Horoscopes | Week of March 18-24, 2013

ARIES (March 21-April 19): This week, both the Sun and Venus arrive in your sign, Aries, building upon the vibrational shift that began in earnest last week. And therefore, whatever signs-of-new-life which already started to show themselves will display even further and faster development… much in the way that the trees you just walked past a few days ago are now, seemingly overnight, blanketed in beautiful pink flowers that announce the sudden arrival of spring. If all's going well, the enthusiasm likely to accompany this shift should help fuel your drive to put more initiatives into active motion and/or to take additional steps forward… which should produce more obviously positive results, which should inspire further enthusiasm, and so on and so forth, in a fiery flame-fanning feedback loop. I suppose I ought to mention, along with all of this, Mars is also currently involving himself in the Uranus-and-Pluto fray (conjoining the former and squaring the latter), adding extra instability, unpredictability and/or lasting significance to any developments occurring now. As such, be aware your present actions may have a more pronounced and/or profound impact than they ordinarily would, for better and for worse—and recklessly wielding this impact could prove dangerous.

 

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You're only catching partial glimpses of what seem to be bombs being discharged nearby, or, at the very least, the loud and jarring acts of an apparently erratic character who's decided they've had enough of the status quo and would like something different to happen. Even on the off chance that you are the erratic character, Taurus, this still holds true: You cannot presently understand the full slate of either (1) the underlying motives behind these initial game-changing acts or (2) the ultimate ramifications for your future, despite any first-instinct beliefs that you do know all that's going on. Further still, you're in a somewhat vulnerable position in all this, as you momentarily have little ability to confidently respond to these possible explosions in any halting or redirecting manner. In fact, trying to 'be the hero' will only put you in the immediate crossfire and needlessly risk your security. In the short term, then, don't try any dramatic maneuvers. Instead, concentrate on modest moves that minimize your exposure, staying relatively still while you further your understanding of the other players' plays.

 

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Social allegiances are shifting, Gemini, as we began to discuss in last week's edition. These shifts may or may not be direct responses to any actions you have taken. They could, in fact, be mostly or wholly unrelated to you personally… though that doesn't mean you won't feel the impact, either (1) in your relationship with a specific individual who surprises you with their asserted separateness and/or (2) in your overall standing within a wider circle where the dynamics may be rapidly changing. Even in cases where you've merely been caught in these eddying currents, however, you will struggle to maintain Switzerland-style neutrality. You should expect to be asked your opinion on such charged situations… as well as to face confrontational follow-up questions, should you attempt to provide an ambiguous or non-committal perspective. Though you might feel 'under fire' to define yourself, it's probably to your ultimate benefit not to crumble under this pressure—and to simply allow your on-the-spot offerings to speak for themselves. If somebody doesn't jibe with an attitude you hold or an alliance you cherish, it really is better to know.

 

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Your professional mark on the world is in vital metamorphosis at this very moment, Cancer… and the only certainty is that holding onto 'how things have been' is not a winning strategy. The outer symbols of predictable safety are showing their cracks and cleavages, and, rather than investing any further energy in futile attempts to save them from the inevitable evolutionary process, I encourage you to embrace your obvious need to keep on going. If this structure is resting on an increasingly unstable foundation, don't you think you'd better leap elsewhere (and fast)? Though you'll undoubtedly have some rebuilding to do, at least you won't be squandering those efforts on trying to repair a sinking ship. In case my last few sentences have focused too squarely on what you may be leaving behind, let me make this explicit: There are exciting, expansive, personally challenging and rewarding opportunities for trying new things in your career or outer-world community available right now, if you are willing to daringly give 'em a go. You've got the planets on your side, to support your making such a so-called 'risky' move. Dare to do so, and I believe you'll already see unambiguously positive results within about four months.

 

LEO (July 23-August 22): This week, your class presentation—the one in which you stand in front of your fellow students and self-assuredly offer an educative summary of (1) what you've been through and (2) what you've learned from it—is coming due, Leo. And in order to confidently move to the stage where you can broadly discuss these issues from a more philosophically reflective angle, you'll have to confidently move away from its emotional immediacy. Put another way, you must take the decisive leap out of being 'in it' and, thus, toward that outside perspective… which also means making a principled commitment not to participate in any activities or exchanges that would, in any way, perpetuate this problematic participation. You can only put forth this educational material (for your own and others' edification) if you've successfully lived what you are teaching, including living out the transformation from 'in it' to beyond it. So, then, you may kill two birds with this single forward-catapulting stone: outwardly hailing the principles your circumstances have taught you, while simultaneously demonstrating them through your life-choices.

 

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): If you really care about your stake in this potentially contested matter… if you are passionate about doing all you can to be heard, if not actually understood… and/or if you would like some type of consequential change to occur (because you can't tolerate the lingering impasse a minute more)… then, Virgo, I want to (1) encourage you to head ever more fiercely into the eye of this mounting storm, (2) warn you that pivotal breakthroughs could develop more quickly and dramatically than you might've expected, and (3) reassure you that any unanticipated outbreak of chaos, though potentially upsetting in the short-term, is likely an unavoidably necessary step in your journey forward. All that to say: Let it get a bit heated. Let the 'negotiations' stray beyond your careful grasp. Let yourself air everything, even if you (naturally and rightfully) fear that certain harsh-but-true sentiments cannot be taken back or neutralized once they're out there. Harsh as it may be, the truth is still what ultimately sets us free. Backing away from the breakthroughs which will very likely occur once the truth has been freely expressed and released, meanwhile, just leaves you on the hook.

 

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): No further interpersonal strategizing is called for, Libra. You know how you feel, and you know what you must do in your relationship with that certain someone, in order to keep things fresh and invigorating for all parties. Step closer, step back, or step into a different position… but please take a step. This is one of the moments which could qualify as 'make or break'—unless, that is, you're so afraid of rocking the boat, you're investing tons of constant effort on countless small, counterbalancing moves (which may be nearly imperceptible to the other party) that create the appearance of smooth sailing (and, of course, exhaust you all the while). Even still, this planetary energy is likely to show itself in your interpersonal life, one way or another: If you aren't willing to consciously take charge of its expression, you're only inviting the other person to serve as the make-or-break agent, pushing you to react when instead you could have just acted. You simply cannot avoid this swell of relationship issues. Yet, if you're direct and unflinching, you can harness it to great effect… and greatly increase your own satisfaction, in current or future relationships, in the process.

 

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): Physical reality would like you to realign yourself to its rules-of-engagement, Scorpio. Though its formulas for productive behavior typically follow fairly straightforward equations such as '1 + 1 = 2' or 'effort = results', you've lately been in a more idealistic mindset… and probably need to remind yourself how such things function. As I mentioned last week, part of this realignment likely involves returning to a fuller day-to-day workload, along with integrating innovative adaptations into your old processes. In addition to that, you also need to include more conscious attention to how you're treating your body—after all, if 'physical reality' wants to reassert its dominance over 'idealism', it just might do so by reminding you of the limits we all must confront while living these embodied incarnations. If, for instance, you have been drinking too much or sleeping too little, eating the wrong things or pushing yourself beyond what feels physically reasonable or healthy, now is the time to adopt sharp restorative measures. Now would also be a likely time, by the way, for symptoms of burnout to show themselves… indicating you'd best respect physical-reality's authority over you.

 

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): A startling release of glee is demanded, Sagittarius, even if it temporarily wreaks happy havoc in what might otherwise be considered an 'inappropriate' venue or context for such giddy gaiety. Just as anger which is pushed down into tight repression eventually springs back up and out in sometimes-scary ways, your interminable capacity for optimistic appreciation of life has been recently crammed into an unaccommodating back-corner of your psyche… which must mean it's angling to pop back out, like an overeager child playing Hide-and-Go-Seek who hasn't the patience to wait any longer to be found, to remind you it's been there all along. (In fact, playing such games with children and/or in a childlike manner is one great way to coax it out from its hiding-place.) If you've been holding yourself to some benchmark you believe should be reached before granting yourself the freedom to 'do something zany'… well, let's say it's time to just decide, 'fuck it, I'm close enough, I'm not waiting any longer!' and stop forcing yourself not to be a little (or more than a little) zany. Your soul is begging for this expression of zaniness—if it isn't let out to play, it just might blow.

 

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): Give yourself whatever brand of personal peace-and-quiet you crave, Capricorn, with unapologetic self-concern. For the benefit of all parties, you cannot afford to 'grin and bear it' any longer out of obligatory care for anyone else… not if you don't want your 'care' to be unintentionally riddled with resentment or judgment. This growing lack of apparent compassion for others' circumstances is actually just a cover for your inner desire to reclaim that compassionate attention for yourself. You need it too, you know. If you haven't received enough of it lately, of course your tolerance levels will be resultantly lower than you might like. You, therefore, mustn't feel any guilt about abruptly taking personal space or setting sharper boundaries than you had before. Once you get what you need, and can replenish your stores of grounding emotional self-regard, you'll then be better able to participate with more genuine care in the lives of others. Otherwise, you'll just be going through the motions… all the while tempting your neglected inner-self to eventually act out, in ways that could potentially hurt everyone involved, including yourself.

 

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): Yes, Aquarius, you should allow yourself to be happily hijacked by any- and everyone who's participating in an activity or exchange you might find interesting—for no grander purpose than the potential interest itself. That is the most surefire way of busting yourself out of that repeating loop of personal fixation, the one which would otherwise keep you focused so maniacally on whatever few concerns have dominated your inner landscape for so long that even you are somewhat bored with yourself. Thankfully, there are presently lots of remedies for such boredom, at essentially every turn you take… people who want to entertain or distract you, conversational threads you could pick up and run with, peculiarities in plain sight which you've never really noticed (though you've probably passed them by a million times) to observe and examine, document or remark upon. But you have to want to surrender your control over your objects-of-focus, to be led by others on wild-goose-chases or other questionable quests at least as far as your curiosity is stimulated, or you'll liable to get pretty much nothing out of the current astrology… other than, perhaps, a sense of irritation at others' frivolous concerns. ('Frivolous by what measure?' you should ask this inner grump.)

 

PISCES (February 19-March 20): I had a really kooky picture pop into my head when contemplating your current astro-situation, Pisces. I imagined you as an old-timey traveling salesman arriving in town in your colorful caravan covered with all kinds of hand-painted signs listing your many handy skills and all the various wares you confidently peddle. You combine the entrepreneurial D.I.Y. hardiness of a self-made success-story with the vaudevillian theatricality of a sideshow barker, along with an improvisational shrewdness that enables you to jump on nearly any opportunity to broaden your customer-base and line your pockets in the process. Embodying whatever personally-relevant expression of this vision, at the current moment, holds a very lucrative potential for you. This entails both (1) an entertaining-and-adventurous approach to addressing the myriad ways to increase your income and (2) a gritty insistence on taking responsibility for meeting your own practical needs by any means necessary. Opening the side-door of your proverbial wagon wide, and courting the notice of any curious passersby with a few spare coins to spend, invites a whole world of serendipitous possibilities to amble profitably in.