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Horoscopes | Week of July 1-7, 2013

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Before you can wholly enjoy the blend of self-nurturing home-time and warm-fuzzy-happy out-and-about-ness that's presently due you, Aries, it seems you have a certain less-than-enthusing hurdle to jump over… and you'll want to give it your full psychological attention, rather than trying to handle it the easier (but decidedly less complete) way. Think of it as a test of your much-improved capacity for treating serious matters with the seriousness they warrant, comprehensively addressing even the most uncomfortable angles so that what isn't mentioned can't come back to bite you later. And then, once you pass this test, you'll be able to celebrate in the manner of college students who have just completed their last final of the term, both contentedly exhausted and, contradictorily, ready to party. If you suspect you already know what your particular 'hurdle' may be, I encourage you to cram for this test, carefully studying all the prior events of this case (as well as all the various feelings you've experienced while managing your involvement) so you will have solid, sensitive answers to any queries or inquisitions you could be subjected to. A good grade on this test will go on your permanent record… as will a less-than-good one.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Be exceptionally observant about what's going on this week in your primary relationship(s) of import, Taurus. With Saturn appearing to stand still in your 7th house as he returns to direct motion, the snapshot these observations will provide can give you a very clear view of (1) the type of consciousness-raising work you've been charged with in your interpersonal dealings and (2) a midterm progress-report on how well you're doing with it. Incidentally, this is more than just a matter of how well you and the key individual(s) negotiate your dynamic: It's also an opportunity for you to evolve your admittedly at-times rigid beliefs about how one should behave in relationship, to move through dogmatic walls which may be needlessly inhibiting how intimately and effectively you can connect with others. If you like what you're observing, there isn't much to officially do, I suppose… except perhaps having an explicit (though not necessarily monumental) conversation with the other relevant person(s), simply to acknowledge how contented you are with the latest developments. If you see warning signs, meanwhile, it is not too late to address them. However, the real fix(es) here are not for the faint-of-heart: It probably has to get messier before it gets better (and even then, there are no guarantees).

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Your job remains to simply simplify, Gemini… and, in case there were any doubt, this is a job that requires consistent effort and concentration. You can be sure that other folks—lovers, friends, employers, family members, financial institutions, nearly anyone or everyone—will lob big steaming piles of fragrant interference into your frame-of-reference and expect you to jump to attention, at the expense of whatever you'd already dedicated that hour to handling. And, no offense intended, we both know that Geminis aren't known for your long-term attention spans. (You love a potentially interesting distraction.) But you are in no place to freely permit such discombobulating disturbances to jeopardize your simplification efforts… not if you are earnestly hoping to uncomplicate this life, which has largely proven excessively complicated in recent months and/or years. You're just getting the hang of expecting a simpler day-to-day existence and, at this tender point in its blossoming process, you mustn't allow anybody else to trample on these delicate sprouts. Despite what you fear you'll miss out on by not answering their call to 'please respond immediately!', this self-selected dutifulness is way more supportive of your present life-goals. (P.S. More 'distractions', of the lighter-hearted variety, are on their way very soon.)

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Just one week into the Jupiter-in-Cancer year all us astrologers are pushing you to advantageously bask in, and you've hopefully already let in a lot of the upbeat hype… even as you might secretly worry about the possibility that maybe you won't experience this so-called 'good luck' ascribed to a Jupiter transit in your sign. Those worries aren't entirely off-base, by the way, insofar as the planets have set you up to have to fight for those lucky breaks. See, Cancer, the same longer-standing Uranus-Pluto challenges still apply to your life-overhaul process, even with the greater benefic on your side. In fact, they might even bloat to an exaggerated level, just as resistance grows fiercer the closer we move towards ultimate victory. You still have to arm-wrestle against the erroneous relational belief that, in order to remain a caring partner or colleague or friend, you must submit to serving their desires and/or downplay your own should that other person be threatened. (Hint: The path through involves confronting your unintegrated need to be needed.) And you still have to overcome your bashfulness enough to take brazenly self-serving risks out on the world stage, or else none of the power-players will even know what you want from them. This week, you'll encounter an illustrative example of one and/or the other of these tensions. How you handle it has everything to do with how 'lucky' Jupiter's visit could prove to be.

LEO (July 23-August 22): For now, Leo, really just focus on getting through this week. I don't say that because there's necessarily anything harrowing in store for you… other than, maybe, an unmistakable awareness of the loud volume with which voices from your past continue to incessantly blare through your head, shitting all over your warm generous intentions and raising your hackles against those imagined threats they're always warning you against. But if you actually greet these voices from the subject-position of a mature adult who knows better, rather than seek to block them out or rebel against them as an adolescent might, you could in fact make significant progress in brokering an inner treaty with this insidious adversary. So, if internal agitation threatens to steal a few days from you during the week ahead, allow it. Better yet, engage with it. Journal your feelings. Act out therapeutic dramas between the warring parts of your psyche. Draw yourself a hot healing bath. Watch whatever movie will help the tears to flow. Once Venus makes it through her square to stationary Saturn, by early-to-mid-next-week, you'll feel so much freer to enjoy yourself. And just think of how much better that joyousness will be, if you can look proudly upon the inner work you've done this week.

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): This might be another one of those weeks, Virgo, when you'd do best to say little and simply smile with a harmlessly mischievous glint in your eye, as if you just swallowed the canary but refuse to burp up a single feather. Reserving a reasonable distance from any interpersonal dramas which break out in your general vicinity is the strategy likeliest to leave you in good favor. That's not to presume, of course, you don't hold your own (potentially strong) opinion on the happenings. In fact, what's going on around you is probably revealing quite a bit of info on the personalities involved… including who can and cannot be trusted, based upon how they behave under stress or duress. This is why you'll benefit from not saying much: Should you find yourself participating in the pertinent conversations, you will have to tell your truth as you see it—and it might not be so pretty to certain parties. Explicitly voicing any insincerely diplomatic, non-committal or outright dishonest take on these matters will harm your long-game far worse than merely disappearing when the kitchen starts heating up. If you do end up talking, please be both unflinchingly honest and judiciously economical with your words.

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): Whatever you're working on—not in an abstract or navel-gazing way, but on the tangible earthly plane—must be prioritized above all else, Libra. I suppose it would be awesome if you could succumb to the 'easy-breezy' vibe those of your social circle are attempting to woo you with, but you and I both know there ain't nothing too easy-breezy about what these feats require of you. Not only are you building, brick by brick, a firm foundation upon which many of your future professional (or community-related) endeavors will rest. You are doing so at the same time a mighty undercurrent of unsettled familial emotion (whether through actual developments with family-members or in your own process of working through any inheritances that have held you back) is sweeping through your psyche, requiring extra effort on your part to counteract the undertow. And, at any moment, the more erratic figure(s) in your life could pull another of their out-of-left-field stunts, leaving you to somehow react without losing sight of your self-determined goals. Yes, that is a lot. Thankfully, you're better suited than ever to juggling all these balls at once… as long as you're unwaveringly clear that the one which must stay aloft, no matter what, represents your own out-in-the-world aspirations. The astro-climate is just too favorable not to use it to your advantage.

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): You are presently in the act of proving—to yourself more than to anybody else, Scorpio—that you are living a life consistent with who you say you are. This not only requires you to keep walking that road which leads somewhere meaningfully enriching, but also to be aware of not describing yourself to others in terms that aren't currently true. When there's too much slippage between your words and your deeds, the disjuncture leaves an invisible toxic cloud of disingenuousness surrounding your aura, leaving people to wonder (whether consciously or in the back recesses of their minds) whether you are a trustworthy individual. That's why, as hard-ass watchdog Saturn stations direct in your sign this week, it's far better to openly confess all your internal struggles, doubts, foibles and flub-ups to anyone who asks how you're doing than to try manipulating their opinion of you with responses you think they'd prefer to hear. While we're at it, the same logic applies to your own self-perception. For example, don't promise yourself you're going to do something unless you will in fact do it. Otherwise, you're setting yourself up for a pattern of falling short, rather than just admitting you're too inexperienced or scared or blocked-by-past-trauma to move easily forward. Be whoever you actually are, right here in this moment… and whatever you do, don't claim to be anyone else but that person.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): Approaching these longstanding complications once again, Sagittarius, I sense you're now coming at 'em from a more emboldened position... and though I continue to urge you not to hastily react in an 'I'm outta here' kind of way, I do think you're growing far less likely to bargain away a personally significant chip, no matter the fallout. The big-picture sense of 'just wanting what's fair' should be an advantage on your side, if you're conceiving of this thing properly (rather than merely engaging in power-games with the other party, and cheapening your whole argument in the process). Even as we acknowledge the intensified emotionality at play here, I still encourage you to rise above any vengeful motives or not-directly-relevant digs against their character, which would otherwise utterly muddle the terms of this negotiation. But it's not just so you can be 'the bigger person': You've got a far better shot at actually getting what you want by holding back the temptation to commingle with their messy methods, leaving them to do the dirty fighting and, as a result, to sully their stance.

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): Whatever's going on with your main-squeeze, best pal or right-hand-wo/man, Capricorn, please don't take it personally. They might act a little cray-cray—and maybe even try to draw you into it by projecting their internal drama outward, scripting an inaccurate villainous role for you—but you need not meet them there. You continue to be an easy target for this sort of thing, whenever Pluto-in-your-1st is bumped up against by other transiting bodies (in this week's case, it's the Sun). Remember your ongoing lesson: Accept that you're perceived by others as a powerful person (though you may not naturally see yourself that way) and, in response, wield that power you've been assigned with huge-hearted grace. Should you encounter the irrational externalizations of somebody you care about, please practice good personal boundaries… but, at the same time, try not to shut them out. Volunteer to listen, to talk things through deeply, to bear witness to their tumult in compassionate solidarity. Yet, be firm about what isn't acceptable: personal attacks, childish tantrums, hysterical rewritings of the facts. Your strength (minus any condescension) will inspire them to be more responsible with their emotions.

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): Let me remind you again, Aquarius: Work doesn't have to hurt. But you will make it hurt, of your own not-entirely-conscious volition, by acting as if it's about to hurt—by flinching and moaning in anticipated agony—before you've even started digging into the actual work. I bring up this same (and, perhaps to your squirrelly mind, tired) point because, this week, it seems you may need to forego certain segments of otherwise-wonderful togetherness time with a favorite individual, in order to face up to an important responsibility and valiantly do the work. There will be other moments coming right up (as in: during the few weeks immediately ahead) when you can equally delight in this person's company… but you won't receive much of a chance to remedy any glaring professional slip-up, should you disappoint a certain audience, client, organization or authority-figure in the meantime. Please stay the course with this responsibility, though you may have to postpone the dinner date or show up at the party way late, and you'll be glad you did. Unless, of course, you are unconsciously trying to be a disappointment, self-sabotage-style, because the weight of this responsibility feels almost too heavy to bear. At least now that I'm pointing this out, you can't claim unconsciousness.

PISCES (February 19-March 20): If you do nothing else this week, Pisces, please stick to your moral guns. Offering a firm 'no' when it's appropriate to your goals and your beliefs is not a behavior that will hinder any opportunities worth pursuing… though the recipient of the 'no' might try to make you feel like you're being silly and/or shooting yourself in the foot. Putting forth self-imposed limits, on the contrary, actually focuses your energies toward only that which you're enthusiastically on board with—and makes it that much likelier you'll attract more of those sorts of people and experiences. Don't be afraid, therefore, of energetically turning away those who don't fit with your program; it is in fact a gift to all parties, most of all to you. Merely 'going along' with a seemingly insignificant assignment or encounter (perhaps according to a 'what's the harm in doing it just this once?' logic) is a slippery slope, giving others (and the friggin' Universe itself) the wrong idea about your aims… which ultimately creates problems you'll only have to correct later, once you're further into it and likelier to more deeply upset someone. Take care of this discernment now: If it's wrong, it's wrong.