Horoscopes | Week of September 13-19, 2010

ARIES (March 21-April 19): It's highly likely you're not going to like what I'm about to tell you, but please stick with me anyway. If it feels like parts of you (maybe even all the parts) are presently falling apart (or being ripped to shreds, as the case may be), then you are appropriately priming yourself for next year's rebirth. However, if you're trying to model the stoic warrior façade and refusing to let the 'setbacks' (which are, more precisely, the cumbersome complexities involved in moving forward) outwardly rattle you, you need to drop the brave routine right away. See, Aries, you're right on schedule to fall apart. This is a necessary phase of the metamorphosis, to shed the caterpillar skin that got you here… and during this interim, before the butterfly wings have had their chance to grow all the way in, it's natural you're unsure of who to be right now (and perhaps a bit agitated as well). Old wounds are exposed. Thorny exchanges are hitting your buttons. There's shit to deal with. Progress into this falling-apart, with willingness to see it through for the next couple months. The psychological work you do now will prevent shadowy storm-clouds from popping back up later, to rain on your parade of 2011 successes.

 

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): It doesn't matter how morally upright you declare yourself to be, Taurus. The most palpable proof comes from how you're presently treating other individuals in your one-on-one dealings—if you're being uncomfortably honest (rather than merely 'don't mess things up' status-quo-preservation-oriented), calling attention to any looming 'pink elephants' in the room (instead of feigning innocence), remaining in potentially unpleasant exchanges as long as it takes to hit catharsis-point (though it may require lots of time and patience and there are plenty of other things you'd rather do), then you're likely exemplifying an ethical solidity. You must be willing to create waves, to risk tame relationship dynamics on behalf of juicier connections, in order to wholly 'show up' for the other person. Be proud of who you really are. Those who are of compatible persuasions will be all hearts-a-flutter in response. Those who aren't? Who cares? Fuck 'em… respectfully, of course.

 

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You've had yourself some fun, as I've repeatedly suggested, correct? Excellent. Now put those glittery heels and party hats back in the closet for the time being, Gemini. This week kicks off a good month and a half of solid dutifulness… which is your best-and-only option for adeptly responding to those 'extenuating circumstances' that continue to cast shadows of knotty intricacy over everything else in your life. I almost wrote 'you simply have no choice in the matter', in reference to the seeming impossibility of you being able to get away with avoiding the circumstantial snarls or pretending they don't exist, because that's how important it is for you to get on top of the related methodological details. But then I reminded myself we always possess some degree of choice… even under the most limiting conditions… even if it's just to consciously choose one interpretative perspective over another. So let me thusly encourage you not to choose the head-in-the-sand path to denial. The fact is, you've got some serious work to do—and not accepting the responsibility will actually worsen the situation.

 

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Per the planets' scheduling of your personal benchmarks, Cancer, it's now about time for you to bask in the more profound rewards of a different kind of love affair. Perhaps we're simply talking about a much-desired amorous renewal or a further deepening in intimacy with someone you've already been involved with. Or maybe you're actually ready for a whole new shebang… the kind of romantic intermingling that's more good-hearted fun (and less bending-over-backwards to show 'em how caring you are). Let me go one step further and be explicit: Sex and/or other physical displays of affection and/or attraction are an important part of our interpersonal-relationship life. (In fact, isn't that a primary defining factor for differentiating between a friendship and 'something more'?) In other words, don't allow yourself to treat Relationship Life so seriously that it strips all the pleasure out of it. And oh yeah, if you are on the prowl, you're now entering a very 'hot' period of being able to lure objects of desire to you. Kick off your season of sensual spiciness this week; whether or not you 'get any' right off the bat, you've got a good couple months ahead of you in this arena.

 

LEO (July 23-August 22): When you're not using your brain to resolve logistical problems, crunch data, or organize your day's responsibilities, shut that shit off. There's no justifiable reason to let it wander into self-torture territory, so it may pick at emotional scabs or worry about hypothetical future scenarios that will or won't happen as they will or won't regardless of what you think about 'em now. Take a load off, Leo. You've got enough real-world deeds-to-get-done, bills-to-pay and workloads-to-prioritize to fill a day's good mental efforts. Don't toil overtime, and risk your physical health (which is always a factor of whether we've properly balanced 'productivity' with the needed recharge of 'nothing-doing'). Once the proverbial clock strikes, make the most of your comforts of home—not as an escapist tactic, but in genuine self-care appreciation of those fruits of your labor (i.e., the domestic pleasures you've spent hard-earned cash on), so that you may feel it's all worthwhile.

 

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): You've most recently been dealt quite a pile of personal-business and/or business-business items that required you to be meticulous ('to the letter!') in their caring-for. And now, as the bulk of those are reaching completion (or at least a more straightened-out state), you really ought to turn your attention elsewhere… and preferably to something fluffy, frivolous or relatively unimportant. Naturally, Virgo, I don't expect your brain to magically empty out of all its weighty concerns (fat chance, eh?). But rather than depart into further areas of mind-taxing analysis or organization, fill the empty spaces with stress-defusing nonsense. This advice holds especially true when it comes to relationship-related considerations, where you'll drive yourself pointlessly crazy trying to understand (and perhaps control?) other people's apparently aimless or not-well-thought-out choices… when it really isn't your business. (Yes, even when it comes to your partner or closest friend, you should really let them do as they will, though you might not 'get it'.) Simply put, you don't need the worry—and you'll be happier without it. But you will want to keep yourself otherwise occupied, to aid in resisting temptation.

 

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): Absorb. Digest. Settle into it. Stated conclusions are currently unnecessary and unwarranted. You know what you know (right?), and therefore I'm hoping you similarly know what you don't know… and can hover in that specific not-knowing for a brief spell, as you let the already-known knowledge integrate itself into the fabric of your daily life. Turns out, Libra, your daily-life fabric may indeed require at least one abrupt rearrangement in the next week or two, in order for you to adjust to this recently-reaped awareness and minimize the disjunctions with your actual behavioral habits. Declarations of independence or departure, however, are much ado about nothing. Be outwardly unremarkable as you effect this remarkable change. The announcements will come later. And the next chapter of unfolding (which has yet to unfold, which is why it's the 'next' one) will only add further clarifications to such statements. Give it another three weeks. Until then, recalibrate.

 

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): When I report that, by week's end, you'll receive self-evident indicators of your mojo having at last returned, I expect you Scorpios to be dancing in the streets. Do you think I don't know how jubilantly you were already beginning to celebrate last week, at the first mention of this noteworthy sea-change in your immediate future? I'm onto you, Scorpio… which is also why I want to remind you that with power comes responsibility (and yes, I definitely would qualify what's coming your direction as 'power'). And rather than feel the need to test out your mojorific power-playability by unnecessarily convincing somebody to do something they're unsure about, flaunting your creative genius or sexual allure just to reemphasize how you've still 'got it' (no doubt: you do), or otherwise pushing buttons simply because you can… well, how about reserving it for a more special or ultra-significant purpose? Okay, at least think about that—at the same time you indulge in fairly innocent (though nothing's ever 100% 'innocent' with you, right?), mutually consensual and non-damaging behaviors that'll mark the unofficial start of a very different season than the one you're leaving behind.

 

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): Do yourself a huge favor over these next several weeks, and expect to feel somewhat out of sorts… at least insofar as you're ordinarily rather direct in your approach and attitude, but may temporarily lack a clear notion of which direction any given action or discussion is (or 'should be') headed and will therefore struggle to direct much of anything. But that's all good, Sagittarius. Right now, it's probably better to be in preservation mode (even as you're quietly making plans), aware you're likelier to inadvertently lose something, during this admittedly odd moment, if you aren't conscious of your amplified dreaminess. Not until the last week of October, when Mars at last enters your sign and grants you better aim with your self-assertiveness, should you even consider launching back into outward endeavors (with their inherent risks) in full earnest. One exception: If you're in a living situation that's presently draining either your bank account (because you're living beyond your means) or your sense of self-worth (because you've made no progress in alleviating domestic friction), you really need to start dealing with that immediately.

 

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): Leave no crucial clarifying words unsaid, Capricorn. It's on you to say that thing, to share the potentially painful reality check (which, from another vantage, is also an incredibly inspiring call to action) to your coterie of comrades. Someone's got to speak out. Why must it be you? Because, as I've told you in periodic mentions throughout this still-young Pluto-in-Capricorn era, your individual ability and willingness to model a new manner of leadership holds a great deal of sway in which direction our collective existence next evolves. (Yes, you're that important.) Right now, the best step you can take toward that end is to get people talking. To alleviate some of the pressure I presume you're feeling weigh down on you (high Capricornian self-expectations being what they are), let me reassure you that you needn't possess answers in order to pose the pointed questions and foster an impassioned debate on what really matters. And remember: You're not to work on this stuff alone. However, that said, your role is an essential one.

 

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): There are certain career-related balls (not those kind of 'balls', silly) presently in your court, awaiting your masterful return to lob them back over the net and into the big time. Yes, Aquarius, your professional zone shows major activity for the rest of the year… based not only upon irons you've had in the fire for some time already but also on surprise advances you make between now and the end of October. That's why you'd be a fool to 'wait and see' for the time being, when your best opportunities are likelier to come from daring to put yourself further out there, to directly ask for more, and to conquer self-sabotaging fears of what might happen once you 'get bigger' and, as a result, further lose your (illusion of) control. Without a doubt, the increases I see in your future will be a result of your refusal to shy away from controversy, merely to play it safe and preserve superficial allegiances. You must be ready to smack the world with an unadulterated dose of the full you, shit-stirring and all. Consequently, chips will fall where they should… as it should be.

 

PISCES (February 19-March 20): … and since the last two months really did happen and staying where you've been is impossible, those facts therefore deem this moment an intensely apt opening for taking risks that leapfrog you several steps closer to the exhilaration of leading a life with more obvious meaning. Since you can't go back, Pisces, you might as well jump way forward: immersing yourself in the study of some area that'll put everything else into a different perspective, planning a major course-altering travel experience or other participation that'll take you far outside whatever you've recently been doing, dedicating yourself to helping right an egregious wrong that's caused many (perhaps you?) to suffer. Make the rest of your 2010 memorable in such a fashion. As for concerns about how such a radical departure might impact certain individuals who are important to you? This is also an ideal time to 'drop the bomb'; be sure to frame (and, if you need to, continually reframe) the conversation in terms far broader than a microscopic focus on merely you two. It's a big world out there, after all…