By Eric Francis
March is the home to the Aries equinox, when night equals day everywhere from Greenland to Singapore to Antarctica. This is a time for pushing out of the darkness and seeing the many new possibilities that life has to offer -- and that you have to offer life. Work with a conscious strategy and you'll notice that events take a logical progression, even if it doesn't follow your agenda. Through the month, there's a strong emphasis on Pisces, which is encouraging everyone to soak in, and drink in, some of that rich creative water. The main event is when the Sun makes a conjunction to revolutionary Uranus on March 8, an aspect that seems designed as a shocking reminder that life needs to be about actual pleasure rather than its many imitations; and the freedom to feel what you feel regardless of the limitations you perceive in others. Though I have my biases, I think that true pleasure is about being actively creative rather than passively entertained. We are all sitting on a mountain of technology that's used like a Nintendo or a word processor. This month, don't go to a movie -- make one.
Aries (March 20-April 19)
You finally seem to be working with a concrete plan, but what you may not have planned for is how to put your plan into action. However, you don't need to choreograph that, you just need to be patient for long enough for the circumstances of your life to align in a way where the beginning will be obvious. 'Long' in this case is a matter of weeks before you get the clue that you simply cannot delay, dream or divert yourself any longer. Late winter is always a slightly odd time of year for you; you seem to live in two worlds. There's the real one, where none of the subtler possibilities seem to even exist; and then a profound imaginary one, where everything you want or need the most is tantalizingly real, but nearly impossible to manifest. Actually, how we handle this kind of seeming split is one of the most enduring themes in the history of mankind. To stretch yourself across the chasm between imagination and reality is creative work on the highest order of reality. Creative -- as in actively embracing your divine nature.
Taurus (April 19-May 20)
Your friends are willing to make sacrifices for you. Being so attached to your self-sufficiency, this is not an entirely comfortable place for you. Yet there's no shortage of ideas in the world, and most of what's being offered to you consists of precisely that. Plus moral support, companionship and extra access to the realms of imagination that are not necessarily easy for you to access. Your current project or experience needs to be considered as a collective endeavor. Though we tend to think of ourselves as individual egos in a hostile world, your current assignment is to connect to the collective level of existence. Your life, your work, your ideas, your relationships, your feelings -- all of these things are in a sense common property. Far from taking anything away from you, you gain manifold in the exercise -- mainly through experiencing the power of community resources. As for the sacrifice anyone is willing to make, think of it this way. They have an open channel you do not at this point have access to, so it's a gift without a loss. Learn how to get out of your own way, and open that channel for yourself.
Gemini (May 20-June 21)
Though you have not necessarily felt emotionally stable the past few weeks, events are conspiring to strengthen your foundations and give you something solid to build on. Take every chance to work on that bottom layer, that of your emotional security. Ask the questions of your life in more complex ways and don't be satisfied with cut-and-dried explanations of how you feel. All of this is preparation for what appears to be an extraordinary professional development in the coming weeks. What emerges may be an obviously beneficial stroke of good fortune; or it may manifest as a sudden, potentially inconvenient turn of events. The clue that you're in the right place is the surprise factor. It does not matter what the surprise is. From there, you must use both your imagination and your practical skills to invent the opportunity you need. The thing that any possibility of this type has in common with any other is that it grants you freedom. Freedom in this case means the freedom to choose, the freedom to feel and the freedom to redefine the theme of your life.
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
Factors urging you to think in the long-term continue to accrue. But the planets in their courses are prodding you to act in the immediate term. You are living with a distortion -- objects in the windshield are closer than they appear. What you may think of as a five-year plan is valid over more like five months. What you wanted to get done this year, you can accomplish this month. Therefore, stretch your mind as far into the future as you can, and over as much distance as you can, and then allow space and time to condense themselves into your immediate reality. I can also tell you this. There is no shortage of resources. You would be surprised what's available right now, once you look, and once you define a need in a way that can be fulfilled. It would be a mistake to give yourself excuses for why you cannot do things that are based on lack of time or lack of funds or other necessities. You can, at the moment, jump out of limiting ideas of time, and what you need is actually available from sources with more than enough.
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23)
Recent developments may have left you with the impression that you're living with a severe imbalance in your life. Why are you counting your pennies while at the same time surrounded by so much opulence? In reality, there appear to be more opportunities on offer than you can actually handle. If anything, you're struggling with a lack of flexibility that you would do well to address. Focus on that one trait so that when you're confronted with an opportunity to expand your sexual, economic or professional horizons, you have the space to make the move. Most of this flexibility is mental. Simply put, your doubts are getting in the way of your opportunities. You can afford to stop criticizing yourself and instead look to the guidance of others, who have more benevolent ideas about you. The thing is, you need to listen and you need to trust. What you are doubting today will seem like common sense tomorrow; what may seem too good to be true right now will simply seem true an hour from now.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
When a vulnerability is exposed, we generally have two choices: panic, or act. Looked at this way, any time you notice a weakness or flaw, you can respond in a constructive way and turn it into an opportunity. The way your life is developing, I suggest you take a slow, disciplined approach to dealing with a problem you recently noticed. Review all your thought patterns associated with it, and take a structured approach to resolving the matter. The beneficial effects will go far beyond what you are anticipating. Other issues that in the past seemed too trivial to address, or to difficult to cope with, will be easy to take care of. Remember that part of any repair process is getting enough rest. This may not be easy with the bursts of activity that are developing in your friendships, partnerships and other aspects of your relationship life. Make sure you know your first priority is taking care of yourself. Do what you need to do, and you will have plenty of time and energy for anything else.
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23)
No boundaries exist between work and play -- or rather, they only exist the extent your mind puts them there. I propose you notice the theoretical divisions between these two areas of life that deserve to be inseparable. Assess whether your work is interesting enough, pleasurable enough and has enough mojo to feed your soul. Some of the richest energies for healing and spiritual awakening are harnessed to the most daring and adventurous side of your nature. That, in turn, is doing two things: you have a tendency to push your friends to open up and take chances; and it's fueling the seemingly ordinary work you do every day, compelling you to bring innovation to the most ordinary activities. If your current job cannot take you on a brilliant adventure, take the adventure to work. Push all the limits of passion, inventiveness and beauty for your environment; push them until you arrive where they will go no further. Then, assess where you are and why you are there. Most people need to run into a wall to make a turn. Find those barriers and do anything you must to tear them down. You simply cannot live a boring life. Yet only you can detonate that special explosion needed to set you free.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)
The recent Mars retrograde left its tracks all over your world, but in reality these will become the pathways you'll be following for the next couple of years. You've learned how important, and how potentially fragile, agreements are. You learned to separate your interests from certain people you care about the most, and to let them take care of themselves. You learned to see as many perspectives as possible, and figured out that you have the ability to distort your perceptions to the point of seeing what is not there. None of this sounds too positive; it all sounds like you learned more about your liabilities than your talents or other potentials. However, once you're aware of your weaknesses, you can address them and work your way into more adventurous things. Since it's no longer part of your life story to live recklessly, you must balance self-awareness with passion. This is, in truth, a lot more rewarding. The only way you can have a strong fabric of life is to weave pleasure and innovation into the threads of necessity.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22)
Progress on your single most important goal seems to be arriving in fits and starts. This is surely frustrating for you who prefers to fly like a flaming arrow through the sky. One minute the possibilities open up wide, and the clear truth is right within reach; then suddenly you are beset by delays and confusion. I suggest you consider whether this is really a goal you have to strive for, or a long-term process of developing something that is, in truth, inevitable. The second is more likely the case so you have nothing to worry about. Meanwhile, the more innovative activity is developing in the personal angles of your chart. The more time you spend at home, the more all facets of your life will become a source of pleasure. If you have a significant other, it is through this relationship that you will recognize what a blessed and cosmic person you are, and how unusual your partner is. If you don't have a partner and are seeking one, allow yourself to envision the most beautiful, cosmic person in the world, and imagine that he or she is looking for you right now.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20)
Your sign is not usually considered the nesting place of those with fertile imaginations, revolutionary tendencies or inventive minds -- but that notion is mistaken. Your mind is currently as rich as that of Capricorn J.R.R. Tolkien; as passionate as Janis Joplin, also born under your sign; as visionary and original as Johannes Kepler, the Capricorn astronomer/astrologer who gave us the laws of planetary motion. This month, set your attention to the most difficult problems you can identify. Work on the things that have evaded success for years; remember what you set aside in the past. Look around your environment, your family and your community and see what is calling for an invention or discovery. The energy of breakthrough is painted all over your charts in the most magnificent colors. The thing most likely to experience a revolution or creative explosion is your attitude toward life. It is true that you often maintain a fixation on the past. You can give that a rest; the past will always be there. Suddenly, the future is looking very exciting -- and the beauty is, you will make it up as you go along.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19)
True, you've never been particularly enthralled by money for its own sake, but you have an unusual opportunity this month. You can align yourself with a source of income that reflects your true mission in life. Listen to what people say about work and you'll quickly recognize how rare this is. Notice how the real religion of our society is not abundance (as is so often said about Western culture) but rather a persistent belief in scarcity. Finally, consider the type of greed that is obsessed with money for its own sake. All of this turns you off, understandably. Now, for what turns you on. The universe you can enter is one where there is enough of everything, including fulfillment. It would help immeasurably if you reminded yourself of all you know about what that word means for you. Be bold when you make that list; when you write on the page, be aware of any censoring voices and then set your ideas down despite them. The clearer you are about what you want, the more likely you are to recognize it when you're looking right at it. And that particular development seems inevitable.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
Keep daring to be different, and don't let anything, anyone or any mirage stop you. Those in your life need you to be free nearly as desperately as you need this yourself. Humans give one another consent to break out of the bonds that have held them captive for nearly eternity, and the way they do this is by acting on what they want. Therefore, you can let go of any Pisces guilt you may be struggling with as you embark on your latest quest to actually live. You may not see the wisdom of your past choices, and certain factors suggest that often enough, you fear that you're only kidding yourself. These doubts will come and go. They don't need to slow you down or discourage you, and you can remind yourself that there's plenty of information you are currently working without. As for evidence of progress: notice how unfamiliar the territory of your life is -- how unusually rich, how abundant, and how quickly things are moving. That is direct evidence that you are standing in a new place, living out your chosen destiny in a new way. But from the look of your charts, you ain't seen nothin' yet.
