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Horoscopes | Week of July 9-15, 2007

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Upon slowing down just a tad, you'll expose yourself to another voice coming from inside… not the mental gymnast who frantically flips and jumps over dangling details, nor the inspirational coach who keeps the fire beneath your butt burning, but a sentimental memoirist who floods your senses with glimpses, whiffs and sound-bites that raise long-passed remembrances from their resting places. That is, remnants of feelings once felt are liable to reappear—not at random, but in connection (through similarity or difference) with current feelings still being batted around, processed and made sense of. And while the logic connecting past and present is hardly one which would be fairly considered 'logical', that's hardly a reason to dismiss this whole new perspective. After all, Aries, you've seen quite a bit of over-the-top hustle and bustle over these past couple months. As a result, you're no longer in the same place you were as recently as the start of '07. The situation has changed markedly. But if you don't pause to check in with yourself (or to let your Self check in with you), you can't really gauge what's different on the level of emotional engagement. Instead, you're merely working from outdated assumptions about which particular behaviors will lead you to feel which certain feelings (and vice versa). Or to put it more simply: You won't know what makes you happy and what doesn't because you never bothered asking. If you listen to your heart's desires, which are making themselves known through impromptu flashes of nostalgic wisdom, the question of fundamental priorities will answer itself in the very deepest manner.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Life is looking up, insofar as some of the recent heaviness lifting to permit more easygoing enjoyment of the lighter variety. While this isn't an overnight process (give it a few months to unfold), you are on the verge of beginning to receive a whole bunch more attention—not all of it, however, turning out to be quite what it first may seem. Luckily, that 'need to know' is hardly an important facet of the experience. If anything, it threatens to contaminate all the fun. Who needs a running commentary on 'the greater significance' of every giggle and guffaw, anyhow? Certainly not your sanity, Taurus, which is far better served by your acceptance of having no clue about longer-ranging ramifications. As long as you're pleased by the goings-on that transpire this week, purely for what they bring you now (as opposed to attempting to calculate what they might mean later), you're good to go. But be forewarned: Motions to wrap up 'old business' may instead prove to open up a whole new chapter. And on the same token, 'innocent' gestures of friendship could mean a whole lot more than that. No need to worry, though. Take it as it comes. All the while, pay close attention to any peculiar slips of the tongue (yours or someone else's)—they may actually reveal some meaty tidbits about what's not being said, but potentially being tossed around on the subconscious level. 'Face value' ain't what it used to be.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): For a few weeks now, you've been bombarded with far too many practical details subject to sudden change or too mixed up to see straight. It's certainly been enough to leave you scrambling for solid footing, which, alas, hasn't been quite so easy to find. If you need a scapegoat, chalk it up to Mercury's retrograde through the wet-and-weepy wilderness of Cancer… an astro-event far more interested in reminiscences than forethoughts. Well, to kick off your week right, Mercury's has finally returned to direct motion… and while his introspective retrograde preoccupations may take a bit of time to wear off, you should also begin to see some of your applied mental prowess restored to form. In fact, it's a pretty outstanding week for brainstorming of all sorts, allowing your now-rather-world-wearied mind to get outside the miasma of mixed feelings for a few fresh hits of inspiration. Ideas, however, need not be acted upon right away… or more properly, they probably shouldn't, at least not while you're still pulling slowly away from the fogbank and can't quite tell if you're clear of all the snag-ready buoys. Thinking is not the same thing as coping, which you may still be too flustered to manage. Small annoyances still abound, and your preferred manner of dealing with them may well be to sail off to your own private 'happy place' and let 'em all go. That's not a bad strategy, as it gives you more space to ponder and problem-solve the bigger shit… for more effective maneuvering four weeks or so down the line.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Snap your safety vests tight, and cut yourself a huge amount of slack, as you pass through the reentry shock associated with Mercury's stationing back to direct motion in your sign this week. As a side-effect of the magnetic switch-flip, you just can't help if every last thing you mean to say or do gets somehow bungled or botched. Keep repeating to yourself: It's not my fault. And whatever you do, don't make too much of these goofs, since they say absolutely nothing about what kind of person you are in the grand scheme of things. Indeed, you mustn't even judge whether the mismatches between your intended statements or actions and what actually came out are in fact 'goofs'. Rather than errors, perhaps these are merely what happens when you experience a lapse in self-protectiveness… and the results, while unsettling because they may appear pointier or less sympathetic, could be more fully and genuinely expressive on your part than your usual shell allows. Regardless, the worst of this effect will be over (for now, of course) once you make it through the week, so if you simply cannot bear the unpredictable expulsions spewing forth from your head, shoulders, knees and toes, then I suppose you won't have much longer to fear your own automatic proclivities. Why worry at all, though? Forgiving yourself for not having full control over your faculties is a lesson in kind self-treatment. Not only isn't it your fault, but you can't really help it either.

LEO (July 23-August 22): Like it or not, you're an unwitting vehicle through whom flows information and insight for others that you may not even be fully aware of yourself… and then, as a direct result of triggering such enlightenment in them, you will become more cognizant about what's been unconsciously operating behind their scenes. With these new tidbits of data suddenly availing themselves to you, you'll discover how certain seemingly ill-fitted pieces actually do fit together. Can you even believe, now that you're in this brighter light, what's been happening backstage this whole time? The sense that things now make may hardly make sense, so mind-altering are the revelations. Please treat these latest disclosures with the utmost delicacy, Leo, for any secrets now uncovering themselves were probably secret for a very good reason. Therefore, respect the privacy of those involved… and forgive these beneficiaries of your accidentally rousing conduct if they react poorly to your superficially innocent provocations, snapping at you as if the unintended messenger of complicating tidings is the one guilty of the actual complications. In other words, be patient and kind-hearted if you trigger someone's latent crap into immediate relevance. You may be merely the vehicle, but that makes you an easy target.

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): By the end of the week, Venus will be moving into your sign… which we can take as an indication of some good stuff afoot (or, if not outwardly 'good', then at least intriguing). But if you've been paying any astro-attention, you'll know that this is only part of the larger story. Venus only makes it a few degrees into Virgo, before turning retrograde (Jul 27) and heading back into Leo (Aug 8)… only to return again for another month in your zodiacal zone, beginning in early October. And needless to say, over the next three months, you'll likely be confronted with the need to distinguish between what's really good for you (deeply soul-nurturing, with room for growth and evolution) and what's merely appears to be favorable (short-term thrills, superficial fun, not much beyond the first couple layers). Magic indeed may be in the air, but it's on you to take it for what it's worth (to you!)—without outright dismissing the passing fancies simply because they will pass, yet without overvaluing something not worthy of a significant investment. All in all, you mustn't get too swept away by dazzling first impressions nor too put off by initial duds. Just go into it all with the sincere desire to meet some new people, whether for romantic purposes, friendship or shared-interest networking. Suspend as much instant judgment as you can, while giving your heart plenty of time to decide upon its true desires.

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): If you hope to make a big splash with whoever holds the power to bump you up—or take you down—a couple notches, you might want to spend your week doing a lot of close listening and unobtrusive observation. There's been some rather mysterious business going down behind the executive-washroom's closed door, and you've only had the vaguest suspicions of what's at its core. Want to know more? Well, you're about to do just that… and the information you glean just might save you from taking the wrong approach to pursuing your own goals. This is a great chance to put your wide-eyed 'who? me?' innocent act to wonderful use. Be a stealthy detective, and don't let on that you're hunting for facts. Otherwise, the tables will turn on you, and you'll be the one whose motivations appear dubious. A few choice questions (remember: you're innocently asking, okay?) could crack the case, leading an important character to tell you much more than he would've intended, had you not caught him off-guard. Please keep the 'a-ha!' to yourself (and that goes for facial expressions, too), or you'll raise his red flag. Then, gnaw on the latest disclosures for the rest of your week, before actually deploying the data for your own interests. Don't you think it would look kind of funny, if out of the blue you're saying all the right things? Give 'em a couple weeks to forget how much you now know.

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): Your starting point for all interactions this week should be your high throne of moral responsibility… from atop which you can see all types of human exchanges, the most and least honorable extremes and everything in between, and decide what sort of treatment you intend to dole out. This means appealing to your calm philosophic rationale first and foremost, instead of letting a moment's surge of bluster spoil your desired ethical intent because you felt and then acted before duly deliberating. Your goal in fostering such responses is to win a triumph over your coarser tendencies, so that you can later say you're proud of yourself for adopting a given tactic—with no matter for who 'won' or 'lost'. Sometimes, ground we appear to lose is actually more than compensated-for by the lessons we learned in the process. But as your responsibility in interpersonal exchanges is ultimately to yourself to proceed with integrity, you needn't be concerned with 'schooling' others on their treatment of you or someone else. Looking out at the world from your 'high throne' doesn't grant you the high-horse privilege of telling anybody how she should lead her life. Though you may have sincere wishes, they could easily get lost in the overconfident (and thus abrasive) tone to your voice. And should you come off like you're moralizing, you can expect the other person to call you out on it. That puts you right back in the position of looking at your own deeds first, not those of another person.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): Your next couple months will offer instruction on the topic of logical extremes—both the revitalizing rapture enjoyed by following circumstances to that point of epitome and the unromantic recognition that every such choice is inextricably accompanied by other choices being not chosen as a result. In other words, to really get the most out of one thing will also mean significantly limiting yourself in another. That's the unavoidable tradeoff, Sagittarius, for putting your whole gusto into a relationship or career, a calling or connection, or an all-encompassing interest. In exchange, however, embracing the logical extreme will take you places (literal or philosophic) you'd never otherwise reach—an unparalleled depth of experience, a place to funnel all your optimism, and eventual satisfaction of the 'I wonder what would've happened?' question. You won't likely forget what you reaped, as a direct result of going all the way with it… though there are the obvious risks of confronting abysmal lows on your quest for the towering highs. Or you can cut the game short and take home your perfectly run-of-the-mill participant's award ('Mr./Ms. Middlebrow', the certificate would read), all the while knowing the grand prize is still dangling, unclaimed, and leaving you to wonder, 'What would've happened?' As you start seeing some promising movement on the public-platform front, you must understand the situation is more complicated than a simple 'hooray!' One hoop to jump through begets another on the journey to the logical extreme, and apparent victories or losses at this point only amount to one small step in a particular direction.

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): Don't fixate on the words. For every individual human seed on this planet, there is a unique language of expression, which that person uses to try and explain where he/she is coming, with greater or less success. No matter how precise a rhetorician we purport to be, something is always lost in the translation—a point of fact that should impress upon us the real truth: that most of our communication doesn't necessarily occur as a neat functional match-up between word and referent, but as an exchange of nonverbal energy. And therefore, if you pin the other person into a meaning he or she doesn't actually mean, based purely on the language he/she used, you aren't being fair. You're merely being a terminological tyrant, seeking to retain the upper hand by proving your foe (who's not really a 'foe', is he/she?) your communicative inferior… as opposed to legitimately trying to understand this other person's stance. Be generous and forgiving if your main squeeze, a close pal or a well-intentioned co-worker says something hurtful, cold-hearted or otherwise revealing. It may not 'reveal' anything, other than a tied tongue or scrambled thoughts. More than likely, the words just came out wrong… which is a totally valid reason for you not to get attached to them. Instead, listen to their heart. You'll be able to hear what they really meant. If it still sounds bad, don't try to talk it out now. Wait a week or two, at which point, should you ask them to repeat themselves, it'll probably sound different anyhow.

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): Some long-hoped-for (and, one might argue, long-overdue) ideas for how to move ahead with stalled work projects are floating around the ethers, waiting for you to pluck them out of the thin air and use them to return to fuller productivity. The hardest part, however, is to remove yourself from the equation. Put another way: The obvious solutions will continue to elude you, as long as you're hell-bent on doing it according to your preconceived notions about what your role should be, how you will be perceived, and if everything will be done according to your timeline. While of course your desires will come into play whenever you're involved, they will not be adequate for driving the process further along. You must be willing to rely on the kindness of strangers… or at least someone else's kindnesses, as opposed to praying for a solo success (why? so you'll be the one who smells most like a rose?). The smartest way to play your inherent self-centeredness (we've all got it) is to listen to your body. You'll be a stronger component in the overall plan if you keep yourself healthy. So if you're feeling antsy and anxious, you're not staying busy enough—get moving. If you're sluggish and slow, you're probably pushing too hard—take a break. And if you can barely pull yourself out of bed, maybe it's time for a mental health day—call in sick. While you're taking care of yourself and putting yourself in service to the bigger picture, other participants are ready to step up to the plate… and to give you your next assignment. Bow to their leadership.

PISCES (February 19-March 20): Why's everybody being so darned serious? Hopefully, you know better, Pisces. It just so happens that you're ideally positioned to work whatever tricks are stuffed up your sleeves… in order to lighten the mood and inject some fun into all the scenes you enter. Do not succumb to the mythical excuses why you should be panicking, when in fact if there are real reasons to do so, they'll certainly be there next week and the week after, too. Can't you give yourself a break? Feel free to get stupendously silly whenever it's appropriate—and maybe even when it's not. 'Appropriateness' is the domain of ultra-strict parents, humorless business associates, and the blueblood social registry. Here where the rest of us live, there's ample room for shaking off the shackles of 'proper decorum' and chuckling up a storm. And these days, Pisces, your laughter is quite contagious. You never know who just might catch it… including that dreamy guy or enchanting gal who might be surprised to see this wild-and-crazy side of you. What better way to advance the mutual scoping one more step than to share a good joking repartee and a lively giggle? At every turn, refuse to buy into the hushed tones, cautious brow-wrinkles and clenched ass-cheeks. For this week, laugh it all off.