Horoscopes | Week of February 8-14, 2010

ARIES (March 21-April 19): From what I understand about fishing (which is admittedly very little), you don't show up at the lakeshore or river's-edge and start jumping around, hollering, 'Hey, fish, over here! Jump right onto the end of this hook, so I can take you home and eat you!' There is quite a sizable amount of watching and waiting, patiently biding one's time until an unwitting piece of prey bites the bait. Same goes for hunting, where loudly stomping through the woods is likelier to scare the desired creature away than attract it to the shotgun's barrel. This, Aries, is the actively passive approach currently favored for you, if you hope to reel in that prize… rather than inadvertently spook the powers who possess the authority to award it. Receptivity, alas, isn't a condition that comes naturally to you pack-leading, fire-starting rams, who tend more toward direct assertiveness. Yet, too much throbbing hunger or pushy desperation will surely irritate those key-holding folks who, sorry to say, have other stuff on their plates besides merely satisfying your desires. Bear that in mind, as you contently surrender to the yin-ness of obeying a timeline not submissive to the rhythms of your watch.

 

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): To further punctuate last week's edition, let me reiterate: Your most profound successes are not presently personal victories, but triumphs for your whole team and/or ringing endorsements of the particular life-philosophy rallying-cries which unite you and your peeps. The fullest wealth possible is now becoming available to you… but rather than showing up as a huge increase in your own bank-account balance, it can only be experienced as a group feeling. And if you resist that experiential recognition, Taurus, you can expect to be left wondering where are all those goodies promised by an exalted Venus approaching conjunction with a dignified Jupiter. In turn, that head-scratching could easily devolve into private 'poor me' thinking—and we all know that 'poor' as a self-identifying concept immediately cancels out all possibility of abundance consciousness. So, despite whatever assessment you may give your current financial situation, you mustn't let it adversely affect your optimistic championing of the valuable alliances you possess and the ethics upon which they're based. You may not have everything you want, but your community can ensure you have everything you need (if you allow it).

 

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): This is the time to walk out to the edge of the platform and let prospective employers, clients, promoters and admirers get a good long gander at your goods. If you're job-hunting, Gemini, please pour a much-increased amount of energy and effort into sending out feelers (and resumes), making contact (and connections), and flaunting your skills (and star-quality) during this week and next. Aim to be as direct as possible about what you're looking for (rather than beating around the bush)… but once you've clearly conveyed the message, don't press the issue or prolong the interaction to the point where the other person starts impatiently squirming away. The biggest potential impediment to this process is the enhanced possibility of you filling the space with excessive nervous chit-chat about yourself, your hobbies, your personal life and/or any other topic that is ultimately irrelevant to the matter at hand. You'll have ample opportunity to 'shoot the shit' with these folks later—if, that is, you've sufficiently impressed them with your ability to get to the point in your initial exchange. Another way this impediment could manifest: You end up squandering this favored moment on frivolous socializing or other distractions, simply because you couldn't manage to discipline your mind into focusing on the goal.

 

CANCER (June 21-July 22): To conjure the courage for making the decisive declaration(s) from which there will be no going back, you must have far-reaching vision. If, instead, all you can see ahead of you are the immediate worrisome side-effects (and/or your undue worries about perceived side-effects that may never occur), you'll naturally be more hesitant to act on your own longer-term behalf. I cannot guarantee, dear Cancer, you won't suffer some degree of personal struggle (perhaps especially in the financial sector) in the process of redefining yourself as an individual, in profoundly different relation to that particular relationship (e.g., romantic, professional, familial) that's previously kept you bound in some way. Sorry, wish I could. Yet, your willingness to confront these difficult issues is not about sparing yourself agony now. It's a major sure-thing investment in your future. It's about setting yourself up to foster more personally satisfying and meaningful adventures of your choosing… and to increase how much of your full, real, authentic self you can bring to your relationships. Connect with your vision for that, and its inspiring hook will ease the sting of transition.

 

LEO (July 23-August 22): The biggest task on your agenda for the week, Leo, is listening. But please don't be fooled into underestimating the self-discipline required to actually complete it satisfactorily… especially under the sway of Mars-retrograde's opposition to an otherwise-cool-calm-and-collected Mercury in your 7th. For the record, successful listening requires you to get out of your own mindset so that your first response to somebody's communicative sharings is not to evaluate how what they've said will affect you. Really listening to someone else is actually not about you at all. Furthermore, to listen also necessitates holding actively open body language, since the non-verbal cues of skeptical facial expression or anxious twitching or tense fist-clenching conveys enough information to potentially shut the other person down. And even if this person you presumably care for discloses the details of personal struggle or a vexing problem that's stumped them, be very careful about offering feedback. (That is, be damned sure they want your advice.) If you can pull off all the component bits of authentic listening, what you'll gain from earning their trust will go miles in ensuring, at a later date, they'll happily grant you an equally meaningful favor.

 

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): Keep your wits about you, Virgo. Hopefully won't be too much of a problem, since you've been blessed with keener-than-average 'wits'… and with ruling thinktank Mercury moving into your mundane-problemsolving 6th, you should now be able to wrap your mind around methods for more efficiently organizing the work ahead. But that's not the only reason to maintain a rational outlook. Venus's juicy minglings from your 7th invite you to move closer toward that person-of-interest, for a 'doubling-down' on your investment in your relationship with 'em. To pull off that intimacy surge, though, you must commit to showing more of yourself—and, yes, I'm talking about those riskier, less well-controlled parts of your personality that you reserve for 'safe situations'. (After all, situations become 'safe' only after, at some point, you do reveal those sides… which feels altogether risky.) The big troublemaker here, both in regards to boosting workload productivity and upping the stakes relationship-wise, is irksome Mars-retrograde in your 12th. He continues to foster illogical fears and paranoias and behavioral urges toward what won't help you develop and mature. That's why you need your wits—to talk him out of self-imposed escapism.

 

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): Here's come another chance to stand your ground. You are all too well aware of what you presently need to get accomplished, Libra. You also astutely understand how you personally will be best able to tackle the job(s), so that you're working to your known strengths and intrinsic rhythms... though admittedly, to the outside eye, your organizational methods might not look so organized. And you presently hold a real possibility of actually savoring the experience of putting forth productivity, as long as it feels like you're the principal creative force behind the project. Therefore, should you begin to receive condescending glances or so-called 'constructive' advice from folks who don't grasp your angle or approach, you'll have to dig deep to resist their impact. If it's your responsibility, then it's your call as to how it gets fulfilled. You needn't compromise your process. You needn't debate the merits of which steps happen when, and in what manner. Ultimately, you'll be judged by your end result. Commit to seeing it through to a result you'll be happy with, and it's nobody's business how you get there.

 

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): What you cannot control out there in the world, you can surely compensate for by not letting it invade your entire perspective on life. (See also: Horoscope from two weeks' ago.) Continuing to throw yourself against that super-sticky door, as if perhaps by the 139th smack against its cold hard surface it will magically open, will only magnify your developing disgruntlement. (Maybe the door's bolted shut. Maybe it's the wrong door, anyway. Maybe it's not even a door at all, but a thick brick wall disguised with a functionless knob.) Meanwhile, there's a lot to be happy about, Scorpio… though you may have to redirect your gaze toward a different focal point, and let the bummer backdrop blur to the sides. While you can't control the span of stalled manifestation in your public course, you can control how your mind interprets it—and, by taking full personal advantage of the situation, you'll find an overwhelmingly beautiful freedom this acceptance buys you. (And I'm not just spinning the news. The liberating beauty is everywhere around you, except in that one certain area.)

 

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): Beware of mavericky Mars (still retrograde in your solar 9th), who may be hunting for shit to stir up just as you're starting to 'settle' into the regular behavioral patterns necessary for supporting your basic security. This Mars gets bored easily. This Mars finds the sound of the word 'settle' to be like nails on a chalkboard, representing everything he defiantly battles against. He wants to know when this train arrives at the next stop on the transcontinental journey, since he believes (falsely, I might add) he's seen everything there is to see at this one. If you can corral his frisky feverishness long enough to sit him down and reason with him, Sagittarius, you may be able to explain that this admittedly-lengthy stopover is where the engines get their rest, where the provisions are restocked and the proverbial bladders relieved… and that it would be genuinely detrimental to the mechanisms' safety to rush through this checkpoint. Encourage him to get out and stretch his legs. Remind him there are smaller, more modest—but no less interesting—adventures to be had right in this neighborhood. While you've got to hang around for a while, you might as well make the most of it.

 

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): I presume you know what you ought to be concentrating on, in order to establish or enhance a more sure-footed relation to your worldly self-worth? That's the Capricorn I know and love. Now, if only you're remaining alert to the continuing presence of that certain undercurrent, sucking you back into mutually titillating passion-plays or power-struggles or issue-swaps with individuals or situations that have a vested stake in you not thinking of your own interests first… well, without that alertness, you can easily find yourself somewhere you didn't intend to be, before you even have a chance to notice what's happened. In a particularly sneaky state of astro-affairs, it's the seemingly innocent exchanges or not-so-touchy circumstances that hold the possibility of surprising you with how quickly they turn touchy or not-so-innocent. Because of that, I must encourage you to stay on guard… especially when any open-ended question is posed and, as you begin to answer, you find your lips moving more freely than perhaps they should. By consistently reminding yourself what your main self-designated priority is, you're less likely to be lured into the evil witch's den by a few harmless-looking breadcrumbs.

 

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): This coming weekend's new moon is a doozie of an intention-setting opportunity for you Aquarians, falling in conjunction with both Neptune and Chiron in your sign. With the added support of Mercury also entering your sign (on Wed Feb 10), permitting your cerebral ingenuity to begin encapsulating in discreet concepts what you've been sensing in your gut for a few weeks now, you've got the necessary components for a potent commitment-to-one's-self—if you're ready to commit. In constructing your pledge, Aquarius, please begin with forgiving yourself for past 'transgressions' from your idea of The Grand Plan (which is nothing but an unrealistic notion of how things would proceed, if not for unforeseen emotional reactions or psychological stumbling-blocks). If you've learned from it, it was part of The Real Grand Plan (which none of us humans have full access to). From there, you must back up the forgiveness with tangible action steps, as a signal that you really did learn. And finally, as you're outlining the commitment, you'll also have to contend with keeping aligned to it… at the same time someone else's agenda may appear to discordantly clash with yours. This is where the key to lasting success awaits, but it ain't no piece of cake.

 

PISCES (February 19-March 20): The 'more obvious signs of Jupiter's unfolding goodies' I hailed three weeks ago is now ready to emerge, Pisces. Midweek, Venus arrives in your sign to kiss your nose and toes and eyelashes with deliciousness… and in waxing approach to a bountiful Jupiter conjunction early next week. A Venus-Jupiter conjunction in Pisces, by the way, is one of the most gorgeously favorable astro-aspects that exist—and, without a doubt, is even more so for you little fishies. Being in your mysteriously, illogically wise sign, however, please don't expect the good fortune to show up in a Mr. Good Fortune costume. (He could arrive in rags, for all we know.) Here's what we do know: (1) You won't even notice how ripe for benevolent creation this moment is, as long as you bury your consciousness in heaps of dreary chores. While you may not be able to avoid the overtime workload, you really mustn't allow your reactions to all that work blind you to the other opportunities. (2) Carve small chunks of 'me time' out of your schedule to make magic happen. Fill these with personally meaningful affirmations and rituals that you commit to repeating once or twice daily for the next couple weeks. This is how you court the cosmic luck. (3) Stop trying to analyze or rationalize. With Mercury also moving into your 12th, your linear mind will not serve you in this magic-making endeavor. (In fact, it could sabotage you.)