By ERIC FRANCIS

Greetings...I will be taking a week off from Planet Waves Radio tonight, and will resume at 10 pm next Tuesday night, June 9.

Aries (March 20-April 19)
Have you begun to figure out that the world around you corresponds to your inner life? I will not, as many do, go so far as to say that you personally create your reality. I will say that you have a distinct, potent influence, and this has to do with maintaining a relationship between the seemingly inner and outer realities. Like any relationship, it benefits from attention, experience and a sense of conscious exploration. This, in turn, will feed a sense of inner exploration that is a beautiful attribute of your charts now. Here is a clue. You tend to be a competitive kind of spirit. But what exactly do you have to gain by competing with yourself?

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

Taurus (April 19- May 20)
If you are exploring your inner gender polarities, and their many attributes, I would say you're right on time. Desire takes many forms; receiving the desire of others takes many forms. Often there are rules that are seemingly based specifically on whether we are male or female. Mars, soon to be followed by Venus, is making its way through your sign right now, and will soon form a conjunction there. This is a rare condition, suggesting a rare opportunity to find out that not only do you contain many potentials for exploring who you are, but also that you personally are heading for the discovery that you embody the best of all worlds.

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

Gemini (May 20- June 21)
Recently you came close to touching some of your deepest fears. That's the place to go: not wantonly into them, but near enough to feel the heat, to be reminded they are there, and to have the choice to remain open or closed. The astrology involved suggests that you might actually forget this experience. You're still quite close right now, so you have the opportunity to do things that will help you consciously remember. There's likely to be something that came through in a dream, and it may have had the feeling of a release. One potential theme of that fear: being alone, because you are too good for others, or they are too good for you.

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

Cancer (June 21- July 22)
Be aware of how you define the space around you; and what you use to define the space within you. A fireplace or hearth would be the perfect metaphor. Imagine that your whole world is designed around a well-tended fire. The space of a controlled burning of fuel is the perfect inner metaphor: that fuel, endless in supply, is your own creative and sexual energy. If astrology means anything, this will be one of the most magnificent seasons of your life for aligning with your own inner source, and of claiming it as what feeds your life, and by extension, the network of people who surround you and help you define who you are. If the stars hold one revelation, it will be that you discover the ways in which you help them define who they are.

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

Leo (July 22- Aug. 23)
You may know by now that your vision of existence is taking hold in a much wider world than you ever imagined possible. If you have not figured this out, take a look around; and for reference, go back to the earliest possible time when you acknowledged any desire to have the world be a certain way. Think of the times, early in life, when you took your first steps to having the world be that particular way. One of the riddles inherent in this particular spiritual path is noticing progress that goes so slowly it would take a geologist to notice the changes. But they are suddenly catching up with you; all you need to do is open your eyes. One point of progress involves living in a world where men and women are equal.

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

Virgo (Aug. 23- Sep. 22)
It might be difficult for you to notice the central role you play in the lives of the people around you, but it is time you see that for what it is. A core aspect of this is the role you play in their spiritual lives, by embodying a practical approach to the cosmic mysteries. 'Embody' is the perfect word to describe the astrology of the next month and the coming season: your body is your temple and therefore the seat of both God and Goddess. Your carnal desires are as holy as the Ten Commandments themselves. Your beauty is an act of love by a generous and loving creator.

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

Libra (Sep. 22 - Oct. 23)
A few weeks ago my friend Fabienne, a Libra, was asking me about what I thought of the karmic relationship between Taurus and her (your) sign, which are related by an aspect called a quincunx. Taurus -- where some truly spectacular astrology is unfolding this month -- is the place where you seek your most urgent and beautiful surrender. It is at once frightening and necessary; a place where you become yourself and let go of yourself. When you meet that power all you can really do is let go. The paradox, if there is one, relates to how deeply Taurus can hold on, but as you will soon see, this astrology rather emphasizes the opposite point.

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

Scorpio (Oct. 23- Nov. 22)
You may be searching the people close to you for some key aspect of yourself that you feel they hold. Rather than seeking this in one person, look for it in everyone you encounter, whether they are male or female; young or old; human or some other species. If you look, you will see yourself in everything; and you will see that which is opposite to yourself; and finally you may start to pick up that what you are witnessing is specifically yourself, as displayed in many different forms. Pay attention to the interplay of polarities, particularly how you morph into and out of what you consider to be different than you.

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

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 - Dec. 22)
There is something beautiful in offering yourself as a sacrifice, and by that I don't mean losing yourself or giving yourself up, but rather allowing yourself to be a sacred object, vessel or activating agent in a process of awakening. This is one of the most deeply nourishing aspects of your existence, both for you and for the people around you. Borrowing a bit from the New Testament, feel the power flow through you. Directly experience the way that when you open up, a point of cosmic contact becomes available to the people closest to you. There may be particularly transcendent moments of erotic contact as a result, and people may seek you out for precisely this purpose.

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

Capricorn (Dec. 22- Jan. 20)
It is up to you to be fair with the people around you. You have two different orientations: you are finding your power, and they are discovering the beauty of surrender. In this equation you can resolve a very old paradox: they are discovering the profound strength of letting go, and you are discovering the inherent weakness in exerting your human will. This could manifest in any relationship, and you will need to be vigilant and careful. Yet I suggest you look for people who are willing to experience this equation as a conscious gesture. Each of you holds a key to what the other needs, and they can only be exchanged mutually.

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

Aquarius (Jan. 20- Feb. 19)
Who have you become? Are you aware of the new abilities you possess, or rather, the ancient ones that have been reawakened in you? Take this month and experiment cautiously with this gift. Start by trusting that you have at least partially resolved an old, difficult issue about the ethical use of your will. Then focus on something that you want to happen. The key is to have clear desire; and if you have any guilt about that, drop it away or ask that it be removed. That is the 'clear' part. Then take a series of steps to manifest what you want to create, one step at a time, and one desire at a time. I think the results will speak for themselves.

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

Pisces (Feb. 19- March 20)
Your inner vision is at its clearest. You can trust that any conflict you see or experience around you can be quickly resolved by letting go of the hooks onto which that conflict grabs hold, within you. Use the Course in Miracles prayer, I am determined to see things differently -- and you will see things differently. Life for you right now is all about how you look, and how you see, and this begins with how you choose to perceive yourself. You may not have power over much else, but on this one matter you have absolute control.

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