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Fortunate Jupiter, your life-ruler, turned direct in your fifth house just before Christmas 1999, after a lengthy period of retrograde motion. This boosts your creative spirit. It brings an abundant expression of artistic talent, vivid imagination, not to mention an outrageous urge to procreate! Jupiter encourages a feeling of being in the world, yet somehow not of it, pressing you to climb to higher spiritual or intellectual levels. Nevertheless, fortune is on your side and you'll feel a sense of fun and delight in the pleasures of the material world. It's a good time to buy lottery tickets! You are also likely to be generous to romantic partners, having the ability to be a friend as well as a lover. You are attracted now to intelligent, enthusiastic people, who are spirituality aware, yet have a penchant for excitement and drama. Your attitude toward children is warm and caring, though perhaps rather too indulgent. Overindulgence is almost impossible to avoid at this time, unless you are particularly strong-willed! You have the feeling that prosperity is within easy reach. As a result, you may purchase more luxury items, take more expensive vacations and buy fancier or more expensive clothes. If your work or career is of a creative nature, this can be a period of great success. You are more willing to take risks and should come out ahead, especially up to mid-February.

New Beginnings  

Mars enters your fourth house of new beginnings and family matters in early January, where he fires up the action until mid-February. You may be touchier than usual when others impinge on your territory, challenge your authority, or question your methods. Your desire for accomplishment is strong and you seek ego-gratification from the final result of your efforts. Tensions may rise. Aggressive or hasty actions, especially with male companions or co-workers, can have a bad effect on the outcome, so be patient and you will accomplish far more than anticipated. You will be moved to take action regarding personal possessions, home or domestic arrangements, family relationships, family-owned property or business, and real-estate transactions in general. Much of the issue will be focused on who is in control. More enthusiasm for doing things as a group may encourage an increase in family activities. If you have been considering a new business venture or achieving some physical goal, put plans in motion. Make sure your household insurance is in effect, and check your home for possible fire hazards. Watch your step to prevent falls, cuts, and others mishaps around the house, and go out of your way to avoid angry domestic scenes. Take care this month to avoid injury to your head or face, or putting too much strain on your heart and spine.

Solar Eclipse  

In early February, there will be a partial eclipse of the Sun in Aquarius, but this will not be visible from most populated parts of the world. Nevertheless, the concentration of energies in Aquarius create tensions and deceptions in your relationships with siblings, neighbours and in-laws, perhaps leading to separations. Unexpected travel disruptions may emerge. You will seek greater independence of thought and self-expression. New ideas and information flow through your mind. Some of your ideas or those you promote during this period may be so unorthodox, at least for you, as to be radical and will need to be resolved in the run-up to the Grand Mutation at the end of May.

Fun, Fun, Fun!  

In mid-February, shining Jupiter enters Taurus, your solar sixth house, just as glorious Mars ascends his day-throne, Aries, your fifth house of romance, children and speculation. Fun, fun, fun is the flavour of the month! Speculative ventures, social events and activities related to entertainment or a vacation generate lots of energy. Creative juices flow and romantic adventures move into the real world. Artistic energies can be grounded, for you are imaginative and even inspired. Children's activities also occupy your time and attention. Restrian your physical aggression and beware the consequences of overindulgence and risky adventures.

The nature and scope of your work and daily responsibilities expand from now until the end of June 2000. Your work may require more travel, or advanced training becomes necessary. You may hire others to work for you at this time and your relationships with co-workers are expanded in one way or another. Keep your sense of self-importance well in hand. Although there is certainly an excellent chance that your work will be recognized and handsomely rewarded, do not take your job or any aspect of it for granted. You may acquire a pet or increase your activities involving a pet, or the breeding of such animals. Though there is no guarantee you will actually pursue it, your interest concerning health and physical fitness may increase, but it is more than likely you will take your health too much for granted. Should circumstances require you to seek medical care or advice, you may be fortunate in finding excellent physicians or other professionals to help you.

Big Shakeup

A big shakeup can be expected in the early weeks of March, especially once Pluto turns retrograde on the 15th, when circumstances challenge your health, self-image and sense of wellbeing. This year in general you seek a more powerful self-image. Your needs and goals have very little to do with anyone else, your family or others close to you. Not that you will necessarily neglect others along the way, but for the most part, it is your personal ambitions that increase. You are likely to take unprecedented steps to improve yourself as an individual. The type of self-improvement you undertake will probably be in directions where your background history and experiences have caused you to feel weakest and most vulnerable. It may mean obtaining higher education, advanced training, learning how to project a stronger self-image, physical fitness, or undergoing cosmetic surgery and other treatments that enhance your appearance and boost your confidence. Events during this long period are apt to be sobering. Since you are consciously or subconsciously seeking to control yourself, it is not surprising if your reaction to some of these events is to retreat more and more within yourself, sometimes to the point of isolation, feeling that no one else is capable of helping. You feel that you are your own best resource, and finding it difficult to accept advice or be led by others, you will end up handling things alone or doing it your way. What you are unable to control, you are likely to ignore. Remarkable personal accomplishments can result from the intense physical energy and focus you can generate during this period.

As March draws to a close, Mars marches into your sixth house, part of the massive concentration of cosmic heavyweights gathering in May. You'll have plenty to do! Circumstances may put you in a position to hire others. Control aggressive or competitive behaviour concerning work, co-workers, or employees. You may be required to get a medical and dental check up. There is potential for headache, fever, inflammation, or flare up of chronic illness; it's a good time to begin a program of physical fitness. Be sure to consult a physician and other health experts before you start. Under this influence enthusiasm can easily get out of hand. If your body is not used to regular or vigorous exercise be careful not to overexert yourself.

The New Moon in conjunction with the benefic fixed star Alpheratz on April 4 heralds the beginning of a new cycle of grace, popularity, independence and honours, and it occurs in your fifth house, perhaps indicating romance or recognition at work as Mars reaches the conjunction with Jupiter. You are likely to have an expansive, perhaps exaggerated, part to play in the situation and you may be tempted to give people more credit than they deserve. The actions of others can inspire and expand the development of your own potential. This is a period when you can improve your intellectual, financial and social status. You may have greater enthusiasm for increasing your spiritual and cultural awareness, and for engaging in sports or physical fitness.

The Grand Mutation

May sees a gathering of all the major planets in the fixed, earthy sign of Taurus. Only the three outermost, transpersonal planets are elsewhere. This certainly is a year of big changes and confrontations, when Jupiter and Saturn now form the Grand Mutation, their final conjunction in an earthy sign for hundreds of years. Some astrologers hold that this is really the first light of the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. This massive conjunction at 22° Taurus opposes the fixed star Unukalkhai (Alpha Serpentis), which at 22° Scorpio was associated with the gigantic earthquake in Turkey after the solar eclipse of August 1999. Unukalkhai was rising over Istanbul at the point of greatest eclipse. It will be setting at the end of May.

Uranus glowers in his retrograde station during May 2000 at 20° Aquarius, in conjunction with the malefic fixed star, Castra (destruction; uncontrollable temper; malevolence). This squares both Saturn and Jupiter, the aspect being partile (exact) just days before their Grand Mutation. Expect disruptions and significant changes in your ideas and methods. This period tends to bring circumstances over which you have no control. The actions and decisions of others may cause disruption of education or other intellectual endeavours such as writing or publishing. News and information resources may suddenly disappear, or new ones suddenly become established. Long distance travel may be interrupted, or suddenly become a necessity. The status of your spiritual development or economic expansion may be upset and your generosity may be erratic or misplaced: indulgent when you need to be more prudent and too prudent when you need to be more generous. Increased status or recognition may be given to you even though it may not be deserved, or if it is deserved, you unaccountably fail to receive it. Your basic mechanical or technological abilities will also be used in new ways, or circumstances force you develop new skills to keep pace with new information and communications systems. Travel patterns may be reversed or altered. Contact with siblings and neighbors are also a target of change, as they move into or away from your immediate environment. A key element of the influence during this period has to do with outside forces over which you have no control. Changes may, at least in part, be triggered by the people around you, new people you meet and unexpected situations.

Cooperation, or Confrontation?  

Mars bounces into Gemini early in May, bringing enthusiastic energy to partnership and other alliances, cooperative efforts and any interaction with others people. Getting things done will be more difficult to accomplish by yourself than with a partner or partners. Even if you want to be left alone, other people will find a way to physically intrude, or current circumstances make it necessary for others to intrude. In most situations other people make the first move, leaving you to react. More than one open confrontation is apt to occur.

Joint Ventures

June and July seem somehow more fated, with the three transpersonal planets retrograde, but the entry of Venus, Mars and the Sun into canny Cancer between the 17th and the 22nd makes the solstice even more potent than usual. Joint income and social status, acquired either through marriage or business partnership, are two issues likely to surface this month. Common goals and values play no small part in circumstances that occur. You feel more intense with regard to social contacts as well as romance or sexual encounters, especially from the standpoint of the psychological motivations and behaviour patterns involved. This can be a productive period to participate in group therapy. Pleasures are bound to be more deeply felt, although a certain lightheartedness may be missing. If there are no obvious impediments to prevent you from doing so, this is a good time to ask for loans or favours, as well as to collect those you are owed.

Cultivate Alliances  

Jupiter enters your seventh house at the beginning of July, urging you to extend your cooperation and interaction with others. Since it is through people that you are most likely to succeed as the year draws on, benefits do flow through increased interaction. Other people, especially partners or allies, bring stimulation, broader knowledge and new experiences. Partnership and other alliances, as well as joint ventures are stimulated. The outlook is just as prosperous for new unions established under this influence. Consultations, legal matters and contract negotiations are stimulated. Resist a tendency to take others (especially a partner) for granted, or to exaggerate the prospects of a relationship or joint venture. Do not overestimate the extent of any assistance or cooperation you anticipate from others, however, for circumstances in July are not likely to increase your prosperity. Your father, or other prominent male figure is not favoured. You tend to be profligate with your material assets and your generosity is likely to benefit the wrong people, or be wasted in worthless endeavours. Those who would like to help you are apt to be rendered powerless themselves, or unwittingly steer you in the wrong direction. Those who come to you with grandiose ideas or the promise of some successful enterprise are not likely to deliver, no matter how well-intentioned they are.

A conservative attitude may keep you from overreaching yourself in one way or another. You will probably not be able to remove the forces that oppose you, which only leaves you the option of finding a constructive way to work around them, or with them. Neptune is at his retro station all month in your third house, but the creative and imaginative energies are highly reinforced at the end of the month as Jupiter reaches the fortunate trine aspect from the seventh house. You need to focus on reality, even while successfully operating in an unreal environment. The magic of illusion and imagination, enhanced spirituality, or investigating the paranormal can be enjoyable, even fortunate diversions, if they pose no serious threat to life, limb, or your bank account. Prepare to experience the highest inspirations, as well as the kind of dumb luck that comes from just being in the right place at the right time.

Cultural Pursuits  

August sees a burst of energy and activity in cultural pursuits, as Mars moves into your solar ninth house. Physical efforts may focus on higher education, religion, politics, travel, the arts, foreign languages, writing, and publishing. However, there are numerous other categories that can just as easily arouse your interest and physical participation -- speculative ventures, sports, court decisions, a second marriage and activities or relations with in-laws. Broaden your spiritual and intellectual horizons. Mid-month action with Jupiter and Pluto may bring the opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge or expertise. Creating your own opportunity to show off is also likely to lead to success. This period favors taking advantage of people and situations in ways that will eventually lead to advancement in your professional status, broader intellectual horizons, attainment of cultural pursuits, greater spiritual awareness, success in sports, realization of political ambitions, or international travel. Under this influence your physical efforts may give you a chance to enjoy the good life, move up the social ladder, publish a book or other material, exhibit your sense of humor, or participate in theatrical productions. You can really get to the bottom of things with the help of the intense, focused energy that surrounds you. Psychological analysis, assessment of property, and financial investments are infused with a physical focus that gives keener perception to the intellectual efforts involved in these matters. You have all the control you need if you do not take it for granted, and you recognize how to apply its subtle but deadly accurate force. Your recuperative powers, should you need them, are at a high level.

Lord of Karma

Saturn, Lord of Karma, enters Gemini on August 11th, restimulating the Grand Cross aspect of the August 99 solar eclipse. This influence has as much to do with the past as it does with the present. It will force you to throw out what is wasteful and to abandon unsuccessful situations, replacing them with something more solid and useful. During this period people may tend to view you as some sort of authority figure. They may also see you as being more austere, inflexible, or unapproachable, than you may actually be. The greatest focus of this influence however, targets partnership, alliances, and joint ventures. Should you or those involved with you harbor disappointment or seriously diverging opinions and goals, the relationship will invariably suffer at this time. It may even be terminated if compromise or agreement cannot be reached.

On the other hand, a longer-lasting, more stable marriage or other alliance may emerge, if difficulties are surmounted and commitments strengthened. Marriage or partnership undertaken at this time suggests a union forged from the pressure of responsibility, or as a practical matter of expediency. This rather mundane, unemotional description is not to predict that the outcome of the association will not be successful, nor that participants will not gain some satisfaction and valuable experience as a result. Legal matters are not apt to find easy or swift conclusion, and the same can be said for contract negotiations and matters related to counseling. Though gaining cooperation from others is certainly possible, it will not be granted freely, and the additional responsibilities may not be worth it.

Fabulous Potential!  

With Venus in her own sign Libra in early September, in good aspect to Saturn and Jupiter, this is a splendid time for long term success! You are likely to be more concerned with personal aspirations and happiness, especially the satisfaction you derive (or do not derive, as the case may be) from the role you play as spouse, child, parent, friend, lover, or associate. These are the people who should be the target of your efforts to coordinate activities, promote harmony, and encourage co-operation. The social aspects of romance may also be on your agenda these days. Joining organizations and participation in group activities can be very rewarding.

Establish solid, long-lasting relationships in the first week or two of the month, especially around the 8th and 9th of September. Mark these days! There's no telling what good thing can happen under this fortunate influence. Try your luck at the races and other sporting events, or with lottery tickets. You could be the winner in a beauty or photography contest, or emerge the favourite in an audition. Artistic and musical ventures are successful. The recognition you deserve for your efforts in writing, publishing, advertising, higher education, politics, religion, direct-mail promotions, long distance travel, dealing with those of another race or culture and foreign languages is likely this month. You are favoured in court decisions and other judgments. Of course, when there is too much of a good thing, overindulgence, wastefulness, exaggeration or physical laziness can prevent you from gaining the true benefits of this fortunate aspect.

Saturn Retrograde  

Saturn, however, is at his station all month in conjunction with Alcyone and the Pleiades. He turns retro in your third house on the 12th. Beware of injuries, especially to the eyes, through accidents while travelling, or violence and trouble with the opposite sex. Jupiter is in conjunction with Aldebaran, a royal star which brings ego-based conflicts, especially with siblings, neighbours and people in your environment. Jupiter too turns retro in opposition to Pluto (at the end of the month). Retrograde planets tend to generate the events that seem more fated, less under our own control than they do when direct. So the world seems to have a mind of its own.

Mars enters Virgo on the 18th turning up the heat on your career and other long range goals. You may be motivated to take important actions which affect your future. You work hard to get attention from the public and those with power and influence and although you may not necessarily desire to call attention to yourself, your efforts will gain public attention one way or another now. Even if you have no access to a public forum, you may experience an increased urge to have others notice what you are doing. Your more or less public actions may be carried out on behalf of another person, or a cause in which you believe. Activities involving superiors or authority figures are stimulated. This means you may either do a lot of extra work with your boss, or for the government, or those with similar authority. Largely because of your efforts, a male relative or superior may receive recognition or enhanced status at this time.

Venus enters Scorpio on September 25th. By choice or circumstances you may tend to withdraw from society over the next few weeks. You are apt to find all types of excuses, legitimate or otherwise, to pass up invitations to go out-- you're too ill, you're too overweight to fit into the clothes you wanted to wear, you have too much work to do, and any number of other reasons. Romance is likely as Venus meets Mars at the beginning of October, but this pleasure may have to be secretive, or relegated to the world of fantasy and dreams. Do not fall for false flattery or unworthy attentions. Love relationships from the past, especially those in which you suffered a loss, can intrude on the present in some way. Avoid self-pity by turning your attention to helping others less fortunate than yourself.

Awkward Aspects  

Mercury in Scorpio turns retrograde in the middle of October, just as Venus makes her move into Sagittarius, brightening your life and gloomy Saturn retrogresses once more into Taurus. This is an awkward time, unless you have the maturity to understand that there is a certain pleasure in thankless tasks, self-discipline, and staying home alone. Receiving little appreciation or affection, and a total lack of humour in the people you encounter can strengthen your character. It still pays to make an effort to exert your personal influence. The charm of your personality, willingness to cooperate with others and sense of humour make a big difference in the way things turn out, especially with older people and authority figures. Spend some time on your appearance. It is important to look as neat and attractive as possible, since your physical appearance will have as big an impact as your personality. Unfortunately, there are few pleasures now without some accompanying responsibility -- and, in the end, perhaps all you may really get is the responsibility. Others may regard you as too serious, too old, too formal, or too inflexible. This is not the best time to ask others for their opinions, cooperation, or assistance. Go it alone. Do not take unnecessary risks of any kind because Lady Luck is not on your side, at least until later in the month. If something good does come your way, hold your breath and hope it will still be there in the morning.

As the Sun prepares to dive into Scorpio on the 23rd, Saturn causes the strange feeling that something is out of joint, leading at the end of the month to a fortunate trine between Mars and Saturn. Venus opposing Jupiter on the 26th, with the Moon ion charming Libra gives more romantic opportunities, but you are almost certain to be sorely tempted to overindulge. Do not fall into phoney, extravagant and ostentatious behaviour and be prepared to deal with some of the biggest phonies you could hope to come across. All the same, as the month draws to a close, time seems to expand to suit your needs. The maturity and experience behind your actions is the key to their successful outcome. This is a most favourable influence which will produce meaningful, long-lasting accomplishments. It is an auspicious time to initiate projects geared toward bringing benefits at a later time in your life.

Fun with Friends  

As Mars enters your eleventh house of friends, hopes and wishes in the first week of November, you'll be busier than ever dealing with the demands of friends and the need to put more energy into your personal goals. Mars trine Neptune on the 12th and Jupiter on the 16th brings loads of creative energy which will lift your spirits and enable a sudden burst of communication. Use your intuitive abilities, increase your spiritual awareness, investigate dreams and the occult -- and carry out as much of your work and other physical activities as possible behind the scenes. Exactly how some task or achievement is accomplished may not be apparent, nor does it have to be. The successful result will be clear enough to make everybody happy.

Your general status takes a turn for the better now. Success seems to spring from just about anything you attempt. Efforts rarely come to nothing under this influence: even a failed effort is likely to result in some better prospect. This is definitely the time to promote and demonstrate the position and knowledge you have achieved. You are highly favored in activities involving long-distance travel, writing, publishing, theater, dance, art, religion, politics, law, investment and finances, or sports. Bold gambles and other risky ventures are likely to pay off. Men in your life, especially your father, are also favoured at this time; your own good fortune may come through them. Grab and savor everything that brings enjoyment, humor, truth, and the good life. Do not, however, let overconfidence in your own ability, the pursuit of pleasure, or laziness spoil the potential for your success, or that of your enterprises. Some of the most successful work and other physical activities during this period involve the arts and entertainment (especially dance), photography, charitable institutions, drugs, alcohol, oil, gas, marine life, water sports, or ocean cruises.

After the 22nd, the Sun in your sign brings time to renew your inner vitality and energy. How determined are you? What is your purpose in life? How much personal influence do you wield? You can be more forceful and dynamic now, but you should definitely reconstruct that tendency towards pointless arrogance! Too much self-assertion makes it difficult to accept (or ask for) the advice and opinions of others. The urge to develop your personality, appearance and personal skills is combined with a greater need to be more successful and independent. A strong, healthy self-image makes you more productive as an individual, which in turn encourages you to treat others with more generosity and sensitivity. Take care of things personally. Don't allow others to speak or act for you. It is your personality, behavior and physical presentation that can make the difference between success and failure in many situations.

Good Fortune

December brings some very good fortune for Sagittarius, as Venus, Jupiter and Neptune dance in an imaginative and inspirational threesome, which comes to a climax on the 12th. There's no telling what good thing can happen under this fortunate influence. Try your luck at the horse races and other sporting events or with lottery tickets. You could be the winner in a beauty or photography contest or emerge the favorite in a theater audition. Artistic and musical endeavors are successful. This is also a time when you are likely to receive the recognition or success you deserve for your efforts in writing, publishing, advertising, higher education, politics, religion, direct-mail promotions, long distance travel, dealing with those of another race or culture, and foreign languages. You are favored in court decisions and other judgments. There is a potential problem connected with all of this. Unhappy consequences can occur when there is too much of a good thing; overindulgence, wastefulness, exaggeration and physical laziness --any or all of which can prevent you from gaining the true benefits of this fortunate period. The vibration is strong all month, especially on the 20th, when Venus kisses Pluto and on the 24th when she swings with Uranus. An unorthodox or less-than-traditional partnership or alliance may be on the agenda; proposed either by you or to you. Romantic or social contacts present the inspiration to adopt unique methods to achieve common goals. The social scene can inspire the spirit of egalitarianism in you, or you may be the one who engenders this attitude in others. This is a period for establishing friendship and coordinating group activities. People seen as different or eccentric may be the very individuals you find appealing. In turn, others may be attracted to you for the very characteristics that make you different or unique. Art and music you encounter are unlikely to follow traditional lines.

Relationships: the Journey to the Heart  

The stars show this is the year of secret romance, benefit through women and connections with the law. This should be a year of big changes and deep transformations for many Sagittarians, as Pluto and Chiron make waves in your sign. Jupiter, your life-ruler, begins the year in your fifth house of romance, children and speculative activities, showing that you are focusing on having a ball!

With Venus in your sign most of January, you'll be especially attractive to members of the opposite sex. The charm of your personality, willingness to cooperate with others and sense of humour make a big difference in the way things turn out. It is a time to indulge in a new hair style, beauty treatment, or other ways to enhance your appearance, for your physical appearance will have as big an impact as your personality.

Mars enters your fifth house in mid-February, bringing energy and personal magnetism to your romantic escapades. You'll be extra-dynamic between this time and the last week of March, when energies turn to relationships with colleagues and employees. As April comes into view, Venus and Mercury in your fifth house generate fabulous romantic opportunities, most likely of an unexpected or sudden nature, perhaps with some quirky or even mystical overtones.

May sees Venus in Taurus, part of the constellation of planets associated with the Grand Mutation of Saturn and Jupiter. This increases your sensuality, opening up opportunity for secret romance, especially in the work environment. June and July bring more of a focus on partnership. The urge to get hitched will come upon many Sagittarians, especially those who can control the temptation to share themselves around a little too freely at this time.

The focus over all on this year is one of work relationships, hidden or concealed affairs and the formation of partnerships. From the beginning of July through to the end of the year, Jupiter, your life-ruler, moves into your polar opposite sign, Gemini. This makes you more flirtatious, yet, paradoxically, more inclined to relate seriously in partnership. Do not take your partner or other allies for granted over this period. You'll seek to experience growth and expansion of your intellect under this influence. You may increase your education, and seek to become prosperous in your immediate environment. Information and ideas become a bigger focus now.

Career and Finances: Stake Your Claim  

Honour and recognition will come through merit and your own efforts. It's a good year, especially towards the end! Hard work will bring success and good fortune will come through taking chances and speculative activities. Foreign investments should pay off and money can come through learning, publications, travel, or banking. You may expect benefit through your mother and governmental affairs. Jupiter having turned direct just before Christmas 1999 in your fifth house of speculation means you can take some chances. Issues at work should be more easily resolved after Jan. 12, when Saturn also turns direct.

Real estate opportunities present themselves during the first few weeks of the year, but mid-February will bring more power to your elbow as Mars crosses into your fifth house for over a month. You'll be in the mood to run the gauntlet and will feel the urge to take risks. Speculative opportunities will be plentiful.

April with Mars in Taurus means there will be plenty of things for you to do in the way of physical exercise and work-- on the job as well as around the house. Circumstances may put you in a position to hire others. The flow of physical energy can make you more aggressive or competitive concerning work, co-workers, or employees. If there are problems, you either enthusiastically confront them and seek a solution or give in to angry outbursts or rash actions. Just don't overdo it and turn the whole situation into little more than the pursuit of ego-gratification, as the Grand Mutation in May approaches. May will bring matters to a head regarding work and relationships with colleagues or employees.

Meetings of any kind can be difficult for you to organize or coordinate under this influence. Though a spirit of generosity and togetherness seems to be encouraged by current circumstances, too many people going off in too many different directions makes accomplishing group efforts more difficult to organize in spite of everyone's good intentions. Progress can be made toward attaining common goals or resolving disputes, but most likely only by letting others do their own thing independently and then bringing all the separate efforts together.

June and July bring an emphasis on joint ventures, shared investments and other people's money in general, especially family members and partners' money. Your ego becomes involved with money and status (or lack of either) gained through inheritance, business partners or marriage. Payment of debts, or debt collection are other concerns. You can use or develop skills to make you more independent in financial and other ways. Increased determination and willpower make you more demanding and critical. It may be more difficult for you to compromise, but your focus and concentration can contribute to progress in research and investigative projects, or help you acquire a deeper understanding of psychological motivations and behaviour.

November's Sagittarius new Moon works well with Neptune, bringing a time when others, especially superiors, may be impressed with your imagination, spirituality, and sensitivity. They may also be impressed with your charitable acts or your skills in such particular areas as those that involve photography, swimming, sailing, water sports or therapy, or dancing. Activities especially favoured now also include covert activities and handling highly confidential matters. Others may be attracted to you, or you to them, by something that seems unattainable or mysterious. This is a time to follow hunches, pay attention to dreams, and allow yourself to become truly inspired spiritually and artistically in whatever way presents itself.

Health: Balancing Your Energies  

Stress and pressure can surface as chronic illness. Delegate your workload and you'll receive many benefits. While travelling, take care against sickness or injury, especially between August and September, when injury through robbery may occur. If you are involved with some large institutional body (perhaps through work) such as a prison, university, or hospital, you may experience sickness connected therewith. Your sixth house is emphasised for the first half of the year leading up to the Grand Mutation at the end of May. Saturn brings restrictive and lingering conditions, such as arthritic pain, deafness, fear, kidney stones, spleen, problems with bones and teeth. Low blood pressure, gout and depression can also be symptomatic of Saturnine energies at work. This influence does not necessarily mean you will experience illness, but it does tend to reflect in one way or another any past disregard for maintaining good health and physical fitness. Chronic illness is apt to flare up, and it would not be unusual to suffer physical distress as a result of overwork, strain, and emotional burdens. Correct actions during this period can mean becoming more organized and structured, finding better methods to make your tasks easier to accomplish, and, ultimately gaining increased income and recognition for your hard work. The ultimate payoff is even bigger if you realize the importance of routine medical and dental examinations, eating a proper diet, and keeping physically fit with appropriate exercise. You'll add happier, healthier years to your life.

Mars visits your sixth house during April. You may be required to get a medical and dental check up then. Mars conjoins Saturn in Taurus in the middle of April, so be most watchful. Dental work or minor surgery may be necessary. Wear clothing appropriate for the weather since there is also increased potential for you to suffer from cold, flu, dermatitis, arthritis and other chronic illness. Headache, fever, inflammation, or flare up of chronic illness is likely during April and May. The positive potential, however, can mean you are inspired to begin a program of physical fitness. Be sure to consult a physician and other health experts before you start. Under this influence enthusiasm can easily get out of hand. If your body is not used to regular or vigorous exercise, be careful not to overexert yourself.

For a few weeks, Saturn moves into your seventh house, between the end of July and the middle of October, when you must protect against chills and colds and disorders of a lingering character, especially when he turns retrograde around September 12. Be most careful against accidents during this time. Saturn returns to the sixth house around October 17, where he continues to put pressure on your health until after the end of the forecast period.

Jupiter, your life-ruler, tends to protect you against health problems, and this great benefic planet spends the time between mid-February and the end of June in your solar sixth house. Nevertheless, throat and digestive problems can emerge over his period, especially when in aspect with Mars and Saturn, as in early April. A medical emergency may arise, or you may decide on elective surgery during this period. Lungs and respiratory system may give trouble in early July, mid-September and the end of September. Mid December may also bring some trouble in these areas.

Home and Away: Family and Children  

You may benefit through your father's good fortune. Your children will also receive benefit and you may well undertake journeys with or through young people. Brothers and sisters should also be valuable to you. Activities and developments in the local area, with siblings and in-laws and with local identities should enliven your neighbourhood.

January is a good time for family-orientated activities. With Mars in your fourth house, more enthusiasm for doing things as a group may encourage an increase in family activities. You may be inspired at this time to rescue or restore heirlooms. The potential of this period may also be described as a new beginning. If you have been thinking about a new business venture or achieving some physical goal, this is a time when you are likely to put such plans in motion. In case there are negative circumstances at work during this period, it would be a wise idea to make sure your household insurance is in effect, check your home for possible fire hazards. Watch your step to prevent falls, cuts, and others mishaps around the house, and go out of your way to avoid angry domestic scenes.

August is a good time to travel and develop more interest in matters cultural. This can be an ego-boosting period in which you feel more confident that your efforts will be successful. In turn, this is the kind of attitude that attracts the people and success you are looking for. Self-promotion works very well, as does using the efforts of others to your own advantage. Your physical efforts--whatever they may be-- may bring you recognition or a position of leadership, so that you may be more generous in helping others. Though this influence increases vitality, it can also promote a certain amount of laziness. If you are by nature a less-than-energetic individual, this period is not likely to galvanize you into action. It may be your good fortune however, to get others to do the work for you. Some of the most highly favored activities include those that involve men or products and services related to men, military maneuvers, sports, surgical procedures, manufacturing, and firearms. Just plain good luck can save you from accidents and other mishaps. The only word of warning is not to take things too much for granted, or become too sure of yourself.Higher education, religious activities, political interests, and cultural pursuits seem imbued with a more social atmosphere this month. Romance, marriage, or any type of cooperative venture involving a foreign country or someone of another culture or race is stimulated. Issues connected with a second marriage, or a court decision may also arise. Joint efforts related to the health or employment of a parent may emerge. Socializing or establishing more cordial relationships with in-laws are other items on your agenda.

November and December are generally fortunate and can lead to some lovely opportunities for self-fulfilment.

Mercury Retrograde  

Mercury retrograde gives rise to personal misunderstandings; flawed, disrupted, or delayed communications, negotiations and trade; glitches and breakdowns with phones, computers, cars, buses, and trains. And all of these problems usually arise because some crucial piece of information, or component, has gone astray, or awry.

Periods of confusion affect

home and family, real estate, domestic issues Feb/Mar

joint ventures, shared investments, inheritances Jun/Jul

concealed things, institutions, secrets Oct/Nov.

Read more on retrograde Mercury.