Horoscopes | Week of March 6-12, 2017

ARIES (March 21-April 19): This week's another transition for you, Aries. With activator Mars leaving your sign and continuing on into your earthier 2nd house, the recent hyper-energetics should mellow out a bit… affording you a chance to look back on the past-few-weeks' happenings and take stock of which acts seem to have stuck, and which instead are proving to be mere passing whims. Think of this review simply as an instance of doing your due diligence (for retrospectively assessing the results of something we felt moved to do is a helpful way to determine whether or not we want to continue doing things like that), not a sign of prior poor judgment or simmering regret. It's also your opportunity to reinforce your intentions and/or repeat any steps that require reiteration for a lasting impact. Meanwhile, Mercury's headed into your sign early next week, which means you'll soon be in a better spot to iron out any confusion by posing the pertinent questions, speaking freely about what's on your mind so others have a chance to engage with it, and/or asking for clarification from those who may have some light to shed. Whereas it's lately been action over conversation, the order of these terms is in the midst of flipping.

 

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Your week is punctuated by energizer-bunny Mars landing in your sign (on Thu Mar 9), Taurus, for the first time in nearly two years… setting off a month-and-a-half interval in which you will be wielding an extra dose of physical initiative, a stronger-than-usual determination to attain your desired outcome in nearly any situation, and a fiercer readiness to fight (whether or not you're altogether conscious of it) when you're blocked in your advances. It's good to stay aware of the impact of this influence, considering you're likely to be perceived as 'having an edge' (assertive? aggressive?) even when you don't intend to come across that way. For these first few weeks of your sign hosting Mars, it'll also be playing off of a retrograde Venus in your solar 12th… creating an odd blend of astro-factors that leaves you more vulnerable than usual to taking impetuous, willful, and/or self-interested actions, without precisely understanding in advance how they're liable to affect other people and/or the relationships you have with them. I know, what I've just described doesn't sound like you, does it? Be forewarned. And yet, there is something to be said for letting instinctive actions speak for you in ways your normally-much-more-cautious self doesn't, then seeing what revelations arise.

 

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): It might not be wise to publicly say every last thing you'd want to say in a perfect world, Gemini, because obviously this world doesn't qualify. In particular, there's likely a certain person (or potential field of applicable people) whose presence, either in the relevant sphere-of-context or in your life at all, would or should cause you to think twice before letting all of it gush forth from your lips. Will you have exposed them in some way? Will they be offended? Will your statement ring to them as a broken commitment? a denial of their interests? a slap in the face? Asking yourself questions like these is probably a good idea… though please don't mistake my caution as an endorsement of not telling the truth. Others' potential reactions aren't reason enough for dishonesty (or, for that matter, deception-by-omission). But with these concerns in mind, you can hopefully stop short of adding too much impolitic editorializing, inappropriate gossip, identifying detail, or anything inessential to delivering the message. That said, even the most squeaky-clean communications are apt to rile some tempers, if their issue is with the message itself.

 

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Don't think of it as a rude awakening, Cancer, if another one of your brilliant ideas is shot down (by someone else's vocal opposition or a circumstantial roadblock) on grounds that it's unlikely to work. Questions of functionality should be a primary concern of yours—not just in this microcosm-example, but across all zones of your life—even if they necessarily limit your possibilities to those with a bit of a proven track-record in some already-established reality. This is the nature of 6th-vs.-9th-house tensions, like the one Saturn and Mercury find themselves caught in by your week's astrology: 'what will actually get results' pitted against 'what's closest in line with the guiding principles'. Your mind is presently teeming with expansive visions for how to prioritize this latter category of considerations, because you genuinely wish to maximize this vehicle's platform for making its slice of the world that much more purposeful or transformative. Capture those visions, please… and take note of the places where they fall operatively short, which is feedback that's ultimately a gift to you as you grow toward better integrating your ideals into the daily grind.

 

LEO (July 23-August 22): All this talk about preparing for a 'big move' must mean that it's pretty much getting to be time to make that move, right, Leo? While I don't think it's necessary (or even recommended) to dash past the starting-line and straight into the heat of the race in one fell swoop, you are entering the playing-field of the main event… and you have only a few moments left to decide to opt out, if so you choose. I can't imagine, though, what you haven't yet considered, in light of how intently you've examined (or should have, at least) the potential rewards and costs, the ethical and interpersonal consequences, the life-directional impact of turning left or turning right. Any other considerations which might prove critical to the relative success (or lack thereof) of this venture will present themselves as you go. (You probably couldn't have thought them up if you tried.) The next several weeks, then, will be the real-world test of your resolve. This will require measured strength, persistent effort, a commitment to seeing it through rather than burning yourself out too quickly... all the while encountering temptations to swerve or retreat, in the face of your daring to distinguish yourself this emphatically.

 

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): Being too relational in your thinking, Virgo, can mean unconsciously tuning out what your quiet inner knowing might have to say. Before continuing too much farther down this road of interactive sharing, baring, and comparing, it might behoove you to take a brief pause this week… to get silent within yourself and, if need be, to take a bit of downtime separateness from whomever you've been very up-close-and-personal with in recent weeks. This advice is not some sly insinuation that this process somehow isn't going well, or really any kind of verdict on which way things are headed. It's neither an indictment of you, nor of the other person. I'm simply pointing out whatever translation of the story that's gradually coalesced in chorus with all the conversations you've been having may not be exactly the same version that comes to you through inward soul-searching, prophetically feeling into likely futures, and/or whatever embodied sensations are evoked by such reflection. After you've taken some time to yourself on this one, I suspect your discussions with the other party will take on a more profoundly purposeful (though undeniably intense) quality, as if the very trajectory of your life's evolutionary unfolding is at stake. Because, in certain ways, it is.

 

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): This week's horoscope picks up where last week's left off, Libra… for, as I told you, your attention will likely have been (and perhaps should be) trained on matters related to finishing a chunk of work, tending to your bodily wellness, and/or organizing various practicalities. While this could seem to a certain someone like a drag on the attention they are wanting from you, you obviously don't have the luxury (or, for that matter, the desire) to drop everything else so you can focus on them and/or your relationship. You still, however, owe them the common courtesy of sufficient communication about these other draws on your attention. Just not returning their messages and/or altogether disappearing from the scene won't cut it. It's on you to figure out how the week's proper balance of respectfully remaining in contact yet limiting how much mental energy you're devoting to interpersonal processing. That's also, incidentally, because your lines of interpersonal communication will start flowing more easily next week, once Mercury lands in your 7th. Why try talking things through now when you have other stuff to do and it'll all go better next week?

 

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): Against the backdrop of a now-underway Venus retrograde, this week brings the arrival of your ruling fighter-hero Mars to your solar 7th, Scorpio… and the combination of these two strongly suggests the imminent emergence of some, er, 'dynamic interpersonal action'. The most obvious interpretations would foreground the increased likelihood of relationship tension or conflict, a clash of strong personalities each hellbent on holding their ground against the threat of the other. Should such a showdown present itself, I urge you not to think about this situation in terms of 'winning' (because snagging a victory over them by means of duress won't likely win over their heart or mind) but as an elucidating framing of your respective positions, helping you get clearer over these weeks ahead about whether your differences are bridgeable (and/or whether you want to do the work to bridge 'em). Of course, this astrology won't necessarily manifest as relational friction… but instead could be an emboldening influence on your attitudes toward relationships in general, spurring you to try alternate approaches to getting your desires actively fulfilled, if only just to see what else might work better.

 

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): A last-throes spurt of emotional thinking bumps up against your dutiful awareness of 'what you have to do', Sagittarius. Sympathetic caring, nostalgia for some domestic or familial bliss (which perhaps never existed in its currently yearned-for form?), fears about the likely irreversibility of certain side-effects to whatever essential step you're in the process of taking… these are the types of considerations which threaten to stop you in your tracks, should your thought-processes fall victim to such a romantic streak. Don't shut out these relevant reflections, however, even if your responsibility to your continuing progress insists you not altogether succumb to their pull: Though the functional benefits of clinging to whatever specific situation you're idealizing probably aren't worth halting a defining life-advance over, you are gaining symbolic insight into the general archetypal category of 'that which feeds your more sensitive side'. That data, rather than justifying a standstill, will give you an excellent clue as to what you'll need to nurture for yourself at future nesting-places.

 

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): You don't have to have a relatable reason for feeling 'not quite right' about an expected social participation, Capricorn. You can bow out (if this isn't a requisite obligation, of course), for no reason at all… though even an unsettling psychic response to the very idea of attending certainly sounds like a 'reason' to me. On the other hand, I'm not affirming your not-quite-right feelings are legitimately founded. It's just as possible you're picking up some static on the line… maybe even that this gut-instinct aversion isn't about you at all, but an instance of others' emotional disturbances (of which there are currently too many to count) penetrating your unconscious perceptions as soon as there's the vaguest suggestion you may soon encounter one of these disturbed souls. And if that's the case, you might consider this simply a warning to hold impeccably strong boundaries when in exchanges with such folks—or, since you may not know which folks are these folks, with any folks at all. In proceeding accordingly, then, please be somewhat deliberate about what you say… mainly so you avoid unwittingly treading on someone else's hornet's-nest and unleashing their stinging demons.

 

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): For social-politics purposes, you might want to temporarily curtail how much you're outwardly discussing the practical realities behind any life-choices you're considering, Aquarius. While there's no need for full-on secretiveness, there is some merit to maintaining relative discretion, especially in instances where other people will be too likely to project their own circumstances onto yours, only to draw unfair conclusions about your decision-making process based on their not having walked in your shoes. The absolute wrong approach to take to such potentials: trying to tell them they've got you wrong, to explain what 'walking in your shoes' actually feels like, or to profess hurt at their unfair judgments. Don't stoop to defending yourself, when such behavior can make even the purest of consciences appear to be guilty. If your worst 'crime' is being so utterly consumed by the details of your present predicament that you've become somewhat blind to how others' predicaments differ greatly from yours, then do your best to give them very little evidence for their case. When out in the social mix, concentrate your comments around whichever interests you indisputably share in common.

 

PISCES (February 19-March 20): In nearly any situation where you might have something helpful to offer, Pisces, your first impulse will naturally be to offer it. But though these impulses may be motivated by a sincere desire to be of assistance, there are potentially plenty of sensible reasons not to jump right in with such offers (and none of them involve you having turned into a cold-hearted wretch). It's possible, for instance, you haven't heard the whole story yet… and when you do, you'll see how much more you would've had to sign on for than the situation initially revealed. Perhaps your attempt to 'help' might prove to be a short-sighted move that ends up tacitly enabling someone in their own disempowerment drama. Or, quite likely, this is a simple case of needing to thoroughly feel out what would be involved in helping, concretely assessing how much time and energy this aid would require of you, and being serious in your discernment about whether fulfilling this offer would compete with other time-and-energy investments that haven't suddenly shown up but have been consistently critical to your own continuing self-care.