Planetarium

Michael Lutin tells Geminis to claim temporary insanity

GEMINI

MAY 21JUNE 2 1

Even the most wildly delusional mental patients occasionally exhibit astounding flashes of insight and perception. That's because they often experience reality with an expanded awareness that we could all benefit from understanding. Without making any insulting comparisons of your current state of mind to that of a lunatic, let's just say that planetary squares between your 9th and 12th houses frequently blur the line that separates fact from fiction. So when loved ones tell you that you're losing it, just blame the whole thing on astrology.

CANCER

JUNE 22-JULY 22

Are you just having one of your regular death-anxiety attacks, or are you actually going broke? With Uranus conjoining the south node in your solar 8th house, it's probably a little of both. If you would only keep your mind on business, you would have nothing to fret about. By the way, the starving-artist act is getting pretty old, not to mention that weary routine about refusing to prostitute yourself. And speaking of sex, frankness and honesty are fine, but there's no reason you have to expose your backside to the entire world. That's a bit much.

LEO

JULY 23-AUG. 22

It would be delicious indeed if you could follow your fantasy to its illogical conclusion without fear of the consequences. That way you could totally immerse yourself in someone else's problems and allow him or her to lead you into a land of ecstatic union. As the ruler of your 7th house meets the dragon's tail which is there now, that probably sounds like a great idea. However, it would be the stupidest thing you could do. Unless you keep a healthy distance from the object of your desire, you're going to get lost. Like it or not, you have your position to think of.

VIRGO

2 3 - S E P T.

The irritating itches and glitches you are experiencing are just part of life, and everybody has to cope with them. There is no government conspiracy to introduce germs into your tummy or bugs into your computer. When the ruler of the 6th house squares the ruler of the 9th, you have to become superbly Virgo-like, keeping your engine clean and your head high. By the way, the reputation Virgos have for being clean-freaks is absolutely laughable. Many of them change their underwear only on days when they know company is coming.

LIBRA

SEPT. 23-OCT. 23

Saturn in your solar 8th house squaring Uranus and the south node in your 5th could spell excitement. But get ahold of yourself. In relationships you're supposed to be the soul of prudence, purity, and piety. If you could cast your eyes demurely down and cope with monogamy—as colossally boring as it can be—you'd be fine. Current planetary transits, however, keep drums beating and hearts thumping, so it's difficult to knuckle under and behave in a decorous and chaste fashion. A word of advice: Play all you want. Just don't start something you can't finish.

SCORPIO

OCT. 24-NOV. 21

Even if the pipes in the bathroom burst and the upstairs bedroom crashes down to the basement, you can still smile bravely and tell the world that your home is your castle. It's all just fallout from a planetary volcano erupting in your 4th house. In some strange way, the zoo you live in seems to have the right touch of madness to please your perversely mischievous nature. Then again, the fun might vanish if your entire family were to show up on The Jerry Springer Show trashing you and your choice of mate and your lifestyle. That could hurt.

SAGITTARIUS

NOV. 22-DEC. 21

Everybody around you knows that engaging in good old-fashioned hard work is the best way for you to stay grounded now. Strict routines are often therapeutic. With Saturn in your 6th house, you could probably stomach such regularity for quite a while, but with Uranus squaring Saturn from your 3rd house at the same time, there's no way you can keep marching in the zombie parade. Your siblings, loved ones, and neighbors have no idea that you're feeling so jumpy you can't even watch a TV show from start to finish. And they expect you to hold down a job?

CAPRICORN DEC.22-JAN.I9

When you're young and in your 20s, la vie de boheme is cool. Love and art rule. Period. Sometimes the money is there, often it's not. That's cool, too. As you get older, though, you're expected to adopt a more traditional way of life. Naturally you're aware that you should be grown-up now, but what are you supposed to do when your ruling planet comes to your 5th house and squares your 2nd? No matter how hard you try to control your heartstrings and your purse strings, it's going to be Mimi-and-Rodolfo City. If you don't get the reference, listen to Puccini.

AQUARIUS wifeJAN. 20-FEB. 18

Apart from the conjunction of your planetary ruler and the accursed south node of the moon in your solar 1st house, there doesn't seem to be any explanation for your behavior. You cling like a tick, then turn and run away. You say family means everything to you, yet you can't stand being stuck at home or with relatives. You long for closeness and permanence, but keep pushing everyone away. One day you say you're ready to die, and the next day you order new carpeting for the dining room. What's with you? Are you off your rocker, or just afraid of becoming dependent?

PISCES FEB. 19-MARCH 20

As long as you are into Big Brother for money, there's no place to run. You keep trying, though. It's comforting to have enough faith in yourself to know that you can pursue your escapist desires and appetites to the max and then walk away from them once you are satiated, without getting all hung up and addicted. However, there is one little thing to watch out for, when the south node transits your solar 12th house. You could talk a good game about being in control of yourself while unconsciously falling deeper and deeper under the spell of that old black magic.

ARIES ¶ M A R C H 2 I - A P R I L I 9

How nice of you to exhibit such generosity of spirit, no matter who stabs you in the back or runs out on you. It's a miracle that you can maintain that Boy Scout's pledge-allegiance-to-all-mankind look in your eye. As the ruler of your solar 11th house falls into the black hole of the wicked old dragon's tail, it will take all your effort to hang on to that wide-eyed idealism, especially when some of your loftier goals disappear at the same time. It's doubly hard when you also have to scramble for money. That does nothing for your Albert Schweitzer image.

TAURUS

APRIL 20-MAY 20

Many Tauruses in the world—Queen Elizabeth II, Saddam Hussein, and the Pope, for starters—are now struggling to save face as they stand amid the rubble of crumbling institutions. You don't have to be a royal ruler or a fancy political or religious leader, though, to feel keenly the agonizing tension caused by the square of Saturn in your sign along with Uranus as it culminates in your midheaven. On the other hand, maybe you're not so out of touch with the times after all. Maybe it's the times that are out of touch with you. Just keep telling yourself that.

To hear Michael Lutin read your weekly horoscope, call 1-900-28V-FAIR on a Touch-Tone phone. Cost: $1.95 per minute. If you are under 18, you need parental permission.