Horoscopes | Week of November 13-19, 2017

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Allow me to be unabashedly blunt with you, Aries, about the formidable battle-ready vibe swirling around your sign this week. Conflict-happy Mars is still in your solar 7th, an angular relationship-oriented house where its teeth are bared and bitey... and now it's squaring off with Pluto-in-the-10th, an intense challenge-aspect that could exacerbate frictions and/or raise the stakes of any possible fallout. This wouldn't be the week I'd mouth off to my boss, disrespect a mentor or benefactor, or push back against an official—unless, that is, you're willing to take it all the way and accept whatever consequences come along with that. Are you dauntless and determined enough to dare overthrowing the power their authority has over you? Are you prepared to be knocked back into submission, should you lose this skirmish? Is there a way to issue your objections with the seriousness they warrant, minus the vengeful blood-thirst or blinding will-to-destroy? And by the way, is it possible there's an elucidating detail or personal feeling they are holding which you don't know about, but which might widen your perspective on all this?

 

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Please don't try to force a procedural issue, obligatory assignment, or bodily necessity to fit the theory you prefer or the dogma you subscribe to, Taurus. Material realities are real, meaning they won't easily morph into what you wish they were or readily respond to any efforts to alter their shape which don't abide by physical laws. Though I don't usually need to issue you such reminders, your beliefs are presently so forceful that they threaten to override your innate pragmatism… and potentially inspire you to unadvisedly address certain mundane matters with bull-headed insistence, unnuanced analysis, or brute pressure. Refusing to accept that something isn't likely to work how you'd want it to doesn't merely put you in a fruitlessly frustrating position. It could actually damage the tools you're using, cause you injury or harm, or otherwise soil the efficacy of the larger operation. Past a certain point, firm convictions lapse into willful denial, blinding you to concrete circumstances and objective facts which will continue to be true whether or not they fit your worldview.

 

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Just because you want it, Gemini, that doesn't mean it would ultimately be to your advantage to get it… and I think that's worth pointing out to you now, considering your assertive will is presently forceful enough that you'd likely succeed at the getting. Not only might this potent drive to fulfill a desire lead you to say whatever it'd take to goad someone else to go along (even if you can't comfortably honor it), but, in the process, you could be signing on for a deeper entanglement and/or future complications that you can't quite comprehend at the moment. Pay mind to your psychic spidey-senses: If you detect a vague heaviness looming in the background of a supposed 'good time', and/or if the other person poses questions or shares observations that seem strangely inappropriate to the situation as you see it, there's probably something else happening beneath the surface-level goings-on. How to respond? Give this some more time to reveal itself gradually. Meanwhile, dive into an involving project or work-task that'll productively absorb your attention.

 

CANCER (June 21-July 22): If the unsettledness or upset is yours (and I suspect it is), Cancer, then please don't project its emotional substance onto anybody else. No matter how convinced you may be that another person is perpetrating a misuse of their power (and therefore causing you distress), unwilling to own the psychic impact of their behavior on you (which leaves you to endure the effects), and/or snarling under the weight of their own immense suffering (so you feel you must unceasingly prioritize their safekeeping over your own), you still must take responsibility for your related feelings—and act, on behalf of your own well-being, as their autonomous guardian. You're far less likely to attain acknowledgment, accountability, or relief by looking for it from them than by doing something supportive for yourself. Of course, this wouldn't necessarily absolve them of guilt, clue them into your worries, or signal that you don't care about them. But that's not the point. Any such relational dynamics are their own complex matter, unlikely to be effectively 'fixed' in this fraught moment. On the other hand, you can tend to your own appeasing right away.

 

LEO (July 23-August 22): Beware of the possible spikes unwittingly attached to your tongue this week, Leo, with multiple contributing astro-factors suggesting your communications are liable to come off sharp, pointed, or cocky. Your underlying motivation for speaking up with that extra touch of urgency, assertiveness, or defiance may be earnest, in your efforts to defend your right to emotional safety… and, therefore, would have nothing to do with wanting to hurt anyone else. Yet, this motivating surge of self-protectiveness could easily become tinged with unkindness, if you're not careful, due to your misunderstanding of the other person's motives (maybe it was an innocent oversight? a face-value remark? a simple difference in lived experience?) and/or unfair assumptions about their capabilities. As you gain emotional strength in your struggle to prioritize tender-loving-care for your softer side of self, don't mistake an innocent and/or ignorant individual for some fierce foe who's stood in the way of your inner comfort—and end up talking to them as if they were.

 

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): Please don't disregard the lurking tension, Virgo, between (1) what you know you must currently pour effort into, because that's what pays the bills and/or most confidently anchors your identity into some stabilizing purpose, and (2) something more artistic, romantic, and/or pleasurable which compels you towards it nonetheless, no matter that it's potentially less 'sensible' or secure. Should you notice a slyly-rising case of the grumps, it's probably due (at least in part) to the unvoiced machinations of your analytic mind trying to solve this problem… though, as you're figuring out, there is no neat-and-tidy solution. While it seems like your immediate circumstances demand you attend to the former consideration's pressing practicalities, economic concerns, and/or need for grounding routine, there's a stronger pressure to uncomfortably stretch yourself towards that latter way-of-being over the longer term—for your own ultimate gratification, maturation, and pride. Bear that in mind as you talk yourself through the plans for both sooner and later. Without foregrounding the long-view too, you're far less likely to do much of anything other than what you're already doing.

 

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): I sincerely pity the fool who'd dare to cross you this week, Libra. With your 1st-house Mars squaring Pluto-in-your-4th, you'll be bringing a shit-ton of pent-up emotion with you wherever you go… and should someone attempt to block your path, question your decision, or fight for a choice other than your desired one, you're liable to come down on 'em with the magnitude of a thousand suns. This level of intense resolve is nothing to mess around with, though. I suggest devoting it towards concrete esteem-building, income-generating, and/or self-supporting projects… or really any avenue where your only 'competition' is trying to beat your personal best, by believing in your upgraded capabilities. Likewise, I suggest aiming it away from anyone who might involuntarily find themselves on the receiving end of your semi-automatic line-of-fire, for you could end up doing much worse damage than you'd probably want once you take your first shot. With that deadly firepower at your disposal, wouldn't you prefer to use it to vanquish your inner enemies, rather than risk miscalculating someone else's faults or failings and punishing them undeservedly?

 

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): Based on your astrological outlook for the week, Scorpio, I'd be spending as much time out in the open if I were you… mixing and mingling with the fine people of the world, presenting yourself for compliments and come-ons, and letting your main driving agenda simply be to receive and appreciate the universe's gorgeousness on its own terms. Stick to that thinking, and you should easily relish the most auspicious manifestations of the Venus-Jupiter conjunction in your sign. However, once you are plotting and scheming behind the scenes, orchestrating secret machinations meant to score you a prize or advantage nobody else would know you're stalking—even if there's nothing necessarily improper or unsavory about the goal in your sightlines—you are tempting the Mars-in-the-12th-square-Pluto fates to throw a potentially perilous wrench in the works. It's a bad moment to try to hide something, whether because your casual-conversational language is liable to betray you or a nosy-neighbor type grills you until you suspiciously sweat. Don't stress about steering this car; pop it in neutral, and let 'er cruise.

 

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): Think more about the material payoffs, Sagittarius… and not merely the ideal conceptual philosophies which may seem good on paper but won't necessarily work for a certain segment of the relevant population. By sounding off too vociferously in favor of one crowd or faction over another, you may be cutting off your nose to spite your face, potentially alienating folks who might otherwise be prospective customers, employers, audience-members, or avid supporters of your personal interests. How necessary is it for you to defiantly demonstrate a willingness to estrange this portion of your market, just to conspicuously single yourself out as someone who agrees with her rather than him… who believes this over that? A relative lack of participation doesn't necessarily signal tacit approval of anything, contrary to what some zealous activists might argue. It could also mean you're waiting for a more effective time to chime in, allowing your allies a chance to take the starring role, quietly studying your adversaries' tactics, or simply working on something else at the moment.

 

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): Careful how hard you push against opponents or obstructing individuals who may have something on you, Capricorn… whether it's an indisputable competitive edge, an achievement you covet, an in that'll bring you one step closer to some aspired-for success, or a piece of sensitive information which would be embarrassing or damaging if it came to light. While I feel you can and should continue pursuing your immediate aims and/or working through whatever challenges have recently loomed large, please treat those who aren't in favor or on board as if they're holding a potent kernel of your personal kryptonite up their sleeve, ready to toss it in your face if you too menacingly threaten them. Of course, this latent outside danger derives all its potential power from the fact of your resistance to fully owning the truth of whatever they'd spring on you: a lack of experience or skill, an unsatisfied ambition or unexamined envy, a secret shame. Nobody can use this as ammunition to block your advance unless you refuse to own it as part of you. Once reclaimed, though, it becomes a symbol of both your courageous forthrightness and your admirably human humility.

 

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): Even while you bask in the flattering outside-world light of Venus-and-Jupiter-in-your-10th, Aquarius, you probably won't be able to completely shake that illogical-yet-recurrent sense of menace which shows up during quiet or introspective moments, in the middle of the night while you're trying to sleep or as piercing blades of panic in an otherwise rosy situation. This is not an omen of terrible things about to imminently occur… at least not any more than existence itself is one big opportunity for destabilization, disruption, and upset, for as soon as we too complacently assume that current conditions will continue ad infinitum, we have fallen out of sync with the rise-and-fall, come-and-go rhythms of life. As such, any angst or anxiety shouldn't be permitted to undermine your capitalizing on this fortunate moment. Rather, let it serve as an impetus for philosophical acceptance of the inescapably precarious temporal reality which underscores everything we do. The impermanence, the heartbreak, the lack of control: These are your reasons to make the absolute most of your present position, not excuses to cower in the corner and wait out the inevitable.

 

PISCES (February 19-March 20): If you're committed to being a truth-teller (and there's a lot to be said for that), it's also important to thoroughly understand your own motives for telling this specific truth in this particular context, Pisces. When we aren't entirely in tune with an unresolved itch to affirm our rank and/or defend our innocence, we sometimes end up tarnishing the honest point we're trying to assert by using a ruthless tone and/or including unhelpful details meant solely to make someone else look bad or feel worse. By burying barbs in our gospel (whether consciously or not), we keep both the confronted party and ourselves on the line, hooked into a snag-of-psychic-threads that continues to pull us back in again and again until we cut ourselves loose. The type of truths which are worth telling should set us free, so we may proceed onward to a wider field of fresh exposures (even if we're leaving behind 'unfinished business')—not re-entangle us in a contentious situation where we now have to accept further responsibility for having mismanaged our attempt at working out the previous snafu.