cambridge 7-Eleven and a shootout near the campus of MIT, one of the two suspects identified Thursday is dead and one remains at large, as the entire Boston metro area is under siege by the equivalent of an army -- tanks, helicopters, SWAT teams and busloads of police. Meanwhile the world is watching the situation develop on live television.

Photo from page one of New York Times website today.

One suspect -- Tamerlan Tsarnaev, age 26, shown Thursday in surveillance video wearing the dark hat -- was killed.

Some reports say he was shot; others say he was run over by his own brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, age 19, who may now be in a standoff with police. Who exactly is in the house that the police have surrounded is unknown. CNN was reporting that police had asked for a Russian interpreter.

Tamerlan was found to have an improvised explosive device (IED) strapped to his body. Other people have reportedly been taken into custody.  [Birth dates for the brothers are available; here are their provisional charts, set for noon and relocated to Boston.]

After a night of bizarre developments, including the robbery of a convenience store, a carjacking, and a police pursuit and shootout, the scenario at this point is still extremely puzzling and does not resemble any other known terrorism scenario.

The astrology of the bombing indicated a rapidly developing situation that would get weirder as the week developed, and is not quite done. The chart actually comes to a peak on Saturday. This is described in the current Planet Waves FM.

The press is reporting that the house where the bombs were made may have been located, and there are reports of a bomb squad van in the area.

Boston Marathon Chart Looked Like Suicide

Monday, I described the chart as resembling that of a suicide. Though it was not a suicide bombing, the suspects apparently didn't have a clear escape plan. It's possible that neither suspect will survive this manhunt, though much is not known: the extent of the conspiracy, how they were trained and the extent to which their existence was known to authorities prior to this incident.

But the chart -- with Neptune looming on the western horizon, representing the environment -- also warns that very little information coming out is trustworthy. This is a chart that says slippery when wet.

Chart for Boston Marathon bombing shows Neptune on the western horizon (blue trident on the horizontal line, far right), cautioning against drawing conclusions without plenty of confirmation. The unfolding scenario is described in the 8th house -- to the right side, halfway up the chart. That's the Mercury-Uranus conjunction, which describes a situation that's developing rapidly.

In an unprecedented development, the towns of Belmont, Newton, Watertown, Allston, Brighton and Cambridge are currently under lockdown, with more than 380,000 residents being asked to stay in their homes. A door-to-door search for the surviving suspect is underway.

That search is apparently expanding. Later in the morning, the governor issued a "shelter in place" order for all of Boston, perhaps the first time that's ever happened in a major American city. 

All public transit services in the Boston area are shut down by order of the Massachusetts governor. Campuses of Harvard, MIT, Boston University, Brandeis, Emerson, Boston College, Suffolk and Northeastern are all shut down for the day, along with Boston public schools. Businesses are being asked not to open. Logan Airport is currently open but under heavy guard.

This latest development emerged Thursday night after the robbery of a 7-Eleven, a brief hostage situation and the shooting of an MIT security officer. After their photos were broadcast around the world yesterday, the two brothers wanted for the marathon bombing made a run for it, beginning with the attempted robbery of the 7-Eleven, then engaged police in an extended firefight, throwing IEDs out of the windows of their car.

This brings to a peak a week that began with the bombing of the marathon, and continued with the attempted ricin poisoning of Pres. Obama and the arrest of a suspect, Paul Kevin Curtis. Wednesday the U.S. Senate voted down every gun regulation that was proposed in the aftermath of the Newtown, Connecticut, shooting in December. 

Later on Wednesday there was an explosion at a fertilizer plant in the town of West, Texas, which leveled part of the town and resulted in numerous fatalities.

Thursday afternoon, the FBI released photos of the two Boston Marathon bombing suspects, and by 10 pm the pair had made their existence known, attempting to rob the 7-Eleven, shooting the MIT security officer and engaging police in a firefight. 

The astrology suggests that the story still has some strange developments in store. An aspect prominent in the chart of the Boston Marathon -- Mercury conjunct Uranus -- is not exact until Saturday, followed by Mercury square Pluto. 

As for that Slightly Subtler Week

In last week's edition, I suggested that this would be a slightly subtler week. However, I made a mistake reading the astrology: I didn't account for what might develop when Mercury, which spent more than two months in Pisces as part of its retrograde process, ingressed Aries, crossing the Aries Point. The result was a large release of energy, with these developments emerging from behind the scenes.

That also means that Mercury is moving through the Uranus-Pluto square -- it will be conjunct Uranus on Saturday and square Pluto on Sunday. The Uranus-Pluto square is the longstanding aspect in the background of our lives now. It's the "2012 aspect" that actually spans from 2012-2015.

Mercury is that planet that ruled the Virgo ascendant of the Boston Marathon bombing chart. So it's very much the star of the show at the moment, and is very much about a developing story that fits a much larger pattern of events. Mercury -- illustrating a young individual -- is about to lead authorities back to a larger group (Uranus) but we don't know what happens next. That's because Uranus always indicates something unpredictable happening.

Please watch the Planet Waves blog and our Facebook pages for additional details and analysis as they become available.

Lovingly,



Planets Moving Fast; More Developments Coming

The Sun is still traveling in a conjunction to Mars, a close and potent one, moving quickly across the sky. So before things cool off, they stay hot for a little while. We're also about to experience the Mercury-Uranus conjunction (exact on Saturday, seeming to describe an explosion of ideas, revelations, rebellion, inventions, the unexpected). That develops into the Mercury-Pluto square (exact on Sunday, describing depth, introspection, inner probing, seeking understanding, recognition of transience).

The chart for the Scorpio lunar eclipse suggests the action might not be over. Mercury is about to make a conjunction to Eris, indicating that there are more surprises in store. First, Mercury makes a conjunction to Uranus on Saturday and a square to Pluto on Sunday.

Planets have now begun to shift into Taurus. Leading the way was Venus, which ingressed Taurus earlier in the week. The Sun follows later tonight, and there's more to come. Taurus is supposed to cool off the sky a little, but it doesn't always work that way.

That said, the sky is building toward the Scorpio Full Moon on Thursday, April 25 -- that's the opposition of the Sun in Taurus and the Moon in Scorpio. This is also a partial lunar eclipse -- the first in a cluster of three eclipses this spring. Eclipses tend to be pattern-setting events, and the span of time between them can have an unusual quality of things moving forward and developing quicker than usual.
 
We'll have more about this event early next week. In brief, it looks like Mars -- which will still be conjunct the Sun in Taurus -- is bringing extra heat and desire to this Full Moon. You'll likely feel the urge to express that physically. On the other side of the sky, the Scorpio Moon can feel like a deep well of emotion, often with a sexual tone to it. Saturn will be conjunct the Moon for this eclipse, offering a container for all this energy as we explore it.
 
This is a passionate lunar eclipse we're building to over the next several days. With an atmosphere of fear, anger and grief running high for many people, try to keep tabs on when your emotions run ahead of your thoughts. This is a time for empathy and self-awareness, and a good time to slow down and take a breath before speaking or acting. Respond, don't react.


Immigration Reform -- Over Before It's Begun?

A bipartisan group of senators on Wednesday filed legislation for immigration reform, which hinges on almost complete border security. The legislation calls for "high-risk border sectors" -- those with at least 30,000 illegal crossings a year -- to be sealed off before most undocumented immigrants could begin the process to legal residency.

U.S. Border Patrol agent Gabriel Pacheco walking back to his vehicle along the border fence in San Diego in 2008. No one talks about Canada's border. Photo: AP/Lenny Ignelzi/File.

Advocates of true reform say this requirement -- and indeed the whole path to citizenship -- is nearly impossible. U.S. immigration officials would have to guarantee complete monitoring of the southern U.S. border and a 90 percent success rate in blocking unlawful entry in certain areas.

Only then could the nation's estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants apply for permanent residency, a process expected to take at least 10 years. The path to citizenship is even longer: 13 years for undocumented immigrants to become eligible, according to Democracy Now!

Further, the legislation would block anyone who arrived in the United States after Dec. 31, 2011, from applying for legal status and ultimately citizenship. Applicants would also have to prove they have no criminal record and pay up to $2000 in fines, requirements that would bar "vast swaths" of immigrants from becoming citizens, said Democracy Now!

As if to further impede the "impossible" legislation, some are concerned that this week's Boston Marathon attack will have adverse consequences.

League of United Latin American Citizens head Brent Wilkes said in an interview with Politico.com there is always a "threat of something happening when the details of the bombing attack become public."

"If for example... somehow the person who did this was an immigrant, that would be something that would certainly make it harder for us to usher legalization through both the Senate and House," he said, referring to the change overnight from support to opposition for an immigration overhaul after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Poison Letters Intercepted

A Mississippi man, Paul Kevin Curtis of Tupelo, was arrested by federal agents on Wednesday. He is suspected of sending letters believed contaminated by the poison ricin on Monday to President Obama, Mississippi Republican senator Roger Wicker, and others throughout the week. Tupelo is Wicker's hometown.
 

Maryland firefighter in a protective suit walks out of a government mail screening facility in Hyattsville, MD, Wednesday. Photo: Alex Brandon/AP.

Curtis, 45, believed he uncovered a conspiracy to sell human body parts on the black market and claimed "various parties within the government" were trying to ruin his reputation, according to CBS News. Both letters said: "To see a wrong and not expose it, is to become a silent partner to its continuance." Both were signed, "I am KC and I approve this message."
 
Ricin is a highly toxic, naturally occurring protein derived from the castor oil plant. A dose the size of a few grains of table salt can kill an adult human if exposure is from injection or inhalation. It does not have an antidote. The letters field-tested positive for ricin; authorities are awaiting the results of lab tests, since field tests for ricin often display false positives.
 

Courts Block Document Transparency, Medical Clemency

Two ongoing cases of delayed justice, secrecy and inhumane treatment have met additional setbacks this week. In the first, court documents related to the ongoing case of Army whistleblower Bradley Manning, who was arrested in May 2010 in Iraq on suspicion of having passed classified material to the website WikiLeaks, will not be accessible by journalists.
 

Bradley Manning, military release photo.

A lawsuit challenging government secrecy in the trial of Manning, brought on behalf of a group of journalists, had sought to allow access to transcripts, judicial arguments, and other court documents.

The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces rejected the lawsuit, "citing a lack of jurisdiction until the trial is complete," according to Democracy Now!  
 
"Today's decision flies in the face of decades of First Amendment rulings in the federal courts that hold ... that the accuracy of court proceedings depends on their being open," said the Center for Constitutional Rights. "Bradley Manning's trial will now take place under conditions where journalists and the public will be unable to follow what is going on in the courtroom."
 
This development is disconcerting, given that Manning's supporters both in the U.S. and internationally have been concerned about his treatment while detained, and its effect on his mental health.
 
Detention without trial has also been a controversial hallmark of Guantanamo prison, where most of the 166 prisoners have been waging a hunger strike since February.
 
One of those prisoners, Yemeni national Musa'ab al-Madhwani, may be dying after being placed in solitary confinement without daily monitoring, after collapsing last week. U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan has denied an emergency relief motion from al-Madhwani, claiming he does not have jurisdiction. Hogan also described his condition as "self-manufactured." al-Madhwani's doctor accused Guantanamo of "deliberate indifference."

Al-Madhwani has never been charged with a crime in the ten-plus years he has been imprisoned.
 
In related news, a landmark report was released this week confirming that the highest officials in the George W. Bush administration were responsible for the torture of people after the 9/11 incident. It also calls out the Obama administration for its lack of transparency around rendition and torture.



Couple Arrested in Revenge Killing of Texas DAs
 
Arrests have finally been made in the well-publicized cases of Texas District Attorney Mike McLelland, his wife Cynthia and Mark Hasse, an assistant DA, who were murdered earlier this year. Despite much speculation that a Mexican drug cartel or the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (a white supremacist prison gang) must be responsible, the culprits have turned out to be much less exotic -- yet perhaps more chilling.

An image of Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, is unveiled before a memorial service in Mesquite, Texas, earlier this month. Photo: AP.

On Wednesday, prosecutors filed charges against former Texas justice of the peace Eric Williams and his wife Kim Williams. According to an affidavit, Kim Williams confessed to taking part in the killings, primarily as the driver, but claimed that her husband actually pulled the trigger on all three victims. She joined her husband at the jail at about 3 a.m. on Wednesday; he was already in custody over allegedly sending an anonymous e-mail threatening another attack.
 
The pair committed the murders in retaliation for Evan Williams' conviction for stealing three computer monitors from the county. That verdict -- and its resulting loss of his law license and peace officer license -- allegedly put the couple into dire financial straits, prompting them to plot revenge, which they patiently enacted. Williams and his lawyer both claimed that Hasse and McLellan tampered with evidence in his trial over the stolen computer monitors to settle a political grudge.   
 
Investigators struggled for weeks to find evidence to tie Williams to the murders. Finally on Saturday, prompted by evidence not yet disclosed, they discovered a storage unit at a self-storage business housing a car matching the description of the one witnesses claimed to see speeding away after the January shooting of Hasse in front of the Kaufman County courthouse. The unit also included several guns.
 
"I find it hard to believe that someone could have written a novel with all these twists and turns in a small rural county in Texas," said Bruce Wood, the county's top elected official. "People are relieved but still stunned."



Communication Breakdown
 
Adding to the chaos and confusion of the Boston Marathon explosions was both spotty cell phone service and conflicting reports regarding cell phone service being cut off. News outlets reported that service was unavailable in parts of the city but the reasons were unclear.
 

A woman talks on the phone after two explosions interrupted the Boston Marathon. Photo by Dominick Reuter/Reuters.

Both The Associated Press and the New York Post reported that government officials shut service off in Boston to prevent remote detonation of further devices. The Associated Press report cited a law-enforcement official as their source, and around the same time the New York Post ran a headline stating the same. Wireless Internet was also reported to be slow or unavailable through various news reports and twitter accounts.
 
Despite these reports, other accounts state that there was no official decision made, or steps taken, to shut down cell phone service in Boston for any reason. Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint and AT&T denied any interruption of service to the area. A Sprint spokeswoman noted that they did experience some "mild call blocking" immediately following the blasts due to above normal traffic, and suggested people try texting rather than calling in these situations. The AP retracted their story.

That does not mean that cell phone service cannot be cut off. Precedents have been set world wide in Egypt, Myamar, Iran, and domestically here in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City. The phrase shutting down the Internet or cell phone availability is misleading however, since there is no "kill switch" for these or any one way to shut them off.

What does exist is a classified document within the Department of Homeland Security outlining protocols and procedures to shut down communications in the event of an emergency: Standard Operating Procedure 303 (SOP 303). Since SOP 303 is classified, little is known about what conditions would constitute a situation in which it would operate. What is known is that state and Homeland Security officials share a network with government and private institutions that can coordinate a shutdown in localized areas.




URANU.S.A.
 
If the events of this week have brought anything home, it's that aspects and transits involving Uranus can come with big, surprise ideas and actions (including the creative and revolutionary) -- as well as upsets, literal explosions and fires: events that change the course of things in a dramatic way.
 
Astrologer and friend of Planet Waves Nick Dagan Best has written a non-fiction book in graphic novel format, called URANU.S.A., which traces the story of Uranus through Gemini in U.S. history. Uranus has transited Gemini during three distinct recent eras: the revolutionary period that birthed the United States of America; the American Civil War; and U.S. involvement in World War II.
 
In that time, Uranus in Gemini's wartime expression has spurred some truly notable advancements; for example, Uranus and Venus joined in Gemini turns out to be "a repeating planetary signature in the gradual advancement of racial equality in United States law."
 
If you have some solid, basic astrological knowledge (you know a square from a sextile; you have a feel for how planets express themselves in the 12 zodiac sigs, and in aspect to each other) and a sweet tooth for history, it's a fascinating and vividly illustrated read. The e-book version of URANU.S.A. is available now; or you can pre-order a print copy and it will ship as soon as it's ready.




The Boston Marathon and our Culture of War

Violinist Jimmy Be Free.

Here's your new edition of Planet Waves FM. In this edition, I provide a careful analysis of the chart for the bombing of the Boston Marathon on Monday. I do this without jargon -- explaining the astrology in human terms, and looking at things that are out of view of investigators and mainstream journalists.

My musical guest is Jimmy Be Free, who I met in the Portland airport Monday. He's a brilliant violinist, composer and singer. You can pick randomly from his music -- it's all beautiful.

If you would like to see the charts I've been reviewing associated with the Boston Marathon, here is a Zip file of the charts. They are worth a look.




Your Monthly Horoscopes -- and our Publishing Schedule Notes

The April monthly extended horoscopes were published Friday, March 22. Inner Space for March was published Tuesday, Feb. 26; there will be no Inner Space for April due to scheduling issues. We published the Moonshine horoscopes for the Aries New Moon on Tuesday, April 9. We will publish a Moonshine horoscope for the Scorpio Full Moon Tuesday, April 23. The monthly horoscope for May will be published Friday, April 26. Note that the longer monthly horoscope is being incorporated into the Friday issue after the Sun has entered a new sign; a new Inner Space is generally emailed on the following Tuesday.




Weekly Horoscope for Friday, April 19, 2013 #946 | By Eric Francis

Aries (March 20-April 19) -- Remember what you figure out this weekend, because it may be one of the most relevant personal discoveries you've made in a long time. The question, though, is why you might forget, and one reason for that is because if you put the information to use, you will need to make some deep decisions not just about what you do, but about who you are. I know you may not think that who you are is a decision, though I assure you that it is. Even if you only go as far as deciding to be who you know you are, rather than who you are not, that's still an important choice, though it goes deeper than that. Your state of being is in a continual state of change, and at each of those junctures, you are presented with a choice. What decision you make will be influenced by what you know and whether you use what you know -- and you're about to learn something that is both meaningful and useful.




Attention all Aries: Your 2013 Birthday Reading is ready! Your sign is loaded with planets right now, making this New Moon the ultimate in cosmic reset buttons for you to get your solar year started Aries-style. If you have already ordered, you may now access using the login and password you received when you placed your order. If you have not yet ordered, what are you waiting for? You're an Aries -- the zodiac's initiator! This birthday reading includes two 40-minute segments of astrology, plus a tarot spread using the Voyager Tarot by James Wanless. You may purchase instant access to this affordably priced reading here.

Taurus (April 19-May 20) -- As planets and the Sun move from Aries to Taurus, you may repeatedly have the sensation of seeing what you were missing. Venus made its move first, which will be followed by the Sun and Mars. It's likely that there's a theme of making discoveries about your sexuality and your sexual identity. The big surprise may be that there are variables you hadn't considered, or overlooked. Looking deeper, there's an inquiry about your relationship to your father and how that shaped your identity. Look for the ways that the relationship was set up for you to please him and you may notice what you left behind in the process of doing so. Those are things you can reclaim, and when you take a bold step toward doing that, you will want to take another and another. You're poised to discover something I cannot describe, but I can see one clear effect: the sensation of being set free. Notice what got you there.


Gemini (May 20-June 21) -- This would be the weekend to get to every interesting social event you hear about. There's something in your chart about making connections, which have an element of surprise and a stroke of genius to them. One reading of your solar chart describes an encounter with a group -- that is, the potential to walk in on a new circle of friends that seemed like it was waiting for you to come along. But make sure you focus on the one-on-one encounters that seem to draw you in the deepest. Indeed, notice who and what draws you into yourself the deepest. You may feel some inclination to judge yourself at a certain point, to compare yourself to others or to wonder whether you fit in. Think of that as a veil that you're passing through -- or like one of those moments in a metaphysical journey where you're confronted with your own fear. Remember, the fear is not coming from outside of you; what you're seeing and being offered a chance to resolve is something inside yourself.


Cancer (June 21-July 22) -- You have an opportunity to reinvent your career, which really means reinventing your creative process. This may start as the flash of an idea, a meeting, or a new way to see something that you've been mulling over for a long time. What matters most is that you follow your impulse and put your plan into motion. Take one step, then take another. You may have the feeling of pushing into the unknown, which turns out to be familiar territory where you discover that you know just what to do as you do it. The thing to remember is that while your idea may seem a little out of the ordinary, that's precisely the point. What else deserves to be called an 'idea'? Anyway, this is likely to be a real one. If you're like most people in Western civilization, you have more to do than you can handle, so I suggest you make some conscious decisions about how to route your time, energy and resources. Remember: people around you support you. Get real about that.


Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) -- Think of yourself as the guardian of something of global importance. Imagine that you are a protector of all that is fair, honest and loving. That's humble service, but it's also essential that you make the mental shift from littleness to magnitude. You have a significant function in the world, and to fulfill that function you will benefit from keeping your mind as open and encompassing as you can. Center yourself on values that are designed to protect the core of life and love. You know what they are, and it's natural for you to contribute to the world in such a way that supports what matters the most to you. You now have that opportunity, in what may be a continually increasing way. Remember the leadership skills you've developed. Remember your knack for getting others to cooperate with you, and to cooperate with one another. Remember how resourceful you are, which means you can pull together whatever it takes to get the job done.


Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) -- This may be the weekend to renegotiate your relationship agreements. The topic may come up on its own, or you may need to bring it up, in the context of recent events. The first thing to remember is that everything is negotiable. The second thing to remember is that there is a solution that can work out well for everyone, and you can find it -- if everyone agrees. Short of that, you must do what you need to do in order to be free to live your life. You're not a subsidiary of anyone, you're not indentured and you're not a slave to money or any other form of resources that might come from someone else. You are, however, free to use shared resources in a way that's mutually beneficial and creative. I suggest you set no less of a standard for how you can conduct your life. Yet you have far broader horizons than you've admitted to yourself recently, and I think that will be your true source of motivation.


Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) -- There's no way you can keep living with the relationship models that have served you in the past, but which cannot handle the way you and your world are today. There's too much energy moving for you to hold yourself and others to strict rules or expectations. You also need to know how to work with the fact that people are attracted to you, rather than working against it, or having it work against you. Think of what you're doing as directing the flow of energy. At the moment you have a lot to manage, and you may have given up keeping track of things. Now would be a good moment to spark yourself to full consciousness and make decisions. Listen to what people say. They will tell you all you need to know about who they are -- and in the process, reveal plenty about who you are. Yet of all the information coming through your charts most important is the bit about not resenting when others fancy you. If you do, I suggest you consider it a measure of your self-esteem, and address it on that level. Remember, you don't have to give up your power when you accept attention, affection and admiration.


Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) -- By all indications, this is going to be an exciting season of your life. Meaningful encounters with people are showing up on the event horizon. There may be so much energy coming your way that you do not know what to do with it. Two ideas come to mind: One is that what you encounter, who you meet, what you do and how you feel about it have the power to rearrange your life. You might be inclined to hold back, to prevent the changes, but that will only lead to an enhanced state of chaos. The other idea is that you're starting to focus on your healing process with new commitment. You may have an idea that part of that journey involves a new approach to your relationships, though it goes a lot deeper than that. You would not be able to relate to others without a self with which to do the relating. The primary message of your solar chart is that how you relate to others is an extension of who you are -- not the other way around.


Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) -- When I was at Burning Man 2001, someone said to me that many people there were not going to go past their boundaries, but they would find out what they are. You're currently having your own miniature Burning Man or Burning Woman celebration. Your mental and emotional environment is thriving with creativity and passion. I would ask: how are you responding to this? Are you being pushed up against your boundaries, or feeling uncomfortable at the idea of certain potential experiences? How are you feeling about taking chances you might not take, particularly of a sexual or creative nature? How much fun can you stand? Right now you have the chance to feel the edge of your limits, or to expand them -- a little or a lot. Either way, I suggest you notice what those limits are about. If you feel, listen and think, you'll get information, and you can use it to make choices around the options that you're being presented.


Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) -- You will feel love, and be loved, when you feel safe. Think of safety, love and trust as being part of the same thing. I suggest you assess any situation in your life, whether it involves your relationships, your children, or the work you do as a question of safety -- or more accurately, of perceived safety. There's a potential problem, though, in focusing too much from that angle. Many people who feel confident are that way because they take chances and succeed, and when they don't, they count what they've learned, dust off and try again. Looked at the other way, people who refuse to take even ordinary risks will repeatedly convince themselves that they're not safe doing so, and many influences in your solar chart suggest that the more daring you are, the more secure you'll feel. What you're looking for is not the assurance that nothing can go wrong but rather the self-assurance that life rewards you for actually living.


Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -- You seem to be in a moment of revelation. Some idea or development is finally promising to move the story of your life along, rather than overwhelm you with problems and potential. The full idea may not have come to you yet -- though you're working your way toward it. The thing to remember is that there are two dimensions here -- the outer and the inner. The outer level involves the conscious thoughts you're thinking, the facts of which you're aware and what you might do about them. The inner layer is a much deeper reality check about how you feel about these things. I suggest you include considerations such as what you would need to give up and what you would gain; an assessment of how certain choices have worked or not worked for you in the past; and any influence on your social reality. Practical matters are not everything; emotional matters count for a lot right now, and as the Grateful Dead lyrics go, "Without love in the dream, it will never come true." Perhaps take that a step further -- this is all about love, and awakening to it.


Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) -- Your personal revelation of our rather stunning moment might go something like this: You can now see how many of your prior self-assessments of being unworthy, not good enough, not talented enough, not determined enough or any form thereof were not just incorrect but ridiculously off the mark. You have all the talent and resources you need; the next step is to engage with life more assertively, even competitively. Set clear goals for yourself, draw up a list of steps that will get you to each goal, and proceed with a clear strategy. Since you're a Pisces you will always yield to intuition, so you don't need to have any concerns that having a plan will hem you in. Your strategy is like a notebook that will help you guide your decisions, keep track of your priorities and help you ensure that you don't miss any steps. Your intuition is working just fine. Add logic, reason and some consciously adapted skill at politics and you will be unstoppable.