PLANET WAVES By ERIC FRANCIS

Weekly For Jan. 22, 1999

Copyright ©1999, all rights reserved. Planet Waves is published Fridays weekly. Permission for non-commercial reproduction of this work on the Internet is granted. For syndication or commercial reprint information, use the contact data below. America Online subscribers go to keyword: MYSTIC.
_____________________

You've probably heard the great news by now that Saturn, the mighty ringed lord, is near the end of his two-year trip through ARIES (March 21-April 19). For people of all signs born between March 1967 and March 1969, this marks the conclusion of your Saturn Return, that great astrological Bar Mitzvah. But for all you cute little Rams, well, this 24-month cosmic growing-up ceremony has been just as serious, but I would bet you'd agree, more than worth the effort. Saturn represents a process of enforced maturity, but as the late Patric Walker once said, he always bestows more than he takes away. It's clear that your experiences have truly prepared you for the meaningful times ahead.

Aren't insecurities annoying? The great stability and self- confidence associated with the sign TAURUS (April 20-May 20) hides many layers of questioning and constant changes in the subterranean mind of one of the horoscope's most complex signs. And who you are on the outside rarely matches what you are in the inside. Upcoming developments will help you iron out the inner versus outer discrepancies, and reveal the sources of your anxiety so that you can finally address them. You know you're not in a position to blame other people for your problems; I also suggest not blaming yourself.

With Chiron, the planet of healing, crossing the angle of your solar chart which addresses partnerships, now is a great time to initiate change in this aspect of your life. Your love stories in recent years have probably had more downs than ups, GEMINI (May 21-June 20). Yet the inner reality seems to be that for whatever reason, you have been allowing people to have a deeper impact on you. This is a risk, though you've chanced it as much from desire as from deep necessity. But now your process of relating to others needs to become fully conscious. So pay attention. Ask people their motives, and tell them yours. Really consider who you want to have around you. And consider whether anyone new in your life may have taken on an unusual level of importance that you haven't quite noticed yet.

Forthcoming developments and changes should not take you by surprise, CARCER (June 21-July 22), particularly if they are on the financial front. And while you tend to prefer smooth water to the rapids, your prototype, The Moon, is always on the move. And right about now she comes upon the Golden Shore, resting for a moment in the shadow of the Earth. What a blazing ocean! Orange and fire in the echoes of your mind, mind in procession of the flowering. Cash in the spirit of love is a form of sacred art. Let it flow.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) is the sign associated with children, and all you lions know you're truly some hybrid between a baby, a kid and a babysitter. Childhood struggles may be taking on considerable meaning to you in these weeks, and this is a good time to pay attention to what you're feeling about the years of your life in which you couldn't really defend yourself. You may not be able to go back and erase any harm that came to you, but you can get clear about how you feel, and let the healing process work. If you can do this, it seems very clear that more adventurous, okay, lusty, okay, really wild days are ahead. Just remember that among the people of the earth, the really hot and interesting ones are the ones you can't nail quite down.

The strange planet-asteroid-comet Chiron, which scientists discovered in the '70s but is in a continuous process of astrological discovery, is closely associated with your sign, VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sep. 22). And Chiron's major themes -- which include personal and global healing, the Earth's environment, and long periods of struggle prior to major breakthroughs -- are now the most important collective issues of our lifetime, and it's probably clear that in many respects, they're also the key themes of your life personally. Chiron's recent entry into Sagittarius, your solar Fourth House, tells me that your awareness is now focused on your deepest roots, be they Earthly, Galactic or Divine. This is a rare opportunity for you to tune into your deepest origins and your deepest needs, so that you can respond to your true calling.

You must be tired of living so close to the breakthrough point all the time, but rarely quite making it across to the other side. Are other people holding you back, LIBRA (Sep. 23-Oct. 22), or are you reluctant to go forward because you fear that too much progress or over-commitment could scatter your energy? The fact is, you have accomplished a great deal. And when you start to doubt yourself or your success, remember to imagine what it would have been like to live through the next mighty stage of your life without having made all the monumental changes of recent years, particularly in your relationships. It gets easier from here, but you've earned it.

Between Dec. 1983 and Nov. 1995, the planet Pluto inched its way across SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 22). This was likely to have been an extended, unusually challenging time in your life, in which you confronted some very difficult and inevitable life lessons. Please consider those dates carefully and reflect on the meaning of what happened. Then, consider the timeframe between Oct. 1997 through about two weeks ago, when the new planet Chiron was in your sign (See Gemini, Virgo and Sagittarius horoscopes for more on Chiron). What do these two time periods have in common? In what ways did they differ? Did developments of the past two years cast any light backwards on those distant 12 years, which you probably would rather have forgotten?

The recent entry of Chiron into SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21), the sign of the Centaur, suggests the advent of something new in your life, but also the surfacing of something very much in your nature. Let's look for it as a change in awareness during the past two weeks. Would you say you possess any kind of "greater sense" of yourself, or of world events? Do you have a more clear idea about your life being some kind of sacred quest? And do you feel any greater clarity around this vitally important question of why you are so different than many of the people around you? There are very good reasons.

Ah yes, CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). While you so often face astrological accusations of excessive formality, working too hard and being hung-up on tradition, we know the truth: Caps are all little kids in adult bodies. Fortunately, you all age backwards. But it remains true that every time I get a little oblique or mystical in your horoscope, I receive at least one perplexed letter asking for an explanation. I doubt this will happen much in the future, owing to what looks like evidence of some high-powered spiritual radio receivers you've recently had installed in your auric field. Listen carefully, and you'll be able to tune into every station, from the dolphins to the angels, and it seems clear that as a result, your prayers will come more in he form of receiving rather than speaking. Wouldn't that be nice?

When I was in Basel, Switzerland last year, I got to hang out with a painting by Roy Lichtenstein called "Cosmology." It's a collage in paint of a Greek man looking at his black double, who is looking back at him, and if you study the scattered-seeming image for a moment, it's clear that it's someone looking in a kind of cosmic mirror. So how about those mirrors, AQUARIUS (Jan. 19-Feb. 18)? Have you ever considered that they may be a portal into another universe, inhabited by ghosts who take the shape of our reflection? I suggest you try doing two or three highly adventurous things in front of a mirror this week, and evaluate the experience purely on their art value. Ah, what a concept.

Thank God for miracles. That's all I can say. While I'm not in one of my more religious moods these days, we both know that PISCES (Feb. 19-Mar. 20) never gets too far from the sea -- the Sea of Creation, if you know what I mean, that eternal coast from which all things emerge, and to which all things return. You have every reason to be faithful, and trusting in your power, and let's just say this is a potent moment for giving birth to yourself in the outer world rather than just the inner one. And you're not alone. Remember that in the myth of Pisces, those two fishes are Eros and Aphrodite. Very nice company. Very nice.

As an astrologer FOR THE FAITHFUL (The Thirteenth Sign), part of my job is to inform you of the wisdom I come across, since as the cosmic news guy, I am out there perusing the galaxy and scanning the airwaves for pearls and gems just about seven days a week. It's my duty to inform you that I have found the long-elusive key to enlightenment, which turns out to be overdosing on "Life in Hell" comics by Matt Groening. Available now at your favorite bookstore.
__________________

Eric Francis is a professional astrologer. For information about private readings, see http://www.PlanetWaves.net/personal.html, or contact Eric at eric@PlanetWaves.net.