Learn how to get the most out of my forecasts.

by Brian Habit

NOTES: 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.

Due to the need to fulfill pre-paid orders for work, I have not been able to update this forecast as originally planned. I apologize for the delay. I hope to post an announcement regarding an update sometime during the middle of April.

Happy birthday to those of you who are Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces and Aries! These next three months may start out relatively slowly since Mercury is doing a backward boogie through your sector of goals. If you want to finalize any plans related to close relationships, home life or real estate, or group pursuits during January, allow extra time and double-check the details. Especially in February, you may experience some confusion or tension or feel torn in two directions in connection with your work or other responsibilities. Even if you do, be careful not to act in an escapist or an overly optimistic manner. In late March, plan to slow down the pace of the pace in trying to satisfy your burning drives or ambitions in your most public pursuits, so that you can conduct a thorough overhaul of them.

Throughout January, restless Mercury moves backwards through your house of goals.

When Mercury starts moving backward on January 2, those of you who were born on or near January 18, April 18, July 20, or October 21 are especially likely to experience this shift. It will either combine with your natal Sun (your general vitality and sense of identity), square off with it, or confront it. Similarly, when Mercury starts moving forward again on January 23, it will trigger your general vitality and sense of identity if you were born on or near January 2, April 1, July 3, or October 5.

Mercury retrogrades three times each year for 19-24 days at a time. Around the times when he changes direction (near January 2 and January 23), you may experience some important change involving communication or travel. At either time, it could also involve the way that you present yourself to others, learning or training or teaching, or healthcare, work or other responsibilities.

Use the time between late December and late January 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 at the end of January or later. By that time, you’ll probably be able to express act on your thoughts, ideas and information more openly and with less inhibition.

On January 17, energetic Mars bursts in your house of public pursuits.

In terms of your current 22-month cycle of developing your will and asserting yourself, you’re reaching a peak now. Between mid January and March 5, it’s time to go public, to declare who you are and what you’re about, to your community or to the world. Aim to reap what you’ve sown (whether it’s a bountiful crop, a measly harvest, or a cornucopia of beautiful fruit and puny little veggies) since you stared this cycle at the end of 2001.

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 your high-profile activities or your authority or your reputation. 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 and you’re a business owner, for example, then you might roll up your sleeves and move your operation from one location to another or pursue some company remodeling.

Would you like to channel the Martian energy into your interactions with others? Then think about how you might be feeling railroaded or trampled upon at the moment in your career or in some position of responsibility in a civil group or political party, and pipe up about it. Mars is marching through your sector of authority figures, such as parents and bosses and representatives of governmental or religious bodies, so perhaps it’s time to defend your territory in dealing with such a person. 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.

Would you like to throw the fiery drive of Mars into some situation in which you don’t have to accommodate others? Then stake out some role or responsibility that will be yours and yours alone, something that you can carry out without having to coordinate with someone else or follow another person’s lead. Martian energy is pioneering, but it doesn’t fit naturally with being a team player.

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

Come March 5, it’ll be time to shift from reaping what you’ve sown to setting goals for your next cycle of developing your will and going after what you want. The goal-setting period lasts till late April. During that stage, set some goals that will be both inspiring and achievable. Take the initiative to hook up with like-minded individuals, groups, causes, or organizations-players that will help you cut a path to the future that you want for yourself, not distract you or slow you down. Set some priorities in March and April, and then when Mars moves into your personality sector in mid June, you’ll be ready to blast off into the next cycle.

On February 16, expansive Jupiter, currently in your house of responsibilities, confronts dreamy Neptune, in your sector of release.

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 sixth house of responsibilities and your twelfth house of release. For about a year, Jupiter is encouraging you to identify and take advantage of opportunities in this department. This could mean that you learn or use new skills or broaden the range of techniques in your bag of tricks. You might aim to assume new duties, or improve any paid or volunteer working conditions or jobs. Becoming more competent somehow will help you along in your development of opportunity at this stage of the game. As you try to make some dream come true here, hold out for doing work that is both meaningful to you and valued by others-not just one or the other.

Neptune, meanwhile, sings an otherworldly spiritual song to you from your house of release. You’re going through a phase of a good 10 years or more in your development of spirituality. 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. In this phase, it’s time to emphasize surrendering past struggles, behaviors and attitudes that no longer serve you well. It’s time to willingly let go of circumstances that are just beyond your control. Doing all of this will help free up your spirit to start on a new and more meaningful path in the years to come. The hazard to avoid here is trying to hold tightly to something that you either never accomplished or that is no longer relevant to your continued spiritual development. If you go that route, it’ll hold you back rather than help you move forward.

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 that will take you beyond the world of mundane responsibilities and cares. Being in such a state might undermine your ability to throw yourself enthusiastically into your work or other duties now. Another possibility is that, if there are any ways in which you are kidding yourself or living in a dream world or misleading others, Jupiter may magnify that tendency now, muddying the waters for you and any coworkers, employees or fellow "servants" in some pursuit to improve others’ welfare.

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 various responsibilities or tasks at work or in any commitments to others. Get someone else’s help to play devil’s advocate for you if you’re considering accepting a new job or starting a major new project at an existing job. 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 your responsibilities 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. Apply all of these principles in your health care and health maintenance behaviors now, too, since Jupiter and Neptune are activating your health-related houses. 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 sector of roots.

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 sectors of goals and release. Therefore, this planet symbolizes your approaches to setting goals and associating with others and to seeking a perspective on life that’s far beyond life’s ups and down. Currently, Saturn is moving through your house of home, family, real estate, past and present housemates, so this event may also have implications for matters related to them.

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.

On March 10, freedom-loving Uranus catapults into your sector of personality.

He’ll rumble through this part of your chart for the next seven years or so. As Uranus cuts a sweeping path through it, he’ll be agitating for you to add a more individualistic touch to the way that you present yourself to others. This means everything that colors the first impressions that you make on others: how you speak, how you dress, how you conduct yourself, etc. It also includes the (possibly unconscious) assumptions that you make about how you need to operate in order to survive in the world. Uranus wants you to follow the beat of your own drum in this department, to radically change your image, to show a face to the world that’s unique and new (whatever that means for you-it could be a more subdued style or a more flamboyant style than how you were operating previously). It’s the beginning of a long overhaul of your style, and even early on people’s tongues may wag as world spreads about your revamped style. Well, they may just have to talk. You might as well adopt a motto of "Let’s give ‘em something to talk about" because if you’re going to continue developing your individuality, you’ve got to let in show in a more independent, more original style.

With Uranus, the trick is to take the initiative, to inject some necessary creative change in your general approach to life 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.

Bear in mind that you can expect lots of pressure from others to change back if you dress or speak in new ways. You’re making a fresh start in developing your individuality, so plan to improvise and experiment with your outward image for a while, as you find your way. Maybe it’s easier to stick with your same old ways of walking and talking, for example, than it is to make any waves. After all, those who are close to you may just want what’s best for you. They may just want you to be happy, and they know that many forces in society conspire against people following their inner drumbeats. Nonetheless, with Uranus in town, you can count on feeling alienated from your familiar circumstances 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.

On March 23, transformative Pluto starts creeping backwards in your house of public pursuits.

Pluto retrogrades once a year for over five months at a time. Whenever he changes direction, some important change 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 house of public pursuits, of the highest goals to which you might aspire in your career or some other capacity in your community.

Currently, Pluto is moving through your house of aspirations, ambition, high-visibility activities, authority and authority figures. You’re in a stage lasting 10 or more years, in developing your ultimate purpose or in taking on more-than-personal significance in your most public pursuits. At this point, the name of the game is to act with integrity. If you’re feeling pressured to take on or continue in some public role that does not resonate at all with your burning passions, then it’s crucial that you let go of such a role. Steel yourself if you must, but hold out for a position or niche that is in keeping with who you are when you go home each night. That’s what it will take to keep the embers of your soul ablaze, so you can stoke them and act as a powerful, positive force to be reckoned with in years to come.

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.

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