Horoscopes | Week of March 22-28, 2010

ARIES (March 21-April 19): You're simultaneously (1) in a prime spot to make your statements, assert your desires, and inform the world that you're out to satisfy your interests and, at the same time, (2) bumping up against obvious critics and competitors, overbearing bossy types and structural realities that'd love you to back down in the belief that this (whatever it may be) could never happen. Not much in this assessment that's changed from last week, Aries… except perhaps for the heightening of your defiant independent streak, a strong voice within your personality that has grown incredibly sick and tired of hearing mealy-mouthed excuses why we're all supposed to resign ourselves to accepting things pretty much as they are. I hope you're coming to terms with this inevitable clash between (1) the apparent staleness of external circumstances (purposely fostered by others' willful non-responsiveness) and (2) your intrinsic drive to make things happen, regardless of the fallout. At this turning of the wheel, you— a groundbreaker, a sleeves-rolled-up doer, a fearless leader—represent our most promising model for progress. Show us how it's done. Revolt. Create something out of nothing. And let the old-guard naysayers detest you for it.

 

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): If you're finding yourself unwilling or unable to steal those much-needed hours of self-imposed isolation, Taurus, let me suggest there may be a deeply ingrained belief about productivity that's inhibiting you from simply taking time out for yourself. Earth signs are notorious for valuing the practical and the pragmatic over, say, less-tangible goals like providing self-nurturing by embracing stillness or leaving one's mind open to mystical inspiration from untraceable sources. While that valuation surely serves you well when it comes to 'taking care of business every day', it simultaneously holds you back from relishing a profounder experience of everyday life that's about more than just how much you got accomplished and what concrete results came from it. Without taking moments like this to silently reflect, spacily daydream, and/or purposely tune out, you might easily lapse into wondering, 'Is this all there is?' Doing what you're 'supposed' to do on the material plane (or what your inflexible inner ethicist claims you must do, in order to be worthy), while refusing to allow yourself to periodically drift into imaginative other-worlds, merely creates superficial success… with all the outer pieces in their so-called rightful place, but a hollow core of unexamined purpose inside.

 

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): It takes an entire village not just to raise a child these days, but to support a Gemini when s/he is in need. Hell, the very notion of blatantly appearing to be 'a Gemini in need' is often enough to have a twin-soul like you quickly turning the other cheek and, if you can't totally conceal your vulnerable bits, at least changing the tone toward comedic commentary on your 'in-need'-ness. I won't presumptuously probe into how 'in need' you may or may not be, then, dear Gemini… and instead remind you that having a wide matrix of supporters in your life (which you do) can be quite a godsend when you need some specific gestures of assistance from some somebodies but don't exactly want to rely too heavily on any one person to provide everything. By asking for more modest bits of solidarity and sustenance from multiple pals at the same time, you do more than merely spread out the so-called 'imposition' so that nobody is apt to feel put upon. You also ease your own discomfort with having to spill your full story in one intense sitting to one brave witness, instead sharing relevant chunks with different sets of ears at different moments… at once expressing everything that needs to come out and spreading it all around the circle, yet not handing over all your guts to a single safeguarder.

 

CANCER (June 21-July 22): That 'pushed-and-pulled-from-every-direction' feeling, which has intensified over recent weeks, is not releasing you from its grip anytime soon. Yet, before you hide your head in the sand and wish it all away, I passionately urge you to see this as a call to self-defined action. See, Cancer, when we find ourselves caught between living up to relationship expectations, properly redefining domestic and/or familial arrangements to limit emotionally draining influences, and remaining wide open to strange new possibilities in the public/career zone… well, there hardly exists a realistic method for 'holding it all together'. So that's why, when faced with such a multiplicity of contrasting pressures, we don't hold it together. It's a near-impossible balancing act. Don't even bother. At this crucial juncture, a pivotal moment that continues drawing you ever closer to the tipping point, you'll eventually have to realize that you can only consider so much—before, that is, you simply do whatever instinctively feels it'll best serve you, and let relationships and domestic/familial arrangements and public/career opportunities arrange themselves accordingly.

 

LEO (July 23-August 22): The time for trifling over the little shit seems to have now passed into the past. In its place stands the glaring opportunity to, at last, make the big leap toward an entirely other mode for understanding your world, Leo… and if you want your next leg of the journey to possess some jaw-dropping, life-changing substance to it, you'd better be prepared to signify that desire with an intentionally adventurous move. Needless to say, not everyone in your life would agree with my above diagnosis. And therefore, you're just as likely to confront influences aiming to convince you to stay put a while longer, to discover ways for finding what you're looking for here, without having to perform some dramatic undertaking in order to reevaluate your priorities. It's not that what they're pointing out is exactly wrong—in fact, there is still plenty of food for thought in your familiar stomping-grounds, should you choose to temper your thrill-seeking urges. Yet, at this intersection of many divergent roads, your most pressing consideration is ultimately: Which road do you want to go down? Where do your curiosities lie? In what direction are you likeliest to learn something new? Big change often does call for a big dramatic step. It's on you to determine just how 'big' you'd like it to be, for your enjoyment and edification.

 

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): One of the hardest things for a Virgo to do is willingly make a mess. And for those of you who don't conform to the oldest astrological stereotype in the book—that Virgos are anal-retentive neat-freaks—let me clear that the 'messes' I'm talking about are just as likely to be of the metaphoric variety than the literal disarray of tangible items. That metaphoric type of 'mess' you typically avoid is psychological in nature, one in which somebody might choose to dwell, open-ended, in an interpersonal whirlwind of conflicting emotions… where it is incredibly difficult to make a clear, rational statement on where one stands, due to the fact that it changes from moment to moment and is undeniably affected by where the other person stands, which may also change from moment to moment. Yet, I smell such a mess in your future, if it's not already made itself known in your present. Please don't try to prematurely tidy it up. To claim one emotional stance over another right now is to forcefully block out at least one contrary strand of authentic feeling on your part, which does your truest self a serious disservice. This messiness is an unavoidable side-effect of burgeoning creativity, passion and/or transformation. To make things 'neat' again, so soon, is to impose an artificial control on the process—and limit the range of personal growth that's now possible.

 

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): The apparent ambiguity could in fact be nothing more than a red herring. The efforts spent on trying to balance the compelling evidence 'in favor' and 'against' might end up squandering your mental energies… and leaving you more anxious about drawing the conclusion than is really warranted. See, Libra, when it comes to determining your next action in any important relationship situation, I'd suggest there is a very clear 'right answer'—and that any anxiety is really more about the heightened emotional poignancy of having to deliver that answer rather than to 'figure it up' (since, on the level of sheer instinct, you already have). Don't dismiss the simplicity, just because you can't altogether explain in logical terms why you know what you know. You still know it. And it's nobody else's business but yours how you come to your conclusions. Despite the training that's been instilled in you, you aren't being especially accommodating or tactful by postponing the inevitable or creating a large amount of excess analytic busywork to discuss or think through what's already obvious inside you (though you may be trying to talk yourself out of it, for whatever psychological purpose such self-doubt serves). Nip the false ambiguities in the bud. Embrace the instinctual knowing, and act accordingly.

 

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): While (as I told you last week) there's so much work to be done, Scorpio, the real threat to your effectiveness remains a sneaking doubt from within, which unfortunately undermines each effort you make with red-tape questions about whether it was 'right'. I sincerely feel for you, since such turbulence in your confidence level isn't exactly your natural state of affairs (at least in such an outwardly manifesting fashion)… and I am strongly motivated to do whatever I can to help you push through this narrow portal to an otherwise wide-open field of potential. How I wish I could bottle an infusion of my deep faith in your powerful potency and feed it to you through a straw, as if this website were a juice-box. Instead, I'm left to this limited horoscope space, within which I'm finding it increasingly harder to repeat the same pep talk in continually interesting language. The same formula remains: Be ceaselessly active, even if you are tackling tasks for the third or fourth time (and even if you've already gotten disappointing results) and even if you aren't sure quite how they 'matter'. Letting your moods paralyze your activity is the worst thing that could happen. At the same time, please remind yourself who you're dealing with: Nobody messes with a Scorpio and emerges unscathed.

 

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): 'If the walls of the city were collapsing around me, and I suspected that life as I knew it was about to either end or take a sharp left turn toward Tallahassee, I'd still find a way to celebrate the joyous angles of an otherwise unstable situation… perhaps pick up the nearest fiddle and pluck out a jaunty tune, recite foolishly-wise prophetic poetry to passersby, or take abstract photos of the modern contrast between decayed buildings and the emergence of a colorful new dawn. I will look like a charlatan to those ultra-serious rule-makers-and-followers, who sadly take stock in the erroneous notion that we must face trials and tribulations with a sober sneer on our faces, lest we mistakenly snub our noses at the gods by seeing past the treacherous veneer they've left us. But I do not care to labor at fostering a proper public impression for those others whose humorlessness I disdain. I will smile rebelliously at their furrowed brows, for I know the ultimate lightness of existence (when we do not pollute it with our short-sighted worries). I will play hopscotch and jacks on the crumbled pavement… and am happy to be joined by fellow merriment-makers who want to share their jiggy moves with me. However, no one will convince me to get back inside and quiver and cry about the long-overdue closing of an ancient chapter. My future's too bright. I must dance in the streets.'

 

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): Please don't be thrown off your game, should you find yourself hitting apparent ceilings, bumping up against stubborn opponents, or fighting against deeply entrenched situations smacking of nepotism-serving inertia. Yes, these are real stumbling-blocks. And they are also distractions, Capricorn, which pull your vision away from believing in your unstoppable ability to build progress, step by step… and toward undue concern about what other people say and do and believe. While I wouldn't want to underplay how much work you have ahead of you, should you refuse to bow down to seemingly hopeless circumstances that limit your movement—because, damn it, you're reinventing your self-concept of your tremendous capabilities from the inside out, and that's a hell of a lot of work—I do hope you keep following the scent of eventual success, which is where this path will lead. However, if you expect everyone around you to welcome your growth and help you clear the rocks and weeds and fallen trees that are standing in your path, you are unfortunately living in a dream-world. Many folks these days are quite pessimistic and thus likely to (consciously or not) rain on the parade of any brave individuals (like you!) who dare to transcend the miasma of doomsday messages. Be prepared to fight for your way out.

 

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): The diversity-respectful collective-thinking model you evolved Aquarians often endorse is now a philosophy you should also follow, in both personal and professional contexts, rather than merely espouse. While we can agree the team's final deeds and decisions just wouldn't be the same without your visionary input, we must also admit you aren't the only person with game-changing feedback whose participation adds obvious value. One likeliest source of unnecessary power-struggling in group settings, I'm sorry to report, is your own push to see major tenets of your own agenda rise to the top of the consensus… coupled with an only-barely-conscious fear of having your contributions swallowed up whole by an interactive current stronger than you can ward off. Yet, therein lies the very beauty of collaboration in relationship: The product of the process is unlike anything any one of the individual participants could've devised on his/her own. Alas, therein also resides the core of truth upon which the old quip about Aquarians—that you love humanity, but can't stand people—is drawn. To truly embrace the diversity of human experience is to invite your ideas and methodologies to be 'contaminated' by the unpredictable, uncontrollable standpoints of everyone else involved… and to release the belief that, secretly, you've already got the whole thing figured out.

 

PISCES (February 19-March 20): When it comes to what you need to feel stable and sure-footed out there in the real world, Pisces, I'm not sure how much 'compromise' is in order… especially when it involves you conflating those material needs with what someone else in your life claims to need (and somehow expects you to take responsibility for providing). How many things can one person pursue at the same time, without watering down the cumulative exertion by spreading it too thinly… and ultimately not doing a particularly good job at any of 'em? Please focus on you, and not merely in obedience of my general messaging that seems always to encourage you Pisceans to stop sacrificing yourself on behalf of those other folks who, judged on their outward behavior, may not be proving to deserve it. There is timeliness here as well, as your solar 2nd plays host to the Sun, Mercury and Venus, in preparation for both Jupiter and Uranus's arrival over the coming months, emphasizing a go-getter attitude in your financial sector (and the necessary faith in one's own independent value, as a prerequisite for attracting the wealth). Meanwhile, overbearing commitments to others are begging to be contained within appropriate boundaries.