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Horoscopes | Week of August 6-12, 2012

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Don't bank on receiving your personal gratification from the external world, Aries. Even as you may continue finding yourself on the hot seat, quizzed on the details of what you're already said and/or pressed to clarify or reiterate or defend, you shouldn't expect the arrival of some magical full-circle 'a-ha!' moment when you're finally understood, affirmed and/or given due credit by anybody. That type of closure will have to come from within your own heart, once you believe you've made every honest attempt to speak your truth. Other involved parties might still be maneuvering for a loophole or grey-area that blurs the pretty-damn-straightforward manner in which you've laid things out—maybe because what they want from the situation doesn't fall in line with what you've told 'em?—but there are only so many times you can clarify or reiterate or defend before the conversation's usefulness runs its course. For the benefit of everyone's doubt, you might as well put in one good last communicative effort. Then, consider giving it—and yourself—a rest.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Social obligations call, Taurus… and though I hate to saddle this beneficial increase in others' desire to snag a piece of you as an 'obligation', I do believe this is a cosmic invitation you ought not to decline. I recognize the burgeoning inner clash between (1) wanting to remain in active connection with the people you see as allies, whether proven commodities or promising prospects, and (2) feeling like you're a bit 'in your own head', swollen with pensive contemplations better not expressed in casual conversation. But here's the thing: You won't have to actually talk about yourself too much. That's not what it's about. You just need to be there, so they can gaze upon your lovely face and feel the collegial support your willing presence provides. Presence matters a lot, more than you might think. And meanwhile, your pals' nonstop motor-mouth enthusiasms, which might at any other time grate on you with their seeming ignorance of how such behavior inhibits true exchange, will offer the perfect cover for your own desire to not disclose much.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In recent months, I (in collusion with the planets) have granted you acres of leeway, in terms of hopefully encouraging you to have a little more fun… to move beyond the now-ancient past of one challenge after challenge, and to begin experimenting with one newfangled mode-of-experience and/or another. Now, Gemini, you're hitting your newest 'get real' moment, specifically insofar as your financial situation is concerned. In short, this next month ahead is an ideal period for consciously concentrating on earning more money… a goal likelier to be attained only once you accept you might have to sacrifice some greater idealistic desire for practicality's sake. (In other words, for right now, the thing you love may not be the way you make the extra cash.) Don't think of this news as a downer, alas. Your earning power will be boosted by Venus in your 2nd and, along with her residence, a happy acceptance that you're simultaneously (1) growing towards greater personal satisfaction on one side while (2) taking care of nuts-and-bolts business on the other. These are not in conflict at all, but rather a simple factor of managing both short-term needs and long-term goals at the same time.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Hurray! for Venus showing up in your sign, Cancer, for a month of you emitting that extra-special certain something that'll have heads everywhere doing a double-take. Because of Her Highness's exceedingly lengthy four months in your solar 12th preceding this moment, this aura-fluffing Venus influence is rather overdue—and you should, as a result, feel incredibly entitled to scooping up every last bit of its goodness. Now is your time to call in the favors, take a few flirtatious liberties, stir the proverbial pot like a benefic rascal… and maybe even spend a bit of additional effort on your personal appearance, since Venus-in-the-1st is an ideal time for makeovers. Of course, if you can talk yourself into a friendly discount or a courtesy cocktail here or there, all the better: You're still under some pressure to carefully watch your expenses (though even your earning power is potentially boosted by Venus's arrival). Don't be so resistant to receiving the blessed fruits of others' gratitude for your existence, just because you're more accustomed to the other end of the exchange. For the next few weeks, it's all about you.

LEO (July 23-August 22): The next week or so, following Mercury's return to direct motion late Tuesday (Aug 7), would best be spent by allowing plenty of space for the past-few-weeks' developments to effectively clarify themselves. There are probably some follow-up conversations you'll want to participate in, Leo, which will help determine how to functionally proceed in light of what's recently come up… though you should keep fairly reasonable expectations about how quickly you'll experience the most positive eventual changes. These things take time to work their way from (1) the declarative decision-making stage to (2) becoming a full-fledged facet of your everyday life. To be more specific, you'd benefit from carving out a full month of continued behind-the-scenes evolution on whatever issue(s) has recently taken on heightened importance… all the while, of course, maintaining an open dialogue with those who have proved formative in shaping what you are becoming. Give yourself permission to unapologetically present as a 'work in progress': This invites a very authentic manner of interrelating.

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): Good things come to you Virgos who spend much of the coming few weeks surrounded by the people who understand you best… and who expect nothing from you but your devoted companionship. Too much solitary confinement will simply mean you're liable to miss out on easier enjoyments, for some illogical ascetic purpose you couldn't coherently explain, even to yourself, even if you tried. Your poor brain-ball is probably pretty exhausted from trying its damnedest to crack a certain code (though I've repeatedly urged you not to bother for the moment), which is hopefully incentive enough to set aside these cerebral concerns—especially since the 'breakthrough' is likely going to occur only once you stop feverishly demanding it show itself (and may still be up to a month away, though you can taste it getting closer). Thankfully, your real friends and peers don't mind if you're in the midst of some heavy-duty behind-the-scenes processing. I'm sure they'll happily engage you in discussion about whatever you're chewing on... or just as happily leave you to your own silent thoughts. But in the meantime, as personal clarity slowly approaches, let your network of peeps carry you into the territory of fortuitous social surprises.

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): Introduce (or re-introduce) yourself… in a spirit of modest willingness to be put to work, in service to something that's emotionally resonant to you on a personal level. 'Modest', of course, need not imply you are anything less than exceedingly confident in your abilities—only that a self-bloating cataloguing of your attributes and achievements isn't required for conveying your greatness, Libra, since it'll be obviously evidenced by your performance, gradually, as this opportunity unfolds. Instead, talk to the important stakeholder(s) about common interests or mutual acquaintances, conversation topics which will situate you both within the same social context. It's shrewder to position yourself alongside, as a solid team member, rather than in too sharp a contrast to anybody else. The advantages you've currently got going in your favor (namely, Venus in your 10th) won't be furthered by throwing around a bunch of saccharine-sweet words. The folks in charge will respond to the unspoken vibe you're carrying with you… which tells them, fairly unambiguously, how genuinely you really want to be there.

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): As you chatter and reason your way toward better understanding just what you've gotten yourself into, Scorpio, I foresee you cheerfully reuniting with that potent sense of adventure that underlies why you got yourself here to begin with. The periodic bouts of panic, therefore, should soon find themselves overpowered by the free-fall thrill of your having so daringly reached out into the great unknown—an above-all-else perspective you can rely on whenever you start feeling doubtful or cynical again. From this angle, there's absolutely nothing to gain, then, from pretending to have surer footing than you do… even when you're conversing with the folks you'd most like to please. They will get a truer grasp on who you are if you actually share your process of self-discovery with them, first-person-protagonist-style, and enlist them to contribute their suggested answers to your still-open-ended questions (though you may quietly decide not to accept theirs as yours). Who wouldn't want to participate in your enthusiastic sifting-through of these new experiences? Enthusiasm is one of those most precious contagions.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): You're reaching the point, Sagittarius, at which you'll be ready to more assuredly state what you are and aren't into… and to consequently adapt an interpersonal dynamic that's recently been all about 'going with the flow' toward more sustainable integration with your less-negotiable realities. This adaptation cannot happen overnight, as each party must incrementally acclimate to the changes in pressure that accompany deepening the relationship or suffer a nasty case of the bends. But it's got to start sometime—and that appears to be now-ish. This, incidentally, is fabulous news for those of you in relational situations with a truly encouraging outlook: It means you're pretty much ready to commit to some major forward move together, having gleefully discovered you share a fundamental life-ethic that'll ease a fuller combining of your lives. However, if you've been turning a blind-eye to a rather important difference between you (perhaps because you weren't quite eager to abandon the present-moment idyll, even secretly knowing it couldn't possibly last), I think the blinders are due to be removed... and replaced by a much-needed statement of your bottom-line, which could likely be some sort of final straw.

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): Continuing with the sentiments expressed last week, by midweek this week, you should begin to be able to get away with readdressing potentially touchy topics that were seemingly unresolvable (or perhaps even unmentionable) just a short while earlier… and, thankfully, not expect to have your head bitten off. In fact, Capricorn, one of the best things you can do for your interpersonal-relationship life is to clear the slate of any awkward or unpleasant residual tension hovering over you both—even if, for a few fleeting moments, you must tap back into its throbbing source. Instead of indulging too much of the natural nervousness, approach this readdress as a simple matter of 'tying up loose ends' in a very specific and limited context… faithfully anticipating you'll be able to handily move past this, a relatively minor blip-on-the-radar within a generally pretty-awesome-dynamic between you two. Belief in the underlying strength of your connection is more important than the details of this sticky point. If, however, you have doubts about it, you might want to use this month ahead to probe more deeply… to affirm you have every reason to doubt, or to at least better understand the message this pseudo-doubt is trying to deliver.

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): Revel in the whir of enhanced day-to-day productivity and physical well-being, Aquarius. I see you quite enjoying a return to greater focus on your work and health routines… if for no other reason than the recent multitude of air-sign influences has probably taken you a bit out of your body and, after too prolonged a period of that sensation, it feels good to ground back into it. Your mind has an all-too-amazing knack for conjuring sophisticated labyrinths of fascination that, due to how compelling you find such abstract fancies, often slyly goad you not to linger very long in the land of the mundane. Yet, before you know it, you've forgotten to take care of some pretty basic duties (to yourself and/or to others) and must remind yourself to attend to all that shit everybody else has been attending to all the while. I repeat: You will enjoy getting back to this stuff, as long as you don't get caught in thinking too much about it in advance of just jumping in. Not only that, you'll be rewarded on your refreshed acceptance of responsibility with a gust of renewed sanity… which will prove mightily handy, should you find yourself revisiting a recent relationship hiccup, now that your head's screwed back onto its body more securely.

PISCES (February 19-March 20): Fun, romance, pleasure, play… this is the category of experience looking for you to reinvest your energies, now that Venus is gaily skipping into your solar 5th, one of her all-time favorite places to be. This is as good an excuse as I can come up with, Pisces, for you to intently let certain worries float away and take advantage of this sunnier beach-party astro-climate. If said 'worries' have involved how to complete a particularly irksome piece of work or to move past a stubborn leveling-off in progress or fitness, I expect the enlightening missing-link to make itself known within the coming few weeks. And though that might not mean everything's all straight-away perfectly-put-together-and-done, it should serve to alleviate any fears of you never getting beyond here. (Indeed, your patient perseverance with this task is its own version of great success, don't you think?) Perhaps, considering a proverbial light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel is starting to peep through, a celebration is in order. Whose company do find especially wonderfully carefree? Give 'em a ring, and coordinate a kooky caper.