CANCER (JUN 22-JUL 22): Exhausted images of moms fretting over their children in a kitchen stocked with gurgling pots of soup and baked cookies are offered up as touchstones for this sign—but these cliches trivialize the essence of Cancer. This is one of the most potent forces in the Zodiac. Astrologer Debbi Kempton-Smith rightfully declares Cancer the most powerful of the twelve signs. As she puts it: “Without love and food, life could not go on.” But Cancerian food is a kind of psychic nurturance, not items from the refrigerator. And the love they offer is not always personal but a channeling of the demiurge that keeps creativity developing and displaying its riches. I often suggest to my Cancer clients that they make a firm commitement to this drive. There is nothing sadder than a Cancer who is not involved in with the process of bringing forth, mentoring, steering, guiding, or imbuing. This type of relationship is critical and must be risked for a sense of purpose in life. Offspring is, of course, one hell of a miracle to bring forth, but for those not so inclined, love must find an outside element to inspire, something beyond the purely procreative.

LEO (JUL 23-AUG 23): There’s nothing like the Sun, as Shakespeare told us. And for that reason, there’s nothing quite like a Leo. Whereas all of the other Zodiacal signs have planetary ‘rulers’ (or a lunar affiliation, if you’re a Cancer), Leo’s cosmic companion is a star—our life-sustaining, solar system-governing Sun. Without light, you couldn’t be reading this. Without solar infusions, your mind would be a lump. The Sun as center is a sensation that can’t help but impact Leo. But it’s a fantastic paradox and occasional burden. Why? Because the constantly reappearing question on Leo’s mind becomes “Who am I?” Of course, all of us, regardless of our Sun sign, have this question pinging around our heads, but for Leo, the question possesses their heart, too. And nothing short of a revelation, in the form of an ongoing odyssey, allows them to rest. And so the quest is everything. Too, the question of identity constantly finds new ways to reform and inform Leo’s consciousness. Acceptance must be reached with this compulsion. And the admission that a single answer won’t suffice. Like the Sun itself, a continual process of regeneration is at work. Eventually, the lion realizes that she, herself, is the creative project that inspires her the most.

VIRGO (AUG 24-SEP 23): It is a trick of perception that creates the subject-object, inside-outside dichotomy in life. A neurological condition that fuels the anxiety we associate with living. Virgo is the most sphinx-like sign of the Zodiac and involves a keen cleverness that worms its way into the middle of any dichotomy--a nuanced region where subject and object, inside and outside, disappear. The Virgo toolbox involves conventional Mercurial gifts like logic and the command of techniques. But also secret doctrines—metaphysical laws, letters, and rituals that have been handed down to humankind from

the beginning of time. Competence (rather than the cliched notion of perfection) is a crucial keyword for this sign. To specialize imparts a quality of focused self-reliance, an attribute that will sustain Virgo throughout his lifetime and shore up his innately shy nature. Virgo is a solitary sign, and its alignment to the middle path requires solitude and quiet. This does not mean that Virgo is to live free of relationships but to remember that deliberate time-outs revitalize their inner sanctum. Silence is a necessity for healthy relations on all levels.

LIBRA (SEP 24-OCT 23): The Sun’s mission is to establish harmony, not perfection; a just-so arrangement where all of the given components (within a body or system) have their place and optimal mode of expression. Given this sign’s pull towards cooperation and kinship, you’d think they’d be a natural for meeting everything and everyone halfway. But all of the cardinal signs (of which Libra is one) are committed to developing unique ideas and philosophies. And this drive, combined with the desire for partnering or finding support from the environment, can freeze Libra into indecision. The quickest way to galvanize this sign is to introduce a stimulus, preferably something or someone to oppose. It is through the via negativa (not this, not that) that Libra more readily defines what it is for. I often recommend that Libras collaborate. The sign isn’t inclined toward solitary thinking and benefits more from the creative exchange that flows between people who combine forces; even better if this involves introducing new ideas or solutions into the culture. A final note to set the scales in motion: Like Taurus, Libra must be surrounded by beauty. Beauty will instantly, by resonance, set them humming.

SCORPIO (OCT 24th-NOV 22nd): What’s inside the egg? Or better yet: What’s inside the yolk? What’s beneath the facade? Is there life after death? Is there life during life? Questions like this inspire Scorpio’s spirit of inquiry and the tenacious drive that compels it. Because our culture considers the topics that enliven Scorpio as taboo—too subversive or controversial—there is often little support for their passions in the formative years. This stimulates the sign’s love of autonomy, where the opinion of others doesn’t count for much. Scorpios forge their courage by regularly engaging with experiences most of us would avoid. I’m not suggesting that they court trouble, but this is a Sun sign that thrives when confronting the harsh realities of life. I often recommend that sluggish Scorpios get out and place themselves in jobs or situations that fainthearted folks would avoid. With transiting Pluto’s ongoing eroding away of traditional infrastructures and traditions within our culture, this is Scorpio’s Zeitgeist. Their moment to demonstrate how to celebrate deconstruction while building something new simultaneously. To allow uncertainty to touch us when we feel most vulnerable. And then, once the moment has passed, to get on with living—on route to the next riddle.