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Horoscopes | Week of October 30-November 5, 2006

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Despite all appearances, this week does not bring any type of sweet or secure conclusion. You may make some significant degree of progress, reach a new plateau of mutual understanding with other involved parties, and/or vaporize the potency of one especially gnarly obstacle… but I hear no fat lady singing, and therefore it ain't over. Looking back at last week, the pushing which you likely got underway is due to meet its match (if it hasn't already) by this weekend's Full Moon—in the form of another person's bared-teeth rebuttal, a new-and-different obstacle that arises organically from what's developing, or your own internal mishmash of mixed feelings. In light of that, what else is there to do but keep pushing? Of course, you might wish to revise or revamp your techniques, based upon how the situation is evolving… or to stay squarely, doggedly on message, to further enunciate your stance. In any case, please bear in mind that Mercury (who's a prime player this week) is currently retrograde in your 8th, which should serve as a warning that important, intense communications are liable to be both tricky and prickly. On the other hand, new aspects to the story could emerge (from you or your ally/adversary), adding complications. With Mercury's second conjunction to Jupiter, one or both of you could seem so damned sure and so damned loud about your point of view, the whole thing might appear resolved, over and done. Reread the first sentence of this scope, then put the guarantees on hold.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): A Taurus in rare Taurean form is the life of any party. The earthy humor, the loyal warmth, the lively enjoyment of food and drink and music and decorations… it's like you were made for sharing the fruits of life with those whose company you adore. But if I've told you once, I've told you a zillion times this past year or so: Saturn in your 4th has been continually wrestling you into confinement, so that pensive privacy may often feel more compelling to you than public partying… though it's not as if you're actually enjoying all the alone time. Just because it's easier, safer, cheaper or less demanding to stay home doesn't mean it's what's best for your spirit. During the lengthy course of Saturn's transit through your 4th (Jul 05-Sep 07), you've had, and will have, plenty of opportunities to cocoon into your comfort hatch and face the moody music. At certain astro-junctures, however, the other planets are standing outside your front-room window, virtually begging you to come out and play. (Saturn's not the only one who matters.) And weeks like this one and last, where almost all the action's rooted in your 7th, there are also literal people (or one in particular) knocking on your door, maneuvering for some much-desired togetherness. Plus, the additional Uranus-in-the-11th influence makes this another great moment for wild, unorthodox social involvements—the off-the-beaten-track nightclubs, the activist coalition meetings, the community parades, anything that gets you outside your norm. Yes, this horoscope is all too familiar. If I keep repeating myself, there must be a good reason why.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Quit fidgeting. Stop letting your eyes wander and your mind drift. Put away the magazine, and close all the extra windows on your screen that lead to time-wasting gossip sites and strangers' blogs. (Obviously, astrobarry.com is an exception to this mandate.) I want you to push yourself to the bounds of your attention deficit, and force your jitters to the point of surrender. Stay at your desk, and let your voice mail pick up the calls. There's nowhere to skitter away to, and no five-minute catch-up to promiscuously distend into fifty. You've got to invite the pressure to build up… until you achieve that productivity breakthrough you only reach after you've gone a little bit crazy. All at once, you shift gears from warm-up to full-speed-ahead, and the workhorse twin takes over the wheel. As long as you keep busy with real duties (not trumped-up excuses to socialize or surf the Net), you'll be happy as a clam and healthy as an ox. It's the anxiety-laden precursor to productiveness—the anticipation of everything you're supposed to do—that's far worse than the actual work. It's this projection into a fearsome future of endless to-dos, based on your least-lovable past experiences of hard labor, that keep you from simply doing in the present. That's how the nerves build up into stress, taxing your system and leading you to either fall ill or escape through unwholesome measures: by not utilizing these packed-6th-house energies for something practically useful.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Please, Cancer, cram as much interest and enthusiasm into every moment of your week as humanly possible… without gambling your serious sense of solid footing in the world. It is possible to be both an ambassador to life's endlessly engaging wonders and a responsible, grounded individual. Too often, we sacrifice one at the altar of the other—and end up either joylessly 'successful' or bliss-filled but flaky. What a ridiculously false dichotomy to strike, eh? As a parent (to your most-adored little buggers or to your own inner child), you'll exemplify the beautiful lesson of balance, if you keep finding ways to inject moderate doses of liveliness and fun… while, at the same time, making sure you don't spend too much money, squander prime time or valuable resources, or overlook the details of our mutually-agreed-upon physical reality. But don't let panicky financial woes (no matter how legitimate or justified) hold all the good times at bay. You might be waiting a long time until the windfall comes through or the sunken ship rises from the ocean floor with your long-lost treasure, or not, and you don't really think more money will buy you happiness, do you? Why postpone the enjoyment of life until something else comes along? If I told you this was all there was, I'd still expect you to find an avenue for celebrating the innumerable blessings already everywhere around you. In fact, these blessings are completely free—and you can help yourself to as big a portion as you can ably digest.

LEO (July 23-August 22): It's not too much, trust me. You're never dealt more than you can handle… though, sometimes, the challenge lies in finding all the inner strength to muddle through, like one rediscovers long-unused muscles when mixing up the ol' workout routine and aches for a few days afterward. But you are plenty strong and ferocious to cope with an equally strong-and-ferocious deluge of forgotten feelings tying your stomach in knots. Don't succumb to totalizing pessimism. There's no reason to create a story out of a moment in time, as if you're scripting the forthcoming few weeks of your life based upon a passing sensation. The worst result of that would be a self-authored self-fulfilling prophecy, a living-out of all you fear is headed your direction. The future has not been written yet, and thus needn't turn out any certain way. Don't get ahead of yourself. 'This too shall pass' and other trite sentiments on life's intrinsic temporariness should serve as reason enough to hold tight. This really will pass. In fact, whether, right this second, you can believe it or not: You are likely to be better off, on the other end, having gone through this. Don't force that upbeat translation onto your current situation yet, though. One step, one day, one more emotion. Hold your outer layer together—no need to worry the world over a fleeting storm. Behind closed doors, permit yourself to fall apart. Maybe even ask a trusted companion to bear witness.

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): Place yourself in others' hands, and submit to finding gratification from their favorite hobbies and haunts. Please don't take this advice too seriously, or you'll miss the whole point. This is not about uttering an irrevocable 'I do' or signing an exclusive 5-year contract. Rather, I'm trying to get you to combine (1) a conditional, day-by-day giving-up of control with (2) an eyes-wide-open indulgence of your curious side. The best manner of mixing these two, at least as I currently see it, is for you to follow their lead in terms of how to spend your free time. That means resisting the automatic jump to expectations, and leaving the door open for you to respond unexpectedly to out-of-the-ordinary social stimuli. How can you possibly know whether you'll enjoy something, if you never give it a try? The bounty of 3rd-house energy, which is the primary motivator of this horoscopic prescription, especially favors all sorts of game-playing—as in sporting challenges, trivia contests and card tournaments, rather than interpersonal 'mind games' (just to be clear on that). Before you have the chance to testify on how you detest games or aren't any good at them, cut yourself off. Agree to give anything a chance, as long as your partner, pal or cousin is gung-ho about it. You need the variety, even if you don't know it.

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): Not completely unlike last week's recommendations, I strongly encourage you to evaluate what you've got to work with—based more on your own self-protective assessments and instincts, as opposed to how others might rate and rank your assets and abilities. At the end of the day, their opinions are less informed than yours (since, after all, we're talking about your reserves and resourcefulness)… and therefore should matter less. But can you hear your inner voice, speaking up on whether to buy, sell or hold? Can you trust your gut, even when its message flies in the face of tradition or contradicts what the expert logicians have punctiliously calculated? Your secret weapon in winning what you want may be something the other folks don't even know you possess. And chances are, your more blatantly aggressive allies and associates have underestimated you, just because your approach is more understated and urbane than theirs. That's why their pushy pressures of so-called encouragement may be just what you don't need. Ah, but how to follow through on your own desired interests, while tuning out their well-intended though partly-unfounded judgments… yet still maintaining the sanctity of pleasantness in your relationships? You're a clever one—you'll figure it out.

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): Everything I wrote to you last week continues to hold true this week… and into the next, as well. For another two weeks, the Sun and another four planets are still crowded together in your sign. To review, this means that you are the one holding the power, garnering the notice, coursing with energy and oozing appeal. But what are you going to do with all of it? Just because the whole world is tilted distinctly to your advantage, that doesn't give you an excuse to cruise along. If you don't make conscious decisions as to how you'd like to responsibly channel this superconcentration of strength and steam, it'll be decided for you—by other people, out of your control, due to your refusal to own it. Sure, everything you touch or try will be eased along, thanks to the planets… so why not use this highly unusual boost of momentum to make huge strides in something that actually matters to you? And this week, Uranus adds electricity to the Scorpio-housed Sun and Venus from your 5th, which should further encourage you to take big bold risks in the clear daylight, without feeling a need to shield your true motivations from public view. Go ahead, act crazy… in the most truly liberating and enjoyable fashion possible, all while letting people you know get a great view of you. The worst thing you could do, in this hyper-Scorpionic climate, is to play it cool and pretend this is business as usual. It isn't.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): Call up your favorite massage therapist, spa practitioner or Reiki healer, and sign yourself up for an unwinding treatment. Better yet, play a little bit of harmless hooky—concoct a way to excuse yourself from a day or two of answering to others' priorities, and slip out of sight. Or if nothing more genuinely rejuvenating is possible, spend a few extra hours of comfortable sprawl in bed or on the couch. Ideally, I'd love you to be able to shed your skin… to peel off your entire identity for a brief spell of secluded retreat, and forget the burdens of existence. Gone would be all the trappings of your social personality; in their place, only waves of vibration that link you to every other entity and idea in existence, reminding you of your wider connections throughout the universe. I don't suppose I need to tell you that such an idyllic escape from the confines of obviously apparent material reality must necessarily be temporary. We don't get many chances in our hectic day-to-day lives to dwell on this alternative plane… at least without the accompanying guilt. But this, Sagittarius, is a wonderful time for a mini-vacation from the existential stress of keeping a coherent personality together, in advance of exciting earthly times ahead. Use it to refresh yourself.

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): This week, Capricorn, you'll help yourself out by modeling the majority of your behavior after the typical Aquarian. Don't know much about the sign of Aquarius? Well, you aren't as different as one might think, since you both share the traditional ruling planet of Saturn. Yet, Aquarians are usually far more outwardly odd than Capricorns—and far more intrinsically social, loving to circulate themselves among throngs of all kinds of people, from CEOs to food service workers and everybody in between. Furthermore, Aquarians have a knack for making others feel as if they've quickly formed an intimate connection with them… while ultimately keeping almost their entire emotional core sheltered from exposure. (In other words, Aquarians often fall on the side of extremely friendly coolness.) Whether you know it or not, you currently bear an unusually keen ability to click with a variety of different sorts of individuals… to make the necessarily engaging conversation, to sidestep convention in order to distinguish yourself from the crowd, and to honorably disregard all such distinctions as between 'prince and 'pauper'. And all without going too far with any particular individual, reserving most of your deep true self for, well, yourself. So step out on a limb, and surround yourself with a cavalry of colorful characters. They'll be more uncannily drawn to you than they ordinarily would. Then, do with this entrée as you will. Need help? Ask your Aquarian friends for guidance, of course.

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): What an exciting time for you… and one that keeps getting more exciting as the week waxes toward a Full Moon on Sunday, heightening the emotion in every experience to dramatic proportions. You may even see your future successes forming themselves into literal deals, right before your (and everybody else's) eyes. Who could expect you to contain yourself, in such a position? Though your whole field of public accomplishments does appear to be coming up roses, you mustn't allow your ballooning renown to inflate too much too fast. Removed from the nearly-abstract hugeness of everything happening out there, you're still obliged to meet your same habitual relationship commitments to particular individuals—first and foremost your romantic partner, and then your close friends and intimate business associates. They may be proud of your finally-paying-off ambitions, but they also expect you to behave just as you always have towards them. I do not intend to rain on your parade. As I told you last week, you've earned this culminating moment in the spotlight. Just make sure that, while you're enjoying it, your head remains connected to the rest of your body… instead of detaching from your neck and floating upward to the mythological mouths of self-declared deities. You are sincerely incredible, but still a mere mortal.

PISCES (February 19-March 20): For a valuable lesson in alternatives and possibilities, I assign you to contact the two or three people in your life who've dedicated their lives to following the most unusual path, made huge transitions from one incarnation of themselves to another, and/or pursued extremely unorthodox educational or travel opportunities. Ask them about the process they underwent prior to making such daring decisions… what motivated them to vault so far from their previous norm, how they handled their preliminary fears and fumbles, and what they think of their current existence versus how it used to be. I don't expect you to emulate their unique journeys of expansion, since these are the types of decisions where one size definitely doesn't fit all. Rather, I want you to expose yourself to others' experiences of taking bold steps in wild directions, with only their inner adventurer lighting the way to far-off horizons. You, Pisces, may need the direct inspiration of real-life models and mentors, to help you make your own zany leap if you haven't already… or if you have, to provide support and solidarity when the inevitable doubts creep back in. We're all afraid of stuff. We all come up with our own supposedly rational reasons for sticking close to the status quo, so we needn't confront the big 'what now?' that necessarily follows any detour from The Straight Line. But somehow, some of us push through it all… to The Other World, where we really can make up our own rules. The rest simply settle for settling, and miss out. Which group will you end up in?