Welcome back. For annual horoscope information, please see below. For my essay, 'I'd Rather Give it Away', see here.

Today is Imbolc, known by the Roman Catholics as Candlemas. This is Midwinter, one of the most ancient Celtic holidays, at the midpoint between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox, meaning that winter is half over. This holiday is usually celebrated by lighting candles in every window, but only after one has taken stock and made sure that there are enough candles in one’s store to get through the cold months.

Imbolc comes at the peak of winter. It’s the time of year, though, when we notice the days are really getting longer, and when the first touch of springtime is in the air. In some climates, apparently not the Northeast, buds are starting to poke out of the ground. It is six weeks till spring.

Aries (March 20-April 19)

Your sense of strength is all ready to come through your voice. You don't need to speak loudly -- people can hear you. You just need to speak clearly and with intention. As for the subject matter? In the immortal words of Alice A. Bailey (from her book of ancient wisdom, Esoteric Astrology), I suggest you speak to beauty and truth. If you come from the premise that the truth is beautiful, then you've cut the list in half and can stick to one thing. I say truth not as an absolute, but rather as what is true for you; what is in accord with your values. You're going to learn a lot about your values in the next few weeks, and most likely you'll learn by explaining yourself.


Taurus (April 19-May 20)

Mars, the planet of energy and fire, enters your sign today. At the same time, there is a magnificent, visionary conjunction of the Sun and Neptune in Aquarius, the sign where we look for information about your career. It would seem to be time for making a choice in this area of your life, or at least receiving an inspiration. But this is not an idle dream. Mars in your sign will give you the energy to make your inspiration happen. Just remember that Mars is a planet of action, and that the time for action is now.


Gemini (May 20-June 21)

Mercury plodding through Capricorn is making certain matters seem more complicated than they are, and accentuating the sense that to gain anything you have to give up something important to you. In truth, you're at a major breakthrough point on a financial matter, and you have every reason to relax into the fact that you have succeeded against some very stiff odds. If I may propose, something else is bothering you. It's as if you're attempting to work through a block of some kind, and to do the work, the block has to be nailed to the floor. Instead, it keeps sliding around. You will, soon enough, grab hold of it.


Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Ride out the heavy feeling today as the Moon enters Cancer and makes its monthly conjunction to Saturn. Saturn rewards persistence, which is always a good distraction from the sometimes moody or heavy quality that comes through when the Moon shows up. It would seem, though, that there's something you're forgetting to laugh at. It is pretty amazing the change of perspective that can wash over you when you get the cosmic joke, particularly on those days when you need it the most. This is a fine day not to take yourself too seriously.


Leo (July 22-Aug 23)

It's no secret how important the people in your life are to you. You are an inspiration to your friends in this respect; most people, even the good-hearted ones, have a tendency to take the people in their life for granted. I just don't get it; maybe people feel like they will lose themselves if they care too much about others. You are in a gem of a moment to demonstrate that you can pursue your own goals and at the same time be completely devoted to those you love. What is good for you serves the whole. You are one with your world. Feel that today.


Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)

If you have not given words to the complex set of feelings you've stumbled into, this might be a good time. I can offer some words to your chart, if that would help: if not, please toss them. You've arrived at one of the core issues of your childhood, and can see the extent to which you were taught to deny yourself for the sake of someone else. For quite a long time, this had the effect of splitting you from yourself. Notice now how when you tune into the issue you can tap a deeply unified sense of your existence and your personal mission. It's likely to feel like a daring place to go. It is, but you're truly safe.


Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23)

Passion often has that feeling of imminent sudden death. Many cultures associate erotic surrender with the sense of giving up all of existence, which is about the healthiest thing that human beings can do. Life is transient, and it's only when we can connect with that quality of movement as inevitability that we can make the most of the changes that present themselves to us. You are being offered an opportunity to reinvent yourself. Someone near you is setting the example by going through a series of profound transformations. Taste the energy and decide if you like it.


Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)

A work situation that's been challenging your confidence comes to a head this week. You need to be direct and make decisions with confidence. If your sixth sense was ever operating, it's doing so right now, and it's coming through your emotions more strongly than any other channel. How you feel is all that matters, and you may need to pause for a moment and sense just what the inner weather is. But once you know, it's important that you make your moves with clarity and steadfastness. By later in the day Monday, you should have a lot better feeling about all of this.


Sagittarius (Nov. 22 - Dec. 22)

The actions of another person may seem genuinely confounding right now. It's as if everything they are doing is just out of your field of vision or taking place in the five minutes before you wake up in the morning. What you have not considered is the importance of leaving yourself out of the picture and simply sizing up what they are going through. This is not an easy time in this person's life, and their struggle involves a loss of self that's a mere shadow of what you may be feeling in your own life. Offer your love and support and your own fears will vanish.


Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20)

As the Moon moves through your opposite sign for the next few days, you get to gaze into the cosmic mirror and see the extent to which all people share nearly identical insecurities and challenges to grow and become. You are so close to your own personal struggle in this regard that you may be underestimating how much you have in common with the people closest to you. Events of the next few days offer you some excellent opportunities to see, to feel, and to build your faith that all we ever need on this planet is one another.


Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19)

By all rights, this should be a glorious day in your life. Yet fear has a way of conquering jubilation and throwing a wet blanket over the delicate sense that you're a free person. It's clear that your fears surround your sense of security when in fact what you're getting is a lot of information about how to make yourself more secure, and how to put some guts into building the safe, solid foundations you know you need. Any real possibility brings the potential for failure. Please don't let that stop you. Failure is not so bad, but it's well worth the risk, and that risk is about the only price of success.


Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)

Visibility is the word of the day: let yourself be seen for who you are, what you believe and what you represent. Your life is an example for others, and you have no need to worry that perfection is a prerequisite for such a role in the culture. I would suggest that you hang loose around your imperfections, because most of what the world struggles with is this insidious need to be right all the time. While you're serving as such powerful exemplar, you can vibe the simple truth that human is perfect in itself. In fact, in our world, human is quite divine.