Planetarium

MICHAEL LUTIN

VIRGO

August 23-September 22

Virgos who insist that they had blissfully stainless childhoods are about to learn some shocking truths about their fathers. Conversely, those Virgos who thought they were too good for their families are finding out that you cannot hide who you are or where you come from—especially these days, when Pluto is touching your 4th-house cusp and tabloid reporters are lurking around every corner. In fact, soon you will be not only acknowledging the embarrassing members of your family but also maybe even moving closer to them, police record or no police record.

LIBRA

September 23-October 23

Now that you're getting so wise, with Chiron in your sign, you may find it hard to believe that there are a few dim-witted Libras who still haven't figured out that honest communication is the ticket to happiness. They're still eating pink cotton candy and strolling down Denial Avenue. Hipper Libras (like yourself) are taking a deep breath, murmuring a couple of prayers for help, and going for the heavy, deep, and real in their relationships. As for those other, less evolved types, a gentle bang on the head with a rubber mallet is in order.

SCORPIO

October 24-November 21

You may think you're really hot stuff, and you probably have some valid reasons for thinking so. Because you've made quite a name for yourself and have a pretty good track record, it's natural for you to want to raise your price to whatever the market will bear. Great. Push it to the max. Remember, though, that, fabulous as you are, in the great scheme of things (and with Pluto in your 2nd house) you are just one tiny cog on the wheel of life. If you forget to remember that, you will soon be a slave to money. Worse yet, you may wind up without a job.

SAGITTARIUS

November 22~December 21

Don't you just love it when the vultures circling over your head—oops! Freudian slip—when all your loving, supportive family and friends tell you nonstop how wonderful and generous and self-possessed you are? If that is really true, how do they account for the fact that if just one more person asks you for so much as a Kleenex there's going to be a mighty explosion? With Pluto in Sadge, you actually do have lots going for you, but for the love of God, why won't everyone please just try to understand that you need five seconds alone for coping purposes?

CAPRICORN

December 22-January 19

Your career, your career, your career. And oh, yes, your career. It's perfectly legitimate to chase after satisfaction, get your needs met, win a lawsuit here, get funding there. More power to you. Such pursuits do not imply that you are living a crass, empty, frivolous life. With Saturn always ruling you, life is hardball. As Pluto begins its 10-year transit of your 12th house, though, it would be very rewarding for you to do some concentrated inner work in the areas of compassion, charity, universal love, and several other spiritual fields you once considered wastes of time.

AQUARIUS

January 20-February 18

Now that you're finally becoming more of who and what you should have been in the first place—helpful, loving to all sentient beings, but a royal pain in the neck to anyone who dares to try to coerce, corner, or pressure you—you can relax and fully enjoy Pluto's passage into your 11th house, which will bring you into the company of lunatics, heretics, and people with tics of all kinds. It is now perfectly acceptable for you to underdress for dinner. Lest your newfound liberated behavior carry you too far, though, that's underdress, not undress.

PISCES

February 19~March 20

Over the next 10 years, the long passage of Pluto across your midheaven will have a huge impact on your life. It must be said, though, that only the concentrated pull of a powerful planet could begin to create that huge impact, because most Pisceans have already seen and done it all a dozen times. Nonetheless, Pluto is about to parachute you into totally unfamiliar business territory, expose you to products and services you've had no knowledge of or interest in, and yet challenge you in the most creative ways. Of course, if you're just too darned tired . . .

ARIES

March 21-April 19

In every man's or woman's life, when Pluto hits that 9th house, there comes a moment of pure, unobstructed illumination. You could be walking along a sandy beach or sitting stuck in traffic on a sweltering day, but suddenly everything becomes clear. Your petty problems, your rage, your endless comparing of yourself to others—in an instant they're all an absurd waste of energy. When the mind is truly liberated, there are no problems, because there is no ego. What? you're saying. No ego! But that's not possible! How on earth could you ever get along without yourself?

TAURUS

April 20-May 20

At this point the flesh may still be willing, but the spirit has other ideas. Until now you have lived fully in your body. Just think of all the cake, the martinis, the cigarettes you've consumed. And the sex! Many Tauruses have been sex machines with no OFF buttons. As your 8th house receives higher vibrations, you are becoming much more than a throat, breasts, and stomach. You're becoming a wise spirit, an individual who dares to peek behind the curtains and edge toward the beyond Seriously now, once you've done all that, can chocolate cheesecake ever taste the same?

GEMINI

May 21-June 21

You've got something happening over there in your 7th house that looks an awful lot like a soul-mate thing. Astrologers call it a transit of Pluto. Soul mates (if you believe in such things) come in all shapes and sizes, but rarely do they appear as they are in your fantasies. When yours materializes, you may scream, "Oh, no! Not that color. Not that religion. Not that gender!" You may even try to run away, but eventually you will see that certain person as your teacher, your guru, your master, your awakener—and, more often than not, as your own sweet nemesis.

CANCER

June 22-July 22

There are a great number of well-meaning, genuinely health-conscious Cancers out there who know that good health is a balanced blend of mind and body achieved through practice and meditation, not through fetishes and fad diets. Sadly, though, there are others so unaware of Pluto in their 6th house that they honestly believe they're making a fabulous salad by chopping up iceberg lettuce and drowning it in bottled dressing (the "lite" stuff, of course). To all you ^enlightened Cancers, we send boundless white light and oodles of compassion.

LEO

July 23-August 22

How could any intelligent person ever dismiss your need for love, your desire to express warmth, and your sincere wish to show off your natural talent? Somehow, though, people do. Just when Pluto is crossing your 5th cusp and your heart is opening up like the petals of a lotus flower, you can be sure that certain cruel individuals (including a few astrologers) will come along to criticize your antics and brand you as narcissistic and selfserving. Pay no attention to them. Do your thing to the fullest now. Just try not to lose your audience in the process.