Hot Under the Collar

Weeks like this are an Astrologer’s dream because every few hours we have a new astrological alignment occurring. The overall mood for the week is highly energetic. Some will certainly feel this as hot under the collar.

Rather than write as I normally do, I am going to try something a little different. This time I am going to write a horoscope minimizing references to the astrological causes and instead convey the energy through story, analogy, and in layman’s terms. My character will have a familiar name. [Remember, this applies to Leo, Leo Rising, and Progressed sun in Leo. Others might be able to relate as well.]

Today’s story starts with Leo, a man who’s feeling the heat. For a while, Leo has been frustrated at work. He has been desiring change, ached for it, and is now burning inside over it. It is like an itch that can’t be scratched. At first, he simply thought about it, but now it has become like an obsession.

None of this is lost on Leo’s friends. They have all noticed. Leo, normally consistently pleasant and outgoing, has been irritable lately. If you catch him at the wrong time, or prod him in the wrong way, he’ll roar. However, you will notice that even then he can’t seem to get it all out.

So everyone knows that Leo is unhappy with his job – that is – if Leo is in fact working. Those Leos that have jobs want and need a change. The others are climbing the walls waiting for work to show up. What all of our Leos have in common, is the inability to quench the thirst.

What our friend Leo and the rest of us might not be aware of, is the changes that are happening inside. You see, Leo is evolving from the inside out. He desires new work to express how different he feels. He doesn’t love the same things in the same way as he used to. Some of his core beliefs about life are changing. It’s as if he matured over night and is serious for the first time. He wants to get down to business. He wants to serve others in a new way. He wants to create new art. But damn this world for holding him back.

Back in early October, Leo had all sorts of ideas in his head. He recognized then that he was bored and ready for something new. He even made a plan! “First, I’m going to do this, and then I’m going to do that.” However, life didn’t keep up with him or support him. Right when he was most inspired (around Halloween), the carpet got pulled out from under him. Old issues popped up that needed to be dealt with. Things broke that needed fixing. Opportunities shifted, were delayed, or disappeared. All forward momentum stopped.

Unfortunately, the desire for change and solution just kept getting stronger. The less things moved on the outside, the more they burned on the inside. The emotion is now so strong it is difficult to think straight. This entire month of November has simply been a waste – or seemingly so.

There were moments of reprieve along the way. When a group of friends grabbed Leo and pulled him out of himself, he had a great time. When he could express socially some of the energy inside, the burning lessened. However, once he climbed back into bed after the party, the frustration, irritation, and pain returned.

Now pain means different things to different Leos. Remember, some Leos get hurt with a blow to their ego even more than a blow to their head. Other Leos have wounds and find themselves aching, re-injuring, or injuring in a slightly new way. My guess is that most Leos either don’t know they have a wound, or simply can’t place the source of the pain.

So today, Leo is nearly beside himself. If he were a younger man, he would use brute force to free himself of these limitations, but life is more complicated than it used to be. His responsibilities cannot be overlooked. His sore and tired body can’t either. There’s too much history under his belt now.

My advice to Leo is to find some form of expression to get him through the week. Create something. Draw; write; plan an event. If you can, get into the holiday spirit and decorate. This week is the peek of the energy; it will ebb after this. In fact, very soon you should find yourself better able to think things through. Resurrect that plan from 4-8 weeks ago. Yes, much has changed, so update it. Cross off the items that no longer apply and replace each with the first thing that comes to mind. You might find yourself doing this iteratively, but that’s okay. Allow the process to be fluid. If you start down one path and it doesn’t work out, you should find that shifting it on the fly is easier.

Take advantage of the next 26 days.