Belief Is Not Required

At last, our passions get stoked because personally driven Mars begins to move Friday, April 13, @ 1053p CDT. Mars, as a ball of energy, teaches us to assert and defend ourselves. If you have not been at your normal activity level since the end of January, look to this warrior for answers.

Fire Element

For the past 10 weeks, your sense of physical security has been tested.

Aries, March 20-April 19, initiating spiritual (fire, visionary)

Your life has resembled Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) in the musical Grease. Shy and retiring (when you lack the courage to assert yourself), but when called to, you have the ability to transform into a ball of fire. It all boils down to not only being who you are but also demonstrating your real self for all to see. Sure, there have been times when you have not wanted to sweat any devilish details; however, once you’ve gotten over yourself, you’ve realized just how much you have to offer and what it is worth. Being the one that you want has rarely felt better. Continue to act from the courage you know exists within. This weekend is tailor-made to rejoin the group of friends (or those whom you want to be such) you have missed for reasons that pride interferes with authentic connection. You’ve changed; why could have others, too?

Leo, July 23-August 22, concentrating spiritual (building your identity)

When you have more, more is expected of you. Your personal integrity has been on the line of late. The buck has stopped with you because you’ve noticed when true responsibility has been sadly lacking. No whining allowed, only joyous response to your growing self-worth. This is your most expansive time of your solar year. Aries brings out the scrappy fighter within. You cannot afford to lie back and let someone else do your work. Basically, you are moving from the realm of possibilities to the world of what you can actually accomplish. It is not glamorous, but it is worthwhile. Observe what your closest people desire and find a way to make it happen. You will get the reflected pleasure of serving others.

Sagittarius, November 22-December 21, adapting spirituality, wise adviser

Bigger is not necessarily better. More is sometimes not merrier. Learning real discernment can be troublesome and ponderous. These next several weeks, it is important to pay rapt attention to what is being given freely to you. It is your quiet appreciation shown privately that we will most likely believe, not the grand gestures. Hence, the adage “less is more.” By the end of next week, you can return to your free spirited ways, but for now real humility repairs lost relationships.

Earth Element

Usually the most conservative of the four elements, you’ve had to come correct and direct in many relationships or you have been oversacrificing what matters to you.

Taurus, April 20-May 20, concentrating earth (physical)

At some point, you must set the boundaries on what you are giving to others. Knowing your worth and the worth of what you offer gains our respect. No one can tell you how valuable you are. Since the beginning of the year, those around you have attempted to reflect your true worth. Even in disagreement, it has been to arouse you into action, defending what you know to be true. Your capacity to act from a capable and inspired self matters. It is not about waiting or asking for anyone’s permission. You wouldn’t admit that you were delaying any action based on someone else’s approval, but at least be honest with yourself. Life will return to your normal very soon. If confused, retreat into your private space until you know what is the best direction for you to take.

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Virgo, August 23-September 22, adapting earth (physical)

Hot, hot, hot, it is as if you are on fire. Sure, this can show itself in obvious ways. But really, you simply want to demonstrate what independent feats you are truly capable of. Sometimes you learn increased confidence through no one being there for you when you think you need help and support. Instead of chastising them for letting you down, realize how much you accomplished on your own. In essence, you have been proving yourself to yourself. Release any resentment you’ve built up because you have thought you’re all alone in your urgency to make the world better. Self-improvement, when excessive, can easily become obsessive.

Capricorn, December 22-January 20, initiating earth (physical)

There are no shortcuts in your road ahead. You must put in the necessary work. This does not imply that you cannot take a break from tired routines. If reality does not allow you to vacate the situation, then give yourself permission to fantasize what you will do when you are in less demand.

Air Element

Leave all your worries behind/You’re riding on the Groove Line tonight, lyrics from British R&B group Heat Wave.

Gemini, May 21-June 20, adapting intellectual

By Monday, April 16, Mercury returns to Aries. He has been like a delusional ex-lover who comes into town and expects you to call him. Self-importance not backed by intellectual heft is just sad, and the last four weeks, you’ve been learning how to stay grounded. Until May 9, you have the ability to know when to not react from any high-strung position. Sure, you can take our perspectives too seriously. Let us be the characters we were born to be. In this way, the more eccentrically we behave, the more room you have to display your quirks. This weekend was made for adventures that you have been procrastinating about. Get out and enjoy yourself.

Libra, September 23-October 22, initiating intellectual

Hello, scale bearer, your life is based on the choices you make. Unless you have strong planetary placements in Scorpio, Virgo or Capricorn, you can be too trusting, too willing to give the benefit of the doubt to folks who are not evolving. Presently, your mind has been focused on the details of what makes teams and relationships work. Utilize your growing ability to see multiple (and often contradictory) perspectives to bring disparate factions of your life together. It is time to place more assets in your karmic bank representing such virtues as goodwill and empathy for others. You will need to heighten your discernment for those who are unwilling or incapable of true transformation. Instead, lend your time and energy to those who are receptive to your unique vision of what we can be to each other.

Aquarius, January 20-February 18, concentrating intellectual

You are learning to make time to retreat from your busy daily schedule. If you choose to not take those private moments where you are not called to serve everyone around you, your mental health suffers. Your awareness of future possibilities and their probability of manifestation is one of your greatest gifts. As long as you want us to acknowledge your vision (once it comes into fruition), you lose the high ground. In order to stay on the higher thought planes, it behooves you to use your “live and let live” attitude to inspire us to follow your vision for our community.

Water Element

We have one more week before we go into practical-minded Taurus. Let the fire of Aries illuminate the ways in which you can move on from the pain others have caused the last three months.

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Cancer, June 21-July 22, initiating feeling (soul)

You know what to do. When you trust your reflected-upon instincts, there is no obstacle too large. Water pauses, gains volume and subsumes anything in its path. Your mind has been replaying areas of your life where you have not allowed yourself to expand beyond what you were taught. The past does not have to inform the future. Get out of your mental rut through searching out people and situations that make you see what you have in your life, not what or whom you’re missing.

Scorpio, October 23-November 21, concentrating feeling (soul)

Like Libra (which you should read), you can believe the initial impression of those you meet. Unlike Libra, you are able to freeze-frame your responses while you observe others who are seemingly duplicitous. Be honest with yourself, though, regarding your own motivations for suspecting another. With both of your rulers (Mars and Pluto) stationary in the skies, you can expect explosive reactions to your ever watchful eye. Communicate what you know and what you’ve experienced. Realize that you are being heard, even when it seems as if you are being ignored. Trust that karma is stronger than any negative projections others throw your way.

Pisces, February 19-March 19, adapting feeling (soul)

I define the soul as our witness. Our souls are like our personal historians, recording our strengths, weaknesses, actions, thoughts and feelings. When we live from our highest potentials, we are soul-directed. As the only adaptable water sign, you were born to learn how to integrate egocentric aims with your soul. On Earth school, you tend to mix these two paths almost to a point where you cannot separate them. If you are disciplined and seeking to access the higher (and spiritual) picture, then you can trust this combination. If you do not reflect upon these loftier aspirations, then your soul begins to atrophy. Ego takes over; everyone leaves (or we pretend to be supportive, because we sense that we are playing a role in your fantastic dramatic play, though you care little for who we really are).

Text or call Quan at 816-931-0010 or check out his website at beliefisnotrequired.com.