Horoscopes | Week of November 7-13, 2016

ARIES (March 21-April 19): The most immediately convenient-seeming, autonomously-operating approach is not the one being endorsed by your current astrological forecast, Aries. The impulse to cut a corner and/or cut an aggravating colleague out of the equation will only create discord among the wider cast of characters impacted by the objective-at-hand. That's not to say you won't be having some brilliant brain-flashes of stalemate-busting enthusiasm… spontaneous glimpses of what else is possible once limitations to 'the conventional wisdom' are identified. But at this moment of increasing public and/or professional notice—and, quite likely, of a favorable flavor, thanks to Venus showing up to your 10th—you must strive to be seen as not only enthusiastic, but also self-restrained and respectfully cooperative-minded. So, rather than waiting until your own self-driven efforts circumstantially collide with someone else's domain, I recommend adopting a proactive attitude toward including all relevant teammates or stakeholders into your process right away. You should still toss out your keen ideas, please; only, present them as suggestions, alternatives, and possibilities for discussion, not as done-deals you're trying to jam through. Lead others along with you, instead of leaving 'em behind… and risking making 'em mad.

 

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): As the tides turn this week, Taurus, you're increasingly being looked to as someone who might provide a model of leadership in this necessary transition from 'up in the air' to 'locked down and ready to roll'. Whether you will both rise to this challenge and do so from a high-minded posture is a question only you can answer, of course, through the actions you take. Without a doubt, to model such leadership will require you to just come out and bluntly speak certain undiluted sentiments which could rattle the cages of anyone who's easily distressed by raw candor. But being 'raw' in how you speak the truth doesn't mean purposely leaving sharp edges too likely to slice into another party's psyche, with an insensitive 'I guess the truth hurts' shrug that disclaims any personal responsibility for inflicting pain. There's a very fine line between 'telling it like it is' and rubbing someone's nose in their shortcomings, vindictively seeking payback, or other similarly petty behaviors. By resisting the urge (however seemingly justifiable) to provoke or punch anybody else, you can effectively pull this protracted standoff to a successful-enough conclusion—or, if you instead forsake justice for vengeance, you'll help a fledgling foe finally settle on an unfavorable conclusion about you.

 

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Think of your week as that fateful moment when you can finally see a beacon of light winking at you from some future chapter of your existence, Gemini. Does that mean all current-chapter business has been neatly resolved? No, it doesn't. Nor does it need to… provided you can wrap your head around the reality that there'll always be aggravating loose-threads which remain flapping (as long as you're alive, that is), and you needn't allow their existence to thwart you from continuing to progress anyhow. Even still, your relationship to any such 'loose-threads' is presently evolving, away from any urgency to resort to firm or aggressive methods and toward an opportunity to broker a sort of peace (whether temporary or longer-lasting, in concert with another party or wholly within yourself). Don't hold out for a 'perfect solution'; aim for whatever partial or provisional victory could at least bring you some immediate relief. The main reason I'm advocating for such a compromise? Because you have the rest of your life to get on with already… and if these past few weeks' events haven't carried you to a place where a more total victory appears imminently attainably, you probably shouldn't continue postponing the actualization of your evolutionary next-step. Can't you see that wink of light? That's your future calling out to you.

 

CANCER (June 21-July 22): This looks to be a fitting time to go 'in for the kill', Cancer, should you need to more firmly or forcibly affirm your desire to up the stakes in a given partnership and/or address a trouble-spot in some interpersonal dynamic that's habitually undervalued your interests while furthering someone else's. The week's multiple sign-changes will toss Mars into your 8th (where it's willing to fight deeper, dirtier, and/or with a more thorough psychic investment) at the same time Venus hits your 7th, an influence known to sweeten the relational groove you'll attain with any-and-every possible companion. These dual shifts suggest you can use this favorable rapport-building capacity as mood-setting leverage before you dive directly into territory that's liable to prove delicate, disconcerting, or otherwise difficult. In other words, don't start a potentially intense interaction with the jolt of intensity. Spend some time establishing and/or reawakening your connection first, focusing on any unquestioned zones of common ground, checking in about their other unrelated life-conditions, openly demonstrating your fondness. After all, if you're going to 'get further into it' with this person, they must be worth it to you in some easily identifiable way.

 

LEO (July 23-August 22): It's definitely fair to warn you, Leo, about inflaming-and-inciting Mars landing in your one-on-one relationship house (the solar 7th) early this week for a month-and-a-half-long stay, since it's very likely to whip up some new and/or reinvigorated interpersonal activity. Mars-in-the-7th can be a rather provocative influence on our relational behavior, particularly insofar as it emboldens the impulse to make our desire known to whomever we hope will gratify said desire. As such astrological influences work, if this isn't playing out in terms of you asserting relational desires more emphatically, it could just as easily manifest as somebody else assaulting you with what they insistently want… and I purposely use the verb 'assault' to describe your potential experience of it, since you may feel like you must fight back to hold your own unless you're content with acquiescing to their lead. That's because Mars-in-the-7th also often indicates an increase in interpersonal friction or out-and-out conflict, if one person's asserted desires do not jibe well with what the other person wants. How will this work in your life over the coming weeks? Guess that depends on what you want, who you hope to get it from, and whether they want it too.

 

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): If I had to sum up the direction your life ought to be moving beginning this week, Virgo, it would go something like this: Work really extra-super hard, make the absolute most of your off-time, and say as little as you can get away with. On the first part, the arrival of warrior-workhorse Mars to your house of day-to-day duties (the 6th) will grant you six weeks of reactivating juice for powering through any backed-up heaps of shit-to-do, tackling that task you've been postponing (because you know how much effort it'll take), and/or organizing your priorities into the proper order-of-importance. This Mars injection can also aid you in ramping up a diet, exercise, and/or health-promoting regimen… though you will have to beware of overdoing anything, as a result of feeling overconfident due to this temporary boost in apparent determination. On the second part, meanwhile, Venus moseys into your 5th, one of its favorite houses thanks to its ability to amplify your charms, attract beauty and romance, and add a certain likability or panache to whatever you're doing for fun. (What a gorgeously pleasant companion-transit to complement all that extra-super-hard work!) And on that last part? Mercury will land in your 4th by week's end, a place where relative silence serves you best, particularly if you've got some thoughts to mull over before involving others in a discussion.

 

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): A succession of shifts in the astro-scene this week suggests a lifting of your spirits, Libra… though rather than sitting around waiting to notice something, you should probably take some actions which could support this expectation of mood-elevation. To actively court this increase in joy, I encourage you to initiate a heightening of your own participation in recreational pursuits, sporting or gaming events, arts activities, and/or whichever other pastimes you (rather than a partner or friend) would choose if given the choice… because, of course, you do have agency to make such a choice. You should likewise feel freer to say more rather than less, as far as engaging pals or prospects in conversation about what's been on your mind. Whereas you've recently occupied a more quiet, introverted, and/or emotionally agitated subject-position in need of choosing carefully which words and sentiments to share with whom, and in which tone and context to share them, the current shifts are now starting to favor a less guarded, more frank-and-free-wheelin' mode of interpersonal expression—one which also happens to align quite nicely with the advantageousness of taking the lead in how you spend your leisure-time. Think of the week ahead, then, as a transitional invitation to proactively nab yourself more uncomplicated fun and/or friendly interpersonal exchange.

 

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): Whatever emotional hairball you may notice you're beginning to cough up this week, Scorpio, has its root-source pretty close to home. Don't, therefore, look to outside circumstances or challenges as if they're the culprit. Though an irksome comment or unsound deed on someone else's part may serve as a trigger, any out-of-balance reaction spurred in you is really a symptom of deeper and/or more personal frustrations. Please recognize this in advance of snipping, sniping, or lashing out… mainly because such acts won't actually help you feel better, but instead are likelier to just further embroil you in other people's bullshit (including, naturally, their justified hurt at being on the receiving end of your snipping, sniping, or lashing out), at the very moment when you should probably be left to your own bullshit. As I see it, your best process for alleviating any rise in agitation or glumness ought to be understood as practical problem-solving—yes, even though we're dealing with emotion—rather than an intricately interactive arbitration between multiple parties. Or put simply: You've got to identify what's actually causing that unsettling feeling, then come up with a few action-steps you can freely and independently take to address it.

 

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): Between this week and next, Sagittarius, I spy a general speeding-up going down in your world. Late on Tuesday (Nov 8), energizer Mars pops into your socially-transactional 3rd house, signifying a ratcheting-up in volume of calls, texts, emails, meetings, dates, check-ins, and/or other perfunctory exchanges. This Mars influence may also impel you to be more forthright, demanding, or self-assertive in these interactions, in an effort to make yourself clear and/or to put forth your dissenting opinion into a still-open-and-ongoing discussion. Naturally, this could create a momentary glitch or rift in the rapport (because, yes, Mars-in-the-3rd signifies a heightened risk of conversational conflict, too)—though such a clash might be situationally appropriate, if a certain difference does need to be worked through (and you'd prefer it to go your way). All that said, message-sender Mercury doesn't leave the cloudy holding-tank of your 12th until early Saturday (Nov 12)… which means you'll do a much better job of saying exactly what you mean after Mercury's moved into your 1st. Interestingly, smoother-over-of-things Venus will still be in your 1st until late Friday (Nov 11). Therefore, use uncontroversial charisma and general agreeability as your tactic through much of the week… reserving your efforts to communicate the important kernels until the weekend and beyond.

 

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): Over the course of the upcoming week, Capricorn, you'll host the dual-effect switch of (1) Mars leaving your sign and (2) Venus entering it… which ought to bring a pretty palpable sense that a certain immediate pressure is now off of you, and you can therefore begin to chill out a bit, cruise along with less intentness, and enjoy some benefits from your most recent efforts. With Mars heading into your 2nd, this is an excellent time to deliberately curb the boldness with which you've been pushing forward… to take stock of what's recently developed and adopt any measures which would help you preserve these gains, stabilize them into a foundation you can sustainably build further successes upon in coming months, and of course catch your breath. Meanwhile, Venus in your 1st will be sprucing up your outward demeanor and appearance for the next few weeks (through Dec 7), easing your ability to attract positive attention to yourself, and to spin almost any interaction so that it transpires to your liking. As a nice foil to all those horoscopes when I've warned that you're liable to provocatively trigger others' issues whether you intend or not, this influence is likely to produce the opposite effect: People will respond more favorably to you, even if you're not trying to woo them. Are there any particular pursuits or purposes for which you'd like to utilize this asset?

 

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): Please utter a friendly 'howdy!' to Mars, who'll now be poking and prodding at your sign (through mid-December) to just fucking DO it already, Aquarius… then, get off your duff and put actual physical effort to all those ideas which have been antsily swimming around your brainball, waiting for manifestation. It would be fair, of course, to announce what you're going to do to those friends or community-members whose immediate relations to you will be impacted, since they haven't been living inside your head and are probably less informed about your current mindset than you might realize. But don't look to them for either resounding reassurance or constructive criticism (though they may have smatterings of both on offer), since, honestly, you're pretty much past the sensible point of expecting others' reactions and reflections to hold much sway in defining your most self-suiting path forward. I repeat: Looking to others for affirmation, advice, or guidance at this moment is more of a doubt-driven distraction than a shrewd move, mainly because nobody else but you can put the decisive act(s) into motion—and is there really anything left but to just fucking DO it already?

 

PISCES (February 19-March 20): You'll now be taking a moment to regroup, Pisces, while leaning on your most reliably accountable colleagues to hold you in place alongside them. This is an odd rendition of 'regrouping', however, because you're still under the gun to forthrightly communicate with administrators, overseers, clients, and/or the public-at-large. Therefore, your full-on disappearance from the scene would leave these higher-profile expectations unfulfilled. So let's define this regrouping, then, as a relative pause in your claiming any agency for actively leading the charge or advocating a particular next-step. When called upon to report to those eager to hear what you've got to say, simply share your observations about the current-status snapshot, stopping short of offering too fixed an interpretation of what ought to be done in response. Let your pause ring with ample spaciousness, an indication to your audience that their suggestions and remarks are a welcome-and-encouraged part of your information-processing. Should they corner you into giving an operative opinion, default to mentioning your interest in consulting with knowledgeable peers and/or coordinating with other applicable efforts already in motion. This isn't an ideal time for taking full personal ownership.