Love & Work

Be resolutely who you are. Be humbly who you aspire to be.
-- Chinese fortune cookie

Many, many times in my astrology career, I've heard people say, "This is what I wanted to do, but this is what I wound up doing." I even hear fairly young people say this, often with the feeling that they cannot change their course in life: that it's too hard, or that they have too big of an investment in getting to where they got so far. There are always beliefs operating behind these conditions, and if people become trapped in one thing on this planet, it is their beliefs.
 
There's a story like this in my family. My father, when he graduated from Brooklyn College in 1963 as a Speech and Theater major, wanted to go into television. But as I understand it, he felt that there were not any jobs left in TV. So he became a teacher.
 
That was 42 years ago, when there were maybe five channels on the air in New York City, most which went off the air at 2 am, displaying a test pattern after playing an ancient video of the Star Spangled Banner with a black and white flag blowing in the breeze. For some reason, my father did not see, or could not believe, that television was about to become exponentially more enormous and influential than it had become in the 1950s, and that all there would be were jobs -- tens of thousands of them. So abundance was not the issue; his ideas about it were.
 
So he became a college professor and went on to get his Ph.D. from New York University. I have seen him teach, and I know how effective he is, and how much his students love him. I know what a dedicated teacher he is -- the kind a college student is extremely fortunate to happen across, because he cares about what he teaches. I was also his student, in a real sense. His ideas about media, and his studies in the field, have influenced every bit of what I do and how I think. I learned from him that media is not something you just sit back and take. You can, rather, take it apart. You don't just look at television; you look through it. You can study its impact. You can understand its message on many levels. From there, it was only a short step for me to begin creating media. It never occurred to me that one could not.

 
The House of the King -- and the Profession

In astrology, we think of the categories of life in houses, or slices of the chart. Each house is a process; it groups together a variety of subjects and themes that have something vital in common, even if it's not obvious at first what that something is. When you begin to see the connections, you begin to understand the house.

The 10th house is considered the house of profession and career. In the old books, this is the house of "government, dignity, office and command." It's the house at the very top of the chart, where the Sun is at noon. As people and astrology evolved, the 10th became the house of aspiration; of one's professional ambitions and success -- rising to the top, as it were. When most people think of their work (not their chart, as most people are not astrologers), they don't usually consider it in terms of the 10th -- as implying some kind of honor, privilege or responsibility to society.
 
Usually, we think of our work in terms of the 6th house: the job we do. The 6th, in its original themes, is the ideological and cultural opposite of the 10th. It is the house of servants, health or sickness, and small cattle. In modern terms, this is the house of our day-to-day lives; what we do for a living; how we think and feel on the most immediate level. It's the house where we apply ourselves to our work. It has a different kind of dedication to life than the 10th. It is more interior, quieter, less visible, and less involved with the outer world. It is the servant, not the king.
 
Dedication to service, or to one's craft for its own sake rather than for getting ahead, are the marks of the 6th. It's where a writer who is making no money, or a musician without gigs, does their best work because that's what they want to do. Yes, the writer can get paid (many resist) -- but in the 6th house, that is less the issue, and often it does not matter. Good writing matters. Whatever success we find, or how great we become in the outer world, the here-and-now, down-to-Earth dedication of the 6th is what makes our work pleasurable, meaningful, vital and mentally engaging. It's not about recognition or credit; it's about a job well done for its own sake.
 
If we tend to define our mission in terms defined by the 6th house in a way that feels limited (i.e., being a servant, and resenting it), usually it's because nobody opened the door for us to go any higher, or pushed us higher: such as gave us an opportunity for higher education, the 9th; or told us we could do great things, the 10th; or encouraged our hopes and dreams, the 11th; or allowed us to go deeply into the devotion of our creative interests, which is a fulfilling experience of the 6th.
 
But often, it's because we were intentionally held down in some way, or taught boredom and meaninglessness as a way of life. Often, that influence came from our parents, how they experienced life, and what they believed about themselves, about us, and about the world. How happy were your parents with their work when you were growing up? How involved in their careers were you? Were you aware of what they did? How did they respond to your activities? Is there a relationship?
 
Most astrologers today would tell you that the 10th house involves the parents; usually it's given to the father (however, traditional astrologers know that the 4th is the 'ancient house of fathers'). Some give it to the mother. Some say it's the house that signifies the dominant parent of either sex, who today is usually mom, because so often dad is absent (or was when most of us were growing up). There is still a discussion about this happening; life changes pretty fast. It is interesting, though, that in the earliest astrology text written in English (Christian Astrology by William Lilly), there is no mention of parents in the chapter on the 10th house. All the questions involve the government, the king, the queen, the admiral, the general -- the top brass of society, as apart from the family. They involve seeking a position or getting a preferment.

I think that if parents get mixed up in this house, it is because they exist in our lives as kings and queens, and they try to dictate what is possible in life, including what station in life they reached, and how happy they were with it.

There's a Grateful Dead song called 'Dupree's Diamond Blues' that, unfortunately, sums it up for quite a few people. It begins:
 

When I was just a little young boy,
Papa said "Son, you'll never get far,
I'll tell you the reason if you want to know,
'cause child of mine, there isn't really very far to go."

(Dupree's story does not end well. He wants a diamond ring and robs a jewelry store, killing the proprietor when this is totally unnecessary. The author of the song, Robert Hunter, makes it clear the problem began long before that day; there is an obvious warning being issued to parents.)

So to understand our own professional aspirations, successes, desires and needs, we really need to take a good look at our parents and what they taught us, in words and deeds. Much teaching is not spoken; it is demonstrated, or vibed to us energetically.

Once we figure out what we were taught, we have to claim some power; there needs to be a revolution up in that 10th house. Yes, this requires doing that naughty, naughty thing called being rebellious. Many sense that by doing so, they risk a spanking, getting sent to the principal, or getting disowned by mom and dad. One must take those risks, or run the greater risk of living someone else's life.
 
Sometimes, the influence we're dealing with is obvious: mother and father pushed us to be a pharmacist when we wanted to be a dance instructor. They pushed us to be an engineer when we wanted to be a fashion designer. They pushed us to be a postal worker when we want to be a journalist. They may say, well, I'm paying for your education, so I get to decide. Often, parents are driven by beliefs about money and status, rather than by what would make us happy. Often, parents are jealous of their children and their potential, which is a difficult recognition to make; most of us could hardly confront our parents with this one. Other times, they want us to be something they were not and try to live vicariously through us. It all amounts to the same thing, which we need to see to be free.
 
My father, believing that writers did not make any money, was sending me applications to join the United States Postal Service well into the 1990s. (My brother took the test and scored in the 99th percentile -- but thankfully was not hired. He is a double Leo. He would have gone postal.) I am fortunate to have a strong 10th house, featuring things like the Sun and Mercury. I tend to aspire to accomplish things, and usually when I get involved in a project of some kind, that work is recognized, and it has impact. I'm always on super-friendly terms with the FedEx guy and the people in the Post Office. But that's not my role.

Still, deferential to the beliefs of the 'king', I had to make a compromise with my father, and I am not sure I would have seen this unless my therapist pointed it out. In the 1990s I was a pretty famous investigative journalist, but I was also dirt poor (my friends took care of me, thank you Chris, Jerry, Peter, Aunt Josie and others). I figured out a way not to betray him; he was right. Writers didn't make money. I was right. You could succeed brilliantly as one at the same time. So both articles about my journalism that appeared in The New York Times (and you don't see that newspaper write about other writers very often) end with references to how financially stressed I was! What an impressive trick.
 
Eventually, I began sending a different message to myself.
 
 
Taking the Throne

Finally, I did something really strange. One day I became an astrologer, pretty much just like that. This was my own choice, born of intense curiosity, passion and a sense of necessity, too. The magnetism to the work was powerful (very 6th house), and as I was making poor money and was not happy telling people that they were going to die (which is what you do when you write about toxic chemicals, my specialty), so I had nothing to lose. I never got anyone's permission and nobody expressed an opinion; if they had, I would not have cared.
 
If the 10th house is the house of the king or queen as well as the career, it's also the house where you are the king or the queen of your own life. You cannot do your 10th house until you are in charge of it. In charge means making concrete decisions for the good of the state -- you. It means exercising power -- such as calling the bank and taking everyone else's name off of your bank account, and knowing how much money you have there. It means not giving the family progress reports about your life for long enough to not care what they think. It means making whatever decisions you have to make to get control of your destiny, as best you can do it. Most of all, you need to believe in yourself. (Other houses talk about this property, particularly the 1st and 2nd.)
 
Astrology did something for me that nothing else did. It expanded the universe. It gave me the opportunity to think of everything in entirely new terms, including myself. I could integrate my spiritual life with my professional life, and work with all three sides of my brain. I took all this new information and created a forum for communication -- many forums, starting with a horoscope column, many leaflets, a community newsletter, a couple of radio shows, a web page given to me as a gift, and not so long after, the Planet Waves essay/horoscope format you see today. People liked what I was doing; I liked what I was doing; I could be as personal or as political as I wanted and the two seemed to integrate beautifully. What a great invention. This media outreach blended the 6th and the 10th: good work, widening reputation.
 
I have Pisces on my 10th house cusp, so you could say that my new career fit my chart a lot better than my old one. With Pisces up there, one really needs to be doing something a bit mystical. Astrology satisfied my drive to be in service, taking a lot less out of me than battling corrupt government officials year after year, quite tiring for the emotionally sensitive. It seemed to provide an ever-expanding intellectual and emotional cosmos to consider. I was able to integrate my many loves -- of mythology, divination, religion, tradition, history, psychology, math and people. In particular, the fact that people spoke to me about their lives in a meaningful and sensitive way was and still is one of the greatest gifts of this work.
 
But apart from all of this, astrology did something else for me: it put dinner on the table, as well as lunch and breakfast, and cat food in the bowl. No problem. From the first week I started working for the Jackie Stallone Psychic Hotline (yes, my first job in this business), I could go to the food co-op or the organic food store and buy anything I wanted. Eleven years later, grocery shopping still comes with a mild thrill.
 
"Deal with father issues and you'll deal with your money issues," my therapist said around that time, referencing Freud. I am not sure which I dealt with first, but at a certain point I grabbed the power back. I remember one day waking up in my apartment in Rosendale, New York, feeling like the place had been turned upside down, and I was waking up on the ceiling, with the thought, This Is MY Life.

And I think anyone can do it. Really studying your parents is a great place to start. Notice who you are in contrast to who they are, notice the agreements you made, notice what they told you and how they defined your limits. And if you're using astrology, you can start with your chart: nothing fancy. You just need to look at that 10th house and figure out what's going on there; what you aspire to will come in that color and shape.
 
First, check the sign on the cusp, which the 10th house line intersects. Look at the planet that rules that sign, and where you find it in the chart. Look at the planets in that house, if there are any (and if not, start looking for minor planets, more work, but worth it). What do they say? Look all of these elements up in a few books (not one book, several!) Take it step by step, take notes, assemble the pieces of the puzzle.
 
Think of the 10th ruler as one of your parents, and their aspirations or limitations. Who does it feel like? Consider the 4th ruler as the other. Look at the 4th, which talks about your security and emotional confidence. Is anything in that house undermining you, or offering you support? Hang loose as you do this. Be creative and take your intuitions as worthy of considering. If you make a mistake, don't worry, you'll figure out what you need to know soon enough. Ask the chart for information. You'll get it.
 
Then make a list of your highest goals, dreams and aspirations. Do these match your 10th house? Even remotely?
 
And how do these add up to what you do today? In other words, if you have Leo on the 10th house and you're an accountant, that is probably not a match, unless you're on the vice presidential level or above, and dig it. Leo has to be the boss, and makes a fine boss. If you have Sagittarius on the 10th, you will feel best aspiring to something educational or international. If you have Pisces on the 10th and you're in the motion picture industry as a carpenter, that probably doesn't fit; you need to be in front of the camera, or the director, or part of the show in a more direct way. If you have Aquarius on the 10th and you work as an investment banker, that may not be idealistic enough for you. So you may need to go into alternative energy or ethical investment. Or get out.

You can use the simplest, easiest interpretations for the signs to do this (and it will work for any house). The house is what you are doing; the sign on the cusp is how you need to be doing it. If you poke around a few books and web pages and get different ideas about what that sign on the cusp is about, and what planets in that sign suggest, you're off to a good start. If you don't like one viewpoint, read two others. Not all astrologers know what they're talking about. Some cut to the chase. Some work for other people but not for you. Seek diversity and keep working the astrology till it makes sense. It may take a little time, but it will.
 
One last thing about the 10th, hardly an afterthought, but it deserves more discussion that I can give it here: discussion of profession calls for a close look at Saturn. Our Saturn placement must be in harmony with our work, if we want a fulfilling work life. So look at your Saturn, by sign, house and aspect, do some research, and get the feeling for what it's telling you. And then do a little compatibility check with what you're doing now, with what you wanted to do as a kid, and with what you wish you were doing now. How do these things add up? If you ask for Saturn's help, you'll get it. So check your chart, and ask. [I have an entry on the current Q&A column on Jonathan Cainer's site that deals with Saturn in more detail, called 'Love vs. Work'.]
 
 
The 6th House: Of Sheep, Craftsmen and Healers

Most of us are employees. We don't (or can't) necessarily aspire to great things every day, even though we may think of them often enough, and feel the pull to contribute to society (very 10th house for sure). But we have a job to get done. The 6th house has a greatness of its own, and that greatness is getting your job done well, in a way that is interesting and engaging, as well as helpful to others.
 
The feeling of the 6th house is when, as a kid, you go into the workshop of a leathersmith who has been there many years. You watch him work. He does it so well, he seems to be one with his craft. This feeling of 'one with your craft', and the resulting organic dedication to quality, is the 6th house in its essence. One does not really 'work' in the 6th as we normally think of it; one participates in life meaningfully and in a pleasurable, constructive way. It's not really play; it's not really work. It is something else.
 
Notice how little exposure to the 6th house we have at our time of history. We have very little opportunity to witness smithwork or its equivalents, and as a result we don't get the feeling, or get to see that it exists. Everything goes on behind the scenes. You need an 'all access' pass to get into a kitchen. Usually, our parents' jobs are a kind of secret, and if they are not, often they are abstract and involve pushing paper. And in such a setting we are surprised when someone takes care of a problem that they don't have to because they are dedicated to doing their work well.
 
As kids we get some exposure to the 6th in the doctor's office, a very 6th house place because it involves work and healing. I think that unless you have a real phobia, there is always something appealing about the sense of importance, competence and industry of a doctor's office. Gradually, we are experiencing the 6th as the 'healer's space': the therapist's office, the massage therapist work room, the acupuncturist's table, the yoga studio. These have a much softer feeling but convey the same sense of involvement, competence and confidence.

Notice that most strong 6th house types don't usually aspire to do 'great things in the world' -- it's a humble place where mainly you must concern yourself with paying attention. They may however aspire to strong relationships with colleagues, the exchange of information, writing for journals -- relationships I'll come back to in a moment. But the 10th can also be a factor in 6th house work. People who begin to excel and then take leadership in their field, or who are entrepreneurs, are working 10th house energy at the same time. If you are good at what you do, but begin to delegate tasks, that's a 10th house activity.
 
On the other hand, people who work the 10th house but not the 6th feel hollow and like they are driven by ambition, like most politicians and many celebrities, or someone who gets an MBA because it 'looks good'.
 
Even a chief executive who knows nothing about making cars but is brought into a company to run the business will learn something about making cars, and about his employees experience of doing so, and get that 6th house connection going. And there is always a hands-on aspect to the work that, unless you're Richard Nixon and can't operate a tape recorder or put on your own pants, you need to be intimately involved with. In this world, you need serve people directly, and to actually make, or do, something worthwhile -- or you're going to be bored and miserable (worse, you may not even know it).

Be involved, let your work feed you, and let it feed others. Take care of people well. This is the message of the 6th. The 6th also has a lot to do with health, and health depends on psychological health. In the most private sense, it's the house of our personal wellbeing -- the word in Spanish is bienestar. In the interpersonal sense, it's acting in the role of healer: the supervisor who will listen to your problems, for example, is relying on this dimension of the 6th.
 
However, since the 6th began as the house of small cattle, servants and sickness, usually we get more of the downside, and wind up stuck doing something we don't like. We become sheep. If this pays the bills, particularly in a time when the economy does not seem to be offering abundant opportunities for easy movement, we can become very attached to this. And that is a trap. We wind up as unhappy servants and livestock.
 
I think that the only way out of the trap, really, is to begin raising the vibration of what we are doing right now. As difficult as it may be to be devoted to doing whatever it is you don't like doing, do it well -- very well, as well as you can. Devote yourself to it, while you're doing it. See the value of your role and 'act as if to hold the world together'. Bring quality to your work. Notice who you impact. Bring your own meaning. The increase in brain activity and attention to love will open doors and reveal possibilities. You will either start to feel better, or realize you must be doing something different. And once you feel that, you will be able to make choices based on your creative potential.

 
The 6th House in Context

Any house can be looked at in context of other houses, and that's one really good way to get a sense of what a house is about. After all, it is a distinct process, and the way you see distinction is by contrast. (Remember that the other vital way to understand a house is by seeing the seemingly different themes within that house begin to integrate into one.) But as for contrasts.
 
There are a lot of ways to do this. In this article we've done some contrasting between the 6th and the 10th, which has been productive -- I can tell because I've learned a lot in the process of writing something I thought I already knew, and (for example) recognized that houses that exist in a trine relationship in many ways function as a particular kind of opposites.
 
Or, you can look at the directly opposite house, in this case, the 12th -- the house of things too big to understand, the house of secret fears, and the house of cosmic bliss. If the 12th is totally cosmic, the 6th takes that cosmic force and applies it to life's most basic situations. If the 12th is New York City, overwhelming and clearly too big to understand, the 6th is a photograph that gives you the feeling of the essence of New York City.
 
Or, you can look at the neighboring houses, which I'd like to devote the rest of this article to. The houses tell a story as they go around the wheel. The story starts in the 12th, where we are conceived and grow in gestation in mom's womb. Then it really seems to begin at the ascendant, where we say I AM.
 
By the time we get to the 5th house, we have left the confined safety of the 4th house (visualize this as the garden around your home). Then we are experimenting and taking risks in the world, and with pleasure. The 5th is the house of little children and the way they behave -- freely. It is the house of artists, actors, and other people who are devoted to their creativity; it is also the house of gamblers and gamers. It is the house of hot, passionate sex -- sex that's a little risky, or with someone you may not know so well, or sex that comes with alive and daring romance. It's the kind of sex you don't want to hide, but that does not necessarily define itself by commitment. It is too free. It is in the moment.

Looking at all the different (seemingly ridiculous) housemates of a particular house, and figuring out what they have in common, can reveal the essence of a house. The 5th is the house of having fun, experimenting and creating, which always come with a feeling of risk. The 5th is the house where we explore and develop our personal talents. One of the essences of this house is that it's driven by curiosity, which is the need to know more through experience.
 
The 5th and 6th houses are neighbors. I like to think of them as the art studio and the workshop or business office being friendly neighbors. Or, as the rehearsal studio of a band: it is part creative, part play, part art, part work, and part craft. When a band practices, you can see, hear and feel it in their public performance (in the 11th house).

However, in our world, the 5th and 6th houses are rarely friendly, and often that 6th house cusp is like a brick wall rather than an imaginary line. We build it up with all kinds of rules. No romance in the office. Do your job, don't experiment. Act like an adult. No drawing in class. And most of all, don't have fun at work. Hide your real talent.
 
The work we need -- and need like air and sex, and on a daily basis -- is the work that allows us to blend the 5th and 6th houses. Your chart will tell you a LOT about how to do this, just look at the sign on the cusp. You will have experiences when planets, or the Sun or Moon, cross that cusp. You can start to take some 5th house risks in the 6th house (allow your talent to come at at work, kiss in the supply room, do something inventive and creative, paint a mural on the wall of your boss's office, write a fake memo for April Fool's Day). The 5th has a liberated spirit that the 6th house needs and is, most places, woefully lacking. The more of that spirit you bring in to your work, either 1. The better your workplace and experience of work will get or, 2. The faster you will be fired, or quit.
 
The 5th house has an undeniable ALIVENESS and unless we bring that sense of ALIVENESS into work, we are, my friends, playing dead. So when you're looking for a new job, make sure you look for a space where you feel alive, and which is not so uptight that if you breathe or giggle you're going cause somebody to pull the fire alarm.
 
Then there is the 7th house, the other neighbor of the 6th. The 7th is usually thought of as the house of marriage and loving partners, and it is true that many people meet at work, even if some companies strictly prohibit winking at the cutie in the next cubicle. But the 7th is the house of working partnerships too, and these are some of our most important partnerships in life. Whether we are talking about colleagues, or business partners, or the dedicated assistants who help many talented people do their best work, the relationships of the 7th house are a fully necessary expression of the 6th house. It is in these relationships that most of our knowledge is exchanged, and given from one person to the next, and where real productivity happens.
 
If our 6th house work evolves into something that builds satisfying partnerships, where there is true love and respect exchanged, we've got the 6th house going on. So it's a really good idea to look for places to express your energy and talent that encourage you to grow as a person. That, in truth, is the real work of life. But the love of work, and the people we work with, make that possible.++


Planet Waves by Eric Francis
February. 26, 2005 - Weekly #548
 
Happy Birthday, Pisces!

It's been a long time since you could view life with unmitigated optimism, but then, you're not feeling very much yourself lately. Yet you are getting accustomed to the new energy that is filling you up and very likely overflowing into the world around you. Just be sure you remember that this is all different, and it's supposed to be.

Yet if you recognize just how different, I could see you having some concern that the spell will break, though the contrary seems to be true: whatever strength or energy has found its way to your world is not getting anything except stronger. But this calls on you to keep your awareness and involvement in your own life working at near peak. Each day you must wake up and reinvent yourself, while somehow continuing with what you were doing yesterday.

And you need to push your impact onto others in the most positive and liberating way. You are no longer the passive person in your relationships. You are, to the contrary, the inventor, the creator, the leader and the keeper of the energy. Many other astrological factors are allowing you to contain and focus your energy; but you need to be the one who is guiding yourself to constant expression. This is an unusual posture for Pisces, who too often are able to let life happen to them and then adapt to what comes their way.

There is a belief in this world that too much freedom is a bad thing. It is not usually spoken, but it's clearly something that is being poured into the water supply right now, and vibed through all the media. Many people panic at the mere thought of freedom, because so much responsibility is implied. You not only can do better, you must, and you will.

Rise to the occasion of your own life. Match the considerable investment the universe is making in you, with dedication, talent and faith in yourself -- and most of all, the belief that change is possible and inevitable -- and the results will be fabulous.

This was part two of the essay, "Beyond the Book of Jobs," published in the Dec. 17 edition and available on the subscriber homepage. It will be posted on the main Planet Waves homepage shortly.


Aries (March 20-April 19)
This week's Virgo Full Moon may have sent a few shockwaves through your work environment, but they were the kind of waves everyone needs. In fact, if you watch carefully for the next week, you'll see that all kinds of problems find innovative solutions, including the kind of solution that turns a former problem into an asset. I suggest you ride the energy while it's here to ride -- and start thinking of all potential problems or tricky situations in this way. A spirit of invention is in the air and we are in one of those moments where the unlikely is probable -- a good time to work the territory.

Taurus (April 19-May 20)
The Sun in Pisces is doing little other than supporting your most cherished goals, and from the look of your charts, a few dreams you had abandoned are once again arising before your eyes. This must be a refreshing change from conditions that have followed you for a while and which are finally beginning to give way to a more flexible reality. One thing you never have to worry about is having your feet on the ground; you can now use your rare power of manifestation to solidify what you want and need the most. Till now, the most important ingredient missing was imagination.

Gemini (May 20-June 21)
You may finally be seeing a way to develop professional plans that before seemed merely like wild fantasies. The concept to edit from your perception of reality is 'merely'. Everything on this Earth starts as an idea. What you are developing is respect for ideas, which is a tangible step toward the process of creation. People know you are good for your word; you can and must bank on your reputation if you want to go to the next step. This has material value, but it also has practical value. Intelligent, experienced people respect those who can get the job done. You are rare enough to find.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)
I hope this week's Full Moon brought the relief you deserve from what has been an unusually intense life in recent months. Part of why Cancerians must be so strong is that the Moon is constantly cycling at a brisk pace, so you need to do what most people do worst: change all the time. Yet the pattern of your life is neither as uncertain nor as unpredictable as you may have thought. If Saturn in your sign is doing one thing, it's holding the ground steady to walk on. However, you may feel like you're walking with a backpack full of rocks on. Try setting it down and see how you feel.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23)
Money, commitments and ideas may be flying around your head like 737s circling Heathrow. Let them come in for a landing one at a time. Each represents a step in a process. For now, most of them can take care of themselves, and the shrouds and veils of mystery that have surrounded certain aspects of your life are beginning to lift. There is also sex news -- good sex news. Anyone who was interested in you yesterday will be more interested in you today. Anyone else is likely to show noteworthy interest if you so much as make eye contact, so look around and pick your favorite color.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
I trust you've broken free of the confines of your own mind the past few days or perhaps in the past few hours. You're the type who usually needs to go into overload before you go to the next level; you are a bit of a quantum creature and you like to take those leaps. More than anything they are leaps of belief. Belief is on one level pure vapor. On another level it's what we cling to for our understanding of what is possible. The clinging is more solid than the vapor; so if you let go of your reality and rearrange your ideas, you will see you can defy gravity.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23)
Chiron, newly arrived in Aquarius, is reminding you of your raging child spirit. Remember that the rage is different than the spirit; anger leftover from childhood needs to be expressed and processed in an adult way. But the leftover drives and needs that are the direct result of a childhood where you actually didn't get to be much of a child can also be expressed in an adult way. Most of what adults lack is the motivation to have fun. True, it's usually swallowed whole by disappointment and responsibility. Suddenly you are bigger than all of that -- in fact, too big to swallow.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)
The pulses of energy currently rolling through Pisces are reminding you that you live in a large world with many possibilities. It's also a world where you can create possibilities, and it seems like friends and close associates in recent days have been instrumental in helping you do just that. These will work for you in the long run, but through the weekend you can make some decisions about what works for you and what doesn't, and perhaps experiment with how one particularly daring idea feels. It's time to move from principles to proposals. No talking without a pen and a notebook!

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22)
There is no resisting certain changes on the home front, but neither is there a need to. You may not have even been aware of certain situations that are suddenly being exposed and will, just as fast, be resolved. It's important that you not get yourself wrapped up or hung up in what's going on -- but you can afford to take an arm's length view and study the psychology of what's going on around you. The whole situation is developing rather quickly and will change in the time it takes you to walk around the house once. So, when things get odd, step out the door and take a stroll.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20)
You are being presented with a great opportunity to make many reassessments of what is important to you. Any look at cash or other financial resources would best be considered in the context of your family, friends, or social network. There is something about becoming aware of and seeing the value of what happens when people pool what they have. Leadership is always an issue, and you're the one poised to do that. It would help if you believed in yourself, but this will provide you with an opportunity to do just that.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19)
You are living a new life in a new world. How long it takes you to figure this out has a lot to do with your perceptive abilities, but more to do with your willingness to be aware. All the old rules have changed; there is no part of your past identity to which you need cling. And a great deal that, in the past, you viewed as a liability is suddenly, obviously, going to work for you brilliantly. You know what your true motives are. What you are about to see is what awesome power they have to inspire the people around you -- because you are capable of ideas and notions that would never occur to them.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
Innovations in marriage and relationships are all over your chart now. But how we relate to others is an extension of how we relate to ourselves. Since the Sun entered Pisces a few days ago you've probably noticed a few things that you'd like to change -- and you have the power to do so. Normally, reality is not as flexible as it is today. Yet you are now in a position to state your needs, desires and intentions for yourself and have the statement move energy and what seems like immobile objects and beliefs. Please don't wait for proof; get clear about your desires and be declarative.

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