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Horoscopes | Week of October 25-31, 2010

ARIES (March 21-April 19): The crap you've got to crawl your way out of is definitely not behind you yet. Give it thru the rest of the year before you're likely to feel 'clean' again. However, Aries, you should start seeing signs, as early as later this week, that there will be something to look forward coming after this is all said and done… and while you still have more disentangling (and re-entangling and re-dis-entangling?) ahead, it ought to be incredibly reassuring to know your life won't look like this forever. Those of you who possess a philosophical bent on life should even detect whispers of a 'so this is what this chapter's been all about!' epiphany in perspective, hopefully granting you a fuller understanding of why (as I've told you all along) this had to happen as it did. While you haven't learned the lesson fully at this point, you're certainly catching glimpses of what this 'lesson' is—reason enough to cut out any self-pitying laments about how 'nothing is ever easy' or 'the universe is out to get me' or what-not. All these hassles are ultimately serving your interests by helping you sort out your priorities so you'll better remember them later, once you're less obstructed (and thus likelier to get sloppy).

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): If you have been following each recent week's astrological call to immerse yourself in one-on-one interpersonal hoopla, Taurus, then you'll be right on time when you begin hitting up against complicating developments of your continued relational participation with that certain someone. In other words, this circumstance that may've started out as casual, uneventful or somewhat limited in scope is now veering into something much meatier. Whether this is a consequence you find appealing (since you can't stop yourself from repeatedly thinking about how much you want more! more! more!), whether you're freaked out (because you're beginning to realize you got yourself in pretty darn deep and what the hell are you supposed to do now?!?), or whether it's some convoluted hybrid of these and whatever other conflicting feelings come into play… well, that all depends on the specifics of your situation. Over the coming weeks, you're due to discover whether you in fact will feel moved to weasel your way out (easier said than done, but certainly doable if necessary)… or if you merely need to reorient your mindset to accommodate this evident intensification.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): There's an obvious appeal—and just as obvious a potential danger—in slicing through the subtleties of both (1) your multi-faceted psychological responses and (2) the list of mundane chores you're charged with overseeing which have lately comprised your life. On the one hand, a broad sweeping simplification of your insane number of variable priorities would surely be helpful. You might stop feeling so maddeningly pulled in a million different directions. But on the other, you'd be right in worrying that such a simplified stance would only increase your probability of missing one significant detail which could come back to bite your in the end. Therefore, Gemini, I urge you to resist the tempting encouragements of a certain someone in your life (e.g., spouse, best friend, business partner, close collaborator) to ease your hyperactive attention to these scores of simultaneous concerns. Though it may sound like a wonderful idea to put everything aside for a week or two, on the advice of someone who's likelier than you to paint life in sharp blacks-and-whites, and simply enjoy their influence… well, both you and I know better than to believe this is a good time for that. Despite the yearning, you really shouldn't buy what they're selling. In fact, if they continue to insist you're overreacting or unnecessarily stressing yourself out, you might actually have to stand up for the veracity of your present perspective, no-bullshit-style.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): In your most recent horoscopic installments, we have not been terribly attentive to your potential work concerns or looming responsibilities. That's probably because your mind has been elsewhere… and with good reason. Presumably, Cancer, you've had more activity in your leisure zone lately than in quite a while—and why wouldn't you, therefore, take full advantage of the creative bursts, social-calendar revelries, amorous encounters or goofy game-plays while they're in abundance? Thankfully, these entertaining astro-influences aren't disappearing during this week or next either… but along with all that, here comes a pressurizing reminder not to forget to continue earning your fun-filled time off. Certain to-do items possess rapidly approaching deadlines or other compelling reasons they must be dealt with now. Don't let the increasing need to up your labor investment serve as a buzzkill, however. You have the incentive of more fun awaiting you after each earnest work session, which should help power you through at unusual speeds. The idiomatic instructive to 'work hard, play hard' is rarely so relevant.

LEO (July 23-August 22): A shift in the astro-air, thanks to Mars moving into your 5th, should bring you a renewed desire to get out and have some fun. Yet, please don't take that to mean all the focus I previously suggested you place on your domestic life, ensuring you're able to attain a sufficiently relaxed state while at home, is no longer urgent. Resolving any unsatisfactory blocks to your happiness in the place you rest your head each night is perhaps the most important area to which you should devote your energies for the remainder of '10. However, Leo, that isn't all there is in store for you… especially if you have grown a little (or a lot!) sick and tired of everybody and everything being so damned serious lately, and are willing to embrace the role of our collective 'Ambassador to Silliness'. You are perfectly suited for turning our frowns upside-down, merely by daring to behave like a goof right at those moments when a hearty laugh would serve as the best medicine for whatever the hell's ailing an overtired, overstressed, put-upon soul (and who wouldn't qualify as such these days?). With the right kind of troublemaking, you can pull off magical mood transformations, in other people as well as yourself.

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): Even in passing encounters or cursory exchanges, you mustn't let offensive side-remarks or gestures slide. Yes, Virgo, even when drawing attention to the misstep or impropriety is highly likely to make it an even bigger matter, I still recommend you speak up if some social interaction provokes disgust or outrage in you. Based upon who the offending party is, you might choose (1) to use this as a 'learning opportunity' for all parties by inquiring, calmly and respectfully, into the beliefs or motivations behind their perceived breach, to hopefully initiate a meaty discussion, or (2) to simply blurt whatever will clearly convey your disapproval, as a signal for them to stay the hell away from you if that's how they're going to outwardly behave. In either case, the ultimate goal here is for you to feel you did your best in not tacitly endorsing the airing of attitudes or ideas you find personally unacceptable. The confrontation might not be pleasant, but the inner pride you'll feel afterward is far preferable to the regret of letting a boorish voice dominate, unchallenged.

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): Additional input, please. Something else to talk about already. Other people: their stories, their opinions, the things they're obsessed with lately. Continuing to gaze and glare and stare at the same handful of worries is starting to fuck with your clarity of vision, Libra. That's not to say you're barking up the wrong tree with those 'worries' (most likely you're not), but only that your quality of attention could start slipping if you're exhausting your dutiful diligence. For at least a couple weeks going forward, lower your expectations slightly—enough to garner a few extra moments for trifles and trivialities, but without turning away altogether. Follow your 'unrelated' curiosities a couple steps further than you ordinarily might, surfing the web into odd new avenues or continuing that chat with a tangential acquaintance as long as the rapport holds out. Call a high-school pal or your second cousin. Corral a neighbor into an impromptu afternoon tea (and don't forget the tasty treat!). Get some new information about any interest other than the standard zones you've been sinking your brain into. Focusing almost anywhere else for a spell will freshen your faculties.

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): While there are plenty of instances in which you'll thrive by letting what's unspoken linger out there, unperturbed by uttered-aloud observations, you're reaching a point where your current situation requires something to be explicitly stated. The main reason for this, Scorpio, is your need to take care of certain pieces of self-involving business, for your own sense of grounding… and any excessively up-in-the-air interpersonal issues are liable to siphon energy away from these pressing practical concerns (particularly those related to your financial well-being). Essentially, it's time to push the dense tension or simmering stalemate ahead to the next scene—even if you fear the act of calling out the unspoken item will spook the other person and/or ruin the palpable sense of intrigue that has you both hanging on the line. Those fears aren't exactly off-base; that is likely to be part of the immediate aftermath. But, of course, the story will continue from there. This anticipatory balloon must be popped sooner or later. Wait too long, and the situation may pass the point of optimal ripeness… ultimately to deflate of its own accord.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): You've quietly reserved quite a pocketful of data while you've been laying low, I gather? I hope so, Sagittarius, because you're now moving into the position to act upon what you've discovered. Last week's horoscope described how the transit of Mars into your sign by Thursday (Oct 28) will put you in far better control of your self-assertions, so that you may now begin to follow through on all that's been in the larval stage these past several weeks. Need I mention that it's not essential to make up for all the lost time in too concentrated a span? Just because the light's turning green mid-week, that's no excuse to punch the gas… and give off such a loud screeching skid that you stir the authorities' attention and end up with the metaphoric equivalent of a speeding ticket. Be forewarned: While a significant piece of your go-getter personality will be back in place by week's end, there's still plenty of 12th-house action going on, including Venus's continued retrograde, which means you shouldn't expect immediately perceivable results from your initial moves. There'll be some necessary acting on faith… another good reason not to get too far ahead of yourself just yet.

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): If you have wisely followed my advice to 'stick with the group', envisioning yourself as 'not alone in this', then it'll be that much easier for you to deescalate your recent leadership-worthy tactics and temporarily slip into the non-descript periphery. You've reached that periodic pause, between one self-advancing front and the next, where it behooves you to quietly seek a soul-level recharge. From now through early December, Capricorn, your most significant progress will occur invisible to human eyes (including your own), behind the cosmic scenes. While your alliances solidify or sputter, strengthen or weaken (and strengthen-or-weaken some more), you'll be unconsciously taking in these shifts of social information. The team you return to with fully restored faculties, several weeks down the road, may feel quite qualitatively different than the one you've spent the last few months occupied with. Even if the players remain the same, the dynamic is liable to boost a certain character's position while knocking someone else down a few pegs. I don't want to see you getting yourself too unnecessarily involved with this shake-out, however. Try to avoid asserting too much favor on behalf of one horse or another. Instead, reserve your energy for private detours into realms ripe for fostering personal imagination.

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): In an escalation of last week's episode, I don't see you taking kindly to your cohorts' tacit advocacy of maintaining things as they are. You are presently better suited to play 'squeaky wheel' than 'just another follower', Aquarius. So screw those who would rather you not 'cause the drama' (even as you're merely the umpire whistling at a foul, rather than the player committing it)—they just don't want to contend with admitting responsibility and/or contending with the extra efforts required to right this wrong. Let them cast you as Public Enemy #1 when, in fact, you'll be performing the exact opposite duty: standing up for the common good, at the expense of certain individuals' greedy ego-drives. Of course, those whose selfish interests are at stake won't see it that way. (In their defense, they may be so accustomed to 'the way things are', they could actually be somewhat unaware of their own ego-attachments.) Funny how group politics can breed such vehemently opposing viewpoints, based upon who will benefit from what… often with incredibly misleading rhetoric behind it. And funny how angry people can get when one seeks to deconstruct their talking-points. Lucky for the collective, you Aquarians see right through the propaganda—and typically don't might angering others over an issue of social justice.

PISCES (February 19-March 20): If all's going as it should be, Pisces, you're presently in the midst of making or affirming a decision that ought to provide perspective-defining guidelines for what your 2011 will look like. But though your mind hasn't yet confidently settled on a clear course of future engagement, you still have active public-life involvements from your last batch of choices that demand continuing follow-through. At this 'one foot in the past, one in the future' juncture, then, I'd expect you to feel a gradual shift from (1) the eager-to-please nervousness of inexperience you previously brought to this project or position to (2) a less by-the-books loosening-up, liable to inspire you to make bolder or brasher moves, since you've already begun to look forward, in anticipatory enthusiasm, to 'the next thing'. Over the coming weeks, allow that looser audacity to spring forth from you in your professional role. Being less 'careful' about taking too many risks on the job, out of fear of messing up an entire trajectory in one overly hasty moment, will help move your broader self-redefinition process along nicely. Either your risks will work out well, reinspiring you to keep with what you're doing—or they won't, pointing you more firmly in that other direction.