Horoscopes | Week of June 16-22, 2014

ARIES (March 21-April 19): 'Keeping busy' doesn't always entail occupying yourself with meaningful, momentous activities. Sometimes, Aries, it means quite the opposite: 'busying' yourself is also a technique for filling up your time so you don't pick a scab, butt your nose in where it doesn't belong, or get into pointless trouble. Though, yes, there now lurks in you that mushrooming urge to be contrary or renegade—which is nothing new, but merely an extension of your ongoing response to people or situations expecting you to play by their rules, ha!—I think you'd do better to push off fuller expression of that urge until next week, if possible. Unless, of course, that can of worms already got opened up last week (as a re-ignition of the 'enduring power-struggles or unfinished fights' we discussed then) and you just can't close it back up again. This could be an 'in-between' week for you, in terms of not many critical developments occurring and you instead preserving a generally light attitude, if you deliberately choose to make it so by keeping out-of-trouble busy. On the other hand, you might be too far in it already to cool down adequately enough for such lightness.

 

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Go on, Taurus, add up all the numbers in those rows and columns one more time, please. Did you miss something? Is there a new variable that didn't exist a few weeks ago, which you must now include in your computations? What have you undervalued or overestimated? Mercury retrograde, now back in your money-and-self-worth house (the 2nd), might just be fucking with you a bit… or else he's revealing an oversight in your financial and/or operational planning, one which you'll probably have to sort out in the weeks to come. But this isn't your week for such sortings-out, even if you do stumble upon an irregularity or discover you've been too idealistic. Nor is it a week for freaking out about such things. Whether an error's been identified or whether you merely want to make sure you aren't overlooking a key consideration, you might want to consider discussing the situation—not with desperation in your voice, but with sincere unflustered curiosity—with folks who might have an illuminating angle to share. Though you shouldn't expect tidy 'solutions' (since you're still sorting out what, if any, 'problems' exist), you could inadvertently receive some pretty damn magical advice on the practicalities… without having asked for that explicit piece, and/or without the other person being fully aware of how very much they're helping you.

 

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The combination of your ruler Mercury both (1) retrograding back into your sign and (2) conjoining the Sun increases the potential for this week ahead to overwhelm your nervous system, Gemini, due to the sheer magnitude of so many considerations and preoccupations and interactions simultaneously converging… and they're all seemingly relying on you to juggle them with panache, without providing you any immediate certainty as to how well you're pulling it off. Without a doubt, it's a hyperactive vibe happening at the moment for you twin-souls. Don't, therefore, force yourself to jump through all the hoops or fulfill every last individual's expectation; you just might burn out trying. You'll need to periodically pause, to breathe, to regroup, to set your own pace instead of feverishly chasing after everyone else. However, even if there are a couple downers or disappointments as a result of your overextended situation, keep right on moving. No need to dwell on what doesn't work out this week: Venus arrives to your sign just as next week opens, and she has a knack for smoothing over rough spots and putting you back on track.

 

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Sit tight for a moment, Cancer, and keep your lips zipped. The appearance of certain supposedly-squared-away circumstances now unraveling before your very eyes could be just that: an appearance. In other words, this is an especially bad time to judge the overall direction and/or the relative success of these latest proceedings. You're seeing only one angle among many, not a comprehensive outlook. That said, I'm not going to deny that this 'look of things' may well inspire a bit of understandable nervousness… and there's little you can presently say to any of the other players to substantively impact their shifting viewpoints, which have already begun to veer away from where you thought they'd settled. Re-read that last sentence, please, with emphasis on the 'little you can presently say' part. If you believe a few persuasive words-of-encouragement on your part will presently help your case, think again; if anything, they could have the opposite effect. Your best bet is to stick closest to those whose viewpoints haven't veered—whose loyalty and solidarity you can count on without thinking twice—and ride this out alongside them. At least you're not alone.

 

LEO (July 23-August 22): To score yourself one more week of Venus-in-the-10th gold-stars on your permanent record, Leo, I'd advise not partaking in any of the fast-paced, loose-lipped, morally-questionable gossip (or whatever other term you might prefer to use to describe people gabbing about other people's business) that's liable to be coursing through your team, friend-group, organization, or local community. It's especially important not to give off the impression that your allegiances are easily swayed, your confidences untrustworthy, or your stance too directly dependent on the public-opinion's current fashions. Not only doesn't it behoove you to join in on the bitch sessions or contribute any further informational bits that'll only add fuel to others' fire, you probably shouldn't ask any questions either. Maybe it's wisest to not even stand in too-close-proximity witness to their gossipy behavior. On the other hand, I also wouldn't disapprovingly lecture the culprits about the evils of shit-talking. Mercury is retrograde, people. Don't inadvertently get yourself into social drama that'll threaten your good name. Once next week rolls around, you'll be less likely to be negatively misperceived by pals or colleagues, should you find yourself adjacent to such conversations.

 

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): Whenever possible, Virgo, I encourage you to postpone any important moves, influential decisions, and critical conversations related to your professional efforts and/or reputation until at least next week. Now that Mercury retrograde has slipped back into your 10th, you might be put on the spot to revisit career-related discussions or directions which crossed your path a few weeks back… to answer follow-up questions, to detail your thinking more concretely, and/or to explain to another person what you already told somebody else. But though Mercury will remain retrograde through the end of the month, blessing-bestower Venus is showing up early next week to join him in your 10th, making it far likelier that even missteps or misspeaks will benefit you—or at least not cause any lasting damage—in the professional long-run. With that in mind, I cannot imagine why you'd jump the gun, knowing you'll be far better situated next week to do whatever you're thinking about doing now. Instead, spend this time reminding yourself why you strive so hard to do such good work, how it helps make the world a better place, and/or how it supports you in feeling your life has meaning.

 

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): I must admit, Libra, this would be a pretty abysmal week for trying to make your case for the righteousness of a certain viewpoint over any other… even if you've been confident of its righteousness for a while now, and believe you know the ins-and-outs of a best-practices argument in its favor. Whoever you'd be pitching your point to will find it far too easy to poke a hole in your case—perhaps not legitimately, but maybe with a straw-man or an ad-hominem—and your Mercury-retrograde-flustered brain, unprepared to refute their crap, could end up delegitimizing your own coherence by impulsively 'stooping to their level' or otherwise becoming too emotional to think straight. Oddly, it'd be far shrewder for you to sit in the interpersonal awkwardness of mutually acknowledging each other's divergence of ideologies than to outright defend yours and/or knock theirs. For the moment, such quietly plucky poise speaks far louder than desperate facts, figures, or philosophical treatises. Come next week, though, you can go ahead and make that case once Venus-in-the-9th is on your side: I cannot guarantee you'll 'win', nor that misperceptions or misrepresentations won't still occur, but at least your argumentation style will be slicker and more attractive.

 

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): Just because you feel a certain way about a certain person (and/or the situation involving such a person), that doesn't automatically imply you ought to put it out there. Most Scorpios typically already know this, as you're a sign likelier to hold your cards close to your chest (and welcome the power such opaqueness often provides) than to spill the beans all over the place. But this horoscope message is sponsored by Mercury-retrograde-in-the-8th… which, if you're not on your game, could unfortunately inspire you to needlessly and not-advantageously escalate a heated moment with a remark or two that hits deep, creating a discomfort very difficult (if not impossible) to come back from. And all at a time, again, when Venus's 7th-house presence is supposed to ease your relations? Damn! Well, here's the kicker: By waiting until next week or beyond, once Venus is also in your 8th, you probably can get away with saying more than you ordinarily would with far fewer consequences. Discomfort might still occur, sure, but you'll be much better able to follow it up with some sweet-talking that wins 'em right back. Until then, as a built-in protective measure, you might meditate on the ethics surrounding such deep-hitting remarks. Even the best of us sometimes don't want it quite so deep, at least not all the time.

 

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): Please do not table your work, Sagittarius, just because there's an unresolved exchange or strained interpersonal dynamic dangling in the air. The impulse to drop everything, so you two (or the more-than-two of you) can get all the details out into the open and hopefully reach consensus (or at least agree to disagree), is not one I'd advise immediately following… though that's not to say a chance to sort through this stuff isn't coming very soon. Attempts to process disconnection or difficulty this week are likely to result in way too many words (some of which may sound pretty convincing for a moment, until the next breath of hot-air raises concerns which frustratingly bring you all right back to where you started), with little worthwhile payoff—and a lot of wasted time. Meanwhile, Venus has this one last full week in your solar 6th, suggesting happy outcomes from continuing to immerse yourself in productive aims. So please keep up efficient, effective rhythms. Come next week, Venus moves into the 7th (your relationship house)… and then you might get somewhere, in your favor, with whatever relational brouhaha's strained or unresolved.

 

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): Though the sheer multitude of stupid little logistical loose-threads could make you totally bonkers, Capricorn, the week's astrology also offers you a delightful antidote to the crazy-making… in the form of re-centering, life-affirming enjoyment of a certain special individual's company. On the logistical note, let's just say it would be impossible for you to confidently wrap your head around every single last item you're 'supposed to be' on top of handling (cough cough). Some balls will fall. Some plates will drop. And so it goes. Rather than send your anxiety levels through the roof trying to demonstrate you really are the responsible person we know you to be by foolishly going for a perfect track-record, I'd suggest making a few compromising calculations… and instead aiming for a decent success-percentage, while letting those particulars which are less pressing and/or the most time-consuming fall by the wayside for the moment. As far as the 're-centering, life-affirming enjoyment' goes, I recommend simply basking in the sort of companionship that both deeply honors your authentic proclivities and feels so damn natural it takes incredibly little effort. Take the ease where you can get it, right?

 

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): Just when you think you know what you want, Aquarius, here comes another whim-of-circumstance down the conveyor-belt of amazing possibilities… and suddenly you want that, too, only it seems (and may well be) totally impossible to resolve wanting this and that (and perhaps also the other) all at the same time. So don't bother trying to resolve this variability in desire, at least not this week. Over the ensuing weeks following this one, you'll have a more directly-experiential chance to sniff out the possibilities up close and personal, as it'll be easier-than-usual (perhaps too easy, but that's a different story) to attract each and every one you think you might desire. And how better to figure it out than by sampling all the merchandise, as if you're cruising through the big-box high-volume discounter nibbling on their free cheese puffs and flash-frozen prawns? I repeat: This sampling is best begun next week… and hopefully with a conscience for not treating others' feelings like cheap cheese puffs or past-their-prime prawns. Spend this week thinking about how you'll delightfully revel in this exercise, with the cleanest conscience you can muster.

 

PISCES (February 19-March 20): As soon as you find yourself answering questions about how you're feeling, you may discover that what comes out of your mouth is not what you would've assumed… because, well, 'how you're feeling' is a multi-headed creature who's liable to show a different face a different day, depending on who's asked the question, and sometimes even you can be surprised by what comes forth. Expect the unexpected with your unpredictable feelings this week, Pisces, rather than erroneously thinking you are finally reaching a single cumulative emotional understanding—when, in fact, the inconsistencies are as glaring as ever. This Mercury-retrograde moment is indeed part of your process of, yes, eventually attaining that cumulative understanding. As such, explicitly acknowledging and investigating any glaring inconsistencies is a useful exercise, not something to shy away from. However, as far as other people's attempts to understand what you don't yet fully understand yourself could go… well, let's just say, they're only going to get one creature-head's version of the story, and thus could walk away with very wrong ideas about you, should they assume they just heard the whole damn thing.