astrobarry.com the web

Horoscopes | Week of June 19-25, 2006

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Last week's karmic culmination of your relative abundance—or scarcity—of self-love was probably powerful enough to leave you resting proudly on your laurels… or lamenting the shortcuts you took in the past. In either case, the answer to 'what to do next?' is: Share your experience. Raw, gut-bearing honesty is called for, and little else. If you've suffered from any disingenuous displays of selfhood, posturing more than being real, what better way to counteract it—and start working yourself out of the trap—than to invite your partner or most intimate friend to see you at your no-makeup, messy-hair, sweatpantsed grittiest? Don't try to wiggle out with pretense, bravado or a devil-may-care put-on. Even if you've emerged on the winning end of this cosmic judgment-day (an honor you had to have earned to enjoy), you still have true stories to tell: how hard you worked, how scared you were, how you fought through emotions to victory. Wherever you find yourself now, you've blazed a trail for others to follow. In this authentic capacity, serve as their guiding example.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Other people are the way out. I don't care what the overall theme, topic or situation presently ruling your life is, Taurus. The same advice applies. Other people, I repeat, are the way out. They will help you edit down your self-talk scripts to a digestible synopsis. They'll pump up your faith in the direction you're destined to assume in contributing your excellence outward. They can assist you in taking accurate stock of your resources, and in exploring the multiple methods for how to organize your expenditures. They're happy to lure your mind away from too many dutiful details, with their tales of 'round-the-town exploits… making them sound so appealing that you'll chomp at the bit to join in. And they exist, as best friends or trusted partners or random pals from the neighborhood, to assuage your loneliness—a task you don't take them up on nearly as often as you could (or should). Most of all, other people are the way out because they want you to be with them, instead of in your head, braiding mental macramé or yearning for elusive treasure. You are enough for them, just as you are. Can you let them be enough for you, too?

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Whatever happens to you professionally this week is a necessary adjustment—even those less-than-favorable-seeming reversals of fortune—to ensure you're on the most appropriate path. Please don't attempt to assess what it all means… other than holding firm to the belief that it's happening for your ultimate benefit. If you can't trust me, then trust Venus, whose entrance into your sign is akin to affixing a magnet to your energy field, to attract people and opportunities that serve to improve the quality of your life. In the midst of Uranus stationing retrograde in your 10th, any outer-world surprises could easily rob your attention from the multitude of smaller treasure-trails revealing themselves to you… but not begging you to tread their gold-lined lengths. Whatever you do, please insist on one particular reading of your week: This is good news, no matter what disguise it may be wearing. In any case, you'll soon be fulfilling a public destiny more comfortable and commanding than any you've felt for at least the past several years. Get down on your knees, and thank the universe for being infinitely wiser than you (or any other single individual).

CANCER (June 21-July 22): It's your New Moon, Cancer… what are you going to do with it? In case you haven't noticed from week upon week of horoscopes urging you to speak up, stand out, insist on your power, and separate from naysayers who'd seek to undermine your confidence for their own selfish purposes, this has been a phase of shedding old shy skin and daring to be seen. Have you been able to excise the timidity and self-criticism… to show up loud and clear? If not, this week is one more delicious chance to assert your individuality. How? By committing to carry out some concrete act to this end, one that will show observable progress over the course of the upcoming month. 'Once a day, every day,' even for just a moment or two, adds up to change after an entire lunar cycle. Be realistic with yourself about just how much time, effort or money you have to spend on this. It's better to pick a small goal and hit it, so you can boost your self-assuredness… rather than aiming too large, missing the mark, and giving yourself one more excuse for self-indulgent sad-sappery.

LEO (July 23-August 22): Oh, gosh, I'm flirting with getting myself into trouble with you again, Leo… but I'm bound by my intuition to begin with a remark reminding you: You're not the center of the universe. Hey, back off, I'm not saying you walk around as if that's what you think (and I wouldn't blame you if you did, since I essentially said as much two short weeks ago). Every one of us is guilty of falling into the trap of our one way of thinking… our innate jumping to the considerations of how we will be perceived or how events will affect us. I've already discussed the pitfalls of straying beyond the bounds of reasonable selfhood—and the Mars-Saturn conjunction is still in effect. But this week, my remark is more centered around the uncontrollable, the cryptic and the convoluted parts of life, which consistently resist usefulness, whenever the search for meaning centers around what it means to you. Strangely, you'll only find your most meaningful place in these current events by switching subject-position and getting outside yourself. If you can't place yourself in someone else's shoes (or at least in the detached observer's aerial perspective), you will undoubtedly miss the whole point.

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): 'You wouldn't even believe it was me!' I overhear you telling an old, out-of-touch friend. 'I was flitting around the auditorium like chairperson of the prom committee… personally welcoming everyone who entered the scene, with a self-assured, effortless charm… not because I felt it was my duty to "put in a good appearance", but because I actually enjoyed the frenetic socializing! Throw a sash over my head, and name me Miss Congeniality! I've realized it takes more energy to hold in my stray glances (worried they might give something away) or my spontaneous utterances (in case I sound ridiculous) than to just let it go and give it all freely. My own worst enemy is in my head—no external critic could catch all those imagined flaws like I do, and no person I associate with is malicious enough to judge me as harshly as I do myself. In the lighter climate of free interaction, I glide along instead of weighing each move before taking it. Folks even say I look lighter… like there's a glow of relief radiating off my face. I suppose it was about time I cracked that concrete covering and played affably along with the social aspects of life. Now that I've done that, I feel great!'

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): If I were your boss at work this week, I'd politely inform you it's time for a performance review. Then I'd shock you by letting you know that, this time around, you'll be evaluated by a jury of your peers, and not by anyone to whom you report. See, Libra, I'd want to determine if you've been feeding me a sweet-talkin' routine… and then secretly skipping out on a full investment in the group's success… with a smile and a confident report on having done exactly what was required of your by your job description—and not a bit more. Or are you one of those superstars who can put yourself second (not just in your personal life!) and take one for the team, out of the sheer delight of helping out those in a bind? I don't know which it is, and maybe neither do you. But an appraising panel of associates would certainly hold that answer. Would you wager your much-desired raise and a promotion on their opinions? Would you prove worthy of the survey's highest ratings, or be forced to settle for a perfunctory 'satisfactory' across the board? In case you're unclear on the premise of your evaluation, let me reiterate your impeccable skills and abilities are not in dispute. Rather, it's a question of how quick you've been to surpass mere obligation, to that soaring space of no-strings generosity.

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): Following last week's progress report on your outer-world achievements, it's important not to let either the accolades or the reality-checks you received to affect your fuller sense of being, for the better or the worse. You are not merely what you do for a living or the sum total of what you've accomplished. And whether you're facing a new level of esteem or a humbling situation, you'll do yourself a favor of continued evolution by keeping it in its proper place… and looking beyond that one zone of life for additional sources of growth. You've reached a certain end-of-the-road, resting-place or plateau, which reveals that the next defining turn to take is in a wholly different zone. For instance: How much fun are you currently having? How well do you feel your efforts are reflecting your complete self, rather than just your professional persona? Are you sharing your specialness with the world through parenting? romance? creative pastimes? What else is there, besides just continuing to do more of what you're already doing… doing it better or in front of a larger crowd, with a flashier title, for more money? What else is there?

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): In lieu of another horoscope filled with things to avoid, watch out for, tune down or control, I'm changing the tune this week and enthusiastically encouraging you to use your imagination. Even if you can't sail away into a far-off, picture-perfect tropical sunset in today's real world, you can certainly set your mind's eye on the types of voyages and participatory privileges you hope to enjoy at another, more fitting juncture. As I've mentioned offhand in the past, your ruling planet Jupiter is heading home, to occupy your sign from Nov 06 through Dec 07… during which time you can anticipate basking in all the qualities you love about life, in a setting far more fostering of your wide-eyed vision than the current one. Until then, though, Jupiter waits in the wings of your 12th house, quietly putting on its face and its Sunday best, preparing for its impending close-up. Without your conscious knowledge of this preparatory passage, Jupiter in the 12th has the potential of hiding your excitement from you… driving you to overindulge in escapist fantasies and behaviors (another cocktail, anyone… or is it three more hours of Saturday-morning sleep?) and tempting your larger-than-life side to pop out, with inopportune vulgarity, like a jack-in-the-box. But now that you know, you can instead use it to rev up for upcoming stimulations, and to dream the good dreams—those you intend to live out later.

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): New Moons are especially auspicious times to create something new, even if it's comprised of a concoction of existing elements refigured to fresh ends. And this week's New Moon falls in your 7th house, which rules our behavior in one-on-one partner-type relationships, as well as the sort of folks we draw to us to play this out. Whether you're currently in a primary relationship or not doesn't matter much, for, in either instance, there's always room for a new start and a (re-)commitment to those values you consciously decide are the most important ones to accentuate in relationship with someone else. Start with yourself—by listing the 13 qualities you're most proud of bringing to a relationship, your worthiest contributions another person would be lucky to receive from you. Then, list the 13 qualities you appreciate in your existing partner, those you seek in others and/or wish your existing partner would demonstrate more of. Now you've got a fairly clearly defined list from which to proceed, right? Not quite. For a truly reenergizing New Moon exercise, swap the lists and think again. That first list is actually the list of what you want to bring out in the other person, and the second is that which you need more of yourself. If the two lists are pretty similar, you're doing rather well. If not, allow the mirror of your relationship (real or desired) to egg you on in becoming a better partner.

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): With good conscience, Aquarius, I cannot stray far from last week's message, except maybe to widen the lens to incorporate the week before's, too and encourage you to pause and digest. What you're looking at this very moment, if you dare to look, is an astoundingly information-packed status report of your life—career, relationship, home life, entire sense of unified self. This moment isn't only a culmination of the last few weeks' soarings and stumblings. This is a much larger marker, thanks to the second peak of this year's Jupiter-Saturn square, which allows you to assess where you are vis-à-vis where you were in 2000, when those two planets were conjoined. Among all the signs, this moment perhaps impacts you the most… not only because you're one of the most long-term-thinking signs, well-attuned to making sense of particular points in years-long trajectories… but also because, with Chiron in your sign imprinting itself on the moment, you must be able to find everything exactly perfect just as it is, even though there may be things you want more or less of. To come into your full healing power is to truly, deeply acknowledge that timing is always as it should be. Everything has happened as it did to provide you certain pieces of knowledge you require to move forward. And from here, you can decide what most urgently needs your attentions in the next chunk of future. For the coming month, for starters, choose your highest priority.

PISCES (February 19-March 20): For the next month, your most important duty to the universe is to appreciate and enjoy your life at all costs… and that means refusing to fall victim to low-aiming habits you've used to train yourself to expect nothing and, thus, never face disappointment. Uranus stands still in your sign this week, then reverses direction, in a cosmically ordained effort to snip off the cords connecting snivelingly mopey sentiments and pessimistic propositions to your otherwise buoyant spirit, and to shake off the energetic parasites spoiling your good times. You don't have to succumb every time an unhappy notion pops into your energy field. Pick it off like a blood-sucking gnat, flick it away, and return to the party. If you were a web programmer, I'd instruct you to add a redirect to every link that threatens to surf you into doldrums… to head the spamming downers off at the path, to return your attention to that shiny happy place, where you can run free with your favorite animals and mythic creatures, through groves of your favorite trees and bushes, to lavish in the sunshine. Can you keep up the uncorrupted hope for a full month?