STAR-NAVIGATOR MONTHLY HOROSCOPE
For December 1998 (The Year in Review)

By ERIC FRANCIS

ARIES (March 21-April 19) - I seriously doubt this turned out to be the year you planned on. If I had to spot a theme, I would say that unexpected events kept steering your life in the direction of maturity and the actual development of your deeper mission; if not on the outside, then surely on the inner realms. The words "coming to terms" come to mind, and while you faced limitations at many points, we both know these months have been an exercise in exploring what you could do within those borders. It began with a moment of rather incredible promise of what you had to offer the world; what unique gifts you could potentially share with the community around you. Look back and see whether actual events were not indeed major steps toward making that possible.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) - By now you have learned what a dangerous, double-edged game relationships can be. The only way around this fact is to stop perceiving them as a game, and to recognize when your partner hasn't had that particular revelation yet. Some of you have, however, gone entirely to the next level, the one you might call above the playing-field. It's clear that you've been unusually open to impact by challenging and unique people, perhaps one in particular. And I surmise you've had your at-times stodgy values shaken, questioned, undone or traded in for opportunities to go far beyond yourself. Your life lessons now shift to exploring the nature of power; if nothing else, experiences of the past year have prepared you for this next phase by teaching you compassion for yourself. And who on Earth would have guessed you lacked it?

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) - No matter how much certain elements of your life may seem like the same thing happening over and over, I would propose that on the deeper levels of your being, everything in this world is pushing you toward the path of total evolution. Pain is a kind of riddle, and escaping from its ravages must be done gently, and with a clear vision of your healed state in mind. Because we've been so desensitized, we often don't even know when we're struggling, so we have to learn. Change is more of a process of negotiation than commitment, and let's face it, rarely do we feel ready to take the next step, even when it's inevitable. And now it is. What is the source of your drive for progress? Can you locate your motivation for growth and change at its deepest? And if you found it working within your soul, a part of yourself you may have never believed existed, would you be surprised if the rest of us already knew that's where it would be?

CANCER (June 21-July 22) - Where do you hold back in your life? Where do the people around you restrain themselves in ways that compel you to be the one who must always cross the barrier, or be the first to dare? And do you dare? Whether you are young or old, I suggest you go on a hunt for the things about yourself that you resist, and all the things within you that are made of resistance. Search for the aspects of yourself you know you'd love to experience, but so often refuse, those places where the Siren's voice of total surrender softly calls you to go, but those chattering old tapes keep demanding you hold back. Of course, there's nothing stopping you from evading your most beautiful potential future; but I would propose at this time in your life, more than any other, you'll not be content with anything but total and authentic freedom -- and I have a hunch you know exactly what I mean.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) - There is a battle being waged within you between the forces of order and chaos. More is on the line in your choice of sides than you may today recognize. I am aware that among the few things considered holy in this world are conformity, self-control, compliance, predictability and duty. Death and taxes, as the true pessimists would assert, are allegedly the only things we can really count on. And yet you know perfectly well there is more, because something is shaking you urgently, perhaps violently, from within, something you know you cannot resist. That something is called life. It is called creation. It is who and what you are on the deepest core level. Humans are allegedly afraid of death. Events of the past year have demonstrated abundantly that this is a lie -- that life is what we really fear -- but you now have abundant proof that it's totally unjustified. And yet your decision remains open.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) - The forces of darkness operate primarily through one technique: Control. Common wisdom holds that there is power in control, and a convincing case can be made for this. Certainly, if you want to spread misery and conquer the suffering, it's a perfectly grand formula for success. Yet on a personal level, many recent events in your life have demonstrated otherwise, proving that you are rightfully neither among the crushers nor the smushed; the victims nor the perpetrators. There is another path, and your feet are now firmly upon it. To say that you have endured a most uncertain passage this year would be an understatement. And while you continually confronted the fact that you could take nothing for granted, it would appear that one very reliable factor kept resurfacing to assist you and smooth your way. And it is this gift that you will take into the next stage of your reality, which begins far sooner than you had predicted.

LIBRA (Sep. 23-Oct. 22) - Few people but yourself recognize the razor's edge upon which the life of a Libran must be lived. And yet it may remain a mystery to you why now, of all times, this factor of your existence has been exaggerated beyond any proportion. I hope you've learned this year that it's unwise to go looking for danger, while at the same time pretending it's not real. I have faith you've made it a priority both to trust your judgment, and to develop a judgment that you can trust. And I would remind you that far more than the immediate circumstances of your life have been involved in the events as they have unfolded for you. Factors reaching as far back as three generations have directly influenced the strange and sudden turns of this year. Odd things indeed you have inherited, and the time is now to take what you want and make it yours, and cast away the rest.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) - People who know nothing about astrology, even many of those mislead souls who deride and insult what they don't understand, dimly recognize there is something unusual and mysterious about this thing known as Scorpio. The rest of us have gained a healthy respect for those people whom, like yourself, we can neither command or change. Scorpio is the sign of secrets, but the greatest secret of all is the extent to which you are often unaware of your own processes. Your inner world of motives, impulses, passions and necessities can truly be one strange place. And yet this year you have, at long last, gained a striking ability to look and see within, and more than simply knowing what you feel, to understand yourself consciously. The obvious benefit of clarity is freedom; the benefit of awareness is the ability to choose. Choosing freely means never having to lie. And the story continues.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) - In this year-end column, I am exploring some of the astrological themes behind the scenes of personal events in 1998, so the suggestion is that "one year" is an operative cycle. This theory holds up pretty well, except when we come to your sign, which is now under the influence of one of the longest-known planetary cycles ­ that of Pluto, which takes more than two centuries to complete one term. So here we have to look through a much wider scope, and remember that what is happening to you in reality involves events that have been taking formation for many years or centuries, and processes that affect billions of people. Pluto in Sagittarius is working to destroy belief systems, social concepts, academic theories, religions, scattered religious influences and distorted notions of justice that do not work. We may never see the end of corruption, or of massive death-cults that pretend to be the unique deliverers of God's truth (usually while piling up gold at the point of a gun or the threat of hell). What's different is that now it's actually possible to escape. The brokers of so-called reality would love to keep you entwined in their fraudulent scams; they have tried their best to colonize your mind and lock you in chains like a slave. But guess what.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) - The especially peculiar contradiction of Capricorn this year has been that the same forces which have, in the past, conspired to trap you within a world of stale forms and dead tradition are now themselves compelling you to live very differently. While you may feel uncomfortable voluntarily stepping outside what you know or believe ­ and trust me, you ain't the only one -- I promise you'll feel quite at home in the power that will result, the simple happiness, and the feeling of having cleaned house of some very toxic stuff. The theme of tradition, so vitally important to Capricorn, warrants a word of comment here. Real tradition is alive. It 's a biological, genetic and psychic process of consciousness moving across space and time. It's more like a flame and less like a church. Art is what the artist makes, and life is defined by living. Many mystical systems teach that the past is over, and yet how to actually experience this remains one of the biggest questions that lingers in our minds. I assure you, it is not an intellectual exercise. That first day you wake up and discover that it is NOW, you will know it, and I expect you will love it, too.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 19-Feb. 18) - World events, crises and technological developments are demonstrating that we have begun the long birthing into the astrological age associated with your sign. While New Age propaganda and broadcasts from astral spirits tend to paint this as the dawn of the age of peace and love, in reality, it is the dawn of the Age of Whatever we Make It. This is our process, and that's a call to action. The age into which you are personally making a critical transition requires an even more intense commitment. Much like your opposite sign Leo, the forces of restriction versus expression are struggling for domination within you -- though unlike Leo, your first tendency is to crystallize into static forms of perception and being. Every factor that could possibly be working radicalize, revolutionize, empower and fire up your engines is doing what it can; whether you choose to take over this process, dump your prejudices, and go the whole distance is entirely different question. Its answer will be found ringing in your heart, not your mind. Those of you who are catching on to your real potential have no doubt felt the first blasts of ecstatic fire prove that anything is possible, demonstrating that in the world of thought, the truth is all that matters, no matter what the cost. Everywhere else, the truth is all there is.

PISCES (Feb. 19-Mar. 20) - Any attribute in the Universe can emerge from Pisces; where anyone has the sign of the fishes (a thinly disguised Yin-Yang) in their chart, they stand in the field of all potential. Those of you born under this star sign have no doubt seen some interesting, unexpected and perhaps even extraordinarily positive developments this year, events which have taken you far away from where you stood 12 short months ago. On this journey, you've surveyed much of what you love, and confronted much of what you despise. But have you noticed the larger pattern? What you put into life comes out of life. What you expose onto the film develops into the picture. What you think, you become. What you imagine you are, you actually set in motion toward making real, and this will only accelerate and become more blatantly obvious as you go through the next major transition of your life in the coming three months. And so I strongly suggest that your entire life be dedicated to surrendering fear, and to visioning the best and most joyful experience that you can possibly imagine. There is a time for working with shadow, but it's not now. Identify and focus on exactly what you want, and spend each day experiencing a little more of it. And if you happen to want to save the world, this is an extremely convenient place to start.++
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Eric Francis is an astrologer and writer roaming the galaxy, currently sitting at the place where two rivers converge in the secret Zen country of New Jersey.

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