Horoscopes | Week of November 18-24, 2013

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Strive to be shrewd enough to discern between instances in which it behooves you to 'go there' (i.e., to confront an unpleasant matter head-on, so you might gain a more personally advantageous stronghold in the disputed situation) and those aggravating circumstances which should probably just be endured like a champ (because trying to engage will only make things messier and more of a real problem). As your own discrete individual, Aries, you're presently hosting some fairly decent out-in-the-world luck and a nice punch of productive vim-and-vigor… which are yours for the taking if and only if you can successfully hold back the infringement of other parties' disruptive participation into your sphere-of-activity when it's neither helpful nor desired. And it's on you to assess whether you can legitimately limit your exposure to this potential complicating-factor without having to be explicit about it, or whether this situation demands direct attention. Of course, if you did in fact sign on for this involvement at an earlier point (only later rethinking the wisdom of that choice), your only fair response in the short-term may well be to grin and bear it.

 

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): As a matter of integrity, Taurus, it's critical you tell that certain someone everything they need to know, to foster as full an understanding of the situation between you as possible… but also tell them nothing they don't need to know, as it might cause them to experience feelings of hurt, distress and/or confusion for no productive reason. Try not to suppress any unseemly details about your psychological state, for instance, just to keep them from worrying when, in fact, they really do need to know what you're bringing to the table, in order to be the best companion or collaborator to you they can. But at the same time, don't start running your mouth to the point where you're dropping excessive amounts of back-story, hearsay, speculation, and/or ancient history—particularly if it's likely the other person will have some sort of uncomfortable emotional reaction—if this extra stuff is not directly relevant to the scope of the current conversation. Under this astrology, there's a temptation to get carried away with telling really long stories, offering half-baked opinions, or otherwise grandstanding… without noticing exactly when it diverges from 'entertaining' or 'explanatory' and heads into 'upsetting'.

 

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In all work-related contexts, please stick close to whatever's going to produce the specific practical payoff you're laboring towards, Gemini... particularly in light of the possibility that a certain someone, who may (or may not) have the world's sincerest intentions, could instead lead you unwittingly down an alternate path of diminishing returns due to their inexperience or hasty judgment. You mustn't sacrifice your mental attachment to that methodology and/or mode-of-organization you believe will yield the correct results, merely out of friendly consideration to another person whose enthusiasm levels may not be adequately matched with corresponding capability. Holding firm about what's right for the work is indeed the right thing to do, even though it could cause an bump or two in the relational vibe between you and the well-meaning-but-misguided party. You may not be a fan of such awkward interpersonal moments, but they beat the hell out of allowing your professional efforts to be diverted on some ineffectual tangent just because of somebody else's groundless curiosities.

 

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Though my advice from last week to be candid and straightforward with your desires remains mightily relevant, there's little pressure on you to do much beyond that, Cancer. Your outlook features many planets in uncomplicated flow with one another, including the two benefics (Jupiter and Venus) in two of the most prominent houses of your solar chart (the 1st and the 7th, respectively), setting up an astro-environment in which you're highly likely to be received amiably and approvingly, so long as you don't let this advantageous energy go to your head and inspire a smug showiness (which, frankly, isn't your usual way-of-being but is nonetheless a temptation at the moment). You have a huge potential, in fact, to essentially control (or at least strongly guide) the proceedings in nearly any context in which you're an active participant… making it an excellent moment to truly revel in whatever's going on since, presumably, you'll have had a pretty influential say in how it's going down. On the same token, then, this would be a rather absurd moment for claiming to be pretty unhappy with whatever's going on. If you won't alter it to your liking now, at such a personally auspicious time for asserting such agency, when would you?

 

LEO (July 23-August 22): At a certain point, if you're maneuvering through your own emotional landscape with maturity and personal accountability, you realize you must consciously restrict how much indulgent self-criticism, self-pitying and/or self-doubt you're going to allow to course freely through your mind's discourse… and, in the process, you decide only to repeat messages about yourself to yourself which will help you meet your practical day-to-day-needs. In other words, Leo, you start to treat your internal world with a bit more commonsensical an attitude: If a particular thought doesn't support you in earning your keep, meeting your responsibilities and/or, most importantly, fostering the belief that you are indeed worthy and capable of such feats, then it's not serving any concrete purpose and, therefore, ought to be uprooted from its bed. This is a time better spent tangibly putting effort toward procuring more of what you do legitimately deserve, rather than reinforcing a mentality that chips away at your sense of deservedness. Even if you still question your value (as we all sometimes do), please don't give the question more credence by actively addressing it. Better yet, drown it out with positive affirmations.

 

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): And now, a markedly different read on the latest astrology, Virgo, for a taste of contrast: Maybe you shouldn't leave certain conversations 'open' any longer, if you've now determined over the course of these past many weeks that they (1) aren't progressing toward any promising conclusion, (2) constitute an increasingly wasteful usage of your time, and/or (3) involve other people who, despite having given them a fair shake, you don't like and/or trust. Perhaps this is the appropriate moment to cut any losses, to offer your final say on whatever matter has necessitated this much friggin' talk, and to move along to your next destination without any weaker-link contributors in tow. If you have faithfully allowed the dialogue to organically evolve to this point where the dust has settled and the principal reality has indeed revealed itself, there's no justifiable reason to keep any provisional 'allies' who've shown themselves to be not-exactly-allies by your side. You don't have to be unkind about the cutting-'em-loose, of course. Just end the fruitless conversation.

 

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): Please don't permit yourself to get so caught up in the drift of a friendly interaction, Libra, that you forget what its original intended purpose was… and end up not getting done what you'd set out to do. For now, your material footing seems to thrive as a result of you treating the planks of your own personal-business strategy rather seriously, following all the way through with that day's results-oriented plans just as you'd initially conceived of them rather than, say, veering off-course because, in the height of some compelling chit-chat session, the time just ran away from you. At the moment, it's hard enough to muster the practical wherewithal to get your shit done as it is; the last thing you need is to lose your own attention to another person (or some other bit of glittery nonsense) and find the whole damn workweek is over before you've even gotten a good start. You might consider putting a temporary hold on your openness to outside influences, if only as a best attempt to limit the variables vying for a few minutes from you… since 'a few minutes' can quickly become many more.

 

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): By the very beginning of next week, Mercury will at last clear its third-and-final conjunction to Saturn in your sign, Scorpio… which means any lingering consequences from your having (1) provided someone a not-wholly-honest answer, (2) offered feedback in too harsh or sanctimonious a tone, or (3) tried to squirrel out of a much-needed conversation, are likely to manifest, hopefully presenting a trial-by-error tutorial on why you probably shouldn't do that again. But on the positive side, if instead you were pretty damned on-top-of-your-game communication-wise during these past several weeks, you'll likely be enjoying at least one direct benefit of having been so plain and exacting in saying what you needed to say. Don't be surprised if you've gained yourself a new fan… in the form of someone who overheard your words, received a glowing report about you from someone else, or was won over by your no-nonsense attitude. Likewise, you might've hammered a last nail in the coffin of a friendship that wasn't serving you or somehow misrepresented you. Though such a loss isn't ordinarily described as a 'benefit', in this case, I think it's cool to just kiss it goodbye and keep going.

 

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): Keep your brain (and, therefore, also your mouth) tightly constrained for at least one more week, Sagittarius, while Mercury completes his last devilish stand of Saturn-conjoined 12th-house mayhem. Nothing good will come from entertaining panicky worries, worst-case hypotheticals, subversive suggestions others carelessly toss out, or any other unhinging excuses to sabotage your ongoing consistency. Such streams-of-thought are neither accurate nor useful. As such, then, it certainly won't help your worldly position to pick fights (or, perhaps as you might describe them, 'spirited conversations') with anybody who's an important figure in your professional zone, who has any sort of authority or power, and/or who bears the capacity to make your life less pleasant should they choose to do so. On the other hand, it can prove profitable to be on the receiving end of such a character's off-the-cuff venting or casual gossip—as long as you simply take it all in (for a future application perhaps?) and don't chime in with any additional remarks (or even seconding-of-opinions) which might be used against you. Be strategic, sly and self-protective with information.

 

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): Let the relative strength of your affiliations—and, concurrently, any rifts among them—show through, Capricorn. You shouldn't have to take any pointed steps that would put someone on the spot to explicitly pledge their loyalty or tell you to your face why they think you're full of shit. The cleaving along party-lines, which will separate you from some folks while allying you more closely to others, ought to happen as a natural effect of you advocating for what you believe. The current unfolding of this differentiation could start to define itself in rather exaggerated strokes, in fact, through the act of you flatly asserting your take on a matter of collective import: It'll transpire as if the other player(s) are essentially amplifying your message, either by increasing its volume with loud concurrence or drawing further attention to it through noisy disagreement. I imagine this won't be subtle, but pretty clearly apparent. And once such a clarification occurs, I urge you to follow it up with a reinforcing statement only in the instances which revealed a strong and sustainable association… just to let those proven colleagues know you appreciate their support. Those who've revealed their interests are at odds with yours, meanwhile, require no further outward attention at this time. You've got their number; that's what matters most.

 

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): Hold steady, Aquarius, in line with what I wrote you last week about biding your time until you reach a stage of development that's a little further along… at least as far as sensational announcements or grand unveilings are concerned. One more pass of Mercury-conjunct-Saturn in your 10th reinforces the pressure to be by-the-books honest, exacting, and well-controlled in all your outward communications. In case you should experience any surge of seemingly justifiable dissatisfaction or indignation with proceedings at work and/or in the public-sphere, please realize your most constructive response should probably not entail you self-righteously confronting the said culprit (as if the real problem could be traced to a single individual as its source). Instead, I recommend you quietly exploring why this has gotten you so damned indignant: It hits upon a subtler, deeper part of your psyche that might be better assuaged without involving any outside party… but rather by more thoroughly investigating the source-reasons why this certain behavior triggers such strong emotions in you, all the while concentrating on the work (tangible and/or psychological) you actually possess the agency to carry out yourself.

 

PISCES (February 19-March 20): Speak your truth, on behalf of Truth itself… and then stand there in it, proud to know who you are and under no delusion it's possible to embody this True Self without somebody having a problem with it. It's what you do if and when you do encounter another person's resistance or outright antagonism, Pisces, that'll demonstrate just how firmly you're able to advocate for such Truth over, say, trying to alleviate the obvious discomfort of those who'd lash out or squirm in its face. A great Piscean life-lesson involves learning not to sympathetically take on another's suffering (as you would in a case of having to disavow your truth, in order to perpetuate whatever artifice or ignorance will keep them unruffled, quietly enduring the inner itch of an ethical breach), but to compassionately leave them to examine their own responsibility for creating this suffering, so they might grow beyond it as a result of their own transformational efforts. As such, you might want to consider allowing any relevant disagreements to simply occur… and, rather than rushing to either back down or argue your point more strongly, let the other person(s) figure out for themselves what exactly about your so confidently occupying your own truth is that agitating.