The 2008 forecasts will be posted tonight at midnight. In the meantime, you can find them at the Toronto Star Website. Please click here.

Click on your sign above for your year Ahead forecast

You don’t need an astrologer to tell you the world is getting crazier by the minute. We find ourselves increasingly besieged by fanatical political and religious rhetoric from extremist viewpoints. The news is dominated by weak politicians hungry for votes, self-indulgent celebrities getting richer, unpredictable weather getting out of control, insane wars becoming more pernicious and disquieting ecological realities threatening the future of our children. All this and more is raising the stress gauge indicator to intolerable levels.

My goal is to make life easier for you by warning you about potential problems reflected by planetary movement, but perhaps, even more importantly, how to make the most of all the potentially good celestial trends and cycles. Awareness of celestial movements is a means of empowerment. Hope grounded in a firm foundation is our greatest asset as human beings armed with freedom of choice. You all know your sun-sign or as it’s also known, your star-sign. Some of you may even know your rising sign, moon sign and other details of your personal astrological makeup. Here, I will tell you about the major changes affecting you all.

But if you think, that the planets on their own can make you happy or even rich, you’re dead wrong. It’s up to us to make it all happen when good planetary indicators avail themselves to us. With the right mix of optimism, determination and consistency, we can achieve the right attitude that will attract success and fulfillment. And let’s now forget that little virtue called patience. Everything takes time. For example, seeds need time to grow, but properly nurtured, acorns will eventually grow into mighty oaks. So, let’s have a look at 2007 and see what exciting things are in store.

Saturn, the stern task master, has been in Leo since July 2005. On September 2nd, 2007, the planet of restriction and challenges, will leave Leo and not return for another 29 years. Saturn acts like a lead weight wherever it is found. Leo, ruled by the sun, represents our leaders, so Saturn’s presence here has created a vacuum right when we need positive leadership the most. It’s entry into Leo found Catholics mourning the death of the Pope John [Paul] II who passed away in April 2005. But on the other hand, it has brought a time of reckoning [for] to leaders that have misused their power. Millions celebrated the demise of the dictator Saddam Hussein and witnessed his trial and judgment. This period of time also tarnished whatever lustre was left on the image of Chile’s ex-dictator Augusto Pinochet. The final straw for whatever supporters he had left was the revelation that he had a money-laundering web set up in American bank accounts. It was a fortune apparently still tended by him despite his supposed mental incapacity. His death finally came in early December 2006. This period of time has also diminished the popularity of another leader, namely George W. Bush who finds himself caught between Iraq and a hard place. But even more alarming is the dark emergence of the leader [president] of Iran who denies that the Holocaust ever occurred. Here in Canada, the Liberal Party had their reputation besmirched by the sponsorship scandal. This resulted in a General Election defeat and the eventual pruning away of their dead wood. They now have a fresh new leader leading a whole new retinue of personalities. All the above has taken place under the aegis of Saturn in the leadership sign of Leo.

And now, what next? After Leo comes Virgo. For Virgos this is not bad, so [please] don’t panic. The next two and half years will be great and you’ll probably find that they prove to be some of the best years of your life. But for all of us as a whole, here’s what to expect. The weight of Saturn’s scrutiny will fall upon social duties, work, service, health, nutrition and animal welfare. The first wave of aging and retiring baby boomers will start straining the health and welfare system. Yes, there is a danger of a pandemic flu, but I expect that it will be Aids that grabs the headlines the most. At stake, however, will be not only our personal health, but the health of our planet. The ecological crisis of escalating greenhouse gases, [so far] disregarded by established and emerging economies, will reach a fever pitch. Right wing politicians and economists will no longer be able to deny that the Earth’s climate and ecological balance is damaged and getting worse. Aberrant weather patterns will [begin to] disrupt food supplies that we have [hitherto] so far been taken for granted.

Nutrition and food are both governed by Virgo, so with Saturn’s presence there until October 2009 we will endure increasing dangers connected to mass-produced industrialized food. Toxic outbreaks of E. coli and other food and water related poisoning will prompt people to move towards natural and less complicated food chains that don’t come from a great, distant, centralized point of supply. As 2007 unfolds, these issues will gradually come to the fore and escalate through to 2009. The movement to embrace the “simple life” will be rejuvenated. Adherents will dream of a bottle of milk, perhaps raw milk, that comes from cows in a field they can actually see.

Saturn symbolizes stringent scrutiny in the area where its influence falls. It’s a trouble-shooter. And where faults are found, solutions and remedies will be created. The next year and beyond will see our modern civilization being confronted by the demons it’s created. It’s a chance for us to do really do something constructive about it.

Another major astrological development comes with Jupiter’s recent move from Scorpio into Sagittarius where it will join Pluto for the whole of 2007. The largest planet in our solar system has returned, after a 12 year absence, to the sign of the centaur, its celestial home. Jupiter in Sagittarius will increase our optimism, altruistic causes will thrive, adventure will lure us out of our comfort zones, honesty will be honoured and justice will prevail. This is encouraging for us all. Great causes will be promoted and grand plans will be pursued. Beware though, that, unfortunately, some of those plans may come from fanatical minds. Since it rules religion, philosophy and faith and since it will travel alongside Pluto, the planet of obsession and compulsion, certain irrational viewpoints and belief systems that belong to extremists, bent on causing harm, will swell to dangerous proportions. Religious issues that have been festering under the surface will come out in the open. But do expect to see a huge and spontaneous outpouring of positive spirituality springing forth from freethinking people who want an alternative to the inflexible codified dogma of the [world’s dominant] current religions. Both Pluto and Jupiter will travel to and fro m over the galactic centre of our universe [all through 2007]. This is a momentous time of great intensity and change that has probably not been seen for 2 millennia. There is a hint of something about to be born. Perhaps, it’s a new global understanding of who we are, whence we came and where we are going. Perhaps, indeed, we are in the very early stages in the emergence of a new religious belief system. I predict that the exploration of Mars will produce some radical insights in this regard.

There is something extraordinary occurring with the Venus cycle. As it moves through the heavens in the circle of its apparent journey around the Earth from our geocentric viewpoint, it occasionally stops and reverses direction. These occur 5 times in an 8 year period, at the end of which, Venus arrives back on the original starting point. Those five equidistant points on that circle, when connected form a five-pointed star. Brace yourselves for a summer of love when Venus performs a once-in-eight-year backward motion from Virgo to Leo and back. “If music be the food of love, play on.” The music industry will thrive on love songs covering the whole gamut of emotions from forlorn unrequited love to joyous fulfilment. Especially affected will be all those born from the late 1930’s right through to the early 1970’s. Everyone, however, will be touched in some way by this emotional tsunami. I also expect to see Beatles music experience a huge revival this year.

Of course, for the Leaf nation in search of their Holy Grail, only one issue concerns them. When will the draught end? For those readers, who live outside this unique and rarefied world, we’re now talking hockey. Here, my powers of prediction suffer for the simple reason that it’s impossible for me to be emotionally detached and objective. I will say though, that I think the current coach, Paul Maurice, has the passion to make it happen. His Aquarian skills in articulating thoughts and feelings will motivate not only his team but all the raucous fans yearning for their utopian dream. The 7 game skid the team hit in November & December 06 showed up in his chart. But now as Jupiter moves deeper into Sagittarius in the coming months, it will form a lucky angle to this innovative Aquarian. The Leafs will make the playoffs and will shock us all with a good show. I won’t go any further than that. Please don’t shoot me, I’m only the astrologer.