Horoscopes | Week of May 8-14, 2006

ARIES (March 21-April 19): The commanding momentum from last week continues to blow a supportive tailwind toward whatever you're doing, making it easier than ever to sustain motion along your favored trajectory. You will, however, find yourself paused in your tracks, if you allow the news—what's on TV or in the papers, or what the loudmouths in your social network are reporting—to generate a vague (and unnecessary) anxiety, based on facts that don't directly affect you. Be clear on what you feel and believe and possess in your bag-o'-tricks, so you retain faith in your own ability to 'be okay, no matter what'… and so the irrelevant psychic detritus doesn't suck you into its garbagey concerns. Find ways to remain present for the real and/or trumped-up upsets and frenzies of your intimate companions, without letting them convolute your understanding. Trust your instinct for differentiating between intuition and paranoia. Fight the perception of an undertow, and you'll see there really isn't one pulling on you after all.

 

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): This week's full moon in Scorpio exacerbates the differences in thinking between you and a significant other… but not necessarily how you might think. While out-and-out disagreements could result from the opposing astrological forces at play, it's just as likely that everything will play out with smooth sailing for all parties—though that would be the worse possibility. Why? Because there are legitimate differences between the two of you. Perhaps they're not toxic or destructive ones, yet they're enough to warrant an open discussion. The problem is, you're vulnerable to either (1) making such a convincing, unwavering, watertight case that you essentially compel the other person to go along with you, or (2) wanting so badly to please that you give in completely to their version, only to make 'em happy. Both options are recipes for future resentment, since a true compromise means that neither side throws in the entire towel… just small scraps of terrycloth, torn off in offering, as negotiations are pounded out. Don't avoid the confrontation—but be productive and kind about it.

 

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): This is your exquisitely embossed invitation to believe in the impossible… as long as you can simultaneously complete a couple real-life tasks that support the execution of it actually becoming possible. The balancing act to practice is between (1) an observably material 'real-world' mentality and (2) the magical realm of synchronistic signs and symbols, which indicate the presence of something else that cannot be analyzed away. I'm pushing you to believe (just as I did last week) in order to counteract the heightened potential of misplacing your vision, jumbled in the madness of too many little symptoms of inefficiency or improper health, which spur you to do more—but conjure less. To conjure is to produce the creative image first, then to make it happen… as opposed to the dull doings of observing what's already there, then trying to respond and react, to ward off the future we fear. Start with the vision, and return to it whenever frenetic activity sweeps you into its dustcloud. The vision is your best and only hope for realizing the impossible.

 

CANCER (June 21-July 22): I won't excuse you to walk away from last week's wondrous window of opportunity, Cancer. Its synergistic energies are still swirling around you wildly, especially given the full moon in your 5th house of joyful self-expression. You're ungratefully tossing this planetary gift into the trash, as a rich pig would with a perfectly good uneaten dinner some hungry fellow would love, if you've done nothing or are keeping modestly to yourself. Screw modesty, decorum or any other invented explanation for holding back—playing it safe is for all those poor fools who don't have fantastic astro-configurations holding them up like top-quality gemstones to the bright light. Now that Mercury in your 11th is playing along with the venerated triumvirate of Mars, Jupiter and Uranus, your job is to talk up a storm about whatever hopeful notions are moving through you. Tell them all about it. It doesn't matter whether they seem to be listening at the time (or even taking you seriously). Your words may sink in later, and perhaps they'll change their temporarily closed minds. But that's not for you to worry about. Press the mute button on your sensitivities to their unspoken discomfort, criticism or ignorance. Instead, assume the best. Why wouldn't they want to buy into your soothing, caring intent?

 

LEO (July 23-August 22): Whoever says to keep emotions out of the public workzone would undoubtedly miss the boat, if he were a Leo this week. Because, my dear lions and lionesses, it's all about harnessing the direct honesty of what you feel… and not spewing forth the theatrical put-on of what you think they want to hear. You cannot evade the practical matters of your professional life, just because commitments may crop up at a time when your heart would be more at home somewhere else. But there's also no need to try and fake it, either. Find the method for crafting an authentic admission of your living, breathing, laughing-and-crying humanness—without seeming too needy or hysterical—and still getting the job done. By bothering to attend to authenticity, you're showing genuine care for those you might otherwise be pussyfooting around to impress. You're treating them as real people, not mere figureheads. By releasing your act of imperviousness to the quivers and quakes of the human condition, you also release any attempt to control their perceptions of you. And trust me, no one likes to have his perceptions deliberately yanked on by a transparent control-monger.

 

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): Next time you're about to interrupt somebody's statement with a 'that's beside the point' correction (or to quietly shut off your listening without letting them know), you'd better be sure you know what the point is. Are they the ones who've veered into inconsequential territory, or are you glancing at the wrong section of map? Neptune's vague-ifying impact on the week's full moon makes it unusually difficult to determine 'pragmatic' from 'petty'… especially if you try to differentiate based on the sound of conviction or the volume of speech. You may have a better glimpse of the whole situation than certain other (loud-speaking) parties, or you could be suffering from a case of misguided self-importance. And I can't tell you which. The peers to whom you'd bring this question will decide for themselves. But to make it easier on yourself, be clear about what you think is most important, as briefly and directly as possible, without arguing or urging. They'll affirm you or set you straight appropriately… and you'll discover how willing (or not) you are to trust others' opinions on your opinions.

 

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): If you hope to profit from your committed affiliations—and why bother to commit, if you're not going to profit?—then initiate discussion into some of the touchier issues floating between you. Pay particular attention, for instance, to who'll be taking clear responsibility for and/or ownership over the specific pieces of the puzzle. The more taboo the topic (e.g., exactly how much you expect to earn, and how you intend to divide the pie equitably), the more likely it needs to be explicitly talked through. Rather than just feeling yourselves into a mutually respectful exchange (a noble aim indeed, if not a bit unworldly), make doubly sure the agreements are clear. You might also bring up the question of whose name will appear first on the marquee, as well as tossing around some of the more outlandish fantasies each of you entertain about what this profitable partnership might bring you. Your underlying yearnings and motivations might surprise each other… and will definitely paint a fuller picture of the nature of your collaboration. It's to everybody's benefit that you know as much as you can about what you're getting yourselves into.

 

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): A full moon in your sign—with a Neptune square from your privately sentimental 4th thrown in—brings a heavy-and-hazy, woolly-and-wet mass of undifferentiated emotion for you to swim through or swallow… without much chance of successfully sorting through it. Sometimes it's a hopeless case, trying to untie a knot with 21 different strings winding into and around and under each other, when it's more convenient to just cut it out. But there's no utility in choosing to cut it right out right now, since feelings happen for genuinely instructive reasons. Snipping and walking away leaves us ignorant as ever. Yet, tracing the source of a depressive dip, an angry afternoon or an incomprehensible yearning for a particular person or place will waste your time. Experiencing it is helpful; pinning it under the proper heading, not so much. Mercury helps out by greasing the ease of one-on-one communication, so I strongly encourage you to include your significant other or best friend in the moment. Use your most vivid language to describe the heights and depths, the memories and movie-clips playing in your head. Don't bother with the search for a comprehensive meaning, though—there isn't one.

 

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): You are not in as full control over the entire range of to-do tasks as you believe you are. And what's wrong with that, Sagittarius? Not a damn thing. Unless, that is, you insist you are… and keep attempting to catch every loose thread and grain of sand slipping through your fingers with the other hand. You're certainly busying your hands—though not accomplishing much else. The rabid motions to 'take care of everything' could actually drain the bulk of your productive energy, leaving you scant a drop for taking care of anything. Where does that leave you? In the meantime, remember you can only do one thing at a time—if you want to do it really well, anyway—and for the duration of that single action, that's all that need matter. Instead of mustering a stagy to-do about the millions of things you've got to get done, just do something. Anything. One simple, focused thing. And no posing questions about what else still needs doing—not until you first complete the one matter at hand, at least. Then, pick another one. One.

 

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): Last week's advice is still massively applicable as the full moon highlights your 5th/11th axis, advocating for your need to speak out publicly on behalf of whatever legitimately represents the true you, freely and without restraint. The propensity to carefully regulate your self-image (according to whose standards?) actually works against you in the long run… creating too many hoops you'll never be able to jump through with the effortless aplomb you'd want them to see. Venus is still in your 4th, indicating a private firestorm of emotions you needn't feel responsible for form-fitting to anyone else's notions of acceptable. There's really no reason to keep quiet about what you want. Though you may prefer to preserve the specific details of your anger, upset or jubilation for your solitary exploration, you simply must let on that something is stirring feelings in you. After all, your emotional state (whether disclosed or not) is entirely pertinent to the version of truth you're putting forth. Otherwise, if you keep quietly controlled, they might mistake you for a malfunctioning robot—rather than the fully functional human you are.

 

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): Despite what the most conventional business advisors might recommend, I advocate holding a very loose and unstructured boundary between your personal and professional selves… at least for this week, and when it comes to speaking from your heart. Some folks might persuade you to keep your private desires for self-satisfaction under wraps, out of fear you'd come off smelling desperate. But you are more passion-filled than the brilliant talking-head persona you might exude, were you to refuse to disclose more about what moves you. And with Mercury in your 4th connecting flowingly with the good-career-luck grand trine from last week, the best follow-up to what's been instigated is to talk freely and feelingly about what it all means to you. Take the time to put it into easily relatable terms… not only your intellectual inspirations and your deep need to achieve, but the emotional reasons why you care so much. If family members were involved in planting the seed, then include them in your story. I swear it won't make you seem too sappy (that's not too likely for an Aquarian)—on the contrary, it'll help you connect to others as people, not just like-minded associates.

 

PISCES (February 19-March 20): If you're serious about shaking up your life, then you should be thrilled about chatting up every pal and passing stranger on the leap you've taken (or the leap-forthcoming scheme you're midway through devising). And if you're not talking about it, then maybe you're afraid to take yourself seriously… and you're leaving yourself an out from actually following through, since you haven't really told anybody and therefore will have no face to save. That's why, like it or not, you've got to share your thinking, aloud and to multiple folks of all persuasions and relations. As you speak it, you'll become more excited… and yes, perhaps more terrified as well, which is why strangers and casual acquaintances can come in so handy. (And incidentally, a little terror means you're on the right track.) Through these discussions, you may be startled to discover (1) how many other folks have faced similarly momentous crossroads in their lives and bear instructive tales to tell, and (2) how vehemently they support your efforts to reinvent yourself. In the end, you just might find out that, contrary to what those internal voices tell you, you are the main one whose feral judgment holds you back… which is probably why you haven't talked up your dreams. Until now.