Aries (March 20-April 19) — You need a new deal, and you can negotiate it. The time is perfect. However, that won’t mean much to you if you don’t grasp the concept of negotiation. It’s a conversation where people state their expectations and what they’re willing to offer or deliver. Then, with that information on the table, you reach an agreement. For you, the basis of the discussion is what you personally want, what you want to contribute, and whether what you’re being offered is acceptable. Most people balk at discussions this direct in the personal realm; I suggest you proceed with confidence and with clarity. You’re likely to underestimate your influence or power in the situation, though don’t make the mistake of overrating yourself, either. Recognize that everyone has needs and everyone has something to offer. The question is: can you work out something that’s mutually acceptable? Whether this is personal or professional, there’s no reason why not.

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — You need less of some things and more of others. You need less authority in your life, which means taking more authority for yourself. You’ve probably figured out by now that the more you keep your own ship, your own desk and your own mind in order, the less anyone has to do it for you. You need more conscious exchange with others, which for you really means being willing to offer yourself generously and to receive what others are offering. The two are intimately related. Giving and receiving work with the same spiritual muscle, which is the one you want to exercise. “I have something you might need” and “thank you” are in essence the same thing. Withholding and taking for granted have their own special muscle, and you can safely let that one atrophy. Lastly, you don’t need anyone telling you what their notion of god thinks is good for you. You can make up your own mind about that.

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — There is a way through or around any obstacle or obstruction. You will need to decide whether someone in your life is being stubborn and intractable, or whether they have an interest in growing. If you repeatedly come up against their refusal to change, and if this has gone on for a year or so, you will need some kind of workaround. They are unlikely to be interested in changing. Yet you’re too well suited to adapting to discomfort for your own good. You need to put your survivalist tendencies to good use, rather than letting them be used against you. Anyway, the purpose of relationships is not to endure; it’s to be productive, share in the benefits of life and have fun. So if you find yourself making excellent use of your coping skills, you might back off a little bit, and find other ways either to adapt or to make a real decision.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Your solar chart this week is all about sex. Excellent sex; the kind where you can’t decide if it’s what you need, or what you want. This falls under the larger heading of creativity. You might count the benefits of pleasure and recreation in your assessment of what you have to accomplish; but then you probably already know about that. Take your well-earned knowledge to heart. Your primary goal needs to be feeling good, so that you can let your ideas and your sense of self flourish. It won’t be hard to find a playmate or two to help this process along, and there seems to be someone in your life of the sparky, irreverent sort. In our moment when time is in such high demand and everyone seems stressed to their limit, efficiency is the key. The most efficient thing you can do is lead an integrated life, where everything feeds everything else; where work and play serve the same purpose.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — Not everything is an emotional drama, nor does it have to be made into one. The tendency to take everything personally, and to view anything in the world as a threat to your security, is one of the most wasteful plights of our time in history. You can take 10 years of therapy to figure this out, or you can just see that it’s true: without you feeding the drama, it would hardly exist. Therefore, you might consider withdrawing your energy from anything that’s negative, annoying or intrusive, and investing it in your own wellbeing. You are free to block the phone numbers, ignore the text messages and delete the voicemails of anyone who saps your strength or wastes your time. If you feel any guilt about it, presume it’s a toxin rather than a natural substance. This is a great time to bring certain emotional habits to an end, and teach yourself some new ones.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — You may have recently made some observations about a person you live with, and you would be wise to act on them rather than put things off for a few more seasons, months or years. This really is a matter of confidence. If you trusted yourself, what would you do? That’s not only a question in this situation — it’s the theme of your life right now and for the foreseeable future. When you trust yourself you have access to your resources. When you don’t, the first thing to ask yourself is where your faith in yourself went, where you left it behind, or to whom you handed it over (any feelings of guilt will give you a clue as to who that is). My point being: it’s not only what you need, it’s the only thing you need, and you would be wise to devote yourself to this one purpose. It transcends all others.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — The theme of your life is finding your independence, and this is true from at least two directions: financial and emotional. It’s difficult to have one without the other, so you may as well consider them one goal. They are so intimately related that they are functionally one thing. It’s likely that your relationship to one or both parents is involved. As you understand and work toward establishing your financial sovereignty, emotional issues will come up. As emotional material comes up, you will discover that much of it is inherently financial. Said another way, your emotional clarity and strength are directly related to how you relate to money. This is the dinosaur in the room, and everyone knows it. Just listen for the actual reasons people give for staying in toxic situations, including putting up with their family. Be strong about this, and be clear: anyone who lacks financial power over you has no power at all.

 

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — Sunday’s spectacular New Moon in your birth sign is a reminder that it’s time to enter a new phase of your life. Sometimes we do this as an act of will; sometimes the emotional landscape opens up and we walk into a new vista; sometimes both are happening at once, and that looks like what’s going on. Understand that you control many facets of your perception through your mental approach and attitude. Approach means how you ‘come at’ any situation, and ‘attitude’ is your position or posture. So pay attention to how you come at things, and what your posture is. You have infinite approaches to any situation you find yourself in, or any puzzle you face. Consider a few before you automatically choose the most habituated one. Every circumstance is, in fact, new — just like every person is different and every day is a new day.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — You’re under less pressure than you think. You also have more resources to work with than you think, despite any recent setbacks. First, address the pressure. This is mostly psychological, though there’s an emotional dimension. What you seem to be craving is to live out some of your fantasies, whether they are of the rock star, sex diva or financial wizard variety (fill in with your own ideas). The thing to do is to make it real — whatever that might be, even if in a small way. That will help you relax and remove the annoying sense of how abstract and disconnected from reality everything (and everyone) seems to be these days. As for resources, the first thing you need is to know what you need. Be practical about this: make a list. You’ll be able to cross off about half of the items on that list because either you or someone close to you has direct access to that thing. The rest will be within reach, with some effort or negotiation.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — Mars in your sign is pushing you to be at your best. But what is your best? Being a star, or doing quality work? The two motivations are mutually exclusive. For some people, in some times and some places, the drive for notoriety pushes them to actual accomplishments. For you that’s too risky; it would be too easy for your ego to dominate consciousness. That’s to say, what you do cannot be about you — it must be about the thing you’re doing, and the part that’s about you is the discipline and dedication necessary to make something happen. Be cautious about any inspiration that comes from praise or public attention. Be cautious about anything a detractor says. Consider them to have approximately the same value, which is less value than your own pressing need for integrity. That means listening with your whole mind, telling no lies whatsoever, and accounting for what you promise but do not deliver.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Monitor your fear level closely. It’s still a potentially serious distraction. Remember that there are two ways to approach any possibly fearful situation: you can ruminate over the past, or you can focus on solutions. The past might provide some helpful information; but that’s about all you need, and working with that information is not about dwelling on history, or fear. When I was in therapy school, I learned something helpful: Let the fear speak first. Rather than suppress it, or get sucked into it, listen to what your fear is saying. If you decide that it’s something valid, then translate that into a plan of action. You are being called to leadership, and the first and most important variety is self-leadership. Guide yourself forward. Take steps in the direction you’re trying to go — at least one per day, and then go for two per day, until you’re up to one per hour.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — With the New Moon in Scorpio and Jupiter in rare form, the world is leaning in your favor; the boughs with the fruit are reaching down to you. Now, you must reach back, by reaching for what you want and being willing to receive it. Some say that life is about fate; for you, life is about faith, though faith in the unseen must be met by your own choices and intention expressed as action. One thing that would help you significantly is to stop seeking approval. Rather, be a true artist and do what you are moved to do, because it’s the thing to do. Rather than those who approve of you, consider carefully with whom you might collaborate. Get the conversation going, and shift the discussion into some form of reality as soon as you can. This is not about pushing the river; rather, it’s about conducting real-time experiments and determining what works and what does not work. Needless to say, respond appropriately to that information.