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Horoscopes | Week of November 20-26, 2017

ARIES (March 21-April 19): After several weeks of my reminding you of the complicated nature of your current conditions, Aries, and urging you to linger in the nuances of uncertainty longer than was comfortable, you're now being presented a chance to simplify this whole situation with a single unequivocal stance. But is this the determinative time to cut off further negotiations and call for a yay-or-nay vote? You'll have to weigh the independence-restoring freedom you'll assuredly gain (whether it's releasing yourself from having to calculate the impact of your every utterance or altogether separating yourself from an ill-suited involvement) against the possibility that you might gain more (in compensation, intimacy, insight, and/or evolutionary development) by continuing to work through your disagreements. Where your aims and intentions will most properly fall in this balancing-act depends on your own situational analysis. Know this, though: While you'd still be able to ditch the continuing-to-work-through-it option whenever you want, once you choose the freedom-loving simplification, it'll be nearly impossible to go back to nuance.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You're bumping up against the limits of your capacity to trustfully partner, Taurus, due to the amount of intimate details you're willing or not willing to divulge about yourself, as well as how interested you are in offering a safe place for another person to likewise share. This may be a healthy limit for you, if you wish to contain the level of influence a certain someone holds over your psychic reality… knowing full well, of course, you may be giving up a heightened (or overblown?) sense of connection in exchange for clearer boundaries. If this is your case, then communicate this limit with short informative statements and answers; you'll convey the message that you're not going anything further than this. But if you want to deepen the partnership, you'll have to go out on that limb and expose more of your inner workings than may feel comfortable, and/or show the other person you care to see more of theirs… knowing full well, of course, the first response you get from them could carry nervousness, resistance, and/or uncertainty about next moves. In such instances, please remember building deeper understanding is a process, not a one-act leap.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Whatever you say to a certain someone will have consequences for you, Gemini… just as choosing not to say something will bear its own separate set of consequences. At this fateful juncture, you can't squeeze through without making some sort of statement which would give this other person a more lucid understanding of your relative commitment to them. A lack of such clarifying information, a mincing of your words, a straddling of the fence… these passive pussyfooted modes of communication also qualify as their own statement-type, too, since they'll speak volumes about your unwillingness or inability to be real about the importance of this relationship (or lack thereof) in your life. So, as far as I can tell, there isn't any way around this pressure to articulate, expound, confess, or come clean. Should you shirk this duty, you'll suffer from a decrease in their trust of you and/or an increase in your anxieties about being caught in the shell-game you're playing. Might as well speak the sincerest summation of your feelings. You can't control their reaction, but at least you're giving them the chance to react to how things actually are.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Your astrological outlook continues to feature both highs and lows, excuses to be angsty and reasons to jump for joy, Cancer… and I don't want to reduce this multi-faceted reality by trying to superficially sum it up. Instead, I'll posit a few brief but somewhat unrelated observations: (1) On the romantic and/or leisure-time front, you can fruitfully play up the intimacy-ripe and/or sexually-charged vibe you've got going with a certain someone… simply by flashing glimpses of your winning smile in the act of doing what makes it shine, as if directing a montage of scenes of yourself reveling in everyday pleasures. (2) In the work, health, and/or mundane-duty zone, you're close to arriving at a prudent decision or sobering acceptance of what must be done. This might not be the loosest or most likable method or process, but it's the responsible one… though you could find your commitment to it tested in the weeks to come. (3) As far as any turbulent personal feelings are concerned, please don't let them unduly contaminate your approach to these other two items. Part of your emotional responsibility is knowing what's what, without letting any single stream flood your whole life-field.

LEO (July 23-August 22): If you want something, then say something about it, Leo. You just might get what you want, more swiftly and smoothly than you would've imagined. But you must also be prepared to receive a clear and unambiguous rejection, should you be barking up a tree that's wrong for you or willfully ignoring the subtle signals being given off. The converse is true, too: If you don't want something, please don't pretend you do. Otherwise, you'll be tying yourself to an activity, association, or style that doesn't accurately reflect who you are—and that poorly-fitting identification will come back to bite you, or at least hold you in its clutches until you actively dis-identify yourself. The act of saying 'no, thank you' (or perhaps 'fuck no!' is more fitting?) is often so scary because it essentially shuts down possibilities when we aren't sure if maybe we'll change our mind later or there's some unquestionable appeal we just aren't seeing right now. Genuine preferences are actually more cut-and-dry than that, though. And in determining what we prefer, we can only go off of who we are at the present time. Do we want it, or don't we? If we know, we might as well say it.

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): It's better that you not rush to satisfy anyone else's curiosities about what you're thinking, Virgo, than make any preliminary statement about emotionally-charged realizations before they've had a chance to cohere and solidify in your gut-being. That said, you do have to begin privately coming to terms with any such realizations… though their full acceptance might involve deciding to do something for yourself that consequently leaves another person feeling like you've changed your mind, left them out to dry, or betrayed an agreement you had. If their potential reaction is likely to go as far as the 'betrayal' scenario, you'll probably also have to accept that your prior passivity or fear contributed to their wrong assumptions—and part of your present challenge to take responsibility for your feelings ought to include owning the downsides of always 'being there for them' instead of for yourself. But no matter the specifics of what's inside, this is a heavy bag of self-awakening you're lugging around with you. Don't hastily describe it in incomplete terms, when you'd be wiser to continue inventorying its contents, for a more comprehensive explanation later.

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): It'll be harder than usual to talk yourself back once allowing an overly opinionated and/or contextually inappropriate remark to slip out, Libra, when perhaps you'd thought you were 'off the record' or had established greater intimacy with a certain someone than apparently you had. With that Mars-y edge to your personality still active, those who feel triggered by and/or competitive with you (whether overtly or not-quite-so-consciously) aren't likely to let it slide. Don't, therefore, get too loose-tongued or lax with your boundaries around casual pals and acquaintances, colleagues you don't know that well, or nice-enough-seeming strangers. On the other hand, if there's someone orbiting too closely who isn't picking up on your subtler step-back intimations or a wrongdoer who hasn't quite grasped your complaints with them, this is an apt time to make yourself exceedingly clear. Though they may not understand where you're coming from—and could decide not only that they don't like you, but they want to tell you all about it—you will get the results you're seeking.

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): Counteract any escapist, illicit, or downright devilish urges, Scorpio, by investing a whole lot of industrious brainpower on organizing, analyzing, and planning for your medium-term material-resource allocations. To ensure you're efficiently turning your efforts into their fair cash-value, and then shrewdly utilizing them to bankroll the expenditures and experiences most valuable to you, this is no time to take any assumptions for granted. By investing some extended strategic thought into this, you should be able to identify plenty of places where you aren't getting the most bang for your buck—or the most bucks for your boogie—but otherwise wouldn't have noticed because of how the mundane aspects of life seem to march on like robot-soldiers unless you pause to assess. This future-aiming exercise ought to help divert your hungry anglings away from those present-moment temptations that'd convince you 'now is all that matters' (an indulgent perversion of a spiritual truth?). Because Venus still beams favorable rays on you, whichever intention you follow will show good results… though not all 'results' would be good for you.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): In order to follow the 'say what you mean, and mean what you say' advice I'm sending you this week, Sagittarius, you must first be sure that you have set the terms and tone of whatever forthcoming discourse you're about to launch into. Per last week's instructions, it won't serve you to intrude into others' debates or disagreements just to position yourself for and/or against particular players. It'd be more personally advantageous to reject the polarizing personality clashes, reset the vibe, and remark only in support of those values, interests, or enthusiasms that you'd still endorse no matter who else was or wasn't on board. And don't do it because you're anticipating certain reactions from certain individuals—with Venus still hiding out in your 12th, you won't receive too clear an indicator of what anyone's reaction may be—but only out of the desire to represent yourself fairly and proudly. Say only what you mean today and will still mean tomorrow, next week, and next month… and if you aren't 100% certain you mean it, that's also fine, as long as you say that, too. Expect to be held to whatever's said, or to be awkwardly walking yourself back from it.

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): Arriving at the correct decision, getting the messaging just right, investing enough imaginative forethought so your eagerness has time to expectantly build up… all these timely intentions (and others like them) currently depend on added amounts of self-restraint, Capricorn, so you don't prematurely signal your direction or show your cards to those who'd misjudge and/or overreact to such information. You're not someone I'd usually need to advise about controlling your impulses, yet your brain is now operating at an uncharacteristically impatient pitch… as if it just wants to get to the critical stage of outward articulation already, though it also knows that not all of the pertinent wrinkles have been satisfactorily ironed out. Please bide your time, then, trusting my reassurance that you're on the verge of major 'outward articulation' (or whatever you want to call the forthcoming chapter of self-improvement that's slated for 2018 and beyond). Besides, I'm seeing you've still got some important already-in-progress responsibilities which need your undivided effort.

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): Allow your public communications to signal to the tribe of folks on your wavelength, Aquarius, that you're in steadfast allegiance with them. There's not a lot of room for error, I might add, as a careless oversight or unwitting offense on your part is liable to burn a bridge or stir vocal dissent. But to those who are legitimately loyal, like-minded, and/or attitudinally aligned, your uncompromising statements will establish you as the type whose values and viewpoints don't swing or sway with the ever-changing winds. Certain characters who were never sure they belonged with you or concealed their deeper affiliations beneath bland diplomacy may, naturally, determine you have gone too far and/or they can't stomach the logical extremes of your position. Unless they are cherished longtime friends or vital connections you need for ongoing community-building purposes, such losses will only help you direct your social attentions more efficiently. However, if you feel genuinely regretful about an upsetting rift caused by your strident words, you might have to look long and hard at the negative consequences of your 'logical extremes'.

PISCES (February 19-March 20): Please speak with the authority you've earned, Pisces, or you aren't really wielding it in an impactful way. If you know something to be correct, encouraging, and/or advisable, don't hesitate to make your expert opinion known. Otherwise, what good is your expertise? If you fear angering an elder, supervisor, or higher-up by chiming in with a potentially contrarian or tough-pill outlook, you can surely find an approach that both shows them due respect and fulfills the responsibility you've been charged with. But should you feel like it's virtually impossible to share your thoughts freely without bumping up against unreceptive ears, a sensitive ego, and/or the cold hard cage of this veal-pen position you're in, that's an unmistakable clue your future prospects in this spot are somewhat constrained. In such cases, you may be reaching the far limits of how much deferring, kowtowing, and/or playing it meek you can stomach before this performance-inhibiting situation begins to take a lasting toll on your professional confidence or reputation.