PLANETARIUM MICHAEL LUTIN

VIRGO AUG. 23-SEPT. 22

If you have a grand dream of the way you would like your 'life to be, and you put your whole heart and soul into it, you'd sure like to have a guarantee that it's going to come true. It's the same way with people. If you have loved someone deeply, you obviously couldn't give them up and walk away without shedding some tears and feeling some pain. The trouble is, when an outer planet leaves your 12th house, life isn't likely to follow your directions. That's when you have to put the wind to your back and bravely move on.

LIBRA SEPT. 23-OCT. 23

It appears that you've set out on a new course in life—one that allows you to be more W spontaneous and experiment with a nfestyle that ofTers adventure, if not the traditional idea of security. Meanwhile, your 11th house has helped you gain enough distance, detachment, and objectivity to be there for people who can't always be there for you. Now you know what it means not only to have a true friend but to he one.

SCORPIO OCT. 24-NOV. 21

Isn't it strange? With Saturn in your solar midheaven, you're both bucking the system and courting it at the same time.

Try as you might to avoid playing politics, you can't stop angling for recognition, power, and position. And because you crave validation from the ruling regime but loathe the box the leaders of that regime want to squeeze you into, you invariably get caught up in the rat race you've always sworn you abhor. The truth is, you are now where you've always wanted to be. Well, almost.

SAGITTARIUS NOV. 22-DEC

Dealing with family business has been a major burden for you over the past several months. Sure, it's fulfilling on a personal level, but reining in the chaos on the domestic front has tested your sanity, and it hasn't helped that you've been forced to think about your 2nd house—the one that controls finances—every other minute. Despite that seemingly constant distraction, and your built-in resistance to higher education, you've managed to ace some demanding tests in your personal and professional life. Guess what. It's graduation time.

CAPRICORN DEC. 22-JAN. 19

You've got to hand it to the mighty caterpillar. Now that your ruling planet has completed its passage through your solar 8th house, you should be feeling empathy for any creature that has to remain encased in a coffin-like shell it has already outgrown while waiting patiently for a sign that it is time to break out. Claustrophobia and a screaming case of death anxiety aside, you've got to be pretty damned happy that you can finally spread your wings and fly away.

AQUARIUS JAN. 20-FEB. 18

Every once in a long while, the universe puts in your path someone m who has the power to alter the course of your life. It's probably good that such connections are so rare, since the people we love the most also end up being the most annoying. But when Saturn occupies an exalted position in your solar horoscope, as it's doing now, you can expect to come face-to-face with your shadow personality—the individual who perfectly mirrors all your desires. The irony: it's usually the one person you can never possess.

PISCES

19-MARCH 20

The old saw about 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent ■" "w perspiration has proved to be too true, hasn't it? Even Pisceans, those masters of avoidance and distraction, have come to see that what makes greatness is attention to detail. The ruler of your solar 11th house in your 6th enables you to focus, achieve clarity and consistency, and hang in there until the job is done. It also helps you stay healthy and serve a greater goal with humilitylet's hope without too much screaming.

ARIES MARCH 21-APRIL 19

Maybe you are being compulsive when you throw yourself into projects and relationships with the fervor of a missionary, only to drop them when your enthusiasm flags. Yes, you've left a few symphonies unfinished, but you can't help it. You live by your instincts, and your solar 5th house makes you part creative artist, part passionate lover, and, when you have to be, part used-car salesman desperate to unload a lemon.

TAURUS APRIL 20-MAY 20

Stop beating yourself up for being stuck in the same old place. It's simply not a case of the usual Taurean denial, hatred of change, fear of abandonment, or financial insecurity. Ever since last April, when your 9th-house ruler went direct in your 4th after a five-month retrograde, you have been dealing with serious family stuff. It's no easy task to continue nurturing someone when you know that good-byes are going to have to be said before too long, but that's what loyalty is all about. Bless you.

GEMINI MAY 21-JUNE 21

If you have siblings, you may wish you didn't right about now.

With the planetary ruler of your 8th house transiting your 3rd, your efforts to avoid getting entangled in the web of family dynamics are likely to end in bitter feelings. Those feelings include guilt, when the relatives you've been avoiding get into scrapes you think you could have helped them avoid, and resentment, after they pull a Houdini just when you need them most. Either heal the splits or split yourself. Enough already.

CANCER JUNE 22-JULY 22

{ ^ Do you want to know why the rich keep getting richer and j? richer? Here's the secret and the paradox: they choose to act as if they were poor, mainly because if they acted the way poor people think rich people live, they'd be broke in no time. That doesn't mean you should be cheap and selfish. But as you should have learned from all the planetary activity in your solar 2nd house, thrift and prudence are far better keys to prosperity than a lot of hysterical worry and pointless nail-biting.

LEO JULY 23-AUG. 22

Congratulations! You made it. There were a few shaky moments when you doubted yourself and became convinced that you couldn't handle the hassle, but you handled it all right. The transit of Saturn may well be a time of self-realization, as astrologers never tire of pointing out, but it's also a total bitch. Take this opportunity to reflect on how mature you've become over the past two years, then go out and treat yourself to a delicious meal. When the check comes, just say, "Screw the money. I deserve it."