Horoscopes | Week of May 2-8, 2011

ARIES (March 21-April 19): With Mercury and Venus applying to a conjunction at the end of your sign, Aries, this is an excellent time for all communications and announcements associated with the fire-storm of actively evolving developments you've lately been consumed with. 'Messaging' is an important element of garnering support for whatever we're working on: In what way would we like others to interpret our efforts and intentions? Don't leave this interpretive duty up to them, if you have a stake in their understanding you as you'd want them to. While we obviously can't dictate precisely how someone else makes sense of what we do, we certainly can lead them down a particular road, sprinkling enough buzzwords and evocative statements to profoundly influence their sense-making process toward our most-preferred perspective. May your words possess this seductively shaping charm.

 

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Stretch those sleepy limbs, Taurus, both literally and metaphorically. This week ahead, kicked off with a new moon in your sign, is like your first few waking moments after the equivalent of a fairly lengthy (and hopefully restful) slumber. You must reacclimate yourself to a more active, embodied rhythm… a shift which doesn't happen in a split-second (except perhaps for those rare types who spring out of bed already fully ready to jump into the next activity), but often requires a gradual acceleration. You'll get more of an energy-boost, akin to gulping down that morning cup of caffeinated coffee-juice, once Mars hits your sign next week, putting you in a much better position to start making things happen again. For this week, then, greet the dawning day with appreciation and self-care. Meditate on what you're grateful for. Smile at the signs of nature's ceaseless cycles at work. Get your ch'i flowing with some gentle calisthenics. Breathe in your future. It's coming…

 

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Renewal has now been officially added to your schedule of upcoming experiences, according to the office of the Secretary of Planetary Affairs. Not that you need to know right now what exactly that'll mean for you later, Gemini. Just reserve a space for it in the back corridors of your consciousness, and its imperceptible seeds of presently-unforeseeable possibility will begin multiplying like springtime bunnies, to eventually colonize your future life-circumstances. In the short-term, June's your month for renewed command over the general direction your energies are going. (This will provide a nice contrast with the overall lack of control you're liable to feel between now and then, as you must surrender to the logical continuation of events already set into motion weeks or months earlier.) And in the longer-term, luck-wizard Jupiter hits your sign in June of 2012 with a more striking version of renewal. So now that you know, chew contemplatively on the myriad 'possibility' possibilities.

 

CANCER (June 21-July 22): In the weeks ahead, Cancer, you'll be charged with confirming that you have the right teammates by your side… and, if they're not there, recruiting new allies in the fight to address your shared vision for bettering our collective future. Whether we're talking friends, co-workers, volunteers or other like-minded comrades, you need folks to join together with… rather than attempting to hoist the weight of the world atop your proverbial shoulders and inadvertently straining yourself in the process. Not only wasn't Rome built in a day, it certainly wasn't built by a single pair of hands. Show, don't tell, others what you've been lately up to. Keep toiling at your part of the puzzle, in full public view, so your colleagues (whether already on board or potential prospects) can catch a ride on the winds of your heightened enthusiasm. Also take note of those you imagined would be similarly enthused, but who instead are acting like they don't give a crap. Are you willing to forcefully re-motivate them? (Is it possible?) Or must the 'dead weight' be left behind, while your group of 'true believers' proceeds, unencumbered?

 

LEO (July 23-August 22): Once you've uttered a clear statement of principle (whether quietly to yourself or aloud to others), it's hard to go back to doing things 'the same old way'… particularly if that 'way' asks you to tacitly participate in activities which subtly (or not-so-subtly) rub uncomfortably against said principle. In other words, Leo, please make yourself unavoidably aware of any areas where your current professional position (or other public-world role) may feel somewhat confining. As your horizons of possibility have been broadening recently, certain ethical compromises you've previously made could no longer be as appropriate to this emerging you. Think about this growing chasm more deeply. Though it might be unwise to take a sudden leap away from circumstances you spent a while to earn for yourself, you ought to begin spinning realistic plans for relieving yourself of such inner philosophic conflicts, should any exist. Either your present post is adaptable enough to bend with your changes, or it isn't.

 

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): Not long before all of this (whatever your personal version may be) becomes somewhat less immediate… before you, Virgo, get a little bit of distance from all that's transpired over the past month or two. Am I implying that this 'this' is going to be over and done with? Not necessarily so. Only that you will be able to grab a more panoramic view of these latest developments' relevance to the overall arc of your life's journey… that you'll glean some much-needed perspective on the matter, helping you understand the lessons inherent in any challenges you've faced, to hopefully nip any regretful worryings in the bud before they can blossom into full-fledged freak-outs. Accept that you entered willingly into the arrangement, rather than looking for loopholes that'll absolve you of your responsibility. From this accepting place, you can then ask yourself, 'How did my participation bring me closer to what I find most important in life?'—and rightfully expect a cogent answer.

 

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): Rally yourself to soon tackle that nagging topic of controversy, delicate financial or psychologically-charged negotiation, or other complicating factor you've likely wished you didn't have to deal with. But it's not as if this is actually such an awful thing to confront, Libra… as much as the potential for the other involved party to engage in a momentary meltdown, or some unknown reaction of volatile emotion, looms nervously overhead. Of course, it's equally possible they will surprise you with an altogether mature and productive response. Who can say, in advance? Doesn't much matter, though. To continue moving things forward and/or expressing the truth of your standing in this situation, you can't avoid this showdown face-off—and you mustn't worry about trying to sculpt their reception to it to your liking, control-freak-style. Contend with all this crap over the next month or so, and you'll be happy you did at some later point, when it'll be that much more treacherous to proceed without having previously done so.

 

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): Your days toiling solo in an equivalent of 'the salt-mines' are soon giving way to a markedly different vibe… one which, as I mentioned a couple weeks back, will likely bring you into closer regular contact with a certain someone. Presumably, Scorpio, this 'someone' is going to be a person of your choosing, if, that is, you actively participate in the choice. (Otherwise, you might end up having your time circumstantially monopolized by someone you wouldn't have chosen.) So, in the week or two leading up to this vibe-shift, you ought to be thinking about who you'd like to spend more time with (and, for that matter, who you wouldn't), in order to make room for an increased focus on that relationship. This making-room should also entail working overtime to bring any activities or endeavors that would keep you from this person to a nice conclusion (whether temporary or final). These next two weeks provide a great chance to test out the enduring efficacy of your recent efforts.

 

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): Start prepping yourself now for a soon-to-arrive surge of everyday tasks, deeds and duties relying on your efforts and expertise. The workload seems to intensify over the next two-to-three weeks, Sagittarius, forcing you to slow down and center yourself in the here-and-now of shit that's got to get done. Despite the looming sense that a party is winding down (and you therefore may be trying to cram in one last shot and a final jig on the dancefloor before the bar stops serving and the lights come up), this grounding shift in the air is actually healthy for you. Every minute of life cannot be a party; if it were, there'd be nothing special about any celebratory mood. The proverbial 'next morning' always comes… to the ultimate benefit of all the other stuff besides partying that demands serious sobered attention (at least some of the time). There's a time for every purpose, and the time for purposefully re-gathering your practical faculties has just about arrived.

 

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): You're soon about to be putting much more of your whole self into it, Capricorn. You've been readying yourself to invest a richer amount of personal expression into whatever you're doing… and subsequently to receive a fuller sense of personal gratification out of the process. Of course, whether you've freed yourself from the cage of unreasonable standards and expectations (a la last week's horoscope) remains a determining factor; the self-inhibiting ambivalence such cages create do infringe upon how 'wholly' you can invest yourself, after all. The best antidote to any stubborn hangings-over of reluctance? Privately rallying your 'who gives a fuck?' forces to defy the imprisoning justifications for holding off, doing more research, considering the details further, or waiting for a better time. It's your life: Go all in.

 

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): Make the pledge now, Aquarius, to help yourself feel significantly less frenetic, scattered and/or on crazed overdrive within a month's time. That commitment permits you brief glimpses of the calming light at the end of this tunnel, which is seemingly lined as far as the eye can see with people and projects and pursuits that each requires its slice of your present attentions. This multitude of irons-in-the-fire ought only be interpreted as a positive, incidentally, even if one or more of the particulars has lately felt too overwhelming (or just plain annoying). But you can only handle so much exposure to the outside world's ceaseless social demands before you inevitably yearn to shut the door (tightly!) on it all for a spell, to relieve any building impatience and to regroup. That relieving moment is coming. In the meantime, start bringing some of these disparate loose-threads to an appropriate place of resolution or pause.

 

PISCES (February 19-March 20): Ask not what you can do for your pals, colleagues or associates; ask them what they might be able to do for you, Pisces. I know: It's a less familiar angle from which to approach these relationships, particularly since those with the best potential to truly help you out may be individuals who you barely know, haven't spoken with in a while, or aren't accustomed to dealing with on so direct a level. Yet, over the coming few weeks, you'll most thrive in your efforts to stabilize your situation (especially on the financial level) by increasingly communicating the specific of your needs with the widest array of social contacts possible. Start having those conversations this week, since they could take a bit of time to produce fruit. Perhaps the biggest challenge(s) for you? Refusing to beat around the bush, obscure your truth with imprecise language, or apologize for prioritizing yourself.