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Horoscopes | Week of October 24-30, 2011

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Lucrative, self-empowering boosts are indeed bankable under this astro-weather… though you won't likely clinch 'em without reaching your hands into the murky middle-ground mud. You'll have to put yourself into majorly risky circumstances, Aries, where you can't guarantee you'll emerge as safely contained within a 'sure thing' as your self-protective instincts might prefer. But there seems no other path to the bigger rewards besides gambling with this sense of self-containment, putting yourself more deeply 'in bed' with those who'll simultaneously (1) help support your future successes and (2) expect to get some say in how you deploy their supportive efforts. You can't have it both ways: Either you accept the much-needed assistance but share the control with someone else, or you do it yourself but struggle longer and harder (and still, perhaps, miss out on some interesting angle another person might offer). Mars-in-your-5th continues to ensure you'll get your opinion heard—but whether it hits others like an uncompromising brick in the gut depends on how up you are for the difficult-but-required bartering process.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Commit to remaining as conscious as possible about not leaking your inner grump onto those you share life with, Taurus. There's presently a heightened danger of assuming you hold a monopoly on the 'reasonable outlook'—when it might be more accurate to say you're just louder and more self-righteous about it—and unfairly snipping at someone you care for, misdirecting your passing unsettledness into needless relationship friction. It's likely you really are coming off with an 'edge' to your attitude… which may be altogether unconscious, and thus unintended, yet nonetheless undesirable to the person on the other end of it. Should they courageously choose to call you out on it (instead of just muttering about your unreasonableness behind your back), don't immediately discount their observations; they've probably got some legitimate feedback on your manner of emotional self-handling that you should hear. Your willingness to take it in will both help the relationship and soften your mood… once, that is, you genuinely accept they're here to help.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): As warned about last week, you're under the effect of tensions between what you know you have to do and what you think you want to do… though you may be unnecessarily feeding this friction by insisting upon insisting that you don't want to do what you know you have to do. Believe it or not, Gemini, the astrology informs me you might actually take pleasure in the productivity, once you break through the surface inertia and get a nice rhythm going. Plus, you mustn't underestimate the good vibes that'll be released into your energy-field, as soon as you start making progress on that thing you've been procrastinating about for too damn long. On the other hand, the supposedly lusted-after 'distraction' that seems so appealing may, in fact, be a not especially self-supportive preoccupation… something you imagine to be more fun than it usually amounts to and/or an explicitly not-fun item you (falsely) believe you must obsess about. Dodging the supposedly 'undesirable' will create more undesirable feelings than just shutting up already about how 'undesirable' is supposedly is.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): This week's conspicuous contrast between (1) acting with fiscal responsibility and/or high regard for your sense of self-securing adulthood and (2) participating in what seems like much more fun is likely, Cancer, to leave you feeling a bit edgier than usual. Somehow, each of these choices seems to hold more weight in your considerations than either ordinarily would, leaving no clear winner when they're pitted against one another. Perhaps accepting that insight will be enough to help mitigate the inner battle, alleviating the pressure to label one as a 'correct' answer and the other a path to trouble. You really mustn't squash the available joyousness, out of some misguided notion of austerity that dictates nothing pleasurable ought to occur if one is being practical. If anything, pleasure is that much more crucial to our satisfaction when other factors demand we hold back. Yet, pretending away the obvious call for responsible decision-making, because some diversion tempts us to 'forget all that', is merely a recipe for even more corrective practicality further down the road. Resolve this battle by letting both sides win, but with neither crushing the other.

LEO (July 23-August 22): You've got a potent wave-making potential in your work-and-career zone currently, directly tying (1) any immediate increases in the passion you invest on a day-to-day basis into (2) an easier-and-quicker-than-normal ability to create noticeable gains. Yet, Leo, I urge not to say much about this advantage… nor even to try to use it in any persuasion-style communications, to court clients or otherwise market yourself through sweet-sounding sales pitches. Just quietly set out to accomplish conspicuously obvious results in projects that'll speak for themselves, all the while reserving the cheerleading speeches for your own private self-talk. Telling 'em what you're capable of is not nearly as convincing as confidently showing 'em tangible examples—and is, to be honest, less likely to grate on 'em. Mars is still in your sign, which, while threatening to be a possible interpersonal irritant, can also inject superhuman levels of physical initiative. Direct this Mars energy into tasks, not at people.

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): The little devil hovering over one shoulder, who doesn't often make a very compelling case to your conscience, is whispering to you in a louder voice this week. If he got his way, he'd have you doing exactly the opposite of what those around you are advising… if only so you could prove to them that you're in absolute and complete charge of how you're going to proceed. However, such a devilishly reactionary attitude, Virgo, won't do you any favors—or make you any friends—right when you're on the verge of a far better time for taking charge of all that's dangling, incomplete, in front of your face. Please refrain from rolling your eyes or laughing with haughty condescension at those who toss out unsolicited advice, informal suggestions, or anecdotal tales about what's worked for them. You may be rigidly confident in your knowing what's best (for you, that is), but proper social etiquette is still required. Demonstrating a lack of grace, just to defend your independence (though it's not, in fact, under attack), will actually lead you to lose ground in presently unforeseeable ways.

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): You're having a fairly reasonable moment, Libra, with plenty of even-headed sentiments to share with those around you, many of whom could probably benefit quite a bit from a dose of reasserted realism. Of course, whether they'll want to hear the ground-floor truth you're dispensing—or whether your frank pragmatism will make you somewhat unpopular among the pie-in-the-sky crowd—remains to be seen. You could choose not to care about the possibility of receiving some flack and openly share anyhow, for the self-evident good of the group… and simply refuse to take on any of the personal shade certain folks might throw you, confident that it's their insecurities causing the friction, not your observations. Or you could opt out of providing others feedback, instead quietly following your own rationale, to stabilize your own life-situation… and let them suffer their deserved wrath of ignorance. Only, the ornery ones will probably still find an excuse to scorn you, perhaps for daring to be so damned self-serving. However you slice it, some people are likely to take issue with where your head's at. But whose problem is that?

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): Things going refreshingly well in one zone of your life (which I presume they are, Scorpio) ought not to embolden you to incite drama in another. Don't you recall that bit in last week's scope about the possibility of conflict with those threatened by your assertive attitude? That favorable 'extra something' you're presently gifted with is put to best use in personal-relationship situations—but not necessarily in the professional zone, where being too intent on a certain outcome could generate an unfriendly pushback from a formidable individual who wants it their way (and/or, for some undisclosed reason, really doesn't want it your way). Pick your battle wisely, not because you don't have a valid point or a fighting chance at emerging on top, but because you could instead just revel in easier interpersonal victories that don't involve power struggles whatsoever. Another favorable possibility: A partner or good friend can benefit from your 'pulling a few strings' with another acquaintance of yours who has the hookup.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): Eagerness, no matter how avid, is no substitute for a clearer idea. And while I'm not suggesting you ought to have every last facet diagrammed out before jumping toward your avid interest, Sagittarius, I am insinuating you're still a bit premature. Ideally, I'd have you bide your time until the latter part of next week, at the earliest, in advance of taking your next big bite of life. Though you may now possess the ample amounts of physical initiative needed to lurch ahead (as well as the helpful enthusiasm for 'getting going', wherever the going's going to get you), you remain largely in a 12th-house la-la-land when it comes to certain common-sense elements. This is not a criticism, incidentally, since that very 'la-la-land' is an incredibly fruitful place for garnering a vibe of mystical affinity that'll have the invisible hands of angels, spirit guides, and other invisible helpers pushing you toward (rather than away from) your goal. Said another way: Choosing the appropriate timing, for reasons that trump the hasty insistence of ego's short-attention-span, better aligns you with Divine Order—and thusly makes your job a whole lot easier.

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): Though it's not typically like you to lumber unaware through your surroundings, you may be a bit of 'a bull in a china shop' this week… not entirely sure of when your limbs may unceremoniously intrude upon someone else's fragile valuables. If you're too casual in your movements, Capricorn, you could easily break something with a stray elbow or the bulky bag on your back. You understand, of course, I'm speaking metaphorically about 'breaking something', right? Apply this to the manner in which you handle other people, and you can imagine, then, how an impulsive snideness or lashing-out on your part would, sadly, lead to a greater amount of damage than you foresaw—and leave you to pay an exorbitant 'bill', in order to appease the offended 'shopkeep'. After all, the sign reads: You break it, you buy it. Proceed, therefore, with added delicacy. Should you feel the urge to make a potentially bitchy or condescending comment rising up in an exchange, think twice before presuming the dig will go unnoticed or fly 'over their head'. Chances are, it won't... and who wants to clear up after that?

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): The continued career-zone and/or outer-world promise indicated by your hoppin' 10th house is being made somewhat less cut-and-dry by someone else's meddlesome intrusions, Aquarius. This person may have a direct relationship to what you're working on out there, and be trying to insert their (uninvited? unwelcome?) voice into your efforts. Or perhaps it's somebody from another area of your life—a needy partner, a self-absorbed friend, an oblivious family member—who's demanding you divert your attentions to them, at the expense of your chosen focus. Whoever they are, they might require you putting them in their proper place… hopefully not too rudely, but with enough gusto to see that your energies are not so easily hijacked. To do so with the most skillful and effective panache, I suggest not just giving 'em the quick chill of a short-tempered 'no', but going more deeply into explaining the passion behind what's occupying that chunk of time they'd prefer be devoted to them. By expressing more of your personal investment, you put them in the awkward position of having to explicitly discredit your present ambitions, in order to make a case for their own desires. And from that context, they'll look exceedingly inconsiderate.

PISCES (February 19-March 20): Delays are possible—and not altogether unwarranted—should you feel like you can't just do what's being instructed or expected of you, due to nagging questions about why it has to be done this particular way, or at all. Any angle you cut it from, Pisces, still demands you be philosophically on-board with the whole overarching purpose (or at least able to make a genuine moral peace with it)… or else the results of the actions you take, with each motion sticking in your craw like tiny grains of abrasive sand stuck in your swimsuit crevices, will be riddled with signs of your aggravation. You'll be less quick to fix errors you spot, to invest your brain-power into methodological improvements, or to take any sort of pride in your deeds. (In fact, you might even feel ashamed of your participation, which is a sensation to avoid like the plague.) So, if you're harboring any big-picture doubts which might be alleviated by a reorienting, reclarifying and/or redirecting conversation—perhaps causing a delay, yes, but also getting you more comprehensively on track with the guiding outlook—take the necessary time to do so.