SUGAR ASTROLOGY

Horoscopes to a Young Poet:
Advice Through the Signs

by Shari Zollinger
Illustrations by Holli Zollinger

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ARIES

March 20 to April 19

Your brilliance comes from your individuality, Aries.
With razor sharp instincts, editing may be arduous as
you are an ace at getting the word right the first time
around. Embrace your impulsivity. It offers you the
much-needed surprise you crave. Conversely, level the
playing field with a chance at patience to let the locution languor.

TAURUS

April 19 to May 20
 

Sumptuous soul of love, it takes a lifetime for you, dear
Taurus, to master the word “love.” You despise cliché yet you crave terms of endearment. How to get the saccharine to work for you, that’s the question—is there a way for you to integrate the heart into your verses without sounding hackneyed?

GEMINI

May 20 to June 20/21
 

Fits and starts, fits and starts make a bubbly kettle of glorious imagination. The words in your knapsack, dearest Gemini, are not merely distractions. They are the essence of your distractible mind! Pay attention to the renegade locution that comes unawares. It IS the stuff of your wildest verses.

CANCER

June 20/21 to July 22
 

Once you connect your gut with your sonnets, dear Cancer, magic arrives. You thought all the important pieces came through the mind. Well, you were wrong. You are the master of spinning emotion through verse, if only you’d trust your intuition. A dip down into the well of feeling will be highly beneficial for you.

LEO

July 22 to August 22
 

Frankly Leo, the light you emanate has the potential to highlight your free-flung balladry. Watch out for the proverbial choir—they are not your audience. Dare to let your sparkly goodness out to a crowd that earns your respect. It is far too easy to slip into the narcissistic pond. Give your shiny self the respect you deserve. 


VIRGO

August 22 to September 22
 

Your critical eye is sharp, fierce, and cuts like a knife. Have you wounded a stanza or two along your poetic path? These are the literary casualties of Virgo. Please reconcile your perfectionist stance with a moment or two of playfulness to let this sprite dance across the page unfettered.


LIBRA

September 22 to October 22/23
 

Dear Libra, it is generally hard for you to consider the ugly. You often wax refined and with an eye to beauty. You spin metaphors like works of art in an ekphrastic mash up. Well, let’s just say that for you to get jiggy with the unpleasant side of life might be the break you need. Take a stroll down that proverbial alley.

SCORPIO

October 22/23 to November 21
 

Deep, complex meanings always emerge from your pen, dear Scorpio. How could it be otherwise? You’ve always courted your own shadow and we might say the deeper you tap, the more fodder to tattoo a poem to your page. Think in indelible inks. Think about the darkness that wants out.

SAGITTARIUS

November 21 to December 21
 

To achieve the world’s best roving desk is your homework in this life, Sag. You want to move workspaces from time to time, as you have the uncanny ability to write from home, on the plane, on the beach, or in a coffee shop. Lifting off is literally the driving force of your work. Perspective and freedom are your inspiration, and movement your medicine. 

CAPRICORN

December 21 to January 19
 

Status and success always lurk under the surface for you, Capricorn, as you compare your lyrics to those around you. It is clear you are the master of form. You spin circles around the unprofessional. Laying ink tracks that roll into some sort of legacy is your juice, a long-term goal. Short term? Lighten up! Let yourself play!
 

AQUARIUS

January 19 to February 18
 

You have created so many new words, Aquarius, you could possibly go down in the Guinness Book of World Records. To be confined to one lexicon is not easy for you. I give you the permission from this time forward to let those alien words fly. They might resemble nonsense at first but stay with it. Break out of the norm.

PISCES

February 18 to March 20
 

Oh, lovely Pisces, ruler of metaphor itself, there was never a time you couldn’t be a poet well-matched to the landscape of metaphor. Speaking in banal terms is not easy. To feel happy you are required to dip into a daily practice where you get to write the circular patterns of your verse. Thank the poetic gods for your gift.