Aries (March 20-April 19) — Yours is the sign of ‘me’ and ‘I am’, but something else is in the air at the moment. I suggest you focus your orientation on both shared resources, and collective resources. Political and corporate rhetoric for the past 30 years has force-fed people with the idea that they themselves are all that matters, everyone else be damned. We need to recognize what an anti-social concept that is, since the whole notion of society is based on the sharing of resources that pay for things like streetlights, fire departments, storm drains, parks and even shopping malls. I suggest you think of everything in collective terms, and notice your connection to everyone with whom you transact even the most casual business. Notice how people depend on you and how you depend on them. Notice what energy (in any form) moves when that dependency is activated. You may pay someone to make your lunch, yet even so, are you grateful they did it for you?
Venus Retrograde, and Three Conjunctions to Mars
If you’re Taurus or Taurus rising, your astrology this year is sending a message about specific projects, goals or healing missions. Specific is the opposite of general. That means it’s time to refine and focus your agenda.
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True-color rendition of Venus, a planet similar to Earth.
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There is a crucial issue of how you handle self-criticism — particularly of your creative endeavors, and of yourself as a lover. The usual options in this world, which are blaming oneself for everything or letting oneself off the hook for everything, don’t count for much now.
What matters is that you recognize the extent to which you critique yourself unfairly, that you discover how that developed, and that you make some adjustments to your psychology.
This is all designed to give you an easier time living within your own mind (which you and I know is a very busy place). Taurus is one of the most mentally active signs of the zodiac. It’s just that, unlike Gemini, you don’t always express yourself.
This year’s Taurus astrology has several distinctions. I’ll go over these in some technical detail (not too much!) and then add additional interpretation.
Venus Retrograde from July 25 through Sept. 6
First, Venus, the planet associated with Taurus (its ‘ruling’ planet) will be retrograde between July 25 and Sept. 6. Venus is retrograde the least of all the planets. It happens for about six weeks every 18 months. For this reason, every Venus retrograde is always a significant turning point.
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Venus of Willendorf, more than 25,000 years old, was discovered during excavation in Austria in 1908.
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Venus will station retrograde in the very first degree of Virgo, then back up into Leo, where it will be for the duration of the retrograde. Venus will spend much of its current cycle in Leo — approximately five months, from June 6 though Oct. 8.
That puts a Leo emphasis on the next year and a half of your life. But in the midst of that, Venus will spend three weeks in Virgo. And it will be conjunct a slow-moving point that is about focus, overfocus and unfair self-evaluation.
So in the midst of a lot of Leo — seeing your beauty, taking pride in yourself and loving who you are and what you do — there is this three-week pause to reflect on the details. Notice them; see what you’ve been missing. This really is about observing the obvious.
Three Conjunctions of Venus and Mars
The other interesting factor for Taurus this year is three conjunctions of Venus and Mars. Mars is the planet symbolic of your relationship partners (whether you’re male or female).
One has already happened, in early January (in Aries). The next two are on Sept. 1 (in Leo) and Nov. 2 (in Virgo). This is the story of a relationship. It describes a series of phases that an encounter with someone is going through, on the way to arriving in a place of mutual understanding.
The relationship may go through ups and downs during that time. The thing to be cautious of is competition. Even beauty- and comfort-loving Taurus can be a fierce competitor. That would only complicate matters, where love and intimacy are concerned.
In many ways, doing something other than competition would answer just about any scenario or impasse you arrive at in a relationship. That could be on any level, such as scorekeeping, money, sex, sex appeal, success, whatever. Do your best to foster cooperation, and a sense of mutual assistance, not just with important partners but with everyone.
I will go over these and many other themes in the Taurus birthday reading, which is available now for pre-order.
Taurus (April 19-May 20) — This weekend’s Full Moon across the Taurus-Scorpio axis is going to bring certain relationship matters to a head. If the air is clear, this could be great fun; the peak of energy would manifest as something erotic or passionate. If the air is not quite clear, small matters could become large ones, and that has the potential to do some damage. Therefore, I would suggest maintaining a policy of gentle clarity, and at the same time, maintaining a perspective on what really matters. You are in an unusual position to notice the feelings and viewpoint of others. If you can do that, you will have a realistic sense of scale. You will be less likely to overreact or over-compensate. I suggest you make sure that every relationship in your life is assigned a larger purpose. Some relationships take them on naturally; some need to be trained. From the look of the planets over the next week or so, I suggest you work both of those approaches.
Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Mercury in your sign is urging you to be discerning of what people in power say to you. You’re on notice to question all agendas, including your own, though especially those to which you’re subject. To avoid making a discovery too late, I suggest that you listen carefully to what people say — and strive to understand its implications. The thought processes of most people fall short of that step: what is the implied meaning of a statement or an action? Either that, or those implications are greatly overestimated and misunderstood. What you’re looking for is subtle, and there is likely to be some element of discernible truth or lack of truth in what you hear. Or there will be if you employ your reasoning skills, logic and gift of language. To put it simply, pay attention and think for yourself. Stop and notice when you discover that you’ve lapsed in those things. It would also be very helpful to take written notes, because aspects suggest you might discover and then forget the most important bits of information.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Sex is the word and the deed. The Moon is full in Scorpio this weekend, and for you that’s about an adventure. I recognize that for many people, sex is getting scarier, as what it tends to lead to is a form of intimacy. Remember that sex starts with you, and it comes back to you. There may be others along the circuit — lovers, friends or fantasy partners. If there are, remember that you have something to offer them. You’re a kind of erotic and creative reservoir. You can afford to be generous, and think in terms of the nourishment that you offer to people. Really focus on that, so you see it and understand it. At the same time, pay attention to what’s being asked and expected of you. Pay attention to what you’re being given. Notice how you feel before, during and after any sexual encounter, whether it’s alone or with someone else. It’s up to you to maintain balance in all of the equations of your life, especially this one.
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — Jupiter in your birth sign gets to ride the full energetic wave of this weekend’s Full Moon. You may experience this as the sensation of power, of strength, of safety or simply of belonging. Let that strength emerge from the inside rather than from the circumstances of your life. In fact you may feel like that’s your only option, as you may feel disconnected from certain external factors, or like you’re the only one who really understands. Your solar chart describes a situation where you can reach out to someone who feels that they’re the only one who understands — though they don’t feel nearly as strong or as confident as you do. You may need to inquire gently what’s going on. This person may be communicating by not speaking rather than saying something out loud. This person’s feelings are arranged in layers and there is likely to be a group dynamic involved. Follow the lines and you will learn a lot about your own current family pattern. One discovery will lead to another. It’s that kind of weekend.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — You seem determined to assert your leadership and your message, though I suggest you listen first and speak later. You have a chance of being misunderstood, or worse, presumed to be wrong. Therefore pay attention to your surroundings. What you have to offer is something of lasting value, which is a balance against thinking you have to get it all out and get it right the first time. The natural point of intervention is a writing and rewriting process. For many people writing is pretty easy; it’s the revision part that slows them down, or they seem to lack confidence in their ability to do it. You might say that writing is about making up your mind, and revision is about changing your mind — and that’s what makes both thinking and writing relevant. Editing means there is no presumed perfection; rather, the message of the editing medium is that life is a work in progress, and ideas in particular benefit from exploration. What you are looking for is something that resonates more deeply as truth. To go in that direction, sometimes you must add, and other times you must subtract.
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — You seem to be uncertain about the flow of revenue associated with your profession. You might be asking whether what you have will last; that’s a matter of planning. It’s also about considering your alternatives carefully and not being caught in any one way of doing things. You can consider the entirely opposite approach. You can consider two approaches at once (a kind of A/B test). Mostly, as you are about to discover, your success is about being seen for who you are, which means embodying who you are with confidence. Remember that the only vocation you will find satisfying is one in which you are actively supporting, nourishing and nurturing others. By active, I mean that you get reasonably immediate results and your own efforts are not too far removed from the benefits that others receive. Others around you are willing to cooperate with that. In fact they seem to have, at least for the moment, found that space where they’re open to the concept of the greatest good for all concerned. Get it while it’s hot.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — This weekend’s Full Moon in your birth sign will stir up deep passions, needs and desires. True enough, that’s happening most of the time, though astrology like this arrives with depth and feeling and some mystery. So take that ride, with no expectation where it will lead you. One thing I suggest you focus on is your sense of mission. Not your career, not your ambitions, but rather your calling. Think of this in an integrated way. Your calling is not separate from who you are or what you do, but rather something that you express with every cell in your body. It’s also something that is expressed through your relationships and your contact with your environment. You may understand this in theory — that who you are is never separate from what you do — though now you get to experience that as visceral. This is the physical sensation that you are real. It may fill you up and seem to pass by, but really it’s not going anywhere. Remember the feeling and keep creating the conditions that lead you there.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — If a conversation with a friend or partner seems to hit a block or impasse, keep it light. This is definitely not a situation where if something is stuck, whack harder. In fact the opposite is true. There’s likely to be some external factor that is causing a distraction or distortion. In other words, there’s an element to the situation that is not true, but you believe that it is, and that’s the root of the problem. One thing that will help is giving things time, as in a few days. Several current factors suggest that it’s not easy to see viewpoints for what they are. Others indicate that there’s likely to be an emotional exaggeration (most likely on your part). Therefore to avoid needless complication, interpose a delay. Now is not the time to speak the truth at all costs, because you may not know what it is. Even if you verify certain facts, there are going to be more that come to light. Therefore take it light and take it easy. All opinions are subject to change.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — You may be grasping for a strategy that you cannot wrap your hands around. In this and other ways, you may feel like you’re standing on ground that cannot really support you, either because it’s actually shaking or because you don’t trust it. You may feel like you have to put all your faith into something intangible. If I may reinterpret that: what you’re actually experiencing is the potential for change; the simple fact of movement and indeed progress. The expectation of a static universe, of situations and people not changing, is a formula for chaos. The more you expect things to stay the same, the more they will seem to be changing out of your control. The more you notice where you are now and notice the movement of energy, the more you’re likely to feel that you can guide your life and make decisions. The mere fact that decisions are possible speaks to the power of change. Add the factor of necessary risk and you have a formula for progress.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — You may need to keep your balance in a relationship situation. If you’re finding that’s true, notice where you’ve been left out of the equation. You may have left yourself out, or there may be some setup that somehow includes the viewpoint or needs of everyone else but which omits you. Therefore, notice whether that’s true, and write yourself back into the script of your own life. There seems to be some question of public opinion involved in this whole topic, such as whether you fit in, whether your ideas are acceptable, or what people perceive as your image. I can offer you a clue. There’s something you are saying or doing that is in fact daring, and which as an indirect result calls out the lack of courage of others. It’s not that you’re trying to do this; it’s a matter of perception. It would be wise of you not to pay too much attention to the stuck viewpoints of others; rather stick to your idea or your message.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Security for you is a state of mind. We could say that’s true for most people, but you’re especially sensitive to the ways in which your mental state sets the scene for whether you feel safe in your home or on the planet. This is independent of whether you’re actually safe, or have reasons to feel that way. What is interesting about your solar chart is that you have two distinctly different viewpoints related to your own sense of belonging. Sometimes they conflict, sometimes they work in harmony, and sometimes they function independently of one another. One growth mission you have now and for the next month or two is charting this out. You will get to create a mind map, and this map will take you into the distant past. For now, I suggest you stay in the moment, and adopt as your mantra a question: Is that really true? Use that with everything you hear, what you say and what you think.
Could not have been more correct or perceptive (Aquarius – sun and moon).