Horoscopes | Week of May 9-15, 2011

ARIES (March 21-April 19): During the course of your week ahead, Aries, the three innermost planets—Mercury, Venus and Mars—will all be making the move out of your sign. And after all these weeks of hyper-intensive Aries-centered astrology, I wouldn't be surprised if you experienced something of a post-mania decline (if not an out-and-out crash) in enthusiasm. It's not that anything bad is happening, as much as this shift essentially divests you of many of your temporary super-hero powers and returns you to a more relatively normal existence as 'just another human'. Please don't let this get you down. What goes up must eventually come down. But that doesn't erase all that's happened these past two months… unless you unfortunately allow it to. You're now charged with proving that everything gained in this unusual period of time is no fluke: that you have earned each bit of it, and have no intention of giving it back up. In order to do that, of course, you must put in the solidifying efforts, over coming weeks, to root this leap into future tangibility. Do what's necessary to preserve your winnings.

 

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Don't underplay the profoundness of the rebirth you're about to experience. Since you bother to read a weekly horoscope at all, Taurus, you're obviously interested in gaining celestial insight on what's happening with you… hopefully in order to make choices and take actions that are aligned with the energetics presently swirling about. As such, I strongly urge you to commemorate the return of first Mars (midweek), then Mercury and Venus (very late in the week), into your sign with as glaring a distinction from your prior two-months-or-so as possible. Ritualize the recovery of your fuller senses and capabilities. Lose the dull fog that been hovering overhead. Shower off the psychic detritus. Recapture your glow. It may seem as if you have a lot of lost time to make up for, though let me reassure you it was perfectly appropriate for you to have 'lost' that time. Still, you must reorient yourself to more productive participation in all that's actively going on around you right now. 'Getting present' will both take some effort and feel quite pleasantly stabilizing.

 

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): This is the week to inform your menagerie of peeps what you're about to do, how they might support you with it, and what possibly atypical behaviors (such as inattentiveness, relative silence, and/or prolonged absence from view) to expect from you. If all goes as it should, Gemini, you're soon headed 'underground'—whether or not that affords you literal invisibility from other human eyes, or the metaphoric equivalent in limited extracurricular availability—a journey which should eventually lead you, after a few weeks, toward a refreshed outward persona. In other words, prepare to retreat into some sort of backstage area, where you'll feel shielded enough from the glare of public exposure to safely shed a layer of skin. (This, incidentally, shouldn't be considered optional. Avoid the pull of retreat, and you'll find yourself unconsciously acting out in bratty or self-destructive ways.) So as not to keep those who care about you and/or have certain expectations of you in the dark, be in touch as soon as possible. Then, you won't have to worry about them (consciously or not) once you're burrowed away.

 

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Be consciously considering how everything you've recently been working on, Cancer, can be shared more widely with the community at large. As part of ensuring your earnest effort will reach the broadest audience of folks who might benefit from it—which I feel is the subtle altruistic bent that undergirds why you care in the first place—you mustn't hoard the fruits of your victorious breakthrough. Who else cares as much as you do? draws inspiration from the same sources? is motivated by a similar sense of social consciousness? could prove to be an important ally in getting each other's word out? These are not rhetorical questions. Answers really exist, in the form of actual individuals, groups or organizations who probably understand your reasons behind investing so much of yourself in this better than most people do. They can help you… with instructive advice and reassurance, by making additional introductions to more helpful players, and in promoting your precious participation. And you, of course, can help them too. (In fact, you should.)

 

LEO (July 23-August 22): The cavalcade of planet-dancers jitterbugging their selves into your solar 10th this week, Leo, points to magnified action in your professional (or public-community) zone over the coming month. And this immediate uptick in external-world dynamism also points directly at good king Jupiter's entrance into your 10th in early June, kicking off a year of fresh opportunities and role expansions in whatever you're doing out there. To take best advantage of Jupiter's upcoming arrival, then, you want to apply major mojo toward your ambitions… devising concrete strategies (which will unfold gradually over time), taking all the first-steps required to kick 'em into gear, bolstering your personal confidence levels so you feel comfortable standing in the most conspicuous spots, and discerning unrealistic dreams from achievable goals. In short, I want you to spend the week studying the landscape of the ladder you're about to start ascending at an accelerated pace. You ought to know what to expect. While doing so, don't skip too quickly past last week's message; become acutely aware of what you've outgrown.

 

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): An 'aaaaah!' of relative relief emerges over the coming couple weeks, Virgo… a tide-change that, while not necessarily delivering you a magical instantaneous simplification of all recent intricacies, will lessen some of the urgent pressure pushing against you. Soon, you won't be in the hottest 'hot seat' any longer (though, these days, none of us can totally escape the heat in this collective kitchen). You'll have a bit more room to breathe in the wisdom you've gleaned from these past couple months—and to exhale some of the more obtrusive psychic residue. You should also begin to see hints of what's coming next. Yes, there is always another chapter to follow the one that came before… and just when we think the story may have reached its point-of-no-return, something else happens and we have additional opportunities to progress the narrative in a direction that, just moments earlier, had seemed inconceivable. Your 'aaaaah!' of relief probably has some relevance to this burgeoning appearance of options.

 

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): To reiterate last week's comments with further emphasis, Libra: The dynamics in a certain serious relationship (or important arrangement involving money or some other similarly intense issue) aren't likely to get any smoother until you plow straight into the heart of the brewing friction. There are real tangible concerns at play here, which, if not addressed with unmitigated honesty, can create significant self-limiting consequences for you later down the road. Whatever personal stake-in-the-matter you leave unvoiced now, you'll be essentially handing off the crucial precedent-setting power over it to the other party. You mustn't merely hope that 'it all works out' to your advantage; be clear and forthright about your non-negotiable bottom line. The reward, once you courageously face this music? Fewer unknowns and unasked questions (which take up much more psychic space than you might realize), leading to fewer irrational fears and self-delusions… and everyone understanding each other much better.

 

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): You are not alone. Of this I am sure, Scorpio. So no matter whether the latest outward appearances would have you believe you perhaps are alone, or you haven't had much chance to go out and claim the companionship that's yours for the taking, you are due for some pleasurable 'togetherness' time. Regardless of present workload or relationship-status, you have no legitimate excuse for evading this call for interpersonal cavorting. Select one or more of the following expressions of this approaching astro-clime: (1) Carve out at least a weekend, if not several days, over the coming month to share with your dearest. If it's not a spouse or romantic partner, perhaps it's your best friend or a cherished family-member. (2) If you're single and looking to mingle, get explicitly out there. Online dating-sites, community activities and events, or parties of friends-of-friends work just as well as singles' bars. (3) If you're not feeling your temperamental best, snag some supportive moments from people who care deeply about you. (4) Ask somebody on a date, or propose that the two of you take on a project together. Two is better than one.

 

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): Hear ye, hear ye, all Sagittarian workers, supervisors, parental units, paper-pushers, house-tidiers, gym-goers, account managers, administrative angels… all y'all (and which of you doesn't fall into at least one of these categories) got some shit to catch up on, don't you? The next few weeks ahead ought to be classified in this way: as 'catch-up' time for all those small (and less-small) practicalities that have lately fallen through the cracks or are only now ready for more focused intent. Don't get down on yourself if you've lagged behind on such items in the most recent past. Can anybody deny how constant this onslaught of incessant activity has been? You are surely justified in having not had a spare moment to devote to these mundane concerns. (And besides, they're not usually the things we're most eager to jump into.) But the lapse has gone on long enough. Your responsible side is being summoned to the front-counter, to report to duty. It will show up when called, right?

 

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): It's time to come out from the shadows. Put your face back into public circulation, Capricorn… not for any specific dutiful reason, but because you're liable to (gasp!) have a good time doing it. The transition toward a fiercer 5th-house emphasis, which you'll be experiencing this week and into next, typically brings us more vibrant pleasures and playful dalliances than the 4th-house's more inner focus often allows. And so, after many weeks of domestic, familial and/or private-emotional preoccupation, you're due for some good wholesome (or less-than-wholesome) goofiness to laugh these tense or tender tendencies right off. Say yes to the invites. Stay later than normal at the soiree. Wear brighter colors. Consume more delectable nibbles and drinks. Get back to basking in life's uncomplicated delights. But if you feel you aren't quite ready to heed this advice right off the bat, then please, if at all possible, use your week to scratch whatever pesky inner itch has been compelling your attention to obsess on it. (Oddly, in this context, it seems like a 'quick decision' on your part could bring the very satisfying resolution you previously feared wasn't possible.)

 

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): Following one last week of copious tidbits of information and friendly chatter being transmitted and exchanged across your immediate environment at a frenzied rate, Aquarius, the action will head inward. Your attentions will be more profoundly centered in your home, rather than out-and-about… a relative downshift that should feel either (a) intensely soothing or (b) distinctly anti-climactic, based on whether you've been (a) emotionally thriving in the social fast-lane or (b) frazzled by the nonstop activity levels. In either case, however, you have certain practical issues on the homefront that require you to soon get back to appropriately managing. (Perhaps the myriad distractions offered by other, less directly personal areas of your life have made it too easy to ignore these concerns recently?) Settle into accepting this necessary homeward swing. Better yet, do something specially nurturing just for your own personal pleasure. If you're going to be around the house more often in the coming month, you might as well enjoy it.

 

PISCES (February 19-March 20): I don't recommend keeping your thoughts to yourself, quietly attempting to gather all pieces into a coherent conclusion or action-plan before discussing 'em with folks who may have useful feedback to contribute. Whether or not you receive any specific advice you believe you should ultimately follow, Pisces, the very process of articulating yourself in outward free-exchange with other individuals will be tremendously grounding. You'll be better able to assess the shape and sturdiness of your ideas once they're let loose from their inner testing-chamber and exposed to the real world, a much more collaborative setting in which evolution may occur. It's more important that you're batting around notions and possibilities with other people than it is to choose certain people with whom to bat 'em around. Therefore, if you're likely to feel too vulnerable or threatened to share this stuff with your closest friends or family, try more casual acquaintances; you may get better results when you have less deep an attachment to their perception of you.