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Horoscopes | Weeks of December 17, 2012-January 6, 2013

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Cherish every passing swell of optimism, Aries… and please pay extra-close attention to exactly which glances of your future flash in front of your eyes during those peak moments of excitement. Those visions express your belief in some meaningful ideal, one that's at the core-heart of your hopes—and at all costs, you cannot permit yourself to be talked out of its overriding importance to your present decision-making. I mention this because you do face a threat of being imperceptibly distracted from your self-selected priorities (… and right after you just worked so hard to reach clarity, too…), due to an engaging exchange or two with someone who was all too happy to share their alternative perspective on this crossroads you find yourself at. Gosh, what they told you did make a certain amount of sense, didn't it? Still, so-called 'sense' should not trump the fire of higher purpose now burning inside you. It's the fire that's going to propel you onward, not a reasonable-sounding suggestion about how to minimize upset and/or proceed more steadily. Knowing yourself well sometimes means having to diverge from the conventional wisdom, for reasons you can't always express in convincing terms. What you may lack in persuasive rationale, you can more than make up for with unwavering passionate commitment: Only, don't be surprised if your passion is mistaken for arrogance, aggression, rebelliousness, or some other projection of their discomfort with your singularly focused forward thrust, and the natural boundaries it helps create. I will be taking the next two weeks to finish up my latest e-book, ASTROBARRY'S 2013, which should be available right around New Year's. Please stay tuned. The next weekly horoscope will be posted on January 6, 2013.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Though you're not typically considered the likeliest to purposely invite scandal (isn't it more your style to stubbornly resist the bait?), far be it for you, Taurus, to let a direct controversial challenge to your principles be lobbed across the table at you without lobbing it right back, cork-spin for the win. This could be rightfully seen as fair game-play, a mutually stimulating sparring match between two formidable 'competitors', in a spirit of good-sportsmanship… but, if anyone lets it get too far out of hand, could devolve into a nasty exchange of potshots and personal digs, in which case everybody loses. Stay on the ethically upstanding side of this dividing line, please, and instead use such potential controversies for their highest personal good: as an ideal practice-run for confidently articulating your strong beliefs without getting bullyish about it, for gaining insight into how the opposing side might formulate its objections, and for staying on point despite any lures into the mud. In fact, if you can successfully do this, you'll probably relish the possibility of encountering a worthy 'disagree-er'… which, incidentally, is not the same category as a full-fledged 'enemy'. Chewing on this nuanced distinction can help you advance with the interpersonal lessons that Saturn-in-your-7th continues to dole out. Vocal dissenters who are willing to follow the rules of fair game-play can actually prove to be some of your most precious and enduring relationships. I will be taking the next two weeks to finish up my latest e-book, ASTROBARRY'S 2013, which should be available right around New Year's. Please stay tuned. The next weekly horoscope will be posted on January 6, 2013.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Going into the holidays, you've got a compelling eloquence to your conversation skills (yes, even smoother than usual), which invites you to make your distinct mark on the season's festivities. Good king Jupiter is still on your side, Gemini, giving you a better-than-ever shot at being the star of this pageantry. First things first, though: Be sure you go above the call of duty in offering a helping-hand of support to those who are juggling a lot of responsibility, and please follow thoroughly through on every commitment you make. By happily fulfilling all your obligations, you get to draw a checkmark next to your name on the 'duly earned my keep' list… which enables you to (1) confidently separate yourself from the noisy drama about who did or didn't do this or that and (2) concentrate more fully on proactively spreading the cheer. You can successfully steer the chit-chat in any direction you'd like by shamelessly playing to your specific audience's 'happy places', a handy tool for circumventing certain nastier individuals' attempts to stir up controversy. If subtle topic changes don't work, you should pull said individual(s) aside and use a bit of harmless flattery to talk 'em down. In fact, if you're hoping to convince anybody to go along with you on any matter whatsoever, the week before Christmas is an ideal moment for sweetly persuading them to see things your way. Once New Year's rolls around, you might need to take a break from the Mr./Ms. Nice Guy routine if someone still isn't getting the message after your more cordial attempts. At that point, a deadly calm tone and a don't-fuck-with-me stare directly in their eyes should demonstrate you mean business. I will be taking the next two weeks to finish up my latest e-book, ASTROBARRY'S 2013, which should be available right around New Year's. Please stay tuned. The next weekly horoscope will be posted on January 6, 2013.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Keeping yourself constantly busy with to-dos (yes, even if you're supposed to be 'on vacation') will be far preferable to wandering aimlessly around with too much 'leisure' time on your hands, Cancer. Your good mood relies strongly on you having something purposeful to sink your energies into, and all the better if these efforts help everyone else enjoy a more pleasant and/or meaningful holiday. Just to be clear, I'm talking about concentrating on practical tasks (such as cooking, cleaning, organizing, decorating, making gifts, completing household projects, running errands, and the like) rather than fussing with more intangible assistance such as 'innocent advice' or generic 'emotional support'. Without plenty to keep you occupied, you're liable to start worrying too emphatically about what certain other people are doing… and maybe even unduly insinuate yourself into their business, to their likely annoyance. I do not believe you'd intend to intrude on anyone, of course. On the contrary, I assume your suggestions and/or offers to get involved would ultimately be motivated by kindness and care. Yet, because of Mars's needle-like positioning in interpersonal sectors of your solar chart (the 7th, and then the 8th), such moves will probably be interpreted as acts of asserting control—and possess a heightened potential to rouse friction or conflict. You surely don't want your caring motives to result in a fight, do you? Then, I recommend you think twice (or three times) about how you go about showing you care… and whether your methods provide what the recipient actually wants, or if it's more about what you want. I will be taking the next two weeks to finish up my latest e-book, ASTROBARRY'S 2013, which should be available right around New Year's. Please stay tuned. The next weekly horoscope will be posted on January 6, 2013.

LEO (July 23-August 22): It would be our greatest pleasure, Leo, if you'd remind us all what an award-winning 'life of the party' you make. We are eager to laugh appreciatively at your jokes, or to sit on the edge of our seats as you regale us with another utterly compelling tale of tragedy and triumph. I promise, we will heartily embrace you and express our divine thanks that you are part of our extended family-of-friends… if only you can find the courage in your heart to be as generous with your life-force as you've been in the past, before you got momentarily spooked into more somber submission. To pull off this return to form, though—not only for our entertainment, but more especially for your peace-of-mind—you might have to make different choices this year about who to visit with and who not, possibly even excusing yourself from longstanding traditions (which often involve family-of-origin) because of the dark or depressing feelings they stir in you. Do not apologize for wanting to do what will make you happiest, and/or choosing to spare yourself the obligatory torture of being treated like a child by those who've known you since childhood. You are re-creating yourself anew, and there's a lot of work to be done… enough, perhaps, to intimidate you, though you should already be hatching plans to dive right into it during the first week of '13. You cannot afford to expose these tender sproutlings of new-self to those same old negative influences, and you get to decide who qualifies under that category. We, meanwhile, will love the you willing to do anything to protect your warmth of spirit. I will be taking the next two weeks to finish up my latest e-book, ASTROBARRY'S 2013, which should be available right around New Year's. Please stay tuned. The next weekly horoscope will be posted on January 6, 2013.

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): I picture you whispering sweet tidings into the ears of those seated close by, Virgo, touching each individual's experience on an intimate personal level, one by one, rather than demanding the floor so you can make a boisterous toast full of grand wishes and sweeping generalizations. Though each seemingly modest move may barely warrant notice beyond the person it's directed to (which, of course, is the whole point of adopting this approach), the cumulative impact of all these 'special moments' will be tremendous. Your exercise in expressing love is not the flashing-lights, drum-roll, everybody's-undivided-attention-please version, but one in which the sentiments are treated as precious treasure (and which flirts with being 'cheap' if overexposed to flashbulbs or megaphones). When a loved one receives something from you, then, they know you really mean it… and they feel that much more special. This is a valuable talent of yours, not to be taken for granted. Even before your holiday 'break' is over, though, you'll already be chomping at the bit to get back to work (odd, I know), perhaps because you can sense just how hot this particular iron-in-the-fire has gotten and, therefore, you know it's time to strike. The very start of the year is ripe with job-related pluses, both in terms of jumping ahead progress-wise and receiving reputational rewards in direct proportion to what you've accomplished. Once you get into that gear by early January, you won't mind attracting a bit more obvious attention to yourself… potentially for very good reason. I will be taking the next two weeks to finish up my latest e-book, ASTROBARRY'S 2013, which should be available right around New Year's. Please stay tuned. The next weekly horoscope will be posted on January 6, 2013.

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): Your godsent ability to keep the social proceedings light and fluffy this season, Libra, will not come from you politely (though nervously) pretending you don't notice the dark and stormy undertones threatening to burst forth into overt being. That is more of an avoidance strategy, born of fear. Instead, it'll be your lack of worry about what lurks beneath the table—coupled with a conscious choice not to allow others' untamed psychological impulses to negatively impact the collective experience—that provides the competent panache to your social seamlessness. Beneath this charming surface resides an inner self who's stronger than before, a cumulative effect of how bravely you've been decrusting yourself of leftover residue from formative familial manipulations… residue which had previously ingrained in you a claustrophobic belief that your emotional worth comes from how graciously you permit others to indulge their tyrannical complexes at your expense. (That shit doesn't work on you nearly as well it used to, which is cause enough for celebration.) Of course, due to the holidays and all, it's quite likely you'll end up in direct contact with the family dynamics (and/or the actual family members themselves) responsible for that originating injurious belief. And to that I say, Don't dread it. You've got this. You are now the parental authority in your own life, and you can decide to unflinchingly model a higher vibration of interaction… even if certain troublemakers (who are nothing if not walking-and-talking expressions of their own dysfunction, deserving of sympathy) refuse to play along. I will be taking the next two weeks to finish up my latest e-book, ASTROBARRY'S 2013, which should be available right around New Year's. Please stay tuned. The next weekly horoscope will be posted on January 6, 2013.

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): A bit of healthy guardedness shouldn't be out of the question, Scorpio, when heading into the eye of the season's social storm. I don't mean to imply any danger is waiting in the wings… only that you're in something of a self-preservation mode currently, which means it's more important to protect your own interests than to get too far into any interaction without first assessing its relative threat to your safe containment. There's nothing wrong, in other words, with first considering whether you have anything to lose (in terms of control, perspective, grounding, the upper hand, cold hard cash, etc.) before continuing an exchange beyond the social-niceties level. In fact, you might want to actively deploy social niceties as a defense strategy against others' wild-card intrusions, perpetually staying one step ahead of the conversation, always ready with a deflecting question or a topic of purposely superficial interest. You're too susceptible to intuitively knowing too much about people you don't want or need to know that much about to so brazenly expose yourself, not without some protective mechanism. By the time New Year's rolls around, you'll have earned yourself some nestled-at-home respite from the endless chatter… at which point, a switch in approach, from superficial deflection to short-and-intense bursts of blunt truth that give them what they're asking for quickly and efficiently, will be called for. I will be taking the next two weeks to finish up my latest e-book, ASTROBARRY'S 2013, which should be available right around New Year's. Please stay tuned. The next weekly horoscope will be posted on January 6, 2013.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): As you are showered with all the warm fuzzies (including, perhaps, some potentially amorous attentions) you are due from Venus's visit, Sagittarius, I ask you not to lose all memory of the very different emotional state you found yourself in just a few short weeks ago. I raise this reminder not to spoil the inevitable fun that's headed your way as this year slides into the next. On the contrary, I want you to consciously internalize this affirming feedback you're receiving from so many sources… let it deeply penetrate your soul, as a vaccine that protects against the peculiar vulnerability to irrational doubts or dips in self-assuredness you've lately suffered… claim unabashed ownership of the traits and values your loving fans are crediting you with… and waltz into 2013 with a re-fortified belief that you deserve this level of distinct appreciation all the time, not just when Venus is in town. I'm sort of glossing over much specific advice with regards to how best to enjoy these closing weeks of '12, mainly because I think the whole point is that you should feel completely free to enjoy 'em however the fuck you'd most prefer. (That invitation is doubly sweet since you'll also likely be able to easily convince your special someone(s) to join along in the proverbial fuckery.) Perhaps what's more important for me to point out, then, is the direct connection between (1) truly integrating this gratifying ego-boost and (2) leveraging it for financial gain, which you should already be starting to plan for. If you could bottle a tonic of this moment in time, it would be a potent elixir of money-making magic. I will be taking the next two weeks to finish up my latest e-book, ASTROBARRY'S 2013, which should be available right around New Year's. Please stay tuned. The next weekly horoscope will be posted on January 6, 2013.

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): Through the end of this year, you're wielding a quiet, dignified self-possession, Capricorn… a considered deliberateness to your every move that seems to speak volumes, though very few words may be flowing from your lips (or, for that matter, need to be). While the external conditions and setting you might find yourself in on any given day will be, more often than not, effects of circumstance, you will still unconsciously make a noticeable mark on them simply by being there. This odd combination of (1) powerful presence and (2) relative communicative reserve, though it could feel remarkably serene on your end, does bear the potential to make certain others quite nervous. They will fill in the blanks of what you aren't saying with whatever sentiments they think (or, perhaps better put, they fear) you're quietly telling yourself about them, much in the way a reader's eye can play tricks on him by incorrectly completing a sentence based upon what he expects to see on the page rather than what's really there. And these sentiments they're attributing to you are likely not anything you want to be held responsible for. Therefore, you might have to reach beyond your desired comfort of sparingly little conversation—and throw in a few gratuitous gestures of explicit personal affirmation—to diffuse the possibility of engendering bad-will with your apparently intimidating (really? yes, really) silence. Even still, they could react negatively if they feel you're merely pandering. While we might agree that even the worst expressions of what I've described could be genuinely said to be 'other people's fault', it again emphasizes the leadership role you are presently charged with… because you can either profoundly improve, or just as profoundly worsen, this dynamic, based upon how much responsibility you willingly assume. I will be taking the next two weeks to finish up my latest e-book, ASTROBARRY'S 2013, which should be available right around New Year's. Please stay tuned. The next weekly horoscope will be posted on January 6, 2013.

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): In the days leading up to Christmas, your expressed personality may comprise of little more than playing along with what everyone else is doing… all while the more authentically engaged part of you remains somewhat preoccupied with behind-the-scenes machinations you feel you must complete, in order to fulfill a sort of contract you signed with yourself. Thankfully, Aquarius, the astrology seems to indicate you should be quite pleased with the company you'll be keeping, and vice versa, making your nondescript role as 'chorus member' or 'voice from the crowd' sufficiently amusing (and not especially taxing) so nobody's phased that your participation lacks a certain something. Once planetary-engine Mars hits your sign on Christmas Day, however, your fuller self will rather abruptly show all the way up to the party… feeling (hopefully) refreshed and resolute after a spell spent underground, no longer content to fade unassuming into the wallpaper papers, and so fucking ready to act wild and crazy in your deserved desire to amply make up for lost playtime. New Year's week, then, looks to be a blast (except, perhaps, if your dark humor hits a bit too close to an unhappy home, rousing only an awkwardly heavy silence)—though you'll already detect hints of looming responsibility reminding you that your work is rarely done these days. That's just how it is. You work hard, you play hard, you recede, you reemerge… and you do your best to stay present in whatever phase-of-experience that moment calls for. I will be taking the next two weeks to finish up my latest e-book, ASTROBARRY'S 2013, which should be available right around New Year's. Please stay tuned. The next weekly horoscope will be posted on January 6, 2013.

PISCES (February 19-March 20): There's a level of performance to your behavior in these weeks ahead, Pisces… or at least there probably should be, if you are shrewdly aware that an audience of amateur reviewers (who may also be potential opportunity-bearers) has fixed their observational acumen upon your every move. This doesn't call for any faking or fraudulent self-portrayals, let's be clear, merely a donning of your best-self apparel, as you would present at any event where you'd want the other attendees to get a real good sense of who you are. You are on, after all: In order to be accurately seen by everyone (including those in the upper-balcony seats), you might need to exaggerate your motions a bit, project your voice more powerfully and enunciate your words, wear heavier makeup or an eye-catching outfit that'll 'pop' from onstage—and, most of all, express your gratitude for their support and recognition. This does not mean, however, you ought to strip all controversial elements from your routine. If you have a cause to hail or an ideological axe to grind, do not hesitate with your rousing advocacy. It's better to stand out in some authentic way (even if some audience-members disagree with your stance) than to so capably play to the middle that you provoke little interest at all. As New Year's approaches and you've performed enough days in a row, one show after another, you will naturally begin to develop a certain fatigue-driven wish to disappear from the spotlight… a valid urge that mustn't be ignored. Even if you still have another few 'official' events on the calendar which you must attend (if, that is, you don't want to disappoint or offend), you'll also find an increasing number of chances to escape this glare once January gets rolling—and to be your plain-ole, not-always-best self, behind the curtain, in your private dressing-room. I will be taking the next two weeks to finish up my latest e-book, ASTROBARRY'S 2013, which should be available right around New Year's. Please stay tuned. The next weekly horoscope will be posted on January 6, 2013.