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Horoscopes | Week of January 30-February 5, 2012

ARIES (March 21-April 19): As thorough as you're being with the work on your plate—and you are being thorough, right?—there's still a fairly sizable zone of up-in-the-air unknowns that continue to elude your tangible grasp. And whatever's presently floating out there in that Bermuda Triangle of invisible potency, Aries, is stubbornly unresponsive to firm self-serving demands made of it. This indefinable 'Z factor' variable could be seen as the Universe's sentient will, the tides of Destiny, a cumulative matrix of The Highest Good for All, or some other such uncontainable drift. But for your purposes, it's enough to know that you can't do anything about it (except maybe send out prayerfully positive intentions, hold your breath, and keep on going). On the practical level, however, there remain plenty of real-world tasks you ought to persist in laboring on behalf of… while simultaneously remaining realistic about what's actually in your power to mold, and what's simply out of your hands for now. This will be the last week I'll remind you to buy my e-book, ASTROBARRY'S 2012, at the end of your horoscope. Seems like a good reason to act now, eh?

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): If there are presently any misperceptions of you circulating among members of your group, this would be a prime time for you to take corrective action. I mean, really, Taurus, who doesn't want to be represented with as much genuine precision as possible… even knowing, no matter what you do, you can never claim full control over the way others will perceive you? So, with reasonable expectations that people will see only what they want to see, you should still feel free to proactively put forth any behaviors that might clarify what you see as erroneous ideas of who you are. Telling them you are this or that type of person, alas, won't make much of an impact compared with actually showing them you embody such traits. And doing so from a place of confident self-determination, rather than defensive reaction, also helps. But once that's handled, you probably need to just let go of trying to shape your image—and have faith that, if you sincerely do care about others' well-being as well as your own, what's at the heart of your motivations will shine through. This will be the last week I'll remind you to buy my e-book, ASTROBARRY'S 2012, at the end of your horoscope. Seems like a good reason to act now, eh?

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The concept of housecleaning—whether a literal physical scouring of your home or a metaphoric expelling of any emotional detritus that's cluttering your internal space—is a good one to forefront during the next 2½ months of Mars's retrograde through your solar 4th. (I already covered a bit of this two weeks ago.) It doesn't take a feng-shui expert, after all, to elucidate a link between the way we manage our domestic experience (or don't manage it, as the case may be) and how we value (or don't) our personal needs for comfort and calm. What I want to add to this equation, Gemini, is the increasing pressure to streamline and purify what's going on at home as a direct counterbalance to an expanding sense of unsure drifting just now beginning to occur in your outer life. In other words, the changing needs of the collective may pull your career and/or public-world participations in a strange new direction that could defy clear logic, yet feels oddly right. And as this happens (sooner or a few years down the road), it'll be helpful to have this more solid, sensible relation to your home-base, which I'm recommending you work on right away. This will be the last week I'll remind you to buy my e-book, ASTROBARRY'S 2012, at the end of your horoscope. Seems like a good reason to act now, eh?

CANCER (June 21-July 22): When you are hailed by intuitive call to the Next Great Adventure, one which holds the potential to soften your understanding of why those who are so glaringly different from you behave the way they do, you aren't likely to initially recognize the profundity of this ringing. It could feel more like a cryptic daydream-yearning that recurs in your consciousness, Cancer, perhaps without any obvious precedent in the experiences you've already lived, but nonetheless alluring. Of course, if you've become too mired in a superfluous jumble of disproportionately ear-splitting noise in the here-and-now—trivial developments disguised as big news, superficial squabbles between friends, an inability to see beyond the immediacy of this attention-hogging cast of characters nearby—you might easily dismiss the call as 'irrelevant', though it may in fact be the most relevant thing swimming through your brain. Consider, therefore, properly limiting the role any junk-mail exchanges are taking up in your life over the next few months. It'll create a larger field of silence, from which the calling can more audibly rise. This will be the last week I'll remind you to buy my e-book, ASTROBARRY'S 2012, at the end of your horoscope. Seems like a good reason to act now, eh?

LEO (July 23-August 22): Idealism can be either a gift or a trap, Leo, based upon whether you're allowing it to bring you closer to others in a way that enhances your life (not just in the short-term, but in its overall trajectory)… or as an escapist excuse to ignore the real-life consequences to this involvement, which could prove treacherous the longer they're ignored. The 'gift' part comes from the increased intimacy that results when you push past any superficial judgments keeping you and another person in distinctly different categories, revealing a deeper soul-similarity that can leave you feeling less alone than before. Yet, it's more a trap when those 'judgments' you've transcended aren't as superficial as you may want to believe… and the differences between you actually are potential deal-breakers, based upon the risks to your security and self-sufficiency this exposure is creating. How to discern which version of idealism is at play? Well, for starters, ask yourself which practical realities you must turn a blind eye to in order to perpetuate the bliss. A truthful answer to that query ought to illuminate the dynamic a lot.This will be the last week I'll remind you to buy my e-book, ASTROBARRY'S 2012, at the end of your horoscope. Seems like a good reason to act now, eh?

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): For your own ease's sake, please don't let a fixation on some relatively fine-point (important though it may be for you to emphasize accuracy as a worthy value) needlessly disrupt a pleasant interpersonal vibe you might otherwise enjoy. It is perfectly fair to cling tight to what's precisely correct for you, Virgo, without having to insist others hold their standards of correctness to a similar level. Some people don't care about the fine-points… and while you may clearly see how this lax attitude is apt to backfire on them, that doesn't make them inherent stupid or lazy or wrong, but merely someone with different priorities. Practicing compassion for the diversity of human experience—which includes accepting that we're all here to learn different lessons, what comes easily to you may be endlessly perplexing to them, and it is not your job to rescue them or harshly school them on their short-sightedness—is presently one of your main charges. While you can't help but notice what you might fix, were you walking in their shoes, the truth is (1) you aren't walking in their shoes and (2) you can't know what it feels like to do so, if you're too busy judging. This will be the last week I'll remind you to buy my e-book, ASTROBARRY'S 2012, at the end of your horoscope. Seems like a good reason to act now, eh?

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): Invite the rhythms of mundane repetition to lull you into a meditative state. Losing yourself in the acceptance of one day following the next, with apparent aimlessness (though all may not be quite what it seems), helps the greedy ego get over its need to reign with Purpose. From the small-picture view, today's purpose should be as clear as the list of things you need to do… and tomorrow's, Libra, will present itself no sooner than you need it, which is sometime after you wake up that morning. This is an exquisite dance, but you must keep your feet moving to the beat of the metronome or you'll lose some of its elegance (and everyone knows how much a Libran loves her elegant flourishes). See? You're getting the hang of it. As one evocative, ethereal horoscope feeds into the next, you are growing accustomed to this gentle absence of concrete far-sighted guidance. At least I hope you are. Otherwise, you're probably getting pissed off at me for being so indistinct and airy-fairy every week. Please don't shoot the messenger. This will be the last week I'll remind you to buy my e-book, ASTROBARRY'S 2012, at the end of your horoscope. Seems like a good reason to act now, eh?

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): Don't veer away from what makes you a one-of-a-kind genius (of one sort or another), especially not under pressure from friends, colleagues or teammates to 'reel it in'. You might not understand exactly why you can't help but raise that uncomfortable topic, remark upon the undercurrent that others are pretending isn't there, or otherwise bring that emotionally real quality to the table. It's just you being you, Scorpio, and that's about all you need to 'understand'… that and the marked benefit this manner of being provides to all of us who seek your companionship precisely because of this quality (as well as to those who'd probably prefer to squirm away from all such 'realness'). Even if you don't fancy yourself an artist-type, there's tremendous creativity in courageously pushing a button and seeing what happens when you do. Conformity is for cowards, and offers no new material for bettering humankind. This will be the last week I'll remind you to buy my e-book, ASTROBARRY'S 2012, at the end of your horoscope. Seems like a good reason to act now, eh?

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): Whatever pesky details or contentious complications continue to dominate your outside-world experience, Sagittarius, needn't dominate your entire life. What better context for consciously savoring the simplicity of your behind-closed-doors private time than crazier-than-usual public circumstances? Because I believe you ought to remain totally on your toes on the career front (or really anywhere where eyes are watching, and consequently forming opinions of, you), you should probably treat your home environment off-hours with the idealistic appreciation they deserve. Maybe your kitchen table needs a fresh bouquet of flowers this week. Perhaps it's time to finally hang that piece of art you adore on some centrally located wall in your house. The little self-nurturing touches can make all the difference. As you're stepping through that front door, leave the madness out on the porch where it belongs. Don't worry, I'm sure it'll still be there when you next depart. This will be the last week I'll remind you to buy my e-book, ASTROBARRY'S 2012, at the end of your horoscope. Seems like a good reason to act now, eh?

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): If you currently have some sort of point to prove, agenda to push, or broad ethical statement to make, Capricorn, you'll do a far more effective job by attempting to influence one mind at a time, casually and off-the-cuff, than by standing at the podium and blaring a speech through the sound-system. This 'recruit your acquaintances' tactic, though lacking the theatrical flair of a big production number, doesn't deem your message any less important. It merely turns the spreading of the message into a more interpersonal affair… rather than a one-way communication that's easier to dismiss as the pet project of one certain individual (who, in this case, would be you). By using everyday examples drawn from the actual conversations you're having with folks, you do a much better job of illustrating how what you're hawking affects their lives, too. And your transmission of thoughtful information will emerge more organically… less likely to make anybody else feel preached to, which few people really enjoy. This will be the last week I'll remind you to buy my e-book, ASTROBARRY'S 2012, at the end of your horoscope. Seems like a good reason to act now, eh?

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): Rational soul that you tend to be, please don't underestimate the mystical relationship between (1) your behavior in navigating touchy financial entanglements with other individuals or entities and (2) your own potential as an independent earner who sufficiently grows your own worth as a straightforward results of your efforts. In other words, Aquarius, how cleanly and fairly you deal with debts that you owe and/or are owed to you—not only in terms of a timely and consistent payment structure, but also on the psychological level of how all parties treat each other—has a direct impact on how much abundance is likely to flow to you, according to (for lack of a better term) cosmic law. Dirty deeds will come back to haunt you, although not necessarily in the same situation where the dirtiness was done. On the other hand, sincere willingness to (1) look the intimidating circumstances square in the eye and (2) do your best to clear up conflicting perspectives and integrate divergent desires will pay off in the end. Earnestly confronting the difficulties over the coming months will, in the end, lead to delightful simplification… and thus greater appreciation of wealth.This will be the last week I'll remind you to buy my e-book, ASTROBARRY'S 2012, at the end of your horoscope. Seems like a good reason to act now, eh?

PISCES (February 19-March 20): This week marks the beginning of a nearly 14-year period of Neptune, the modern ruler of Pisces, moving through your sign. Naturally, the length and significance of this once-in-a-lifetime transit cannot be encapsulated in the span of a single weekly horoscope. But for starters, suffice it to say, you are due to become even more 'Piscean' at some point during this phase (the exact timing of which is based upon the specifics of your unique birthchart): more sensitive, more dreamy, more compassionate and idealistic, more attuned to the Divine Order (whatever that is) or more susceptible to self-sacrificial delusion. How you navigate Neptune's transit, Pisces, has everything to do with whether you consciously devote your heartfelt caring energy to people and endeavors that appreciatively benefit from it, and that keep your cup full in the process—or whether you squander it on vampire-like souls or situations who drain you. The best way to get started on the right foot with Neptune? For now, be incredibly impeccable about not allowing others' disrespectful or infringing behaviors to continue… even if your necessary assertion of boundaries leads to conflict. This will be the last week I'll remind you to buy my e-book, ASTROBARRY'S 2012, at the end of your horoscope. Seems like a good reason to act now, eh?