Cancer (June 21-July 22)
Western society tends to view the heart as the seat of the emotions, but many other cultures say the root of intense feelings is actually the liver. It outweighs the heart and is made of softer stuff—heart tissue is actually pretty tough. I’ve noticed you’ve been pretty tough lately, too. Do you really need to be so rugged? Might I suggest taking a break from feeling everything with your sturdy, efficient heart, and switch to experiencing your emotions from a sloppier, softer organ? Try repeating after me: I love you with all my liver.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)
The phone pouts silently in the corner. The sullen mailbox spits only junk and bills in your direction. Your computer stews wordlessly on your desk. So you’re feeling neglected by the world? Maybe you’re neglecting the world. Here’s your assignment: For the next week, contact at least one person per day that deserves your attention. Your incentive: If you get in touch with seven forgotten friends this week, I promise: Your apartment won’t be frozen in time, surrounded by an impassable barrier of thorny roses, and you may get your prince(ss) without all the hassle.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
Your ability to pierce or sidestep people’s emotions with ease is at its peak right now, through mid-July. If only you could turn this talent on and off at will. Unfortunately, you’re stuck seeing through people’s illusions, crashing through emotional walls, and plunging into the depths of your companions’ internal worlds, whether you or they like it or not. The best thing you can do right now, and your primary challenge, is find your way out of the labyrinthine emotions of your friends and connecting that deep feeling to the real world the rest of us are living in.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
When was the last time you saw in color? I mean really noticed the blue of the sky, the green of a leaf, or the pink of a neon sign? Sometimes it takes someone or something to wake you up, make you realize that up until that moment, you’d been seeing the world in black and white. Suddenly, scarlet spills into the skin of the apple, cerulean floods the eyes of the person who awakened you, saffron unfolds in the center of the daisy. Whether it’s been minutes or months since you’ve truly felt alive, your shades of gray are about to go technicolor again.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
You’re the Queen of complication these days. You may even be mistaken for a Leo this week, the way you’ve been smoothly seducing everyone you meet, sometimes snubbing your best friends to do so. Your regal pursuit of your own desires is fine. But if you’re going to act like royalty, you must learn the lesson every Leo learns, eventually: Even a King is merely servant to the people he rules. It’s hard for people to get or stay mad at you, but your friends may find it a whole lot easier soon. A few dignified apologies, belated invitations, and a heartfelt phone call or two will go a long way towards averting a revolt.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
You’re not a salmon, nor a kite. It’s not a good week to play devil’s advocate, nor the rebel you excel at. Avoid swimming upstream, and definitely do not attempt to paddle up a waterfall. Keep the wind at your back instead of flying full face into it. Go with the flow whenever you can. Imagine your life as an inflatable orange raft bobbing down a river. This week is a stretch of rapids. Trying to slow down or reach the shore in whitewater is crazy. Kneel right up front and make it your main goal to keep from falling out.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
According to popular legend, some Tibetan monks, through spiritual practice, would become so light they needed to carry rocks in order to keep from floating right off the Earth. It’s a lovely thought, isn’t it, being that free of all the heaviness that surrounds you? I can’t picture you flying to work instead of using the subway, or wearing velcro shoes in your apartment to prevent bumping your head on the ceiling. You’re still too weighty for that. But I can imagine you shedding many unsightly mental pounds simply by taking yourself less seriously. Get silly, you goof.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
One eminently practical Aquarius I knew years ago had a wisecrack solution to every problem: “Duct-tape it.” He actually employed this miracle of modern technology repeatedly, often with great success. I applaud your perpetual quest for long-ranging solutions, permanent fixes to your most pressing problems. But sometimes a temporary patch-up job is necessary to hold off disaster while you’re waiting for the “real” solution to arrive. Spare a little time and energy from your “big picture” pursuits to make sure all the small pictures stay in their frames. It won’t be too hard, sort of the equivalent of holding it together with thick, silvery tape.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
It’s a bitch being so damn powerful, isn’t it, Pisces? I know you often feel battered, tugged and swamped by the maelstrom of powerful emotions within you—that they’re out of your control. I picture you clinging to frail tethers of reason, rotting wooden piers of logic and shifty dunes of rationality in an effort to resist being swept away by this tsunami of remorse, that tidal wave of anxiety or euphoria. But despite the feeling that all of this is larger than you, out of your control, the fact is: it is you. Don’t restrain it. Au contraire: can you ride it more often? See where it takes you.
Aries (March 21-April 19)
My high school history teacher focused heavily on the cyclic nature of the past. He’d point out every turn of the wheel, each swing of the pendulum. It wasn’t a very inspiring perspective on the past (or the future), implying as it did that our actions have only minute effects. That may be true. I prefer considering stuff like philosophy or science, which continually builds and expands upon the work others have done, with less backward motion. Don’t get stuck on perspectives that thwart or stall you. So what if it seems hard for an individual to powerfully influence history? If anyone can, it’s you.
Taurus (April 20-May 20)
My favorite architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser believed that perfectly flat floors are spiritually deadening and unnatural. In that spirit, he designed fanciful buildings with wonderfully uneven floors. He built colorful patterns and unique shapes right into his structures, wedding beauty with utility in a harmonious marriage that’s hard not to like. The internal schism of purpose you’ve been complaining about is curable. Your gorgeousness is begging to shine through your every activity. Let it. Sing while you work, dance while you walk, beautify while you clean. By embodying this attitude as best you can, I guarantee–-not only will you and everything around you be prettier, you’ll be happier, too.
Gemini (May 21-June 20)
What shape is the monster under your bed? Is he hairy? Tusked? Does she have cloven hooves? A tail? Most monsters today are massive. Some fear an out-of-control, oppressive government backed by an ultra-rich military and a corporatized fast-growing prison industry. Others dread the behemoth of international corporate powers already more powerful than some nations. I cling to the hope that those with an awareness of these seemingly unstoppable forces can use our Lilliputian influences to create a future that’s actually livable for your average human being. And if anyone can figure out how to make these giant, scary beasts check each other, it’s your tribe.
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