2005 Planet Waves Annual for Libraby Eric Francis
Yet you have crossed a threshold or point in the story where the most challenging or extreme segments are behind you. You may not have any idea when you reached that point, or when you left it behind; there may have been no great reward. But then, halfway through a marathon, they are not popping champagne corks. In reality, the turning point was a state of mind that you adopted. It had nothing to do with the workload, the depth of the changes, the intensity of the events, or any such external factor. At a certain point, I think you adopted an idea about how you were going to approach a condition of nonstop progress or change. And you may have made friends with why that progress was entirely necessary, even if for reasons you didn't understand. This has, in a sense, become the center point of your whole idea of 'spiritual'. Much of this process has been eminently practical. For example, the focus of the past year has been on building your reputation, a very down-to-earth matter in this world. Even if you have not consciously put energy into that project -- which I seriously doubt -- you will see that you've paved a road through the wilderness of the world for yourself, which you'll be traveling often over the next 12 months. It will be a kind of trade route, with dependable people, places and routines that you can use in plying your business affairs and helping society with your particular role or function. You may feel like that's a contradiction; if society needs your help, why should you have to build a reputation? This kind of reputation-building process is not, by any means, something that comes naturally to Libras. You think, rightly enough, that you should simply be known for the generous and kind person you are; why should you have to earn your own existence? I hate to sound like grandpa, but that's just how the world is, my Libra child. Even if people need you, reputation counts for a lot. And once you build that reputation, you have to maintain it -- and you've got something to lose. There's an ongoing investment involved, and an element of risk. But there is also a very tangible reward. I think by the middle of 2005, you'll see that you've carved a niche for yourself that's rather one-of-a-kind. That role is hard work; it often feels like sink or swim. It may be true that as the city's only violin store, you have to work late when marching band season is about to begin. But there's always a price for success, and as you know, life can always be worse. And you know it can be better. If you're going to heal one thing this year, it's your ability to have fun -- whether at work or play. To accomplish this, you need to keep taking steps out of, over and around the over-boiled survival mode of your parents. Not every Libra was raised in Spartan conditions, but there was definitely something lacking in your early environment, and this something has shaped your idea of what is possible in the world and in your life. There was for sure some kind of guilt trip associated with feeling safe and loved. You may have been taught that security, nurturing and nourishment always contained elements of a power trip, with you on the short end of the affair. Because you possess such sensitivity, awareness and depth, it's likely to have always seemed like a cheap, even dirty, way to get one's way over another person. And you vowed to be different -- you are different. Now, you've had to get a hold of just how different you are, and what that means. Part of what distinguishes you is how boldly you are plunging into the process of your own growth. It has now become a fully integrated part of your being. One of the astrological keys to this involves how the lunar nodes have changed signs to Aries and Libra, bringing solar eclipses this year to your sign and your opposite or partner sign. The two most significant turning points of the year are likely to focus on these events, which occur Apr. 8 and Oct. 3. A pair of eclipses involving your birth sign -- which represent openings, points of contact, and breaks in continuity -- suggest strongly that the pace of change is about to accelerate, and that more than in recent years, it will involve partners or those closest to you. It is dangerous for astrologers to make seemingly certain predictions about relationships, as love and partnership are the things that people crave and need most, and for which many will do anything. And even the strongest relationships have their vulnerabilities, which astrologers, I feel, are well suited and even obligated to help people strengthen and adapt to. Yet in this spirit, it would really appear that whatever the events of the next three or four seasons bring, a shift of level when it comes to your relationships is inevitable. Existing partnerships will experience a transition to a more conscious, bonded way of relating, with partners fully embracing one another's changes -- or they are unlikely to survive. Those Libras not in partnership are likely to see many openings, particularly in the spring. I suggest that if you are choosing a partner, you choose wisely, based on your new goals and needs -- primarily your need to have some fun. There is, though, the truly critical question about how you relate to the psyche of the people whom you choose as partners. Where do you 'plug into' the people with whom you connect? I think you need to look closely at those contact points, and see them for what they are. Those points are the places where you may be giving away your power, or may have done so in the past. It may be far easier to connect with what is wrong with someone than it is to connect with what is right. It may take some work to get over that one. You may need to do an especially good job of owning your problems and handing back to others the problems that are theirs. And you may need to resolve as consciously as you possibly can to emphasize the positive in your relationships, and let that be the true test of whether the relationship really is for you. You need to have fun. You give a lot to the world. Feel good about taking in the love and kindness you deserve, and it will come to you a lot more easily. PW 
|
