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Horoscopes | Week of April 9-15, 2012

ARIES (March 21-April 19): After much protracted apparent delay (which was in fact, more precisely, just very slow progress), you are finally on the threshold of the last great push that'll get you to the finish line… though I suppose, on another level, even that end will represent yet another new beginning. You, Aries, ought to be fairly well aware of this simultaneously cyclical-and-arrowlike quality of all advances you make: Achieving this 'final' end-result will also serve to inaugurate your takeoff toward the next logical frontier, another relaunch built upon what you've learned, over these past many months, about what you want to continue doing and/or not continue doing. Think about that for a split-second… and then, let me refresh you on last week's edition, which advocates you still continuing to 'dance around' the situation somewhat non-committally. Quick timeline: (1) Next week and the week after, you issue the critical instructions and decisive declarations. (2) The down-and-dirty, capital-W Work is wrapped up by the second-half of June or so. (3) Surprise! Whatever's coming up next already begins making guest appearances later this month or in early May. Surprise! There's overlap!

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Squeeze the absolute most pleasure you possibly can out of these next two months, Taurus… and yet, at the same time, continue perpetually keeping one eye peeled for great deals, money-making opportunities, bargaining chips, and/or any other openings for new ways to bank tangible lasting symbols of the transformed you, like we discussed last week. Here comes the phase which determines, Taurus, whether the soaring heights you've tasted during the past year of Jupiter's influence will prove to be lasting or fleeting. But while you still have Jupiter on your side, as well as a now-turning-direct Mars in your house of authentic self-love and the joy that comes with it (the solar 5th), you also want to pack in as much expressive self-determination and creative play as you're able to. These two goals fuel each other's efficacy, thankfully, since more deals and opportunities and such will materialize, the more good-vibes you're emanating as a result of thoroughly relishing your time… and the more that materializes, the better mood you'll be in. My only caveat: As always, be on self-aware guard against your kneejerk stubbornness, which might prematurely cut off a lucrative possibility on the irrational grounds that it's too 'weird' or 'silly' or 'unfamiliar'. If even a tiny part of you is curious about it, it's at least worth considering through these early stages.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Not that any of us are ever truly 'passive victims of circumstance' (because, though circumstance does sometimes strike us, we are never wholly 'passive'), but this next chapter just opening now, Gemini, is especially responsive to you asserting considerable sway over just how it unfolds. And one surefire method of guaranteeing it doesn't merely echo the last several chapters? Actively enjoying the companionship and camaraderie of fresh faces: folks who haven't heard your blow-by-blow account of every last harrowing detail from your prior episodes, and who thus won't pin you into their expectations of how you should or shouldn't be behaving as a result of 'what's happened'. Among all the signs, you have a particularly keen talent for periodic self-reinventions… which, by the way, means you can actively choose to forefront certain recently underutilized or underappreciated facets of your personality without necessarily 'running away' from the past. I hardly think you're liable to totally forget about whatever 'circumstance' left you feeling something of a 'victim'. But, gosh, won't it be nice to talk about something else for a spell?!?

CANCER (June 21-July 22): The phrase 'going on record' is a built-in wake-up call that what you say—or don't say—about a given issue, initiative or project will remain etched in the archives of public memory. And this critical moment in your personal history, Cancer, is not a time to take the expression of your opinions lightly. What's specifically at stake is whether excessively diplomatic remarks and/or sheer silence on your part end up serving as an implicit endorsement of something somebody else in your life is doing, which you may in fact not agree with and/or which may behoove you not to be associated with. In other words, you cannot plead Switzerland if you're simultaneously drawing comfort or advantage from an alliance with an individual who has clearly taken a side. Otherwise, you could be seen as a co-conspirator… or, worse, a weak-willed lackey. I tell you this now not because I expect you to issue a statement right away, but instead as a warning against mindlessly uttering generic niceties that could later prove to hold a noxious undercurrent. Come next week and beyond, you probably will have to say something definitive, knowing your path forward may necessitate individuating yourself more distinctly.

LEO (July 23-August 22): The right follow-up call or inquiry email to the right pal at this especially-right time, Leo, could prove to be one of the most practical things you do during the first half of '12. Your present vision for what's possible (and not that far down the road!) may be far bigger and brighter than the seemingly modest benefits you could reap from such routine communication, but don't sacrifice your close-view by unduly fixating on the more dazzling wide-angle panorama. This is an ideal instant for securing your right-here-and-now grounding, as if to double-check that you'll have a reliable 'home-base' (financially, socially, logistically) for future self-sustaining touchdowns: a necessary foil for whatever treasure-hunts and vision-quests you may quietly be hatching. In advance of setting out on your next great adventure, however, you cannot know who or what you'll be ultimately leaving behind—and who or what you'll eventually return to, as a symbol of reassuring continuity in your journey. Therefore, treat them all like you expect to need to count on their continuing presence well into your approaching chapter. 'Leaving 'em hanging', meanwhile, is not a very practical precedent to set.

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): By week's end, this many-weeks-long retrograde of Mars through your sign will become a thing of the past, Virgo… though that energizer-bunny planet remains in your zone until early July, to work himself back out off this dizzying test-lab and onto his first new ground since last November. This is your signal to begin heading towards completion and/or resolution on whatever projects, programs or problems have consumed your fidgety attentions since late last year… to draw a few conclusive observations about whatever new information your investigative toying or tinkering has yielded… and to (as I discussed last week) prepare yourself for countless upcoming opportunities to present or personify your latest findings in the public sphere. The 'figuring out' pieces ought to have occurred by now (and if they haven't, you've unfortunately been asking yourself the wrong questions). With Mars's persistent energy injection not yet giving up its steam (though now shifting back to a more normalized frequency), you'll want your next sets of actions to epitomize everything that's most recently happened. Three months from now, no one should be left wondering what you've been up to or where you stand. Be exceedingly, impeccably, outwardly clear on such matters… starting next week.

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): A layer or two of skin has been shed. Your outsides are still, for another short while, more sensitive and vulnerable to exposure than usual. You remain in the process of reacclimatizing yourself to the external temperatures, relearning how much or little extra sheathing you ought to wear in different circumstances, so you are both appropriately covered but not suffocating beneath ill-fitting garb that masks your true shape. This first half of '12 may be remembered in retrospect, Libra, as a phase in which you 'did' relatively little… and yet subtly, mystically, cathartically remade yourself without the added weight of attitudes, complexes and conditions that other people had stuck to you (whether intentionally or not) during prior times in your life. Over the coming weeks, I encourage you to initiate experimental discussions with those who matter to you, in a tone that's far less controlled or laden-with-anxiety-about-particular-outcomes, as if you are letting them 'get to know you' all over again (or for the first time)… and as if, while you hear this different pitch of words leave your own mouth, you're getting to know yourself again, too. This process of learning to attain 'the new normal' in your relationship(s) continues, on wobbly fawn-legs, for a bit longer.

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): With one foot planted firmly in place, you can allow the other unhinged one to pivot you around in 360-degree circles, so you may review exactly who is surrounding you on all sides. This might not be your best week to lurch toward, or away from, any particular friends or foes, Scorpio… but merely to remind yourself about all you've learned, over these past three months, regarding which connections you want to invest more, or less, of yourself in. Progress, which begins to more noticeably pick up again next week and beyond, demands you steal this moment of stock-taking now. And the best position with which to observe the relative strength or flimsiness (or perhaps even toxicity) is from a sort of stillness, to ensure your own twitchy movements don't impair your observation skills. Other people about whom you've had trustworthiness questions are liable to reveal themselves, in one clear direction or another, if you give 'em the time and space to do so... and your helping nudge them along with an inconspicuous conversational lead seems totally fair-game, by the way.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): Lingering disagreements and/or dissatisfactions with bosses, parent-figures, the corporate structure, or other manifestations of hierarchical thinking are now reaching a turning-point, Sagittarius… and within the next couple weeks, you should be able to discern whether the recent bumps-in-the-road are (1) minor irritations or interpersonal mood-collisions that are in the process of ironing themselves out or (2) unbridgeable chasms in worldview which aren't very likely to dissolve on their own. If the latter interpretation (likely the more complicating one) is proving itself truer, you probably need to acknowledge this uncrossable roadblock for what it is—and begin forging yourself a road away from the unpleasantness. Put yourself on a three-month exit-strategy plan. Then, take advantage of the ongoing 7th-house good fortune (which I mentioned last week, and which grows ever more fortunate in June), and use your interpersonal charisma to canoodle your way into a better gig. On the other hand, if it was the former version that rang true, you should start a three-month process of mending fences… not only because it sucks to hold grudges or leave annoying tensions to entrench themselves, but as a purposeful tactic for continuing your outward ascent.

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): Duty dictates that you must neither disappear from any uncomfortable work-related scenes nor speak somewhat disingenuous words of encouragement to whomever's emanating the discomfort, when your most honorable response is simply to stand in it and let others feel as they will. I'm sure glad, too, that I can get away with loading you, Capricorn, down with a word like 'duty' (since not every sign will take such terminology with equal seriousness). Trying to ease the awkwardness that accompanies someone else's reactive freak-out to a necessary evolutionary move—when it's obvious to you that 'the right thing' requires all parties to stretch in unfamiliar (and therefore potentially distressing) directions—would merely be an instance of pandering. And you are in no position to pander, unless you want to become part of the problem instead of the solution. You won't have to 'stand in it' forever, alas. Once you persevere through the first uncomfortable week or two, you will have greater leeway to remove yourself for longer moments… not to escape duty, of course, but in order to recharge your batteries for the next round of transformation.

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): This mud-bath doesn't really get any stickier than what you've already been trudging through. You've made it through the thickest part of the deepest end, Aquarius, and so now possess a fairly thorough understanding of what to expect for the duration of your trek back out onto safe dry land. Does that mean every remaining step will be easy? Hell, no. You're still pretty well covered in mud, which makes your whole body feel heavier… and thus each forward thrust requires more effort than it would if you'd had a chance to clean yourself off. But that chance will come, and that dry land is beginning to appear on the far horizon. Let that serve as enough of a motivating factor to fuel your continuing onward because, even though you've got a conceptual handle on the challenges that come with this terrain, you cannot simply stop midway through. If you stop, you will sink. What will bear down on you are these same damn complicating consequences you've been trying to put behind you, which are essentially what created this muddy holding-cell to begin with. Do you want to have to repeat this trek at another point in the indefinite future (though you may have gotten far enough to push that point a year or two out)? Keep on trudging through. Each victorious step is another bit of your salvation.

PISCES (February 19-March 20): This is officially your last chance to genuinely plead ignorance about how a certain someone either has or hasn't, is or isn't, properly respecting your boundaries… whether this relationship is supportive to your self-selected goals, or whether it is detrimental… and if you are accepting your own responsibility to participate healthfully in this relationship (or relationships in general, if a pattern is emerging), or passively situating yourself within 'victim' status. It's not your last chance to do something about your involvement, Pisces, because we always possess some power for effecting change. But it will be nearly impossible, going forward, for you to legitimately claim to 'not know' what's going on between you… particularly after more than five months of Mars poking away at your 7th house. And with Mars now standing still and returning to direct motion by the weekend, you now have this one last chance to clarify the situation for your own understanding (though I really doubt you've been exposed to any less than 95% of the pertinent data already) over the coming week or two. So ask the questions directly. Solicit advice. Seek another vantage-point from which to scan the findings. Most of all, prepare to give up the ignorance plea for good. Wherever the relationship goes next, let's be clear it was a conscious choice.