Horoscopes | Week of October 8-14, 2012

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Though last week's edition endorsed you heading more categorically toward resolution of one sort or another, I don't want you to think that can be competently achieved by too hasty a break… not without disruptively affecting other important facets of your life. Even if you're committed to a goal of greater independence, Aries, you can't just grab all your stuff and dash out the back-door without saying a proper goodbye and making arrangements for how the shared responsibilities will be handled. What's obviously right for the responsibilities themselves—regardless of what any individual (you or the other party) wants for their own satisfaction—is your continued engagement in clunky, thorny and not-exactly-pleasurable dialogue about who is handling what, as well as exactly when and how they're going to handle it. This is also the context in which you're likeliest to become restless and/or lose your cool… maybe because, now feeling as if you've already figured the big piece(s) out, you just wish the rest of these crappy details were also magically resolved. This is not, alas, the time to peter out: Your rush to 'be done already' may actually cost you.

 

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): There's that momentary persuasiveness you've got going on, Taurus, which undoubtedly assists you in spinning your statements in just such a way that they sound tailor-made for your audience… and particularly so, as long as you've got an authentic wide-toothed grin on your face. But there's also a certain line I advise you not to cross: No dredging up (or even hinting at) old wounds from the past or relative tender-spots in others' self-perceptions, as if you believe you must adopt a balls-out, nothing-off-limits ploy in order to succeed. The 'Mr./Ms. Overkill' routine will not get the job done more confidently or completely than the 'Friendly Opinion-Influencer'; in fact, it's liable to backfire, just as surely as you'd walk right off the car-dealer's lot if pitched a 'great deal' by a ruthless shark playing on your lack of knowledge or assuredness. We'd all rather buy from someone who makes the whole experience a pleasure… even if we have to pay a few extra bucks for the privilege of not being subjected to an assaulting onslaught. Consider the experience you're creating for the other person in the act of swaying 'em your direction, not merely how badly you want to sway 'em.

 

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): What's on your mind is both (1) serious common-sense business and (2) ultra-personal, Gemini, so the last thing you need is a presumably well-enough-meaning friend or colleague urging you to 'lighten up' or offering to help you put things into their perspective. These concerns are best addressed yourself, through lots of thoughtful quiet-time and your own hands-on explorations… as opposed to swallowing someone else's recommendations as gospel and/or mistakenly accepting that maybe you are making too much of a big deal. You're in the process of rebuilding trust in your own problem-solving capabilities, which necessarily requires not leaning too reliably on other people. Rather than immediately seeking outside confirmation that an idea of yours is a good one, evaluate its merits through literal trial-and-possible-error: Make a move, and then see whether you're satisfied with its effects. You can always tweak it a bit, then try it out again. Additional conversation, arguably the easiest action for a Gemini to take, won't reap you any tangible evidence one way or the other.

 

CANCER (June 21-July 22): This is an exceptional week for freely speaking from your heart, Cancer. It's your best and only weapon for (re)situating yourself in a position of power within a certain relationship, where you'll continue to be at a disadvantage as long as you're always responding to the line of questioning they set out or trying to tell 'em what they want to hear. Hold yourself back from projecting into possible futures, an obtrusive intuitive method of getting out in front of their potential reaction… which ultimately impacts (and, likely, constrains) how you're apt to present your thoughts to them. Let up on such efforts to control the fallout. The genuine truth of how you feel won't actually change, even if you attempt to temper its expression so it doesn't freak someone else out. All you'd be doing by not conveying it fully is, sadly, selling yourself out. You owe it to yourself to practice heart-centered honesty… and to be courageous enough not to sweat the potential post-honesty consequences. 'Holding it all together' is too much wasted effort.

 

LEO (July 23-August 22): Treat the monetary opportunities and/or challenges that are right in front of you as your week's most important priority, Leo, and set other worries temporarily aside. A Venus/Pluto trine gives you a heightened knack for attracting clear and fortunate formulas to enhance your economic well-being, presuming you're willing to put in a few more-intense-than-usual workdays. Don't overthink the essential simplicity of this formula. It doesn't take a master astrologer to spell out the connection between (1) investing more everyday effort and (2) bringing home more to show for yourself… though it is my job to tell you this is an especially profitable moment for obeying this logic. There continues to exist a counter-balancing hunger in you, however, that finds all this day-to-day capitulation to mundane preoccupations a bit dull and dreary. If you're not careful, that antsy inner-adventurer might start feeding you misleading lines about how 'none of this little shit really matters'. In fact, it does matter—quite a lot, actually. One cannot live a healthy lifestyle on wild adventures alone; they must be reasonably integrated with a supportive day-to-day sustainability, or they'll cause real problems.

 

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): Fostering a patient communicative openness (as I recommended last week) remains a winning tactic for you, Virgo… particularly if you worry less about overtly attempting to convince anyone of anything and, instead, focus on self-assuredly expressing the passion you personally possess towards the topic-at-hand. If you are genuinely fired up about it, your fervor will be contagious. Just because you are excited and eager to jump further into it in that very particular way you feel most strongly about, other involved parties will be that much excited and eager to go along with it your way. After all, you make it seem so fun… so right-on. Don't shy away from utilizing the seductive element: You've got to 'romance' a potential partner if you want to close the deal, playing 'flirtatiously' to their desires while foxily revealing shades of yours (without, however, coming on too strong and giving off a pushy-creepy vibe). A list of pragmatic explanations and elucidations, though analytically cogent, will just put 'em to sleep. Somehow, make it sexy.

 

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): Inner strength is what you ought to tap into, Libra, to prevent a certain individual's unruly, all-over-the-map fits and fidgets from pulling you off task. You need to be hatching economically self-supportive strategies, laying groundwork for a moment (about, say, three weeks or so from now) when you're likely to receive a fortuitous offer or opportunity. The prize will only become yours if you both (1) keep your eye on it and (2) repeatedly envision yourself stepping confidently up to claim it. But if somebody else is demanding you fix your attentions on them (or unconsciously acting out so that you can't help but become occupied by their performance), your concentration will easily slip. Now, return to picturing yourself ascending to the podium, to redeem your deserved advantage: Is this certain someone sitting proudly in the audience, cheering you on with unselfishly loving care? Or are they nowhere to be found, off on another bout of unpredictability or self-absorbedly texting their friends in the hallway outside? At your moment of recognition, are you once again caught in concern for what they're up to… because, if so, therein lies the problematic rub?

 

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): It definitely does not behoove you to toil silently and solitarily, as if in a vacuum, powering through boatloads of busy-work while simultaneously suspecting that something critical is being left out of the process. Though pausing the workflow to reinitiate a conversation among your team will undoubtedly occupy one more chunk of precious time, Scorpio, you pretty much must raise that egregious sticking-point if you care about the overall success of the group's efforts. Yes, it puts you in the hot-seat. And yes, it makes you 'officially responsible' for the subsequent delays. But yes, you are the ideal person to serve this role right now, as you perhaps hold the clearest and/or most detailed understanding of the situation… and washing your hands of this role will only sully your conscience, especially once further developments are built upon a foundation you purposely allowed to remain shaky (because why? it saved you a minor hassle one day?). Think of this as a test of your functional reliability: Will you take the correct corrective steps on behalf of the final product itself, no matter the personal inconvenience, or will you opt for the more lax (and latently ineffective) management style.

 

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): Having Mars in your sign (where he still remains for more than a month longer) is like wielding a knife, a gun, a fast car, or some other symbol of fire-power and might, Sagittarius: Knowing you've got it if you need it can help embolden your courage, but going too hastily for it at every little hiccup just makes you look like an overly aggressive douche-bag. Therefore, though you could treat each encounter with a potential obstacle or opponent as a battle to be won—and, with Mars on your side, the odds are in your favor—I recommend reserving that jabbing energy for only when it's absolutely necessary. Especially in professional (and/or other financially-related) contexts, you'll merely make more problems for yourself by hunting for a fight… when, in fact, you're already in a pretty damn good position without flexing your muscle. Mars will be looking for some shit to stir up, alas, so I suggest aiming his poker at the weekend ahead, which gives him an occasion to look forward (and hopefully prevents him from causing any workweek discord). Invite him to stir up one helluva good time for yourself and your more happy-go-lucky pals. If he needs a fight so badly, let him fight against boredom during your off-hours.

 

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): Stay high above the fray (though without emitting uppityness), Capricorn… and continue quietly assessing the scene around you, along with its cast of characters, based on your unvoiced tenets of integrity. You gain nothing from actively participating in any interpersonal tussles, even if you've got the righteousness on your side. Instead, as far as all your exchanges are concerned, I'd suggest outwardly treating everybody fairly and equally. For the time being, you don't want to get caught in accusations of playing favorites or grinding personal axes. That's not to say you won't find yourself acutely tempted, perhaps baited by a troublemaker who wants to break your composure or placed in a situation where you might let your guard down and share an off-the-record opinion. Mars's currently sneaky spot (in your solar 12th) leads me to believe there is no 'off-the-record' to rely on and no circumstance which doesn't call for intact composure. Public neutrality on your part helps create the perfect setting for everybody to fall into their own traps… and no one need be pushed.

 

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): Describing the shades of nuance without collapsing 'em into oversimplications. Inviting outside opinions that unquestionably complicate your understanding. Refusing to prematurely settle when contrasting points each convey some valuable insight. Acknowledging the situation is momentarily unresolvable. These are actions that'll in fact strengthen your credibility, Aquarius. Short, simple, and/or seemingly sweet answers, however, should currently be viewed with suspicion. While you might fantasize that a fast solution will help ease your inner future-tripping anxieties, such relief is both short-lived and illusory… not unlike a fleeting drug-high that makes you feel better before it then makes you feel worse. As potentially disconcerting as an embrace of such glaring open-endedness can be to such a know-it-all as you, it's the only sincere approach at your disposal. One perk: Those who you're working with will be amped up to contribute more, under the assumption that your unformed attitudes will still be quite receptive to their suggestions, a useful motivating factor.

 

PISCES (February 19-March 20): Proactively engage your friends or colleagues in discussions that examine the moral issues underlying whatever unites you, in order to more explicitly acknowledge your commonalities… or, as the case may be, to expose key ideological chasms between you that have previously been swept under the rug. Thanks to Venus's current 7th-house locale, you can poke around in potentially controversial territory with a far greater likelihood of not upsetting the other person(s) than you ordinarily might. And in circumstances where you've taken for granted an easy affinity with those around you, Pisces, this move will sweeten the interpersonal dynamic by giving all parties a tangible reason to support liking each other. Yet, even when the dialogue you stir ends up revealing a major difference, I still think you come out smelling like a rose: Your outwardly philosophic attitude helps them look at you in a new light, as somebody who does take such matters seriously, and impacts their treatment of you from here on out. You'll disprove any underestimations of you they may have held… complicating your tenuous alliance, for sure, but ultimately for your benefit.