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Horoscopes | Week of October 30-November 5, 2017

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Just allow the nuances of this situation to be as they are, Aries, at least for the moment. Otherwise, you risk reducing this web of complexities to a crude caricature of its truer self… due, mainly, to your inability (or, more likely, unwillingness) to tolerate an unresolved ambiguity in your relationship with a certain someone. The desire either to 'make everything okay' or to conclude, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that it's decidedly not 'okay' would be motivated less by genuine concern for the overall health of the relationship than by your nervous ego's need to know exactly where it stands. If you are concerned about attaining mutual understanding or a jointly beneficial upshot, then, please don't be afraid to invite this interpersonal dance to linger past a single mood, and into various rhythm-changes. Try not to get compulsively caught up with determining the smartest or surest outcome. Instead, invest your eager engagement in the process of experiencing your connections and conflicts with this other person in the here-and-now… and letting everything unfold as it will, without decisions or determinations made upfront.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): While it'd be pretty easy to get caught up in continuing that super-significant-seeming conversation until everyone's spoken every last sentiment, Taurus, you might make better use of your week by channeling this communicative Mercury-in-your-7th emphasis into functional discussions that'll lead to real-life results. In a certain sense, this week's horoscope is a blend of last week's and the week-before's… only with the caveat that too much processing of all the emotional nuances can become counterproductive to moving forward, particularly during this time when accomplishing concrete improvements and advances is so astrologically favored. By yielding to this awareness, then, you'll have to accept that a perfect meeting-of-minds or coming-to-consensus perhaps isn't likely, necessary, or even possible… but that, instead, more modest or incremental progress over time may circumstantially resolve some of the disunity between your perspectives, without your having to dissect and scrutinize each contention. Be pragmatic about it.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Re-ground your latest chapter of interpersonal intrigue in the unerring realities of what you have—and don't have—to offer anyone in a relationship with you, Gemini. Just because your interests are sparked or your loins are tingling, that isn't an excuse to warp or contort yourself into an unsustainable posture, just to perpetuate the uncomplicated thrill of good chemistry or a pleasant rapport. Could you sensibly integrate this prospective involvement into your other most-meaningful social participations, invite this person to important events (and not fear they'll embarrass you), introduce them to close pals (and expect a warm embrace), and behave as you otherwise would in such contexts… or would this represent something of an obvious departure? Though 'departure' wouldn't be a wrong answer, you'd have to be unreservedly aware that's what you'd be doing. In other words, don't assume you could easily settle a glaring incompatibility between your generally-gratifying social life and a new seemingly-out-of-left-field association you enjoy but aren't sure of where it fits. A good 'fit' is essential, unless you're prepared to reinvent yourself to 'fit' somewhere else instead.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Those recently-ripe possibilities of stealing a few moments of peace-and-quiet and/or sorting through your feelings without interruption are dwindling fast, Cancer. If you'd still like to wring a bit more domestic-respite or private-decompression time out of Venus's visit to your 4th, you'll have to put serious effort into holding a firm line between your 'on' and 'off' settings. If and when some unanticipated urgency strikes your job zone, the broader organization or community, and/or one of its key players, it's on you to properly determine when you are available to pitch in—and simply 'dropping everything' to serve one sector of your life over all the others isn't what I'd consider a win/win solution. This scenario promises to serve as quite an illustrative on-the-spot test of your self-care capabilities: Can you dutifully hop to the occasion without sacrificing what you'd intended to do for yourself, though it might seem less concretely pressing than the suddenly-urgent demands of the outside world? Can you offer them your full self in more manageable doses, and reserve the rest for you?

LEO (July 23-August 22): Gently massage your intended message into place, Leo, rather than trying to shove it into a too-cramped spot or down anyone else's throat. To be frank, this isn't an ideal moment for precisely verbalizing any logical argument or data-set. But as long as you understand the core-content of your current perspective is highly emotionally subjective in nature, you can worry less about getting all the facts straight (don't even bother trying, please)… and instead concentrate on indirectly evoking the feel of what you're going through, forgoing full-on declarations and confrontations in favor of a delicately-woven tapestry of sense-implications. Follow the 'show, don't tell' model when speaking about yourself, using seemingly tangential tales from your everyday experience to convey the state-of-mind you've recently been in. Pregnant pauses and knowing looks also ought to work to your advantage quite well. Should you go overboard by desperately describing details, hyping the situation as transcendent or tragic, or drawing unreasonable universalizing conclusions out of your own experience, a potentially compassionate listener could quickly turn into a critic of your puffed-up worldview.

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): Proceed in whatever fashion will leave you feeling as practically secure, properly boundaried, and/or self-protective as possible, Virgo… though that may require stopping yourself before a well-intended conversation leads you to bend over backwards on someone else's behalf, to the point where you end up strained or put out. You might have to sit uncomfortably, for instance, while a friend relates a tale of woe, offering them only your heartfelt emotional support but not the comprehensive menu of heroic deeds, bailouts, or rescues. Or maybe you'll notice your reluctance to answer someone's caring-but-nonetheless-probing question with anything more than a perfunctory reply or to otherwise bare your soul, when it feels more personally correct to momentarily contain your fuller truth. Sorting out your own priorities, attending to your financial concerns and/or other earthly matters, and reaffirming what makes you a distinctly valuable individual will likely be more stabilizing than 'getting into it' with anyone else. If they don't see it that way, however, you may have to contend with this potentially jarring disconnect head-on.

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): Let them lose their focus, scramble the conversation, or disrupt the arrangement, Libra. No matter what you may want out of this, it'll be better for your interests to maintain your composure, follow the process, and allow any corresponding pressures to build up until the other person can't take it anymore and/or breaks the surface tension somehow or another. By not darting off or reacting rashly to the uncertainty, you'll openly demonstrate a willingness to negotiate, accommodate, and/or strive for resolution—even if, truth be told, you aren't especially inclined to do any of those things—by the simple fact of your participatory perseverance. When it's your turn to propose, appeal, or advocate for, I advise continuing to offer concretely workable suggestions (one right after another, if need be), rather than shifting the discussion to bigger questions of whether to completely change direction or call it quits. Again, your strongest strategy is to present yourself as hard-working, thorough, and indefatigable… and to let them fall short, back out, or flip the table.

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): With Mercury finishing its last week in your sign with a trine (along with the Sun) to Neptune-in-your-5th, Scorpio, this is a superb moment for continuing to feed your most romantic and/or creative thinking… to write and/or utter your dreams into articulated prominence, to speak from your idealistic heart (rather than letting your rational mind dissuade you), and/or to further cultivate any big ideas or optimistic outlooks which have been dancing around your consciousness these past few weeks. However, please don't jump to conclusions about how anybody else is receiving your zealous interest or eager attention, whether they think you're being unrealistic or dotty, or how you might convince them to buy in. Once Venus breezes into your sign early next week, any looming questions regarding other people's roles in your 'next big thing' (are they encouraging? cynical? inspired to join? scared or envious?) will start coming in clearer, while your capacity to coax and charm them will heighten. Until then, you mustn't assume who feels what way about your impending ascendance.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): I'm going to recommend one more week of cherishing that golden silence, Sagittarius, prior to Mercury moving from your 12th to your 1st on Sunday (Nov 5). Continue reveling in the brilliance of your own mind (a gift all the greater when its genius isn't being cramped or constricted by worldly demands or practicalities) from a relatively discreet or secluded locale, in faithful service to the highest well-being of your visionary imagination, inner directional compass, and/or conscious connectedness with the vast sacred Everything. The likeliest foil to your enjoying this celestially-supported download of sublime insight? Getting tempted (by others' goading or your own irresistible curiosity) to participate in a group conversation, team effort, or active shakeout amongst a certain cast of characters… believing, perhaps, in the improbability that you could somehow dip in and out casually without becoming too wrapped up in it, until that fateful moment when you must offer your two (or three or four) cents and then you're engrossed. Even innocently checking your social-media, in between vision-quests and soul-prayers, is feeding that temptation.

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): One of the slickest tricks you've got up your sleeve, Capricorn, is your steely stoicism… that impeccable capacity to visibly hold it together no matter what turmoil or upset you may be privately stomaching. While I'm sure you're aware this defense mechanism can obviously create problems in your personal life (especially as related to exposing your vulnerabilities, as a means of developing intimacy and trust), we can agree it comes in pretty handy when contending with career challenges, disagreeing with authority-figures, and/or putting your best face forward in official or institutional contexts. In fact, your having to confront these types of difficulties in your public-sphere life sometimes proves to be rather auspicious for you, due to how your keen handling will impress those on the lookout for folks like you who don't buckle under the pressure. This is one of those potentially favorable moments, when whatever's happening may be stressful but your most cool-headed and politically tactful approach to it could earn you some major brownie points. Just don't pounce, lurch, or ditch out.

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): This is hardly the time for small thinking, Aquarius… particularly if you've been feeling disenchanted with your everyday affairs, wondering what's left to learn from what you're doing, and/or afraid of settling for inconsequential involvements over something better aligned with your belief-system. The present astrology beckons you to reject any notion that you're stuck where you are—professionally, psychologically, geographically—when immediately upping your direct engagement with philosophic life-orientation questions is liable to produce palpable evidence that, yes, you do harbor interests, enthusiasms, and convictions which point towards a most promising evolutionary potential(s) for your continuing development. I advocate exploring whatever uncharted domain holds the strongest momentum right now, by reading and researching and running your ideas past your most thoughtful pals… but not yet allowing this nascent curiosity to breach the bounds of your current professional position or reputation. Why fetter a still-in-progress exploration with the need to express it to colleagues, clients, or head-honchos liable to feel threatened by the possibilities?

PISCES (February 19-March 20): 'Doing the right thing' (your version of it, that is) may often entail sticking with a difficult, discouraging, or distressing dynamic long enough so you feel you've given it your fairest shot, Pisces. But if you're also properly including the obligation to safeguard your own self-sufficiency (which is a critical measure for fostering confidence in yourself) amongst your moral calculations, you must recognize that sometimes you must extricate yourself from the incessant relationally-minded considerations… and start behaving more independently, in terms of setting economic goals and career or life-purpose plans, with faith that the 'right' companions will gravitate nearer or farther from you based on their relative magnetic compatibility to your intentions. If your ongoing involvement (no matter how belabored) is legitimately yielding measurable progress for you in your pursuit of concrete markers or ambitions, that's probably a good reason to ride it out. At this point, though, the mere promise of potential personal gain may not be enough to justify your energy-expenditure.