Weekly horoscopes: Serious business

You’ll want to roll up your sleeves and knuckle down when Mars, the planet of gumption and drive, forms a sextile to Pluto, the planet of transformation, this week. This is a highly motivated planetary combo which means that it’s the perfect time to train for a marathon, to start a new diet (you’ll actually lose weight this time) or to start that creative project you always dreamed of doing one day. Nothing can stop you when you have Mars and Pluto together like this. Not only are you determined to change the habits of a lifetime, but you will go the distance because you are supremely results-driven. You will find that you can reshape most anything according to your will — within reason, of course. You may not be able to bend spoons by glaring at them, but it will be the next best thing.

 ARIES (March 21- April 19)

You could begin the week in a funk, but don’t let that get you down. Venus, the planet of love, is passing through a mopey part of the sky, so nothing will sit right with you on Monday and Tuesday. You’re apt to feel taken for granted, ignored and abandoned by friends. It’s not true, but the planets — like people — have their off days. Set your mind on tackling tasks that challenge you but where you can expect to see immediate results. Kick it up a notch on your daily workout, test-drive a recipe for a dinner you’ve wanted to make or prep your garden for the fall by clearing out the beds. These may sound like random activities designed to distract you, and that’s the point. You were born under Mars — the high-energy planet. You need an outlet for your pent-up frustrations. You’re kind of like the kid in grade school who was always being told to go out and run a few laps around the track until he could come back and settle down. Thankfully, Venus will enter fun-loving Leo on Thursday. Venus is all about mixing work with pleasure when she’s in the lion’s sign, so you’ll be glad you forced yourself to be industrious. You’ll have plenty of occasions over the next four weeks to show off your culinary talents, your gardening expertise and your toned muscles, of course.

TAURUS (April 20 -May 20)

Usually you’re happy playing domestic goddess. The reason why you will burn the midnight oil at work and put in the long hours that you do is because you know that you have a whirlpool bathtub, a copper pan-stocked kitchen and a perfectly outfitted bed with 700-thread-count sheets waiting for you at the end of the day. However, home hasn’t exactly topped your list of go-to destinations lately. Maybe it’s tensions with loved ones, burdensome obligations or an underlying wanderlust that can only be satisfied by frequent flyer miles. In any case, this will all change on Thursday when ruling planet Venus enters that part of your solar chart that relates to hearth and family. Venus is good-humored and easygoing when she’s in Leo, so this is an excellent time to kick your feet up and to have those conversations that you’ve been avoiding. You won’t be talking at the same time as your lover or trying to outshout him. The kids won’t be so contrary, and the in-laws will actually want to know how things are going with you for a change. Even your pets will show a newfound respect and appreciation. You can expect life to be on the mend over the next four weeks. It won’t quite be like the lion lying down next to the lamb, but it will still pass as your version of the peaceable kingdom.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21)

You need to watch it with the ego trips this week as the Sun will be forming its first square to Jupiter in Gemini. Red flag days are September 7 and September 8. Usually you have a pretty good head on your shoulders about these things. Years spent playing the class clown (K through graduate school) made you particularly adept at wisecracks, quips and taking the air out of some overly-inflated egos. Your track record for spotting Emperors parading around in the buff has made you the person everyone turns to when they need someone to tell it like it is. But there comes a time when people grow successful and begin to confuse the person with the persona, and that’s when they make the mistake of believing their own press. Jupiter is the planet of Emperors in Astrology, and when it travels through a sign like yours, then it can start to make you imperious. You can get high-handed, dismissive and a tad self-righteous. You need to watch out for this because your success has always been based on your ability to laugh at yourself. Wit and humility give you your credibility, so don’t let success spoil who you are. Keep it real, and you’ll have everything to gain and nothing to lose during this time that Jupiter is in Gemini. Jupiter will be in Gemini through June 2013.

CANCER (June 22-July 22)

The hardest minds to change are the people who know you all too well. The very thing that allows you to relax around them is also your greatest obstacle — personal history. Sharing years of hopes and wishes, faults and foibles, good times and bad creates a bond of familiarity and intimacy unlike any other. Not only do you “get” each other in that unspoken, I-don’t-need-to-explain-myself way, but you come to rely on each other to play a variety of roles like Rock of Gibraltar, Sounding Board, and Voice of Reason. But this comes with an unwritten agreement and that is: Don’t change. Usually you’d uphold it except that you are undergoing one of the most dramatic growth cycles in your life. It is so unexpected and unprecedented that you can’t even predict how things will pan out. All you know is that you have to be true to yourself and that part of you that is pushing for something different. Loved ones and close friends want the best, but they also don’t see anything wrong with the ways things are, so they’ll naturally try to lead you back to what they think is right. Chances are you would do the same if the shoe were on the other foot. Accept that you are traveling different paths for now, and trust that you will meet again further down the road this fall.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)

If a “friend” told you to jump off a bridge, would you do it? OK. You probably haven’t heard that one in years, but it still holds true — especially with Jupiter forming a square to the Sun this week. Don’t let your need for love and approval blind you to the fact that certain people figured out a long time ago that flattery gets them everywhere with you. Not only that, but they’re working the angles on your insecurities to push their agenda. Now are they really out to get you? No. They’re actually trying to help you to help yourself. But they appear to be under the mistaken impression that they know what’s good for you better than you do, and that’s an overreach. Reassert your authority on Friday and show them who’s boss. You’ll do them — and yourself — an enormous favor. Meanwhile Venus, the planet of love and beauty, enters your zodiac sign on Thursday. Venus is at her most magnetic and charismatic when she’s traveling through Leo, and you’ll see a bump in your approval ratings right away. It may take a while to notice that guys are looking at you in that way that they used to back in high school, but you’ll catch on eventually. You may also notice that their girlfriends will be glaring at you in the same way too.  Venus will be in Leo through October 2.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

This week you’re feeling willing and able and ready to take on the world. It’s the perfect time to tackle those tasks that stumped you earlier in the year. Not only will you master them easily, but you’ll find yourself wondering what spooked you in the first place. September 5 and September 7 are great days for taking a test, an exam or even the bar because you will pass with flying colors. Jupiter high in your horoscope is also good for court rulings, rewards and settlements. You can’t help but come out on top when the planet of good fortune and higher purpose is watching over you like this. That said, you should also know that there’s a downside to Jupiter which is its tendency to be generous to a fault. It’s like what happens to people when they win the lottery — they get carried away with their good fortune. This is when the planet can lead you to overextend your reach, to make promises you can’t keep or to spread the wealth so thin that there’s nothing left for you. Don’t let your exuberance run away with you. Remember that you’re a Virgo — not a Sagittarius or a Pisces — and Virgos do everything in moderation. Parcel out the goodwill gestures and expressions of gratitude, and you’ll be able to enjoy your winnings.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

Born under the sign of the balance, it isn’t always easy to tell if a relationship works because you and a partner are equals or because you are doing the majority of the compromising. It’s food for thought that you’ll be digesting from September 2 through September 6 as ruling planet Venus winds up her stay in the zodiac sign of Cancer. Let’s face it — no relationship is perfect. But you tend to see a relationship as being made up of three entities. There’s you, your partner and the relationship itself. As a Libra you will do whatever it takes to keep your relationship going, and you have an expectation that your partner will do the same. But not all people see relationships in this way. Some people see relationships as a chance to stop the world and melt with you. Others might see a relationship as somebody to hang out with, a power struggle, a hot time in the sack or an endless therapy session where emotional “wounds” are revisited again and again. At this point you should have a clear idea of who you’re dealing with. You should also know that the remedy to compromising too much (if that is indeed true) isn’t to become more demanding. The key is to introduce a bit more “me” into your “we” and to trust that the relationship will take care of itself.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

You are in an industrious phase and should push yourself to make the most of it. You’ve probably felt the impulse to knuckle down and get serious about work, but you should also think about moving your more creative ideas off the back burner to the front of the stove — and turning up the heat. One of the difficulties with being a Scorpio is that you tend to let things simmer for longer than they should. You’re more crockpot than microwave — and this is the secret to your rich flavor — however, the long, slow cooking process can turn into an elaborate form of procrastination. This week your two ruling planets — Mars and Pluto — will form a rare sextile. Sextiles are all about alignment, and you will see an alignment between your inner intentions and outer circumstances that will only grow stronger in the weeks ahead. It’s the Stars’ way of bringing together two worlds that might not otherwise intersect. You will want to move an endeavor out of the hobby column into the moneymaking column because Mars/Pluto sextiles are auspicious for start-ups, launches and expansions. They signal a time when resources and funding will be made available for you to use — not in a personal capacity, but in a professional capacity. All that’s required is a serious effort on your part to make your dream a reality.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

Your days as moral support system are coming to an end. You’ve done the best job you can to buoy people’s spirits, but how can they expect you to be in their corner if they’re not standing there themselves? Some of this stems from sheer exhaustion. You can understand why loved ones or co-workers are tired of fighting the same old battles and why they would want to throw in the towel. Yet you can also see how they haven’t really made the most of their circumstances either. They say that they want to make their own decisions, but they wait on others to tell them what to do. And at work you’ve seen how your colleagues will do exactly what’s expected of them — and nothing more. You can’t do the believing for people. They have to believe in themselves. They need to fan the fires of faith and commit to giving it their all because half measures yield half-baked results — as any chef will tell you. Meanwhile, you will have your own window of opportunity to peer through thanks to the Sun/Jupiter square on Friday. This is when you will receive that offer or invite that you’ve been hoping for. It will mean leaving someone in the lurch, but you can’t afford to pass this up. It’s time for you to top your own list of priorities.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

Expect to have a serious sit-down talk about the future of your relationship on Monday. This is the last time that Venus — the planet of love — will form a square to Saturn in Libra before Saturn’s change of signs on October 5. Translation? Monday is the day when you two will put everything on the table for the other person to see. This is when you talk about what’s working, what’s not and what you need to see happen in order to build a future together. Venus/Saturn squares can be pretty no-nonsense, but then again they’re all about the business of love. It may not be the most romantic conversation you ever had, but you’ll know where the other one stands — no ifs, ands or buts. You have every reason to expect the best in love right now. On Wednesday you will be asked for your professional opinion about a certain venture. People have a high regard for your expertise, and your reputation goes beyond the workplace. It will start out very casual and conversational, but you’re actually being interviewed. This could result in a consulting job or an offer to take over a project or department. Even if it’s something as simple as reorganizing a friend’s closets, this little episode will plant the seeds for a moneymaking enterprise that will spring to life in February 2013.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

If you’re not already in a leadership position, then you will be soon. It’s a strange place to find yourself because you were born under a zodiac sign that’s famous for defying authority — not exercising it. However, you have all the makings of a successful supervisor, entrepreneur or even a CEO. Aquarians possess an innate ability to step outside of a heated situation and to analyze matters from an objective and detached point of view. Your insistence that the good of the many outweighs the needs of the few ensures that you always have the welfare of the group uppermost in mind. You also have zero tolerance for suffering fools gladly. The only thing that could hold you back is your need to feel like you’re part of the gang. And it should be abundantly clear by Wednesday that you are no longer part of the gang. Take this cue to step up to the plate and to be the leader that you have always wanted someone else to be. You’ll find that the person you were always looking to turn to is you. Meanwhile, Friday is an auspicious day for resolving differences and for settling lawsuits out of court. An opponent will prove to be uncharacteristically cooperative and open to what you have to say. You may think that he’s on drugs, but don’t ask. You really don’t want to know.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)

It used to be that Pisces people were the self-sacrificers of the zodiac, the go-to sign if you wanted someone to give you the shirt off their back and maybe their pants too. Not anymore. Perhaps it’s Mars in Scorpio that’s given you your bite or Jupiter in Gemini that’s pushing you to speak your mind. Then again it could be your Ruling Planet Neptune returning to Pisces after 165 years of being away. This has done a lot to empower and embolden you. In any case, you’re nobody’s doormat as loved ones will discover for themselves on September 7.  You were happy to give them unconditional emotional support when they were going through bad times, but now that they’re on the other side of them you’re starting to feel taken for granted and like they expect you to step and fetch things. Well, somebody’s got another think coming. But be that as it may, you can’t just stop cold turkey. It’s not who you are, and you don’t want to create unnecessary drama. Begin this weekend by taking away one favor that you do without being asked — like getting them something if you’re out getting something for yourself. And then make it one cut-back per week over the next five weeks. They’ll get the hint. This will do more to get your message across than all the heart-to-heart conversations in the world.