Astrologer Marguerite Manning sees Neptune as the soul's reminder of yesterday, including past lives, and what we chose to overcome in this life.

In a recent conversation, she said of the meaning of life, "I think it's about living an honorable human life, and that's one that the body has worked for, but the soul can be proud of...And I think down here on planet earth that's a little difficult because we're spiritual beings having a mental experience in a physical world. And that's why we need Mars to push that Sun to stardom and Neptune out there reminding us of the initial game plan."

With Neptune, Marguerite points out the infinite ways your karma can come back to you. In the first article from our talk, here are her insights on Neptune Pisces Transiting the Houses.

Marguerite Manning is the author of the popular book, Cosmic Karma, Understanding Your Contract With The Universe. Her forthcoming book, Sign Language, Decoding Your Contract with the Universe, will be available on Kindle in mid-March, 2012. Marguerite also offers Karmic Counseling Sessions, through her website.

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I remember Whitney Houston from before she was famous. I was a tween and she was just a few years older, and the first model of color in Seventeen magazine. Radiant, pure joy, bright eyed, stunningly beautiful -- these naturally go with the fiery combo of Sun Leo and Moon Aries, with planets Venus and Jupiter in aspects that further magnetize her special something and artistic gifts.

And yet, her seeming spiral down, the loss of the spark in her eyes, and early death speak of soul-level undercurrents that took hold at some point. What stands out in her birth chart, is a gripping Scorpio Neptune in (Scorpio's) 8th House. This is the house of meeting the soul through merged relationships, trauma, life and death situations. And there are significant Neptune squares in Whitney's natal chart, making it a defining force for growth and soul-challenges. I've spent time talking about Neptune's pull and karmic demands with Marguerite Manning, author of Cosmic Karma and yesterday, for her take on Whitney's Neptune.

From Marguerite Manning:

"...perhaps it's my habit of always looking backwards in the chart but what stands out to me about her 8th house Neptune in Scorpio (ruler of her Asc) is that it's Squaring Saturn IN the 12th. That tells me that the emotionally unavailable or lost father of her past IS that 8th house issue she failed to deal with again in this life......yesterday's father hunger manifesting in an "all or nothing" approach to deep sharing, intimacy and control. (It was always her and Bobby against the world, with HER defending him to the nth degree....)

It just shows you, no matter how brilliant or talented we women are, the relationship that shapes us the most will always be the one we had (or didn't have) with the first man in our lives. Dad. I don't know what her history was with her father in this life, or if she even had one, but she came back this time around to forgive him...and prove she didn't need that to feel emotionally whole. Guess it was too difficult a mission this time around."

Her very human struggles make the achievements of this brilliant talent and soul, as Marguerite calls her, all the more poignant. Some of her songs reached me in my dark teen years, when nothing else could, and that's a gift I'll always be grateful for.

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After seeing the Downton Abbey Valetine's Day Cards by artist Chad Thomas, I've got an idea. It's a heartsick Lady Mary waiting at the train station for Cousin Matthew, holding this vintage card, with the inscription, "I Accept You."

I've just started watching Season Two by way of Netflix, so I'm a few plot turns behind some of you. But thought I'd look at the actor Sun signs of major pairings. It makes me curious if there was some astro-casting for chemistry, when the ensemble was created. I'm on a Downton bender at the moment, and love everything about the show, but especially the courtship rituals of another time.

• Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) and her Ladyship (Elizabeth McGovern): Scorpio and Cancer No wonder he can't stay in his own room, and their four-poster bed is a pile of cozy....;
• Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) and Cousin Matthew (Dan Stevens): Sagittarius and Scorpio Once shunned, however subtly, the Scorpio finds it hard to trust again.
• Mr. Bates (Brendan Coyle) and Anna (Joanne Froggatt): Sagittarius-Leo
• Mrs. O'Brien (Siobhan Finneran) and Thomas (scheming duo): Capricorn and Libra
• Lady Sybil (Jessica Brown-Findlay) and Tom Branson (Allen Leech): Virgo and Taurus

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I love holidays and for me, Valentine's Day is a purely fun celebration of love. It's a day to remember that spark and love for life that we share with friends, family, and our beloved.

Renown author Suzanne White has ideas, for showing love and appreciation to each Zodiac sign (Western and Chinese). Her humor is at times droll with the hint of the edgy bite of a Scorpio, and belies her international lifestyle.

I say that because instead of a leisurely lunch at a Michelin four star restaurant in France, I often get hand-picked wildflowers from my Hungarian (Virgo Monkey) honey on V-Day. I'm torn between wanting him to go all out, and not wanting him to spend money on something super cheap. Suzanne is right on that my Monkey man is a lover of oddball gadgetry, especially if it makes daily life flow better (the Virgo in him). But we usually come up with something together, to make it a stand-out day. We love to eat, so it's usually some kind of food alchemy beyond our usual menu.

Many of Suzanne's tips are not things to buy, but actions and attitudes, to make the day special. She writes, "It's about thanking each other for the sheer pleasure of the many moments of true intimacy (sexual or on a holiday or at the movies) that we have had the luxury of sharing."

Exclusive Articles by Suzanne White:

• Valentine's Day - Thanksgiving Day for Lovers with Gratitude gift ideas for Every Zodiac sign.
• Valentine's Day Gratitude Gift Ideas for every Chinese Zodiac Sign!

See also Gift ideas by Venus Sign

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