Planetarium

By MICHAEL LUTIN

ARIES

March 21–April 19

Those Arians who are on a spiritual path now are cool and should have nothing to worry about. Those who aren't have probably had to turn to painkillers. If you get excited by a new idea, praying that it's the shot in the arm you have been needing so desperately, and then are crushed because your enthusiasm pops like a bubble and floats away, blame Saturn in your 12th house. But hark! When spring returns and daffodils in the park seem to sing to you, thank Mars in your 5th house and enjoy the lift. If the daffodils start talking to you, though, get help.

TAURUS

April 20–May 20

Should you rent a little place on the coast and bake cookies from scratch? Or should you head for Africa to write a steamy political exposé? You can barely drag yourself to the nearest fire hydrant, and people are hound ing you about your goals. Self-esteem? For the past year, yours has seemed like a black hole. It's all part of a cycle, even though you don't remem ber feeling quite this lost before. With the dragon's tail transiting Taurus, you have to find that new person inside yourself. Until you know who you are, though, just concoct an image you like and fake it.

GEMINI

May 21–June 21

Not all Geminis are on the evening news, but with Jupiter in your 7th house and Saturn at your midheaven, many members of your sign are trad ing in privacy for a more visible, responsible, and vulnerable position. Even the most understanding spouse is bound to get testy if you're never home. The fact is, though, that the minute you try to get cozy and relax you're either thinking about what you have to do tomorrow or freaking out be cause some skunk is trying to get the goods on you. You're torn between going for perfection and not giving one solid damn what anybody thinks.

CANCER

June 22–July 22

You have reason to be optimistic, as long as you remember that optimism is nothing to be nervous about. Whether you're daffy over the Clintons and their policies or so far to the right politically that you make the Col lege of Cardinals look like the Chicago Seven, right now Saturn in your 9th house and Pluto in Sagittarius could be giving you religious, racial, or moral heartburn. In fact, this would be a perfect time for Baptist, Israeli, and Iranian Cancers to get together over coffee to discuss Allah, Christ, and the best way to cook a nice brisket.

LEO

July 23–August 22

Expressing your anger or passion can be healthy and liberating. It raises your self-esteem and leads you toward a more productive life. This type of expression is bound to surface now as a result of the direct motion of Mars on March 24, the new moon in Aries on March 30, and the con tinuing transit of Jupiter through your 9th house. One hitch, though, is Saturn, which, until it leaves your 8th house in 1996, will fight your right to be liberated. This month should make you feel compassion for all the young priests and nuns struggling with their primitive urges.

VIRGO

Auguct 23–September 22

We know you're down-to-earth, practical, and thoroughly realistic, but even Virgos adore getting caught up in a fantasy once in a while. Pretend for a moment that it's wartime. A night nurse, going from bed to bed, does her thing for the soldiers. She stops beside one wounded fellow, and before she can stop herself she's lost her clinical distance. She knows she shouldn't. She knows it's all wrong, but she's a Virgo with Saturn tran siting her 7th house (just what you are now). Right there in the hospital chapel, they get married. God only knows what will happen next.

LIBRA

September 23–October 23

Because Libras respond well to lyrical suggestion, this month's message is in verse: Though you'll cause diabetes with that smile on your face, you're packing a rod neath a hanky of lace. You've got all the charms, so de mure and expressive, but then there's a thing they call passive-aggressive. It's tough to play a compassionate sage, when you're putting a lid on deeply felt rage. You'll make it forever when it comes to a mate, if you come out and say it and not wait for fate. With Saturn in your 6th, don't be a jerk; your success will depend on your health and your work.

SCORPIO

October 24–November 2/

Why do fools fall in love? When you get hurt, how do you keep from turning into an icicle? These are questions you'll be asking yourself as Sat urn transits your 5th house while the south node is still in the 7th. Your love life seems to be anything but at this point, except maybe for a few moments of immediate gratification. Domestically, the fuse is sizzling. If you have kids whose demands never stop, just love them and hope they straighten out. If the child you choose to love is pushing 40, though, you'd better move to a new town and change your number.

SAGITFARIUS

November 22–December 27

The direct motion of Mars in your 9th house on March 24 will get you off your duff, refresh your mind, and motivate you. As a Sadge, you're supposed to love to travel and roam free in the wild blue yonder. While that may be true some of the time, with Saturn transiting your 4th house, the closest you come to exploring the world is the Discovery Channel. In fact, it's a big deal if you can find your keys and get out of the house. Decide whether you want to go on being an invisible little couch potato or change your style and become the terror of five continents.

CAPRICORN

December 22–January 19

About those 14 errands, 16 projects, and 86 irons you've got in the fire: Can they all be real? Or are they simply the convenient distractions that keep you from screaming? A human cannonball on his way from the can non to the pool of water at the end of his trajectory enjoys more tran quillity than you have in recent months. With Saturn in your 3rd house and Mars in your 8th, you can blame your agitation on sexual tensions only if you're age-appropriate. In the case of a Capricorn, however, once you've hit puberty, for the next 100 years or so you're age-appropriate.

AQUARIUS

January 20–February 18

Despite an inordinate preoccupation with covering checks and meeting mortgage payments, plus a slight apprehension-one you keep to yourself-that a sandbag is about to fall on your head, you've been able to maintain a deep, abiding optimism. When Uranus comes to Aquarius on April 1, however, you may finally be able to do your thing, cast off restrictions, and make a glorious comeback. Liberation takes various forms, though, de pending on what you've been up to. No sense popping a blood vessel try ing to figure it out. You're being sprung from jail this year. Be grateful.

PISCES

February 19–March 20

With Saturn in Pisces until early 1996, some members of your sign are virtually exhausted. Unable to hack the pressure of responsibilities, stand tall, and face life, they're scurrying away from reality, which they perceive as a nasty old fox with a slurping tongue and big red eyes. Other, more medically oriented Pisceans are crossing their fingers and hoping Prozac is the answer. The most highly evolved Pisceans, though, are all accepting positions that make great demands. They're getting their ducks in a row, whether the apocalypse is around the corner or not.