Horoscopes | Week of June 28-July 4, 2010

ARIES (March 21-April 19): The sentiment of 'actions speaking louder than words' is not exactly a foreign one to you Aries folks, who are quintessentially 'doers' more than loudmouthed big-talkers. But it's a notion especially worth remembering this week, when epic pronouncements or grand-plan grandstanding will amount to little more than a big waste of time. There's really not much that needs to be said, since your energies are far better spent simply working hard every day… and saving your words for the post-workday blowing-off of steam. In other words, don't fill your leisure hours, too, with incessant processing and replaying of scenarios that already filled your productive hours. You can't eat, sleep and breathe the same sliver of concerns—not unless you want to burn yourself out quicker than need be. Though perhaps you're feeling how major this moment could prove to be for you, Aries, it still serves you to approach each day modestly… putting in your dutiful effort, but not dizzying yourself with emotionally-charged thoughts about 'the significance of it all'.

 

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Sometimes the rebel in me wants to write horoscopes like this: 'Taurus, go read the Gemini horoscope. Now, do the opposite.' And were I to just leave it like that, the instructions contained therein wouldn't be totally off the mark. (But then, how mad would you all be if you were given so few words in comparison to everybody else? Trust me, I would hear about it from all the miffed word-counters out there.) Still, I know you're expecting more from me, so allow me to add a bit more detail, Taurus. (1) While I'm urging Gemini to keep a fairly low profile, I encourage you not to avoid the spotlight, should you find yourself in it. Mars in the 5th typically indicates assertive expressive energy. (2) Occupying yourself with other people's concerns, no matter how 'frivolous', is a wonderful way to show 'em how much care. (3) In an odd sense, you're actually likelier to enjoy the company of folks you don't know too well over those who are so deeply in your life they'll want to discuss super-serious matters of 'self'. You, on the other hand, are quietly chewing on such matters inside and probably aren't in the most resolved place to share what you're thinking. The 'gossipy edge-of-your seat twists and turns' of casual acquaintances, however, will provide plenty of entertainment and distraction.

 

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Keep a fairly low profile… mainly to save yourself from becoming occupied with other people's (comparatively frivolous? no need to judge, I suppose) concerns, so you needn't feel the slightest bit guilty about being totally absorbed with your own. There's only so much mental energy to go around, Gemini, and conserving it for sorting and solving the dilemmas at the core of your world is really the smartest thing to do. This doesn't have to mean hiding away from the world (though it surely could), as much as toning down your expressed interest in the gossipy edge-of-your-seat twists and turns of those with whom your acquaintance isn't intimate. You don't need the bother of pulling your social self together enough to sustain the 'ooh'-and-'ah'-filled repartee. If you're looking for company, stick with those super-chummy pals who require no performance of eager engagement from you whatsoever… the folks who you don't mind seeing you in your pajamas, zoning in and out of full presence (as you veer in and out of your own head), and who don't need to hear you mutter apologetic excuses for your perfectly understandable behavior.

 

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Tell people—anyone and everyone who'll listen—about what's most exciting you lately. There's something sort of uncannily soothing in your innate emotionally-imbued tone of communication, Cancer, that'll help the rest of us shift our attentions in a more optimistic direction. The best care you can presently demonstrate for your fellow earth-dwellers is an adamant refusal to sink into panic about any of the countless examples of 'a world spinning out of control'. For every doomsdayish report about the end of life as we know it, there exists an exhilarating counterbalance from road-opening individuals who wisely see opportunities for advancement in the cracks of yesterday's creations. If you'd like to offer nurturing energy, then please align your heart with the innovators… and think positively about all that human ingenuity has already made possible, and that it still possesses the power to invent. Surely in your own life, there's presently an instance in which you're feeling pressured to conjure up an inventive response to an escalating situation. Find an angle on it that genuinely enthuses you, then talk up your process.

 

LEO (July 23-August 22): Putting your money where your mouth is, Leo, means there's not a lot of need to explicitly speak your engagement. If you want to indicate your commitment to a project or person, you should consider pledging dollars or labor-hours (instead of, for instance, sending a sweetly-written card or theatrically swearing up and down that you're on board). Words aren't merely cheap at the moment, but they're also liable to give them the wrong idea. Your sincerest motivations may get too easily mangled, should you try to convey them rhetorically… and suddenly they're not taking kindly to your kindness because they don't understand where you're coming from. A generous check, a voluntary tithe of several hours of your time, some other outright assignation of your resources to the cause… these are gestures unlikely to be misunderstood. It's only because I know how good-hearted you really are that I'm trying to set you up for others to graciously receive your investment—and for you to feel good about successfully giving.

 

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): This is a good week for spreading your message to a wider audience, thanks to Mercury's sextile to Mars (still in your sign!) from your solar 11th. But to take best advantage of this influence, Virgo, it behooves you to vibe out what sort of language is likeliest to appeal to their emotions… rather than, say, laying out a dry factual treatise, chock-full of overly-detailed details, and expecting them not to doze off somewhere in the second paragraph. Folks will respond more enthusiastically, if you speak to their hearts rather than their minds. If you're worried you don't have enough distance from the topic at hand to appropriately evaluate your communicative strategies, please seek the counsel of your pal or colleague who's demonstrated the best success at outwardly rallying public opinion to their team. (And if they possess expertise you lack, please don't shoot down their suggestions before at least trying 'em.) Bottom line: Take control of the discourse now, or you may soon find yourself on the defense.

 

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): If you can retain very little ego-attachment to being 'right' or 'wrong', Libra, you have an above-average shot at extemporaneously spewing bright, forward-thinking ideas that even you are liable to wonder where they came from. Don't ask unproductive questions. It doesn't matter how you stumble upon your next great advancement in vision, just that you allow it to happen gracefully. (And if you ask any number of 'genuises' from various disciplines, I bet many of 'em would tell you that some mystical inspiration they can't account for was, in large part, responsible for their celebrated leaps of progress.) In fact, to actively promote the possibility of enlightening interjections hitting your brain, I suggest removing yourself from the confining context where you ordinarily toil and turn… and creating some type of mini-retreat, including a change in scenery, an official release from a daily schedule jam-packed with duty, and/or a meditative or spirit-courting ritual. Want to think outside the box? You have to leave the box.

 

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): It wouldn't be unreasonable to 'school' certain members of your network, social group or community about any fundamental errors in their philosophical slant. Of course, you know as well as I do, 'errors' are in the eye of the beholder… and so, Scorpio, if and when your remarks are met by dissent from those who feel fingered by your moral indictments (because even if it's 'not personal', you can imagine why someone might take it personally), don't be startled. But if you believe that strongly in your position—strong enough, that is, to bother making a stink about it in the first place—then you shouldn't necessarily retreat once you experience their push-back. It's not like you're intimidated by disagreements. (Are you? Are you sure you're a Scorpio?) You may likely disrupt the casual union among the friends, colleagues or allies (or was it more 'superficial' than 'casual'?) by speaking the uncomfortable part. If you don't, however, your continued membership amounts to tacit endorsement of the very behavior you ethically oppose. (And if you don't speak up, you might instead need to get out.)

 

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): Though it admittedly comes with risks, I still believe that differentiating yourself from the crowd in professional situations (or wherever you're trying to achieve a certain public reputation or goal) is the best path to success. And one of the most surefire ways to stand out in the eyes of 'The Powers That Be', Sagittarius, is to put no-nonsense words to a less-than-ideal reality that many of your colleagues would prefer to pretend doesn't exist. Blowing the whistle on failing practices, challenging the efficacy of established strategies, even going to head-to-head with certain individuals who are more interested in preserving their esteemed position than doing the right thing… these are the sorts of disclosures that both make a loud splash and demonstrate your willingness to wager your ass on behalf of transforming the whole endeavor for the better. As I openly confessed in the opening sentence, alas, this approach could anger an important player, just as easily as it could impress 'em. (I don't know the specifics of who else is involved, so I can't predict which way it might go.) But even if you don't gain respect, and instead perhaps lose footing in a setting unfriendly to forthright expressions of opinion, you have learned something valuable about the unfortunate limits to your current circumstance.

 

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): After having recently encouraged you to watch for self-righteous preachiness creeping into your conversational tone, I see the time is presently much more favorable for you to effectively conduct one-on-one communications on important matters. With messenger Mercury in your relationship house (the 7th) sextiling Mars in the 9th, you're now far likelier to convey the moral imperative in your thinking without rubbing the other person the wrong way. Your key to mutual understanding, Capricorn, is maintaining a compassionate bearing toward whomever you're explaining yourself to. Even if you have to call 'em out for an apparent ethical goof or oversight, please offer them the full benefit of the doubt. Assume they didn't know any better (as opposed to them having purposely and/or maliciously slighted you)… and instead of taking personal offense to why they didn't know what they 'should' have known, politely lay it out, detailing where their thoughtlessness intruded upon you and what you expect in the future if they wish not to displease you again. So what if you're 'stating the obvious'? What's 'obvious' varies from person to person.

 

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): Don't concentrate on the pain; look ahead to the gain, Aquarius. If you're itchin' to grumble, you'll easily find a thousand-and-one reasons to complain. After all, presuming you've accepted that your present lot in life is rife with ample amounts of psychological red tape (leftovers from past instances of cutting corners or optimistically ignoring potential complications), you're now cutting through it… and that's liable to hurt some. But if you reduce some of the reactionary mental noise ('how did I ever get myself into this mess? what was I thinking?') to a purer focus on the future results you intend to achieve, through your efforts to simplify the terms of your commitments, you'll save your ego a lot of self-punishing hassles. Too much internal meta-talk about 'learning major life-lessons (once and for all!)' or other such lofty considerations will sap your motivation to do the daily deeds required to clean things up. Tangible practicalities are far easier to tackle, day-by-day, without the running commentary.

 

PISCES (February 19-March 20): Steer the discussion toward what you want to get out of it…. because if you're hoping against all hope that a certain someone will be able to read your mind, you're playing the overidealism card again. What's so wrong with spreading your desires or concerns out on the table, Pisces, so the person(s) likeliest to be able to attend to 'em is aware of what they're dealing with? Give yourself a genuine chance at getting heard. If, of course, you think you know better than I and would prefer to cushion your interpersonal hungers in more subtle tones (perhaps too subtle for them to catch your whispered intimations?), don't be surprised if they unintentionally steamroll right over your gentle hints. And after missing you shot, should you imagine you're doing a rather stealthy job of hiding the subsequent frustration at not having made your point… well, let's just say you aren't as stealthy as you imagine. (And then they'll wonder what's gotten you all cranky…)