Planetarium

Michael Lutin

LIBRA

September 23—October 23

During the first four weeks of autumn, keep cool despite the presence of that infernal father figure that keeps nagging at you. Planets in the 4th house can have you trying to turn everyone into Daddy right now. Independence sometimes demands separation, and nobody can deny it's painful—except maybe a Libra. With Mars, your 7th-house ruler, going retrograde on the 20th of October and hard aspects involving the sun, Mercury, Venus, and Saturn between the 16th and 19th, you're bound to feel abandoned. Avoid hurtful triangles, because guess who will get hurt.

AQUARIUS

January 20—February 18

There's a whole library of selfhelp books telling you to think positive, to paint on a smile, and to pull yourself up by your bootstraps. Maybe you should check some of them out during the October planetary squares between your 9th and 12th houses. It's no fun to be trapped in reduced circumstances. If what you really want to do is go to Bali, it's hard to settle for take-out food from a Thai restaurant. If you can't change the situation, you had better try to find inspiration in the Birdman of Alcatraz. When you're out on the limb and hear the chain saw below, turn to Shirley MacLaine.

GEMINI

May 21—June 21

Mars going retro in Gemini could bring anything from minor annoyances, such as a car that's in the shop more than it's out, to a major bout of flu. It might even ground you around October 20th, make you skid to a stop and feel like Superman in the presence of Kryptonite. You probably won't have any courage, either. None of it's your fault, remember, so don't waste your energy beating yourself up or worrying about things you should or could have done. The sun and Venus in your 5th house will turn your life into a romantic Garland musical, and probably a sexless one.

SCORPIO

October 24—November 21

As the sun enters Libra the last week in September, you will need to find a refuge from political battles you have been drawn into over the past year and a half. You will want to escape the deafening noise of horns and phones and go snuggle up somewhere in peace. No matter how secret your lair, however, you can't go completely incommunicado this month. You still have to attend to the million idiotic details of daily life. Despite three planets in your 12th house, Pluto is telling you to beware of being as naively generous as you were ten years ago. Can you do it without losing face?

PISCES

February 19—March 20

Because you think you're wild and free, you are shocked and insulted every time you run into the wall of reality. The 8th-house transits of the sun, Mercury, and Venus will make October a potentially seductive but ironic month. You might find that you are tempted to mix friendship and sex, even though everyone knows one should never mess around with friends. Or you might find yourself in an ambiguous situation that could be either business or pleasure, but then clearly turns out to be business. You are a spiritual person, no doubt about it, but for this month at least you are also in sales.

CANCER

June 22—July 22

Your personal life is going to be invaded by reality this month, especially during the two middle weeks of October, when 4th-house Libra squares 7th-house Capricorn. It could be the stock market that affects you, or maybe just your inlaws. You'll probably want to get under an afghan and hide, but pull yourself together and cope. One look across the dinner table should convince you that some serious negotiations must be made if you want to avoid a heavy separation. Mars will go backward in your 12th house, so if you think your relationship problems stem from U.F.O.'s, get help.

SAGITTARIUS

November 22—December 21

With Jupiter firmly in your 9th house now, your attitude will be sunnier and more positive. By mid-October you will feel the planetary square from the 2nd house to the 11th, so connect the dots between humanitarian and materialistic desires. You would like to do something really great for Africa, if only it wouldn't cost so dam much. It's as if you were sitting in a circle of friends in a beautiful restaurant. Think of the candlelight illuminating everybody's face, all red from the laughter and wine. Just as you think that nothing could ever spoil the perfect moment, the check arrives.

ARIES

March 21—April 19

Starting about October 20th, Mars will be retrograde for six weeks, so don't scream if you find your phone line's out. If your car even starts, don't speed, and don't argue with the cop who stops you to give you a ticket. Even if a certain amount of bootlicking is unavoidable, just be patient. And don't worry. The way you blast off, you could be in orbit by this time next year. You will definitely not be tied to the same job then, and if you decide to get out sooner, go ahead. But back out of the room smiling and bowing as if you were a Chinese diplomat, or a Libra.

LEO

July 23—August 22

Those who criticize you for your self-absorption don't realize how much of a people pleaser you really are. For many moons now you've been trying to satisfy everybody. Well, it's not a capital offense that there's just so much to go around. During October there is a square between the 3rd and 6th houses, so you'll probably continue to spread yourself too thin. No way can you work till ten, meet somebody at midnight, and expect to be ready to roll at dawn. If you insist on burning yourself out, nothing will keep the crow'sfeet from scratching up your adorable face.

CAPRICORN

December 22—January 19

Not that you'd even want to make it to the bench of the Supreme Court, but any success you have now will depend on expert judgment and shrewd diplomacy, as you'll see when planets passing through Libra crash into Saturn in Capricorn during the second and third weeks of October. Once, you might actually have complied if an authority figure had asked you to jump off a bridge. You now know you don't have to do it just because the boss proposed it. This month you are more a mixture of sweet and sour than ever. These days, you should get off on just saying no.

TAURUS

April 20—May 20

This should be an October such as you haven't seen since your school days—during test periods. The 9th-house square of Saturn to your 6th house will challenge your brainpower, making you recall impossible teachers, overwhelming reading assignments, and math courses so hard they might just as well have been taught in Greek. You will need more than candy for energy, so keep your health in good balance. Exams come all your life. When crossing international borders, make sure your papers are in order. This is a dangerous time to be an illegal alien.

VIRGO

August 23—September 22

Departing from your normally peasant tastes, you're becoming acquisitive. Nothing gaudy or outrageous—you'd never want to be accused of good oldfashioned greed. Right now, you just want to be able to show up at the opera in something great, or serve the souffle on that high-priced table you've been drooling over. That's normal when Venus transits your 2nd house. From the end of September to late October, though, demanding children will put a limit to your appetites. When it's between your new coat and a Nintendo game or fall tuition, it could be a fight to the death.