Weekly Horoscope for Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019

Aries (March 20-April 19) — To be ‘In the Zone’ is a type of heightened awareness. Physical, mental and emotional focus all sync up to engage the task at hand so totally, that you tune out everything but the present moment, and enter a peak state through which you access optimal potential. The term was popularized in the sporting world, and athletes train rigorously in order to enter that state. You’re in a profound process of re-fashioning your world; peeling away what you’ve outgrown, and building strong foundations based upon values that reflect more of who you really are. ‘The Zone’ awaits you with open arms, and with the right approach you can make important strides in coming days. Organization and discipline are your primary tools — from there, follow your excitement. Working partnerships can be golden now. Healthy routines matter. Don’t stress over the goal, but don’t lose sight of practicality. This is your Tao of Zone for a while. Ideas are stalking you. – By Victoria Emory

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — Look up the expression “Let Your Freak Flag Fly,” and you’ll find approximately zero references to your sign. Yet Uranus is slow-walking your own private revolution, to liberate you from limiting self-concepts that you might not even realize were there. You’re entering a powerful phase of creative discovery to help propel you in this direction. The genius of a child at play beckons, and the more you make room for a bit of joyful abandon, the more you’ll be able to catch that ride. Creative projects should prove especially satisfying now; experimenting with self-expression in all forms has the potential for inspiring originality that can surprise even yourself. Enriching social encounters are equally possible, big time. Exciting frontiers may be explored even with partners of long standing. But you must give yourself permission. Look up ‘Think Outside the Box’ and you’ll find approximately every reason to do so. To feel alive — isn’t that reason enough? – By Victoria Emory

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — You’re on the cusp of what can be a profound period of psychic integration and healing. Several aspect patterns repeat this message in coming days, and it’s an opportunity to take seriously. Make yourself available by allowing yourself to withdraw from the constant drone of business as usual, as much as you can. Your roots, your past, your home and everything this means to you is the prime material you’re working with. Aspects of your psyche are lining up to facilitate a kind of alchemical marriage, a union of opposing forces out of which a new birth is possible: a transformation that opens doors to greater wisdom and wholeness, on a foundational level. Gentle self-care will help. Paying attention to dreams will, too. This is a deeply personal process, but it’s also possible to bring domestic partnerships to a place of greater depth and harmony at this time. Invite significant others along for the ride. – By Victoria Emory

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Your mind has been firing on all cylinders lately, and that pace is about to accelerate. You may have noticed more energized identification with your ideas and especially forceful expression recently, but a window is opening through which your ability to perceive and express yourself can come from a place of unusual harmony: a balance between promoting your own agenda, and sensitivity to the relational environment, that will serve you well. Intense mental activity and focus on communications will increase in coming days; brilliant flashes of insight and original ideas are possible now, but so is nervous tension. Getting your body moving will help focus your mind and dissipate anxiety. Just a quick walk around the neighborhood can make the difference between enhanced mental prowess and thoughtless impulsivity. Added bonus: you could encounter unexpected inspiration along the way. – By Victoria Emory

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — The words ‘value’ and ‘valor’ derive from a common root meaning strength. Courage. Worth. Keep this in mind as your focus on material resources increases in coming days. Your ability to attract what you require is blending in rare harmony with your will to go boldly after it. This works to your obvious advantage, and you may be able to reconnect with professional opportunities that were exciting a few months back, but since fell off the radar. Lay the groundwork, put out feelers and get organized. As the month winds down, leading up to and through next week’s New Moon, excellent openings become available to connect with those who can further your interests. Like attracts like; remember that your power derives from inherent belief in your own worth. Proceed with a grounded, methodical approach, centered in your natural courage. – By Victoria Emory

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — The wisdom-language of myth conjures a powerful image for your year ahead: the divine conception of the heroic — the extraordinary virgin birth. This motif recurs throughout ancient lore, and is far from unique to Christianity. The solar rays first penetrate your sign tomorrow as the symbolic male and female forces (Mars and Venus) unite. The message indicates a rebirth from a place of psychic wholeness; a profound transformation; a potential to become your own hero. The hero’s strength balances courage with love; that’s how she or he overcomes obstacles and vanquishes darkness. Don’t worry; you don’t have to understand this with your mind alone. For now, simply focus on personal priorities, honor your body and psyche with care, and take time to recharge. This week’s astrology brings another theme that repeats at next week’s New Moon: this rebirth holds electrifying opportunities to expand your world in exciting ways. – By Victoria Emory

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — That’s quite a relationship you’ve got happening offstage, in the back of your mind; perhaps so far back it’s a secret even from yourself. But that’s where the action is, which is ramping up, so pay attention. What’s playing out is easier to feel than to point at directly, so start there. Your ruling planet Venus has slipped behind the curtain to hook up with Mars in the most hidden, unconscious corner of your chart, and the Sun’s presence spotlights their rendezvous. The direct current running between them and another, deeply personal, psychic center conveys a message of intense desire, perhaps denied, and working through emotional history that’s been swept under the carpet. The good news is that you’re wired for awakening, and relationship issues that might have haunted you are ripe for resolution. The more you balance inner work with attention to your body, the more fruitful the process will be. Self-esteem and physical wellbeing are inseparable. – By Victoria Emory

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — What do relationships and lightning have in common? For starters, they’re both intense agents of transformation, and can strike without warning. Uranus, the ‘Great Awakener,’ has begun work on your relational environment to shake things up; it’s testing what works, what needs revision, and is presenting you with opportunities to learn that only the mirror of relating to others can. Your focus on future goals, and those who can help you realize them, is gathering momentum, and indicators as to how partnerships may factor in should flash across your screen in days ahead. Whether professional, intimate, platonic or some combination of each, tune your radar for connections that could play a significant role. You tend to keep what’s going on inside pretty well concealed; just don’t play games. Regardless of what’s involved, remember that trust is the basis for any worthwhile relationship. – By Victoria Emory

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — Professional aspirations will command your attention with increasing intensity in days ahead, and opportunities to reignite projects that have been on hold might seem to come out of the blue. What’s in play is infused with an unusual degree of harmony between creative vision and hard-nosed will to succeed, and career-related partnerships may prove as personally enriching as they are productive. The potential for significant achievement is real, so don’t let passing annoyances related to finances throw you off your game. Attention to detail and organized, grounded, cooperative efforts are the ticket now. Use this week to prepare and connect with colleagues, so that by the New Moon at month’s end you’ll be in position to go full speed. Heavy demands on your time and mental energies require conscientious self-care; the more in tune you are physically, the more you’ll enjoy the ride. Prepare to be seen. – By Victoria Emory

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — Location, location, location. Each has its own energetic signature, complete with unique probable timelines for any given series of events. Scheduled programming is bound to be a great deal more interesting on a different station than what you’re usually tuned to, so adjust your dial accordingly. You needn’t travel far, or even at all, in terms of spatial distance, but you’ll expand your world in delicious ways by deliberately breaking up established routines and giving yourself permission to journey with your mind. It’s Back-To-School season in the Northern Hemisphere, and if you’ve harbored any educational aspirations, now’s the time to follow through. Even picking up a book you’ve thought about and re-arranging your normal schedule can lead to surprisingly uplifting experiences. If literal travel is an option, get packing. You need to explore some new territory. – By Victoria Emory

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Desire; secrets; power; fear; deep, soul-level intimacy and transformation: that’s the terrain emphasized in your chart right now, and the intensity will magnify. An opening for profound, psychic integration and healing is available, which extends into the subterranean reaches of your past and most private, inner world. Whatever this instinctually triggers for you is the place to start. If you think you’ve been there, done that, there’s likely more going on beneath the surface than you’re allowing yourself to notice. Emotionally honest exploration can clear the path to a new chapter in your relationships: to yourself, to your sexuality and to domestic or intimate partners — past and future. Self-esteem and security programming weaves into all of this material, and is ripe for resolution. On a lighter note, significant encounters are also possible now, intimate or professional. Whatever the particulars may include, the impact should be illuminating. — By Victoria Emory

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — This time of year always highlights your relational environment, but you’re at the threshold of an especially powerful cycle right now. Over-arching themes involve integrating opposing psychic forces, within the framework of partnership: the outgoing, courageous and ego-oriented ‘yang’ with the receptive, sensitive and relationally oriented ‘yin.’ Whatever your circumstances, a renaissance in relations with others is possible; including your relationship with yourself. Opportunities are available for rich encounters that spark surprising insights and lead to original, transformative communications. Work undertaken for mutually fulfilling reasons, professionally or personally, should be especially gratifying. Note where any self-worth issues get activated: a message of healing informs this cycle, and it’s a fine time to undertake work with a trusted counselor, if appropriate. To open in trust to another involves risk, but your greatest evolution is impossible without it. This is no time to go it alone. — By Victoria Emory