Horoscopes | Week of October 23-29, 2017

ARIES (March 21-April 19): If you're intent on procuring what you want from a certain someone (attention? admiration? the go-ahead?) or if you find yourself at odds with them—two of your likelier possibilities, Aries, now that Mars is in your 7th—please be deliberate and scrupulous in the tactics you use in trying to emerge victorious. With Mercury-in-your-8th forming a trine to Neptune, your unconscious intuitive capacity to hit right on the tenderest spot of another person's psyche is currently operating too well for you to treat any coaxing or contentious conversations casually. Before you indiscriminately reach into the ethers and start poking at whatever angle, story, or sensitivity could carry your best bet at scoring the prize, you might want to consider whether your choosing to raise that topic is playing to their fears, hurts, or weaknesses… and whether that's the sort of opportunity to advance your agenda (what some might even call 'fighting dirty'?) you want to be associated with, especially since you won't be able to rescind a sentiment once it's out there (nor will it be easily forgetten).

 

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): I'd utilize the current 6th-house planetary energies to catch up on that backlog of work, Taurus… to reorganize your methods and processes, to line up a bunch of those nagging little tasks and knock 'em down in one powerhouse swoop, and/or to readjust your schedule-flow to support improved bodily well-being. If you aim an observant eye on the relative orderliness of your efforts, you're liable to discover places where you've been squandering energy on outdated habits, inessential busywork, or physical strains to your productive potential—simply, perhaps, because it's been too long since you sufficiently paused to examine how you do what you do. On the other hand, you're concurrently under an elevated risk of becoming distracted from this timely duty-to-your-productivity (which would likely prove regrettable later), due to being dragged into endless conversation with a certain someone (maybe it's important? maybe it's not?) and/or willingly indulging such tendencies yourself (because you'd rather gab than work?). Trust that there'll be plenty of time to talk, but not always such prime astrological support for getting shit done.

 

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Just as I told you last week, Gemini, a renewed emphasis on your 5th house (courtesy of Mars joining Venus there) ought to bring an uptick in fun, frivolity, and/or flirtation in the days to come. And considering there's lately been an undeniable need for sustained seriousness on the work-and-duty front, you probably can't wait to dive into pastimes, passion-projects, and/or prospects for romance (or a no-strings fling?) which will lighten the mood and not demand such intensity from you. As much as I'd like to offer unreserved encouragement for such divings-in, I also can't ignore the square Venus now makes to Pluto-in-your-8th… a signifier that even the most seemingly innocuous impishness or lighthearted repartee could give someone the wrong idea, not necessarily because of improper behavior on your part but due to either (1) the other person's complicated feelings or difficult history intersecting with your 'innocent' jests or come-ons and/or (2) your own ambiguous or conflicted intentions bleeding through. None of this is reason to fearfully hang back, but please know more may be happening than you bargained for.

 

CANCER (June 21-July 22): It might seem to make sense that you'd add your voice to the chorus, Cancer, when you obviously have an opinion on the matter, creative input to offer, or a stylistic desire you want included. But this week's astrology indicates you might reap more personal satisfaction from taking some time to yourself, at home or somewhere similarly private… removed from the pressures of having to assert, defend, or explain your thoughts to anybody else. You may crave self-contained peace and quiet, or maybe you need a place where you can safely explore the full range of feelings you're experiencing (knowing the very act of trying to share them with others right now is liable to contort or contract them into imprecise shape). What'll probably be farless gratifying is getting caught up in some relational push/pull… which would suck emotional attention away from your own immediate self-interests, and instead channel it toward tending to another person's ideas, impressions, or expectations. If it's liable to become an energy-draining back-and-forth, maybe it's not worth chiming in at the moment?

 

LEO (July 23-August 22): It'd probably be safer to underpromise yourself to others, Leo, rather than letting a warm-and-wonderful conversation wander into territory where suddenly you've committed to something you haven't a friggin' clue how you'd be able to follow through with. When the dance of human contact hits just the right rhythm, we can easily find ourselves carried away on its happy drift, matching our momentary partner's fancy footwork with equally impassioned steps we maybe didn't even know we had in us. But a good interpersonal rapport, as energizing or inspiring as it may be, won't in itself provide enough evidence that an idea hatched within its bubble of mutual enthusiasm will actually work in the real world. Who's going to put in the labor? Who's functionally equipped to do so? And when the heck would all this happen? I share this outlook not to discourage you from engaging with others at this fertile time for brainstorming exchange, please realize… merely to caution you against going so far with it that you enter into an agreement (whether overt or implied) you may be flatly unable to keep.

 

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): It should be comparatively easy to strike up a meaningful enough connection with nearly anyone you find yourself conversing with this week, Virgo, and to attain a fairly compassionate understanding of the emotional motivations behind their current standing. But along with that may come your own heightened self-consciousness about whether your present-moment desires will prove ill-timed, unseemly, or off-putting to them, considering everything you're picking up about their subject-position. While fostering interpersonal sensitivity is generally good, it can also unfortunately inspire you to try to squelch or disavow any self-supporting drives which threaten to unsettle the other person—to that unhelpful or unhealthy point where you lapse into insincerity or deceptive omission. Be aware of this possibility, especially if you're making a practical proposal or pitching your own talents for potential economic gain, lest you lean toward compromises or accommodations which they might groove with but which leave you holding an unspoken want or ungranted wish.

 

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): Please don't underestimate what you're now working with, Libra, having both Venus and Mars in your sign for the next time-being. You're probably more comfortable with Venus's influence, since your ruling goddess-planet bequeaths the smooth charm and deft diplomacy that often allows you to earn others' favor—and, for the moment, that's turned up to high. But Mars contributes a pointier, pushier, more assertive and potentially aggressive edge to your self-expressions, whether you intend it or not… making it easier to get your point across and/or your immediate wants satisfied, yet much harder to come off as softly or suavely as you might prefer. Be mindful you're wielding this newly re-sharpened side of your personality, in case you're basing your latest social calculations on a misguided presumption you can slyly submerge your willful agenda beneath lots of grins and compliments and small-talk. Though you can presently accomplish any number of impressive feats (and, in fact, that's what this moment is intended for), one you can't pull off is to seem casual, ambivalent, or motiveless.

 

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): I don't want to get down on you for shamelessly brandishing the larger-than-life persona that's temporarily yours to enjoy, Scorpio, courtesy of Jupiter's conjunction with the Sun. You've waited your turn for just this chance to stretch out your cramped limbs, raise your voice, and take up more damn room out in the world. And yet here I go, heeding the influence of Venus-and-Mars-in-your-12th and encouraging you to keep holding your most powerful trump-cards very close to your chest… with the wise understanding that this self-inspiring moment is still but a beginning in a much larger-and-longer unfolding, and you'd benefit from further behind-the-scenes clarifying-of-vision and strengthening-of-resolve prior to decisively planting your flag anywhere. For the time being, a bit of anticipatory secretiveness wouldn't be such a bad thing… especially if it feels like you're quietly securing a sacred bond between you and your version of a spirit-guide or guardian-angel, and that it's not quite time to go public with this burgeoning union of earthly and heavenly selves. Feel free to tempt others' curiosities with a knowing insinuation here or there, but don't unveil the grand plans yet.

 

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): When I say that sometimes silence really is golden, Sagittarius, it's not because I'm telling you this is another one of those weeks when I warn you against putting your foot in your mouth. (I know, I know: There are a lot of those, lol, but this isn't one of 'em.) Rather, it's because you'll make far better use of your mental capabilities by hoarding them for yourself… to be put to the tasks of jotting-down, sorting-through, letting-it-out, reacting, reflecting, re-imagining, re-orienting, and then capping it all off by wishing on a star. Does that loudmouth know-it-all, presumptuous peer, or hatemongering troll really need your attention? Can you trust that your trusty pals or comrades-in-the-cause can cover a few rounds without your need to interject? Perhaps the impulse to invest your brainpower out there—instead of, say, into far-less-cut-and-dry deliberations about your life's meaning, how far you've come in actualizing your potential and/or what's held you back—is engendered by the fact that it's simply easier to weigh in on an issue or social drama than to reserve your precious gold for a higher good.

 

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): Your tolerance for undeserving honorees, spoiled-child higher-ups, and/or ineffectual chains-of-command could be excruciatingly low this week, Capricorn… with the likely possibility that your nerves will continue to be worked by such frustrations for a little while longer. As such, you probably won't want to jab or prod those Powers-That-Be in too bald or brash a manner—at least not right away—considering you'd probably have to bear retaliatory pushback for it (whether blatant or under-the-surface) over the weeks to come. Your best self-protective approach requires you to contain your sense of personal offense or outrage, so as not to reduce a sincerely substantive concern on your part to a pettier battle-of-wills or rebellion-against-authority… and thus to filter out from your communications any low-blows, vendettas, or supposedly sly (but in fact not-really-that-sly) implications which would only weaken your position. The more faithfully you can discuss challenging or controversial topics in value-based terms that'd apply equally to everyone, the more successful an impact you'll have.

 

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): Those who genuinely 'take the high road' don't typically tell everyone all about how 'high' their 'road' is, Aquarius. Following your sense of ethics is its own reward, an inwardly-experienced pride in having done whatever right-thing will allow you to sleep better at night. The moment you begin to hail your own moral superiority or righteously lecture others about what they should do, you've already soiled your good deed by gratifying your needy ego's greed. With your Jupiter-kissed 10th still in the spotlight this week, think about how an effective leader to the many diverse souls within a professional context or organization might have to adopt a somewhat different strategy than an impassioned ideological warrior: greater rhetorical restraint and/or finesse (to prevent getting called out later for short-sightedness and/or hypocrisy), a capacity to visibly hold space for dissenting viewpoints (even if you strongly disagree and/or have no intention of ever buying in), and a long-view focus on attaining concretely measurable results (for fiery diatribes don't always lead to tangible change). No need to sell out your beliefs, of course… but rather than loudly patting yourself on the back for them, aim to actually accomplish something.

 

PISCES (February 19-March 20): If your friends likely wouldn't approve of your continuing to entangle yourself with that certain someone, Pisces, and/or if such an involvement is inspiring behavior in you that wouldn't want them to know about it, you should probably take a good hard look at what's behind those dynamics. Are you doing something with somebody which you know you shouldn't? Or are you in need of coming clean to certain pals, unburdening yourself of the fallacious belief you ought to be sneaky or ashamed… and potentially calling into question why the folks who are supposed to support you are instead likelier to harshly judge your actions? Whatever your case, you don't do your sense of ethical well-being any favors by compartmentalizing your life, such that you can't be out-and-proud about your decisions and honest with your friends. As I advised last week, seek clarity by examining the principles in this situation (as opposed to fixating on the real or perceived opinions of particular individuals). No matter how you choose to proceed, you may be hard-pressed to take the most rightful action without having to confront some moments of discomfort… and maybe even an unpleasant taste of someone else's unintegrated psychological issues.