CANCER (Jun 21-Jul 22): A while back I asked my readers to propose a new name for your astrological sign. “Cancer” has a bit of a negative connotation, after all. Many people suggested “Dolphin” as a replacement, which I like. But the two ideas that most captivated my imagination were “Gateway” and “Fount.” I probably won’t be able to convince the astrological community to permanently adopt either of these uplifting designations, but I encourage you to try out them out to see how they feel. This is a good time to experiment: For the next 12 months, you will have substantial potential to embody the highest meanings of both “Gateway” and “Fount.”
LEO (Jul 23-Aug 22): The year’s half over, Leo. Let’s talk about what you want to make happen in the next six months. My analysis of the astrological omens suggests that it’ll be an excellent time to formulate a long-term master plan and outline in detail what you will need to carry it out. For inspiration, read this pep talk from philosopher Jonathan Zap: “An extremely effective and grounded magical practice is to identify your big dreams, the missions you really need to accomplish in this lifetime. The test of a big dream comes from asking yourself, ‘Will I remember this well on my death bed?’ If you have a big dream, you will probably find that to accomplish it will require a minimum of two hours of devoted activity per day.”
VIRGO (Aug 23-Sep 22): “The passion to explore is at the heart of being human,” said Carl Sagan. “This impulse — to go, to see, to know — has found expression in every culture.” But Steven Dutch, a professor at the University of Wisconsin, disagrees. He says there’ve been lots of societies that have had little interest in exploration. Africans never discovered Madagascar or the Cape Verde archipelago, for example. Few Asian cultures probed far and wide. During a thousand years of history, ancient Romans ignored Russia, Scandinavia, and the Baltic, and made only minimal forays to India and China. Where do you personally fit on the scale of the human exploratory urge, Virgo? Regardless of what you’ve done in the past, I bet you’ll be on the move in the coming months. Your hunger for novelty and unfamiliarity should be waxing.
LIBRA (Sep 23-Oct 22): In the coming months, it’s likely you will experience more action than usual — some of it quite expansive — in your astrological eighth house. Traditional astrologers call this the sphere of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, but I refer to it as the realm of deep connection, altered states of awareness, and lyrical interludes that educate and enrich your emotional intelligence. Are you ready to have your habit mind rewired, your certainties reworked, and your pleasures reconfigured?
SCORPIO (Oct 23-Nov 21): I hope that in the first half of 2011 you have been doing some devoted work on tidying up the messy old karma that had been interfering with the free flow of grace into your intimate relationships. If there’s still work to be done on that noble task, throw yourself into it now. The renaissance of togetherness is due to begin soon and last for many months. You don’t want any lingering ignorance, self-deceit, or lack of compassion to gum it up.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22-Dec 21): In 1498, Leonardo da Vinci completed one of his masterworks, the mural known as “The Last Supper.” Nineteen years later, the paint had begun to flake off, and by 1556 Leonardo’s biographer considered the whole thing to be “ruined.” Over the centuries, further deterioration occurred, even as many experts tried to restore and repair it. The most recent reclamation project, finished in 1999, lasted more than two decades. I hope that in the coming months, Sagittarius, you will show a similar dedication to the high art of regeneration. Please work long and hard on bringing vitality back into what has fallen into decay or stagnancy.
CAPRICORN (Dec 22-Jan 19): In a horoscope last year, I asked you Capricorns whether you ever obsessed on your longing to such a degree that you missed opportunities to actually satisfy your longing. In response, a reader named John G. sent me the following corrective message: “We Capricorns comprehend the futility of too much longing. We understand it can be a phantasm that gets in the way of real accomplishment. It’s like a telephone that keeps ringing somewhere but can’t be found. We don’t waste energy on dreamy feelings that may or may not be satisfied, since that energy is so much better funneled into mastering the details that will bring us useful rewards.” I’m here to tell you, Capricorn, that the coming months will be an excellent time to make use of the Capricornian capacities John G. describes.
AQUARIUS (Jan 20-Feb 18): “Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you,” sang Bob Marley. “You just gotta find the ones worth suffering for.” How are you doing on that score, Aquarius? Have you been discerning in picking out allies whose value to you is so high that you’re willing to deal with their moments of unconsciousness? Have you created a family and community that bless you far more than they drain you? The next ten months will be an excellent time to concentrate on refining this part of your life experience, Aquarius: having to “settle for” a soulful acknowledgment that’s different from what your ego thought it wanted. Take it from me: That’s actually better.
PISCES (Feb 19-Mar 20): Any minute now, you might start learning at a faster rate than you have since 2000. Any day now, you will be less bored than you have been since 2006, and any week now you will be expressing more spontaneity than you have since early 2010. Any month now, Pisces, you will find yourself able to access more of your visionary intelligence than you have since maybe 2007. What does it all mean? You may not feel an amazing, spectacular, extraordinary degree of personal unity tomorrow, but you will soon begin building toward that happy state. By December I bet you’ll be enjoying an unprecedented amount of it.
ARIES (Mar 21-Apr 19): When astronaut Buzz Aldrin flew to the moon and back on the spacecraft Apollo 11 in 1969, he was paid less than $8 a day. That has to stand as one of the most flagrant cases of underpaid labor ever — far worse than what you’ve had to endure in your storied career. I suggest you keep Aldrin’s story in mind during the next six months as you meditate steadily on the future of your relationship with making money. Hopefully it will help keep you in an amused and spacious and philosophical frame of mind — which is the best possible attitude to have as you scheme and dream about your financial master plan for the years ahead.
TAURUS (Apr 20-May 20): After meditating on your astrological omens for the rest of 2011, I’ve picked out the guiding words that best suit your needs. They’re from mythologist Joseph Campbell: “If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it’s not your path. Your own path you make with every step you take. That’s why it’s your path.” Now here’s a corollary from Spanish poet Antonio Machado: “Wanderer, your footsteps are the road, nothing more; there is no road — you make the road by walking. Turning to look behind, you see the path you will never travel again.”
GEMINI (May 21-Jun 20): Emma Goldman (1869-1940) was a charismatic activist whose writing and speeches had a big impact on leftist politics in the first half of the 20th century. Unlike some of her fellow travelers, she wasn’t a dour, dogmatic proselytizer. She championed a kind of liberation that celebrated beauty and joy. “If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be in your revolution,” she is alleged to have told a sourpuss colleague. As you contemplate the radical transformations you might like to cultivate in your own sphere during the coming months, Gemini, I suggest you adopt a similar attitude. Make sure your uprisings include pleasurable, even humorous elements. Have some fun with your metamorphoses.
