QUARTERLY FORECAST FOR GEMINI ASCENDANT: FEBRUARY THROUGH APRIL 2003

Learn how to get the most out of my forecasts.

by Brian Habit

NOTE: The following forecast is based on your rising sign (Ascendant), not your Sun sign. If you do not know your rising sign, please visit www.astro.com and enter your birth date, time, and place to determine it.

Happy birthday to those of you who are Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, or Taurus! Several planets change direction during this quarter-of-a-year period, marking various shifts in momentum. In addition, visionary Jupiter and Neptune are dancing an idealistic tango, and Uranus moves from your 9th house to your 10th.

In February, then, aim to move forward on your ambition in horizon-expanding activates, or pursue a financial or sexual relationship with someone else in a realistic, more effective way. Strike an inspired, yet more realistic balance between absorbing immediate facts and details and surveying the larger picture of your values and life philosophy. Starting in March, slow down enough to explore dynamics and possibilities in your closest ties. In April, start making inroads in learning, communication, or travel, based on your expanded vision of what’s possible there. During both March and April, act with boldness and independence to explore and absorb turbulent feelings that have been stirred up recently. In late April and most of May, reflect on ideas that you’ve considered, or actions that you’ve already taken (especially those related to real estate, home life, or family affairs), before moving toward resolution later on such matters.

That’s the brief blow-by-blow. Now, let’s look at these trends in detail.

On February 16, expansive Jupiter, currently in your 3rd house of information exchange, faces off with spiritual Neptune, in your 9th house of experiences that lie beyond your everyday routines.

This aspect will build over the course of several weeks, strengthening as the 16th approaches, and dropping off sharply but still continuing for a few more weeks after that date. Jupiter and Neptune form an opposition about once every 12 or 13 years. Each time they do, it triggers different parts of your chart, so the feel or the theme of it may be similar, but it’s probably playing out in different parts of your life. This time around, this aspect is especially significant for those of you who were born on or near January 30, May 1, August 3, or November 3.

If you were born in early-mid Aquarius, then Neptune is currently passing over your Sun, calling on you to define yourself and express your identity in a more spiritualized or idealistic way. At the same time, Jupiter is opposing your Sun, confronting you with opportunities that are available if you think of yourself as more of a performer than you have customarily done.

If you were born in early-mid Leo, then the situation is the reverse for you: Neptune is currently confronting your Sun. He’s challenging you to redefine yourself as a more spiritual or altruistic being, as more of an idealist with a vision to share, and to demonstrate it through some tangible expression of your creativity. Meanwhile, Jupiter is combining with your Sun, encouraging you to have greater self-confidence and to redefine yourself as a person capable of greater success than you’ve ever imagined.

If you were born in early-mid Taurus or early-mid Scorpio, then both Neptune and Jupiter are squaring off with your Sun. In their own ways, they’re each pressuring you to adjust the way you define yourself and express your vitality. With Neptune, it’s because your ideals or dreams have evolved to the point that you can that your old self-image now acts as a barrier to your realizing them. With Jupiter, it’s because opportunities that were not available in the past are now within reach, but in order to take advantage of them, you’ll need to think of yourself in more flexible terms.

Whether you fall in one the groups listed above or not, this tango between Jupiter and Neptune is activating the same areas of your chart: your 3rd house of information exchange and your 9th house of routine-busting experiences. For about a year, you’re going through a period of collecting information in terms of developing your Jupiter (your ability to recognize and take advantage of opportunities). Becoming scattered or closed-minded would hamper your ability to act confidently in the future. On the other hand, satisfying your curiosity by asking questions would give you lots of stimulating material to reflect on later, when it’s time withdraw strategically for a while. Look for opportunities to start, heal, strengthen, or expand matters related to learning, commerce, training, or communication.

That’s what Jupiter is up to in the long run now. Neptune, meanwhile, sings an otherworldly spiritual song to you from your 9th house of public life. Neptune appeals to your idealism, to that part of you that longs for an elevated experience, far above and beyond "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" of someone trying to make his or her way on Planet Earth. You’re going through a phase of a good 10 years or more in your development of spirituality. In this phase, it’s time to update your expand your horizons physically, intellectually, or ideologically, to better reflect your spiritual values and ideals. It’s time to tune in to life’s intangibles (such as your intuition, imagination, or idealistic longing) and develop a broader perspective that speaks to your soul. Let yourself build castles in the air in your horizon-expanding activities, but be sure to build a foundation under them, one that can realistically keep them from crashing with a thud. Doing this will help you continue to develop your spiritual side, that part of you that longs for something greater or higher than life’s mundane matters.

Jupiter and Neptune have a lot in common, so they’re often in sync with each other. They’re both visionary, big picture, idealistic planets. In February, however, they might be pulling you in two different directions, with Neptune acting in a less tangible way, but still somehow tending to get the upper hand in the struggle. For example, you might struggle with a sense of "divine discontent"-the restless longing for something perfect and transcendent in an imperfect world populated by all-too-fallible humans. Maybe you long for spiritually inspired, imaginative, or altruistic experiences in educational, religious, or travel-related endeavors. Being in such a state might undermine your ability to throw yourself enthusiastically into situations that are part of your more immediate life or day-to-day activities. Another possibility is that, if there are any ways in which you are kidding yourself or living in a dream world or misleading others in connection with your values or philosophy of life, Jupiter may magnify that tendency now. Jupiter might muddy the waters for you and a sibling, classmate, instructor, partner, or a parent or some other authority figure (such as an employer, supervisor or government official).

Now, I don’t want you think that this dance between Jupiter and Neptune necessarily means trouble. It doesn’t. The potential for excess, confusion, and disillusionment is significant; but if you mind the usual cautions that apply with these two, it will help you reap more of the good and less of the bad. Expand on opportunities, but do it in moderation. Don’t outstrip your ability to juggle activities related to learning, travel, trade, communication or publishing. Get someone else’s help to play devil’s advocate for you, if you’re considering taking on pursuing some inspiring vision in some such activity. Make sure that you’re considering the cons as well as the pros of situations before you dive into them enthusiastically. Take care to communicate clearly. Make sure that what you intended to convey is what actually gets understood. If you’re tempted to act in less than truthful ways in legal or educational matters now, think again. You could find that you’ve dug a hole for yourself or you have to do some major backpedaling later. Verify details before committing yourself. Whether anyone intends to misrepresent the facts or not, it’s a good idea to double-check them. If you’re feeling moved by some idealistic fervor, try to dial it back a notch. Don’t throw it out, but don’t throw caution to the wind either. If you take these steps, then Jupiter and Neptune can serve as your wings, helping keep you aloft as you come closer to realizing some precious dreams during February.

On February 22, no-nonsense Saturn starts moving forward again in your 1st house of style.

Saturn retrogrades once a year for almost five months at a time. Whenever he changes direction, some important change is likely to happen in your life in some matter associated with Saturn. Let’s review what Saturn represents and then look at this current development.

Saturn symbolizes that part of our consciousness that has to be practical and strategic in order to survive in the physical world. Saturn has high standards. He demands self-discipline, commitment, and quality. Saturn is how we develop self-respect and faith in our destiny. This taskmaster of the planets also relates to how we make peace with solitude. He’s our ambition, our sense of realism, and our conscience or superego-that part of us that has expectations for how we act. Saturn structures and solidifies whatever he touches.

In addition to what I’ve already said about Saturn, for you he’s also related to your 8th house of instincts and your 9th house of experiences that lie beyond your everyday routines. Therefore, this planet symbolizes your approaches to exploring and absorbing intense gut-level feelings and to broadening your horizons. Currently, Saturn is moving through your 1st house of style. This covers everything that impacts the first impression that you make on others, from unconscious assumptions that you make about how you have to operate in order to survive in the world, to the way that you dress and speak. Given this, Saturn’s current change in direction may also have implications for matters related to these aspects of your life.

In mid to late February, then, you may experience a major change in connection with one or more of the matters mentioned above. Saturn’s change in direction is especially significant for those of you who were born on or near March 12, June 12, September 14, or December 13. At the same time that Saturn starts moving forward, he either passes over your Sun (general vitality and sense of identity), squares off with it, or confronts it. For all of you, you’re going through a pretty serious time when it comes to how you define yourself and express that part of you that needs to shine.

Once Saturn starts moving forward again, focus on using his energy in a freer, more direct way in those matters that are related to this planet. If you’ve used the time that he was moving backward productively (since October 10th) by planning a solid strategy, you’ll be able to go into a higher gear now, supported by the shift in his energy. For example, if you’ve had major reservations about whether to sign a contract or get some sort of certification, perhaps you can take action on it now, based on good judgment and practicality. If you’ve faced discouraging delays in dealing with a business partner’s finances or in running a sales business, then maybe you can make a breakthrough now. If life has proven some of your knowledge or preconceptions to be flawed, then give yourself a break. Admit that you have a lot to learn, and you still know a lot that is true. Focus on communicating what you do know and learning whatever will help you be even more effective in the future.

On March 4, energetic Mars ducks into your 8th house of instincts.

In terms of your current 22-month cycle of developing your will and asserting yourself, you’re two-thirds of the way through your course. Between early March and April 21, arm yourself with a courageous commitment to honesty, and focus on exploring and absorbing your most intense gut-level feelings about whatever you’ve experienced lately. If you do that, it will help you continue climbing toward a peak of developing your will, once the middle of June gets here and Mars reaches your 10th house (the top of your chart).

Wherever Mars is stomping around, you can expect heightened energy-independent, impatient, warrior energy. Like with conservation of matter, there’s also conservation of energy in a sense. Martian fighting energy will come out one way or another now, in connection with ideas and experiences that help you have a sense of meaning and understanding of the world. It’s just a question of how.

What’s your pleasure? Would you like it to come out in physical ways? Mars thrives on activities that demand physical energy. If that’s the case, then you might go on a strenuous, challenging jaunt that involves an element of psychological or philosophical self-exploration. For example, you might spend time on a ropes course or participate in trust-building exercises with co-workers, family members, friends, or fellow members of some organization. If you’re feeling more solitary, then you might go on a hike in some beautiful locale that helps you refresh yourself spiritually or emotionally.

Would you like to channel the Martian energy into your interactions with others? Mars is marching through your sector of combining what’s "yours" and what’s "mine." This includes bonding with others: sexually, financially or otherwise. Therefore, think about how you might be feeling railroaded or trampled upon at the moment in such an arena, and pipe up about it. Perhaps it’s time to defend your territory in making financial decisions as a business partner or romantic partner, or in dealing with lenders or insurers. Confrontation can be a delicate matter. It can be fraught with below-the-belt maneuvers, pushy power plays, or endless bickering. Even so, having a healthy confrontation now and then helps clear the air. It can help keep our relationships honest and clear a path for us to go after what we want. When we face some fear or anxiety-provoking situation, it presents an opportunity to feel more effective. To fight fairly now, champion your own right to self-determination while respecting others’ rights to do the same. If you’re going to hash out some differences about your sex life or financial life, think how you might use such an approach to work for you.

Would you like to throw the fiery drive of Mars into some situation in which you don’t have to accommodate others? One way you might do that would be to improve your financial situation as an individual. Even if you’re in a romantic or business partnership (and many of us are not), you still have opportunities and responsibilities that connect your finances to other people. Have you been ignoring a growing personal debt problem? Is there a scholarship that you might pursue, to help you improve your life by going back to school? Is there a competition that you might enter, to try to win a prize? Then take a stab at the situation. Act with bold optimism and daring. You might accomplish more than you thought possible. Another arena for acting unilaterally would be to improve your relationship with your own feelings. Perhaps meeting with a counselor or reading a book could help you define your personal values more clearly and more deeply. If you’re in a romantic relationship, and your partner refuses to meet with a counselor to address issues between you, you could still get invaluable practical or emotional support by going to a session alone.

Whatever you do, don’t try to ignore or squelch your need to act in high-spirited, hopeful ways in your financial or psychological life. Doing that would only increase the risk of accidents (maybe of the minor but annoying sort), or tiresome bickering, resentment that seeps out in unproductive ways. With alternatives available, there’s no need to settle for that.

On March 10, freedom-loving Uranus catapults into your 10th house of public pursuits.

Uranus represents our evolving individuality. He symbolizes what we need and what we do in connection with our unique brand of creative genius. Once Uranus starts rumbling through the 10th house of your chart, he’ll be agitating for you to approach the whole subject of your public life in a more individualistic way.

You’re starting a stage of going public. During the next seven years or so, plan to declare to your community who you are and what you’re about, never mind how others might pressure you to act. It’s time to act with greater independence in deciding which "hats" you will and will not wear in your life. If let peer pressure or authority figures keep you in some role that doesn’t suit you, then you’ll only become alienated from your status. You’ll feel like a phony, pretending to be a goldfish when you’re a seahorse, stuck in a fishbowl for all to stare at. However, if you take on only those roles and authority that are compatible with the person that you’ve become, then this will help position you for success in years to come.

Uranus says, "Whose ambition is it anyway?" The answer is that it’s yours, and you need to act accordingly. That doesn’t mean that you have to alienate yourself from others or provoke them. It does mean that you’ll need to send out bold, clear signals about what you aspire to achieve. Doing this will help fend off inappropriate careers or community roles—those that would not accommodate your particular brand of creative genius. It will also help keep you available for roles that are compatible with the unique combination of interests and abilities that is You.

Now, don’t be surprised if other people’s jaws drop or their tongues wag when you hold out for public pursuits that are uniquely you. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds," but try telling that to your family of doctors when you decide to become a teacher--or vice versa. Faced with social pressure, you may think, "Who needs this hassle?" It is easier in the short run to go along with what the public has come to expect from you. It’s easier to follow in others’ footsteps then withstand their ridicule or lack of understanding. And the pressure to change back may also come from those whom you’d expect to be "on your side." Their intentions may be quite honorable. They may truly just want you to be happy. Nonetheless, with Uranus in town, you can count on feeling alienated from your familiar circumstances, sooner or later, if you try to stick to Business As Usual. Do that, and you’ll be like an empty house that’s been abruptly vacated: the lights may be on, but no one’s home.

With Uranus, the trick is to take the initiative, to inject some necessary creative change in your general approach to lif,e before lightning strikes and you find your approach shaken up by unexpected or unwelcome circumstances. It’s important to act in an autonomous self-directed manner. This means that you neither kowtow to the way everyone else does things, "how it’s always been done," nor that you do the opposite of what others want, in knee-jerk fashion. That might feel good in the short run, but it may get you attacked in the public square or run out of town for no good reason, and it won’t necessarily be true to your deepest wants and needs.

On March 23, transformative Pluto starts creeping backwards in your 7th house of intimacy.

Pluto retrogrades once a year for over five months at a time. Whenever he changes direction, some important shift is likely to happen in your life in some matter associated with Pluto. Let’s look at what Pluto represents.

Pluto represents that part of us that wants to transform ourselves or the world around us, that wants to do something "important." Pluto represents a sense of mission or destiny. With this planet, the question is whether you can identify some sort of wisdom in yourself that could make a great difference in the world and then fulfill your destiny by humbly sharing it. Pluto offers us tremendous potential for good or bad. If good, we transcend ourselves and become our mission. If we learn Pluto’s lessons, we face the absurdity of life. We accept the fact that we’re mortal, but we also want our lives to count for something. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by life’s absurdity, we decide to make a difference. We identify with some purpose greater than ourselves and this transforms our awareness. With our expression of transpersonal power, power to affect the masses, we become a symbol. We give body and voice to some cause that motivates many other people, and our lives have a profound sense of meaning. For you, Pluto also rules your 6th house of responsibilities, so he also symbolizes the way you go about learning and using skills, assuming and fulfilling responsibilities in personal or work-related relationships, and caring for your health.

Currently, Pluto is moving through your 7th house of close interactions with others, including romantic or business partners, close friends, clients and consultants, and business competitors and legal opponents. You’re in a stage lasting 10 or more years, in deepening your interdependence with others, as part of a process of developing your sense of having a personal mission in life. Becoming addicted to another person or isolating yourself from the prospect of intimacy might lead you to feel bleak or bitter, obsess about your plight, or compulsively try to satisfy puzzling drives. However, if you take a deep, comprehensive look at current partnerships or potential partnerships now, it’ll help you do more with your passion and dedication than you could if you tried to go it alone all the time. There’s potential for strength in numbers, and here the magic number is two (as well as one). Acting interdependently as well as independently could help propel you more powerfully toward realizing your destiny.

Around the second half of March, then, you may experience a major change in connection with one or more of the matters mentioned above. Pluto’s change in direction is especially significant for those of you who were born on or near March 10, June 10, September 12, or December 11. At the same time that Pluto starts moving backward, he either passes over your Sun (general vitality and sense of identity), squares off with it, or confronts it. For all of you, you’re going through a pretty serious time when it comes to how you define yourself and express that part of you that needs to shine.

Once Pluto starts moving backwards, concentrate on using his more contained energy in a more internal or reflective way. Emphasize make plans carefully in Pluto-related areas. If you do that, then when Pluto turns direct again on August 30, you’ll have your ducks in a row and you’ll be ready to surge forth like a dynamo, supported by his freer, more openly expressed energy.

For example, if you’re considering taking on major responsibilities in a personal or business relationship, and it’s the sort of opportunity that would still be a possibility in August or September, then you might want to take several months to think it through carefully. In that case, explore the pros and cons of it, what the exact arrangement would require of each of you, and what it might allow you to do, that you would not be able to do otherwise. If you’ve got the time to weigh the deeper implications and details, then use it to your advantage. Then, once Pluto moves forward again, you’ll be in a better position to act with a sense of calm and a purer burning passion about any commitment that you do make.

Now, what if you’ve already experienced some intense or troubling increase in your responsibilities as a romantic or business partner? If that’s the case, then aim to use this Pluto retrograde period to reflect and absorb the financial, emotional, or spiritual impact of what you’ve been through recently. Don’t deny the impact. Don’t become fixated on the situation. That would just feed into a sense of desperation. Instead, face it directly, dig beneath superficial appearances and ways of coping, to get at underlying truths and comprehensive solutions. Give the process lots of time to unfold. Most Plutonian situations have taken a while to build up or deteriorate to some extreme condition. Likewise, it’ll take a gradual death-and-rebirth process for you to pull off a dramatic turnaround or recovery from such adversity. Devote time in the next several months to recharging and regrouping. Be gentle with yourself and those who are close to you. Focus on what’s best for all concerned, not on caving in or acting like a bully toward someone else. Pace yourself, so that you can move forward, in a greater burst of energy in relationship matters, come August or September.

On April 3, expansive Jupiter starts moving forward again in your 3rd house of information exchange.

Let’s review what this house represents, and then we can see what to make of Jupiter’s about-face. The 3rd house represents your interaction with what’s most immediate or familiar in some sense. This includes your mental map of the world—the expectations or ideas that you carry around in your mind, the attitudes that shape the filter through which you perceive sights and sounds. It relates to the issue of what you do when facts or data don’t fit your mental map. Do you adjust the map, the facts, or both? As part of our everyday experiences, people such as neighbors, siblings, and classmates also sometimes come up in 3rd-house matters. When we learn, teach, train, or buy or sell goods or services, we’re spending time on 3rd-house activities.

Now then, in December 2002, Jupiter threw his buggy into reverse while he was bounding through your 3rd house. (He makes such a retrograde maneuver once a year or so, for almost four months at a time.) For the past several months, joyful Jupiter has been going backward through your house of information exchange, and what an experience it has been!

Maybe you’ve found it harder to act with confidence and enthusiasm in intellectual activity, your communication, or your travels. Whether due to your own doubts or also due to external circumstances, you’ve probably gone through some disappointments or delays in expanding on your hopes and dreams, especially those related to your closest relationships or most public pursuits. Has life seemed to rain on your parade in a romantic or business partnership? Have you had misgivings about your career plans or other ambitions? Hopefully, you’ve used these past few months to reflect on possibilities for expanding on current ventures or starting new ventures in such departments of your life. Normally, when we have an inspired idea, we want to act on it and succeed in a big way right away. However, this has been a time to slow down the pace of implementing such ideas. The more you have used the past four months to plan and reflect, the better the position you’re in now to seize new creative opportunities and run with them.

Aim to pick up the pace now in matters related to Jupiter. For you, Jupiter rules your 7th house of intimacy and your 10th house of public pursuits, so look to related activities for ways that you could finally move forward on your enthusiasm more freely. Maybe you’ve wanted to improve your relationship with a parent, supervisor, romantic partner or business partner, or a close friend, and it’s been hard to rein that in. Maybe you’ve wanted to pursue some dream pertaining to your business or profession, but contractual arrangements or communication have been a tangled mess. See how you could make headway on that now. The same might be the case for some learning or training endeavor. Mercury starts moving backward in late April, so make what headway you can by late April. Then change gears for a while, to evaluate the progress that you’ve made by then.

From late April until late May, restless Mercury moves backwards through your 12th house of release.

Mercury zips through your 1st house once every year or so, for a few weeks each time. This time he’s there for longer than usual, from early April till mid-June. This is because he’ll first move forward, then backward, then forward again through this same territory. While Mercury moves through your 1st house, act like you’re Gemini, whether that’s your Sun sign or not, and do it in some sort of 12th-house pursuit. Pretend you’re an expert teacher of spiritual truths or ideas. Pretend you’re a consummate networker, and mingle with people who have an altruistic or imaginative bent. Play the role of a journalist, and research what’s locked away from public eyes or hidden from open view. In general, it’s a time to collect information, process it, and share it with others as knowledge, ideas, or opinions, as part of tuning into your consciousness itself. Use your mind and your communication as a vehicle for experiencing yourself on a spiritual level, rather than as being merely a person struggling through life’s unpredictable ups and downs.

Mercury retrogrades three times each year for 19-24 days at a time. Around the times when he changes direction (near April 26 and May 20), you may experience some important change involving communication or travel. Mercury rules your 1st house of style and your 4th house of roots. Therefore, at either time, it could also involve your physical stamina or strength, or activities related to your family, home or real estate.

In any event, while Mercury is doing his backward boogie, it’s time to slow down your thinking and communicating, to approach Mercury-related matters in a more deliberate, detailed, reflective way. You might be tempted to speak without thinking, or to go on "automatic pilot" in your traveling or routine movements, but if so, resist that temptation. You’ll get better results, and quicker results, if you take a well-considered approach to thinking and moving about.

Use the time between late April and late May to reflect on the results of ideas that you’ve implemented in the past and to "debug" ideas that you’ve planning to implement later, especially in connection with imparting information or ideas to others. Revisit people, places and ideas from the past. For example, clean out old files, or look up past associates, or travel to places that you visited some time ago. Double-check the details of any matters that you don’t want to revisit again before you try to finalize them-contracts, sales, purchases, travel details, etc. Plan carefully for later, and then move forward on your ideas in late May or afterwards. By that time, you’ll probably be able to express act on your thoughts, ideas and information more openly and with less inhibition.

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