Take that first step, Aquarius. Cecilia Beaux, ‘Dorothea and Francesca’ 1898 {{PD}}

You’ll enjoy an unusual degree of internal emotional harmony, dear Aquarius, this coming year, through to your next birthday–but what actions to take and choices to make will also be on your mind, chiefly because, as anyone would, you are trying to determine just where yours might lead. As long as you stay headed toward your dreams, your goals firmly in mind, and as long as you trust yourself above anyone or anything else, you’ll do well–let either of these conditions slip, and the outcome is not so predictable. Take preliminary steps to bring ideals into real-life being and to made those dreams reality, but don’t expect things to materialize overnight–right now you’re at a point when the biggest obstacle you have may be believing that you can do it–that’s why taking a small step or two is so important, and so necessary. Happy Birthday, Aquarius, and good luck!

Everybody has trouble making choices, Aquarius. “Folio 161v – The Temptation of Christ” by Limbourg brothers. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Folio_161v_-_The_Temptation_of_Christ.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Folio_161v_-_The_Temptation_of_Christ.jpg

What’s the wisest course of action for you, the best choice, dear Aquarius? That may be the central question bedeviling you at this time–and the answer may determine both how ‘in charge’ you are of your own Fate and how effectively you are able to deal with matters that so far you have been ignoring or denying (and may be quite angry about). With a willingness to face what must be faced, a careful winnowing of what’s no longer useful will leave only those assets and relationships that are clearly either supportive of your needs or hurtful to them–and you know what to do from there. Aside from this, you need to base choices and actions on two criteria: does this expand my world? and does this serve my ambition fulfillment? If the answer to both is ‘Yes’, then nothing should hold you back. Happy Birthday, Aquarius, and good luck!

“Polaroid sx 70 – foto di Augusto De Luca (3)” by Augusto De Luca – http://www.flickr.com/photos/47210757@N08/7465372416/sizes/l/in/photostream/. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Polaroid_sx_70_-_foto_di_Augusto_De_Luca_(3).jpg#mediaviewer/File:Polaroid_sx_70_-_foto_di_Augusto_De_Luca_(3).jpg CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Are your words true, dear Aquarius? Have you allowed what you communicate to stray into false, manipulative, or misleading territory? It happens to all of us: we see that it’s easier to hide our intentions than have to explain them, and before we know it . . . That’s why this Solar year, through to your next birthday, it’s important for you to re-align what you share, think, say, mean with both your highest values and the real-world results you want. That’s the thing, really: once the message deviates too far from our purpose in communicating, it’s impossible for the reality picture to deliver what we actually want, and we end up with a mere shadow of what we’d hoped for, results-wise. So, make sure thoughts and actions directly support desires (and so clearly communicate what you actually want)–in fact, your empowerment and effectiveness this year depends on it. Also, banish the critical in favor of the cooperative, and recognize just how much others have determined your life Path vs. how much you yourself have done the deciding–that latter will make what you need to do that much clearer. Happy Birthday, Aquarius, and good luck!

Mt. Lavinia, Ceylon by Charles W. Bartlett, 1923-26 {{PD}}

It appears big things will be happening to you this year, dear Aquarius–or maybe you’re not entirely aware yet of just how much is changing, and will continue to change. Opportunities may seem to be everywhere–and they are. What you’ve desired, what you’ve been aiming for, is yours for the taking this year, in one form or another. The thing is, you won’t be able to accept all this bounty at once; receiving will involve being engaged, giving of your time and energy, and even you, Aquarius, must admit you can’t be everywhere at once. To be successful and make the most of this period, you’ll need to be very clear on your goals, and you’ll need to have priorities–which means you will, at some point, have to let go of one or two of those dreams. Whenever we humans get the wind in our sails, we unfortunately start to think life will always be that way: moving us forward almost effortlessly, supporting us, taking us where we want to go, with energy to spare. You enjoy that right now, nearly all the way through to your next Solar Return–just be aware, there will come a point when these opportunities fade–so go for it now! Happy Birthday, Aquarius, and good luck!

‘No Corrals’ might be a good motto for you this year, Aquarius. Charles M. Russell ‘Round-Up on the Musselshell, 1919″ {{PD}}

Big opportunities are offered this year, dear Aquarius, but will you take them? There is something contrary in the attitude you bring forward, through to your next birthday–you know better–in fact, you have wisdom and skills at your disposal–but there lingers some tinge of hurt, a fear of oblivion, a worry that expanding your world will feel too much like, dare I say, death. Your hesitation in the face of the unknown is understandable, but not at all realistic. This year it may be your job to start looking at exactly what is in front of you, rather than speculating on (and fearing) what isn’t. In the recent past the imaginative faculties have been corralled into feeding worries–it’s time to free them and put them back to work at what they’re good at, creating. I’m sure I don’t need to say much else–you know what to do. Happy Birthday, Aquarius, and good luck!

Don’t just brood in your current boat, Aquarius. “Kielland-Efter solnedgang” by Kitty Lange Kielland – Marit Lange: Harriet Backer, 1845-1932, Kitty L. Kielland, 1843-1914 : Stiftelsen Modums Blaafarveværk 28. mai-30. september 1983 ISBN 82-990568-5-3. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org

What hurts you is haunting your thoughts and dreams, isn’t it, dear Aquarius? What you need to do this coming Solar year, through to your next birthday, isn’t an escape, and it isn’t easy, but it will change everything, if you choose it: set aside the personal, no matter how compelling that appears to be in the moment, and focus instead on using your unique talents–in this case, they are related to your Chiron placement and contacts, as well as your 2nd and 11th. You may know instinctively what these are, or it may take some investigation, but either way, putting your attention and energy on these will open your life to benefits you really can’t anticipate, and will create a turn-of-events you may find life-changing. Happy Birthday, Aquarius, and good luck!

I recommend you check out your year ahead in 2015 by Astrologer Jo Tracey

Karl M. Bengtson ‘Millesgården på Lidingö’ 1908 {{PD}}

You may be caught this coming year, through to your next birthday, dear Aquarius, between what you know is wise and practical, and what has hurt you; both will, oddly enough, call you to destroy or transform the structures, supports, and rules-to-live-by of your world–and the trick will be in knowing the difference among what’s smart and should be preserved or instituted, what wounds need to be addressed or redressed, what needs to be regenerated in the life, and what removed. It won’t always be clear what you should do–in fact, expect that for much of the time, you will never quite be certain that what you’ve chosen is right–but two things will help: stay solidly connected to the reality situation, and any facts you know about it, and 2) always measure something against whether it will really be good for you as an individual. Sticking with those standards will make sure you stay on a productive and pleasing course. Happy Birthday, Aquarius, and good luck!

It may seem like the choice is to be wild and free, or to be practical, but there’s something else you must choose first, Aquarius. Linen tapestry showing two scenes from Der Busant, a Medieval poem c1485 {{PD}}

Your upcoming year, dear Aquarius, is all about being who you are–sounds easy, right?–except you’re caught in this maddening stand-off between doing what’s smart and practical, and doing what’s wild and once-in-a-lifetime–and though it seems as if this is the immediate thing to deal with, what you need most is really to decide who holds the power in your world, whether you will allow yourself to experience hurt (and remember, a strong person can let the hurt happen and not fall under it–in fact, it becomes the material of healing), and what things these events will prompt you to do. Once you have sorted out the power situation, once you have seen that being hurt doesn’t destroy you, and once you have chosen a direction and taken the first step, then you can worry about whether you should be practical or wild, avant garde or the smartest in the room. But first, sort out the power. Happy Birthday, Aquarius, and good luck!

Your choices won’t be THAT drastic, Aquarius. Cover of a religious tract from 1896. This image is available from the United States Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID cph.3g06056 and is in the public domain

Recently you’ve been considering just what Path to take, and you’ve done a good job of it, my dear Aquarius–now only two things remain: the unrealized dream into which you’ve poured a lot of Love but which you haven’t made a move on yet, and the need to heal some very old wounds. Oddly enough, both are to be addressed by taking action, specifically that which puts the imagination in gear, calls on the spirit, and takes ambitions and the social role (both the one you have, and the one you want) and uses them to shape the Fate. It’s that simple–but of course, that’s not simple at all. So, the best thing you can do this coming year, through to your next birthday, is to do ‘it’, to make a move–and the worst thing you can do is allow yourself to be paralyzed by fear. What will it be? Happy Birthday, Aquarius, and good luck!

Granville Redmond – Road through a field of wildflowers 1912 {{PD}}

You really seem sure about your life direction right now, dear Aquarius, and I don’t want to discourage you. You’re smart, and wise, and in the groove to take a practical approach, so maybe I shouldn’t say anything–but then again, if it were me, I’d want to know about any bumps ahead, so–in about 6 months or so emotional adjustments will be on the horizon; don’t worry, just be willing to care as much about the other person as you do about yourself. Know that every action you take this coming Solar year, through to your next birthday, will either cause hurt or healing–there’ll be no in-betweens. Get ready to enter one of the most rewarding and creative periods of your life just down the road a bit–but the price of entrance will be facing those things you’ve ignored or denied. And for you, this year, empowerment comes from what you don’t communicate. Happy Birthday, Aquarius, and good luck!