Sign Language

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)

There's no excuse to sit on the couch eating bonbons, Piscesat least not this week. With the sun's nuclear force fueling you, and Mercury and Neptune engaged in a mind-meld almost entirely for your benefit, communicating your ideas in a way that inspires yourself and others to actually do something about them has rarely been simpler. Don't waste your Tony Robbins-esque motivational mightespecially since your message is so relevant to so many in your life, on numerous levels. We need you to lovingly kick our asses with your sweet wisdom. Get up on that soapbox and preach, please. Amen, hallelujah.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

My last fight made me think of you. I actually lost my temper (a rare event) and threw a cup of lukewarm chai at someone. Although that ridiculously juvenile and pathetic gesture didn't win me any points, I have to admit it felt sort of good. This week, as you enter the crossroads I just left, consider your options: One fork, down which you keep your cool, will more likely advance your agendaif in a lame, anticlimactic way. The other forkthe one where you blow your lid and vent emotional steamwon't win your argument for you. It's a tough choice. Think about it this way: It's nice to get what you want, but they say that people who express their anger live longer. It's your call.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

Sweetness is the way to go. Forget a lame, linear agenda of always getting your way or exactly what you want (sweetness alone rarely works for that). But if you're up for attempting a deeper gamea more evolved schemalike simply aiming for a positive/constructive outcome to any given situation, honey will work better than vinegar. This less selfish goal allows for surprising scenarios that rockthat are, in fact, far superior to the ones you'd have manifested on your own. Channel as much rich, molasses-thick kindness this week as you canforgetting the fake sweet of saccharin or the harsh tang of vinegarand you're likely to get more deeply satisfying shit than the stuff you thought you wanted before.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

My dad used to play this joke in which he'd rub a jalape�epper along the rims of others' drinking glasses. As they sought to quench the burning with their beverages, they'd only aggravate the problem. Someone's played this kind of juvenile prank on you, Gem. Don't fall for it. The first two solutions your jittery brain will come up with can only exacerbate the situation, not ameliorate it. When you start feeling the sting, don't frantically flail trying to extinguish it. If you resist your initial panic, you'll notice the pain isn't as intense as it first seemed, and you'll be able to find a realistic answer to itone that will actually work.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

You are the hardest sign to write a weekly horoscope for. The problem: Your ruling planet is the moon, which slips from sign to sign with slutty abandon every two and half days and has myriad anonymous encounters with other planets along the way. During that time, you're liable to experience any number of shifting moods, which might or might not mutate or catalyze significant events in your life. I try to look at the bigger stuff, but sometimes, as you know, the little shit is what's importantlike this week: Ignore the tsunamis that come your way. It's the little waves before or after that are more likely to knock you down.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)

Building a rock wall is an art. You can't just haphazardly stack stones; your structure will collapse repeatedly into a shifting and dangerous mound of heavy granite. The size, shape, and heft of each stone has to be carefully evaluated and considered in reference to the others to ensure a tight, stable fit. Constructing the inevitably variable but necessarily dependable boundaries that define the edges of your life is an even more painstaking process. As you develop and delineate the emotional frontiers in your closest relationships this week, be careful. Don't just stack stones. Breathe deeply, take your time, and do it right.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

University of Tokyo engineering professor Susumi Tachi has developed invisibility technology. He's created retro-reflective material that mirrors whatever's behind it, giving the illusion of transparency. Even though donning a cloak of invisibility may seem too Harry Potter-ish for you to take seriously, you might wish you had one this week. The more ably you fly under the radar and avoid any and all notice, the better off you'll be. Luckily for you, you have your own form of imperceptibility that works without magic or cutting-edge technology, since it's based entirely on your own sense of timing, tact, and gut instinct. Use it.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

Light acts as both particle and wave, depending on the situationbut never both at the same time; it can only be observed in one state or the other at any given moment. This essential paradox resembles the koan of your existence right now. (A koan is a riddle Zen Buddhists use to focus the mind during meditation and enhance their intuitive powers.) Stop flipping your shit trying to wrap your head around it. It's something you can only understand with your heart. Once you do, you'll realize that not only can you be more than one apparently contradictory thingyou have to be.