HOW CAN I REACH A WIDER AUDIENCE?

Q: Though I thoroughly enjoy my private astrology clients, I feel a pull to speak (and write) for a larger audience but every time I schedule a presentation or workshop, few - I mean only 2-4 people - show up. Am I just expecting too much and influenced by my ego? Or is this a soul drive that I simply need to keep plugging at to manifest? In other words, what is my potential for reaching a wider audience with my message?

A: Your Aries Sun sits right on your Midheaven, so you do have a need to shine in the public eye and be known for what you do, and your Sun is trined by Pluto which is an incredible grace card. Pluto bestows personal power and an ability to move forward easily in your evolutionary journey. However, an opposition from Chiron to your Sun suggests that you have some an early wound which instilled fears around your ability to achieve that success. This sensitivity, however, along with the conjunction of Chiron to expansive Jupiter, gives you the ability to understand how healing can take place for others, and in helping them you help yourself to achieve the confidence which your Midheaven Sun is born for.

But it's clear that you have some Mars issues - Saturn conjuncts Mars, making it difficult for you to assert yourself and feel that you can meet your needs, and both square the Sun. Saturn squared to the Sun shows an underlying shyness and insecurity, and Mars square the Aries Sun is a "double whammy" that creates a powerful assertive energy and drive that is easily frustrated. Saturn's presence conjunct Mars demands that you take things slow and will continually put the brakes on in order to encourage you to apply more discipline and work harder at that which you want.

With Mercury in the 9th house you are a born teacher, but Mercury is retrograde in your chart. This can make it more difficult to get your point across verbally and will require more preparation work and practice in order to get to a point where you are clearly understood by large groups of people. Mercury squares the Moon's Nodes, which suggests that difficulty speaking is a problem that you brought in with you from a previous lifetime. The square of transiting Pluto to your Mercury this year is bringing this issue to a head and offering a resolution.

If your strong drive to achieve and manifest your career path in the public arena becomes your primary motivator, Saturn will impose his famous restrictions that force you to go back to the drawing board. Anything that you can do to please Saturn in your chart which conjuncts Mars and squares your Sun will pay off in the long run. Trial runs of your workshops in front of friends who will offer an honest critique, thorough preparation and rehearsals, etc. It may be that you will have to keep changing the format of your presentations until you find the ones that resonate with your audience. Make sure you have something solid to present before you try to get out there to present it.