Polaroid sx 70 – By Augusto De Luca, photographer 1984 CC BY-SA 2.0

The reality picture just doesn’t seem to make sense today, and the heaviest parts of our world seem to have come to a grinding halt, holding their dark shapes in place. What gives? We feel that we’ve aligned our thinking with our highest spiritual values and commitments, but somehow it doesn’t seem to pay off; we’re left feeling as if having scruples, being ethical in our behavior, as if being kind to other human Beings is leaving us at some kind of disadvantage. That would be a misconception, but an understandable one, since we’re suffering from an overdose of the darker elements of existence. Is reality really as grim as it seems? Yes and no. There are lots of bad things out there, but there are an equal number of good things–and you just have to attune your vision to see both–that way you aren’t pulled down by the dark or blinded by the too bright light. Think of what you Love–that will chase the shadows away, as well as remind you of what’s important.

(Pluto stations retrograde, Saturn contra-parallel Pallas, Mercury conj and Venus contra-parallel Vesta)

Setting the table for your year ahead. Art by Peter Ilsted {{PD}}

For those with the Sun at 4 Taurus. Check your natal chart for the correct Sun degree (you may want to read both the degree number and the one that follows, if you have minutes on your Sun position–that offers a more complete picture of your year ahead). You’ll have to accommodate yourself to Love in all its various forms this year, dear Aries. Convenient or not, welcome or not, Love is coming your way, sometimes overtly, other times disguised as money, approval, acceptance, beauty, kindness, a miracle, devotion, or in the offering of relationship, even if that relationship is antagonistic or indifferent. What transpires might hurt a little, but it will be healthy for you to deal with these matters, as it seems you’ve been avoiding Love in all its permutations for some time now–and if you say, ‘Oh no I haven’t’, I would suggest that what you’ve been calling Love has actually been something else, and needs, this Solar year, to be thoroughly examined for the place it holds in your life. Good luck!