PLANETARIUM MICHAEL LUTIN

LEO JULY 23-AUG. 22

Although it would probably be an exaggeration to promise that all your troubles will be over very soon, you're definitely going to feel a hell of a lot better once you've regained control of your life. This letting-go-and-being-spiritual business has gone far enough. Still, you need to have faith even though there's no reason why you should. The last few yards to the finish line are always the toughest, but as the ruler of your 6th house makes its final exit from your 12th, all you have to do is wait for your patience to run out and try not to scream.

VIRGO AUG. 23-SEPT. 22

You've been drifting for some time, which is normal during some llth-house transits. You feel nervous about making longterm commitments, because you want to remain available for the moment when the "real thing" comes along, and you've been taking a deeper look at ways to more fully integrate your professional and personal goals.

Such a project naturally requires you to float along aimlessly for a while. Don't freak out, though. You're not turning into a Pisces.

LIBRA SEPT. 23-OCT. 23

Bureaucratic red tape has tied you into Gordian knots over the past couple of years, and the home you've tried to find in public life hasn't exactly turned out to be the sweet shelter you dreamed it would be. If, however, you have adhered to protocol, stayed within the chain of command, and avoided getting politically enmeshed with corrupt authority figures, Saturn will have established you as a legitimate professional for the rest of your life. Otherwise, there's just one word to describe the state of your reputation: Watergate.

SCORPIO OCT. 24-NOV. 21

Scorpios are not intellectuals, by any stretch of the imagination. They are guided instead by a being that dwells in the gut. When the ruler of their 3rd house is transiting their 9th, an angel of higher consciousness has been known to speak through Scorpios, giving them an almost mystical perspective on human behavior, their own included. Right now, you might be reaping the rewards of listening to your higher self. Unfortunately, that being is sometimes more like the creature from Alien—and it's hard to tell which is which.

SAGITTARIUS NOV. 22-DEC. 21

Planets in water signs give you the jitters. Water extinguishes fire, and that's exactly what has happened to you over the past two years, as hormones ruled by water signs have compromised your ability to think rationally. There's good news, however: the financial weather picture is clearing up at last, and as for the sexual drought that has had you parched body and soul for months, a few sprinkles of rain are in the forecast. In fact, the whole 8th-house pattern that has kept you adrift in a zombie-like state will soon be far behind you.

CAPRICORN DEC. 22-JAN. 19

Ancient astrologers considered oppositions of the sun and Saturn to be evil. In this post-Freudian era, however, we see these events as opportunities to look at our shadows. In your case, -—r your independent streak has made you wary of getting tied down by other people, and not only for financial reasons. The emotional bond and the neediness just get to you after a while. When, over the past two years, your planetary ruler passed across the western horizon, you had to find fulfillment by learning to appreciate mature loyalty. Hot passion it wasn't.

AQUARIUS JAN. 20 - FEB. 18

Sure, the polite subservience you've been expected to display has been almost too much to bear at times, but the work you've had to do recently has also provided a training in humility and craftsmanship that should deepen your commitment to your life path. Consistent attention to detail, better health habits, and the simple effort to show up and be present for people might not have put your name in lights, but it's just the sort of 6th-house effort that shows everyone what an evolved human being you are. No bitter snickering.

PISCES FEB. 19-MARCH 20

Paul McCartney was right, and he's not even a Pisces: "Love doesn't come in a minute/ Sometimes it doesn't come at all/ I only know that when I'm in it/ It isn't silly ... love isn't silly at all." He must have written those romantic lyrics when Saturn wasn't transiting his 5th house. The past few months have been painful even for your sign's most masochistic members. Seeing your youth evaporate is as bittersweet as walking your only child down the aisle and letting her go.

ARIES MARCH 21-APRIL 19

Childhood and family issues can take a lifetime to work out. That might even be the reason we're put on Earth in the first place. There comes a crucial day, however, when we have to leave such issues behind and move on, whether we've worked out all the problems with parents or not, and whether our kids forgive us or not. As your 10thhouse ruler leaves your solar 4th house, not to return for 30 years, Aries of every description must say good-bye to the cozy nests in which they've found safety and bravely step into the unknown.

TAURUS APRIL 20-MAY 20

When a relationship with a relative, neighbor, or associate d** ** T deteriorates to the point where you're not speaking, the wall of ice between you gets colder, taller, and thicker. At such times, you can't imagine either of you ever getting over or through that wall. You can't even imagine wanting to. Time has a way of eroding conflicts, however, and as your 9th-house ruler changes signs, moral positions that were once rigid can soften and shift. Besides, when it begins to dawn on you how important family is, even you might start thinking differently. It could happen.

GEMINI MAY 21-JUNE 2

For the sake of your future prosperity, let us hope that you have embraced the recent opportunity to study economic cycles and learn how to cut spending, hedge your business, and market your services in ways that will expand your sphere of influence and increase your revenue without compromising your integrity. That's the message you should have received from the transit of your 8th-house ruler through your solar 2nd. True security comes not from having a lot but from seeing what a necessary illusion money is.

CANCER JUNE 22-JULY 22

When worries, burdens, and responsibilities are heaped upon your head one on top of another and you feel as if you're single-handedly holding up a live pyramid of 100 overweight elephants, it won't be easy to view the experience as your lucky chance to gain maturity, act like an adult, and deal with success. When, in future years, you think about this transit of the greater malefic planet through your sign, you will see how true that is, so, hey, congratulations on a job well done. You'll probably never look back and laugh, though.