Horoscopes | Week of November 24-30, 2014

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Before you leave this harrowing rough-patch—and/or the whole damn unpleasant association—behind and file it away under 'Lessons (Painfully) Learned', please make sure you've said everything you need to say, Aries, in order to thoroughly assert your stance (minus the needlessly malicious wisecracks) and/or to emphatically disengage from an unwanted intertwinement. Though it might seem like the most morally upright high-road should circumvent the touchier aspects of holding the other party accountable for causing pain, suffering, and/or inconvenient hindrances, such an avoidance approach actually falls short. By your Aries nature, you're more a gallant warrior than a diplomat who plays it safe to minimize your own discomfort. And with a powerful Mars now atop your solar chart (in the 10th) and in solid collaboration with Saturn-in-your-8th, your willingness to hold a firm (and possibly harsh, though neither cruel nor vengeful) line on difficult matters is actually a reflection of your leadership capacities, far and above the specific circumstances of this one case. You want to lead? Do what's most brutally truthful, not what's immediately easiest, popular or not.

 

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Kick a Taurus, and they're not likely to budge… though they will surely remember you kicked 'em, and may hold a grudge or contemplate retaliatory actions under the surface for quite a while. This, however, is a fairly fiery (and thus quicker-paced) astro-climate as of late, particularly with your ruler Venus both in Sagittarius and trining Uranus this week. There's now a strong impetus to go forward interpersonally, further deepening the connection and/or escalating the level of entanglement, in any personal or professional relationship where your mutual fates are presently dependent on one another. But the speed of this presumed advance could leave you feeling quite uncomfortable, Taurus. And if you have not yet let go of a certain concern, complaint, or hesitation you have about this person, notions of 'deepening' or 'escalating' ought to make you nervous. After all, if you're withholding on this issue, those furthering steps will be based on inauthentic intimacy… and, as such, will be potentially perilous or unsafe. As the 'slower' one, then, it's on you to hit the brakes and stall the intensification until you've better communicated your worry or upset.

 

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Don't confuse the appropriate contexts for (1) proffering sensible feedback on how a certain method or function works best and (2) coddling sensitive egos who may be more interested in the exchange of good tidings than fruitful information, Gemini. On the methodological and/or utilitarian level, there really are better and worse answers to empirical questions… no matter if the better ones require greater effort to enact, or demand direct confrontation with an inconvenient reality, and no matter if such truths are not what the other players were hoping to hear. Even with your need to stay very close to the most realistic (rather than reassuring) perspective on these matters, you've still got Venus in your 7th, increasing your chances of being received with welcoming kindness in any situation due to your capacity to see things their way, too. So, this really wouldn't be such a terrible time to provide this reality-check to others (as well as to yourself, of course). If, on the other hand, you pander to relational pleasantness over cold hard facts, you might ease tensions in the short-term—but cause yourself to lose professional credibility or esteem in the longer run.

 

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Sure, everything would likely flow faster and more easily if you just concentrated on 'getting stuff done', Cancer… and, in the process, abandoned the bothersome task of continually asserting what you specifically want out of it, as if matters of personal preference or desire should always come second to unassumingly attending to your duties like a stoic champ. What's the rush, though? Would you rather finish it more quickly, or do it the way you'd most wish? Though there's currently a general agreeability permeating your work-life, you probably won't want to take this attitude to an extreme, passively signing off on assignments you harbor doubts about (whether due to their questionable efficacy or merely as a matter of taste) and/or squashing your legitimate dissent. I suspect this isn't simply a dispassionate matter of best-practices, alas: There's some sort of relational conflict or personality clash underscoring your driving need to solidly advocate for a certain style or method, whether or not an actual person (rather than some imagined version of an opponent) is battling you for the reins. And you know what? There's nothing wrong with wanting to win the right to do it your way.

 

LEO (July 23-August 22): Take care not to bow too hastily to expectations (whether someone else's and/or yours) that you openly disclose the full extent of how you've been feeling, Leo… not because you ought to be keeping secrets, but due to the likelihood of expressing a version of your story which either underemphasizes the brunt of your (current or former) discontentment and/or overstates the brighter angles. Don't get me wrong: It's totally cool if you wish to relish this generally cheerier astro-atmosphere, entertaining yourself with playful leisure-time activities, festive nights on the town, and/or frisky flirtations. You only run into problems when you allow your momentarily cheerful attitude (because, let's be frank, all 'attitudes' are fleeting) to essentially rewrite your emotional history, leaving out anything which might be considered a 'downer' and/or valiantly playing it off as if you weren't (or aren't) really that upset or affected. Just because the latest developments and/or mood-shifts are actively ferrying you to a happier place (or at least they should be, if you're not fighting the tides), that's no excuse to forget where you've come from, lest you repeat a pattern and end up right back there again later.

 

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): Though you're presumably (and hopefully) slipping further out of sight and more snugly into your cozy safe-place, Virgo, we both know you cannot allow your relative absence to implicitly speak on your behalf. You have actual words to do that. For the record, I don't necessarily think there's anything more to say (if you've indeed fulfilled your duty to participate in these ongoing talks), but you may likely have to reiterate your stance… and/or even aggressively assert what you aren't willing to sign off on, for personal-inclination reasons you needn't detail in any depth. I can see one (or more) of the other players believing they could maybe sneak something past you, by either reintroducing an already-asked question in slightly different language or from an alternate angle and/or banking on your present thirst for a lower-profile role (or at least a few moments of peace) to push for a recount when you're not as fully present. It still serves your interests to lay low and seek inner calm as a top priority… which is why you ought to treat any necessary reiterations or reassertions as an annoying bother rather than a problem to worry too much about.

 

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): Yes, Libra, please do rise to the lovely task of helping to lighten our moods and/or gently improve the general vibe in your scene… but only as long as you aren't ceding ground, haphazardly handing out valuable assets, or otherwise selling yourself short. Your present freedom to enjoy other people's company in whatever capacity will prove most mutually enjoyable is pretty vast, provided you stop short of downplaying your own skills-and-successes on their behalf, and you guard your own financial interests at all costs. Though your outward demeanor may suggest you couldn't be happier swapping cheeky one-liners, gossipy confessions, and harmlessly provocative anecdotes, you're still embroiled in an inner battle for the right to be emotionally self-serving. As a result, you're only likely to anger yourself if, in a moment's warm stream of social connectedness, you too easily overstep the proper bounds of self-interest and/or self-protection—and end up giving more to the other person (in terms of attention, power, or, god forbid, cash) than what feels safe, sound, or self-supporting. Keep it light, sure… up to the point where you must hold your own, or else risk losing faith in yourself.

 

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): Say what you mean, and mean what you say, Scorpio. Not a single utterance more. No additional sentence with those few immaterial icing-on-the-cake sentiments, just to demonstrate your sincerity or passion. No going over the top, as if a second-helping of enthusiasm ensures the undeniable truth of what you're saying. And most importantly, no brash promises or idealistic commitments based on fondness, desire, or magnanimous heroics… especially if you haven't thoroughly reflected on the longer-term practical consequences of your well-intended pitch, and extra-especially if money (or some other material resource) is at stake. You're under intense pressure to keep tight control over your conversational offerings, instead of letting shared excitement and/or a synergy of creative vision carry you away on a magic-carpet-ride (a thrill, sure, but with nothing underneath to support you). The moment you feel this intense pressure easing up and your communicative grip loosening, that's the very instant in which this advice becomes more critical than ever. Say what you mean, and mean what you say… nothing more, and nothing less.

 

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): Precisely because life is beginning to look brighter and brighter (as we covered last week), Sagittarius, it's vital that you not just aimlessly ride this upswing wherever it may carry you. While, on the one hand, I encourage you to leave yourself way open to welcoming curious twists-of-fate, intriguing shots, and entertaining encounters, I also urge you to remind yourself of certain pledges you privately made to yourself (back when your immediate outlook wasn't so cheery or hopeful) about what you wouldn't get involved with again. Those past promises emerged at a time when you were still caught in burning off residual attachments from previous instances of having become immersed in constraining complications, after committing yourself more deeply to a person, project, or purpose than you'd perhaps intended or realized. But now that everything's coming up roses again, you mustn't neglect to study your history lesson. It would be a shame, after having made it this far towards a freer existence, to let an overeager move (likely fueled by someone else's enthusiastic influence) lead you back into relative bondage… all because of bad boundaries.

 

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): Though Mars remains in your sign this one last full week, I sense that the bulk of your forward-facing initiative-taking moves have been made... and now, Capricorn, your impressive shows-of-strength should be channeled into fortifying your solidarity with the wider network of alliances and affiliations which help support your proud place in the world. In other words, rather than too insistently focusing on distinguishing yourself from the crowd, you'd be wiser to concentrate on distinguishing your crowd from the undifferentiated populace-at-large. Within this context, your self-possession can be used as a tool for cementing a genuine like-minded unity, furthering the group's agenda, and/or rooting out any weak-links or rotten-apples who don't actually support the cause or hold everyone else's best interests to heart. In defense of the whole team, you can take the lead in asking those dubious 'allies' to defend their beliefs or explain their motives. Don't, however, do so merely for selfish gain or petty retribution. As far as what personally benefits you is concerned, you should continue defaulting to relative behind-the-scenes retreat for the immediate time-being.

 

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): Your main responsibility for the week ahead, Aquarius, is to ensure you've gone on the public record with your official statement of professional intent, inclination, and/or aspiration. Chances are, you probably already did this (or something which comes very close to qualifying)… though it's just as likely you may need to repeat yourself, in light of other people's shifting interests and the possible expectation they might have that you'll shift yours, too, to accommodate the group's needs. I'm all for playing well with others (especially while Venus is in your 11th), but not at the expense of firm boundaries about what you are and aren't willing to invest effort into. That said, if you do find yourself at odds with those who'd pressure you to 'take one for the team', I wouldn't go beyond simply restating your position. Mars is still in your 12th house, which makes this a pretty rotten moment for attempting to competently engage in conflict—or, really, for taking any matter into your hands with clear direct action. Mars will, however, finally leave your 12th in the second-half of next week… and arrive in your sign, to inaugurate six weeks of energizing reinvigoration. At that point, you can much more successfully fight this fight—or, really, any fight which needs fighting.

 

PISCES (February 19-March 20): While staying acutely aware of your need to hold a friendly and amenable public pose, Pisces, you can only legitimately preserve that welcoming impression as far as you actually welcome the sentiments, suggestions, and schemes being presented by those you'd seek to impress. And if you wouldn't wish to invite such perspectives into the fundamental fabric of your life, then why would you accommodate them so amicably as a means to further (professional) opportunities? Though this is an exciting moment for conceiving of grander possibilities, such reflections shouldn't come at the expense of remembering how hard you've worked to get to this spot… and, subsequently, of considering whether the 'good name' you earned in that process is important enough to you that you'd gamble it for an essentially unknown commodity. Astrologically speaking, this is no time to strive for willful 'let's-just-not-discuss-it' disregard (as the ignored issue will reemerge later) or a superficial 'agree-to-disagree' truce (when the disagreement is, in fact, quite disagreeable to you). Don't ideologically spar unless you have to… but if you have to, you must. Otherwise, receive what's favorably coming to you in gracious stride.