Horoscopes | Week of May 31-June 6, 2010

ARIES (March 21-April 19): The opening-up to an updated and improved version of you ('freer and fiercer than ever!') continues this week, with Jupiter now joining Uranus in your sign. It would be impossible to overexaggerate the significance of this news: the emergence of a period, stretching roughly through next year at this time, which may ultimately prove to be one of the most fast-paced life-changing phases of your whole life. Yes, Aries, it really is that monumental. Along the way, of course, you're quite likely to inadvertently step on the toes of colleagues or acquaintances who don't share a similar enthusiasm about those same excitements you're all fired up about. Remain aware of the trade-off—you claim more of what you want in the world, certain relationships may suffer as a result of not receiving enough of your energy (since you diverted it elsewhere). Starting this week, and lasting through late July, put in the long sweaty hours of mundane labor required to make your dream a reality. Your unwavering efforts will reap massively productive rewards. (But, sadly or screw-'em, not everybody will be happy for you.)

 

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Before we go any further, let me acknowledge: I know last week's horoscope was a bit cryptic, especially for a 'give it to me straight' Taurus like yourself. But what could I do? The very information I'm trying to convey is the exact sort that defies intelligible language, since we are talking about a massive reconfiguration of your 'psychic life' (whatever that is). This is akin to revising the contract between you and the universe, and nobody else (other than those scant few who are allowed to know your most intimate nooks and crannies) can ever determine whether you've embraced this push to evolve or not. Your relative success in these efforts has everything to do with whether you're okay not fully understanding what's going on… whether you can willingly, consciously give up certain grounding parts of your identity and kiss the illusion of control goodbye… whether you'll soar, in strange new ways, during this era of increased instability, or if you'll waste your energy pining for 'simpler times' that no longer exist (if they ever did). Yes, this week's scope has more of the same obscure 'nonsense' as the last edition. I'm merely imitating the powerfully evocative 'nonsense' presently at planetary play in your solar 12th. Not much else I can do, if it doesn't yet make 'sense' (whatever that is), so you'd better accustom yourself to finding partial clues in the seductive cracks between these lines of the universe's poetry.

 

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): While the overarching news of your next many months involves expanding and evolving your role in friend circles, community groups and/or society at large, that doesn't exactly outweigh the shorter-term desires to hide in your house, or to follow some similarly privatizing drive away from the madding crowd. It's as if you need to rinse yourself free of the leftover detritus, still clinging to your energy-field from the dramatic (or was that 'traumatic'?) dips and turns of your last many months… not to mention how badly your entire residence also demands a good hose-down, so it is clean and pleasant enough to serve its duty as your recharging station. Think of your next several weeks, Gemini, as a bid to relieve yourself of unwanted home-life stress (whether by dealing with cluttered surroundings, broken-down functions or intrusive housemates). All the while, bear in mind that you're laying foundation work that'll support you, as your purpose among the people in your social network grows to include more engaged involvement than ever before. Going forward, you'll want a clear place to rest your head, believe me.

 

CANCER (June 21-July 22): To properly 'strike while the iron is hot'—presently a preferred mode of behavior, particularly as it relates to your professional aspirations—will undoubtedly warrant pushing the bounds of your safety zone. Far be it for me to urge you to purposely stray from what feels secure, Cancer, yet here I am anyway, reporting that the planets are now conjuring exciting career stuff for you… yours for the taking only if you can handle large leaps of 'we'll figure out the details when we get there'. And knowing you, you're far likelier to freak out about the unknowable unknowns if you're silently sitting on your anxieties. Sequestering yourself from the world is perhaps the worst thing you could do over these coming weeks. Seek camaraderie and companionship from the pals or casual acquaintances who you consider the bravest, most self-directed pioneers, innovators and entrepreneurs. They'll surely be happy to talk up the liberatory pleasures of making your own way in this world. Take their words to heart. If you're as much of a 'survivor' as I think you are, you possess every skill you'll need to wing it… to make the radical decision to chase that wild dream, with faith you can instinctively meet each challenge as it arrives (while accepting the fact you cannot sufficiently predict their specifics).

 

LEO (July 23-August 22): If we chalk up the last eight months or so (since, say, last October) as an exercise in cutting through all artifice to get to the root of what you really want, then the two months ahead should be seen as your moment to ground these desires into being. In other words, Leo, you must now persist in repeating and refining the steps necessary to solidify these fledgling desires into lasting reality, so they become a recurrent part of your daily existence (rather than mere whims you chase whenever you get stirred up, but quickly forget once something else crosses your sight-line). Think back to any moments over these months when your anger flared raw at individuals or situations that seemed to be obstructing your personal satisfaction—those agitating emotions were your signal to fight for independence from such limitations. Now, do everything possible to avoid the need to refight those fights later. Take the stabilizing steps to ensure you protect your interests. After everything you just learned, it would be a shame to start a whole new cycle of the same old mistakes.

 

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): Kiss that distracted, befuddled, lost and listless feeling goodbye! After a record-long eight months of spinning in stifling 12th-house circles, Mars is at last crawling himself out from behind the gauzy veil—and into plain view in your sign, Virgo. This places the planet of action, assertion, courage and (should you need it) confrontation at your disposal for the first time in quite a while… which is very good news, insofar as all those self-desired efforts and endeavors that have, likelier than not, been long stunted in their development are concerned. Movement is virtually assured! (Unless you're hell-bent on being totally passive, that is.) All bulls must be now be grabbed! And in circumstances where 'ties that bind' are trapping you out of the free will to move and grab and lunge ahead (though, of course, your lack of freedom is probably more illusion than reality), be prepared for those bonds to crack and crumble. Simply put, you ought not be held back any longer… or should I say, you ought not hold yourself back. One could even argue these previous many months of stymieing stall existed merely to build up your momentum through increased pressure, so you now can't help but spring forward.

 

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): You're far too measured for any trigger-happy false-starts, aren't you, Libra? Even though this planetarily-fueled vehicle is now kicking into its highest gear of hyped-up, on-the-spot change, you needn't insist on being among the first ones out of the gate. As of this week, you're in a bit of a holding pattern… an acclimating limbo, during which time you might want to clear the traces of any psychic dust still attached to you from this previous many months. While everyone around you may be frothing at the bit with zealous descriptions of their latest escapades and soon-to-unfold productions, you're quietly burning off whatever last remnants you haven't yet let go. (To most sets of eyes, this process within you is thankfully invisible.) Simultaneous to this final silent letting-go, please don't forget to astutely observe how this new chapter is already showing glimpses, in the lives of your friends and family members, of what we can all expect. Store this information in a handy location. You'll want to refer back once you start to assert your next steps in a more obvious fashion, come mid-July.

 

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): It's not exactly that the recent 'unrest' in your professional or public life (some might even call it a 'nightmare') is officially over, Scorpio. But your ruler Mars is finally moving out of your 10th and into your 11th, signifying a potential calm-down in your career zone… especially if you're willing to reinject purposeful energy into your broader network of friends and associates, many of whom will be more than happy to scratch your back if you scratch theirs. So if the proverbial man or woman at the top has been reticent to welcome you, open-arms-style, into the executive boardroom, it may well be because you and your like-minded peers are instead supposed to be building your own endeavor. 'From the ground up' seems like your most timely rallying-cry, rather than expecting a 'from the top down' handover of power. While I encourage you to think collaboratively about the work ahead, please don't overlook the necessity of having all questions related to hierarchy, responsibility and ownership directly addressed over the coming weeks. Refusing to do so will set up circumstances where you and/or one of your colleagues end up emulating the very model you've spent all year banging your head against.

 

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): 'When it rains, it pours' would be a good observation of the fairly abrupt shift in your life's rhythm—once thwarted in your pursuit of what really matters to you; now suddenly able to taste the arrival of dynamic action in that very area—though this metaphor would really work better if it accentuated the fire element rather than the water. The main point I want you to grasp, Sagittarius, is how it's time to get a little grabbier… mainly because, well, there's presently a lot to grab. And the bluntly direct approach is, at last, coming back into favor. Your personal life, as I've already alluded to, is apt to provide at least one (if not many) chances for you to embrace fortuitous spontaneity more than you have in a long while. Meanwhile, in your career (or outer-world) zone, you now possess a great chance to alleviate any blurred boundaries or unclear expectations, simply by demonstrating marked consistency and precision. You'll prove yourself more by doing than by talking yourself up. In other words, in both professional and leisure-time contexts, you should behave in whatever fashion is most personally meaningful to you, instead of folding your hands nicely and doing as you're told.

 

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): I'd love you to frame the upcoming week as your transition from (1) hanging onto the distressing emotional residue that's lately kept your inner workings in a bumpy state of partial disrepair to (2) asserting your most honorable 'last word' on the matter, with confident knowledge that all you can do is live your life by principle… and let others do what they're going to do. After many months of Mars poking into uncomfortable 8th-house territory, forcing you into close-up confrontation with how you behave when another person prevents you from getting what you want, he's finally skedaddling into your 9th—where you can get above and beyond those painful depths, to an appropriate distance for singly concentrating on being your best self. Use this week to deal with the remnants of your disappointment, anger or sadness at how somebody else has wronged you or let you down. Going forward from here, Capricorn, it's all about you counteracting their prior 'wrongs' by purposely practicing your own version of rightful action… to, in the end, increase the good in the world.

 

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): Let's kick things off with a reminder: It's now been three weeks since you were due to finish with 'licking your wounds' and other holding-on-to-it indulgences, so I want to confirm you're done with that. (You are done, right?) Life is too short to continue as if you still aren't resolved with a certain interpersonal turbulence… especially when it's abundantly clear where things stand, at least for the time being (which will probably be a while). Therefore, Aquarius, proceed as if this altered relationship landscape will be the lasting state of affairs—and finally begin to really adjust your life to this reality. Assume your new place vis-à-vis that individual with whom your stance has changed, instead of pretending it's possible to rewind the last several months of history. (It's not possible. End of story.) If it sounds like I'm being a bit brutal with the 'move on already!' routine, please understand I'm merely trying to encourage you not to waste your valuable psychic energy on circumstances that aren't, as of now, likely to surprise you by magically reverting to a primordial simplicity. That's not to say there aren't other surprises in store, if you're willing to look elsewhere…

 

PISCES (February 19-March 20): If you aren't prepared to fight for your individualistic right to organize your priorities according to what best serves you, Pisces, you can expect certain strong-willed partners or pals to steamroll over your schedule with their agendas. There is no harm in fighting, incidentally, as long as you conceive of the battle as one that's being fought on behalf of personal survival, rather than in opposition to any particular person. If you're not clear on this distinction—that it's less about quarrelling over personality differences, and more about simply holding your ground, for your own sake, on practical issues—the other involved party can too easily hijack the thematic core of any disagreements, perhaps even turning the tables on you (and leaving you feeling guilty for 'being so difficult'). Remind yourself: It's not about them. You are not issuing any overarching judgments on their preferred way of being, nor informing them how they must alter their character. You're merely exercising the muscle that protects your boundaries, so you don't surrender what's necessary for your sound sanity, in order to cater to someone else's tender ego.