The Mercury retrograde intensifies this week as the planet of communication passes beneath the rays of the Sun. This will wreak havoc with your phone, your computer, and even your Facebook page so make a point of backing up files and double-checking email replies so that you’re not cc’ing when you want to be bcc’ing. Eye to hand coordination tends to be off when Mercury is reversed and that could spell disaster. You will also notice that you are getting edgier, more irritable, and hotter under the collar as we get closer to the weekend. Do what you can to put the best face on things and try to remember that everyone else is experiencing the same cosmic weather too. It’s like one of those hot, sweltering summer days when you’re waiting for the heatwave to break. Thankfully the heat will break next week, but you don’t want to say or do anything you will regret between now and then.
ARIES (March 21- April 19)
You rarely go back the way you came. You tend to leap first and ask questions later. However Mercury retrograding back down towards the Sun shows that this would be a good week to stop, look, and rethink. This will make sense on Tuesday when an option that you didn’t know about is laid out in front of you. You should study it because this could provide the way out of a decision you regret making or it may allow for a do-over. There’s nothing to be gained by staying on your present course. It’s a dead end and you should think about retreating so that you can return another day. Meanwhile the Uranus/Mercury trine on Wednesday will reintroduce an offer that you turned down before. Don’t let wounded pride get in the way of this helping hand. It may be true that the two of you are mismatched. You may be overqualified or he may be underpaying. You believe that you are meant for better things and that day when you get your due will surely come; however that day is not today and something is better than nothing – especially in our current economy. Meanwhile Mercury will be conjunct the Sun on Saturday. This is an extremely passionate placement so flirt responsibly. What’s fun and games for you is serious business for the other person.
TAURUS (April 20 -May 20)
The reason why a project costs so much is that you’re trying to save on expenses by doing things piece meal. It’s penny-wise and pound-foolish and the sooner you stop (like on Thursday) the better. The next step is to gather expert opinions about where to go from here. Your situation is not unsalvageable, but it’s a mess. These opinions will cost (everything is going to cost until Mercury comes out of retrograde on August 7), but you rest assured that your money will be well spent. Information is always worth its weight in gold, but a solid game plan is like platinum. Once you have that in place – along with all the facts, figures, and projections – then you can proceed confidently. Your project will succeed – and beyond your wildest imaginings – but you have to do things right the first time. On Friday you will be plagued by a swarm of doubts. It would be a good idea to let them buzz around the corners of your mind until they’ve spent themselves. Trying to figure them out only encourages them and rationalizing is like putting honey before flies. Besides, you’re a Taurus. It doesn’t matter what your second thoughts are or how fretful your worse case scenarios appear to be. Chances are you’ve already made up your mind about the matter and you won’t be changing it.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21)
Don’t worry about being cranky this week. Your friends still love you and the Stars do, too. On the 24th you will receive an offer or invite that looks great at first glance. It will swiftly lose its appeal, however, when you learn that it was originally presented to a competitor and was only passed on to you after this person turned it down. A little ego bruising is par for the course when Mercury is retrograde in Leo, so don’t let that stop you from taking advantage of this opportunity. On the 25th you will see a hope realized or a dream fulfilled. Again this is good news until you find out that you may have to move or relocate in order to take pursue this. Is there any reason why you might be feeling cranky? Actually there is an astrological explanation. Your Ruling Planet Mercury loses its critical edge whenever it passes back under the rays of the Sun which it will be doing this week. The Arab astrologers called this “combust” and likened it to traveling across the hot desert sands in the full of light of day. The relentless heat of the Sun drains you of all vitality which is why you will feel fatigued and wilted. Thankfully the effect is passing and you should experience a reboot in energies on August 2.
CANCER (June 22-July 22)
The Uranus and Pluto square at the end of June really turned your world upside down so it’s understandable that you would be feeling gun shy about taking on anything new nowadays. Even adding a name to your contacts list probably gives you serious moment for pause. Nevertheless you need to keep on moving forward. Uranus – the planet of revolution and change – is still exercising its influence and right now it’s urging you to expand your horizons and not to narrow them. Whatever the life changes you are undergoing the message from the Stars is clear: you need to evolve as a person and not stagnate. You have too much good to bring to the world to remain stuck in a rut forever. Meanwhile the first quarter Moon in Scorpio on the 26th introduces an interesting moral dilemma. Information will come to light that will enable you to exact revenge on someone who did you wrong. This could be an incriminating piece of correspondence, an email that you receive by mistake, or a voicemail that records one of those spectacular emotional meltdowns a la Mel Gibson. You will be seriously tempted to post it on Facebook or to tweet a link, but don’t. Revenge isn’t really your style and this will only circle back to bite you in the derriere later. You would be much happier just moving on.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)
You believe in making a personal difference. This is why you are so passionate about those causes, projects, and endeavors that you attach your name to. People who aren’t Leos see this as an ego thing, but it’s not. Like the Sun (which is your Ruling Planet) the day doesn’t begin until you arrive on the scene. You are the solar battery that makes things happen and you take your job as supreme motivator very seriously. It’s as simple as that. The downside to this is your assumption that if you can’t make something succeed then nobody can. This can create a blind spot where you overlook others’ contributions and where you could unintentionally turn yourself into an obstacle to growth instead of being its creative impetus. Make sure that this is not the case on the 25th and the 26th. Keep a tally of how many times you say yes versus how many times you say no. If the no’s outscore the yeses then something is wrong and you will want to reverse that trend ASAP. Over the weekend you will hear from a friend of a friend that a certain someone is asking about you. Your first reaction will be to tell him to call, but it would be better if you made the first move. You don’t always realize how intimidating you can be.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
The backwards motion of Mercury (which is your Ruling Planet) past the Sun this week shows a return to a situation or dilemma that you just said good-bye to. It will be easy to blame circumstances beyond your control for this unexpected regression. Are you really supposed to ignore someone who’s in desperate need of your help? Well, if it’s someone you just broke up with, a boss who just fired you, or a friend who’s still wiping clean the knife she plunged into your back then the answer is yes. These people figured out a long time ago that you just can’t say no to a problem which is why they will toss their latest crises out there to trip you up. It’s their premeditated way of keeping you hooked into their lives. But you’re complicit in this as well. Accustomed to cleaning up after others’ messes you wouldn’t know what to do with a clean slate if it were handed to you. Actually you would know what to do. You would make a mess of it. But this isn’t about self-sabotage. It’s about being more attached to the hell you know than the heaven you don’t. Don’t let this happen to you. Set a course for a place you’ve never been before (like a healthy relationship perhaps?) and see what happens. You could discover a brave new world.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
It will feel like every little thing you do or say sets people off – especially on the 24th and the 25th. You are dealing with some loud and blustery types this week and even though they say that they want to work out their differences, it’s clear that they’re not going to. The worst part is that you can’t win whatever you do. You will get shouted down if you speak up and you will get accused of being negative and judgmental if you don’t. Best solution? How about hiding out at a day spa on Wednesday or maybe even scheduling a weekend getaway? You could probably use a breather. Meanwhile you will be pressured (yet again) into giving your answer about a certain bid or offer. And once again this won’t sit well with you. The reason is that Mercury is retrograde in that part of your solar chart that pertains to friends and friends of friends. Simply put you are looking past the immediate circle of interests and trying to judge how the consequences of your decision will affect everyone else in the long run. You are still not convinced that all of the options have been played out and you are right. It isn’t easy being the voice of reason nowadays but continue to stall and your judgment call will be vindicated on August 8.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
This would be a good time to side with your hopes rather than your fears. You won’t be disappointed. The Sun is now passing through the highest point of your horoscope, bringing heat, light, and vitality to your grandest designs and most driving ambitions. You are in a position to fulfill these aims and you shouldn’t undershoot the mark. But your success doesn’t depend on willpower or the force of positive thinking. Your success depends on showing you care. This will be challenging because you usually mask your feelings. However people need to see that you believe in a cause if they’re going to follow you or that you are unafraid to reveal your vulnerable side if they’re going to become intimate with you. Your courage in taking the next step forward will be the deciding factor in others’ taking theirs. Meanwhile it’s not every day when you get credit for all that you do, but you will on Wednesday and Thursday. Make a point of accepting praise warmly and graciously. The reason why people don’t praise you more often is because you treat their attention like it’s a mild embarrassment. This comes from your self-preservation instinct to conceal your need for approval – which is pretty needy. But if you show them that you love the love then they’ll be more forthcoming in the future.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
Don’t be in a hurry to toss that fish back into the sea on Tuesday because it may be a better catch than you know. You’ve been casting your net far and wide for the past couple of weeks and you’ve taken in quite a haul of potential opportunities and intriguing possibilities. This is good because there was a time (and not too long ago) when you were coming up empty-handed. However the downside to too much of a good thing is that everything starts to look the same which makes it hard to spot the prize in the plenty. This is why you will want to bring in a friend or associate for a second opinion because this person may recognize the hidden value of something that’s staring you in the face. On Saturday you will hear some news that will make you all kinds of excitable. In fact it may even make you giggly. However you will want to approach matters cautiously because of the retrograde Mercury/Sun conjunction. It’s pretty famous for getting your hopes up only to see them go up in smoke. Keep in mind that you’re hearing about something in its infant stages which means that you will want to wait until after August 7 to see if it’s got legs or not. Who knows? You might be pleasantly surprised.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
If you are looking to refinance, reinvest, or even restructure an outstanding debt so that the terms are more palatable then you will want to do it on the 25th or the 26th. This is when all of those hidden factors that get the flow of money circulating – like lower interest rates, credit scores, and market values – will collude to work in your favor. This is also a good time to review accounts and to go over all contracts and agreements because you may find something in the wording that will benefit you like an uncollected bonus or protection against a penalty fee. For those of you Capricorns involved in long distance relationships, hapless love triangles, and one-sided secret crushes – then Saturday is the day for you. The retrograde Mercury/Sun conjunction will act like a cosmic get out of jail card in that the person you were pining for is now free to be with you or will at least clue in to the fact that you exist. Hopefully this will be good news and that it won’t send you scurrying in the opposite direction. Capricorns are so accustomed to making do without that the idea of actually getting something you want can be overwhelming. Shake off the fear and trembling and make a play for the guy. It’s always better to have than to have not.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
You didn’t mean to talk tough, but evidently the other party took it that way which means that you may have to practice some damage control on Wednesday. If this person took offense to what you said then make nice and apologize and things will be simpatico by day’s end. However there is a very strong (and intriguing) possibility that your unintended take-it-or-leave-it stance could result in getting said party to back down and even accede to your demands on Friday. Remember that Mercury is still retrograde which means that this is a time rife with misunderstandings. But not all misunderstandings were created equal. Some misunderstandings bedevil while others benefit and given the prominence of your ruling planet Uranus in the heavens this week – this could be one of those rare occasions when letting people believe what they want to believe could work to your advantage. However you will want to say what you mean and mean what you say on Saturday when you meet with an estranged lover or friend to settle some unfinished business. This person is looking to get back into your life and that would not be a good idea. He did you wrong before and there’s nothing to ensure that he won’t do you wrong again. Keep things above board and to the point and you will have nothing to worry about.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)
Developments on the home front promise to put you in a blissful mood this week. You may be reuniting with a loved one after a prolonged absence, welcoming a new member into the fold, or embarking on a redecorating project. It’s really quite exciting and you will be brimming over with joy and creative inspiration. You were born under a water sign which means that you are extremely sensitive to your environment. You really have to have the right lighting in a room, the right color on the walls, and the right music playing or you will feel out-of-sync. Mercury’s sextile to Jupiter on Tuesday followed by a trine to Uranus on Wednesday shows that you will be setting things up just right. You’ve got the means, the motive, and the money. That said, you might consider practicing a little impromptu Feng-Sui in some other areas of your life – like with co-workers for instance. Their energy has been pretty neggy lately. You tried putting it out of your mind, but with no success. How about offering to help re-organize their workspace? They might surprise you by saying yes on Friday. This allows you to bond with them in a new and pleasant manner while introducing a little aesthetic taste that’s gone missing. You can begin by tossing the chia pet that has sat unwatered on their desk for weeks.
