Horoscopes | Week of May 22-28, 2006

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Attention, all Aries searching for adventure and excitement—you're like a super-charged electromagnet, pulling mounds of meaningful and memorable experiences forcefully towards you. Wow, look at you, exploring the further reaches of the world and of consciousness. And gee, how exhilarating to feel complete freedom and unattachment from all the… Hey, wait a minute! What's that strange oogie feeling coiling up tight, reporting from the inside that something's not quite right. Maybe you'd better turn left instead? Or just head home altogether? Why? 'Where has my energy, so radiantly alive just moments ago, disappeared to?' you might find yourself asking. 'Why am I suddenly more concerned with making myself feel safely cocooned and wholly exempt from the onslaught of stirring stimulus?' The answer, my friends, lies with your ruler Mars—moodier than hell in Cancer, squaring off against Venus in your sign and forming a simmering inconjunct to Pluto. Even with the powerful allure of a fast-and-furious lifestyle, a part of your physical being refuses to gleefully come along for the ride. You can yank it along anyway, and bear the subtly unsettling sensation along with the adventure. Or you can give in the fluidly fickle feelings and time your exploits with the changing tides. Either way works, as long as you're acknowledging both contrasting vibes.

 

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Here's the inner split—which way will you go? (1) Walk completely away from the situation that's raising the uncomfortable rush, of stuff so deep you can't figure out which is yours and which belongs to somebody else… so at least you can follow your own path to understanding, without the extra psychic turmoil coercing your mindset. (2) Keep going over and over it in conversations, revealing bits of insight a bit at a time (whether to different folks or to the same confidante at different sittings)… yet arriving at different conclusions each time, based on the mood of the moment. Obviously, you have a better hope of attaining clarity by following approach (1). But too firm a resoluteness, achieved by enforcing rigid boundaries against others' energies, can quickly grow lonely… or reinforce the loneliness you're already feeling. Finding truth at the expense of companionship is not a good bargain. You can get the deep shit taken care of on your own, then be sure to use your social contacts to blow off steam. Engage in serious talk about their issues, and suddenly the nurturer in you takes over… putting the poor victim side back into hibernation, where it belongs.

 

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): This year's New Moon in your sign, occurring early Saturday morning, comes with the loving support of Saturn and Chiron… who are both eager to help you mold your many-splendored myriad of thought-provoking notions and commotions into a better-organized, more coherent structure of knowledge. 'What?!?!?' you exclaim. 'Are you telling me I have to pull it all together and strive for consistency at every turn?' Gosh, no, Gemini, I adore your sincere variability and all those intrinsic inner contradictions. The 'twin' thing is an asset, my dear, not a liability, and don't let anybody tell you differently. To make it work for you, you've got to be proud of it… and unashamed to admit that, yes, you're apt to behave completely differently from one day to another, depending on who's watching… and who doesn't do that?!?!? Your beauty as a social chameleon is a wonderful talent to possess—it invites you to connect with all types of people, without having to limit yourself to one distinct niche and then try to cram your multi-dimensionality into it. This week, though, stick to a rebellious individuality in what you put out there. Following the mindset of those around you too closely could knock you off of solid footing. And remember, we're trying to get your various sides to cohere a bit more solidly over the next month. The uniting force is you.

 

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Pose in stillness, a recognition of how far you've come in the past month, year and decade. Look in the mirror and smile, telling yourself how much you like what you see. Pat yourself on the back. Compose a semi-braggartly list of accomplishments the emcee might read aloud in introducing you to the audience, a gaggle of admirers gathered to watch you shine. Thank them for coming, and thank yourself for daring to dazzle in front of a crowd. Whatever you've got, it's a winning display. Gratitude goes far in protecting you from rising anxieties, which hint that something's askew in the public view, at work or elsewhere. All is as it should be, Cancer, especially with Venus and the lunar North Node in your 10th, looking out for your professional advancement. You're right in detecting an itchy undertone, however. Now that your animated self-focus exudes the radical notion you'll be looking out for your own interests, thank you very much, there's no backpedaling. Nor should there be. The itch is a growing pain from not knowing what the appropriate amount of self-interest is, to maintain healthy work relationships while still pushing ahead for numero uno. You'll be worse off in pretending you're not being as willful as, in fact, you are. Fess up, and be proud of yourself. This new situation just takes a little getting used to.

 

LEO (July 23-August 22): It's a week fit for social networking, which could include attending glamorous world premieres, down-home church picnics, sci-fi conventions or a meeting of the local quilting bee… any occasion where you'd be able to address multiple people and their multiple concerns in one location at one time. With a Mercury-Uranus square in effect, it's more than all right to add a controversial twist to the message you're delivering—it's more about the evolution of the group than any one individual's standards of etiquette, anyhow. Just like a Price is Right contestant must bid as close to the retail value of the prize package without going over in order to win the Showcase, your path to making impactful connections is to muster as much genuine enthusiasm as you can—without crossing the line of authentic selfhood and wandering into bullshit country, where the oiliness of your act could make their skin crawl. This might take some continual adjusting and readjusting, so you can really get yourself all the way out there… without rubbing folks wrong or stepping on their toes. But it's just the type of audience-response exercise that a centered Leo excels at. Are you that centered, Leo?

 

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): When it comes to important business meetings or pressing familial dilemmas, it's up to you, Virgo, to pitch the wild concept that just might propel all of you to the next phase of momentum, innovation and success. Of course, not everybody wants to take part in maneuvering a shaken-up vessel… and someone is liable to reserve his/her contrariness for aimingdirectly at you. Don't accept their resistance as anything other than a reaction to being ejected from an entrenched, self-protective situation. Understand the reaction, without taking it on personally. You are just the messenger of new ideas, not a power-hungry egotist vying for everyone's undying allegiance. Anyone who knows you well knows better than that… though in the heat of the moment, they could try to make you out in such overbearing terms. Your passion for a job well done is all you need to defend yourself—without really defending, that is. It'll only become 'about you' if you lapse into participating on this lower level: the distracting exchange of personal digs.

 

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): A cardinal Venus-Mars square highlights the classic clash—between (1) the shared bond of relationship accord and (2) the drive for individual career achievement. But where you fall in this schism could be more complex than first glance reveals. Since your ruler Venus is in the 7th house, we might jump to the predictable conclusion that you, a quintessentially relationship-centered Libran, are struggling to stand up for your independence… in hopes of attaining the full freedom to pursue your own self-centered dreams. And while that may be true on some level, you also have Mars in your 10th house, stirring up an instinctive forcefulness that impels you to stand out for the entire world to see… regardless of what any one certain person might prefer of you. If you're not taking this Mars-motivated chance to make a profound, memorable professional impression, then you'll likely experience this aspect as tension with a domineering boss or colleague—someone more willing to assert themselves than you. (It wouldn't make you so angry if you hadn't let them walk on you.) The most complicated scenario of all is that the relationship seeking balance with your career plans is actually a work-related relationship, and you must choose between your way and theirs. Before allowing any of these latent conflicts to surface, set a sharp vision for how you'd like the week to work out—for everybody's benefit—and keep all subsequent actions close to the vision.

 

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): 'My potential is way bigger than the four walls of this old place can contain.' I feel you, Scorpio, when your yearnings speak up in this way. Every bit of this statement is true, but that fact doesn't make today the ripest occasion for ditching all in-process projects and heading for the hills. If you made it through the recent week of hyperspastic wanderlust and didn't already turn in your badge and passcode to hop aboard a transatlantic steamer, then you can make it through this one too. As I already told you, unless you've already identified a strikingly obvious release route (and rehearsed a couple practice getaways), then you must start to plot your 'big step forward' before taking it at warp-speed. In the meantime, bills still need paying and work must get done, to prevent these loose ends from hanging over into your next incarnation. Your potency for breezing through practicalities this week will ensure you get a ton accomplished—if you can keep your eyes on the page and your lusty legs from twitching. Whenever you lose concentration, create some written or visual souvenir of the week, to remind yourself of this ardent wishing for something more. That way, next time you try to convince yourself you're fine with settling for mediocrity, you'll remember this week's darting ambition… and find inspiration for continuing to strive.

 

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): When Venus and Mars square in the sky, as they do this week, there's either a battle brewing (especially between the sexes, or among romantic partners) or a boiling batch of passion bubbling on the burner—and I don't have to tell you (do I?) that a very precarious line separates the two, if there's one at all. Judging from how the week's other aspects hit your solar chart, Sagittarius, I'm seeing you as the more 'powerful' party in the mix… or at least the one with the devilish charm to swivel this dynamic to your preferred outcome. Now, given this news, why wouldn't you go for the hot hot heat of a pleasure-filled friction, and not the mean-and-nasty clash of heartless egos? I mean, come on… Venus in your love house (the 5th) and Mars in your sex house (the 8th): What's not to like? The alternate reading, meanwhile, invokes unconsciously snappish communications, particularly low blows, and indulgent demonstrations of self-designated self-importance. Eeewww… who'd choose that? Perhaps the Sagittarian unable to own her/his power to make sweet love, rather than brutish war, no matter who else is involved.

 

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): The last few weeks of Venus-enhanced emotional self-interest, coupled with the Mars-motivated drive to assert your independent will in relationships, may have felt like they were leading up to this point—a veritable climax of sensation heralded by this week's Venus-Mars square. If you've been able to hold out-and-out conflict at bay until now (especially last week, when the desire crept out from its hiding place), this could be the moment your patience breaks. Without determining for you whether a standoff is preferable or preferably avoided, I can point out that the source of tension is how well you believe your feelings are being honored in the relationship. You shouldn't hold the other person responsible unless you've been rather clear and upfront about your emotional responses and requirements… and frankly, Capricorns are notorious for holding it in. If you haven't done your due diligence in sharing your emotions, do it now—before you're at explosion point. Then, once you've explained yourself (again or for the first time), ask if you've been heard and understood. If they still don't get it (or, worse, don't care to get it), you'll know you've done your best… and can feel perfectly justified in letting 'em have it.

 

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): A favorable air-sign New Moon this week sets off a month of renewed creativity in whatever you put your mind to… but especially favored are the bravest statements you can make in describing your exquisitely flawed nature, to show you aren't ashamed of what you've been through and to prove you think no more highly of yourself than anyone else. Brainy Aquarians sometimes come off as striving for superiority, considering the obscure facts you cite and the arcane and/or futuristic schema you comprehend, while the rest of us struggle to define the terms you're using. We just as easily forget you also bleed and shit and puke and act like a raging 3-year-old once your admirers are gone, so blinded are we by your show of reasonableness. Your greatest strides, particularly with Saturn staying its ground in your 7th, will come from dutiful efforts made to connect one-on-one—through heartfelt exposure of your inner workings, not impressive game-plans or revolutionary doctrines. We already know you're smart. We want more. We want to hear about those times your intellect fails to save you from the threats of fears and feelings unsettling and destabilizing you. And what are those fears and feelings, exactly?

 

PISCES (February 19-March 20): So much is going on, Pisces, that holds the potential to hijack your attention into external situations… pulling you away from the emotional truth inside, which lingers majestically as the motivating factor of your every interaction. Don't swallow the distractions. At any point where a confrontation, eruption or dicey development appears in the form of somebody else, hold yourself back from letting it become 'about them'—at least insofar as you're trying to make sense of what's going on. For you this week, the wisest outlook is a self-centered one, in which every disagreement and dissatisfaction stems from you not getting what you want. I'm forced to conclude that the amount of corresponding upset and anxiety present in your week, should there be any, is in inverse proportion to how honestly and proactively you own the urge to do things your way. The more others piss you off, the harder you're holding yourself back from an exhilaratingly independent existence. If you were truly free, you wouldn't give a rat's ass about what they're doing. So what are you going to care about? Their annoying whatevers, or your heart's desires?