Horoscopes | Week of June 6-12, 2011

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Even your most casual exchanges require your undivided attention, Aries, as a now-stationary Saturn-in-your-7th continues sounding its drum to a beat of patient interpersonal respect. You mustn't underestimate the power of sticking with a discussion just a little bit longer, engaging with what's on the other person's mind with that much more committedness, and responding with a few more detailed words and genuinely caring sentiments than you perhaps ordinarily would. In a conversational context that could seem to be about something with little relevance to your life, you might win over a true-blue ally for some other area of life that really is important to you. On the other hand, leaving another person with the bad-taste sense that you don't give a crap about what they're focused on could pointlessly spoil the seeds of a potential friend or partner. And while you're at it, I encourage you to consciously concentrate on being an extra-sharp listener over the next couple weeks… not merely to show respect, but because you might glean a really helpful angle on what's previously been a personal blindspot.

 

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): So how's the first week of Jupiter in Taurus treating you? What? You haven't yet noticed the broadened berth of potential welcoming you to co-create adventures for yourself that are beyond anything you've ever experienced before? Okay, I'm being glib: This influence endures through next June, so nobody expects you to already be chomping at the bit for more. (Taureans do move a bit more slowly.) Or maybe you have reached this jonesing stage and are super-psyched about enlarging your life in some profound way. Regardless, the fact that we're presently in the midst of eclipse madness means this particular moment is exceptionally ripe for articulating, as specifically as possible, how you'd like your Jupiter-in-Taurus year to go down. Don't just let notions swim aimlessly through your head—write them down, speak them to friends, use words to make them more real. Further, I recommend breaking down the big intentions into many much-smaller goals that can be more easily and observably achieved. You're a Taurus, after all; be tangible about it.

 

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Everything's coming up Gemini this week, as Venus moves in to join the Sun and Mercury in your sign on Thursday (June 9). Having Venus in one's own zodiac realm is typically a good thing, as it increases your ability to win favor in your interpersonal dealings (as well as to charm the pants off certain desired individuals). Furthermore, once Venus hits your zone, it'll temporarily turn a very happy Mercury—your reigning planet, the ruler of all things informational and communicative—into the final dispositor, or the commanding officer to which all the other planets report. This extra-specially advantageous moment for you, Gemini, only lasts until next Thursday (June 16), once Mercury hits Cancer (though Venus stays with you through early July). Thus, between this Thursday and next, I strongly urge you to say whatever needs to be said , as it'll come out more smoothly and gracefully than usual. Obviously, there's special relevance here to your prior horoscope, since we're still under the chapter-turning influence of last week's eclipse: Voice clear and direct assertions about how your next chapter will bring you closer to what's most genuinely satisfying to the fully authentic you. (Speak up for yourself, damn it!)

 

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Curl up in a comfortable ball, and lick yourself clean. Notice, like a meditation practitioner would, the fragments of mixed messages that float through your consciousness. You are aware, Cancer, that some of those thoughts don't authentically belong to you, right? That's just one of the side-effects of your watery sensitivity: Scraps of other people's emotional conditions (which, as a matter of human-being course, often get projected outward) have a tendency to stick to you… and if you're not careful, you begin to believe things about yourself which, on another level, you know are totally untrue (because, of course, others' subjective opinions are ultimately about them more than about the authentic you). Follow me? A bit of self-restoring retreat from such influences, then, creates an excellent setting in which to tenderly bathe yourself in positive reinforcement, (re-)injecting supportive first-person messages to replace the injurious sounds of others' voices telling you how you fall short. You haven't 'fallen short' of anything; you're simply your own person. Now's an ideal time to coax that truth deep into your being.

 

LEO (July 23-August 22): As of this past weekend, Leo, goodly king Jupiter has landed in your solar 10th house—the zone of career and public calling, external accomplishments attained and community reputation earned—where he will stay through next June. You can anticipate, then, a year-ahead of increasing responsibility, esteem and/or recognition in what you're doing out there in the world. To be clear, this could include a promotion or some other obviously expansive professional opportunity… as well as, in some cases, an ending-of-a-job or some other seemingly unfortunate development which, upon later (sometimes much later) inspection, proves to be a wonderful turn-of-events for your growth. No matter the manifestation, Jupiter in the 10th is usually a quite fortuitous transit. Start thinking about how it's likeliest to play out for you, and how you'd like it to play out, so you can get your intentions set during this eclipse-charged window of creative potential. One important component: Linking up with other like-minded teammates or colleagues remains a most promising immediate strategy.

 

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): Your transition back 'out there'—toward a greater focus on your professional life and/or your broader community contributions—continues this week, as Venus hits your solar 10th to offer a lovely beneficial glow to your official public appearance. Initiating conversations about potentials or alternatives with your boss-figure or other higher-ups is strongly favored at this time, Virgo… particularly when you do so with an unforced amenability to there being more than one workable option, demonstrating your willingness to try different things (instead of insisting, or implying, that you already know the best solution). It'll likely prove more important merely to (re-)establish a pleasant rapport with the people who need to trust you, if you want them to protect your position and/or advocate for your continuing ascendancy, than it is to arrive at any certain answer. (Often, in fact, our so-called superiors really just want us to like them… or at least respect their authority.) Once you gain this interpersonal advantage, you'll have much more freedom to handle the actual work as you see fit. Should this involve any sucking-up of your pride, please be pragmatic with any 'offended sensibilities': In this context, the ends surely justify the means.

 

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): Big world, ain't it? If you're not presently seeing the vastness of your surroundings—and, consequently, the innumerable other things you could set your mind to scouting out—then I'm afraid you desperately need those blinders ripped right off. I just don't think it's so healthy, Libra, for you to remain consumed with the same preoccupations that lurked over your being, say, three or four weeks ago. Previously, I reassured you there would be movement (as opposed to an ongoing stalemate), and thus I presume there has been (or at least is starting to be). But if instead you feel stuck in the same place, I recommend you purposefully redirect your attention elsewhere. The easiest and most enjoyable way to do that would probably involve you leaving town for a spell, if you can swing it; nothing alters our perceptions more quickly than plopping ourselves into a foreign habitat. But if such temporary relocation just isn't in the cards, let me suggest carrying yourself away on the wings of some good literature, a philosophical treatise, a spiritual reflection, a particularly thoughtful artistic expression from someone else's native culture… anything that brings in other means of understanding one's place in the world. If you feel stuck, you're just not looking in the right places for your 'way out'.

 

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): If something doesn't feel quite right, follow that unsettling intuition further into the circumstance surrounding the feeling. And if something seems fishy, Scorpio, push more intently on it. I probably don't need to outline the specific approaches you should take in flushing out the suspect note. You, among all the signs, know best how to probe into somebody else's motives until you glean a good idea of what they're up to. That said, I will offer this single methodological suggestion: Slide in through a side door, the slightly-ajar window in the back, or another inconspicuous peripheral entryway. The head-on confrontation will immediately spook the person from whom you're hoping to elicit information, leading 'em to quickly put up a protective barrier that'll make your job more difficult. If instead you use your investigative prowess to first butter 'em up with fairly innocuous small-talk, their guard will be down—and you can more easily corner 'em into a disclosure, once the chat veers toward that fishy topic. Just so we're clear, you can carry this off without being explicitly dishonest. The best Scorpios ride that fine-line, but never cross over it into the land of blatant ethical breaches.

 

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): For those of you currently single and desiring to mingle, Sagittarius, the arrival of Venus into your relationship house (the 7th) is very good news… not to mention her sextile to Uranus (in your 5th, another house linked to love and romance), which bespeaks of pleasant surprises that can bring much interpersonal joy. If you have no prospects on the horizon, I advise putting some trust in good friends to (1) suggest avenues for you to pursue in meeting your kind of people, (2) join you on flirty evenings out, and/or (3) actually fix you up on a date with somebody they think you'll click with. The 'dating game' can simultaneously become an opportunity to share escapades and silly stories with your closest pals. If you're coupled up, it's a great time to happily startle your sweetie with a li'l something that'll renew a spark, open a channel of communication, and/or reflect your gratitude. If neither scenario applies in your case, it shouldn't be too hard to find parallel ways to honor your most important partnerships or to open yourself up to making new friends. (Relationship advice, don't you know, isn't just about romance.)

 

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): You're missing out on a particularly apt astro-climate for multi-tasking, Capricorn, if you're not actively making progress on multiple fronts simultaneously. Even if you only have one main goal that's absorbing the bulk of your productive focus, there are still lots of different roads to attaining it… and if it isn't yet clear which is the best, I encourage you to send emissaries (i.e., various parts of yourself) down more than one, to experimentally determine where resides the most promise. Similarly, you needn't put all your eggs in the basket of a single decision-maker or stakeholder, if indeed you know a variety of folks who might prove just as worthy a colleague, since you can never predict in advance who will be 'up for it' on your preferred timeline. Being able to successfully juggle such multiplicities in your work life right now will also make a powerful public statement about your managerial skills, which only further adds to what you can accomplish during this dynamic 6th/10th-house moment. Getting shit done (lots of it!) is the first priority; reaping an enhanced reputation as a result of getting that shit done is welcome icing-on-the-cake.

 

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): Please don't starve us of your wacky creative insights. Please refrain from pessimistically snagging yourself in the traps that status-quo thinking has set at your feet. You know better than that, don't you, Aquarius? You can see through the dreary party-line of 'that's just how it is', toward future existences far stranger than anyone (but you) would've previously believed possible, right? You should accept no answer that boils down to sucking-it-up-and-dealing-with-it, no matter the question or context. That's because you're presently at an apex of innovative expression, should you decide to dispense with 'the appropriate thing to say' and let 'em know what's really on your mind. You and I both understand, of course, it's highly likely that the truth you convey will be partly or wholly unintelligible to those many 'sheep' trapped inside the box (and who, therefore, have no idea there even is a box). But no matter. Even if they don't 'get' what you're pointing them towards, the notion will still slink undetectably into their consciousness, where it can work amazing anti-establishment magic behind the scenes… perhaps only to prove later that, yes, you did make a difference. And in the meantime? It's just plain fun to stir the pot, if only as play in the world of ideas.

 

PISCES (February 19-March 20): If you were to, say, disappear briefly behind the walls of your safest safe-haven, I don't actually think you'd cause anybody too much trouble. And in situations where you simply must show up, Pisces, you needn't concern yourself with making too pronounced an impact on the collective vibe. (In fact, you can likely do a better-than-usual job at blending into the background, should that be what'll leave you feeling most comfortable.) Basically, you need a tad of privacy so you can think over the disparate threads of attempted sense-making your mind is trying to organize. Too much outside intrusion on this thought-process could lead you down a not-quite-right path, due to the persuasive opinions of someone else who, no matter how 'wise', is not inside you and therefore cannot know what's your unique truth. If you can, stay home (or at least somewhere peaceful)… and let your brain better cohere these idea-fragments into a clearer call-to-action.