Welcome to Llewellyn's Astro e-newsletter. Hey, what's your Sun sign? Even people who never read a horoscope will ask that question. Astrological forecasts like the horoscopes found in Llewellyn's Sun Sign Book and the weather and economic forecasts in the Moon Sign Book are fun to read and they can be amazingly accurate! Forecasting is not the same as predicting an outcome, though. When an astrologer makes a forecast, he or she is drawing from a vast collection of observations about human behavior and world events from ancient times to present day to identify a trend. To predict, on the other hand, is to say that something very specific will happen. The problem with "predicting," and the reason so many predictions fail, is that they don't take into account an individual's free will.

A natal chart or a chart for the start of an event, like a marriage or the birth of a country, is a map of the sky at the exact time of beginning or birth. An astrologer can gather clues from the chart that are, as I said earlier, amazingly accurate, but they are not scripts for living. You write your own story. As the author of your life, you can also rewrite when your life isn't what you would like it to be.

Poet and sage Maya Angelou said, "We spend precious hours fearing the inevitable." When things are not going as you would like, you might ask yourself the question: what in life is truly inevitable? I came up with a short list: death and change--two words that really mean the same thing. Ms. Angelou offers advice for those of us caught up in the "inevitable" mindset. "It would be wise," she says, "to use that time adoring our families, cherishing our friends, and living our lives."

Forecasts are fun. They allow us to peek into the future, but perhaps the true function of a forecast is to raise awareness and consciousness. The ability to make choices always follows awareness. Enjoy our forecasts, but find a pen and paper and write your own life script!