I’ve been a truth-seeker all of my life. My search for truth has taken me to the pulpit of Baptist churches, to the front of college classrooms as teacher and student, to the foothills of the Himalayas, to the shores of North Africa, to the stately parlors of Upper East side apartments, to cold, carpeted floors of Brooklyn mosques. My search has swung from feeling hopeless that I would ever find “truth” to feeling absolutely certain that I have. And then, of course, back to feeling like I have no clue. Through it all has been my own hate-cum-love relationship with the 6,000 year old study of the night sky AKA astrology.

When I was a teenager, preaching from the pulpit of Baptist churches, I used to preach against astrology. I mostly didn’t understand it, especially since I was born on the “cusp” and had no idea what sign I really was. So I fell back on evangelical views of astrology and just hated on it. Then, my search took me further— into the hallowed halls of academia where only race, gender and class seemed real. I could hardly believe that something as arbitrary as when you were born could have any meaning in one’s life. (Although the race, gender and class of one’s birth is just as arbitrary, but I digress.)  That is until I went to an astrologer.

[SCROLL DOWN TO READ YOUR 2012 FORECAST]

In my quest for truth and flight from organized religion, it seemed my skepticism had hardened me. You could say I was on speaking terms with the tarot and numerology, but only for fun. For whatever reason, though, astrology irked me and I had nothing but contempt for it. So I went to my first astrological reading certain that the astrologer would only have patently obvious things to say. Instead, he blew me away. In fact, he was so perceptive and “knew” such specific information about me that I suspected it was some kind of advanced psychological trick. He couldn’t have been looking at some squiggly lines called planets and signs in a circular wheel called a chart and read me so well.  It had to be nonsense. Had to be! So I spent 10 years learning and testing astrology—doing charts, reading books, thinking about it—all the while hoping that I would crack astrology’s cypher and reveal it to be the hustle I just knew it to be.

What you’re reading is the net result of my failure to crack that cypher. Well, at least, in the way that I thought I would.  Instead I’ve come to see astrology as the art of reflecting on what’s happening in the moment, using the planets and signs as guides for timing and understanding.  Basically, astrology tells you what time it is. This “Zodiac Lounge” is a reflection of my intention to share what I’ve learned.  It’s a space where you can ease into yourself, on a timetable that’s just for you.  It also captures my belief that we’re all chillin’ in this spinning lounge called Earth, surrounded by a Zodiac that tells a story of life—your life, my life, all of our lives.

I figured we’d start off the year with 2012 forecasts based on the four seasons. This year has a lot to drop on each sign—a lot of wisdom, growth, opportunities and challenges. It’s a very powerful time, and not just because of what people have been saying about the Mayan Calendar “ending” on December 21. During the course of this year, we’re gonna be talking about things way beyond that. Our next set of horoscopes will be weekly. Generally, think of these prolies as guides or even movie trailers for themes, issues and perhaps some events that may crop up in your life. But don’t get the trailer mixed up with the full movie.  You’re living the movie—astrology is a way to capture a sense of it while you’re in motion.

I was searching for the truth and through astrology I finally found it. A moment is the truth—and we were all were born at a particular moment, in a particular space.

READ YOUR 2012 FORECAST:

Aries [March 21- April 19]

Taurus  [April 20- May 20]

Gemini [May 21 – June 20]

Cancer [June 21- July 22]

Leo [July 23- Aug 22]

Virgo [Aug 23- Sept 22]

Libra Sept [23- Oct 22]

Scorpio [Oct 23 – Nov 21]

Sagittarius [Nov 22 – Dec 21]

Capricorn [Dec 22 – Jan 19]

Aquarius [Jan 20 – Feb 18]

Pisces [Feb 19 – March 20]

If you want a personal Zodiac Lounge reading, reach Samuel at return2thesource.com. Follow him on Twitter @sfreynolds where he flows daily about astrology, politics and life.