Horoscopes | Week of April 26-May 2, 2010

ARIES (March 21-April 19): You and I both know you've got plenty of your own legitimate matters-of-import to presently occupy your attention. And yet, Aries, under the wacky magnetism of this week's Full Moon in Scorpio, I wouldn't be surprised to hear you're getting inescapably sucked into the orbit of someone else's dealings or demands. Before you throw up distancing arms or other boundarying techniques ('because I just don't have time to worry about your shit, too, on top of all my shit!'), instead consider that navigating this centripetal circumstance is not an irrelevant aside… but in fact part of this month's task of tidying your economic picture. When strategically divvying up your resources to the appropriate endeavors, you mustn't forget to also include in your plan the non-monetary stuffs (namely, your willing investment of personal energy) at your disposal—and the inevitable need to attribute a fair portion of such to joint interpersonal purposes. Inattentiveness in this other case, whether inadvertent or purposeful, will come back to bite you.

 

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Please be gracious with those helpless souls who just don't seem to 'get' it. Grabbing the nearest book and smashing them over the head with it will not help the facts contained therein enter the impermeable surface of their thick skull. If possible, Taurus, remove any potentially irritating interactions from existing purely in the realm of informational exchange (or, as the case may be, 'attempted' or 'failed' exchange)… and extend yourself further toward emotional, or even physical, connection. Based on the relative contextual appropriateness of the given situation, you might consider offering a prolonged moment of compassionate eye-contact, a gently supportive rub on the arm or squeeze of the shoulder, a hug, a poignant meaningful pause, or some kind of invitation for them to share more about the underlying reason why the communication between you isn't happening. Chances are, it really is about more than the surface-level appearance may suggest… for them, if not also for you.

 

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Nobody expects you to have cleverly encapsulating answers to the complex circumstances you continue to find yourself in. And nobody needs a well-polished 'official statement' from your PR office, slotting all the unknowns into tidy (if not disingenuous) place, reassuring 'em you've got it under control (when you haven't). Nobody, perhaps, except you, Gemini… which is likely a huge source of the disquieting jitters keeping your insides from the rest they crave. Please release that pointless pressure you're putting on yourself to provide appropriate reactions, happy faces or demonstrative tears, words that ease other people's worries (but perhaps secretly generate more on your end). Venus is now in your sign, giving you a planetary reason to pull back on the efforts to present any particular image or front… and to simply coast for a little while. Laugh or cry when you feel like. Say as much or as little as you want. And when any of it starts to feel like more than you bargained for, turn the other Gemini cheek and flip the tone.

 

CANCER (June 21-July 22): I'll be telling you nothing new in the astro-universe when I report that Mercury's retrograde periods (like the one we're presently in) are infamous for fostering misunderstandings or miscommunications. And you, Cancer, should expect nothing less than a much-exacerbated potential to be misread by friends, colleagues or community members… anyone, really, whose imprecise assumptions of where you stand (e.g., politically, opinion-wise, on one certain side of the in-fighting) could consequently lead them to include or exclude you, according to incorrect or incomplete data. How discontent, then, will you be, if you allow this faulty perception to stand, without sincerely attempting to remedy the situation, and thus privately weigh on you (with self-doubts and/or growing resentments toward the misunderstander). Despite the social discomfort that's likely to result from directly confronting their error, and despite any sense you may have of 'squabbling over split hairs' or 'making much ado over nothing', you really must clarify your truth—for your social and emotional well-being. (Yes, even if it takes multiple stabs to get your point across.)

 

LEO (July 23-August 22): When the blind are leading the blind, it really doesn't much matter which partially-impaired individual stands at the head of the parade. Everybody in the pack is basically in the same boat: lacking certain pieces of information that, if procured, would make things a lot easier. And so, what would most assist both the entire group and each individual member—including you, Leo, who may still be somewhat blind to your own blindspot(s)—is to dispense altogether with concerns about who's in charge (justly or not), and whose ideas will win out (as well as who will receive the subsequent credit). At this juncture, no one really has a reliable handle on the whole enchilada; there are merely those who admit it upfront, and those who pretend otherwise, in order to save face. 'Saving face' efforts, alas, would be far better spent on humbler fact-finding missions… so that all parties will benefit, methodologically more than reputation-wise, from additional data.

 

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): '…but what I do know is me, and that I'm evidently quite dissimilar from who you are (or appear to be), and that there's only a problem if one of us refuses to gratefully accept our dissimilarities. Yes, I referenced "gratitude", because how else would I discover other manners of human being (which, over time, I might be willing to consider integrating into the "me" of my choosing), if not through bumping against interpersonal diversity (and resisting my initial judgments)? Earth sign that I am, I'm not likely to conjure alternative lifestyle possibilities out of thin air, nor dive into such risks without first glimpsing some lived example of how it might be done… examining it closely (with a scientist's open mind), kicking the tires, asking some genuine (read: non-leading, non-pointed) questions. That, my cherished partner or challenging friend, wackadoodle new acquaintance or formidable adversary, is one purpose you serve. I may know me, but I don't know you as well as I could—and I'm grateful for the chance to learn more.'

 

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): See that crack of light poking into the room from the small gap where the window's curtains don't quite meet? Let it in, Libra. This gradual lightening-up of your surroundings, courtesy of ruling-lass Venus making it to your 9th, is a reminder that there's always a next chapter… and no matter how bittersweet or conflicted (or perhaps permanently 'unresolved') the end to this last chapter is proving to be, the next one will bring something new to be excited about. So here you stand, straddling the line like a tourist at the Four Corners Monument posing for posterity's photo while in Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado simultaneously… one foot stubbornly gripping ground from the past, one foot eagerly ready to hike into the future. You don't have to forcibly remove that nostalgic foot from its rooted spot quite yet. However, the future is where… well, where your future's at. And whether you can see it from here or not, there's a lot to be excited about.

 

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): In honor of Wednesday (Apr 28) morning's Full Moon in your sign, Scorpio, I want to validate all those so-called 'unsavory' feelings—the pissed-off-ness (or is it full-on fury?), the envy (in its varying shades of bloodthirst), the sorrow (and its more theatrical twin-sister, despair), the sense of your own glaring lack of worth (which, on most better days, you don't even really believe is lacking)—that I'm sure have reared their ugly heads over recent weeks or months. You shouldn't ignore them or try to push them down, for they are a valuable part of who you are, contributing to that depth of experience you draw upon for your unparalleled knowledge of human psychology. But neither should you vent them in the wrong setting, with the wrong people who might be judgmental or frightened by the intensity of your full truth. This week, please participate in some interpersonal action or ritual that authentically expresses and releases your 'darker' side. Knowing which of your peeps will appreciate being included is part of Saturn-back-in-your-11th's test.

 

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): They will show up with their wet-eyed overwhelm and ask for a few moments of your time. They will slam revised assignments into your inbox and expect you to drop everything else. Or maybe their bait will be more subtle… like a provocative mention of some way-off-base opinion, intended to drag you into the conversation (because are you really supposed to sit by silently while they spout such garbage?), or a remark, directed into thin air, about how they wish they had somebody (with your exact traits or qualifications) to bounce ideas off of. Whatever the specifics, Sagittarius, you should plan on the world around you behaving like an unruly ocean, hoping you'll underestimate the undertow until it's too late and you've been sucked into riding the waves. We cannot control the ocean, now, can we? But we can dress accordingly… and bring along a stabilizing flotation device (serving, in this horoscope, as a metaphor for your own firm schedule and priority-list), so as to limit the disruption caused by wider tidal patterns.

 

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): There presently looms a danger from your saying things that oughtn't be uttered aloud, Capricorn, per the advice I proffered last week. It's not only that you might psychologically injure somebody with your spiked words: the rustier (meaning: the longer-withheld inside your damp interior), the more potentially hazardous. You also imperil your own moral assuredness… for, as I've said countless times (and will continue to say throughout Pluto's residence in your sign), you should responsibly hold yourself to standards of interpersonal protocol aligned with your vision for how the world must adapt during these transformational times, or else become part of the problem. This call for you to be your best self is wholly intertwined with our collective need to reform governing structures, financial institutions, and the way we, as the lucky recipients of our respective blessings, look into the eyes of those in need or in pain or simply lost. The personal's always political. Live by leading, so you'll be proud (rather than ashamed) of yourself in the morning.

 

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): Be hyper-conscious of any strangely emotional sentiments that bubble up from your subconscious and through your lips, Mercury-retrograde-like. These remarks, criticisms and/or confessions are not mere flukes or mutant slips-of-the-tongue… though they may be totally out-of-left-field when compared with your usual 'cool take' on matters. They are deeply, meaningfully related to your deepest fear(s)… which you may've sufficiently sublimated so this latest outward manifestation seems almost alien to what you thought you felt. But fears, Aquarius, do not equate to actual 'depressing realities'. Therefore, once you acknowledge what you're afraid of—and sort out the unexpectedly expressed shards of it, by seeing the instigating interaction all the way through—you mustn't let it overshadow the present successes you've already attained. Shit could hit the fan in the future, in a manner eerily similar to your worries. Or not. We don't know. We can't know. So please don't live in suspended animation, holding your breath until your last. Enjoy what's right here right now. For better and worse, it won't last forever. Nothing does.

 

PISCES (February 19-March 20): When I encourage you to be of service, support and assistance to those around you, Pisces, it's not like I'm encouraging strange unfamiliar behavior. You generally are a wonderful help to the folks in your life. But I observe a fundamental distinction between (1) the types of 'helpers' who throw themselves totally and completely into other people's problems, not only because they sincerely care but also to compensate for their inability or unwillingness to adequately address their own first, and (2) those who already feel so complete in who they are and lucky for what they have that, therefore, they realize they must 'give back' in order to share the proverbial wealth for the benefit of all. There are plenty of you Pisceans in both categories… yet it's that first group, obviously, who worries me. In the coming months and years, humanity will come to rely upon your trademark non-judgmental compassion; you will serve and support many. If you take this seriously, then please remember to secure your oxygen mask first—before assisting others.