Horoscopes | Week of September 12-18, 2011

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Chances are presently increasing, Aries, that you'll be coming into contact with one or more individuals with something quite favorable or fortuitous to offer you. I'd therefore hate to see you overcomplicate this potentially helpful exchange by insisting on an off-putting amount of autonomy or refusing to bow in respect to the more established expertise they possess. If you have anxieties about what you might have to give in order to get, smartly take note of their specifics, for further contemplation on your own… but please don't launch into a free-flowing conversation about them at this stage in the game. You need to table all concerns related to the relationship (and any perceived power dynamics involved with it) and, for now, limit actual discussion to mundane logistics. Trust me, it won't be too long before you will be able to reinsert your individualized creative voice back into the process. Yet, such obvious self-interest is not the topic you should lead with… not while you're still sniffing each other out.

 

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Please don't turn the gratification in completing a simple task into a moral debate or a battle-of-wills, Taurus. You may indeed have a very clear personal vision that's driving the whole thing—yes, maybe even the clearest vision of all—but you really ought to use it to inspire other participants, rather than lording it over them. That Mercury-Jupiter trine across your 5th and 1st houses (the two most notoriously 'self-centered' chart-zones) could certainly play out either way: bestowing upon your words a triumphantly upbeat message, or bogging them down with unbearable self-importance. Which shall you choose? Now, back to the task at hand. You've got a real chance of completing something you'll be proud of over the next three-to-four weeks, and of actually enjoying the process of it, as long as you don't make it messier than it need be. That also means, should relevant logistical circumstances change, you'll have to flow with it… not throw a little fit because 'the plans got ruined' and in fact cause the real ruin of your own (un)doing.

 

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): It's not only that it's important to still take moments to have fun even when life keep throwing you challenges, a sentiment I've shared with you before. I'd like to extend this message further, Gemini… to say, in fact, that sometimes the joy and frivolity we deliberately allow ourselves during difficult times prove to be that much more pleasurable (transformatively so, even) precisely because of the sharp contrast. We cherish the laughter because we know too familiarly the taste of tears. We tingle at the fresh uncomplicated touch of a new paramour because of how heavy everything started to feel in our last (or maybe still lasting) entanglement. We choose to embrace life with all we've got because death has been too damned near. You're entering a time when you owe it to yourself to affirm what you love about being uniquely you, and about being gratefully and daringly alive, no matter what the hell else has been going on in your world. If you've been planning to wait until all the shit's passed you by before whooping it up, you're wasting precious time.

 

CANCER (June 21-July 22): You would probably revel in a few extra decompression moments at home… if only it weren't for the on-your-feet-and-ready-for-anything demands of your outside-world role, and/or the presumptuous pull of a certain someone who wants you to be present for their needs, which could prevent you from the pure domestic bliss you crave. A balancing act will, therefore, be required of you, Cancer, in order to both suit your present desire for some peace-and-quiet and not cause yourself too many career and/or relationship hassles. Your appropriate attention to all these matters—job or community commitments, interpersonal responsibilities, and self-care duties—will definitely warrant nimble juggling through the end of this month. Yet, this is the sort of juggling that life is made of… including bits of moderate sacrifice sprinkled fairly here, there and everywhere, so that no single important area gets altogether neglected. And once you find yourself taking a pretty decent stab at managing this multi-headed monster, you'll actually end up feeling more grounded than you have in a while.

 

LEO (July 23-August 22): I'd like to begin by repeating last week's sentiment encouraging you to renew your practical thinking, Leo… and then, as far as your outward interactions go, I want to encourage you to keep things light and stay out of the fray. The second part of the week seems likely to foster relational escalations and intensifications in general, though you aren't necessarily the likeliest candidate for front-and-center involvement. Unless, of course, you needlessly involve yourself by trying to talk someone out of their (perhaps quite justifiable) emotional stance on a situation, downplay its importance or belittle the person for caring. Mars enters your sign late on Sunday (Sun 18), but lingers in a precarious enough 12th-house position all week to elicit you some unwelcome enmity, if you unwisely set yourself up for it. Mars's influence over the coming couple months could be an absolute blessing, should you deploy it to move forcefully ahead toward goals that are strictly about you. Wield it as a weapon against other people, however, and expect continual animosity in return.

 

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): Graciously receive what's coming to you, but don't push for more quite yet, Virgo. Too much hunger can convey an under-the-surface lack of gratitude, which might not be what you mean to put forth, though it'll still emanate outward anyhow. There should be much planning afoot inside your brain, considering all I wrote last week about the approach of Mars into your sign for an eight-month spectacular. First, however, Mars must muddle his way through your 12th house (where he's likelier to spur a semiconscious self-induced unraveling than to reliably assert a direct desire), a journey which begins at the tail end of the week (Sun Sep 18). Why put the cart in front of the horse, then, particularly when you know you're going to have horsepower aplenty come November and beyond? There would be nothing wrong with speaking aloud, in a non-attached and philosophically reflective tone, what you hope your future will bring. Asking for it outright (or, god forbid, demanding it) from possible purveyors, at this point, is somewhat unwise.

 

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): Thank the Goddess that merry maiden Venus, your ruling dignitary, is returning to your sign this week (on Wed Sep 14)… where she'll spend the next 3½ weeks polishing your aura, sprucing up your presentation, and generally putting you in an advantageous position, whatever the context. These days, alas, nothing is as straightforward as we might wish. Toward the second part of the week, please be aware that curve-balls could be tossed through the air at you, Libra, whether from rebellious partners and/or manipulative family-members. Your challenge, if you hope to reserve Venus's good graces for yourself without spoil, is to leave their issues to them—not allowing their shit-stirring to stir you up (though trying your best to sound compassionately boundaried, rather than merely cold). Where you'll likeliest go wrong is with any attempt to 'reason' with them, using supposedly factual arguments to pick their case apart; do not partake in such discussions. They may be behaving irrationally, but it's not on you to tell them so.

 

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): During the few weeks ahead, Scorpio, you should plan on stealing your intervals of pleasure when nobody's looking… perhaps because you have to put on a serious, super-occupied face in your public participations, and/or maybe due to the fact there's something devilishly forbidden about the treats you're indulging in. Can't say this latter possibility, by the way, is really any of my business… though I think it's fair to warn you that, in the short term, such indulgences' increase your likelihood of (1) a sudden cold and/or injury, if you're not also attending to your body's warning-signs or (2) a careless conversational injection that reveals more to a casual acquaintance than you'd like. As to the former mention of staying ultra-busy on the career/community front, you're just now starting to ramp up to a more fevered pace of production that'll endure through early November—including a looming potential need to fight a certain battle, if you sincerely hope to move things along your desired way. It's this last part, about potential fights, that might make it preferable to sneak in your silliness behind closed doors, so, outwardly, you can believably come off like the tough-ass when it really counts.

 

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): We must follow up on your horoscope from last week, since you've had this whole time to prime your thoughts for public consumption… and now the opportunity is ideal for speaking out on your smart idea(s) for improvements in efficiency and/or quality. I like Tuesday and Wednesday (Sep 13-14) best. Yet, you certainly won't want to be seen as the one who disrupts a nice-feeling 'team moment' with too self-serving a sentiment, which could make otherwise solid allies suddenly doubt your motivations. You do, after all, want the whole group to prosper as a result of your brainstorm efforts, right? Then please be sure to emphasize that notion; with mistress-of-blessings Venus presently moving into your solar 11th (the zone representing our relationship to larger social wholes), it's a key element to immediate success. And don't spend any energy worrying about the possibility that somehow 'your hands are being tied'. I don't see your freedom especially infringed upon over the coming couple months.

 

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): Piggybacking on last week's release, let me again point out the power you presently possess to create new alternatives for yourself (and others?), as a way to solve problems that lack any existing answers you'd find satisfying. With Venus hitting your solar 10th midweek, Capricorn, you've got a few weeks of positive professional and/or public-world influence to draw upon in getting your ideas heard. Don't permit an internal surrendering of belief that you could possibly find personal fulfillment from 'stepping up' to keep you silent… not when it's become increasingly impossible for you to hide your discontented feelings about what's not working. In other words, 'silent' isn't as silent as you think. Several astrological factors have combined to make your voice louder even when you're not purposely using it, which is a bad situation if you're trying to hide but wonderful if you're willing to actually express your point. Quietly grumbling your complaints is unproductive; bravely critiquing, and actively offering to help enact solutions, betters the world.

 

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): With a close appreciative eye pinned to the fairest outcome(s) of all, Aquarius, you'll keep good fortune on your side. Yet, it won't be as easy to automatically endorse justice at all costs as it may sound… not with both Uranus and Pluto playing their subversive tricks on newly-in-your-9th Venus, tempting you to muddle your own ethics. Your mind is especially prone to emotion-spawned mirages this week, which could leave you unnecessarily suspicious or unconsciously self-destructive, should you veer from the above-board route and attempt to shadily 'feel out' the situation instead of calmly asking your questions. Be especially aware that someone's offhand remark—which may not have been intended as the dig it hit you as—could leave you betraying your own best interests, if you reply with a hot head. There's a heightened chance of interpersonal unrest in coming weeks, due to Mars entering your relationship house (the 7th) late this week. Don't let it break out over relatively nothing.

 

PISCES (February 19-March 20): Just as you're probably beginning to enjoy an increased sense of realness, intensity and/or close contact, Pisces, you'll soon find your attentions diverted to less leisurely items such as chores, routines and/or obligations. (Or at least you'd better divert 'em, if you know what's good for you!) But I've consulted with the planets, and we've jointly agreed to allow you one more week to remain enraptured by whatever interpersonal dabblings have recently occupied you… which seems to include, among other things, a shitload of garrulous gabbing. I also ought to warn you that the situation could get a bit heated, if your increased closeness with this certain someone is making another player in your social circle a bit envious (or perhaps the envy's going the other way?), if you're ignoring other people to focus solely on the special individual, or if a major ideological difference between you two is being willfully ignored. And while I'm tossing out warnings: Don't blow your whole paycheck on pampering (or rescuing) anyone else. Other than that, enjoy! Starting next week, you'll have to dive into the looming duties.