BY ERIC FRANCIS
There are those moments when astrology informs us that big changes are on the horizon, and this is one of them. On Oct. 29, Saturn changed signs to Libra; this was covered in detail in
the most recent Friday edition. Any sign change of Saturn is significant. Yet what happens Nov. 15 is more meaningful: Saturn makes a square to Pluto, and that is about a change in the direction of both history and personal history. On an individual level, relationships experience what I will describe as an integrity check. The ones that work well will get stronger and the ones that are not up to the task run the risk of transforming into something else. In times like this, change may be scary but resistance to change is actually dangerous. Listen to your fear, but remember, it's not the only voice speaking to you -- and it's not necessarily right.
(March 20-April 19)
Now is the time when you take the first major step of a new era; which includes aligning your personal goals and your business goals. The sad truth is that for most people, these two sets of objectives conflict, and the dissonance is rarely taken up as a conscious experience. Yet now, your personal relationships move into an increasingly prominent role in your life, at the same time your career is vying for center stage. You may feel that you will have to make many small adjustments to your life in order to accommodate this. But the answer to the equation looks more like you reinvent yourself entirely and take your life to a new level -- a process you may not believe is really happening until June. But it's definitely happening now.
(April 19- May 20)
You're about to discover what a particular relationship means to you, on the deepest emotional level you can access. Often, you decide these things based on unrelated factors, such as your sense of personal safety, or your nagging fears. You're now figuring out that these biases have kept you isolated from your inner truth. There is more to life than what you have to worry about, or not worry about. Fear has one distinct property, which is to keep us trapped in the past. Everything that is happening in your world is happening right now. If you look, and feel, you will notice that it touches you so deeply that nothing in the past can compare. That is actually good news, that is, as long as you give yourself permission to grow.
(May 20- June 21)
Relationships are one-to-one experiences, and yet they fit into the constellation of a community. Indeed, we could study any community as a collection of innumerable one-to-one encounters that people have, and notice that the strength of the community is based on the degree of trust held in those relationships. What it adds up to is something known as reputation. Remember, with Saturn now in your house of community for the first time in decades, that you build your reputation one person at a time. There is no 'public'. There are the perceptions of many individuals, and your perception of yourself. Take your time with this process and gradually you will find your way into the kind of unique, valuable role for yourself that you've envisioned for many years.
(June 21- July 22)
I've mentioned before that the late Lois Rodden (who taught astrologers that we need to be working with accurate birth data) once commented on how astrology generally assigns Mercury as the money planet, but that in reality that planet would be Mars. It takes drive to make money, and that drive comes from directed, bold, fiery energy. For the next six months, Mars is going to be visiting the money angle of your chart (this would be Leo, where Mars will make a long retrograde). Keeping things simple, focus on money; your skill with money; and on developing your plans for how you put yourself into the flow of that particular form of energy. Remember: Mars asserts itself. Mars is about action; that means play to win, and it also means don't squander your integrity.
(July 22- Aug. 23)
As mentioned for your neighbors in the sign Cancer, one of the top five astrology stories of 2010 is the forthcoming Mars retrograde in Leo. Mars is already in your birth sign, and you're likely to be feeling this as a certain kind of impulsive energy, the willingness to confront people and a take-no-prisoners approach to success. Usually, this attitude works well on the highly competitive physical plane, but don't be surprised if it doesn't exactly invoke the better angels of the people around you. While you're working toward success, I suggest you work on your politics. That is to say, shake hands, kiss babies and make sure that every move you make is designed to help make everyone's life easier. Success at all costs is so 20th century. Thinking holistically is so right now.
(Aug. 23- Sep. 22)
You may feel like an enormous pressure has been lifted off of your existence. I suggest you give yourself some review time about what you've been through the past couple of years of Saturn in Virgo, then get ready to make some decisions based on what you've learned. The span between the two will not be terribly long; the first action point is in mid-November, where you will need to apply everything you've learned in these years to one vital question. Two things to remember: first, you will be able to revisit this issue, though each step counts. Second, you have thought most of this through before, especially during the past two months. Therefore, remember what you have learned, and get ready to put it to work.
(Sep. 22 - Oct. 23)
A turning point is upon you, and it may not fit with your laidback approach to existence. Yet all the reminders, alerts and premonitions have been present long enough for you to get one particular message: you need a new relationship to your past. This is difficult only to the extent that you forget that the past is an interpretation. Often when we ask the question, 'what does it mean?' we get no answer that we recognize. Meaning is always found in context. Try asking the question this way: 'how does [this particular fact] influence the decision I am making now?' Then ask: 'is that fact true, or is it a story I made up?' Apply that formula to every issue, and you'll have a lot more information to work with.
(Oct. 23- Nov. 22)
Lou Reed wrote the brilliant line, "You can't count on the worst always happening," but he added, "It takes a busload of faith to get by." Let's take that one part at a time. Certain developments in your chart suggest that you may be considering the worst possibilities as being more valid than the best, and surely you have your reasons for this. But much that you're worrying about has no basis in reality; on the surface level, it's simply the fear of change that you are struggling with. A little deeper, it's the fear of abandonment and of being alone. As for the second part, I would say that one of the few things that brings us closer to people is cultivating faith, which offers one important alternative to fear. Remember, I said faith -- not hope.
(Nov. 22 - Dec. 22)
The more wild and visionary your ideas, the more you need to be alert to how you feel. What is wild and visionary? A new job, a new home, a new relationship or a new project would all count, though you may be thinking bigger than that. And you may be questioning whether it's practical to think on the scale that you are. I suggest that you set aside that judgment and make sure that for every plan, desire or ambition that you articulate to yourself, make one adjustment to the comfort factor. Organize a closet, wash the dishes, clean out the refrigerator, solve a small problem. Then go back to thinking like a visionary. Gradually, what you are visioning will come into focus.
(Dec. 22- Jan. 20)
You are being called on to take leadership, and you have every right to be nervous about what this might mean. The thing is that in leadership, there is very little room for fear. What you need is confidence; and there's just one way to get this: practice fidelity to the mission you've accepted. If (as it may) it works out that the mission you had yesterday isn't the mission you have today, then change your intentions to reflect that reality. Integrity counts for more now than it ever has, and under the current astrology integrity means being in alignment with yourself. You will have to work at this every day, but when you arrive there, you will know it because it feels so different than what you're accustomed to.
(Jan. 20- Feb. 19)
Creativity is both overrated and underutilized. It's overrated because you don't need that much of the stuff to solve a problem; you just need a little, enough to get a little oil onto the rusty bolt. It's underutilized because most people would reach for a hammer instead of the oilcan. Each time you arrive at a point of decision, pause for a moment and ask yourself for the right idea that will help you proceed in the most effective way. Stop and reconsider your actual goal, and when you have to act, do so in a way that supports the goal rather than gets in the way. Again and again, you will need to reconsider Priority 1. It's a commitment that you must make, over and over, until you bring your whole life in alignment with it.
(Feb. 19- March 20)
So much of your life has been lived in an inner world; indeed, this quality has been so pervasive that it's been difficult to see the extent that it's true. It won't be true forever, yet as you gradually shift your focus to experiences that occur outside the confines of your own mind and imagination, you may begin to value the inner connection in a new way. You may notice that this is the thing so many people are lacking, or that they avoid so diligently. For the moment, I suggest that you reach for the deepest places in your mind and emotions that you're capable of reaching. Go deeper than you think you have in the past, and remember where you've been. All of this is preparation for your mission of being a deep person in a superficial world.
