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Horoscopes | Week of July 4-10, 2005

ARIES (March 21-April 19): You're the spigot for a flow of action spewing forth, which propels you into a frontier of new and unfamiliar territory, whether you've stopped to consider the inevitable aftereffects or not. The propulsion might not necessarily seem crystal clear in your intent, nor are you particularly conscious of the direction in which you're shoving your individual incarnation. Thus, there's a ringing stinging possibility that you will inadvertently frustrate yourself… because the deeper, more emotionally 'mopey' or 'childish' (words in quotes to mock the self-judgment) urge for security simply isn't being obliged by the newness in your activity, though its neediness is unavoidably forefronted by this week's New Moon in Cancer. The point I'm trying to make is that what you're doing isn't as casual, breezy or 'just doing what needs to get done' as you might propose it is. It's actually a big deal, affecting you on a profound, triggering-of-family-issues level. You're undergoing more comprehensive reinvention than you may be giving yourself credit for. So if you're flustered, annoyed, moody or angsty, that's probably why.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): This coupon (which expires in a scant two weeks' time) entitles you to freely pander to whatever swings of mood or mindset wiggle your way… but only if you promise yourself and the universe that you will take full fearless pride in your moodiness, without the slightest bit of judgment or the need to justify or explain. I almost used the word 'indulge' to describe how you could treat your emotions, before I recalled the negative connotations we give that word, especially with regards to children whose desires get too perfectly met and end up spoiled. (Odd that we consider a child who gets what he needs to have been spoiled. But I digress.) If we apply 'indulgence' to your feelings as we would to the occasional ice-cream cone, then it becomes quite fine to enjoy a treat to its utmost without guilt… it's not like we have it everyday, and it's not like we don't deserve some fun. While it may be a stretch to categorize emotional hustle-'n'-bustle as fun, that's precisely the sort of proud regard the experience is due. Wear emotional untidiness like a bold party mask of bright colors, and bask in what positives your breadth of feeling says about the kind of person you are.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Some higher-power being has pushed the button, and you've been put on autopilot. Relax, and enjoy the ride. The mechanical assistance offered by unseen contraptions allows you to ease up on maniacally checking and rechecking every last gauge, dial and switch, but it is not an excuse to behave like an unconscious robot either. Rather, you're being released from the pressure to maintain hyperawareness of interconnections, ramifications and other broadly encompassing concerns… and instead you can just show up, say and do what you want, and put it out there with far less self-conscious calculation. The craft will remain steady and aloft without your dutiful driving. And if you're worried about what other people will think about this appearance of increased nonchalance, just don't. Yes, your public demeanor may be shaken or stirred as a result. But trust me, that's far more of a good thing than you can imagine.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): This week's New Moon in your sign kicks off the ideal month-long finale to your recent era of boundary-setting and identity-strengthening. By this time next month, Saturn will no longer be in your sign for the first time in two years, and you will have (according to me, at least) officially become the person you're been striving to rise to during this period. That's why this is the moment for putting finishing touches on this new you, as some coiffed-and-cosmeticized celebutante might apply a final coating of Aqua-Net and a last-minute powdering before facing the red-carpet cameras. Over the coming months, you'll be refamiliarizing yourself with inviting others in, to show them what you've got and you use it to its fullest right in front of their eyes. It's an exciting time, but one that naturally brings a bit of anxiety along with it. 'Am I ready? Where have I been? Have I done enough?' Use the next few weeks to settle into surer knowledge of where you've been, what you've done, and how perfectly damn ready you are to behave as you've realized you must.

LEO (July 23-August 22): Listen here, lions and lionesses. For the next month, you are spiritual servants. Your job is to bring goodness and light to the rest of us, a job you should enjoy. The universe has kindly assigned you this duty with near-effortless assurance that you will succeed. You are well suited to bringing smiles to faces, especially when you are unconcerned with your own vanity and instead absorbed with entertaining and celebrating others. Ask yourself, 'What form of goodness am I best fashioned to spotlight in my self and elicit in others?' The right answer is not based on performance level or expertise, but rather on pure audience reaction. 'What do I do that really and truly makes other happy?' There are certain acts, tricks, expressions, voices and manner modifications that come only from you and delight every man, woman and child alike when you share them. If you dare to take your spiritual servitude too lightly or consider this an optional activity, ask yourself the bigger question, 'What will happen in the depth of my personality if I withhold my goodness and light and opt against fulfilling my destiny? What parts of my soul will atrophy? And who will miss out on a hearty chunk of life's joy because I'm convinced I cannot give more?'

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): If you don't stay conscientious, you're highly likely to act out in unexpectedly impassioned though unimpressively self-righteous behaviors derived from your unconscious and in blatant disregard of whoever is the undeserving target of the moment. That's not to say the urges behind the acting-out are bad or wrong, but letting your ego's desire for recognition build up without appeasement until it erupts and demands to call the shots is misguided. You—and not solely the other person or people involved—are responsible for having neglected the need for loving self-celebration. Now that it may be reaching and crossing the threshold of 'proper' controllability, it requires you first to defuse any temper tantrum tendencies (careful, they might sneak up on you!) before later being able to address the real vulnerable-ego concerns. The simple solution mimics last week's—laughter, in surrender. Only this time, you have to be willing to laugh at yourself. Whenever you're about ready to spew (in a fashion worthy of your parents' worst performances), stop taking yourself so damn seriously, chuckle, shrug your shoulders, and come back to the root issue three or four weeks from now.

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): For you to take fullest advantage of Jupiter's expansive transit through your sign (which only lasts through late-October and doesn't come again until 2016), you must remember and abide by the following mathematical formula for the coming few months (and this is the perfect week to learn it and live it): Deciding to become more of who you are = putting more of yourself out there into the world (not just the neat bits, but the fussy and funny and fearful ones too) = receiving more acknowledgment from more people of more different varieties that you are more than they'd previously thought you were = being seen as more of yourself = believing that if others see it then it must be true = becoming more of yourself. Isn't it interesting how the decision to do it results in actually doing it, as long as you adhere to the entire logic-stream that requires you to externalize more fully to others and attain their recognition in return? Other people do matter in the process of becoming more of one's self… they help boost confidence along the way, or at least provide outer real-world confirmation of what you already know.

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): This week's horoscopic guidance combines dollops from the past two weeks' passages into a comprehensive strategy for squeezing the most from your coming days. Two weeks ago, I urged you to avoid the fray and mind your own business, advice which continues to serve you now. As I see it, your sign is less acutely impacted by the current astrological conditions and thus can maintain a clearer, more internally dictated focus than your zodiacal siblings. Then, last week, I warned you against allowing your poker face to conceal the vulnerability and desire you possess, as it could unfortunately work against you. This week, I want you to differentiate between a 'poker face' (held to impede others' ability to read you) and 'apparent optimism' (held to demonstrate boundless hope and positive-thinking determination). Use every ounce of power you've got (and, damn, that's a lot!) to maintain a one-two mix of (1) staying out of others' distracting and irrelevant-to-you dramas and (2) wearing a happy, enthusiastic, we-can-do-it appearance and attitude, no matter what comes your direction. This will deem you virtually impenetrable to calamitous outer forces and keep you on the straight-and-narrow so you're freed up to create what matters most to you.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): It would be interesting (and advantageous) to get other people's perspectives. It's a choice environment for you to host a discussion, a slide show or an open-mic night, any opportunity to get folks together to share their ideas. Even if you've got it all figured out for yourself, I'd do more of the listening than offering during this event. Your role serves all best as facilitator, master of ceremonies, or all-ideas-are-good-ideas support provider. Short of actually organizing an occasion where philosophical exchange can occur, you'll find yourself in plenty of less formal situations throughout the week in which you can solicit further conversation past the border of generic small-talk. Ask them to expand upon the anecdotes, turning them into full-blown narratives in exciting detail, complete with whatever moral lessons were gained by the speaker in living the tale told. Spur the discussion with probing (but not pointed or leading) questions, to find out more than what sits on the surface. Stimulate teaching and learning in all your social interactions… but when it comes to your own knowledge, focus more on the learning.

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): Tension has the potential to flare during this week's New Moon, which squares aggressive Mars in Aries from your 7th… especially when your truest desires for what will reflect the best care for your own emotional self is challenging the refined orientation you've been working to adopt in your one-on-one relationships. Alas, you may not always be fully conscious of when this challenge is taking place—instead, only aware that anger is coming on quickly. You won't know what hit you, if you don't pause long enough to intuitively dissect the various parts of the frustration (e.g., the triggering behavior in someone else, the history of some past event it raises, the need you have that isn't being met). Don't succumb to the temptation for conniption. Prove to yourself you've matured by letting the most heightened moment come and go before you try to speak your mind. You will learn more about what's behind the temper (and hopefully what you can do to attend to your needs in advance), and those in your thwarted line of fire will appreciate the respect.

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): It's quite likely that if you try to explain to them what you're doing with what you have, they will not understand. After all, nothing you do is too normal nor anything like what would be expected of someone else. So why are you still concerned with being understood? Wouldn't you simply prefer to be recognized for your unorthodoxy and honored accordingly? I believe it's still worth the effort made to account for the unusual methods in which you've deployed the skills and resources at your disposal to create a life that matches your true self. There will be occasional individuals who get what you're telling them, and that will be a signal for you to entrust them with further confidences (and maybe even some emotional intimacy). But don't forget to thank the rest of 'em, those who probably think you're downright batty but still look at you with cryptic admiration, for providing you opportunities to fortify your confidence by having to face awareness of your social unconventionality head on. Trust me, if everybody understood you or agreed with what you were doing, you'd be bored to tears and forced to find other avenues for your crafty rebelliousness.

PISCES (February 19-March 20): Though I tried to spruce it up with a little theme music last week, there's nothing too glamorous about figuring out logistics. But that's exactly what you're being charged with, Pisces, in order to make your new most wished-for incarnation a reality. If you've been playing your cards wisely, you've already stretched yourself past previous comfort levels and are already enjoying some benefits to the increased flexibility. Still, you must stabilize the stretch, build it into your daily routine in order to ensure it will be around tomorrow and the next day. Habits don't have to creep up on us. (Those are usually the 'bad' ones anyway.) We can also consciously choose to create them, and it only takes a few weeks of strict discipline before they become automatic. Considering you've worked so hard to individuate from past people and relationships that held you down or sacrificially sabotaged your selfhood, it might be hard to ask for help. So pick different people, folks with whom you've never related on this level before, and request a little logistical guidance in making the transition. They will welcome your inquiry with both assistance and increased caring, and you'll have completed two tasks (getting logistical assistance and establishing new types of relationships) in one.