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Horoscopes | Week of May 17-23, 2010

ARIES (March 21-April 19): No need to artificially rush the proceedings. Believe me, Aries, they'll move plenty fast on their own. Skipping steps, as I said before, is unwise. 'So close you can taste it' is not such a terrible spot to occupy, after all. And the 'tasting' will begin—in full force—in a matter of just a few weeks. Kill a bit of time by socializing. Let the anticipation build by talking everything up. Lounge around the house slightly longer than you otherwise would, knowing you might not have many chances for lounging in the near future. The measured pace will win the race. Superstar sprinters, on the other hand, may garner a lot of upfront attention… but who'll remember them in the later laps of this marathon, once they've tired out and prematurely moved on to something else? If you're really serious about what's about to unfold, you better embrace the slower-paced day-to-day reality of it too, not just the awe-inspiring peaks. (But oh, those peaks you'll soon be scaling…!)

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Remember how I told you that someone else is due to take over the 'hot seat' from you? If you're smart enough to willingly cede that center-stage spot, Taurus—and I sincerely urge you to do so gladly—then it doesn't behoove you to insert yourself as 'the voice of reason' in communal circumstances where, ultimately, everything will be fine without your imposing input. Sure, if the other people are given the freedom to continue the process while you slip away (to take care of personal business? to steal a lengthy coffee-break?), there will be some pieces that develop differently than you might have chosen. But how much does it really matter, anyway? Isn't it possible they'll improve upon the concept, rather than merely 'wreck' everything you worked so hard on? I commend you on taking such pride in this 'baby' of yours. Yet, if you've done a good job birthing and bringing it up, you must trust it to evolve beyond your close tutelage.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Raise your hands to heaven, and 'hail!' to the mysterious 'Master Plan'. (Too bad none of us were given advance copies.) Unless you're a glutton for self-imposed punishment, you have few options other than to dance a hysterical frenzy through this disarray. Heck, Gemini, by this point, you don't think you stand a chance of organizing it, do you? Living on the edge of your seat has become par for the course. The only stability you can hope to attain? That which you cultivate inside, for yourself… a core of emotional self-reliance against which you can rest your anxieties, knowing you will continue nurturing your own sustainability no matter what the universe throws at you. Everything else, it appears, could come or go at a moment's notice. Scary? Sure. But your unflinching recognition of life's bittersweet fragility—which is always the case, and has merely made itself unmistakable lately—is something you'll bring with you to the next chapter. Confronting it now builds strength for happier future disarray.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Faithful consideration of others' feelings should only go so far, Cancer. Once it inhibits your ability to boldly stalk an outward existence that'll leave you feeling like your energy-investments actually amount to something meaningful in this great wide world… well, you may have to kiss your considerateness goodbye in certain relationship situations. Venus's arrival in your sign on Wednesday (May 19) puts you in a prime spot to attract what you want over the next few weeks—if, that is, somebody else isn't increasing their pressures on you so heavily that you fear upsetting them. (Recurring theme, no?) Without a doubt, you have a lot of planetary snarls to tiptoe through, at the same time you're positioned to soar like you haven't in many months. You just have to put yourself first. And in remaining interpersonally considerate, your main duty is to clearly communicate your intentions… rather than, say, sneaking out the door while You-Know-Who is sleeping.

LEO (July 23-August 22): Presumably, you've made your case (multiple times, probably)… and there isn't much left in your toolbox to try. That's should clue you in, Leo, to the fact that the ball's now in somebody else's court. Your future destiny, at least insofar as this circumstance you've totally concentrated on (even obsessed over?) over the recent months is concerned, is presently out of your hands. You cannot circumvent your dependence on other people's deeds and decisions in this area. It takes two to tango… if not more, based on how complicated the steps of this certain dance may be. So you're left with the following to-dos: (1) Step back, give everybody involved some space to breathe, and quietly send out good (but non-manipulative) juju to the person(s) you're counting on. Wish the best for them, no matter what happens in this situation. (2) Focus on something else for a while. Though you now have little control in this circumstance, there are oodles of other items that'd benefit from a little attention.

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): The onus is on you, Virgo, to choose to trust a certain individual—a strangely compelling acquaintance? an old pal who's reappeared out of the blue? someone close to you who's suddenly become all jazzed up?—with a promising opportunity you probably wouldn't take on alone, without their collaborative presence. It's a tradeoff: You give up a healthy chunk of control (admittedly not a comfortable proposition), in exchange for sights and sounds and strokes of luck totally foreign to anything you might've conjured by yourself. Exciting! but risky. Exhilarating! but panic-producing. Is this really all it's cracked up to be (if we believe the tales this dynamic character is spinning), or is it another case of pie-in-the-sky wishfulness? No solid answers exist, in part because your participation may make the decisive difference. Instead of wondering, why not outright ask this potential partner the question(s) behind your nervousness? Why not explicitly voice your deal-breakers, and give 'em the chance to reassure you… or squirm evasively away?

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): As long as you're trying a different way of doing things, you can expect a few creatively enriching bumps along the road. It's all just an unavoidable in-the-process effect of stretching yourself to the next level of capability. You are trying things differently, aren't you, Libra? Because if you refuse to make this much-needed jump forward, you're only forestalling the inevitable out of a fearful resistance to learn new tricks, you old dog—and the longer you hold out, the likelier you'll be forced into advancing anyway, against your will. Think of your work processes like your technological backbone, the metaphoric 'server' to your network of abilities. If you don't periodically upgrade the software (or, when necessary, replace the whole damn machine), you're tempting a total crash. Without question, the upgrade process comes with its own fair share of momentary inconveniences. Yet, they are far less disruptive when they're consciously taken on and planned for… and following completion, your methods will be far sleeker and savvier forever after.

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): I'm reserving you a wide berth within which to flaunt your peculiar version of somewhat-subtle outrageousness. Herein, Scorpio, you'll find no cool encouragements to behave yourself ('boring!') or leave the innocent bystanders (who aren't that 'innocent' if they're all up in your kool-aid) to their solo devices. This is a moment to startle them with your audacity… to cause some enticing controversy with your creative insights… to give the haters a thing or two to talk shit about, while your adoring fans (of which there are plenty) let their jaws hang slack, drooling in admiration at your unique allure. To generate such charged reactions, however, is to necessarily play to these dual polarities—in other words, to ensure certain people love you is to not worry about the likely possibility that, in the process, certain other people will be repelled by your sinful sense of humor. You're doing it devilishly right if the words 'fuck off' are never too far from your lips… in a naughty/nice kind of way.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): I welcome the possibility, Sagittarius, you're feeling less alone than you have in a while, thanks to Venus's visit to your solar 7th. I hope you've embraced the uplifting interpersonal effect that at least one special somebody has recently brought to your life (or renewed with fresh attention). If you haven't noticed any easing or enhancing of your ability to connect with your fellow earthlings (or specifically with certain individuals), I fear you're not leaving yourself open enough to outside influence to recognize the fortunate benefits others are presently carrying toward you. I'm reading this as the mere introduction of a longer streak of 'good trouble' now barely showing itself… via the seductive image of another person who's living out an existence you want to be a part of. The impulse that's drawing you together is one worth pursuing. In the short term, however, don't let the 'trouble' get too troublesome too fast—especially insofar as it tempts you to fall short of career commitments.

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): I'm moved to convey this to you as if it's already come to pass: You will quit mincing your words, and your unadulterated opinion will come roaring out your lips—before you have a chance to couch it in politer terms (or, more likely, because you decided not to bother). Such a sharp, unambiguous expression of personal preference or desire will hit a few folks in an off-putting way… though they won't legitimately be able to accuse you of anything improper. (Somebody could even try to spin this as you 'being difficult', mainly because they weren't banking on opposition to their programme.) Yet, at least one key individual will be deeply impressed by your take-it-or-leave-it, take-no-prisoners intelligibility. They will like knowing where they stand with you… maybe even exude a grateful attraction to your impeccable directness. And you'll be so grateful for the new alliance, it won't even matter if certain other unreliable bonds are simultaneously fractured. You're proudly you. Some will adore you for it… others, not so much.

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): I think it's perfectly okay, Aquarius, to decide not to let this current outcrop of drama attach to you. 'Simplifying' your life makes quite a bit of a sense at this juncture for multiple reasons… not the least of which is that you deserve to delight in some simple pleasures, with no strings that bind and no negative consequences to anticipate. And if that means seeking that delight in other venues, from companions with whom you don't share a long and illustrious history of ups and downs… well, whatever it takes to minimize the headaches. Be aware, though, a piece of you will still yearn for those same entangling engagements that you're simultaneously trying to move away from. That doesn't mean you ought to actively re-engage those tangles, alas. It's merely a continuing side-effect of saying goodbye to that chapter of your history… and acknowledging that, though you're headed in the right direction by 'simplifying', you can't help but also miss the complications you're leaving behind.

PISCES (February 19-March 20): This is no time to freak out about how other people—or, more specifically, certain other people—are apt to perceive you. Or have you forgotten that you're now due to 'make a noteworthy splash', Pisces? Of course, if you hunt for self-invented reasons to hold yourself back from total all-eyes-on-you extroversion, you will certainly find some. But to follow such rationale is, basically, to rob yourself of lots of potential fun (and the deeper, more meaningful mood-lift that usually accompanies the prioritizing of self-satisfying pleasure). And why? Out of some enforced or imagined sense of obligation to a real or theoretical individual who might judge you for doing something they aren't comfortable with themselves? Re-read that last rhetorical question back to yourself one more time; doesn't its logic seem rather convoluted when you step back and consider it? Once you cut through all that crap, you'll find a simplicity beneath… one that dictates doing whatever the hell you want, for no other reason than that you want to.