Horoscopes | Week of October 7-13, 2013

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Think really big about what potential future(s) you'd like to begin building toward, Aries, and don't feel weird about letting your imagination run super-wild. This is decidedly not a week for concerning yourself too much with what's realistic—as long as you're totally clear, of course, that you're consciously ducking the confines of outright 'realism' for the moment, and that you will need to reengage with its defining structures later. Your ruling fuel-injector Mars actually shows up to your solar 6th, the house which deals directly with mundane reality and all the humdrum steps required to make something real in this real-world we're really living in, by early next week… and so I don't think it'll be all too long before you do, in fact, start concrete work on actualizing these latest dreams. But don't rush the dreaming process, please. For the next two or three weeks, it behooves you to lose yourself in fantasies and visions, to wander around a bit according to instinct or curiosity, and to not worry about what's supposed to happen after a revelatory brainstorm strikes you. Otherwise, you could scare away the guardian-angel bearers of the enlightening spark.

 

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): The present planetary passages point to an uptick in your cravings for meaningful interpersonal connection, Taurus… with you hopefully relishing the benefits of increased levels of emotional intimacy, psychological intensity, and/or sexual passion. You receive extra-credit bonus points for pushing the envelope of what's 'appropriate for sharing', even knowing there's no getting around that nervous feeling in your tummy (fear of rejection? or is it actually fear of embrace?) that comes along with taking relational risks. Of course, how specifics related to last week's recommendation re: broaching the sensitive topic have ended up playing out will hold direct bearing on whether the 'relishing' described above is a natural side-effect of your deepening honesty… or something you'll have to do some backpedaling, fix-it work, or other interpersonal maneuvering, in order to enjoy. Makes sense, though. Can't get more without giving more. And one little side-note I'd like to add: Please be aware you might not be clearly seeing how what's up in your personal life is weirdly impacting someone in your wider social-circle, leaving them feeling short-changed or overlooked. Nothing necessarily to do about it, other than to be aware.

 

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Thanks to Venus's arrival in your 7th, you should soon be appreciating a more effortless capacity to slide into comfortable rapport with whomever you fix your one-on-one attentions upon, Gemini. The relationship house is generally a quite lovely place for relational-maven Venus to find herself in, after all: She makes it so much easier to receive others' behaviors in a favorable light, and likewise inspires us to behave in ways that'll win over their favor, too. That's all a pretty cut-and-dry positive, wouldn't you say? Well, except for one certain consideration I must point out, in order to do my job for you. There's a chance you'll become so wrapped up in finessing these interpersonal affinities (of one sort or another), you could overlook the need to also focus on timely work-related concerns. In fact, it's even possible you will mistakenly believe that adeptly using your passing people-pleasing power in your relationship with a boss or important client might somehow rescue you from doing the actual work… though, boy, that would be an error in judgment. Even with this fabulous Venus influence, treating your work seriously remains of utmost importance.

 

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Your budding enthusiasm may be enough of an incentive, Cancer, to motivate you to excitedly dive into the nuts-and-bolts doing of whatever it is that's got you so enthused, and I enthusiastically support this enthusiastic moving-forward on your part. That said, I also want to interject the voice of Overarching Purpose… not necessarily a flashing caution which you ought to beware of, but more a constant reminder to stick very close to the principles which guide your excitation to begin with. This week threatens to wield a temporary sloppiness when it comes to methodologies and practicalities, spurred by an overeager thirst for 'getting into it already' which could inadvertently lead you to conduct an item of business the most convenient way possible—without noticing that this convenience comes at a price. That price, to be clear, would be a somewhat unconscious compromise of Purpose… not that you'd be doing anything officially 'wrong', only that it could've been done that much more right (according to those personally-prioritized principles which inform why you're bothering at all), had you not taken this sort-of-shortcut. Stay enthused all right, but start the detailed doings very slowly, please.

 

LEO (July 23-August 22): Trust me, Leo, we really like the fact that Venus heads into your house of pleasure-and-play (the solar 5th) this week… and especially so, during this last week of Mars still heating up your sign, which has instilled you with more self-determined daring than you've enjoyed in quite some time. Please, therefore, if you're so inspired, take a frisky and fun-loving—and, yes, maybe even outright flirtatious—risk or two, out of purely brazen desire to find out what happy trouble you just might stir up. That's right, you mustn't be too confident in your presumption about what will happen after such a brazen act: It's just as likely things will develop far faster and hotter, with mega-doses of unexpected intimacy, than that they'll fall flat (just as quickly, perhaps). Whatever the case, let it be more about the thrilling excitation of stalking the unknown than any certain outcome. That said, if you really want that sudden and surprising intimacy, be unabashed about your true state of emotional affairs… and forget about putting on a show to impress. For every fun-time prospect you might scare away with your realness, there's someone else who'll totally groove with it.

 

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): After a long string of (presumably exasperating) horoscopes telling you not to act with too much protrusive self-assertion, Virgo, you're finally approaching the astrologically opportune moment for earnestly pushing the next-steps unapologetically along. Early next week, move-maker Mars enters your sign, where he will stay for nearly two months… placing the propulsive power into your hands once again, infusing your bodily being with a reinforced sense of impact and physical strength, leaving you less amenable to easy compromise whenever your personal investment instead demands you stand firm in a certain position. You won't be terribly surprised, I'll bet, to hear that all the most obvious and/or intrusive complications to otherwise being able to proceed as you please will continue to result from relational differences: How can you do what you strongly believe needs to be done and, at the same time, factor in the other relevant opinions enough so you don't alienate valuable players… but without surrendering your vital sense of agency, now that it's finally returned? Not a simple formula, and one which will require lots of attention. That's why Venus, newly in your 4th, encourages you to take full advantage of the decompressing pleasures of home life. You'll need the daily refresh.

 

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): Within the next couple weeks, you'll be entering a strange 'calm before the storm' interval of seeming unproductivity, Libra… though please note I have added the mitigating adjective 'seeming' to indicate that you won't be truly and totally unproductive. The progress, however, will be progressing itself in the back-reaches of your consciousness, not yet ready for out-in-the-world materialization. From early next week and into the succeeding almost-two-months, Mars will travel through your solar 12th, perhaps his least practically-operative placement, where his main action will be psychic work of the preparatory variety. Please remember, therefore, not to force any advances to occur. Instead, carefully study and analyze the changing conditions—without trying to fight them or assert control—so you'll be responding with an up-to-date outlook come December. And please don't fret about this temporary (and seeming) ineffectiveness. As reported last week, you'll get plenty of Mars once this interval passes. In the meantime, Venus arriving in your 3rd means plenty of fluffy social distractions to otherwise occupy you. Go call a pal, and talk about TV or something.

 

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): The shift in the astro-atmosphere which unfolds over this week and next will situate you, Scorpio, as someone now in a financially lucrative window-of-possibility… though, when you visibly step up to collect the dividends due you, it's likely to create something of a wedge with friends or colleagues who either aren't as favorably situated or haven't earned the same returns. Please be conscious of, and thusly considerate with regards to, this difference in relative advantage. You won't want to thoughtlessly exude an attitude that underplays the distinct qualities you possess, which are obviously pertinent to why you're in the spot you now find yourself, and falsely insinuates that everyone on the team holds the same fair shot. (They do not.) And you certainly ought not to behave with too overtly self-congratulatory a cockiness, which almost always comes with a side-order of implicit looking-down-your-nose-at-the-others… especially not with manipulative ends in mind. That said, you should definitely claim what's coming to you, with full confidence in your deservedness—and simultaneously prepare to fend off the possibility of burgeoning animosity from one or more discontented peers.

 

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): This is the week to put any pessimistic, poor-me tales confidently behind you, Sagittarius… and to radically insist that your new life-story is about to surprise you with twists-and-turns you'll actually thrive from meeting. I don't mean to make too much of Venus's landing in your sign on Monday (Oct 7), since she won't magically part the Red Sea or resolve all of your problems with one wave of her wand. That said, with her beauteous blessedness sprucing up your solar 1st-house over this month ahead, you can expect to enjoy a more noticeably-appealing outward presentation… with immediate benefit across different zones of life, in terms of being received with a warmer welcome and/or the proverbial upper-hand. Initiatives or interactions which might've fallen short of their fuller potential just a few short weeks ago will now be better-suited for (re-)introduction. Even your physical appearance may experience a ravishing rebirth. Yet, even still, you possess the emotional capacity to spoil this softly auspicious astro-influence: If you allow a continuing stream of feelings about recent months' unsettling developments to follow you here, uncontained or underprocessed, it'll be really hard to rewrite your tale with a happier chapter-ending.

 

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): It's an oddly hands-off week for you, Capricorn… or at least I encourage you to let it be so, particularly when it comes to trying to fix or improve any interpersonal dynamics by too bluntly 'moving things forward'. Last week's advice remains powerfully relevant this week, too: This is not a time for careless social or relational gestures, even with the best of intentions. The funny thing, though? One hasty move may well impact the rhythm of the relationship for some time to come (if not forever), but you might not discover quite how it's changed right away. (Guess that's not a 'funny thing' as in 'funny, ha ha', is it?) Meanwhile, the arrival of Mars to your 9th house next week inaugurates a building transition out of this touchy territory… and towards an assertive attitude far more fitting for goal-setting and perspective-granting purposes. That is, you won't find yourself inadvertently thrust into as many sensitive social situations, and ought to be better able to proceed as you wish without worrying about stepping on toes. This week, then, lay low.

 

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): For a sign renowned for being 'of the people, by the people, and for the people', you Aquarians sometimes neglect to actually hang out with the people on a frequent enough basis. To be the true people-person you are said to be (though I'm not going to spend column-space to deconstruct this oversimplified stereotype right now), you can't just collect acquaintances and contacts and long-lost friends, most of whom exist in the ethers of online networks or your memory-bank of loyalties. You've got to make conscious room for live, face-to-face, togetherness-oriented people-time! In the weeks ahead, you're liable not only to derive much outlook-simplifying enjoyment from being out in the crowd and in the flow, but also to reap a few unexpected benefits out of cavorting with your well-loved and well-connected comrades in the right place at this right time. In that last sentence, by the way, I included the descriptive phrase 'outlook-simplifying' to draw your attention to the fact that, also in the weeks ahead, you may find yourself increasingly absorbed (or overtaken?) by a far-less-simple circumstance involving someone or something you're not able to escape from as conveniently as you might like. Though you can't do much other than play it as it comes, spending lots of spare time engaged with friends and/or group-activities will help keep your spirits up.

 

PISCES (February 19-March 20): The good news, Pisces, is you're ushering charm-carrying Venus into your career/public-achievement house (the 10th) for a nice month-long stay, during which she promises to reward you with inviting opportunities and/or the good graces of important key-holders—if, that is, you are willing to be somewhat more blunt, brash and/or fast-acting in how you claim your interest in such rewards. The more ambiguous news, alas, involves this week's square from Venus to Neptune-in-your-1st… a potential amplifier of the favorability you're liable to receive from those influential decision-makers who see something special in you, though it may be questionable whether what they think they see in you is an accurate expression of who you actually are. Now, that little detail may seem to work to your advantage, if it indeed snags you an in or a leg-up. But what happens when they discover they had you pegged all wrong? Or when you realize you may have prematurely jumped into something that's in fact rather ill-suited to your talents or aspirations? I'm not explicitly advising you against using this passing astro-circumstance to gain yourself some professional advantage; just don't underestimate the potential ramifications of self-misrepresentation (see also: last week).