Virgo - Spring 2016 Horoscope

This isn't necessarily the time to think things through, my Virgo friends. You're being asked to dig deep into the mysteries of life. Right now, you have an opportunity to allow the idea of who you are expand, without letting your brain get in the way! Let yourself imagine no limits for just a little while! I know this idea is uncomfortable to ask most analytical Virgos to embrace; however, you've been dealing with your fair share of things coming out of left field lately, so the feeling of being in the dark has been no stranger. The universe does have a method to its madness, though. I promise!  You've been working with a mysterious energy, encouraging self-discovery through surprising and exciting life circumstances, for the last few years. This year, though, offers an incredible boost of energy and optimism, if you can stop the wheels in your head from spinning too much.

The eclipses at the beginning of March may have started a series of events, real or imagined, that have you reconsidering everything you thought you had figured out! I would encourage you to stop. Find some quiet time for yourself. If you have a partner, enjoy drowning yourself in feeling and emotion, and take some time to get out of your own head for a while. If you are single, this is a wonderful time to explore deep meditation, or any activity that really exercises the body / mind connection. You're being invited to dive deeper than ever. You have an opportunity to feel who you were before the world told you who to be, and provided you experiences to reinforce that image. 

In your most natural and relaxed state, everything you need to do just falls into place; but your lesson right now, Virgo, is to not over think it. Move with the universe, because it's trying to talk to you in every way possible. If you will simply sit still, and listen with your heart, instinct will lead you now. Don't get me wrong, I know you have real life going on, and it's very possible that finances, resources, and a real fear that you have little to no direction may make it seem impossible to take my advice. I'm not encouraging you to lose yourself completely, but making time for the mysteries in life, and opening  yourself up to letting go of your fear, will help you get the most out of this year. Let's try to make the everyday dredge feel a little more magical. There will be time for reasonable decisions, but first you have a wonderful opportunity to discover just how deep you run, Virgo! 

Leo - Spring 2016 Horoscope

It's time to shake up your life, find new knowledge, and broaden all your horizons, Leo! This feeling has been building for the last few years, and you've never felt the urge more strongly. The hunger to study, travel, find new territory and explore, has been growing fiercely, and now, more than ever, the impulse is becoming impossible to ignore. Spring always invokes your restless spirit, but you have felt the need to grow like never before. Now is the time to begin opening your mind, freeing your heart of the judgments you have of others, and most importantly, those you have of yourself. This is how you begin to break free from your own self imposed boundaries.

Don't fret about how to open your mind or push back your self-imposed boundaries. The world will point out how you need to grow and expand. Be your natural, optimistic, inviting, self, Leo, and the Universe will gently guide you to your next level of expansive greatness; however, if you try to bully your way through the next few years, try to sit on your laurels and insist that nothing change, demand everyone cater to your fantasy of rulership, the lessons may become more difficult, and life will become disappointing. This has been a time of letting go of the old, in order to be able to say yes to all the universe wants to offer you. Try harder to meet life with gratitude. Roll with the opportunities for expansion the world is handing you.

The more you embrace the shedding of your old limitations, the easier it will be to start reaping the rewards. If you have never examined what you truly value, and beliefs that formed those core morals and ethics, this is a good time to examine these ideas. Maybe you have limiting, self sabotaging thoughts about finances, and what you're worth, Leo. It's time to expand your knowledge on the subject, dig deep into your belief system, and start truly believing you are worthy of receiving;  especially the things that can't be bought like a good attitude, a higher understanding, a life of gratitude - these are the things that naturally bring all that is good in life to you, Leo. It's all happening for you, have patience.  

Cancer - Spring 2016 Horoscope

Does the subject of career create a restlessness you can't stop obsessing over, Cancer? Do you feel like your social status, your place in the world, that special thing you want to work at giving, seems to allude you? Maybe it seems like you've gotten all you can out of your current job. If the last few years have made you feel as if this specific job has showcased all you will be getting back from your current professional situation, the pressure to achieve more may be getting intense! My advice? Take advantage of the energy, but don't put the cart before the horse. The last few weeks have been a bit emotional, and you may be feeling unappreciated, and a little lost at work, or with your identity within your profession or workplace.

This is an opportunity for professional growth, but it's a slow moving transit with a couple more years to finish unfolding, so take this time to consider your big dream, Cancer. What would you do for a living, if you could make a living doing what you love? This isn't necessarily a time to make a big change, but it's definitely the time to start searching for your bliss. Maybe you're doing what you love, but you don't feel you're getting the recognition you crave. The next few weeks can provide the introspection you'll need to answer some of these pressing questions. Take notice of the type of recognition you've been getting. Are there clues as to how you may be able to improve the situation you're currently in? Your daily routine might need some freshening up, or maybe you could connect, and communicate with a new group of people at work. There's a real opportunity to be happier by simply reframing the situation you're in, and expanding your own personal network. 

You might not be able to clearly see how your professional life is changing right now, but with some quiet contemplation, your heart will begin to lead you, and your gut instincts will tell you when you're heading the right direction. So, run yourself a bubble bath, put on your favorite music, and lose yourself in the daydream of what your ideal day at work would look and feel like. Really start honing in on this daydream, until it feels so real you can taste it. When the time is right, the opportunities will start presenting themselves, but in the mean time, just start putting it all together in your heart until the pieces begin to make sense and fall together.  

Gemini - Spring 2016 Horoscope

Spring fever for a Gemini can evoke a need to be needed! A time to contemplate what you want to give the world at large. You start thinking about the groups and friends you identify with, and begin to wonder what cooperation may accomplish. How could your gifts and talents be given to best accomplish a legacy or your mark on the world. The last three or four years have been reshaping what you feel you could accomplish on a large scale, or maybe you have been realizing you have been dreaming too small in the past. As a collector of knowledge, stories and personal connections, the idea of collaboration on a large scale is always a fun idea for you, but sometimes you can scatter your energy too much to accomplish as much as you would like. Recently, the need to focus in and start getting things done has become more than just an idea, it is becoming a drive!

If you've been compelled to find a new way of relating to people, challenging yourself to redefine what you have to offer those around you, or trying to find your place in the world at large,  you are probably on the right track, Gemini. It takes courage to reinvent yourself. There is always a fear of outgrowing cherished friends. This has been a gradual change, as you have rolled things around in your head, and yearned for more. With about two or three years of this slow moving transformation left to go, you're craving some traction to give you the momentum you would like in your life. Don't worry, you'll be a butterfly before you know it! If you aren't moving, or you aren't moving fast enough, maybe you are underestimating your own gifts to give, Gemini. Dig into your roots; talk to family, and the people that love you and know you best. These are the people that want to give you wings and help you stay grounded in reality. It's alright to feel like you need to branch out, sometimes. Besides, you're such a social butterfly, Gemini, it isn't like you have to leave these people behind; they will always love it when you brush back by, and tell them your new stories; the exciting things you have been working on, and how much you missed them!  

Taurus - Spring 2016 Horoscope

Spring in general, is a glorious time of mystery for you, Taurus, and this year won't disappoint! For you, the early spring should mean time for contemplating the darkness before the rebirth. It is important to make time to connect with pure intuition, and you do this by being still. You have had time for reflecting on behaviors and the repeating patterns you have not only outgrown, but seem to be biting you in the butt until you notice them. If you have been feeling as if some reactions are out of your control they can become, not only problematic, but create enough emotional pressure to finally come to light. Have some patience with yourself, Taurus. You've been in the middle of a seven year cycle; ridding yourself of the behaviors and habits you have finally outgrown. New habits don't start over night, and outgrown habits certainly don't fall away that quickly, either. The last three years of incredible self discovery, which has involved your need to find new and primal connections to the body, mind, spirit connection, can provide the opportunities to finally let go of habits ego no longer needs to hide behind. Really, if you have been listening, you will find the world, and universe at large, has been trying to talk to you for a while.

If you've been feeling the undaunting nudge to embrace your true destiny the last three or four years, you're not alone. The push to live more in line with your higher self, and embrace the pressure to move into a more authentic version of you, means you're right where you're supposed to be. Unfortunately, every time you think you're getting there, Taurus, Spring rolls around, and you feel as lost as ever. I promise, by this time a couple of years from now, it will all make sense! Hang on a little while longer, and you'll finally be onto the next lesson - consciously defining yourself. In the mean time, the power you have to connect with your subconscious, is a gift preparing you for a solid foundation to build on. Restoring balance; simplifying life; letting go of what is stressing you out and embracing your quiet center; putting these things in place will prepare you for what is to come.  

Aries - Spring 2016 Horoscope

This year has been quite a return to source for you, Aries! More than any other time, and probably more than any other sign, you are being called to reinvent yourself. The natural instinct of Aries ego is to charge forward. You take the lead, sight unseen, with nothing more than courage, and the impulse to break new and innovative ground, for guidance. But, as you strive to become a more fully formed personality, you are being asked to become painfully aware of who you are, and what you stand for, in order to be the leader you were meant to be. 

Uranus is a little more than half way through a long, seven year transit of your sign. This, along with movement in Pisces, can provide you the ability to look at your past, the habits you have developed, and all that has subconsciously created your current identity. It is becoming easier to see, and let go of, what no longer lends itself to the person you have been working to become. The first step to becoming all you are meant to be, involves shedding the skin of the person you no longer are. It's alright to be a little scared, and don't worry if you aren't this new person overnight. You've been developing and growing as a person since birth, and this new version of you has been taking shape for a while now; like all rebirths, it takes some time to get done with the incubation process. Have patience with yourself, and breath through it. I know you won't take my advice, and it will unfold with all the pushing an Aries loves, but try to be as Zen as possible, and strive for balance in all areas of your life. It will be good practice for the you, you are becoming!  

Friends, Lovers, Soul Mates and Loss

Relationships in our society seem to be painfully well defined and yet woefully misunderstood. If you ask most men or women to describe their "soul mate", it almost immediately takes on a sexual tone. We start describing this person that is our perfect mate, our opposite that completes us, and provides that magical relationship everyone wants, but rarely gets. What happens, though, if your soul mate is your best friend? Or, how do you describe loving someone so deeply that you are you, because of knowing them, but it's your brother or sister? Can we have a soul mate that is our business partner, or the person we create with, but not the person we want to be romantic with? YES! Unfortunately these are relationships that are hard to understand, and even harder to explain to the people around you.

As an astrologer, I love to watch people transverse the ups and downs of their lives. I am often in awe of how they decide to pull on one strength or hide in another. In the end, what I almost always see is divine timing. I see how someone might use their Pisces influence to hide, and while the rest of us worry about them, they pull themselves out of hiding just when it's the right time for everyone. And, I am always learning from it. As these recent eclipses have moved through our lives, I have again been amazed at watching how they are resonating with those I am lucky enough to have honest, heart to heart talks with. The themes of friendship, past lovers, soul mates and loss have been right at the raw edges of many of these conversations. Even with friends and acquaintances I have had fairly casual conversations with, there has been a nostalgic toss of topic to a past boyfriend, or they bring up one of mine. And for all of us, there has been some consideration on how relationships of all kinds, past and present, have molded the person we are now. Our past is almost always remembered in relation to the people we were sharing it with, and sometime, that makes the memories quite bitter sweet.

The truth is, we are actually very limited when it comes to talking about relationships in our society, because it seems like there are little boxes of defined ideas on how we are supposed to relate to each other. We need more definitions, or maybe we need to start refusing to have definitions at all. We are becoming more and more complicated beings. We are living longer with the ability to make connections across the world, now. We, as men and women, are hearing the call to become more balanced within our own sacred masculine and feminine, and the connections to each other are demanding more examination. I have had relationships with my family, my girlfriends, friends that were guy-friends, Lovers that were not exactly friends, friends that I couldn't seem to keep from becoming lovers, and simple, fit in the box relationships that were easy to explain. Out of all of those relationships, some have been soul mates, some have been ships passing by, but all become a part of my past and present. These connections make me who I am, and how I tell my story. Unfortunately, some of those stories are just as defined by the good-bye, as the pages leading up to it.

In reality, I have had very few relationships that don't fit into some kind of definition the world can relate to. As a woman, I think we get a little more leeway for defining our relationships, especially with each other. It's kind of a stereotype, or a given double standard, but women are expected to have close relationships with other women, their children, and are prepared emotionally from the start to have deep feelings that have nothing to do with sex. Men, on the other hand, can find it difficult to describe how they love someone that isn't a romantic interest. For a growing number of men, especially men that don't quite fit into today's more aggressive, less introspective, stereotypical male role model, they have complicated relationships, too.  I have no idea what it would be like to lose a best friend or soul mate as a man in today's world, and we don't provide much room to talk about it.

In my world, I was given a lot of freedom by my Aquarian mother to talk freely, love openly, and grow into myself. As a girl, growing into a woman, I never thought twice about describing my best friend as a bright and vibrant soul, with a graceful beauty and creativity that seemed to spring from every asset of his life. I was allowed to describe how we could talk about anything, and the way he touched my life. None of my description would have been considered a weird conversation, and I would not have been judged for it. If I had been describing a best friend that was a girl or my sister, I would have had the same luxury. And, when my best friend and I had to go our separate ways, it was pretty familiar ground for my friends to comfort me. It was like a breakup. We both could sense we weren't growing this way anymore. Our friendship was hard to explain to the romantic partners in our lives, who couldn't fathom us not being romantically involved. It was heartbreaking, and I knew I had said goodbye to a soul mate, but I was prepared to say goodbye, because it was best for everyone involved.

My story of goodbye is fairly easy to understand, even if the relationship was complicated. What happens, though, if that best friend and soul mate is your brother, or your sister, or the creative partner that your lively hood depends on? Then, whether you are male or female, it becomes even more challenging to describe, harder to balance, and seemingly unfathomable to say goodbye. How do you share that much of yourself, and still find the balance of a romantic relationship in your life? What if you are a guy, and your soul mate is another guy, and  you don't feel like you have the right words to describe how you feel?  This person may be an incredible source of love, inspiration, and frustration for you (all words used to describe a soul mate), but you feel kind of funny saying that, because your relationship doesn't quite fit into one of those easily defined boxes. And even worse, what if life circumstances force you to say goodbye? I have seen many friends deal with complicated and gut wrenching goodbyes, but it does seem that some are easier to wrap your mind around than others. It is that complicated mind processing, which will never make sense of the situation, but still chooses to try to find a way to relate to the world when it would be easier to hide - these are the type of people who inspire me. This set of march eclipses, provided an unexpected mirror to my own losses, goodbyes, and new beginnings (all Pisces themes, which were really brought to a pinnacle with the first March eclipse); not to mention giving further examination of the idea of actively creating balance in all areas of my life (that last Libra eclipse in the series was a doozey for me). Although I am sure we will all be glad to move onto a new set of lessons, I will always feel blessed for the ways in which I was taught these ones.  

As an astrologer, I love messy, gritty, real people, that are willing to get into their shit and really sort it out. The more complicated and aware the person, the less predictably they react to the influences of the transits against their chart. I am always fascinated to see how these people pull it off. I have watched an Aries eclipse cause a client to break free from an old sense of identity, and walk into her purpose, when continuing to bury her head in the stubborn Taurus ego would have been easier and less scary. I've seen this movement of eclipses encourage people into counseling, men and women with strongly intellectual based signs like Gemini, Aquarius, and Virgo, to honestly start tackling difficult, emotional groundwork. Although this is not natural for them, it certainly is the higher octave of self love that they needed in order to move forward toward self-actualization. It can be amazing! I know it sounds a little sexist, but I meet very few men who do not behave fairly predictably within the framework of their charts - but I have met a few. They are beautiful! They need encouragement from all the women in their lives, because these complicated, sensitive, evolving males are hearing the call of balance from this last set of eclipses. Whether these men known it or not, they have always been chosen to lead, and they don't have many examples.

There is something kind of incredible about a man that can recognize, and express a connection so profound, that it helps to define who they are. There is something amazing in this for women, too! These men want to embrace another human, regardless of an easy label; however they are still interested in being men, and embracing the wild and assertive side of the sacred masculine. This is uncharted territory, requiring delicate balance, and they are showing other men how it's done. For all of my sisters out there, that have been telling me they aren't that attracted to the men they meet who are pursuing a spiritual path, have patience; it's coming. We're all having a difficult time honoring the sacred masculine and feminine within us. There has been a lot of talk in astrological circles about the meaning of the set of eclipses that started three years ago, in October of 2013. It has been fascinating on an intellectual level, but on a personal level, watching this balance unfold in real life, for the people I love (usually with no astrological help at all), has been wonderful to experience.

As men become more capable of honoring and appreciating the sacred feminine within, they become aware of just how strong and healing that feminine energy is. As we all start adjusting what it means to be a strong and potent man, women can let go of our need to imitate an unhealthy version of the male ego in order to compete in our society. As we all start heeding the call of balance within our own body, mind, and spirit, we can also start honoring all the soul mates in our lives - because we have many. More importantly, not only did this last three year cycle give us the time and space to explore the ideas of love, relationship, and identity of self vs. other, it is also awakening the need for a more evolved idea of love: the kind of love that does not own or control; the kind of love that holds a heart with an open hand, not a closed fist; the kind of brotherly love that isn't the passionate, all consuming love of Venus and Mars, but a Neptunian idea love. This is the love that wants all good things for each other which, unfortunately sometimes includes letting go, and all the human emotion of the flesh not wanting to. That is the beauty of this set of eclipses for me - watching those I love actually putting in the work: the work to feel it, no matter how bad it hurts; the work of trying to put into words things that have no clear path to define; the work of living through it all and choosing to redefine love, instead of taking the easier path of bitterness and escapism (a favorite hiding spot for Pisces energy, themes the March 8th eclipse brought up). I am in awe of you all, and you inspire me to continue to fight the fight of helping people make sense of it all.