Horoscopes | Week of January 8-14, 2018

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Roll out your communications with the utmost professionalism, Aries. Speak to power with precision and reserve. Say it in the very way you'd want the whole world to remember you said it, no factual overreaches or melodramatic flourishes. Your reputation presently depends both on the faithful veracity of your words and the attitudinal respect you extend in them… not merely on your own behalf, but as an agent of the position you hold and/or the organization or initiative you represent. Please don't take this as a warning against telling hard truths, posing challenging questions, or offering critical feedback, though. On the contrary, this is a rich moment for you to contend head-on with uncomfortable territory, contested ground, and/or the creeping insinuation of egoic emotion-laden concerns into business or financial matters. In fact, you may likely need to deal with such complications, in order to meet your larger responsibilities with your best foot forward, no way around it. And in doing so, you could score a major victory in others' eyes for having addressed this sore spot. But you can clearly see why such communications must be done right, considering their delicacy and importance.

 

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Before you set yourself down a self-ordained road of high-principle or moral-authority, Taurus, you'd better be damn sure you practice what you preach. With Mars and Jupiter still hovering close to conjunction in your 7th, you can set a powerful precedent for shifting the ground-rules of relational engagement with a certain someone (and/or in your relationships generally), by directly asserting which types of emotional experiences you wish to accentuate and cultivate… and/or by taking a hardline stand against what you will not excuse, tolerate, or allow into your life. But if you overstep your legitimate license as but one-half of a pairing (whether it's with partners or rivals) by trying to dominate a situation with self-righteous rhetoric, you can just-as-powerfully ignite the other-half's vengeful ire—and they'll be liable to reach for the most sensitive, scary, or shame-laden trigger in you they can find, in a move to flagrantly expose how not principled or morally superior you are. That's why any lurking instances of hypocritical behavior on your part, which might fly in the face of the very (implicitly self-inflating?) stance you're putting forth, would presently be your worst enemy. Don't tempt someone else's antagonism with overstated declarations. Live your teachings.

 

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): It's a rather loaded moment for solidifying deals, upping your involvement, or taking things to the next level (whether for business or pleasure), Gemini, just like we discussed in your end-of-'17 scope. Nothing about such an intensification is to be taken lightly… which means you probably shouldn't offer flippant promises or count on skating by with your best-of-intentions, but instead anticipate the likely effects of each intensifying move from several steps further down this path before making it. Better yet, discuss these potential ramifications—best- and worst-possible cases, what you each may gain or lose—with the other participant(s). Please don't shy away from this type of ongoing conversation if you're heading onward with a certain individual: It's essential to a successful outcome, and whatever you don't want to address now is almost sure to pop up again at a far-less-convenient time later. In fact, the experiential lessons in psychological maturation associated with such conversations are one of your greatest possible successes. That's why, any obvious nervousness aside, a 'loaded' moment isn't necessarily a risk to avoid. The other choice—to refrain from 'intensifying' with anyone or anything—leaves your life in its same safe, stale state indefinitely. Intimacy's a risk worth taking, with proper precautions.

 

CANCER (June 21-July 22): I hope you took your final horoscope of last year to heart, Cancer, since you presently face a critical opportunity to straighten out your relationship life—and/or a certain relationship in particular—by fine-tuning the strict precision with which you communicate your needs, desires, aversions, and/or sticking-points. And 'feeling into' another person's psychic field, to anticipate their likely response to whatever communication you might offer them, won't help you be meticulously exacting in how you represent your relational position (even though this may be a go-to tactic for you, an intuitive who cares so much about others' emotional states). If anything, your undue sensitivity to the perceived inklings of what you feel they're thinking will turn you rather wishy-washy, afraid to directly speak your piece in case it freaks them out or turns them off, instead intimating or insinuating only those angles liable to reap a receptive reaction. Would it be any wonder, then, if such responsive steering-this-way-and-that on your part didn't yield the type of connections and couplings most suitable to your unique temperament? How about letting them respond, however they will, to a straightforward presentation of you?

 

LEO (July 23-August 22): Expect concrete consequences from shirking your obligations, not following important instructions to the letter, or playing hard-and-fast with the rules of physical reality, Leo. There's presently very little wiggle-room on the logistical plane. An action or approach either works or doesn't work. All the most passionately-heartfelt wishful thinking in the world won't override the reasonable constraints around 'how things operate'. In fact, too much resistant ranting-and-raving on your part is liable only to drain your bodily reserves, potentially worsening the situation rather than effecting any functional progress. However, the reverse logic also applies just as effectively: If you work with the current physical conditions, accept your obligatory charge like a diligent servant, and stick close to the proven practices and methods, you will achieve concrete results from these efforts. And if you turn that heartfelt passion into an inner determination to persevere in your efforts (instead of willfully fighting against accepting what must be done), you'll see this emotional investment pay off with increases and improvements. Despite how complicated your feelings about it all may be, the earthly formula for getting through this shit is pretty darn basic.

 

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): What an excellent week for cataloguing your interests, enthusiasms, and predilections, Virgo. I'd invest 15 minutes each day making wild impractical lists of obsessions and curiosities, beloved songs or shows or movies, favorite fashion statements or humor-styles, cherished childhood pastimes, illustrious crushes from the past (or present?), random things that make you sparkle or grin, what you wish there was more of in your life… whatever your version of a daily creative self-reflection exercise, a mindfully carved-out time for communing with your arbitrary fascinations, goofy quirks, and fond reminders. Consider this advice a deliberate foil to the notion of new-year's resolution, in that this isn't a call to further hard labor, an instruction-manual for hardcore self-improvement, or a task with much 'practical' purpose; it's silly entertainment for you to enjoy, plain and simple. Of course, making more room for this type of fun-time practice is presently your most pressing piece of personal work (courtesy of so much emphasis on your 5th house). Besides, not only will your dedicated effort at this bring you the immediate rewards of momentary diversion, it'll also probably jog your memory of happy times… which just might kick into motion a timely and welcome renewal.

 

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): This is not a good time for outwardly offering any statements about how you've been feeling, Libra, unless they are exceedingly accurate and precise. No histrionic hyperbole about how dreary or doomed your every-single-thing looks (even if, privately, you're freaking out about the apparently impending falling-of-the-sky). No neatly-packaged feelgood sentiments that feign unreserved acceptance of the 'higher reason' for such things (since that insight probably won't reveal itself for a while longer, and, in the meantime, now what?). It's perfectly okay if you're still discerning one vital nuance from another, and/or striving to differentiate between a truth, a hope, and a fear. Better not to speak from such a position, at least not with any assuredness. But if you are going to talk this stuff out—because a certain person's feedback could help you draw some important connections, or if you're obliged to someone who's waiting on your critical feedback so they can move forward—please be impeccable in properly describing what you do know (while admitting what you don't), fairly restraining your worry or upset to only the specific situation to which it's directly relevant. If you speak about so-called feelings that aren't exactly what you're calling them, you'll be held to those misleading claims later.

 

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): Whether you've recently scored a major coup, reinvigorated your faculties with a burst of go-get-'em, and/or inflamed the wrath-and-fury of envious onlookers who'd seek to block your passage, Scorpio—or if you're still in the midst of instigating such a major-league move—so much of what happens next will depend on your persistent presence among the cast of characters, your open-hearted-and-minded interactivity, even a willingness to ride out what could feel like a glut of belabored dialogue or circular conversation with folks who need ample space to sound off or be walked through. If you want to demonstrate that everything's not about you (which, under the current astrology, is an impression others are apt to adopt), then you'd should probably go above and beyond the usual call-of-duty to carefully unpack your ideas for others' benefit, to take in their opinions or politely bear their critiques, and, above all else, to earnestly and intently listen both to their words and their unspoken emotional cues. Just granting someone your undivided attention can often be enough to enlist them as a supporter; this is simply how one friendly soul shows respect to another, inviting the cycle of appreciative reciprocity to go on.

 

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): Judge your current progress not on how much farther you're slinging yourself noticeably ahead, Sagittarius, but on being able to hold your ground with increasingly less self-doubt… and increasingly more material certainty. Rather than trying to push anything demonstrably forward while Mars cavorts with Jupiter in the otherworldly retreat-chamber of your solar 12th, focus instead on noticing how much existentially freer you feel when you know exactly where you currently are, without the pressure to hurriedly advance to the some still-as-yet-undefined 'next checkpoint'. It's hard to accumulate the resource-stuffs that provide security (whether we're talking literal money-and-goods sustenance and/or your proven competence to meet such needs) if you're in constant motion. It's also just as hard to assess what's still missing from your present portfolio of self-securing stores without pausing to take stock. Since you can't expect to garner every last thing you could possibly need, you must figure out exactly which singular assets or attributes to concentrate on working to slowly strengthen over the coming year. For the best results, you'll need to be specific and selective. Meanwhile, outward advancement can begin again in earnest late in the month, once Mars hits your 1st (on Jan 26).

 

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): As far as the present astrological weather-report tells us, everything's coming up Capricorn at the moment. Just to be unambiguously clear, this is an exceptionally impactful juncture of your unfolding (as I told you in your previous message), so whatever you say and do this week will imprint a noteworthy mark on your current circumstances, those around you, and/or your place in the world. Make it count. With a triple conjunction of the Sun, Venus, and Pluto in your sign, you'll be able to wield your typically-unsettling intensity with others in a more disarming manner, wrapped as it temporarily is in an extra coating of appeal and charm. During this fleeting occasion, you're better than ever at convincing other people to hand you what you want from them, to hold faith in the convictions you espouse, and to give you the benefit of nearly every doubt. But with this power comes the duty not to merely utilize their contributions of goodwill and support for your own ends, without consideration for whether you're setting them on a path that's ill-suited for their purposes or unduly hooking them into yours. Mercury and Saturn are also conjoining in your sign this week: What you say will stick. Don't let your persuasive impulses convolute the bare-bones truth or rope someone in under dubious pretenses.

 

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): What a very strange passage of relative uncertainty, immobility, and/or repose you're now bumbling your way through, Aquarius… even while, as far as the public can see, you're still keeping up with your responsibilities, fighting the good fight like a brave champ, and/or hitting an apparent height of acclaim or authority. What any of those publicly-visible successes, strengths, or struggles will actually mean to you as the weeks and months progress, alas, remains to be seen. With five planets in your solar 12th at the moment, you don't have much to dependably make of your present existence. In terms of doing, however, Mars and Jupiter in your 10th insist you continue taking each next logically-correct step along your current professional (and/or outside-world) path, no matter how logistically difficult or emotionally demanding it may be, without fixating too urgently on the likely outcomes being created by this series of actions. Please don't judge the big-picture trajectory of any such move, only whether it's a rightful response to the situation immediately at hand. For now, this trajectory is much clearer in terms of what you're moving away from than what you're moving towards.

 

PISCES (February 19-March 20): Pay particular attention to the specific language being used by your fellow companions, comrades, activists, and believers, Pisces. Word choice does matter in the public marketplace of ideas, as it's imbued with not-so-subtle signals about your relative experience or comfort-level with certain concepts, the worldview which your opinions are centered around, any prominent players whose ideas you subscribe to or disagree with, and the respective preferences or biases you carry with you. If you wish to position yourself as an ally or affiliate, to extend your perspective into new domain, or to distinguish yourself from those who aren't your thing, please take some time to study the discourse which has come before you and the rhetoric currently being thrown around, much as you might brush up on your Spanish prior to claiming fair fluency amongst a cadre of Chilean conversationalists. You won't impress anyone by posturing as an expert and then mispronouncing a keyword or using outdated (and thus offensive?) terminology. You will, however, come across as courteous and reverential by showing your willingness to learn… your confident humility earning an opening with peers who, after growing to trust you, will soon wish to discover what you too have to teach.