Yearly Horoscope Analysis

Chapter I

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INTRODUCTION - THE MEANING OF THE TIME

Chapter II

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THE YEAR'S MAIN THEMES

The dominant energy

Because self-expression and the affirmation of your individuality are extremely important to you, you will probably find that the underlying energies at work over the next year release many new creative potentials, and give you a powerful feeling of confidence and purpose. Your inner light is truly beginning to shine, and this may have many repercussions in your outer life, some happy and others more challenging. Creative projects are likely to be fuelled by a strong sense of inspiration and authenticity, and you may find that you have the courage to try out new ventures which, a year or two ago, you might have found daunting.

If you have been seeking greater recognition in the outer world, you may also find that many doors open, because other people respond to your sense of inner purpose and confidence. The only real "fly in the ointment" is that, if you have been too accommodating toward others, or they have been too dependent on you, an increased sense of your right to be yourself could create friction in certain close relationships. If so, you may have to recognise that this is a time when concern for your own development is probably right and fitting. At this point in your life, you may have to put your own wishes first.

A strong sense of self

You may feel intensely aware of yourself as a separate, unique individual at the moment, and may be inclined to assert your own ideas, feelings and needs rather than accommodating the desires of others. But however much you may wish to please others right now, your primary need is to affirm yourself - not in any destructively egocentric way, but as a statement of the person you have become at this stage of your life and as a reflection of the talents and abilities you have developed. Your sense of self has always been deeply connected with your moral, philosophical, religious and spiritual outlook, and your path of development requires you to explore life from as broad a base as possible. At the moment you may be more aware than ever of your need to travel, mentally, physically, or both, to expand and deepen your fund knowledge - even in the face of others' protests.

You may meet others who epitomise this spirit of self-affirmation in some way, and any new relationships which you form at this time are likely to be a subtle reflection of qualities which you are trying to develop within yourself. This does not mean that such relationships are inauthentic. But you do need to live out your own special gifts and talents, rather than turning yourself into the devoted acolyte of a strong, charismatic or gifted personality. This is a time when you may experience a renewed sense of confidence in who you are and what you have to offer, and you should take advantage of such feelings by developing your creative abilities as much as possible.

You may discover new creative avenues which you didn't think existed, or which you were afraid to pursue because others needed your emotional time and energy. This period may not be especially dramatic, but it is important because you can recognise on an emotional, not merely intellectual, level, the outlines of your unique individuality and the deeper sense of purpose which can allow that individuality the fullest expression in life.

A firmer sense of identity

Although you may find this period restricting in some ways, a subtle process of healing is occurring within you which marks an important transition point in your life. On an inner level, you have the opportunity to clarify who you are and what you want, and to define your individuality in a more authentic way.

On the outer level, events may occur which through their constricting or saddening nature facilitate this process of self-discovery. But although you may experience some unhappiness or depression, you could learn what you are by discovering what you don't want or cannot have. You have probably always had difficulty in feeling confident and sure of yourself as a special individual, and you may have relied on particular talents, or being needed by others, in order to believe in your worth. But while the pattern of your background and childhood may at times have brought you into confrontation with the unfair side of life, it may also have created great inner strength and tenacity.

Even if you experience a loss or separation during this time, or some change in your work which is not of your choosing, such events could serve as harbingers of a time when your path in life is becoming clearer and more grounded in individual values, aptitudes and needs.

For you, a sense of personal fulfillment and meaning is bound up with developing an inclusive world-view, through travel and an extensive exploration of spiritual or philosophical ideas. You may discover during this time that you have not given sufficient loyalty or time to these issues. The process of recognising what you really want, rather than what you think will please others or fulfill family expectations, could prove deeply healing and renewing.

You may also be drawn toward the field of healing on a general as well as a personal level, and you may be attracted to the study of the healing arts or wish to work in one of the helping professions. Even if you have not thought in psychological ways in the past, at the moment your perceptions of life are likely to be deeper, more insightful, and also more compassionate toward human fallibility, including your own.

While these ingredients may not add up to a time of frivolity and fun, they can lay the groundwork for an enduring sense of unique identity, which could permanently transform many areas of your life.

Struggling against limits

You may be struggling hard at the moment to handle burdens which are making you feel trapped. The outer world may seem to be conspiring to keep you confined, and you may feel frustrated or depleted.

Yet at the same time you are probably discovering new reserves of strength and tenacity, and may feel determined not only to prove that you can manage your load, but that you can also turn it into something constructive. You are undergoing a process rather like steel being tempered. You may be taking a bit of a pounding, but it will leave you much tougher, more realistic and better able to make your own way in life.

And you could also discover a much greater sense of self-confidence if you reflect on the paradox of your situation. You are probably finding out just what you really want through having it denied you. This is often a more effective way of discovering values and objectives than any amount of idle speculation or dreaming when things are going well.

You may be intensely aware of yourself as a separate individual responsible for your own life, and this awareness could prove extremely important in helping you to use this time to lay groundwork for the future. Things are not likely to go smoothly or easily, but every inch of ground you gain, you will keep. You may experience a powerful need to affirm your identity through establishing your own spiritual, religious, moral and philosophical framework, independent of family background or external religious authorities. At the moment something may always seem to obstruct your path when you pursue these aspirations. You may sometimes get the feeling that mysterious roadblocks are ensuring that you keep to a route not of your own choosing, but preordained by forces within or outside yourself about which you know little. And it may be that something wiser inside you is guiding you, even though the guidance may appear to come in the form of what you can't do rather than what you can.

You probably do need to stand your ground at the moment, and it may be right for you to struggle to achieve a cherished goal; but this does not mean fighting against your deeper needs and nature. You may need to reflect long and deeply on what you are trying to achieve and why, so that you be sure you are fighting for something which truly matters, rather than attempting to prove that you can beat the opposition. Then you can place your strength and determination in the service of who you really are rather than on whom, in the past, others expected you to be.

This may not be a particularly good time to begin new creative ventures, because your energy and self-confidence are likely to be low. But refining skills, and finishing projects which require a period of hard and perhaps boring work, may be appropriate right now. This is also not likely to be the best time to begin a new relationship, as the people to whom you are attracted at the moment may reflect your own sense of heaviness and cynicism.

If you believe that life should be hard, you may choose companions who make it hard for you, rather than those who can help you to find happiness and contentment. But working at ongoing relationships, and establishing new and more flexible roles, may prove very rewarding right now, because you are able to define yourself more clearly as an individual and can therefore be more honest with your partner. You may need to consolidate what matters to you, but you may also need to relinquish situations or relationships which are proving to be wrong for you. This is a period of weeding out, battling on, and coming to know yourself and your strengths and limits on much deeper levels. Try to have patience.

Any feelings of weariness and hopelessness you experience are subjective, and the time of stress will pass. You are really fighting to discover who you are and what you want from life. Try to be clearer about this before you make major decisions. The more patient and calm you are inside, the better you will feel, physically and emotionally, and the sounder the groundwork will be that you build for the future.

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Another important theme

There is another important dynamic at work this year, which may sometimes support and sometimes contradict the energies described above.

Because your world is, to a large extent, peopled with the products of your ideals and fantasies, you are likely to experience certain events and inner states over the next year as both strengthening and limiting. This does not mean that you must necessarily suffer hardship. You possess the gift of infusing experience with meaning, and this could allow you to interpret and learn from whatever you encounter in highly creative ways. But you may have to face certain dimensions of earthly life which, temperamentally, you would probably rather avoid. The demands of material reality may challenge the validity of some of your dreams, and financial issues or professional dilemmas may force you to reevaluate what you have built and where you are trying to go.

In your personal life you may have to cope with a certain amount of loneliness or limitation, either because a separation forces you to come down to earth, or because your own mood makes it hard for you to feel supported by, and in tune with, those close to you. Try to remember that you will get what you pay for during this time. A willingness to work hard, accept limits, bear feelings of isolation, and compromise overly idealised expectations can help to make this time a productive one, which leaves you stronger, wiser, better grounded, and more capable of using your talents in the most productive ways.

Sobering up

This is likely to be a rather sober period, for you are in the process of consolidating who you are and what you want, and may not feel especially expansive or fun-loving.

A deep reflective process is taking place within you, and your personality is crystallising and taking on a much more solid and defined form. Even if you have spent a lot of time in the past trying to adapt to others, now you may find that you cannot do so, for your own values, needs and personal identity may now be too real and definite to allow such compromise. In fact you are likely to benefit greatly from this process, even if you don't feel especially spontaneous or contented, because you are becoming a much more authentic person.

The process itself is positive, constructive and will leave lasting benefits. The feelings, however, may not be quite so pleasant, and you may feel restricted or deeply dissatisfied in close relationships in which your increasing sense of authenticity challenges previous patterns of too much placation and self-sacrifice. You may also feel anxious that those close to you will reject you if you establish strong boundaries, and this could make you act in overly compromising ways when you are actually feeling the reverse.

You may discover a powerful will and great independence of spirit, and you will probably not be able to mask these qualities or hide them from those close to you, no matter how hard you try. If your loved ones can accept and accommodate these important facets of your personality, which are now crystallising and requiring more scope for expression, you will be able to enjoy a deeper sense of commitment and stability.

But if you are involved in relationships in which you have maintained harmony by stifling these dimensions of your nature, you may find that certain bonds are no longer viable in your life. You may feel restricted, hurt or simply misunderstood by those around you, and may feel you have to choose between loyalty to self and dependency on others. In this sense the present time may prove difficult and challenging, for in becoming truer to yourself you may have to let go of people and situations which are not right for you.

Yet if such difficulties occur, try to remember that you cannothide what you are indefinitely. The qualities you are integrating more firmly in your personality are deeply important to you, and need to be part of any relationship you enter or maintain in the future.

Learning to nurture yourself

During this period you are likely to experience a kind of 'growing up' on the emotional level. Although it may not be the most frivolous or exciting of times, you are likely to feel strong and self-sufficient, and able to adapt your emotional needs to the realities around you and to the limits of other people's natures. Although you may have sometimes felt let down by others, there has always been a solid core of realism within you which has allowed you to accept others' imperfections and remain loyal to those you love despite their flaws and failings. At the moment you may enjoy a period of calm and stability in your personal life because of this instinctive wisdom. A tendency to depend on friends or social circle to make you feel wanted and worthwhile may have made you frustrate your own wishes and desires on many occasions, and in the past you may have feared alienating others or destroying the emotional intimacy of a relationship by asserting your own needs too strongly. At the moment you may not be feeling particularly aggressive about letting others know what you want.

But you are likely to be much more self-sufficient, and therefore more able to be clear and contained about looking after yourself. You may be able to tolerate loneliness with an equanimity that would have been impossible in the past, and can probably tolerate restrictions or disappointments without whining or complaining. This is an important experience, because tolerance, self-containment and realism can allow you to consolidate your personal relationships based on a real appreciation of who the other person is rather than on what you hope they will give you.

You may find that older people attract you right now, or those whose approach to life is more serious and self-contained. This does not mean that you will never be able to have fun again; but the values which matter to you now may be quite different from what pleased you in the past, and because these values are more enduring, friendships you make right now may turn out to have great stability and longevity.

At the moment mutual respect and quiet loyalty probably matter more to you than florid declarations of passion or flamboyant acts of self-sacrifice, and actions are likely to speak louder than words. Even if you have to accept certain restraints or disappointments in your personal or domestic life, you will probably learn from such experiences, rather than being depressed or disheartened, if you can see how valuable feelings of separateness are for your inner growth.

Most importantly, this period can help you to discover your inner strength and capacity for self-sustenance. If you can rely on a solid core within yourself, you do not have to be frightened of loneliness if you meet it at any point later in life, because you will know how to look after yourself.

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Chapter III

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SIGNIFICANT TRENDS IN EACH SPHERE OF LIFE

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1. The sphere of emotions

Conflict in relationship

This is likely to be a challenging time in your personal life. Your values are crystallising and you are leaving many old hurts behind. But this process, although deeply healing, may require effort. A partner or close friend may appear to behave in a rejecting or insensitive manner, and you may feel angry and disillusioned at the treatment you have received.

You may also engage in hurtful behaviour yourself, perhaps because you feel justified in striking back at someone whom you feel has injured you. On the inner level you may experience feelings of insecurity or loss of self- esteem; or you may believe you are unlovable. You could be gloomy about the future and disillusioned in your ideals. Your mood is likely to be dark, and it may be hard for you to find any happiness in everyday things. However much others try to reassure you, they will probably not be able to please you or get it right.

But on the deeper level this time is not simply an unhappy time. It could also be potentially healing, and may bring many insights which could free you from old, destructive relationship patterns. It is likely that, whatever you may be encountering in your present life, you have met it before, in the past. Try to focus not on who is doing what to you, but rather, on whether experiences from early life may have given you particular preconceptions and expectations about love and relationships.

You may recognise areas in which your own fearfulness or defensiveness has caused you pain and difficulty. Through such introspection you may be able to avoid the excesses of rage or self-pity to which you could, at the moment, be prone.

A change is occurring in your values right now, especially in what you believe to be worthwhile in human beings and in life. You may be called upon to develop a more mature and compassionate attitude toward human complexity - including your own.

An experience of failure in love, whether through your parents in childhood or through a relationship in your present life, may seem unfair and bitter, and you may be inclined to blame others or yourself. But if you can see beyond conventional assumptions or idealised fantasies, you may develop greater flexibility and wisdom, which could enable you to deal with all loved ones in an open, honest, compassionate, and tolerant spirit.

Learning to accept

This may be a time of serious reflection, although there may be no apparent external reason for feelings of insecurity and uncertainty. You may experience a deep and somewhat disturbing encounter with old feelings of hurt and inadequacy which are connected with the past, and which have been triggered by some person or event in your present life. Rather than focusing on what or who is hurting you right now, try to recognise that your emotional responses may be out of proportion to the trigger, or may cause you to interpret others' actions in a particularly negative way. This may not be one of the happier times in your life, but it could be one of the most productive in terms of your understanding of the emotional patterns which have shaped your development and your attitudes toward others. You may need to look a long way back, into your childhood and even into your parents' and grandparents' relationship patterns, to understand why you are inclined to see life a little darkly and cynically right now.

You may be particularly aware of how little acceptance you expect to find from society, and how hard it is to trust that your professional efforts will be rewarded as they deserve. With a little reflection you may recognise how these feelings probably accompanied your emotional development in childhood, perhaps for reasons which were no one's fault but which were simply a reflection of life's unfairness. This period may focus your awareness on all that is wounded within you, and the consciousness of these early hurts can provide you with the possibility of healing old pain and making peace with aspects of life which simply cannot be changed.

One profound dimension of healing is the development of a more flexible, compassionate and philosophical attitude which can enable you to relinquish feelings of bitterness toward those who have disappointed you. You may also find yourself very sensitive to others' pain, and particularly drawn to those who have been wounded by life. You may experience hurt at someone else's hands; but if you do, it will be a very special kind of situation where understanding will be much more productive than anger and bitterness. This time could prove wonderfully healing and deepening, although you may not recognise its potential until the feelings of sadness have passed.

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2. The sphere of the physical world

A time of achievement

You are liable to be restless and dissatisfied with earlier goals right now, and eager to make something more of your life. If you have not felt committed to any particular goal, this could be a time when you become more certain of your direction because you are in better touch with your emotional needs. You are beginning a new cycle in your working life, and there are some deeper issues which might require some reflection so that you can make the best use of the changes likely to occur.

Psychologically, you are 'leaving home' - no matter how old you are, or how long ago you actually left your family to make your own life. This means that goals and expectations which have, perhaps unconsciously, been bound up with family hopes and expectations, may no longer satisfy you, and you may need to put your faith in what is good for you rather than what others have wanted you to be. This may necessitate a complete change in direction; or it may mean a different and deeper acknowledgement of the rightness of what you are doing. Either way, you can claim your life direction as your own, affirmed by your understanding of your own deeper needs.

Your need to find 'job satisfaction' through a position of authority and responsibility may require that you develop existing skills or begin a new training. New contacts may appear in your life who can help you to find the way toward what you want. This is an excellent time to dig up all those buried dreams which past experiences may have made you mistrust, so that not only your intellect but also your heart can contribute its voice to your future direction. Don't refuse help if it is offered; others may be especially willing to support you right now because you yourself are more open and receptive to them. Follow your instincts and your imagination, and you will find the right path.

And if you have never been interested in pursuing a career or a professional commitment before, you may discover that it is right and appropriate for you to do so now. Because you are seeking to broaden your range of experience and involvement with the world, the doors will open if you can trust yourself enough to knock on them.

Coping with an unreceptive world

Frustration in your work, obstacles in the path of cherished professional and social goals, and conflicts or increased responsibilities in your domestic life may all conspire at the moment to make you feel deeply challenged. This could help you to discover a new resource of strength and self-discipline. At work you may be trying to offer discipline, integrity and the capacity to handle a position of authority, but it may seem that no one wants what you are attempting to give, or is willing to reward you fairly for your efforts. You may experience setbacks or opposition from colleagues, or may find that you must work extremely hard to prove yourself. You may also experience conflict with those in authority, or may feel that collective or social expectations are preventing you from expressing who you really are. On the home front you may feel equally unappreciated or blocked, and you may feel unhappy in your environment, disappointed with those you live with, or stifled by domestic routines and duties.

Yet despite possible difficulties with the outer world, your real conflict at the moment is chiefly within yourself. You may have to adapt your particular abilities to the requirements of mundane reality, and this could mean making compromises you may feel are humiliating or destructive to your long-term plans. You may also need to formulate your goals more clearly, and aim for what is possible rather than what you could have if the world were ideal. All this may hurt and anger you, leaving you with a sense of personal failure and defeat.

Yet this could prove an extremely beneficial and constructive time. You are being challenged to define who you want to be in the world, with respect both for your own desires and the nature of the reality around you. This may require a fine balance between ideals and an acceptance of human nature. You may need to make important choices about your career goals, which should be made slowly and carefully and with due regard for the rules of the marketplace, rather than rashly or in a spirit of angry rebellion or depressed passivity.

Most importantly, the role you choose to play may need to be more flexible at the same time that it reflects your deeper values, rather than an image which is conventionally acceptable but leaves you feeling unreal or false, or a rebellious stance which is full of emotion but expects too much of life. If you have been acting a part in the past, you will probably not be able to do so for much longer; the world requires authenticity and commitment from you at the moment and you are being challenged to give it. Thus you may be laying foundations for your future path in life, and if you move slowly and with insight you will be able to lay those foundations solidly and reap the rewards over the years to come.

Peaks and troughs

Swings from extreme optimism to extreme pessimism may characterise this period, and you may alternate between feeling you must break free and expand your life, and feeling you must resign yourself to obstructions and responsibilities which you cannot escape.

There is a conflict within you which could ultimately prove extremely productive, but which at first may appear in external life as a sense that all movement is blocked - especially when you try to find some peace and tranquillity in your family and domestic life. Just at the moment when you probably want to claim greater freedom and pursue future plans and dreams, things may seem to happen which curtail your movement. You may also find yourself feeling depressed and lacking in trust, both in yourself and in life. Your intuition may not seem to be working properly and you may feel beset by ill-luck. Try not to take feelings of depression and foreboding as indications that some doom is upon you. It isn't. But at the same time that you are discovering that you want a bigger and better life, you are probably being challenged to adapt your plans to the limits of reality. You may also have to learn to wait and build, rather than expecting life to simply produce what you desire like a rabbit out of a hat.

Your pessimism may make you fail to appreciate the good things happening around you, and may also make you feel constricted by your close relationships. But it is not likely that anyone is really doing anything different; it is just that you may want more, and are discovering you cannot have it all by three o'clock this afternoon.

This is not a good time to gamble with resources you cannot afford to lose. Beware of the get-rich-quick or something-for-nothing impulse, whether in relation to money or in relation to your emotional life. Right now, nothing is for free, and you would be wise not to turn to this kind of activity as a means of alleviating your frustration. Try to consolidate what you have, but avoid risks if you can; your judgement is probably not at its best right now because it is being distorted by both your fears and your dreams.

You may feel a little desperate, but desperation is no state in which to make major decisions, especially regarding your material and emotional security. Your vision of the future may be very gloomy because your intuitive faculties are not working freely; and you may seek to escape the doom-and-gloom atmosphere by overestimating what is possible. Expansion at the moment may meet with frustration, or may bring more problems than it offers solutions. Although you are probably anything but patient right now, patience may be what you need most.

Certain elements of your life may be challenged and proven to be too fragile or unreal to sustain themselves. This could apply to both your professional and personal life. If you have been in a relationship built on unreal expectations, or one which is uncongenial but helps you avoid loneliness or financial instability, it may fall apart under the pressures now placed on it. If you have been trying to sustain a business which is unhealthy at the roots, it may collapse. You will lose nothing which is built on solid ground.

But factors in your life which are 10 per cent solid and 90 percent dreams may prove untenable, and you may have to let them go. You may also feel so restless that you wish to leave your present environment, and you may want to make a move to a different home, community or even country. This may be necessary and right, but try to remember that wherever you go you will take yourself with you.

The conflict you are experiencing is not solely due to pressures in the environment. It is a collision between your future hopes and your human limits; and if you can work to achieve a balance between the two during this time, you can build solid foundations for all your future endeavours.

Losing direction

This may be a poor time to make important decisions regarding your professional advancement or direction in life. You are likely to be in a state of confusion about where you are going and what role you are expected to play in the world, and you may mistake fantasy for reality and underestimate or overestimate your actual abilities and limits. Perhaps the image of tenacity and self-discipline which you tend to project to the outer world is not being expressed in the right ways, or is proving too limited in the manner you are living it. You are changing at the moment, and this may require the pursuit of new possibilities in order for you to feel fulfilled through your work.

But you may not wish to acknowledge this need for change, for it may require certain sacrifices. Moreover, your rational ego is not wholly in charge at the moment. Circumstances of an unpredictable and unusual kind may interfere with carefully made plans, and you may also unconsciously sabotage yourself by making poor decisions or involving yourself with the wrong people. A sense of discomfort and annoyance that you are not fully in control may make you retreat into fantasies of how you want things to be. This could make you unrealistic and cause problems in your dealings with those in authority if you expect too much too quickly.

For this reason it might be wise if you did not try to make any major changes just yet. If changes are unavoidable because of external circumstances, try not to react impulsively, and keep any feelings of anger or self-pity in check. And above all, don't involve yourself in any scheme or plan to improve your position which is anything less than open and honest.

On a deeper level, you are being challenged to let go of the past. Many aspects of the image you project to others may be rooted in expectations and assumptions from your family background, and you may, without realising it, be trying to fulfill others' hopes and dreams rather than your own talents and aspirations.

You are moving beyond these patterns at this point in your life, but this could cause you guilt if your family made many sacrifices so that you could become what you are now. To relinquish a role chosen by your family may hurt, and could make you feel very lonely and separate - especially if you are not fully conscious of what is happening. You may also, on some profound unconscious level, project your past onto your present, and perceive those in authority as parental figures who will oppose or undermine you if you make any effort to move in an independent direction. This could make you evasive and secretive, as well as extremely insecure and unsure of yourself. Try to be aware of such patterns at work at the moment.

The greater the clarity you are able to maintain about any deeper emotional issues which might lie behind your present confusion, the better equipped you will be to recognise clearly which changes are required and which choices can lead to the right course for the future.

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3. The mental sphere

Thinking in depth

During this period your thinking is likely to be serious and deep, and your concentration and powers of mental application especially intense. This might be an excellent time for in-depth research and study, and also for any formal education which requires discipline and an adherence to structures and rules. Your ideas are likely to be quite earthbound, and your mental energy may be applied to the practical world and to ways in which you can develop your communication skills and anchor your ideas in concrete form. You may experience a certain heaviness and sobriety of attitude during this time which could make you sometimes sound a little jaded and world-weary. You may also feel drawn to giving advice to others, as though you were their mentor or teacher. This may be partly because you are now drawing on a solid fund of past experience to formulate precepts and opinions based on reality rather than on abstractions or collective opinion. Therefore any advice you give, even if uninvited, is likely to be sound.

During this period you may be able to articulate the deeper side of your thinking more easily, particularly with those whose attitudes are aligned with your own. You may make new contacts right now who are either older, or more practical and down-to-earth than the kind of people with whom you normally interact. You may display unusual shrewdness about money and business matters, and this could allow you to make sensible plans for improving your resources and work. Even if you have not been especially interested in the mundane side of life in the past, this might be an excellent time to put your material affairs in order and restructure areas of your personal and working life that require planning and greater efficiency.

You may be a little too cautious in your thinking right now, and sometimes lacking in humour, especially about yourself. But this is likely to prove a constructive time, when your eyes are focused on the world as it is, and your approach to everyday existence benefits from a healthy injection of realism and common sense.

Good communication

Your curiosity about life is being awakened at the moment, and what gratifies you emotionally will probably also be what stimulates your intellect and increases your sense of discovery and intellectual challenge. Now the accent is on opening up new channels for learning - perhaps through travel, further education, and the development of talents and skills. You are likely to be restless and easily bored unless you can find subjects or projects which stimulate you, and you may even find it difficult to relate to those close to you unless they share your interests and ideas. Advances in your career may be possible right now because you may perceive openings and opportunities which were not available before. If you have been hungry for a change in your work, this would be an ideal time to pursue a new direction, especially if such a change requires the acquisition of new skills. Even if you must fight old attitudes or the prejudices or disapproval of others, there is a youthful spirit of learning at work within you at the moment which needs, and deserves, as much support as possible.

You may also meet people who in some way epitomise a spirit of intellectual curiosity through their achievements or skills. Any new contacts made at this time are likely to prove rewarding intellectually, although on the emotional level any new romantic relationship may turn out to be less than satisfying. Don't confuse intellectual restlessness with emotional dissatisfaction in existing relationships; what you most need right now may not be a new partner but, rather, an extended professional circle or new friends who can provide you with new interests and help you to develop your talents and skills.

Try to get the best from this stimulating time by taking your interests seriously, and doing what is necessary on the practical level to ensure you have channels for further mental development and exploration.

Mistaken impressions

This is likely to be a time of confusion, when you may be uncertain of what you think and unclear about what you perceive in the outer world. Fact and fantasy may get badly mixed up, and you may misinterpret the motives and actions of those around you as well as exhibiting a curious blindness about your own behaviour. This is not a good time to make important decisions, especially those which require a clear head and a sound practical grasp of material affairs.

It may also be a bad moment to try to express your point of view in any definitive way, since your viewpoint is likely to keep shifting and you may not be sure of what you believe in. Be particularly careful to avoid important business decisions or transactions involving money, because the likelihood of misinterpretations, misunderstandings or even downright deception is very high right now.

Try to sit tight and explore what is happening inside you. Although your ability to move clearly and confidently in the outer world may be somewhat impaired at the moment, your inner world is likely to be rich and alive, and your imagination is extremely active. This could therefore be an excellent time for creative work, and for involvement in subjects which require intuition and inclusive thinking rather than hard common sense.

On a deeper level, your attitudes about life are being challenged by something within you which doesn't want to deal with reality at all. There is a childlike and romantic element now being activated, which prefers life to be a fairy tale. Such propensities to idealise and fantasise could prove a serious problem if you are trying to make sense of important matters in the outer world. You may be seeking escape from external pressures at the moment, and your usual perspicacity in furthering your professional goals may be subtly undermined by a longing to be exempt from life's challenges. You may find yourself entertaining the childlike belief that if you ignore or forget about something, it will go away. Try to be conscious of any propensity for evasiveness right now, and don't try to avoid what you do not want to see. If you indulge in such escapism, you may leave yourself open to exploitation by others.

You may also justify deceiving them as well, even if you believe you are being perfectly open about what you are doing. You may encounter people who are dubious or unreliable right now, and you are not responsible for them or their actions. But you are vulnerable to being sucked into plans and deals which, at saner moments, you would carefully avoid. If you allow this because of willful blindness, it is indeed your responsibility.

Although this period may prove troublesome in external life, it could prove extremely rich and productive on inner levels. Try to delay important decisions as much as possible, and concentrate on what is opening up within you. The child within may be full of dreams and fantasies of a vivid and archetypal kind, and if you can translate these into some kind of creative form you may discover talents and potentials you didn't know were there.

You may find that you are a natural storyteller, with a gift for writing; or you may find that you have a deep love of and understanding of music or drama. This could be an excellent time to explore the arts and find out what moves you. You are also unusually open to the invisible levels of life, and may be drawn to healing and spiritual or psychological exploration.

This could prove enormously creative for the future, deepening your perceptions so that you are not limited by the confines of material reality. Such contact with hidden dimensions of reality could be the deepest and most positive meaning of the time. It is up to you whether you take advantage of it.

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4. The spiritual sphere

Doors are opening

This is a time of great opportunity, but you might not immediately recognise it as such. You are likely to be feeling particularly optimistic about the future, and expectant that good things are coming your way. They probably are; but not necessarily in material form, and not necessarily tomorrow afternoon. You are more likely to encounter opportunities that can eventually open doors to a deeper sense of belonging and rootedness, and a more congenial home environment in which to live. But the results may not be apparent for some time to come; and if you are hoping for instant gratification or free gifts from heaven, you could allow this potentially productive time to pass in a pleasant optimistic state which leaves nothing lasting in its wake.

You are in fact beginning a new twelve-year life cycle, which is related to the ways in which you grow and discover meaning in your life. This is a subtle process, because it is only with hindsight that we realise that particular choices, actions and individuals have been instrumental in helping us to find and begin the next stage of the journey. For this reason the people who enter your life right now may be particularly important - not because they give you something immediately recognisable as benefits, but because they may offer knowledge or an opportunity which you could greatly benefit from later.

You need to be willing to try new things out - things you might never have thought of doing before, but which could, even with small beginnings, expand into major spheres of expression in a few years' time. This is particularly true of talents which you know you have but which are lying undeveloped because other, more urgent concerns have made them seem unimportant or unviable. You will get out of this period what you put into it. But the opportunities are there, if you are quick enough to see them, and willing to do some groundwork before you expect to see results.

On a deeper level, this is a time when you can look back over the last twelve years and discern an intelligent pattern at work in your life. Even if you are not conventionally religious, you may experience a powerful intuitive sense that something within you is guiding your life, and that even unpleasant events and experiences have had something to teach you.

Slowly, you may be formulating a world-view or philosophy of life which, over the years, can provide a framework in which you can place your life experiences in order to make sense of them and see them in context. At the moment you may be able to recognise the shape of that world-view, even if you are not ordinarily philosophically inclined. On the surface level, this period may not generate many fireworks.

On the deeper level it is enormously important - especially if you can find the courage to pursue new viewpoints and perspectives which can help your life to expand. If all you are feeling is a condition of general restlessness and dissatisfaction, you may need to look more deeply into yourself, to understand where you need to open doors and look toward more distant horizons.

The end of a dream

This is a time of both heightened dreams and some feelings of disappointment, when you are likely to come face to face with your deep romanticism and neediness. Such an experience can be both profoundly healing and also profoundly upsetting, because right now you will probably want more from life, and from others, than anyone is able to provide. The child within you is awake and powerful at the moment, and all the longings of childhood - to find perfect love and perfect happiness in a perfect world - are being activated.

Your imagination and openness to the realm of spiritual experience are also likely to be strongly constellated, and this could an excellent time to explore creative outlets as well as deeper spiritual understanding. But it is in your relationships with others that you may experience profound disillusionment. You have always tended to idealise friends and the social or professional milieu to which you belong, even if you have been unaware of secret hopes and expectations. Now your idealisations may be colliding with reality, and you may have to relinquish some of these childlike longings at the same time that you recognise their inherent beauty and value.

It is possible that a long-standing relationship may come to an end during this time, causing you disillusionment and a feeling that you have been too naive. But becoming cynical is not a helpful way to deal with such a situation. Your highest ideals are worthy of respect and commitment. But you may need to recognise that human beings cannot wholly fulfill them, no matter how hard they try. On the most profound level, this time may make you aware of any ways in which you have always secretly hoped something or someone would redeem your life and infuse it with magic, meaning, and a cure for all loneliness and conflict.

Perhaps you have been seeking spiritual solace in earthly things and people, and are now experiencing disappointment because earthly things and people have let you down. If you take personally the disappointment you feel, you may accumulate resentment and bitterness which will spoil your fragile dreams and make it hard for you to believe in life. You have not been wrong in dreaming. But you might have been unrealistic about the places and people through which you sought to fulfill your dreams.

Try to turn your gaze inward right now, rather than becoming enraged because you feel betrayed or disappointed.

You can learn a great deal about your highest values, and this could provide a framework for a growing sense of meaning in life. You could also learn a great deal of compassion - not only for those whose failure is merely that they are human, but also for yourself, because you might not be as tough and self- sufficient as you may have thought.

Any transcendent longings you experience are shared by all human beings; you are really connecting with a fundamental human need to belong to some larger unity. But this time may teach you that you cannot use surrogates to experience that unity. It is something which must come from within your own soul. The more realistic and worldly you have been in the past, the more surprising and disturbing the insights of this time are likely to be.

Try to use these insights to understand yourself better. Life is not really letting you down right now. It is revealing itself as far more complex and mysterious than you might have thought.

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5. The sphere of the Inner Self

The pleasures of home

During this period you may experience a strong wish to change your environment, so that you can find a place where you feel you really belong and can be at peace. On the external level, this could be an excellent time to buy or rent a new home, or make important changes and improvements in your existing one. You may even want to emigrate, seeking a new culture as well as a new environment. But there is a deeper level to this need for change.

Home is not only a physical place, but also a symbolic container in which you can put down roots and feel connected with the past and with an inner source of life. In this sense you may be seeking a bigger and better home of the spirit and the imagination. Your energies are likely to be focused on your personal life right now, rather than on your work; and if so, this needs to be honoured. Try to leave plenty of time to explore inner issues. At the moment you may need to balance your external life, and the role you are playing in the world, with a greater sense of expansion in your private life.

You may find that you need more time and space to develop your family life and creative pursuits.

In the past these areas of your life may have had to be relegated to second place, or even ignored altogether, because of work commitments, responsibilities, or the expectations of others. But now you may be eager to develop sides of yourself that can give you a greater sense of meaning and joy. This time also marks the end of a cycle in terms of the particular emotional patterns you have maintained within your family.

In some ways you may now be outgrowing the structures and world-view into which you were born; and although you may not wish to leave behind what is of value in your background, you may also feel the need to expand your world beyond those boundaries. Consequently you may need to claim more physical or psychological distance from family members. This should be achievable right now without damaging the emotional fabric of your close relationships. But it is also possible that certain individuals may oppose your need for growth.

If so, you may have to go your own way, knowing that your life has its own individual meaning and value. And if a particular relationship must come to an end, you will probably experience this as a necessary release, rather than a bitter loss or unpleasant emotional confrontation.

The healing of the past

A subtle but profound process of healing is occurring within you during this time. Certain old hurts from earlier in your life may be on your mind, either because an external situation has triggered them, or because your thoughts and feelings have been turned in this direction from within. You may experience sadness, depression, or cynicism on the emotional level. But at the same time you have the opportunity to see with great clarity any unconscious assumption that you would prove a failure or unacceptable in the eyes of the world. As a result of such anxieties, you may have clung to unfulfilling work because it provided a sense of security. You may experience many important insights during this time, and you may also find it possible to settle certain conflicts which you believed irreconcilable. Your world-view may be changing at a very deep level, and you may discover that you have been too rigid or simplistic in your interpretations of life, or too intent on finding absolute truths which could explain or justify life's unfairness.

You may need to let go of long-cherished convictions about moral issues and the nature of good and evil. You may also discover compassion toward those who have hurt you in the past, because insight into your own propensity for angry retaliation against hurt may help you to recognise when others have done the same.

During this period you may be drawn to the study of psychology or the explorations of psychotherapy, and the healing arts may attract you as a possible vocation in addition to providing a source of release from unhappiness. This could prove a deeply transformative time if you have been naive, opinionated, or unthinking in your interpretations of life and human motives.

You have the chance to become more flexible and tolerant because you could perceive subtleties and complexities at the moment which might have eluded you before. If you experience any pain, rejection, or frustration during the time, try not to strike back or sink into bitter martyrdom. This is a time of important lessons and the possibility of deepened understanding. Do what you can to facilitate that process through your own inner exploration.

Facing life's sadness

You are gradually leaving behind many old blocks and insecurities which may have restricted you in the past. But this transformative process may require reconnecting with painful issues from earlier in your life. Your self-confidence is likely to be low and you may be feeling rather punched about by life. External circumstances may seem to conspire to pinch all your most vulnerable nerve-ends, and a sense of restriction may invoke many deep feelings of failure and inadequacy.

Yet if you try to forcibly break free of the pressures you may be experiencing, you will probably find that either you cannot do so, or the price is too great. The deeper meaning of this time is one of self-exploration, and you might be wise to turn inward rather than outward to find relief and healing. This is one of those more sober periods in life when you may need to examine deeply who you are and what kind of hurts you are carrying which are interfering with your self-confidence and faith in the future.

Don't try to avoid the self-confrontation which is required of you, for you would merely be putting off the task until later - when it is likely to return with even greater potency.

As with most human beings, you probably carry feelings of woundedness or victimisation in certain areas, because in some way life has treated you unfairly. Experiences of this kind probably occurred early in your life, and later incidents may have added to a deep-rooted sense of vulnerability, like beads being added to a string.

If you look within, you may discover a string of past experiences, all related to feelings of hurt or humiliation in the area of your professional goals and image in society. Although you may have adequate defences to protect yourself against hurt, nevertheless you have great vulnerability in these areas of your life, and at present external circumstances seem to be reminding you of this. You may also be aware of a backlog of resentment and bitterness, accumulated over many years, which may now be distorting your reactions to your present situation and making things seem much worse than they are.

It is in self-exploration that the most constructive dimension of this time can be found, for if you are able to honestly confront any accumulation of anger you might have toward life, you can find greater tolerance and compassion, and a more philosophical outlook which allows you to let go of the past and accept what cannot be changed. This could heal many hurts at a very deep level.

You may not have a lot of fun during this period, but you will grow, and if you can handle the process wisely you will emerge as a much more flexible and understanding individual. Most importantly, try to avoid excesses of self-pity, or a bitterness which make you blame everyone else for your situation. It might seem easier to lash out at those whom you feel are injuring you, or who seem to get away unscathed; but such behaviour will not ease your own feelings of inadequacy, nor will it sit well on your conscience later.

And you may make unnecessary enemies if you attempt to retaliate against what you feel to be unjust. It is possible that, just at the moment, you are less concerned with justice than with hurt pride. You are being challenged to discover a subtler and more objective perspective on life, so that you can use your resources to change what you can and bow gracefully to what you must accept as an inevitable part of life's unevenness.

Not getting what you want

Frustration and anger may make this time rather difficult, although its end result is likely to be greater discipline, tenacity and self-confidence. You may find that increased responsibilities and obligations, failure to achieve particular goals, or a lowering of energy which makes work more difficult, contribute to your sense that you are not being allowed to do what you want in life. Perhaps in some ways you have never really felt free to do as you pleased; and you may find yourself bitterly remembering past situations in which you were thwarted or your pride and sense of personal effectiveness were injured.

During this period you are likely to feel particularly resentful if circumstances or people get in your way. It is probable that someone or something may indeed curtail your freedom of action, and you may need to understand why this might be happening and how to deal with it in the most constructive way. Because you are inclined to feel irritable and impatient, you may provoke quarrels with others or make sudden, impulsive decisions for very questionable reasons.

You may also be careless in your dealings with the material world, and if you are not alert to your own mood your impatience might make you drive recklessly or take risks which you would avoid or handle differently at other times. The most irritating thing one can say to an impatient person is, "Be patient!" - but this is exactly what you need to tell yourself, several times a day.

Your sense of frustration is likely to be focused on your ability to handle your moods and shifting emotional states.

It is here that, if you are not conscious of suppressed anger, you may inadvertently provoke others' anger or incur opposition to your wishes and plans. If you do encounter hostile people who appear determined to thwart you, consider first whether they really are trying to oppose you, or whether you are interpreting their behaviour in this way even though their requests or wishes are perfectly appropriate and justifiable.

Consider also whether any quarrel that erupts may be as much a reflection of your own obduracy as the other person's. You are not the most amenable or receptive of people at the moment, and you may not be fully aware of hidden resentment which communicates itself to others in subtle but powerful ways.

The deeper meaning of this time is concerned with the development of inner discipline and the capacity to harness and direct your will and energies toward realistic and achievable goals. If you can view your situation from this perspective, you may be able to turn an otherwise frustrating period into one of hard work with good, solid results and rewards. Your self-will may be colliding with some fundamental laws of mundane reality, and you may need to develop a spirit of compromise and patience.

Try not to become aggrieved and bitter. If someone else seems to be treating you with insensitivity or harshness, it may be important for you to learn to withdraw quietly and wait, rather than reacting just as insensitively and harshly out of wounded pride. You are probably learning one of life's simplest but hardest lessons: We cannot always have or do exactly what we want.

You might also discover something very important about whether you have truly been decisive and self-motivated in the past. Perhaps you have a pattern of putting yourself into situations where you wind up failing, or doing what others want. If so, this could prove a valuable discovery because you can only change what you are conscious of within yourself. With reflection and patience, this could be an enormously strengthening and maturing time, when you really begin to take charge of your life.

And who are you really?

You will probably not be recognisable as the person you once were, when this extraordinary period of your life has passed. Your appearance, the way you project yourself to others, your image, and your lifestyle may undergo radical changes, softening, transforming, and incorporating more of the dreams of who you hope to be.

But although the end result is likely to be extremely positive, you may not find the process pleasant. The definitions of your old personality are slowly, gently, but surely blurring and fading, and you may experience feelings of deep confusion about your potency and capacity to take charge of your life. You may feel particularly vulnerable, needy, and confused about your role in relation to those close to you, and if you feel fragile enough you could also reach out blindly and indiscriminately toward anyone who seems to like or want you. This period could be enormously creative, but before you do anything, you need to learn to look after yourself.

Try not to allow feelings of helplessness and confusion drive you into turning to those you do not know well for advice and support. Although good friends, partners, and relations may be happy and willing to listen and encourage you, you may also be attracted to less trustworthy people right now, because clear judgement may be overwhelmed by confusion and anxiety.

Don't get involved in situations where deception is required - for example, a love-triangle or a questionable business deal - or you will probably find yourself in a mess which could take a long time to clean up. Consolidate and nurture those relationships which you know to be solid and reliable, while exercising extreme caution toward those who bring a sad story to you in the hope that you will look after them or give them something for nothing.

Because you are feeling vulnerable, you are also likely to experience deep feelings of compassion toward other people, and this could be one of the most creative and inspiring dimensions of the process you are undergoing. Yet at the moment you may also be a "soft touch" who is easy to manipulate, because compassion, combined with your own need for compassion and solicitude from others, may leave you peculiarly unable to exercise the realism necessary to maintain healthy boundaries.

In some ways this could be a magic time, if you can explore the inner world while ensuring that realism and solid personal boundaries protect you from exploitation. Because your defences are loosening, your imaginative life is likely to be rich, fertile, and inspired. You may also experience profound mystical feelings which give you a renewed sense of faith in the unseen dimensions of life. All this can be savoured and learned from over the next weeks.

But try to remember that, at the moment, you are probably particularly childlike in your perceptions and needs, whether you are aware of it or not; and you may therefore be open to being deceived, not only by others but by your own unfulfilled longings. Gurus, religious teachers, or healers of one kind or another may also enter your life at this time, and from them too you could learn and benefit - as long as you exercise discrimination and self-protection when these are needed.

An old self is dissolving, and a new one is being born. Keep your feet on the ground and you will emerge refreshed, renewed, and with a much deeper appreciation of the hidden patterns and purposes of the inner world.

Losing faith

A powerful sense of compassion for the world's suffering may be awakened in you. But this opening of the heart may also require a recognition and healing of your own past. Inexplicable feelings of sadness or loneliness may afflict you for a time, and you may find yourself reliving hurtful past experiences with surprising intensity.

You may also experience deep empathy for others who suffer pain or unhappiness, for your own increased consciousness of life's difficulties may make you unusually receptive to human sorrow on a more universal level. You may be especially aware of the risk of social or professional failure, and the unsympathetic nature of the world "out there".

It may sometimes seem as though you are wandering through life in a strangely passive, melancholic state. You may be somewhat prone to self- pity at the moment, and you may need to be careful not to believe you are one of life's victims, at the mercy of circumstance.

The truth is that you are not a victim; and any unhappy experiences which you might encounter at the moment, as well as those from the past, need to be seen in balance with what has gone well in your life, and what will go well in the future.

The deeper meaning underlying the depressed emotional state you are likely to experience is a need to face, understand, and let go of the pain of the past. You may be clinging to hurtful experiences in ways you have not realised, storing them up and nursing an unconscious sense of grievance and mistrust which may be secretly affecting many of your decisions and responses to other people.

It is not that your past experiences are unimportant, or that your unhappiness is or was unreal. But right now you are being challenged to find the capacity to forgive life for not meeting your expectations. If you can see where your idealisation or unrealistic expectations might have led you into disappointment, you could go a long way toward healing these past wounds. Also, you may need to learn to accept life as it is, rather than as you wish it could be. The proverbial choice of perceiving a glass of water as either half-empty or half-full applies to you now.

If you see life only in terms of its unfairness, you will become bitter, cynical and martyred. If you see it only as wonderful, or maintain spiritual convictions which are too simplistic or naive, you will be disillusioned when life turns out to be more complex than you thought. But if you see it as a mixture of dark and light, and can be flexible enough to accept both, you will be able to find the resources to cope with the dark while enjoying the light.

You may also be deeply aware of your connection with other human beings at this time. The sense of being different or isolated is one which everyone feels at one time or another, and you may be increasingly sensitive to how all human beings reach out to each other, directly or indirectly, so that they can feel less alone. One of the most constructive possibilities of what you are presently going through is the capacity to forgive and empathise with others. This may sometimes seem difficult, because you may experience hurt or disillusionment at others' hands right now.

But it is likely that, if someone hurts you, they are doing it for the same reason you might be so surprised by it - they are seeking some perfect dream which made them blind to the consequences of their behaviour. The issues which underlie any external disappointments in your life right now are profound ones, and you may need to keep this deeper perspective in mind so that you can let go of any accumulation of anger, resentment or bitterness which you might be carrying from the past. This is not likely to be an easy time, but it can soften and deepen you, and link you more profoundly with your fellow human beings.

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Chapter IV

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CONCLUSION

APPENDIX

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Suggested further reading

On planetary cycles and movements:
«The Gods of Change» by Howard Sasportas (transits of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto)
«Transits: The Time of Your Life» by Betty Lundsted
«Transits» by Rob Hand

On individual planets and their meaning:
«The Astrological Moon» by Darby Costello
«Prometheus the Awakener» by Richard Tarnas
«Venus and Jupiter» by Erin Sullivan
«The Inner Planets» by Liz Greene and Howard Sasportas
«The Luminaries» by Liz Greene and Howard Sasportas
«Exploring Jupiter» by Stephen Arroyo
«The Outer Planets» by Liz Greene
«Saturn» by Liz Greene
«Neptune» by Liz Greene
«Chiron and the Healing Journey» by Melanie Reinhart

On the subject of fate:
«Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle» by C. G. Jung
«The Astrology of Fate» by Liz Greene

Other Astro*Intelligence reports written by Liz Greene can enhance the value of this report, because the greater your understanding of yourself, the more intelligently you can work with the meaning of the time. For an in-depth analysis of your birth horoscope, you can order the Psychological Horoscope Analysis. For deeper insight into your relationships, the Relationship Horoscope can offer a new perspective. If you are still looking for your vocation, Career and Vocation can provide new impulses for you. And for a greater appreciation of the unique personality of your child, or of your own childhood, you can order the Child's Horoscope.

A wider view of your personal perspectives for a period of six years is offered by the Long-term Perspectives.

You can order these reports at the same sales point from which you received the report you are reading.

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Technical Information

In order to create this analysis, the following astrological factors have been examined:
- major progressed aspects (conjunction, opposition, square, trine, sextile) of the Sun, Moon, Ascendant, MC, Mercury, Venus and Mars to natal planets and angles.
- major aspects ( conjunction, opposition, square, trine, sextile) of transiting Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, Chiron, Saturn, and Jupiter to both natal and progressed planets and angles.
- conjunctions and oppositions of transiting Mars to both natal and progressed planets and angles.
- aspects between progressed planets, especially progressed new and full Moons.
Special importance is given to stations of transiting planets close to natal planets and angles. Importance has been given not only to the nature of the specific progressed or transiting planet and aspect, but also to natal configurations which echo the progressed and transiting aspects, to house positions of natal, transiting and progressed planets, and to the overall balance of elements and configurations in the birth chart. Internally the results of the Psychological Horoscope Analysis are used for the evaluation of each chart.

Because the importance of any transit or progressed aspect is not limited only to the time of the precise aspect, but extends for some time before and after, orbs of aspect have been used. These recognise the buildup and gradual diminishing of the energy of a particular planetary movement. Consequently some configurations are described which may not reach exact aspect until the following year, but which are already beginning to show their effects, or which have already made an exact aspect in the previous year.

The report which results from these considerations is assembled from selected interpretation text sections. Not all transits or progressions which occur during a year are included in the printed report, only those selected by Liz Greene's model of interpretation. As in all works by Liz Greene the Placidus house system is used.