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Horoscopes | Week of March 10-16, 2014

ARIES (March 21-April 19): While I still suggest immersing yourself in the opinions and outlooks of your friends or colleagues, Aries, I must simultaneously warn you against too thoughtlessly parroting their party-lines or explicitly agreeing with sentiments which might inadvertently put you at odds with a certain special someone. The indiscernible threat I feel on your behalf regards something akin to the type of peer-pressure that adolescents sometimes fall victim to, which leads them to repeat unkind sentiments their popular pals put forth, without fully grasping the unkindness they carry… only later to discover that another of their chums (perhaps one from earlier in childhood who isn't as 'cool' as the latest batch) has been unfortunately wounded by their carelessly going along with the latest crowd. Now, I certainly don't assume you to be as unwitting a casualty to such pressures as my hypothetical situation might imply—though I do worry about you causing damage to an important relationship, based on you repeating some message you picked up from your social circle without fully realizing the personal implications of that message to this important character in your life. While I don't think you need to go so far as to full-on challenge the originators of this controversial message, you probably should stop short of speaking any tacit support of it… or even sticking around too long once such shit's being talked.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You really don't need to do a whole bunch of verbal strong-arming, Taurus, in some fevered pitch to make sure the work is actually getting done. From my vantage-point, everything does seem to be moving forward on the job/career front… maybe not quite exactly as you'd hoped or planned, but in a manner that nonetheless positively impacts your position. And should you wish for this work to 'move forward' faster and/or more consequentially, I suspect there's plenty you can do on your end without having to engage in potentially contentious discussions, to issue directives, or to lay down the law with anybody else. Pick an area in which you're already directly involved in the hands-on labor (rather than, say, fixating on another area where some other person apparently needs a nudge), and please just work on that yourself. This just isn't the best time to try getting other critical players on board with your overall vision for who should be doing what, when, and how. In fact, as this week moves into next and Mercury's both past his final Saturn square and into your solar 11th, you'll find that any such conversations which need to happen will be best conducted as a team endeavor rather than just one-on-one (or, as they say, head-to-head).

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Subtle tensions persist, Gemini, between (1) the obvious wisdom in moderating the expression of your strong opinion on a certain matter, as an ends-justifying-the-means move to ward off any debate which would wastefully detract from getting the job done, and (2) your nefarious desire to say whatever the hell you want, strategic wisdom be damned, because life's too short to hold your tongue. At the moment, there's no easy compromise with these two poles… though both drives really need to be honored, rather than you either playing goody-goody all day long (at the utter expense of sincerity) or screwing up a professional advantage (due to a current swell in your freedom impulse). Perhaps, then, you ought to properly consider issues of timing in how you juggle these competing priorities—'timing' both in terms of (1) evaluating, whenever an urge to add an extraneous editorializing remark or fight a point rises up in you, whether it's really the best time to follow this instinct or if it might be more effectively followed at a later occasion, and (2) assessing if this whole thing could ultimately be just a time-wasting folly, when you probably don't have such valuable work-time to waste. Using each correct moment for its correct purpose can successfully resolve such tensions.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Despite the likelihood of emotions running high throughout the week leading up to Sunday's full moon—and, consequently, leaving you feeling uncomfortably exposed and/or up-in-the-air—I nonetheless encourage you not to hurry through this extended emotional escalation, Cancer. That itchy sensation you experience when such a lurking tension, unvoiced disagreement, and/or unsettling truth looms in the room can, unfortunately, move you to nervously gush a stream of sincere-sounding niceties or premature peace-offerings, in a compensatory attempt to smooth everything over (and thus relieve the itch) as quickly as possible. But haste, in this case, will lead to imprecise exchanges which are liable to flatten out the complicated reality into overly broad or generalized terms, leaving out certain distinctions and subtleties that are critical to the process of you and the other party coming to really and truly understand each other. With Venus in your 8th for another few weeks, this is arguably the most fortuitous moment all year for you to wade leisurely in the unresolved, in-between, or maybe/maybe-not, drenching yourself in the waves of one moment's feelings giving way to the next, describing the details of each as they crest, break, and reform.

LEO (July 23-August 22): Though you're well set up for following the approach likeliest to score an affirmative response from whomever you appeal to, Leo, you probably ought to take your favor-winning tactics only so far. Otherwise you're liable to later regret having looked past some internal sticking-point, glossed over a potentially provocative emotional reality, and/or told 'em too much of what you thought they wanted to hear… at the expense of holding your own truth firm no matter if it spoils the easy rapport. I suppose I don't have to provide you any warnings, during a time when you are exuding more charm and likability than you have in a while. I could instead just goad you into using these Venus-gifted people skills to turn heads and warm hearts, in each and every context possible, and simply leave it at that (and if I were one of those 'just think positive and everything will work out perfectly' type of astrologers, that's probably what I'd do). But to add a deeper read to this otherwise advantageous situation, let me remind you: It's the act of keeping other people entertained and impressed by you which, despite delivering its share of warm-and-fuzzy affirmation, also threatens to divert you from your most authentic emotional grounding (which, by its very nature, isn't always 'entertaining' or 'impressive').

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): If this week you can avoid any heart-to-heart conversations with a key collaborator or your partner-in-crime—but without exuding a dismissive vibe this person's apt to take personally—then you're going to have a much better shot at really hearing each other, once Mercury returns to your 7th (the one-on-one relationship house) early next week. Should you find yourself in such a conversation this week anyhow, be aware you're liable to come off as if you care more about this or that item or technicality than you do about the human being sitting in front of you… which could be an unfortunate case of being misperceived or a kinda-sorta accurate read on your mindset. Truth is, you do have an eager-to-make-productive-progress edge to your tone at the moment. And that's probably because you are making that kind of progress, and understandably wish to continue riding this momentum throughout the week, making the absolute most of it until it starts tapering off. So it isn't altogether unreasonable to postpone encounters where your undivided presence is needed until you can legitimately bring it. Just don't act like one important facet of your life is more critical than another, when they both require appropriate balancing.

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): A lot of pleasurable goodness can be obtained from embracing the feistiness you're these days brandishing, Libra… as opposed to, say, attempting your more customary 'play it cool' tactics and unfortunately realizing that, under Mars's inevitably inciting reign, very little about your current desires can be kept confidently on the down-low. Either you unapologetically put a desire out there and receive a quicker and/or more unambiguous answer, or you futilely try to conceal the desire and squander an opportunity for some one-way-or-another resolution (while leaving the observer to believe you're actually much worse at fooling others than you realize). I won't deny the obvious risks involved in being more the initiator or aggressor than the recipient or responder, particularly since you Librans are stereotypically said to prefer those latter roles. Yet, if ever there were a phase during which those risks are likeliest to serve you—while, at the same time, your receptivity to others' lead is uncharacteristically low—this, my dear, is it. Besides, taking such risks in expressing desire is also a confidence-building exercise… even when shouldering rejection like a champ (since you're human, remember, and all humans face rejection from time to time) proves part of the lesson.

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): Filed in the 'How Not to Fuck Myself Over, Mars-Retrograde-in-the-12th-Style, This Week' category comes some fairly straightforward advice, Scorpio: Keep your mouth shut. For just this single week ahead, your cerebral sense-making faculties are under the effect of extreme subjectivity… making it very likely that whatever version of this story you're so totally sure is the one-and-only truth on the matter will later reveal itself to be jarringly incomplete, one-sided, still searching for its footing, and/or altogether wrong. For the record, that doesn't make the story any less real, in your experience of it and the emotional responses it conjures—but only for this moment. And as long as you don't launch into a series of dramatic and/or irreversible actions based on a faulty belief that this will remain your final truth forever, you ought to be fine. More than that, privately exploring this range of emotions released into your body by taking in the 'facts' (ahem) of this tale can end up being a very useful process. However, talking too freely about the narrative details, when we've already discussed how your liberal use of creative license obscures the full accuracy of this or that facet, only sets you up for later accusations of having changed your story… which, of course, would probably prove a valid charge.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): Though it's not usually in your nature to hover in the diplomatic 'uncommitted' zone, Sagittarius, I simply cannot see much good reason for you to go on public record taking any particular side during the present proceedings in your circle or community. That's not to say you haven't formed an opinion and/or possess an increasingly clear idea of which faction feels sincerely to be yours… merely that the current astrology calls for a bit more (or maybe more than a bit more) discretion than choosing sides would allow for, and that your ongoing Saturn-in-the-12th challenge to privately work on stronger psychic boundaries (i.e., not diving into 'fights' that aren't yours, not feeling undue passion for something that ultimately isn't a personal priority, not getting caught up in distracting energy-maelstroms, etc.) is asking you to apply your ideas and opinions to fine-tuning your own practices rather than volleying with anyone else. Perhaps the hardest aspect of this astrological spot is that I still see you socially involved and/or present where such enticing dialogues, debates, or disputes are going down, yet (hopefully) reserving your full engagement with the issues-at-hand for later moments when you aren't surrounded by the other players' assessing eyes and undependable ears.

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): Eager though you may be to put pragmatic items first on the list, and thus to get talking about all the important business with whomever you require approval or blessings or funding from, you still ought to be careful not to unwisely forsake the overall interpersonal dynamics on behalf of 'moving things along'. Your purposeful agenda may feel more pressing to you, Capricorn, than it does to certain other players… and it probably serves nobody's needs to attest (whether outwardly or in your own mind) that your urgency is preferable to their apparent 'whatever' attitude. Even in tentatively making the comparison, we can already see that whatever's going on with their so-called 'attitude' isn't entirely clear to you (though, in the absence of more personal information about their present life-circumstances, it's too easy to fill in the blanks with judgy assumptions)—and could well pose a justifiable explanation for why their mind isn't as singularly focused on the work-at-hand as yours. Hypothetically speaking, would you pressure someone who seems to be dragging their heels were you to discover their mother died last weekend, their partner ditched them for their best friend, or they just got evicted from their apartment? Well, these days, the astro-vibes are so crazy, such scenarios are likelier than usual to afflict those around you. Bear that in mind, should you feel yourself starting to get pushy toward others who appear distracted or disinterested (for reasons you don't understand?).

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): Provided you know the relatively few contexts in which you really should downplay your recent upstart friskiness—i.e., around elders whose sensibilities might be offended, amidst humorless officials who'll take your mischief as a power-challenge, in professional environments where a certain decorum is expected, with family-members who just don't need to see that side of you, etc.—you're otherwise well-situated to savor a long-awaited windfall of positive responses to you just being you, Aquarius. Venus is now firmly settled in your sign, brightening your mood, polishing your outward demeanor with an extra spit-shine, sweetening each sentiment that slips through your lips… and I'll be damned if I want to offer any counsel which dissuades you from making the most of every last bit of it, especially in light of all these preceding months of wearisome anticipation. Please don't use this outpouring of little goodies as an excuse, however, to justify a downward slip in productive diligence, as if to imply you worked so hard to reach this moment of enjoyment and, now that you've made it, your work is now done. That's standard Aquarian rebelliousness in action. As good as this moment is promising to be, you'll also want to keep up the process of creating more moments like this for future harvest.

PISCES (February 19-March 20): Being your best self this week requires restraint, Pisces, much in the manner we discussed in last week's edition. Speaking out remains ill-advised for at least one more week, until Mercury finally returns to your sign following his ghastly retrograde. But just so we're clear, staying essentially silent often speaks a much louder and more persuasive message than the frantically-hunted-for words you might otherwise throw together to supposedly make your case. I see you in an excellent position to actually stand for something by refusing to be baited into a defensive posture, by not trying to point out all their blatant ethical lapses (as if you're pointing a finger will make them any guiltier of such a transgression), and by deflecting any low-blow potshot with the appearance of 'rising above it' (even if their mean-spirited comment really does hurt your feelings). You'll immediately surrender any legitimate claim to the more principled stance, on the other hand, if you let someone else's less-than-honorable motives and/or your own emotional response to their actions inspire, even temporarily, behaviors which self-evidently betray the very principles you're claiming as yours. Despite astrological influences which might further tempt you to react regrettably, you really ought to strive for restraint… at least for now.