Horoscopes | Week of August 29-September 4, 2016

ARIES (March 21-April 19): This week's year-flipping eclipse pivot offers you an excellent shot at formally extending your latest surge in responsible productivity and/or the healthful bodily practices which support it, Aries, into full-on habits, routines, and rituals you continue with into the indefinite future. While most of us like to gripe about working hard or maintaining regular disciplines, we often neglect to vocally point out how damn good it feels to assign our physical selves to errands, efforts, and exercises which accomplish something tangible. You Aries types usually have no problem with directing your physical initiative when the impulse strikes; it's the steady repetitiveness that typically challenges you (because why keep doing the same thing once the impulse has moved elsewhere?). Yet, certain results can only be achieved over time, with gradual progress, one brick lain atop the next until a great wall arises. Here's your chance to build upon the rhythms which have developed in the recent weeks (or months)… to commit to harnessing this enhanced capacity for task-management and regimen-fidelity toward another goal that'll require habitual, routinized, or ritualized attention. Besides, did I mention such a functional day-to-day orientation is perhaps the best preventive care for your mental health?

 

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): It's all about moving forward with your self-expressive fancies, actualizing a carved-out spot in your life-routine for that activity which delivers you unmitigated pleasure, and/or actively embracing more of what (and who) you adore, Taurus. If these past many months have taught you anything, I hope it's been a straightforward lesson in recognizing which people, projects, and participations make you happier—and which cause your stress- and/or discontentment-levels to rise. These conclusions really can be as straightforward as I'm making them out to be… and during this pivotal eclipse-period turn of the wheel, the best intention you can set for yourself is simply to strive to maximize the role of happiness-inspiring factors, while seeking to minimize the presence of disliked or disquieting entities. If you begin from that motive, then, you presumably won't be as concerned about how all the other members of your social world might feel about any certain decisions you make: If they don't like you choosing to increasing your happiness, that should tell you something about the relative prominence (or lack thereof) they should serve in your next chapter. For whom would you bargain away this gorgeous chance to prioritize joy? And why?

 

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Your present year-in-the-making breakthrough is all about emotional authenticity, Gemini. Or hadn't you gathered that by now? To listen to what's true for you—what you need to feel safe and cared for, what 'home' means to you and how to deliberately foster it, how to best make sense of your ancestral roots and/or familial relationships in a way that supports your own well-being—necessarily involves larger doses of private alone-time, to ensure your self-understanding doesn't become impinged upon by others' agendas and/or your own impulse to maintain 'easygoing' relational flow. Yes, there's a direct link between (1) responsibly holding good interpersonal boundaries and (2) accurately hearing your heart's wise requests. If you cannot own all parts of yourself in your dynamic with a certain someone, you should treat that relationship accordingly… and not try to invest so much energy in a coupling which won't return the favor with an equally unabashedly affirming embrace of you. If it is an affirming partnership, on the other hand, this is your chance to get more serious with it… by working out those supposedly 'smaller' issues you've been reluctant to 'make an issue of' when they are indeed issues for you. In honor of the eclipse-charged pivot occurring this week, recommit to cleanly and clearly proceeding toward what authentically suits your unique emotional landscape—without being scared of discovering who can and can't support your self-care interests.

 

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Your prior horoscope, about more regularly choosing the company of others (no matter who they are) over cloistering yourself within your solitary crab-shell, was more than just a single-week-specific suggestion, Cancer. It's an excellent aim to hold front-and-center during this week's chapter-hinging eclipse… to inspire a next-many-months' worth of greeting interesting characters, novel social-settings, meandering conversations, and stimulating involvements which may or may not 'lead anywhere' (for how could you know what any random person might bring into your life if you try and discern their relative 'importance' in advance?). You've put in a lot of plain hard work lately, and you'll continue to be expected to productively perform on a consistent basis (though presumably with a decreasing sense of irritating urgency), but that reality mustn't be allowed to totally dominate your perspective on life. In fact, if you jibe with this advice in the spirit I intend it, you don't have to do anything beyond mindfully maintaining an orientation of welcoming social inquisitiveness. That's the whole point. Because you must stay so purposefully on task with your responsibilities (job-related and otherwise), allow your off-time to fill with (mostly) pleasant surprises.

 

LEO (July 23-August 22): To bolster your sense of feeling secure, Leo, I recommend applying your noggin's critical-thinking skills to the task of simplifying your relationship to material reality. If you've been heeding my horoscopic guidance, you've likely put a lot of recent effort into addressing your financial situation (and any glitches in the self-confidence matrix which might contribute to you not properly regarding your worth)… hopefully with the beneficial result of better understanding how to make the most of what's at your disposal, what exactly you need to support yourself, and/or where your money goes (or probably shouldn't go, as the case may be). This week's big-pivot eclipse reemphasizes the continued importance of identifying problem-spots where, for instance, you're hesitant to firmly choose one costly desire over another (can you really afford both?), you're being too generous with someone else (at the expense of your own self-reliance?), you're hemorrhaging debt (rather than making a difficult call?), and/or otherwise wishing circumstances were other than they actually are. Please don't worry that increased simplicity in this zone will somehow lead to a dreary sense of restriction or boredom. On the contrary, proper accounting makes you appreciate the value of every precious little life-element you work to secure.

 

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): This week's total solar eclipse in your sign—which just happens to coincide with the last full week of Jupiter in your sign and your ruler Mercury turning retrograde in your sign—is certainly providing you, Virgo, a spectacular center-stage opportunity to cap off whatever big splash you've made over these past may months with one final punctuating flourish. Haven't made that splash yet? Do it now. You've probably planned for it as much as you can. You'll just have to figure out the remaining details as you go (I know: not a Virgo's favorite method)… and going into it with a retrograde Mercury could actually aid you in this regard, provided you expect a few unresolved variables, unanticipated bumps, and such to guide you (albeit in a somewhat untidy manner) toward the appropriate solutions while you're in motion. Think of these Merc-rx potentials as creative chaos (rather than 'a big fucking mess'), since it is impossible to create something that's never existed before without signing on for a certain amount of chaos in the process. (Virgos often get frozen-in-action by their gut aversion to this 'chaos' step.) As for the other people this crowning feat might impact? Don't neglect to factor in the collateral interpersonal effects, of course, but don't go so overboard in accommodating anyone else that you tie your own hands at this moment of magic.

 

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): Your horoscope for the week ahead is markedly different from everyone else's, Libra. All the other signs are getting an earful about their pressing calls-to-advance, thanks to the year-pivoting eclipse-roused astrology… with nary a mention of the softer, gentler influence that Venus's sign-shift is liable to have on their lives. Of course, since Venus both rules your home-sign and is headed back there on Monday (Aug 29), the news is far more relevant to you than the rest. And as we discussed last week, this news is really good insofar as it immediately boosts your likelihood of being received graciously, affectionately, and/or admiringly by others. A happy Venus-in-your-1st will also magnify your most attractive qualities, while allowing you to deftly play down or gloss over anything you'd rather not emphasize. Yet, this week's eclipse (as well as our latest Mercury retrograde) will hit your still-accented 12th house, a realm that's as stubbornly resistant to producing reliable results as it is uncannily responsive to supernatural attitudes. That means there is a danger of inadvertently creating unanticipated and/or undesired developments for yourself by misguidedly trying to fix, help, suggest, or interrupt something, when you'd be way wiser to leave it be. Don't, therefore, jump to assumptions about 'best outcomes' which might lead you to involve yourself when you shouldn't. A relatively hands-off approach + a pleasant Venus-in-Libra attitude = a winning equation.

 

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): As the recent concentration of energy in your solar 11th culminates this week with a major turning-point eclipse in that same chart-zone, Scorpio, I invite you to consider how you'd like to build upon the accumulated momentum, inspiration, and/or goodwill you've gathered amongst your gaggle of peeps over the coming weeks or months. Whether they're teammates, work colleagues, co-conspirators, fellow believers in the cause, or a chummy friend-circle, these folks have actively personified your inextricable belonging to some social-grouping larger than yourself… and now that you're (hopefully) tapped into a more palpable sense of this camaraderie, it's a splendid time to (re)enroll yourself in a purpose, project, perspective, and/or participation that could only actualize its fullest gorgeous potential by you joining forces with other passionate, talented enrollees. Will you volunteer your services to help a endeavor advance to its next step? Will you recruit others to lend a hand to something you all find important? Will you seek peer education, mentoring, or support… as provider and/or participant? There are so many possibilities once you're willing to ride the wave of synergistic collaboration. Just don't be so romantically-minded about it, however, that you forget to assess whether the specifics of a possible group-effort aren't in direct (even if not obvious) conflict with your own needs and interests.

 

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): You're unmistakably in the spotlight right now, Sagittarius, in case you hadn't noticed. This massively pivotal-for-all-of-us astro-occasion has situated you, my dear, in its front-and-center… and the upcoming week's eclipse further presses that point by hitting your solar 10th, the high-noon house where rays shine brightly upon your public efforts, professional strides, and/or the reputation you've earned out in the world from them. That fact frames your week as a superb time for (re)committing to the next stage of your career/community-oriented unfolding, particularly with your ruler Jupiter spending its last week in your 10th after a yearlong opening-up of these outer-world possibilities. At the same time, Mercury's going retrograde, also in your 10th: As such, the immediate beginnings of this 'next stage' should probably involve a fair amount of cleaning off any collateral 'dust' that's recently gotten kicked up in the process of your vigorous work, reorganizing those details which slipped through your fingers, and once again outlining a concrete checklist of ordered priorities (since, without an updated version, you're too likely to let ephemeral enthusiasms run away with you and befuddle your focus). This would be one of those instances when a Mercury retrograde could serve you quite well… if you put it to good practical use.

 

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): Lead the charge of a life meaningfully lived, Capricorn. You've grown increasingly sharper at discerning what really matters to you (and what really-and-fucking-truly doesn't)… and, at this big-pivot eclipse moment, you're totally ready to proceed onto that unfamiliar ground you've identified as representing a most-promising evolutionary extension, in the process of becoming more of that purposeful person you wish to be. Though this directional clarity you've earned is based largely on value-driven discrimination, let me encourage you not to be so philosophically strict or puritanical that you make utterly unforgiving determinations about other people and their relative righteousness (or lack thereof)—and smugly dismiss anything they say which might complicate, confound, or clash with what you've already decided upon. Of course, neither should you let any doubts others may raise about your next steps rouse irrational fears or exaggerated anxieties. You can be clear and still remain in dialogue with folks who may or may not be in alignment. You can be open to humbly discovering certain blind-spots in your judgments without threatening your overall life-path lucidity.

 

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): This lack of competent autonomous control (which probably scares the living shit out of many of you) is really just the flip-side of that tremendously fruitful promise presently imbedded in whatever complicating venture, passion-filled association, or multi-pronged joint-venture has absorbed your recent attention, Aquarius. And though the myriad unknowns which such an involvement necessarily leave gaping open may be hard to deal with during times of peak anxiety, their existence also leaves ample space for unforeseen blessings and boons to interject themselves, as a direct effect of you having allowed others to invest, advance, and share their power. At this eclipse-jolted pivot-point of '16, then, you're being called to immerse yourself a few (or more) inches deeper into this pool—presuming, that is, you've spent much of this year observantly easing your way in, and asking lots of questions all the while—because appearances certainly suggest this thing is really happening. As you officially sign the dotted line on this offer from the Universe, to give you more in exchange for you risking more, please read enough of the fine print so you don't needlessly sacrifice too much functional self-stability in the process. (In other words, don't hand over your entire bank account to anyone.) Also, integrate the truth you already know: Getting deeper into this will have inevitable consequences for other 'involvements' that aren't as authentically you anymore.

 

PISCES (February 19-March 20): Before I launch into my hailing of this week's big-pivot eclipse hitting your relationship house (the 7th), Pisces, I want to clear up a potentially confusing point about the 'benefic' influence in this same interpersonal zone I mentioned last week. Yes, infamous 'good-luck' guy Jupiter has just spent the past year in your 7th, which suggests you've enjoyed an easier capacity to grow beyond previous inhibitions in your own relational behavior… but that doesn't necessarily mean any particular relationship should have shown beneficial growth. Jupiter simply 'makes things bigger', including any lurking problem-areas which might've otherwise stayed off your radar. Jupiter-in-your-7th is about you evolving into an increasingly shrewd, realistic partner who speaks up about your specific likes and dislikes, minor trouble-spots with room for functional improvement, and all the annoying little shit you'd otherwise let slide until there's way more than just a 'little' of it. Perhaps a certain relationship grew along with this Jupiter transit. Or perhaps you outgrew a relationship. Whatever the case, this critical moment now unfolding ushers in the next episode of your interpersonal journey—whether or not that certain someone is along for the road. Still on the fence? Think about what you're trying to accomplish in your career and/or out in the world: Is this person helping or hindering?