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Horoscopes | Week of March 13-19, 2006

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Circling around and around those same fine points? Would you recognize it if your concerns were caught in such a repetitive loop of focus? It'd certainly account for that dual feeling of (1) continual movement and (2) suspiciously inadequate advancement… which explains why 'inertia' is a totally inaccurate description, even though you're not witnessing significant progress. The more manically you fixate on the littler details, the more likely you're losing sight of the fundamental meaning behind what you're doing. Frustration indicates you've become divorced from the grander panoramic view, and might not even know what you're so upset about. (Impatience with the unknown?) To curb the bad vibes, remind yourself of the big reasons why you bother at all. If it still feels like a thankless job, connect with folks who'll understand where you're coming from, and invite them to reinspire you—anything to get outside the too-tight focus and grab yourself another way of looking. And don't forget, Aries, you're still in a phase of dabbling (Mars is only halfway through Gemini), so it's really not too late to radically shift gears… if you've tried everything else.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You're not still trying to play off the myth that you're a casual, easy-breezy lass or laddie, are you? Because, don't kid yourself, you've got a big and beautiful personality on you… and mustn't succumb to the pressure (real or imagined) to apologize for it, or try to muffle it with play-acted ambivalence. Often, you come on strong or refuse to budge. You have your firm convictions and your favorite seat in the living room, and no one better mess with any of it. And still, Taurus, you're totally worth the effort. We expect you to stand proudly in the reality of who you are, front and center. No hiding the so-called 'flaws' under baggy clothes or too much makeup. All those things you'd criticize yourself for, that's precisely where the artistry of human individuality sparkles and shines most brightly off you, perfect exactly as is. When you accept them in you, they become emblems of your bravery—to stand, unashamed, in your strength of self—and then you won't give a crap what others think. We've all got our fans and our detractors. If they don't like what you've got going on, they'll help you gravitate to where you best belong, via their rejection or exclusion. Rather than getting angry or sad, just quietly thank 'em for it.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): We all know you talk a good game, Gemini. And often, you tell us of your personal resonance with more avant-garde, free-and-unfettered philosophies of life, those that accord you the greatest number of options… with the least amount of obligatory emotional bondage. But at least one of your selves is a deeper feeler, and the current moment points to that self doing more of the talking. It's a week ripe for admissions of your increased depth in caring, whatever or whoever it is you care about. In relationships, the indirect result is a further commitment… wait, don't freak out… not of the 'air-sign' discussion-and-negotiation brand, but more of the 'water-sign' type of unspoken emotional intensification. (In other words, no deals to keep.) In professional settings, however, 'caring more' also can't help but continue giving your communications an extra edge. (Isn't it funny how bosses often characterize 'caring too much' as a behavior to watch out for… though they supposedly want us to invest ourselves in what we do?) It's helpful for piercing through the niceties to get at the truth, but simultaneously bears the potential of coming off abrasive or short-tempered.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): I fear I've stressed you out, Cancer, with my recent insistence that you come up with a big idea for some exciting, life-expanding adventure… and then ask for help in order to cover the costs of its enactment. Whew! Leave it to me to heap on the load, and strip the living brainstorming process of its fun. Well, now I see the errors of my previous way, and I cannot encourage you enough to release all strain related to these matters. Don't worry that you must 'save' yourself with the 'right' big idea, or else you'll block the enjoyment of the creative process. Seriousness is apt to swallow you, if you cannot relax into exploration and investigation. Your best possible week will include up to a full hour a day of wandering—over backroads and side-streets, through magazine racks and used-book emporiums, across tangents of the mind and into areas easily dismissed as folly. Reconnect with the concept of curiosity, which means the only thing worth finding is a temporary quenching of whatever momentarily interests you. Seemingly random, pointless activity is the perfect antidote to the quest for meaningful existence… and there's no way you can do it wrong.

LEO (July 23-August 22): You're a wholly worthwhile person for your bottomless wells of resourcefulness… for how you can take what you've got and put it to good use. And there's absolutely no reason to flaunt any bit of it, just to woo others' affection. You could be the only one left on the whole deserted island, and be forced to find satisfaction in self-reliance, for both physical survival and affirmation. You must feel your value from the inside, as it oozes through your veins and stimulates you on the cellular level… no matter whether anybody else is around to care how great you are. Luckily for you, there are folks who care. And the sort of unconditional self-love I've described is the ideal basis for your relationships of all kinds—romantic, professional, intimate friendship. The only thing either party is expected to do is be him- or herself… and to do so in the perfectly-present presence of the other. There's nothing else to go out and get, nothing to fix, and no conceivable reason to want more. Complete, first in yourself and then together, just as is.

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): This could be your most breakthrough week in recent memory, if you're prepared to welcome unadulterated psychological honesty into your heart… no matter how potentially painful, or how hard it'll be to continue along as it's been, once you accept the truth of your feelings. A lunar eclipse full moon in your sign makes a square to Pluto in your 4th, which is like shining a flashlight into every shadowed crevice and dusty closet to see what's lurking there. Take my word for it—what qualifies as a 'scary monster' in the dark reveals itself to be much simpler and less menacing once lit. But you've got to look with both eyes wide open, or you'll miss a spot. Once you discover that your sensitive reactions can be traced way back to real events in your history, you're a good portion of the way there. To move from mental understanding to truly 'getting it' on an emotional level, project yourself back in time to the original imprinting instance… and describe in detail how that confused child or abused adolescent is experiencing the situation. If you don't aim for the holy grail of self-discovery, it's easy to mistake the week's climate as a backdrop for unkind exchanges with your mate or co-workers. And what a waste of transformative eclipse moonlight that would be.

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): Yes, Libra, you may well have a legitimate basis for your hemming-and-hawing—details of tasks not yet completed, or burdens of duty weighing down heavily on you. And all the while, you wonder whether you're a well-suited match for these responsibilities, considering what you really seek to do in the world. The whole matter of contrasting your real-world realities (i.e., this mundane crap) with your self-defined aspirations ('who you wish to become') is a useful exercise, so you can find the most precise language for identifying what is and isn't working in your life. Without the proper terminology, you'll be hard-pressed to ask for what you want. But ultimately, your week is best spent by including appreciation for everything that falls in the cracks between existing obligations and future goals—that is, all that you still don't know, can't foresee, can't control, and can't get away from (at least without some seriously damaging escapist routine). No matter how smart or 'on top of things' you are, you can't do more than be true to yourself… and continue to hope for the best. You can't extricate yourself from the current conditions, nor can you jump ahead in time to your later incarnation. All you can do is believe everything coming your direction will eventually resolve itself satisfactorily, and teach you something along the way.

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): In the brilliance of this week's lunar eclipse, you can gain a broader recognition of the tremendously powerful wealth you carry with you (even when your wallet is dry as a bone), just by being you. Wealth isn't merely money—it's everything you've got that can be spent or expended, to ensure your safekeeping while you build more wealth from it. And you've got a ton of it, Scorpio. But it'll ring with a quiet intangible emptiness, if you haven't yet found meaningful means for investing it in projects and ventures beyond those that benefit you (and/or maybe one other special person). If even the faintest hollowness whispers its presence behind the bravado or underneath the stylish coat, it's that your contribution to the world lacks its clearly selfless, altruistic side. You possess an abundant enough treasure chest to fill all your ego's giddiest needs and still tithe a portion of time, cash and/or universal love to an organization or cause that needs the assistance. And as the healer of the zodiac, part of the energy that would be at your disposal remains tied up in spiritually worthless 'deprivation consciousness', and wholly unusable, until you do.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): Get real with yourself about your professional situation—the current state of affairs, as well as your short- and long-term goals—and whether you've positioned your real-life self in line to achieve the success you desire. You certainly carry the necessary courage and physical verve to do it, as well as the cerebral insight to understand why it matters. If anything's stopping you, it's a psychological block… likely resting atop some unrealistic or overly simplified belief that keeps an ultimate sense of accomplishment always out of your reach. Have you dotted every 'i' and crossed every 't' in the cosmic application process for the job of your dreams? Are your references in check? All questions answered honestly? Heated discussions with those you trust the most (i.e., folks who you'll tell the whole truth to and who'll make you shut up long enough to hear it back) hold the potent promise to deliver crucial feedback on that which holds you back. Since you trust each other, there's no need for either party to mince words. (This is your calling we're talking about… why be shy?) Never forget, though, what the principal topic of conversation is, so you don't get sidetracked into irrelevant bickering—easier to 'win' perhaps, but less likely to offer you anything enlightening.

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): Peacefully rise about it all. Maintain your absolute highest possible degree of mindfulness, so that the eclipse-enkindled insanity you'll likely witness all around you doesn't evince your least evolved reactions. It should be easy enough (right?) to recalibrate your focal point whenever you veer toward getting sucked into a sinkhole and led astray. The mind is a more than powerful enough tool for directing your energy. This orientation, however, shouldn't invoke your harshest mechanisms for control, deprivation or self-criticality… or you harm yourself in the process. (Who really wants to be exposed to such heavy-handed discipline?) Rather, it's about soft choice-making and gentle redirection of attention, as you might practice in a nourishing environment of meditation. To meditate, you must first decide you will sit still in a certain place for an allotted amount of time. Then, you consciously elect not to permit the lower mind (full of its frivolous time-wasters and anxiety-producers) to dominate the higher mind, which just accepts what is, and flows into and out of it without attachment. The higher mind, your best ally for the week, has no intelligible framework to justify its knowledge of right from wrong at any given moment. But a 'right' and 'wrong' most certainly do exist… and, with nothing but your inner wisdom to go on, you do know which is which.

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): To carry out your grand plans for connecting with people and conveying your ideas to those who need 'em, you'll be much more effective if you appreciate the value of those experiential lessons, as well as those you read in books or absorb from the ethers in your intellectually enterprising alone-time. (More effective, yes… though perhaps less smooth or efficient.) For the sake of your credibility, you desperately need to feel the human condition, not just theorize about it. So thank those folks who, right this very minute, are driving you bonkers or pushing your buttons or refusing you an escape from painstakingly processing every unpleasant bump in the road you share custodial responsibility for. They are both a thorn in your side and the greatest gift you'll get this week, Aquarius. They deepen your understanding of life. 'How?' you might ask. By pinning you against the far reaches of your 'smart person' explanations until you can't take it anymore… and then you act out, impulsively and temperamentally (and what you might consider 'foolishly'). There lies the spot of your most healing discovery—where (presumed) intellectual superiority fails you, and you're just as uncontrollably emotional as everybody else.

PISCES (February 19-March 20): The lunar eclipse across your 1st/7th-house axis this week illuminates a rather straightforward relationship situation you've made unnecessarily complex by refusing to look closely at it. Simply put: The relationship either makes you deeply happy most of the time, or it doesn't. To hell with the history between you, all the reasons why you sympathize with his or her failings (or refuse to even call them 'failings'), and the proverbial excuse that 'it's just easier to leave it alone'. Your lifetime goals are either brought that much further to fruition by associating with this person, or they're blocked. He or she either encourages you to showcase all those wonderful Piscean things you sometimes doubt in yourself, or criticizes you until you're convinced you're a mess. Grey areas are wonderful for fostering compassion for others… but when it comes to caring for yourself, it really is a black-and-white issue—care, or lack of care. So if you're telling yourself one story about who you want to be and then acting out another, you're wasting your energy on fostering this inconsistency. Yes, it really is that simple. Does it make you deeply happy or not?