BY ERIC FRANCIS

Aries (March 20-April 19)
You are standing before a door to the universe, and you hold the key to all worlds. You might well ask what one thing you would do or create, if you could do or create anything. Let this be a mental and hopefully emotional exercise that you do as consistently as you were doing The Artist's Way. Visualize your highest ideals. Imagine how your circle of friends feels at its most beautiful. Consider what you have to offer the world, and what exactly you want to give. Imagine what you would consider the greatest rewards of a life well lived. Be clear with yourself. Revise your ideas. Visualize, visualize, visualize.

Read your 2008 annual for Aries. Order your Next World Stories 2009 annual for
Aries and Aries rising here.

Taurus (April 19- May 20)
I have by now mentioned several times that this is the year you engage with your professional aspirations. In my fantasy universe, professional and creative can be different versions of the same idea; though it can take training and adaptation to get them in alignment. It is time to do what you want to do. If it's been a while since that has happened, then consider it time to do what you need to do. Just remember: you're not in this alone. Nobody accomplishes anything brilliant without considerable help. Notice who you vibe with. Notice who nourishes your spirit. Work with them consciously, and celebrate the truth.

Read your 2008 annual for Taurus. Order your Next World Stories 2009 annual for
Taurus and Taurus rising here.

Gemini (May 20- June 21)
You know who you are, but you're about to find out who you really are. Mercury will begin its retrograde on May 7 in your birth sign, and then gradually move into Taurus, the sign of your secret self. The relationships implied by this and other astrology will help you bridge the nonexistent gaps between spirit and matter; between faith and reason; between your prodigious mind and your sometimes forgotten physical needs. You may be feeling your body hunger for all the things that it's wanted for so long. You may intuitively sense that deep healing is possible, if you will respond. Yes, this is always daring.

Read your 2008 annual for Gemini. Order your Next World Stories 2009 annual for
Gemini and Gemini rising here.

Cancer (June 21- July 22)
What exactly does it mean to be free? You need to be free from the obligations that prevent you from being who you are. You need to be free to express your potential in your own terms. You are free to be the visionary of your existence, and to embrace the truth that while we are all destined to be collaborators in this life, you have plenty of influence over whom you choose to co-create with. Get in the habit of exercising your prerogatives. Practice making decisions. Teach yourself that you are bound by nobody, and that coexistence is a privilege that is designed by nothing more or less than mutual consent.

Read your 2008 annual for Cancer. Order your Next World Stories 2009 annual for
Cancer and Cancer rising here.

Leo (July 22- Aug. 23)
If you look directly at something, it will appear one way. If you look at it with your head tilted, it will look another way. Keep gazing into the obvious until you can finally see what is appearing before you. Notice that someone, or something, is in a state of perpetual change. Here is the question: is your perception influencing what you see? Are you seeing things differently, or is your own witnessing actually influencing the course of events or the development of a person's growth? If the second possibility is true, then that means love is a lot more powerful than we ever imagined. But I think you already knew that.

Read your 2008 annual for Leo. Order your Next World Stories 2009 annual for
Leo and Leo rising here.

Virgo (Aug. 23- Sep. 22)
One of the most strongly emphasized concepts in A Course in Miracles is, "When I am healed, I am not healed alone." There is no part of your healing journey that is separate from that of anyone else. The journey, however you consider it: the return to Shamballa, or a wild trek across the physical plane, is a journey that we all share. When you imagine yourself surrendering to the process that will align your life with what is healthy, beautiful and authentic, be sure to embrace that person or people you might be most likely to leave out. Healing energy comes in through one door and that door is open to all of us or none at all.

Read your 2008 annual for Virgo. Order your Next World Stories 2009 annual for
Virgo and Virgo rising here.

Libra (Sep. 22 - Oct. 23)
Liberty is an often-misunderstood concept. It begins with awareness, which reaches into the depths of the mind and out to the far reaches of the world. The meeting point that these have in common is you. Are you 'at liberty' to acknowledge what you see, what you feel, and what you want to express? How much does this change when you are in the context of different people in your life? The time has come to drop the fetters that have kept you bound to any idea but one that is truly and originally your own. You, indeed, are an original and the time to embrace and express that reality has arrived: none too soon, but not a moment too late.

Read your 2008 annual for Libra. Order your Next World Stories 2009 annual for
Libra and Libra rising here.

Scorpio (Oct. 23- Nov. 22)
Typically the binding of the past gets us on the emotional level. We might think it's about our relationships, our ideas or the commitments we cannot get out of. Beneath it all is usually some kind of emotional hook. The opportunity you now feel is precisely the chance to unlatch something that has snagged you for a long time. It's likely to feel like something is melting: something at once durable and fragile; something that wracked you in contradictions that, as these days and weeks pass, will gradually seem like they never mattered. There may come a time when you forget they ever existed; and if that time arrives, remember how much you struggled, just one last time.

Read your 2008 annual for Scorpio. Order your Next World Stories 2009 annual for
Scorpio and Scorpio rising here.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 - Dec. 22)
Much as you would like to be, you cannot usually be everywhere at once. Yet as Chiron, Jupiter and Neptune come together in Aquarius, you may have this odd sense that you're walking around inside a teleportation chamber. The vital thing to remember is to be absolutely where you are at all times. Remain in the present, in the present location. Make this into a game, or a yoga, or a journey, but don't underestimate the seemingly strange power of showing up and aligning yourself with your circumstances. Everything is possible from right where you are. Indeed, nothing is possible from anywhere else.

Read your 2008 annual for Sagittarius. Order your Next World Stories 2009 annual for
Sagittarius and Sagittarius rising here.

Capricorn (Dec. 22- Jan. 20)
You are beginning to see the value in things, and the world is beginning to see the value in you. Take this as far as you want. Go anywhere on the hierarchy of needs you want: from the basics of food, water and shelter, to your utmost value within your community. I suggest you be first suspicious and then forgiving of any situation where you feel isolated. Remember you are included by dint of the fact that you are human and alive. Look past the superficial social games people create to protect them from getting too close to one another. Honor yourself gently, remember why you're here, and penetrate the world any way you want to.

Read your 2008 annual for Capricorn. Order your Next World Stories 2009 annual for
Capricorn and Capricorn rising here.

Aquarius (Jan. 20- Feb. 19)
Earlier in the year, the planets aligned in your sign; later this month, there is another Aquarius alignment, though this one is the real performance, not the chaotic, disorganized dress rehearsal. There is nearly no involvement of what we call 'personality', but instead everything that develops -- for you, and for the rest of us -- takes place on a dimension that can best be described as soul level. In a sense, everything changes, particularly because your relationship to existence changes. Even if it seems like the world is becoming a place where so much more is possible, remember: it's you.

Read your 2008 annual for Aquarius. Order your Next World Stories 2009 annual for
Aquarius and Aquarius rising here.

Pisces (Feb. 19- March 20)
So much that's been happening for you has been developing behind a veil. But in a way akin to the action of Chiron, the fact that so much is cloaked has given you extraordinary powers of perception. It is this that is fuelling your confidence in yourself, and if you remember, you may remember the key: that which seems slightly out of awareness or out of reach is an invitation to come closer; to direct your intention or to expand your awareness just a little more. As you do this, you will feel the world seem to come closer to you, indeed, there are moments when it will seem to become you.

Read your 2008 annual for Pisces. Order your Next World Stories 2009 annual for
Pisces and Pisces rising here.