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Horoscopes | Week of December 1-7, 2014

ARIES (March 21-April 19): This is absolutely a moment for looking at everything's that happened through a super-wide lens, Aries… to reach for a perspective that'll properly situate the specifics of recent developments within the larger trajectory of your whole life, and the meaning you're striving to invest it with… and to make any on-record statements which unequivocally advocate for what you believe to be right, and/or to speak loudly out against what you perceive as wrong. I think you'll find the act of vocally standing up for something will not only feel honorable, in a moral sense. You're liable to be downright giddy with pride in yourself, ready to celebrate the tenets of your stance (rather than merely paying them lip-service) with joy and love. I probably won't shock you, I'm sure, by reporting that so unabashedly choosing a side is likely to pit you against certain folks in your organization, community, or social-scene… a looming division which would only be starting to show itself later this week, if at all, but could develop into sharper view in the weeks to come. Somehow, though, you don't strike me as an individual willing to tolerate disloyal teammates, unethical colleagues, or friends who don't respect your values. And yes, you get to make such judgment-calls for yourself.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Let's be clear, Taurus, I am most certainly not telling you to keep your mouth shut or your thoughts to yourself, to use kid-gloves in addressing grown-ass-adult behavior, or to practice any sort of restraint in communicating the full emotional brunt of your perspective. In fact, it seems like if there were an optimal moment to say everything weighing on your mind, your heart, or your conscience, this would probably be as good as it's going to get. I must, of course, point out (because that's what I do) that your words are apt to sound incredibly personal (as opposed to detached or objective)… they're apt to hit the person to whom you're aiming them in an incredibly personal way (as if you purposely selected them to touch an especially sensitive nerve in that particular individual)… and, as such, they may well lead to a larger interpersonal shakedown than you might've seen coming (if not a full-on breakup). This additional insight is not meant to either encourage or discourage you from 'going there', merely to inform about likely possibilities. In its highest expression, this process will reveal whether you're on the same page, in terms of life-defining ethics and values, to ensure it's a wise relational investment. In its lowest, though, you'd just be browbeating the other party into philosophical submission, with a low-blow potshot or two thrown in for cruel measure.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): With a trio of 7th-house influences forming happy trines to Jupiter and Uranus, you're at a great astrological moment for (re-)attaining a warm and welcoming rapport in each and every significant one-on-one pairing you're involved in, Gemini. If you've recently struggled to connect with someone you care for, been unable to achieve mutual understanding about a certain circumstance, or just not had enough time or energy to sincerely devote to the relationship, this is the right time to redouble your efforts and generously reinvest attention… with an eye toward extending respect and loving-kindness, to ease tensions and reaffirm affections. One additional way to support the togetherness vibe with a certain somebody: jointly attending parties and events, and/or organizing occasions which mix and mingle each other's friends and colleagues, promoting a social synergy you couldn't achieve independent of partnering up. However, there are exceptions to how far you take these accommodating gestures. Please don't go out of your way to 'make nice' in interpersonal situations where a genuinely unresolved (and perhaps irresolvable) clash continues to cause you real-life strain and struggle, with no sign that the other party understands and/or cares about the pickle you're in. Such 'nice-making' would be either insincere, self-defeating, or both.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): You're presently batting around some really great ideas for how certain routine patterns or procedures could function far more sleekly and/or speedily, Cancer. Not only might you accomplish the job better, put your resources to smarter use, and promote increased well-being for all those with hands-on involvement, but you'll also be bolstering confidence in your capacity to independently produce solutions which combine practicality with innovation. By daring to expand your repertoire of workable techniques, you do more than just engage critically with the current responsibilities-at-hand, in an effort to immediately alleviate the irritating aspects of ineffective habits: You're actually investing in your future, broadening your experience, strengthening your expertise, adding to your resume, and ultimately bumping yourself up in income-scale. Take note, however, the opposite is also true. If you don't try anything new, you won't develop your skills, you won't grow, and you won't provide any boost to either your income or self-confidence levels. And if someone else is blocking you from applying these great ideas to improve your routine? They're essentially robbing you of the chance to build future earning potential. Are you going to let 'em get away with that?

LEO (July 23-August 22): A convergence of benefic effects is now creating an astro-climate ripe for your gratification and bliss, Leo. To be clear, though, these dynamics will not force shiny happy events to occur… but are merely conspiring to frame a backdrop against which the actions you take are much likelier than usual to bring shiny happy results. As such, this situates you in the best position to lasso the rest of us onto the playing-field, the dance-floor, or the fun-bus… to take the lead in presenting leisure-time propositions, organizing games and outings, or laughing heartily through pastimes and performances… and/or to issue a few amorous glances, winks, and air-kisses to those you'd like to spend more time together with. (As far as your work is concerned, meanwhile, I urge you to accomplish as much as you possibly can before the workweek's up.) Though the main theme of this horoscope is unabashedly positive, alas, I must warn that Mars will be in your relationship house (the 7th) by week's-end… and this is an influence which often signifies a heightened potential of interpersonal conflict (or, on the other hand, merely a heightened drive to assert one's will within a pairing). You could start to face increasing pushback from those who don't want to follow your lead, or listen to you attempt to dominate the social scene. It's up to you, though, how you want handle it.

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): It's a good week for quietly confirming your emotional truths, Virgo, away from any- and everybody who might encourage you to 'think about things differently' (meaning: their way) or otherwise persuade you, consciously or not, to abandon your unalienable right to decide for yourself. Though you may need to uphold a certain resistance against such opinion-influencing outer-forces, this should be a largely internal process… a settling-in, a letting-go, a getting-ready, all in support of your next batch of soon-to-be-pressing to-dos, which will greatly benefit from receiving your less-divided attention. You might not realize just how much psychic energy is taken up by indulging internal conflicts past a productive point, as you scour each pole of the inner split for enough data to support you claiming its righteousness over any other—when, in fact, you don't actually need to possess a litany of facts-and-figures to self-select your singular truth on a given matter. Trust me, that energy would be far better expended on concrete tasks and tangible goals, rather than wasted on engineering a water-tight explanation (for who?) to justify personal feelings. Grant yourself the peace of not needing to explain yourself.

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): There's nothing wrong with deliberately adopting a controversy-averse stance, Libra. Though such active efforts to spare yourself the cacophony of other people's points-to-press and axes-to-grind does play right into your zodiac-sign's reputation for slick-and-savvy avoidance tactics, the current astrology seems to favor you adeptly deploying your famous social-skills towards minimizing your own discomfort. The simplest way to do so, at the present moment, is to encourage everybody else to talk about whatever they are most excited about… finding the topics likeliest to inspire pleasure and positivity, while inviting your psychic scent-detectors to sniff out those more likely to unsettle or upset and working to bypass them altogether. Should you begin to touch on something you seem to disagree on, take careful note of the divergence in perspectives (it's handy to remember who is, and isn't, a deeper ideological ally), but save your breath and defer any protest. Every spare ounce of your fighting spirit should be reserved for more important battles, related to your own intimate need to carve out and/or protect safe space for yourself… away from the madding crowds, political conflicts, and pressures to be on some type of 'best behavior'. Social spats, in contrast, are pretty pointless.

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): Your current job is to respond to the waves of passion, zeal, and hope, Scorpio, by properly vetting the actual functionality of these concept-threads. You're the one who must insist upon proven and/or provable results… not for the sadistic pleasure of being a hard-ass (that would be merely, um, a side-effect), but because I'd imagine you'll want your now-unfolding professional success (or other outside-world opportunities) to be undergirded by ideas with lasting real-world value, so you can ride it for years to come (rather than crashing to shore once these waves subside). For your own profit-opportunities, you should keep your mind wide open but simultaneously sharply discerning, assuming nothing is a good or bad suggestion until you subject it to a list of qualifying questions. Some random brainstorm or mindfart could be your key to a fatter paycheck, imminently or later on… but it would need to be serviceably developed far beyond this nascent stage, in order to wager your longer-term returns upon it. As far as tone-of-voice goes, you should strive to be encouraging enough so as not to shut down anyone's creative process with undue criticality… but still sufficiently stern and sober in your analyst's guise that nobody thinks they can 'sneak one past you', knowing you expect them to possess solid supporting data if they wish to move forward with you.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): Your voice carries far and wide at the moment, Sagittarius… an excellent astrological set-up for spreading whatever message(s) you find most inspiring, energizing, and personally meaningful. This isn't a time for mindlessly parroting what other people are putting out there, though, which, to my thinking, would be a regrettable waste of your powerful platform. It's your voice we want—and need—to hear, complete with its own trills and turns-of-phrase and first-person stakes in the matter. What are you moved by? What excites you? What are you trying to create more of in the world? At this precise moment in history, we could all use a double-dose of your trademark optimism… which, as I understand it, is less about mindlessly pretending that life is full of rainbows and unicorns and sparkly furry things, and more a contextualizing perspective that reminds you, no matter how rough shit gets, there's always a 'something-next' to eagerly anticipate. Help us tap into that, please, by sharing your forward-facing vision (while still compassionately respecting the emotions of those folks not quite yet ready to see it that way). The only angle from which to 'play it safe' is the economic one; in other words, don't risk your financial security just to make a point. Besides that, speak out freely.

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): Be especially aware of the very-high risk, Capricorn, of unwittingly getting yourself into a bewildering jumble of blind projections, oversimplifying observations, unconsciously offensive attitudes, and/or hurt feelings. Notice I'm not firmly indicating who would be on the giving and/or receiving ends of such undifferentiated emotion—you? the person you're interacting with? a third or fourth party who overhears, joins in, makes it about them?—but merely that a lot of it (that is, emotion) will be flying back and forth through your energetic environs. Ordinarily, you're wise enough to calculate your responses a couple steps ahead, in order to prevent the likelihood of impetuously mouthing off or making a specious move you might later regret. Yet, it's a fiery week, when impulsive remarks and split-second decisions (even made with the best of intentions) can easily be misread, overblown, and/or turned into major self-sabotaging liabilities. Try to keep yourself away from such temptations… or at least know the threat you're playing with. Whenever possible, bounce your potential responses off of your closest friends or craftiest comrades. Better yet, let them respond on your behalf, when appropriate.

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): The week ahead is a turning-point for you, Aquarius, in that it represents a necessary shift in posture… from relatively immobile, self-protective, and/or behind-the-curtain, to markedly more proactive, self-directed, and/or in-your-face. This sea-change is courtesy of Mars, who (as I mentioned last week) has been lurking in the largely ineffective and powerless holding-tank of your solar 12th since late October, but this week (on Thu Dec 4) moves across the border into your 1st, where he can once again proceed with maximal power and effectiveness. Having Mars in your sign (which lasts into mid-January) will afford you a reinvigorating capacity to directly put forth your will, act on your desires, push ahead with goals great and small, and assert formidable force toward whatever battle you're intent on winning. On the upside, expect a renewed sense of physical initiative, momentum, and spunk. On the other hand, don't be too surprised if certain folks react to your revived gumption with resistance, aggression, or offense. After all, you will be very occupied with satisfying your agenda… and, as such, could give off an irked or edgy attitude when confronting with the expectation that you bend, sway, or accommodate. For the immediate time-being, I suggest heading off this last possibility before it manifests, spending ample energy on affirming and adoring those you love the most—perhaps earning yourself some brownie-points you can trade in later, once you start grating on their nerves.

PISCES (February 19-March 20): During the earlier part of your week, Pisces, you ought to take full advantage of the spotlighted position you now find yourself in… to proudly use this pulpit for any rallying-call announcements, statements of gratitude for what you've already received, and/or anticipatory descriptions which hype up what's soon to come. At this time, you're both likelier to (1) distinguish yourself from others who might have similar interests or involvements, but not quite the same principled commitment or compassionate touch, and (2) receive positive responses from those who appreciate your willingness to stand for something, rather than play to everyone. Beyond just the words you speak, a corroborating demonstration that you also intend to remain 'in the trenches', doing plenty of the actual work with a similarly optimistic panache, will only further convey your credibility. (In terms of credibility, it's hard to argue with a spokesperson whose hands are dirty and brow is dripping with sweat.) Once Mars hits your solar 12th on Thursday (Dec 4), however, the time to take any new initiative or assert such audacious leadership will come to its temporary end… ushering in a several-week period when it'll be smarter to unceasingly toil behind the scenes, but not attempt to boldly push ahead or vie for any more attention than what you'll naturally attract.