Horoscopes | Week of June 5-11, 2006

ARIES (March 21-April 19): 'Full gusto! No holds barred!' has its definite benefits—and its unfortunate downside, too. Either or both sorts of consequences are apt to appear, since nothing about this week is plain-Jane or monkey-in-the-middle. I can't imagine any impetus arousing you to withhold much of anything, given the rippling Mars-North Node trine in your two self-invigorating houses (and a Full Moon conjunct Pluto for good measure). A better issue to consider is who you're dragging along with you… and whether they are hootin'-and-hollerin' with the festive mood or kicking-and-screaming the whole time. Since you're not in an especially accommodating or compromising space, you might as well match up with those folks who'll really appreciate your free-wheelin' daredevil antics… those who'll adopt the same all-or-nothing, live-and-let-loose approach to life, so no conflicts will block your good times. That also means curtailing any bullyish behaviors, as in trying to coerce the happy-as-they-are sideline-sitters to jump in the game. Such a power struggle could rapidly become vicious—and with good reason, since they've made their preference perfectly clear and you're opting to ignore it. Flock only to those you suspect are on your same page, and leave the others alone. Whenever you launch into 'convincing' mode, you're barking up the wrong tree.

 

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): There you go. That's the spirit. Give 'em a call. Ask 'em out. Orchestrate a most memorable (maybe even romantic?) meeting between the two of you, and watch the bewitching bliss multiply. Where you've previously hit roadblocks in mutual understanding or suffered bashful hesitance to offer up some sweet heat, now the obstacles (actual or self-imposed) are miraculously missing, thanks to a Venus-Jupiter opposition crossing your 1st/7th axis. Every topic of conversation is a winner, with nary an awkward pause to be found amongst the flowing chemistry. An especially intense Full Moon in the house of dangerously divine passions doesn't hurt either, pulling you into exchanges that flirt daringly with the line of 'appropriate'—and that cross it, too, if you're up for such intrigue. The worst problem is figuring out when enough is enough… when you simply must cut off the marathon sessions of god-knows-what, in order to get your shit taken care of. Otherwise, the ever-amplifying union will motor on and on, tempting you to lose your sense of stable independence in the whole affair. Believe it or not, that problem could cause complications later. But I hardly think this feeble warning is sufficient cause to keep you away from each other.

 

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The Pluto-powered Full Moon in your 7th raises the specters of last week's interpersonal disagreements and/or self-discoveries. You'd have to be one stubborn buzzard to refuse to look at the reality of the situation: potent differences between the two of you, which may or may not be navigable, but certainly can't be frittered away with sweet-talk and a bowl of strawberry ice cream. Do yourself a favor. Admit to seeing what you're seeing, and working through it to the best of your ability, without clinging to a certain outcome. I know… it's hard as hell. But it's also the only productive manner for working with these energies—one day at a time, with sincerity of attention, responsibility in effort, and hope without delusion. Don't succumb to either extreme: a pessimistic calling-it-quits without an honest try; or a rose-colored retelling, with all the issues whitewashed by pumping up the contrast levels and gulping down another pint of Foster's. Why rush ahead, impatient Gemini… especially now, with the lovely Venus heading into your sign the week after next?

 

CANCER (June 21-July 22): From eager, bold, adventurous, freely-flapping mouths come enlivening, energizing, motivating, magic-making words and ideas. But no one will ever receive the chance to revel in yours, Cancer, as long as you keep your lips pursed shut. With a Mercury-Jupiter trine in your houses of self-possession and self-expression, you'll do the universe a massive disservice by selfishly hoarding your life-force, no matter what pretext you hatch to defend bashful behaviors. This is an unbelievable time for expanding the articulation of your vision, far past those places you thought you'd never go. There are no limits to your imaginative, optimistic, envelope-pushing potential… as long as you don't stop yourself from positing, philosophizing, expounding and externalizing your inner dialogue. Participation in group discussions, debates or meetings-of-the-mind only helps to draw your usually demure brainiac side out into the open. The positive reinforcement you'll get can actually amplify your already gushing juices… until you emerge as the radiant golden child among the faces in the crowd. Such extemporaneous extroversion is far more fruitful now than ever before. You can feel the truth of that, can't you?

 

LEO (July 23-August 22): In the conventional system that equates the different zodiac signs with anatomical parts, Leo rules the heart, our central organ that pumps life's blood to every other part of the body. This fits the poignant logic of Leo's role among the other signs, as you are a generative source of the vital life-energy the rest of us look to for inspiration and buoyancy. And is it any wonder your ruler is the Sun, the warm guiding light of our entire solar system? Take your immense responsibility for this symbolic role I've just described very seriously, my dear Leo—without letting its glory go to your head—and the payback you'll receive in love and creative self-satisfaction will be awesomely profound. The professional admiration and public adoration will show up as a wild outpouring… based directly on how wide you open your heart to those around you, how forcibly you pump generosity and genuine caring into circulation, and how hot and bright you shine your light, not to flaunt your talents but to melt our frosty fearful exteriors. If you give the love, you will feel the love, big and strong and mad and deep.

 

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): Under the light of this week's probing Plutonian Full Moon, the Virgo soul is reminded of March's lunar eclipse and its corresponding unloading of old emotional crap, which happened exactly three moon cycles ago. From this vantage, the inescapable emotionality of last week makes much more contextual sense—as the logical development point of what you were moving through three months earlier. Progress report: Are these feelings markedly different, or hauntingly repetitive? You possess a phenomenal ability to sit on your feelings and pantomime I'm-fine-ness like nobody else—but, in the act, sadly miss the point of feelings in the first place. They should connect you with others, over the shared messiness of being human… as opposed to providing yet another excuse for the secret satisfaction that, somehow, you've perfected the fine art of withstanding every single psychologically profound sensation without cracking. Where's the life-affirming value in that? You can only get the much-needed release by spilling the beans, rolling them around on the floor, swapping them with others' nuts and grains, and then leaving them on blatant display outside yourself, like some artsy knickknack on a living-room end table.

 

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): Welcome to the week in which you can augment your wealth, simply by demonstrating your willingness to share in the booty you're hauling in. The planetary forces are agreeably activating the many pathways between what you have to offer—money, ideas, enthusiasm, authenticity—and the potential recipients, who are waiting for a walking-and-talking investment opportunity such as yourself to come through the door. As I already reported, it'll work best if you've got one special person on your side, with whom you can cut through the nicey-nice façade to the nitty-gritty. And the best way to nourish that relationship is to take it out to the streets, to the people who are your designated audience for change-making, idea-exchanging, fund-raising or whatever other activity lingers as your current key to increased satisfaction. What do you hope to grow in your life? Identified? Check. Now step onto the platform, and sing it. All the while, you and your partner-in-crime better be promising to watch each other's backs.

 

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): The Full Moon on Sunday (Jun 11) is a notable doozy for you, Scorpio… conjoined to your ruler Pluto and resurrecting the feelings of greed, envy, disappointment and merciless drive, in close relation to how much moolah you've had, lost, wanted, fought for, hoarded, earned, spent and saved. Whether you're poor, rich or 'don't care about money' (which means you're either rich or poor), you've got some hearty personal reactions to this issue… ones that have everything to do with how hard you try (or try not to try) to accomplish something impressive in the world. This week, you can pour these unresolved emotions into working with increased vigor toward specific goals… and feel the emotions filling your deeds with greater care. They are transforming as you do stuff. But you'll also miss out on the best elements of the Venus-Jupiter opposition (in your 7th and 1st houses), if you keep to yourself. Under this aspect, you'll find easier-than-usual bouts of mutual understanding in your one-on-one exchanges. And why not use it, both to blow off steam during or after long workdays and to vent some of the feelings that rose up. Money is one of those issues most of us leave out of conversation, at least in any intimate detail, even with the folks we love the most… and even though sharing our varied experiences with 'the necessary evil' could really help us know each other better.

 

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): I don't know how many times in the past several weeks I've remastered the same message—that, despite yearning to the contrary, you need to stay put and find ways to assert your independence without taking off or blowing up. Well, under the intense glow of a full moon in your sign conjoined to Pluto ('the ultimate purgative!'), there's little use in trying to hold back any longer. This is your astrological invitation to let it all out (whatever 'it' is)—brutal truths, in fierce tones, with kill-or-be-killed intensity, refusing to keep the secret any longer, and hopefully with only the most hopeful, healing intentions possible. Now, without a proper heads-up, this is the sort of week in which you might unexpectedly lose your cool, shoot your mouth off, go for the jugular, and/or otherwise come off like a raving (and perhaps menacing) lunatic. But you are reading this right now, and therefore cannot legitimately say you weren't warned… which means you get to plan your cathartic explosion, decide ahead of time what's the root concern to express and what you hope to gain from it, and to edit out any unnecessarily unkind personal potshots. My main point here is to prevent you from spoiling the practical work you've been fostering (which I've been consistently urging you not to dash from), just because of an unexpected realization of more powerful emotion lurking than you'd previously thought… but without controlling yourself to such an uncomfortable degree that you clog your vitality. I hope my words will help you expel responsibly.

 

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): You're in the potentially unsettling—but deeply transformational—process of discovering instincts, urges and desires lurking in the far recesses of consciousness which you may not have known were there. Don't panic and press to push them back where they were, wash your hands, and pretend you're just as oblivious as ever. That shit doesn't work, at least not to your benefit. This process is actually closer to its beginning than its end, and you've only started to intuit the leanings your psyche will continue to head for (and eventually embrace unapologetically) over the next few years. Yes, I said years, Capricorn, because the planetary player at play here is Pluto, who's been hiding under the covers of your 12th house for more years than we can count. (Okay, since 1995). But Pluto is heading toward your 1st, where it'll land in 2008 (which is much sooner than you think). For the whole world, Pluto moving into Capricorn will completely rewrite our relationship to the existing power structure—and nothing less dramatic than that. And for you personally, the internal power structure of shoulds, shouldn'ts, can'ts, won'ts, mustn'ts and can't-nots will be slowly but surely overthrown. Whatever traces of that which I've described you perceive this week, with the Full Moon briefly illumining Pluto's secret mission, is merely a taste of what's to come. Fasten your seat belts.

 

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): Considering this is widely acknowledged to be a fantabulous professional-growth period for you, Aquarius, I'm curious to know how you're transfusing these good vibrations into the other sectors of your life. After you've put in a long day of enhancing your position (and presumably helping improve and enlighten the world along the way), do your shepherd that zealous soul-stimulation into your 'off-time' personal life… or do you merely unplug the zeal from the socket and zone out into your own sensory-deprivation isolation chamber? The answer to that question will demonstrate its wider relevance this week, as the boundary between public and private bleeds into faintness, thanks to the Venus-Jupiter opposition across your 4th/10th axis. While both planets are considered arbiters of easy luck, too much 'ease' can work against you—especially when blessed fortune triggers loose your laziness into broader couch-sprawling nothingness and, consequently, weaker private-life connection with others. Doing a lot 'out there' is no excuse to do nothing 'in here'. In fact, you should be so fired up by the ridiculously robust rising of your start, you bring it home… to share with those you love, as much as you do with those you work with, hope to help, and/or seek to impress.

 

PISCES (February 19-March 20): Play it cool around any individuals who, consciously or not, have the usual effect of intimidating you. Their larger-than-life presence will loom even larger this week (in actuality or in your imagination)… possibly leading you to put at least one foot far in your unsuspecting mouth, if you're not on top of your game. Remember last week's floating threat of projecting your lack of self-trust onto authority figures? Now that the Full Moon is lining up with Pluto, that threat remains high… along with a Venus-Jupiter opposition that convolutes your keenest ability to discern playful conversational asides from didactic statements of personal morality. In other words, though you may purposely skirt the revelation of how you feel, your words could betray you, 'going there' anyway without you noticing. Whatever you try to withhold is exactly the direction your chat with the 'big guns' will gravitate—just by your compulsive regard for its taboo quality. Therefore, the best conclusion to arrive at is realizing nothing is sacred, nothing should be avoided, and nothing must be allowed to intimidate you. That way, no hidden skeletons will pound on the closet door, begging for attention. If you can get yourself on board with that thinking, you'll definitely save yourself much embarrassment or shame.