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Sun sign horoscopes cannot replace a proper analysis of your birth chart and transits of the moment. They are meant to be a broad insight into certain time signatures. If you want a more detailed forecast, you can book a reading with me at 9thhouseastrology.com. It will be my pleasure to help you unlock and prepare for any upcoming opportunities or challenges. The rising sign is essential in understanding our personal dispositions, please read your Sun sign and Rising sign for extra clarity. Happy explorations! -Elodie

ARIES/ARIES RISING ♈︎

Some interesting developments are happening in your career or how you are seen in the world. You now have a pretty clear idea of who is on your side, and who will help you further yourself and your work. The New Moon on the 8th of February connects you to your friends and the groups you mingle with. Doors are opening if you are willing to intertwined your fate with the folks who think like you. You have the skills and the avant-garde visions; you might be asked to take part in a group collective and teach what you know. There is also the possibility of a conflict between your ambitions and your personal life, as the responsibilities start piling up. There could be issues or fears around money and how you make it. That which ties you to others loom large this month; you might also have to face issues of shared resources or finances. In the second half of February, there is an opportunity to find inspiration and renewal through solitude or meditation. The Full Moon on February 22nd illuminates any dependency or addictions you might be struggling with; your focus turns toward healing any long-standing issues. Make your body a priority. Detoxify and rid yourself of any self-defeating behaviour that keep you from feeling whole. Jupiter has your back.

TAURUS/TAURUS RISING ♉︎

Your beliefs have been under incredible transformation. You have been slowly getting rid of assumptions, political views or teachings, that you’ve held on to, as you realise they are not serving you anymore. All of these considerations are giving you fresh perspectives and new philosophies to contemplate; it’s also allowing you to see new possible ways you could put them to good use. We could call this process: ”the creative reform”. The repercussions of your creative reform will be mirrored in all facets of your life. You will start seeing new roads toward places you can’t even begin to imagine. Taureans are known for being stubborn and single-minded, but it couldn’t be further from the truth at the moment. An iconoclast is hiding within you and is starting to make itself known. We are still in the early stages – you might have to stick to conventions for now. The New Moon on February 8th is asking you to integrate your recent ideas and visions to your career and to a larger extent your community. This looks like an excellent month to think about furthering yourself in your chosen path. You might feel like you can take on all the work by yourself, but by the end of the month, you will realise the important role people around you play in your success. Give thanks and acknowledge the support you’ve received in implementing your ideas. The Full Moon on February 22nd will illuminate the way you handle stress and the impact on your body. You might be curious about alternative or innovative trends in the holistic world. It could also be that you feel a need to detoxify and rejuvenate your body. Listen to what comes up.

GEMINI/GEMINI RISING ♊︎

Your obligations and responsibilities towards others is still being felt heavily this month. However, your ruler Mercury, now direct after being retrograde for most of January, allows you to look towards the future. You should really start feeling the ease flowing back into your life mid-month. Your gaze is on the distant horizon and possible new ventures. You could feel a need to break from the beaten path. Your career also needs to be addressed; you might be giving a lot more than what you are getting in return. At this point, you should ask yourself if it’s worth the sacrifices. There could be some stress around money, other people’s assets, and taxes. Make sure to give yourself ample space to decompress at home and consciously release stress and tension. The New Moon, on February the 8th connects you to higher learning, dreams, journeys or distant travels. It is a good time to set in motions long-term ventures that will help you broaden your horizon. Explore new ideas and concepts. You might also be asked to share what you know with a group of people; this could take place over the internet. By the end of the month, you should have a clear idea of where to invest your energy in the coming months. You will also have a clearer sense of where you need to make yourself and your well-being a priority.

CANCER/CANCER RISING ♋︎

The contracts, agreements and the work attached to obligations are strongly highlighted this month. Your wishes have been granted and you now have to deliver the goods. Lucky for you, your creative reservoir is bursting at the seams. Some folks might wonder how you do it, but you wont give your secrets away. One thing is certain: you have many tricks up your sleeve that are helping you succeed where so many failed. You could also give thanks to Mars in Scorpio, who is in partly responsible for fueling your engine at the moment. You are walking on a sharp edge that is directly connected to your career. You are also getting a lot of inspiration from the small details of everyday life: rejoice! You don’t get the creative juices flowing by indulging in front of the tv like a beached whale. You get it by rolling up your sleeves and getting your hands dirty; and that is exactly what you have been doing. You could say that the wisdom you have acquired in the bottom of your own darker corners is finally being integrated in healthy ways. If you don’t harness all the stamina in your creative pursuit, you could find your sex drive increased or, at worst you might become edgy and argumentative. If possible, defuse the tension in your personal relationships. Acknowledge your needs and the needs of your partner; and notice that it all originates from the same flame. You are too busy to be fussing over trivial details anyway.

LEO/LEO RISING ♌︎

The New Moon on February the 8th is in your house of partnership. It serves as a kind of reset button. Set your intentions around your relationships and what you expect from them. Let yourself be seen by others and reach out. Unexpected but fated encounters are very likely this month if you step out of your comfort zone. I realize that this might be easier said then done. How can you go about impleting new ways of doing things when you are so busy with the daily grind? Well, it starts with staying open to new encounters: people who could bring a lot of creative freshness, the ones we sometime label weirdos – artist, rebels, inventors or mad-scientist types. The current tensions you are feeling are mainly connected to the struggle between your need for unrestrained explorations and the obligations that are weighing you down. In other words, the battle between two very dissonant urges. By teaming up with others, you will be able to find some novel ideas and new perspectives. The Full Moon on the 22nd of February is in your house of material resources. It could clarify the things that are available to you, and how you can put them to good use. You will understand the sort of initiatives needed on your part to get where you want to be. Get in touch with your core motivations. What is driving you? What do you need? Exorcise your impatience by getting to the roots of your ambitions. Get feedback from others on your role and responsibilities. Then you can choose which road you want to take with a clearer sense of direction.

VIRGO/VIRGO RISING ♍︎

The darkness that has emerged in the last few months should be seen as a creative process. To touch others, one must have the necessary depth and the wisdom. That is, to some extent, the process you have gone through. By digging deep into your core, you have retrieved some pretty powerful stuff; and this process is not over. The romance or playfulness you are craving might not be forthcoming, but you are at the moment, one of the luckiest signs of the zodiac. Everyone has had to work hard to exorcise their demons, some more than others. With Jupiter, the planet of luck and expansion in your sign until September, you can definitely count on some positive development in the near future. Here is the thing: Jupiter is currently moving backward through your sign until the second week of May as part of its retrograde cycle. You might not feel the blessings of the great benefactor quite yet, but he is working his magic backstage, and you are too. In astrology, it is widely understood that easy aspects or planets that are deemed beneficial are not always positive. Why is that? Because when things are easy, we usually take it for granted. You have until May, to train in becoming a grateful recipient of all the positive things that are happening, or that will happen to you. Part of your homework for the next few months is to learn to see and use opportunities that might not seem like opportunities, to your advantage. Develop an optimistic gaze; see the good in others; spot the silver lining; become a faithful devotee of chance; trust the outcome. Don’t take the gifts you receive for granted. The Full Moon on February 22nd is in Virgo. Expect some clarity around partnership.

LIBRA/LIBRA RISING ♎︎

Libra, you have hosted some interesting guests into your very private quarters in the past month or so. Their visit has prompt you to clean up all of your blind spots—the ones you can’t see everyday, where dust builds up. Some of the clutter has been family mementos you are holding on to for no reason except a sense of burdensome responsibility. This process felt scary at first but quickly turned into a catharsis. And now you can feel the spaciousness and ease that is slowly permeating through all the aspects of your life. All you had to do was be willing to shine the light in the attic for a moment to see the “monsters” for what they really are: a pile of old insecure rubbish that you have outgrown. There might still be some boxes in your basement that needs sorting, but at least you are aware of it. They say ignorance is bliss but, in your case, knowledge is power. The New Moon on the 8th is a push that can help you innovate in a project you are working on. Be alert for ingenious ideas that seem to pop out of nowhere. Listen to the iconoclast in you, the one who doesn’t want to do things like everyone else. The Full Moon in Virgo on the 22nd will prompt you to find solitude and tranquility. Retire from the world for a moment, maybe finish cleaning up your basement.

SCORPIO/SCORPIO RISING ♏︎

The first 2 weeks of February continue to be about clarifying your message. The way others receive what you have to say, the methods you use to communicate and the meaning behind what you are trying to convey was a big part of January. Studying the way others have communicated in the past might help inspire you to reform the way you use language and words. With Mars transiting in your sign for a good part of the year, you could appear a lot more pushy or combative than you really are. You don’t want to start an argument, you just know what you know—you know what you want and you want it now. The New Moon on February 8th prompts you to deal with family matters or your home front, and the material resources available to you. You are craving independence and self-sufficiency: set you intentions and get to work. Expect a tidal wave of inspiration to flow in around mid-month and make sure you capitalize on it. Deal with any fears associated with your powerful creative urges. Find allies that will help you further yourself and your creative projects. You have so many resources available to you at the moment; you just need to be willing to put in the extra hours.

SAGITTARIUS/SAGITTARIUS RISING ♐︎

The material resources available to you at the moment seem to be in a state of flux. Your income or the way you make money had to be reviewed or reformed in the last few months. You are now starting to feel the repercussions of these changes. It looks like you have a lot of work on your plate, and a lot of inspiration to get down to business. The New Moon on February 8th is a reset button in regards to the way you communicate. You are now in a place where you could teach what you know, if you don’t already. Another big theme coming up for you is connected to your sense of authority. Have you ever considered passing on your knowledge or mentoring? I think you know enough in your field of expertise to consider the option of taking students or apprentices or to work on your current projects. The Full Moon of February 22nd will highlight a sort of dichotomy between your place in the world and your inner sanctuary. Confusion on the home front is very possible in the second half of the month and you could find solace if you step outside, walk around, and talk to people in your neighbourhood. In the last week of February, there is an opportunity to clarify an issue or misunderstanding around boundaries and personal space. You should feel confident enough to bring up the conversation and find a solution.

CAPRICORN/CAPRICORN RISING ♑︎

As you go about your business this month Capricorn, I want you to contemplate this famous quote from the Greek philosopher Plato: ”The measure of a man is what he does with power.” Such a simple statement but in reality, very hard to put into practice, especially when we are asked to step up in a leadership role. Of course most Capricorn will say it is their natural birth right since they are after all one of the most competent sign of the zodiac. The problem arises when other people start relinquishing their own authority and look to you for answers. What do you do with the heavy responsibilities that are handed down to you by others? How do you handle problems that are not your own? Now would be a good time to reflect on your place in the world and how you go about using your powers. Venus in Capricorn until mid-month will give you a good balance between social grace and getting what you want. The New Moon on February 8th is a fantastic reset in regards to finances. Find new ways of generating revenue, and look for the trend setters that could help you innovate. You have a lot of resources available to you at the moment, capitalize on what you have. The Full Moon on February 22nd highlights your learning journey; take stock and adjust your sails.

AQUARIUS/AQUARIUS RISING ♒︎

Aquarius remains the most misunderstood sign of the zodiac. It is not that you are inaccessible; in fact, you are very much a social creature, but your mind dwells where not many people dare to venture. You are not bound by time in a mundane sense; but time is the thread that leads you to perceive future realities. Your gaze is set on the multiple possibilities that would allow you to reform our social mores and align them with your vision of the future. In a sense, time allows you to experience the future. Society needs people like you to move us forward and help us break free from the stale structures. It is so easy for you to see solutions for the problems that plague modern society that you wonder sometimes why people are still so archaic. The good news is that this is your time of the year. The New Moon on February 8th is in your sign and it is in some ways a new start for you. Forget about the projects that didn’t reach what you had envisioned. The future is now. Saturn, the traditional ruler of Aquarius, will be in Sagittarius until December 2017. This is your cue to reform some of your beliefs and philosophies. If you are still holding on to dated misconceptions about what you want, what you are or what you want to be, now is a great time to let them go. You are ripe for a new vision.

PISCES/PISCES RISING ♓︎

“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” ― William Arthur Ward

My father is a Pisces and a guitar maker or luthier. Growing up I spent many hours in his shop looking around at all the exotic woods and little drawers filled with pieces of bones, shells, tagua nuts and ornamented guitar keys that would later become part of an instrument. He probably kept a watchful eye on me, but I felt like I had free reign to play around and explore. He would let me use his band saw to cut pieces of wood that I would turn into jewelry, giving me tips but also letting me make mistakes. Sometimes he would give me a small job, but it never felt like it an obligation. To this day, there is always an “aprentice” in his orbit and through the years many young artist have adopted him as a sort of “spiritual father”. As a Pisces, you hold a key to the mysteries of life that make others want to be close to you. You naturally take people under your wing without questioning their intentions which in turn makes them feel accepted. Your deep understanding of pain and struggle allows you to have compassion for everyone and this is a true blessing. Make sure you do the same for yourself as you come to the end of the yearly cycle and are about to celebrate another trip around the Sun. Have patience with yourself and for your perceived flaws and imperfections. Acknowledge your wounds and give yourself the compassion and acceptance you would give someone else.

About the Author

Elodie Miaow blogs at 9thHouseAstrology.com

Horoscopes copyright Elodie Miaow, republished with permission.

Hexagon #2 Now Available:

Editor’s Note: this article appears in the Winter 2016 print edition of Hexagon. It’s also been turned into a YouTube video and uploaded to both Vimeo and Soundcloud. -Matt

Using its first public screening (July 21st, 2015 @ 7:30 pm in Philadelphia) as its date of birth, the N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton has its Sun (identity) in Cancer (sign of family) and Moon (needs) in Libra (sign of melodies, justice). The film documents the rise and fall of an ad-hoc family (Cancer) of rappers best remembered for justice minded melodies (Libra) so controversial they drew the ire of everybody from the FBI and Focus on the Family to Oprah Winfrey and Tipper Gore. It’s one of the most anticipated musical biopics in history and, as coincidence would have it, astrologer Linda Goodman describes the biographical arc of the Cancer/Libra pairing in distinctly musical terms. In her 1978 book Love Signs she writes:

True to Ms. Goodman’s description of the Cancer/Libra pairing, Straight Outta Compton’s most enjoyable scenes are those depicting the group’s melodiously ribald musical performances. Those performances, all of which take place during the first half of the film, combine the smoothly restful, rhythmically mellow proto-G-funk style of Andre “Dr. Dre” Young’s producing abilities with the crashing intensity of O’Shea “Ice Cube” Jackson’s lyrical genius, all punctuated by the menacing irreverence of Eric “Eazy-E” Wright’s high pitched, rock-n-roll street drawl. The result is pure entertainment. In contrast, the second half of the film focuses on what happens when the musical duets stop and disputes over money begin. By the end of the film, those disputes have left a trail of innocent bystanders in their wake: wives and girlfriends, business partners, even Eazy-E himself.

In his book Moon Phases, astrologer Raven Kaldera describes the combination of Cancer Sun with Libra Moon as “The Black Knight” for whom:

As per Kaldera’s description of the Cancer/Libra pairing, the subjects of Straight Outta Compton are entirely “aware they are outside the law but consider the law corrupt.” Their anger at injustice meted out by the deeply corrupted LAPD explodes into music too powerful to be ignored. “They have the authority to kill a minority”, lyricist-in-chief Ice Cube hollers in “F**k Tha’ Police,” the group’s 1988 protest anthem as relevant to the Obama years as it was to the Reagan era.

As far as fashion goes, the group favors the all black attire of the L.A. Raiders (knights) professional football team. None of the young men own any horses like the knights of old but their leader Eazy-E is known for cruising around town in a 1964 model Chevy Impala, a high performance vehicle that is to rap musicians of his era what destrier charging horses were to knights of medieval times. He even records a hit song about it, the film’s depiction of which is both wryly humorous and deeply humanizing.

The members of N.W.A. may not be Kaldera’s “Black Knights” in the literal sense of the word but the film does depict them as low-rider driving anti-heroes who speak out about police brutality at a time when public discussion of such matters was kept under the tight control of corporate media. The film even engages in a bit of family (Cancer) lawyering (Libra). In one scene, Ice Cube responds to a reporter’s criticism of the group’s lyrics by citing the Constitution, “Freedom of speech includes rap music. We’re exercising our first amendment rights as far as I’m concerned.” He and Eazy-E then explain that the parties alleged to be responsible for gang warfare and the crack epidemic may not be the ultimate culprits they’re made out to be. “The cocaine comes from Columbia, the AKs [assault rifles] come from Russia. But none of us have a passport. So you might want to check the source,” they adroitly observe.

In their book Sun Sign Moon Sign, Suzi and Charles Harvey tell us that an “image for integration” for the Cancer/Libra pairing is, “Mother Goose recites a poem, surrounded by adoring fairy tale creatures.” Strange as it may sound, that’s actually an excellent metaphorical approximation of Straight Outta Compton. The film’s operative scene takes place inside a rented recording studio where Eazy-E recites the lyrics to “Boyz-N-The-Hood,” a bass-heavy, urban folk-poem that would become legendary for its unflinching depiction of life on the streets of Los Angeles at the height of the drug war. Eazy-E isn’t “Mother Goose” per se but the film does portray him as an ambitious, business-minded midwife to a group of artists whose life stories have since taken on such mythological levels of significance that the film is now the number one grossing musical biopic of all time.

While both critically acclaimed and commercially successful, Straight Outta Compton is not without serious shortcomings. Astrologically, it’s a good example of the Cancer/Libra tendency to deny or ignore uncomfortable issues out of existence even as it confronts others. Most notably, N.W.A.’s rampant misogyny and homophobia are left unquestioned while Dr. Dre’s vicious beating of music journalist Dee Barnes is left unmentioned. The contributions of all-star girl group J.J. Fad are conveniently written out of the film even though it was money and acclaim from their hit song “SuperSonic” that established the group’s label as a legitimate player within the music world. With a few brief exceptions, women are depicted as little more than bitches, hoes, and “house-whores.” This is a systemic and not-insignificant blight on what, at times, is one of the more emotionally moving (Cancer), justice minded (Libra) films in recent memory.

Saturn in Scorpio: Planet of Challenges in the Sign of Underworlds

Straight Outta Compton’s Sun (identity) at 28 degrees Cancer (sign of family) receives a supportive contact from Saturn (planet of structures) at 28 degrees Scorpio (sign of underworlds). From beginning to end, the film is structured (Saturn) around a series underworlds (Scorpio). It starts in the underworld of a South Central Los Angeles dope house where we see a drug deal between friends go from bad to worse to even worse. It ends in another underworld, the AIDS ward of Cedar Sinai Medical Center. In between, it’s structured around the psychological underworlds of backroom business deals and joint financial transactions. Early in the film, a closed door agreement between Eazy-E and N.W.A. manager Jerry Heller is depicted as financially shortchanging other members of the group. Later, the strong arm tactics utilized by Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight in procuring the services of Dr. Dre prompt Eazy-E to consider having Knight assassinated, a course of action Heller dissuades him from pursuing.

In his book Myth Astrology, astrologer Raven Kaldera associates Saturn in Scorpio with the myth of Cerridwen, a Celtic goddess who assists others by regenerating slain corpses in her cauldron. Nobody depicted in Straight Outta Compton is able to regenerate corpses but we do see Dr. Dre persuade Eazy-E to invest money acquired from the corrosive dead end that is the crack trade into a cauldron of smoking hot musical acts that end up cracking the top of the charts. There’s no voodoo or magic in the film, but turning money accrued from an industry backed by bullets made of lead into records made of gold arguably qualifies as something akin to alchemy.

North Node in Libra: The Other Side to the Other Side of the Story

Straight Outta Compton was released as the transiting North Node (point of destiny) was in Libra, the sign responsible for providing the other side of the story. In many ways, the film accomplishes its North Node directive as there are numerous scenes in which we see police violence depicted from the other side of the boot or battering ram. It’s in these moments that the film operates as counter-programming to officially sanctioned narratives regarding the application and misapplication of justice (Libra) in our culture.

At the same time, even compelling counter-narratives often require additional counter-narratives if justice is to be truly served (Libra North Node). In regards to the counter-narrative offered by Straight Outta Compton, most reviewers have chosen to look the other way when it comes to the group’s appalling dehumanization of women and the film’s near total erasure of them. However, a few voices have come forward with counter-narratives to the counter-narrative. For instance, in an interview published by the Huffington Post, Sikivu Hutchinson reminds us that “N.W.A. was instrumental to the normalization of terroristic, misogynistic violence against black women and girls.” Writing in the Washington Post, journalist Jamilah Lemieux acknowledges the film’s cinematic brilliance but explains that the current mobilization against police violence is “far less driven by rap and rappers than it is by black women.” Critics and fans who celebrate the group’s anti-authoritarian valor but fail to question the injustice of music that treats black women as disposable commodities are thus “missing the other half of the story”, she points out.

About the Author: Matt Savinar is a California licensed attorney (State Bar #228957), voluntarily inactive as of June 2013. He can be reached for questions, comments, or astrological consults via Twitter, his first YouTube channel, his second YouTube channel, SoundCloud, LibSyn or this site’s contact page.

The premier issue of Hexagon, now shipping:

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Editor’s Note: this is a 400 word article excerpt from Michael Lutin’s 2,000 word appearing on pages 24-to-27 of Hexagon #2. -Matt

In the case of the United States, we are facing a Plutonian confrontation that began before the United States was even the United States and was just a ragtag bunch of settlers.

Way back then, Pluto was also in Capricorn. So let’s look at that.

Pluto in Capricorn represents the landlord, archetypically speaking, and always involves the question of the rightful ownership of property. In fact, we could say that it represents invasion and the seizing of property. So while attorneys litigate their heads off in long protracted court cases, the issue is, of course, who owns any property on the Earth. No matter how well we disguise the motivation for war and dress it all up in ideological and moral righteousness, it is always about real property and the development of natural resources.

Viewed astrologically, the United States’ Sun in Cancer is at a pretty wide angle to be considered a traditional opposition to Pluto. I’m not so interested in that sort of orb. I’m interested in at what point in time and space such an alignment would become exact or partile.

In the case of the United States, by secondary progression, that was around the year 1791. That was the year the Sun opposed natal Pluto by secondary progression. 1791 marks a very big defeat for the Native Americans when the US won the territory of the Northwest at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. It was also the year that the Bill of Rights was ratified.

Transiting Pluto, currently in opposition to the natal Sun, is echoing the progression of 1791 in current events. And here we are at the doorstep of our Pluto return natal position being 27 Capricorn.

The United States of America was born in confrontation. The fundamental issue in the history of this country is the control of property, and especially the illusion that you can invade, conquer, and seize property and pilfer someone else’s natural resources with no consequences at all.

If you do it in the name of liberty and the pursuit of happiness, nobody can say a thing.

But wait, think of everyone in the world right now. Isn’t this a mark of the darker side of Pluto in Capricorn? It is easy to name names and fire away at political leaders and “terrorists” for their encroachment upon foreign territory since the 16th century. But are we not, as members of the Earth community, being encouraged to shiver in fear as our leaders all over the world demonize the next group whose lands they jealously covet?

But wait again: those heartless murderers who kill innocent citizens in surprise attacks—who are they? Who are they really?

This is not new. This is not news. Is the population of the world truly resolved to end evil? Who is the terrorist? Is there a macabre plot to intimidate everyone and demonize all Xenos?

Who are the Xenos? What is a Xeno? Are you a Xeno? Am I a Xeno? The fact is, we are all Xenos to somebody.

With Pluto in Capricorn, it is not so clear exactly who the invader is.

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