No Excuses, Anxieties or Distractions Allowed


(8.5.02) I suffer from anxiety. There, I admit it. My anxiety is not the brand that makes me unable to leave the house for days, nor the kind that prevents me from shaking hands with strangers without thoroughly disinfecting afterwards. No, my breed of madness takes the form of the inability to make small simple meaningless decisions, despite the fact that I have a relatively calm and grounded reaction to "big picture" issues. Once, I spent half an hour, panicked over whether I should order Chinese or Thai delivery food. Paralyzed with indecision, I hysterically wondered aloud, "But what happens if I order the WRONG thing, and when it gets here, I realize I should have ordered the OTHER thing instead?" Meanwhile, my blood sugar plunged to a desperate low until I finally ate so voraciously, I don't even remember tasting my food, let alone enjoying it. (Was it Chinese or Thai?)

As I mature psychologically, I realize that these surface-level anxieties are convenient distraction techniques that my subconscious mind uses to procrastinate from taking actual important actions to serve my higher goals. If I keep myself busy writing horoscopes for my loyal readers and casting charts for my clients, it really doesn't matter what I eat, whether I've cleaned the bathroom that day (and yes, finally, I did), or if I've called that faraway friend who I'm often thinking about but somehow never getting around to contacting (is that you?). When I'm truly on task, everything else seems to work out just fine. Sometimes, the more opportune the moment is for me to accomplish something meaningful, the more the tangential neuroses crop up to steal my attention.

This week, I am publicly pledging to myself and all of you, I refuse to let my greedy time-hogging demons take over and call the shots. I'm not declaring sudden psychological perfection, mind you—just seven days' worth of focus on the important stuff. The reason? Because this upcoming week is ripe with energy, expression, and a striking momentary disappearance of obstacles. And for those of us who believe in such a thing as "karmic purpose", a little effort expended toward our particular purposes could go a whole long way. If you know what you're "supposed" to be doing, then I recommend you do a bit of it. If you don't know and you're interested in finding out, set aside a few hours (mid-week would be best) to wander into it. Random encounters are encouraged.

We begin our week with two inner planets entering signs that they rule, meaning that they act somewhat more comfortably and in tune with their natural energies. Mercury enters Virgo, where it quietly synthesizes its careful observations and favors the drawing of precise logical conclusions about the world. Meanwhile, Venus enters Libra and spreads some of its peaceful charms and appreciation for art, beauty and the finer things, enchanting the planet with loveliness. (Incidentally, both Mercury and Venus each rule two signs—Mercury rules Gemini and Virgo, Venus rules Libra and Taurus.) With these two planets happily traveling through their home signs, we cannot blame miscommunications, unpleasant environments, or other external-to-us nastinesses for our own lack of initiative.

The highlight of the week is undoubtedly Thursday afternoon's sassy New Moon in Leo, energized by a host of favorable aspects to ensure that pleasingly dynamic movement occurs. I highly recommend using this lunation to commit (or recommit) yourself to a project or purpose that wholeheartedly and unilaterally celebrates who you are. I would focus less on nagging tasks or duty-ridden obligations that you secretly (or not so secretly) dread, and more on passionate pursuits that make you smile or leave you feeling like you accomplished something unique that only you could. It's that kind of work which leaves you feeling less tired than when you started. When caught in anxiety mode, I conveniently forget about that head rush and body high which come from living and acting with purpose. Instead I try to convince myself that I lack the energy to get my stuff done. Mars with its tremendous force, placed in conjunction to the New Moon and trining Pluto, will hardly allow such irrational and lazy justifications. You'd have to work pretty hard, swimming upstream against unbelievable currents, to sabotage your own energies this week.

Yes, I'm being quite insistent in urging everyone to use this fortuitous moment wisely. When such moments come along, we mustn't let them slip away by putting ourselves off for another day. Everything is fleeting, after all. We use astrology to let us know about periods of potential good fortune ahead of time, so we can channel our efforts most efficiently. The same action that brings rapid success now could merely cause you to spin your wheels a couple months down the road. My insistence comes with the foreknowledge of a rather powerful Full Moon coming two weeks from now, on August 22, with a configuration connoting dramatic events that could be somewhat unsettling though certainly purposeful. When it comes to lunar cycles, what you put into action on the New Moon comes to fruition on the Full Moon. This is why we should start off this cycle on an extraordinarily good foot, rather than one riddled with anxiety or apathy. That way, two weeks from now, we will understand clearly what the second step should be—rather than indulging in unnecessary panic about which way to go (Chinese or Thai?)—and won't waste time and energy in hesitation.