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SIGNS: WHAT ARE THEY ALL POINTING TO? by Brian Habit

Each zodiac sign is like a compass. Each sign points to its own particular version of "true North." It indicates a direction in which should aim to develop yourself, if you are going to follow a path of spiritual fulfilment and creativity, rather than a path that leaves you with a sense of anxiety or a sense that you're drifting.

For example, suppose you have Mercury in Aries in your birth chart. For all of us, Mercury symbolizes our mental and communicative function. He represents the way that we receive information through observation, listening, reading or learning; process such data; and transmit it through speaking, writing, teaching, or communication through non-verbal media (such as music, visual images, or movement). For you specifically, your Mercury points in an Arian direction. Mercury points toward courage. That's "truth North" for Aries.

If you're off course in developing your Mercury in Aries, then you're probably getting into pointless battles, either with the wrong people or about the wrong issues. Your legitimate, important "fish to fry" lie elsewhere. Or maybe you're avoiding an important internal conflict. Rather than confronting some inner demon (such as a bad habit, or a fear of public speaking), you're giving in to your fear. Go down such paths, and you can expect to have a relatively difficult, more painful life.

If you're on course in developing your Mercury in Aries, then you act boldly in spite of your fear. You meet a challenge head-on, whether it's changing that bad habit, climbing that mountain range in front of you, or piping up about your rights in relation to another person. By going down such roads, you can expect to have a more satisfying journey...and to get where you're going more efficiently.

How can you tell whether you are on course with other zodiac signs? Check the following list for "travel tips."

Bon voyage!

Aries: Pointing to Courage

When we're off course with Aries, we get into petty and pointless conflicts with others, or we know that we need to face a fear or take a stand to assert ourselves, but we don’t do it and we feel haunted by what we have left undone.

When we're on course with Aries, we face a fear or we face an external challenge by fighting for some important cause.

Taurus: Pointing to Serenity

When we "do" Taurus badly, stability and security mean everything to us. We act as if the only way to have security is by developing and maintaining a particular lifestyle or structure, objects that we can see and count and touch, and we stagnate. We never grow.

When we do Taurus well, we develop serenity through simplicity, and sometimes silence. We feed our senses with appealing touches or sights or sounds or tastes or smells. We act naturally, not according to rigid schedules. We eat when we're hungry and sleep when we're tired.

Gemini: Pointing to Openness

If you're off course with Gemini, you tell half-truths or snow people with verbiage, or you scatter your energies by trying to go off in all directions at once, becoming tense and “wired” or exhausted.

If you're on course with Gemini, you put an open call out to the universe for any and all perceptions, taking them in without worrying about whether they make sense or add up to anything in particular. You communicate your ideas, opinions, and information to others.

Cancer: Pointing to Caring

If you "do" Cancer badly, then you make yourself vulnerable in inhospitable environments, and you get hurt. Alternative, you make yourself invisible or invulnerable, by nurturing others but keeping your own wants and needs safely hidden from view. You always put safety ahead of growth, and you end up lonely, neglected, or bored.

If you do Cancer well, then you make yourself vulnerable in appropriate environments. You open yourself up to trusting others. You let others experience your imagination and feelings, and you allow yourself to be loved.

Leo: Pointing to Joy

When we're off course with Leo, we try to elicit love and appreciation from others by impressing them, rather than making ourselves vulnerable and asking for it directly. We might rub them the wrong way by seeming arrogant and condescending, like you’re trying to order others around. People may misconstrue our self-confidence and pride as a feeling of superiority, and then they may either ignore us or try to bring us down a peg or two.

When we're on course with Leo, we trust in the world by acting playfully and dramatically, expressing warmth and producing something that is beautiful, thought-provoking, original, or imaginative. We live in the moment and express our childlike delight in the world.

Virgo: Pointing to Perfection

If you do Virgo badly, you attack yourself/others for being imperfect. You push yourself unmercifully to compensate for some personal defect that you believe you have. You get into work or personal relationships in which you play the drudge or pawn, keeping yourself in check in a one-down position.

If you do Virgo well, you hone your skills and apply them in a way that is of value or use to others. You personify some principle or ideal that you value. Through doing both of these, you make yourself more perfect; you come closer to realizing your own ideal potential.

Libra: Pointing to Harmony

If you're off course with Libra, then you weigh alternatives indefinitely, in effect deciding not to decide anything, while your life goes ticking away. You sacrifice the possibility of true intimacy through conflict resolution, by compromising your integrity and substituting the appearance of peace. You become tense and you stay tense.

If you're on course with Libra, then you take action to maintain calm and tranquility before tension escalates out of control, and you draw human elements or design elements into pleasing, elegant, harmonious relationships.

Scorpio: Pointing to Depth

When we do Scorpio badly, either we fixate on our darkest feelings, lose all sense of perspective, and become bitter or depressed; or we try to keep them hidden out of sight and out of mind, we feel a vague anxiety of impending disaster, and we act compulsively without understanding why.

When we do Scorpio well, we have the courage to feel whatever we’re feeling, however scary it might seem at first. We don’t dwell on them. Instead, we let them affect our behavior for the good. We live with honesty and intensity, as if every day were our last.

Sagittarius: Pointing to Understanding

If we're off course with Sagittarius, we become overly optimistic, put out faith in someone or something that is unreliable, and take unreasonable risks.

If we're on course with Sagittarius, we make a leap of faith. We continually broaden our vision of the world through learning, or travelling, or rubbing elbows with people from different walks of life.

Capricorn: Pointing to Effectiveness

If you do Capricorn badly, you might suppress your emotional reactions to what’s happening in your life. You might act like an authority, controlling others’ lives to compensate for not feeling in control of your own life. You become a climber or a workaholic. You may get to the “top” outwardly, but on the inside you feel lonely there.

If you do Capricorn well, then you adhere steadfastly to your moral principles. You act with integrity, and you’re effective. You accomplish much of what you set out to do, even if it requires delayed gratification, persistence, and sacrifice. Even when you don’t achieve your ambition, you gain knowledge and wisdom.

Aquarius: Pointing to Individuality

If you're off course with Aquarius, you give others the behavior that they want, or you act eccentric in petty, harmless ways but you give in to societal pressure to conform in matters of fundamental importance. You feel alienated and like an imposter.

If you're on course with Aquarius, you define “success” and “normal” for yourself. You consider your perceptions valid even if they aren’t popular, and you act accordingly, accepting that sometimes you have to travel the road alone.

Pisces: Pointing to Self-Transcendence

When we do Pisces badly, we escape into abusing or overdoing some behavior, numbing our consciousness. We become fearful or confused. We drift, or take the easy way out, or feel dissociated or removed from our lives.

When we do Pisces well, we are aware that we exist above and apart from our consciousness. We change our reality by changing our consciousness of it. We express our awareness of higher levels of consciousness.