astrobarry.com the web

Horoscopes | Week of November 20-26, 2006

ARIES (March 21-April 19): You can go ahead and thank Jupiter for inspiring you to rise above it all… to grant you a refreshed (and refreshingly optimistic) outlook on the impassioned-but-destabilizing effect of the past month's events. Consider any recent frustrations with a newly-minted smile on your face, with knowledge the 'unsticking' has happened. You're freer to soar, unfettered by lingering questions unaddressed or simmering feelings uninvestigated. Now, at least, you know. Don't be suspicious of the growing sense of inescapable heaviness or complication lifting. This is neither a mistake in your perception, nor a fleeting respite from more of the same. On the magnificent contrary, it's a sign of things to come: faster movement, broader experience, more ideas to explore and more people to meet. With that in mind, and as the car you're traveling in begins to accelerate, please make sure your seat belt is fastened… and all your arms and legs are inside the vehicle with you. I added that last part as a check-in for you, so you'll ask yourself whether one of your hands is still hanging on to something—an outdated idea, a dashed dream, a relationship not intended to join you on this next leg of the journey—that's slowing you down or holding you back. You're not discounting the great value this 'something' has had to you in the past, if you just let go and keep on truckin'. There's even more ahead than there was behind…

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): To recap, I've spent the past month or so going on and on about you and relationships, due to the clump of planets crowding its way through your 7th house. And, on the larger scale, these recent weeks have capped off a whole year of expansion in how you relate (or, ahem, don't) in one-on-one pairings of all sorts, with Jupiter in your 7th encouraging you to grow beyond your previous interpersonal boundaries. (Remember this from way back in Oct 05?) Now, with a New Moon putting this last month behind you and Jupiter moving in the 8th for a year's intensification of interpersonal growth, building on what's just gone on… well, you should expect one (or more) of the following results to begin to unfold. (1) In the case of relationships either recently begun or freshened up, you can plan on a deeper, steamier or otherwise more serious connection to develop. With manners taking a backseat to meatier meaning, you'll soon get to see what it's really all about. (2) In the case of relationships that have turned increasingly stale or dissatisfying, you'll likely find your patience (a Taurean trademark) starting to fail you. The underlying problems will rise to the surface (one way or another), and you must either duke 'em out—without attachment to the outcome, which could end up at an impasse—or sink deeper into discord. (3) In the case of 'still no relationships' (and presuming you want one), if Jupiter's yearlong travels through the 7th didn't help the situation, then Jupiter in the 8th should motivate you to look further into yourself… at the unhealed couplings from your past, the personal traumas and/or familial baggage blocking you from the goal. To be blunt, if you want to fix it, seek help. Finally, remember that the term 'relationships' applies to not just romantic matches, but also professional partnerships and intimate friendships. You may reap one type of result in one zone, yet an entirely different one in another. The bottom line, though: No matter the relationship context, it's getting hotter, hornier, thornier and/or rawer.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Life's too short to hang with people who don't get your juices gushing. And it's also too short to hold your tongue (and, thus, conceal your proclivities) with those who do. For the next year, as Jupiter fills your house of relationships (the 7th, that is) with opportunity and wonder (as well as an added dose of brash audacity), you're invited to thumb your nose at settling for any interpersonal situation that bores you. There are too many interesting folks, around the corner and all over this big friggin' world, to waste your time. 'Don't fence me in' is a wonderful mantra to whisper to yourself—or to declare daringly to those who try to dampen your spirits—throughout the coming months, and especially this week. That's not to say, of course, solid or stable bonds with certain special people should be unnecessarily messed with, just to create controversy or prove a point. There's certainly such a thing as demanding too much freedom (particularly when you're not willing to grant them as much as you want for you), since a relationship is ultimately about compromise and concession. This week, with Venus squaring Uranus from your 7th to your 10th, the most dangerous pairings to challenge with this newfound directness are career-related ones. While you may still be under the benefit of Mercury/Uranus's visionary insights (as I described last week), that doesn't mean you should use what you know against others in the workplace. Unless, that is, you're ready to be 'released' from the bond that keeps you solidly respected (and employed). But for all I know, maybe you are…

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Here's a different mode of looking at your crab-like inhibitions, those sensitivities that send you scrambling off sideways until the glare of being watched passes. What if suppressing your bravest sillinesses and disallowing yourself the flirty play of sociable gregariousness were actually detrimental to your health? It's not the craziest thought in the world… and probably one you should consider this week, Cancer, as the New Moon in your 5th asks you to build upon the past month's incessant enticements to let loose, and shift 'em into 6th-house territory, where they become a matter of routine. In addition to the Sun, Jupiter also moves into your 6th house, where it'll stay for more than a year—and offer a tremendous opening to improve your overall physical well-being, by trying new methods for organizing your daily work and self-care habits. But in order to take full advantage of this fortuitous break, you'll want to incorporate activities you enjoy doing into day-to-day life… preferably ones that help you blow off steam, rather than fuel your self-consciousness. Another way to read Jupiter's 6th-house voyage involves health-related situations that arise from doing too much work, focusing excessively on dutiful obligations, and/or not allowing your body the free range of motion it craves. And I'm going to assume you don't want those alternatives to manifest. Therefore, I strongly suggest you broaden your focus of what qualifies as 'important work' and, despite the contradictory sound of this advice, begin to include a regular allotment of boundless merriment into your regime of responsibilities. Think of it as essential.

LEO (July 23-August 22): Jupiter's your new best friend, only you don't know it yet. You will, though, as the next 13 or so months roll along, and you happily discover that the classic Leonine mojo you might've worried you'd lost forever is alive and well. No bones about it, this continued Saturn-in-Leo business (since Jul 05) has put a definite damper on your parade, forcing you to restrain some of your fun-loving, over-the-top attitude and be serious about Who You Really Are. Only the absolutely best-adjusted, done-all-the-right-work Leos have escaped their share of downer doldrums—and even they have probably giggled less than usual this year. Well, Jupiter is ready to soften some of the Saturn-in-Leo blues by sambaing into your 5th house, the place where simply having a good time is a worthy enough endeavor. Jupiter in the 5th is splendid for expanding upon all forms of self-expression, for falling into boundary-pushing flirtation (or love?) with those adventurous types, and for increasing joy (and fertility) in parenting. This week, in particular, would be great for following Jupiter's example and casting off some of the recent heaviness with a wild-and-crazy activity that connects you directly with happiness. (Watch that you don't lighten your own mood by purposely cutting yourself off from someone else.) In the bigger picture, however, Saturn's still loitering for nearly another year. That said, only the sorts of good times best suited to your developing maturity will bring true bliss. The rest will merely deliver more living examples of why sometimes you really do need to contain yourself.

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): It's perfectly all right—and, in fact, astrologically appropriate—to get excited about spending a greater chunk of your time at home, decompressing from the furious hustle of the world out there. You'd probably be thrilled to sneak yourself some moments' worth of private bliss, without being expected to utter more than a few perfunctory words. Haven't you said enough already? Well, not quite… if you forgot to tell the individual (or individuals) who's most affected by your urge to unwind (or is it a drive to disappear?) of your intention. Yes, Virgo, you owe them at least that much: to be clear about how deeply you desire a relaxing evening (or five) away from the cocktail hours and mingling sessions, the loudmouths and gossipmongers, and all the effort it takes simply to 'pull it all together' to participate in the customs of social life. (Especially so if you've been following my recent advice to open yourself to all types of social stimuli.) It's not fair to just escape, without providing a reasonable explanation… and believe me, it's quite reasonable to need a break. Better, then, to be forthright with folks about what you require to take care of yourself—even if the conversation threatens to be less than enjoyable or easy. They may have very different ideas about how you should spend your free time… and might be disappointed in you for opting out of the so-called 'exciting' engagements on the town they'd planned or invited you to attend. Still, it's right for you to speak up about what you want. Here's a chance to stand as a separate individual, rather than going along for the ride… and holding secret resentments tightly across your chest.

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): While you may be, as they say, 'good with people' (in fact, one of the best), those skills can get rusty if you're constantly fraternizing with the same contained group of familiar faces… or if you're limiting yourself to same safe topics of conversation. Lucky for you, Libra, you're just entering a phase of pronounced social circulation, during which the best behavioral strategy you can follow for yourself is to meet, mix and mingle. For the next year or so, please make a concerted effort to seek out opportunities to rub shoulders with the sorts of people who push you beyond your natural habitat—folks with unusual interests or alternative philosophies, daredevils, straight-talkers, international jet-setters, and anyone who'll give you a chance to try on different attitudes. Knowing you, I'm sure you'll do a fine job of keeping yourself in the social game, even when the discomfort related to foreign influences knocks you around a bit. When in doubt, ask engaged questions… and make sure to take in their answers with the fullest genuine curiosity possible. Though I encourage you to remain in the 'dabbling' mindset, to avoid putting any pressure on yourself to swallow anybody's zany lines of thinking in one big gulp… there's a high likelihood you may, intentionally or by chance, discover something that'll dramatically change the way you manage your day-to-day habits. After all, if it'll end up making you happier, healthier and more productive, it's worth considering, right?

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): With this week's New Moon, one of the most hair-raising, eye-popping, spine-tingling and chock-full-o'-action months of your recent life draws to a close. The obvious question is: What are you supposed to do next? Well, Scorpio, I can't answer that query with many specifics… because so much of it is dependent on how you spent these past few weeks of mega-madness. In a general sense, though, I'll advise you to make something practical and enduring out of what's started to stir and spin. These astonishing activity levels are not sustainable—not for you, and not for anybody—so now you have to pick and choose what you want to keep around (because it'll contribute lasting value to your life) and what you'll have to bid a fond adieu to, with an 'it's been fun, but I've got to move on' departure and a return to your real business at hand. What you cannot (or more properly, should not) kiss off are any realizations that arose regarding what really moves you and what clearly doesn't. This could have its consequences for your romantic life, your career position, or how you spend your spare time. Think of your entire existence as a business model, and challenge yourself to maximize the profits while reducing the costs. In other words, start figuring out how to get more of the things you enjoy, while simultaneously allowing yourself to cut back on the activities and investments that 'cost' you too much. If you've learned anything during the month of super-Scorpiosity, it's what constitutes (for you, at least) a rich life… and how best to get it.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): Here it is, the one you've been waiting for—your reigning superhero Jupiter has come home to roost in its favorite sign: yours! This is the official start of thirteen months' worth of thinking big, talking big, acting big, and dreaming big! And all these months horoscopes that goad you to keep it cool, stay still, hold it together, and simmer down are finally a thing of the past! (Frankly, it makes me want to end every Sagittarian sentence with an exclamation point! But I won't.) Due to Pluto's near-omnipresence in your sign (well, since '95), many Sagittarius souls haven't felt as buoyant and enthusiastic as all the astrology books describe you. Hopefully, with Jupiter (the planet of growth, expansion and easy opportunity) returning to your domain, that should start to change. During this upcoming year, your best bets will involve any activity that stimulates your fundamental cravings for exploration, excitement and risk-taking—travel to exotic faraway lands, further education in topics that really matter to you, outdoor adventures and mystical retreats, a deeper devotion to ideals and beliefs that offer a sense of meaning. Likewise, it'll become harder to stay put in situations that don't serve your ultimate ideals… despite the fact that others in your life could turn perturbed at your refusal to be 'serious' or 'practical'. In fact, though you shouldn't feel rushed to leap out of planes or run off to the Amazon in the next few days, you may already get a taste of somebody else's attempts to hold you back. Get used to being thrust into the role of renegade. Are you up for it?

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): As hard as this may sound to Capricorn ears, you will need to become increasingly dependent on your friends and colleagues over the coming months… mainly because, as I already told you last month, you'll benefit greatly from the outside perspective. You're entering into a phase during which tremendous spirit-level evolution will enhance your energy field—but you may have little conscious idea of how it's happening. Yes, Cap, I've purposely used such ethereal language (for which you earthy folks generally have little patience) to give you some sense of how unfamiliar this type of growth may be… with no bottom line to analyze, no concrete results to touch or point to, and only a vague notion that you'll later emerge as a much more integrated human being. We're looking out to 2008 (when planetary benefactor Jupiter hits your sign) as the year it finally gets clearer. In the meantime, though, I'd hate for you to mistakenly assume nothing much is happening (or nothing especially lucky), just because you can't read the writing on the invisible walls. That's where your peers come in: They will see what you don't, mainly the subtle ways in which you're opening up and spreading out. When you insist that your development has slowed to a screeching halt, they will gently correct you. Give it a try this week, by getting them on board with what I've just told you. See if they're willing to play along throughout '07. My guess is they've been waiting awhile for you to let them help.

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): Looking back at all the latest goings-on in your 10th house, chances are that one of a few results have occurred (or are still in the process of occurring)—(1) you've attained a stupendous new peak of professional eminence, (2) you've hit an apparent barrier along the career path you'd been treading and don't know where to go next, or (3) some complicated combination of the two. Let me reassure you, Aquarius, that all three possible outcomes support your ultimate flowering transformation. You're not afraid of a little (or a lot of) change, are you? Thought not. Here's what to do now. In the case of unambiguous successes, your logical next step is to bring your allies along with you. Use your newfound influence and authority to help those colleagues whose values you share, both to spread the wealth and to enhance everybody's (including your own) ability to do fresh, creatively inspired work. The goodwill you generate in solidifying a team of like-minded individuals will continue feeding itself synergistically, and you'll reap even more public respect out of acting altruistically. If, however, your recent luck has seemed to flounder (notice that I wrote 'seemed to', since luck is in the eye of the beholder), then you likewise need to reach out to your peers for assistance. Just as you'd be helping them out if they needed you, they'd be more than happy to caress their connections and place a few phone calls on your behalf. In fact, it's probable they've got a couple newfangled concepts or possibilities that'll excite you far more than what that previously-interesting-but-now-blocked path had recently offered. In the end, all variables aside, work together with others—rather than separately—to create and develop projects where you'll all be able to shine. It's all about the social relationships, anyway.

PISCES (February 19-March 20): If you're not prepared to own your boldest professional dreams, then you certainly mustn't expect to maneuver yourself anywhere even close to achieving them, eh? Or maybe that's the point, Pisces… that you're preparing yourself for possible disappointment by already settling into it, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of unaccomplished ambitions by never even trying. Is that why your sign is so infamous for playing the martyr? Okay, the 'tough love' portion is done. Did I, perhaps, get you a little angry or worked up? If that's what it will take for you to admit, aloud and unashamed, what it is you really want to do with your life—and to use my worst-case-scenario taunting as inspiration to prove me wrong—then I'm happy to be the target for your frustrations. All I'm asking you to do, for now, is speak your dreams. You don't have to understand how you're going to get there. You don't have to file the necessary paperwork or start begging networking contacts for opportunities. You just have to shout your most fantastic visions to the universe—and to at least three trusted pals, the type who (gulp!) are likeliest to consistently follow up with on this issue in the foreseeable future. (Make sure you point out that, at least this time around, you don't want constructive advice but merely a compassionate ear.) The hardest part is stopping yourself from downplaying the possibilities (because you aren't talented enough or lack the training or don't even know for sure if it's what you want), even as you put them out there. 'Reality', incidentally, is far more pliable than the logicians would like to admit.