Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
There’s a difference between serenely accepting the inevitable and passively concluding that something is inevitable when it really isn’t. This week, your situation is more the latter than the former. You think you’re being enlightened, going with the flow because there’s no use resisting it, but what you’re actually being is passive and fatalistic. Your destiny, at least regarding this particular scenario, is still very much in your hands, and nowhere near decided. In fact, the only way the negative outcome you’ve anticipated is guaranteed is if you make it happen—by doing nothing.
Aries (March 21-April 19)
What would happen if you decided to start waking up two hours earlier every day? At first, you’d have trouble falling asleep earlier. You’d be very tired for a few days—then you’d adjust. Your body would recalibrate. Unless you had many ingrained habits resisting your new schedule, within a month it wouldn’t even be a struggle to get out of bed. The problem: Many Aries give up before they really get going. You’re frequently thwarted by the growing pains of change. You’ve got plenty of willpower but not much discipline. This week, however, you’re in luck: You’re apt to get a great lesson on how to convert the former into the latter. Pay attention.
Taurus (April 20-May 20)
Exercise your free will. Don’t fall into the mental trap of thinking you’re stuck with something and have no options. You may not love the options (or their consequences), and so might not have really considered them yet—but they’re there. If I were you, I wouldn’t give up so easily. Take a closer look at what might happen should you follow one of the other roads available to you. Where you’d end up isn’t as bad as you thought—and ultimately, it’s a whole lot better (in the long run, if not the short) than wherever you’re stuck right now.
Gemini (May 21-June 20)
Sometimes the best thing you can do is just butt out. You’re an expert at manipulating situations and manifesting the scenarios you want; naturally, you’re extremely tempted to try that every time. Maturity and experience will teach you (if they haven’t already) that occasionally it’s best just to let things unfold on their own. Often they’ll play out exactly as you want them to—which means that any meddling on your part probably would have steered them straight off that course, probably into a wall. Wisdom is knowing when just to shut up and let things run their course. Do you have that yet? Show me.
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
Just because you deserve the benefit of the doubt doesn’t mean you’ll always get it. Sometimes you have to work against people’s fears, and just plain prove them wrong, fair or not. It’s usually not that hard—unless you trip yourself up. The easiest way to do that, of course, is to get pissed off that they doubted you in the first place. Your anger and resentment will knock you on your ass more swiftly then their distrust ever could. Let it go. Yes, their misgivings are unfair and unjustified—but hanging on to that, instead of what you need to do, will just end up proving them right.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)
In some ways we’re defined by who we love. It’s easy to love the popular, friendly, smart, beautiful people you know, but what about those who have a little more baggage, or didn’t win the good-looks lottery? If you only love the pretty people, that says something about you—and it’s not particularly flattering. If you’re capable of loving people who aren’t as easy to adore, that says something, too. I believe you’re someone whose big heart is capable of loving lots of different kinds of people, and the ones who probably need it the most are those who usually get it the least.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
I like to think that our purest instincts cause us habitually to try bring out the best in each other, but for some reason that’s so rarely true. Instead, we often seem to revel in watching others fail, flounder, or flail. That’s kind of shitty, especially when being encouraging, supportive, and inspiring would be much more likely to create a win-win scenario. This week, eschew schadenfreude and any other even slightly sadistic impulse you may have. Instead, try to elicit the best from the people you meet, and create that win-win scenario. Hopefully what goes around—your inspiring example—will also, eventually, come around.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
Don’t give beautiful people a free pass. A pretty face is sometimes license to behave very badly, and you’re in a position to discourage that kind of bullshit this week. A kind and generous soul is far more beautiful in the long run than just a perfect smile or amazing cheekbones. Hold out for that kind of beauty—the kind honed through practice and spirit, rather than the one simply bequeathed in a gene-pool lottery. Let the pretty people earn their way, at least this once. Don’t just roll out the red carpet and give it all away for free.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
Every single human being gets depressed occasionally. It’s when we forget the stuff that could still bring us joy that we get into trouble. It’s best to try to keep really good track of those happiness-inducing things. If you haven’t yet fallen into a rut, you’re certainly teetering on the brink, and you don’t have an especially good grip on the joyful rope that could pull you out of it (or keep you from falling in). Luckily, many of the things that used to bring you delight are still capable of that. When all else fails, revisit them.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
Someone defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. The inverse could also be true: doing many different things but expecting consistent and predictable results. That’s sort of the strategy you’ve employed, and I’ve got to say it is slightly crazy. I’m not sure why you’re bewildered by the very varied results. To me, it’s a no-brainer: Send out mixed messages and you’ll likely get confused responses. Consistency isn’t your strong suit, I know, and I wouldn’t want you to become boringly predictable, but if you want to achieve the kind of success you’re aiming for, you may have to move at least a little in that direction.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
There’s no such thing as pure good or pure evil. Sure, actions can be wholly wrong or right, but something as complex as a person never is. Even a tyrant or a serial killer has had moments of sweetness, generosity, and kindness in his life, and even a saint has at some time or other been cruel. For most of us, of course, life is a series of small adjustments between those two extremes. I’d argue that a hundred tiny moments of pettiness, unkindness, or neglect can tilt the balance in the wrong direction. In fact, very rarely do we get opportunities for huge acts of kindness or cruelty. Since most of life is made up of almost inconsequential little acts, make sure that most of yours steer clear of bitchiness, pettiness, or casual cruelty. Aim for compassion, humor, and love instead.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
If you’re the parent of very young children, or work in a school, animal shelter, or asylum, you learn to treasure and relish the short-lived moments of peace and quiet. You’ve probably discovered that they can rarely be manufactured, but seem to happen randomly—and thus must be taken advantage of, if and when they occur, without delay. It’s actually very spiritual in a way, because when your life holds that much chaos over which you have very little control, it forces you to be very present and just take each moment as it comes. I think—and the universe seems to agree—that you could stand to have just an ounce or two more of this kind of joyful pandemonium. Don’t resist it. It may just be your path to a greater, more sustainable form of serenity than you’ve ever known.
