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Horoscopes | Week of October 20-26, 2014

ARIES (March 21-April 19): What haven't you said yet, Aries? Which previously-uttered remarks came out too crudely or imprecisely, and probably require a rectifying follow-up? What misperceptions (even if seemingly minor) were left hanging out there, due to your having used too diplomatic or concessionary a tone in prior conversations? If you ever intend to amend the official record with the whole truth ('… and nothing but the truth!'), you might as well do it now, while Mercury's stationing to direct motion in your relationship house (the 7th) and an 8th-house solar eclipse is pushing you to embrace complicating honesty over preservationist politics. You'll struggle to legitimately embody the sort of steeled-conscience authority currently demanded of you, out on the world stage—where your next month-and-a-half promises to provide you critical headway toward attaining a key professional/public-world goal—if you can't even confront the temporary interpersonal uneasiness which might result from these clarifying conversational corrections. You have a better-than-usual capacity to speak your thoughts in language the other person will understand; just don't rest on that advantage too much, lest you still fall short of coming right out and saying it.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Regardless of what the current specifics of your relationship life may be, Taurus, the week's astrological outlook—including a solar eclipse, with the Sun and Moon exactly conjunct Venus on a critical degree of your relationship house (the 7th)—is like a royal proclamation declaring this the moment to formally celebrate the demands and difficulties which necessarily come along with uniting our life with somebody else's. Considering Saturn has been in your 7th for two years already (and only has a few months left!), you should be well-acquainted with the challenging side of interpersonal engagement: During this period, relationship shit's gotten serious. Whether you've constructively matured or hit a wall, embraced your status or confronted your discontent, stayed together or split up, I presume no Taurus could now legitimately claim that finding where you genuinely fit in relation to another important individual (spouse, lover, best friend, business partner) is simple or straightforward. That is why continuing to participate in relationships (and continuing to critically reflect on our own behavior in them) is such a rich field for self-development. Because other people are so confusingly, maddeningly, and sometimes infuriatingly different than we are, we learn so much about our unconscious actions and attitudes by having these maddening other people call us out on them, criticize them and clash with them. So please tap into your appreciation for those relational experiences and encounters that have pushed your buttons, tried your patience, and forced you to look more unflinchingly at yourself: Without them, you'd be far more stubborn and set-in-your-ways… and far less self-aware.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): How are you liking the overall flow of your typical workday? Do you feel as if your energies are being effectively utilized? Are you making progress (even if it's slower than you might like) toward your larger goals? Perhaps most importantly, are your efforts furthering that unique contribution only you can provide toward improving our collective quality of life? If you're not happy with any of your answers to these questions, Gemini, this is your week to once again recommit to the unwavering force required to effect change in this arena. You've needed to address any discontent with how your spend your day-to-day productivity time fairly consistently over these past couple years (though lately, I suspect, you may have found yourself distracted from this by a thrilling waft of interpersonal intrigue). It's now returning as an acutely important consideration, though… with the next few weeks ahead as an excellent time to intensify your push to remedy any unfulfilling job circumstances, to reorganize your schedule for enhanced efficiency, and/or to re-attune yourself to your work's 'higher calling'. A couple helpful hints: (1) Talk to any- and everybody who might be able to help, discounting none of their ideas or suggestions without first exploring them more fully. (2) Invest more sheer labor, pressuring yourself to persevere far beyond your comfort zone, if you expect a serious breakthrough.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Your experience of life will be rewarding in direct proportion to the amount of love you invest in whatever you're doing, Cancer. That's why it can be such a joy to work your buns off to support and raise the children you adore, for instance, or to nurture any other 'baby' that represents an authentic expression of something you cherish. And that's also why you could feel increasingly bitter, irritable, and/or emotionally exhausted if you're dedicating more and more time to activities you could give or take, as if it almost doesn't matter whether it's you or some automaton-like facsimile filling that seat or whiling away the hours. There's not an infinite expanse of life left, for any of us, to justify too lengthy a loitering period while we wait to be randomly struck by love's energizing lightning-bolt (should we even be so lucky). Consider this your celestial reminder to actively create space for the activities, experiences, and individuals that get your love-juices flowing. Doing whatever fills your heart with its greatest satisfaction will beget more of those same good feelings… in a like-attracts-like formula that, though it may sound like some new-age secret for solving all your problems (which it's not), is simple common sense. We cannot afford for you to sign away a love-filled life, by resting on some 'duty calls' excuse to settle for drudgery. If there's a particular person who's standing in your way of more love, the battle to free yourself starts now. If there's a person who represents more love, taking action to be with them more often also must start now.

LEO (July 23-August 22): Though life probably feels a whole lot different than it did earlier this year, back when a protracted sense of nerve-wracking limbo forced you to continually hang tight with your inner demons, you probably shouldn't forget about those touchy issues you'd been delving into before things lightened up. I don't want you to retreat backwards into mopey-town, Leo, but rather to intentionally revisit those emotional hooks which had been triggering you just a few mere months ago… from the now-more-optimistic vantage-point you find yourself in, with a greater ability to put those painful feelings into broader perspective. Likelier than not, glancing back at where you were ought to affirm how much progress you've made since then—as well as provide important insight about the sharp contrasts in how you interpret and respond to familiar emotional triggers, based upon what else is happening in your life at a given time. Those same complexes may seem nearly insurmountable when times are tough, yet totally manageable when the future looks bright. For those of you who used this recent upswing to escape from some darker reality which previously had a grip on you, you're due for a reminder that, despite certain circumstantial changes, you can't run away from your deepest truth. Engage some of the newer characters in your life to talk through these age-old emotional hangovers with you.

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): Please control those fantasies about how much better this or that would theoretically be, Virgo, if you just jumped on the next plane out of here or dove deeper into some captivating topic-of-study which might finally provide some missing-link insight that'd make proper sense of all this droning nonsense. For the moment, it behooves you to recognize there is no other place you should be headed, nor any additional doctrine or dogma you must integrate into your understanding. That's not, however, to imply there isn't anything new to learn—only that the 'lessons' are people-centered (rather than found in far-off locales, thick volumes of bound knowledge, or official centers-of-higher-education), and require your embodied relational participation if you wish to absorb their precious wisdom. Holding your tongue in exchanges which could turn tense if you spoke your truth (while, presumably, continuing to silently accumulate reasons your unspoken knowledge is superior to what others actually are saying) will do nothing to vet the appeal or applicability of your thinking, to address its blind-spots, or to evolve it to an even tighter form. This right here, these people, this conversation, this environment… this is your testing-ground. Put your mouth where you believe your 'money' (literal or metaphoric) is, and welcome the vultures to productively pick it apart.

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): No better moment than the present, Libra, to get down and dirty with your material circumstances… first and foremost, your financial outlook, but also any other valuable resources, secret-weapons, and tricks-up-your-sleeve you could rely on to meet your practical needs. This is a call to toughen up, even in light of any discouraging twists or persistent difficulties. Perhaps you've forgotten what it felt like to be on the astrological hot-seat, as you were for much of this year's first-half… and, with that prior sense of urgency now having loosened its grip, you've fallen back into watch-and-wait passive-reactivity? If you do a bit of mathematical thinking, you'll have to realize you literally cannot afford to devote your time, money, skills, or attention to items that don't directly support you. You need every last drop for feeding your own interests, which means not volunteering yourself for the 'greater goodwill' (whoever they are, do they pay your bills?) or investing your sweat-equity in some precarious promise of future dividends (and how far into the future until those checks start coming?). So, make your pitches and proposals. Advertise your strengths unabashedly. Straight-up ask for the opportunity to earn more for everybody, but unambiguously for yourself in the process. Meanwhile, let any internal aggravation power your onward-ho advance, rather than serve as a cynical reason not to. Disgruntlement can, after all, drive great ambitions ahead.

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): I anticipate this week symbolizing a major turning-point in your life, Scorpio, thanks to Venus arriving just in time to conjoin Thursday's (Oct 23) solar eclipse in your sign… though, if we're being truly precise, it's actually the culmination of many months of cutting dead weight, extricating yourself from energy-sucking relationships or jobs or living-situations, and bravely facing the truth of who you really are (and also, as a result, who you aren't). If you've done that personal reorienting work while Saturn's been breathing down your neck, you're incredibly well-positioned to begin a radical reaping of now-matured benefits you've struggled hard to claim. This next chapter ought to feel like you're starting it off at the top of your game, not by chance but through longtime persistence: Use this as a jumping-off point for finding greater self-gratification from what you've thus far built, counterbalancing the work with some reaffirming pleasure. If, however, this isn't how you're presently feeling, it could be the result of your having recently lost focus or stamina—or, in the worst instances, of your deliberately avoiding what you've known you must do, therefore prolonging and/or intensifying your woe. Even still, a Venus-kissed solar eclipse remains an exceptional next-chapter moment… only, in your case, it ought to be the beginning of a critical last-ditch attempt to rescue yourself from the willful self-destruction, by any means necessary.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): Not so long ago, Sagittarius, you found yourself somewhat stalled in your attempts at forward motion… largely due to the fact that, according to the astrological clock in the sky, you'd been sentenced to process through a good amount of psychic garbage which had accumulated in the back-recesses of your psyche over many years of hurts and disappointments. The higher purpose of that prolonged 'down-time' period? To sufficiently clear your energy-field, in preparation for eventually diving ahead toward a glorious future, unhampered by echoes of a past you no longer wish to live. Whether or not you were totally conscious of why this 'stuck' or 'trapped' feeling had kept you relatively fixed in place, there were indeed deep developmental benefits to not having had as many wonderfully-new-and-exciting experiences to capture your attention—namely, close-up encounters with all that old shit which had been weighing you down. I probably don't need to point out how dramatically things have changed just in recent weeks: relative paralysis opening up into radical onward propulsion, dull drudgery transformed into enthusiastic effort, invisibility bursting into conspicuous presence. This transition continues to push you out into world again, with Saturn's expectation you now make the very most of this cleaned-slate you've created for yourself. Before you take that on in stride, however, I suggest taking one more significant round in the all-too-familiar isolation chamber… not to punish yourself nor to stunt the recent momentum, but merely to re-acclimate yourself to what you're leaving behind, now that its grip on you has loosened. If you're observant during this one more temporary visit to your past, you may be stunned to discover how much you've changed just during this year alone.

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): With Mars trooping into your sign (where he's a formidable force and fierce strategist) at the week's very-end, Capricorn, you're shifting into a several-week period in which you stand to mightily impact the direction your life-developments are headed. All that astrological pressure to preserve, withhold, hang tight, and hold your horses is now giving way to a more critical moment of stepping forward, reaching out, getting going, and grabbing for what you want. Bearing that in mind, if I could give you one piece of short-term advice about what else to consider on the eve of your self-assertive coming-out, it would be this: Bring other people along. Or to phrase the same sentiment in a different way: Do it with allies in tow. The swagger with which you'll soon be sauntering down the boulevard is a power-posture you can use to separate yourself from the crowd—and, without a doubt, you will succeed at making a memorable (if not somewhat imposing, or full-on intimidating) impression on those observing your mark-making moves. Yet, you might alternatively choose to use it as a confidence-spreading technique, helping to raise others' morale by giving off an air of courageous determination that'll inspire them to believe in themselves, too. But this latter version probably isn't the manner in which this shift would naturally unfold; you'll have to be explicitly intentional about it, if you want your emboldened energies to uplift your friends and colleagues, rather than one-up them. Deploy 'tough-love' leadership tactics… with bold emphasis on the word love.

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): The astrological transition occurring this week sets you up, Aquarius, to begin witnessing either affirming signs or disappointing turns in your professional sphere and/or with whatever outward aims you've been toiling toward over the past couple years. In other words, the current state of your career and/or public-community achievements is due to become more noticeable, both to your own eyes and to all those watching you… and, regardless of whether you're happy-as-a-clam or less-than-enthused about this status-update, your best response will be to matter-of-factly take it like a champ. With Mars sliding into the unreliable realm of your solar 12th at week's end (where he'll stay through early December), any efforts on your part to either ambitiously build upon this benchmark-of-success or defiantly double-down with a valiant attempt to remedy the letdown are, for the time being, not encouraged. Whether you have your continued world-domination to plot, your wounds to link, or your strategies to reformulation, this next-chapter charge is a behind-the-scenes one. Otherwise, by forging forward with too much externalized intent, you're likelier to make a misstep or bite the hand that feeds than to clinch an additional honor or fix your present fate. For now, concentrate on pulling together your own summarizing conclusions from this snapshot.

PISCES (February 19-March 20): You ought to be thinking bold moves, Pisces, as opposed to trying to temper or contain or resign yourself to horizon-limiting compromises. If ever there were a moment to pursue your ideals, to proceed ever more boldly toward what you feel matters most (and, thus, away from what would probably qualify as 'biding your time' or 'staying close-by what's familiar'), this is that occasion. Of course, these concerns about whether you're making the most of your life, seeking meaning or adventure or enrichment (as opposed to accepting the premise that such expectations are too 'lofty' or 'unrealistic'), have been batting around your brain for quite a while now… and so, you've likely either (1) already expanded your vision and/or corrected your course, in order to expose yourself to more meaning or adventure or enrichment, or (2) painfully confronted the fact that your life is glaringly missing such lifeforce-stimulating inspiration. If you have already taken perspective-broadening steps, you're entering a phase during which you'll actually start enjoying some benefits of having reoriented your priorities—and, as a result, you may need to more fully clue certain individuals in to what's changed about you, to update the dynamic between you. And if you haven't yet done much? Well, I suspect you probably should come clean to certain individuals about how your relationship with them infringes on your feeling free to carry out such reorientations… so you can get going already on your quest to get more out of life.