Aries (March 21st to April 19th)
Defend what’s yours, but be smart about it.
You’re poised to keep at bay anything or anybody who even appears to make any unfavorable movements toward what or who you deem yours, by any means necessary. Except you might be at a slight disadvantage, and you should take that into account before you do anything half-cocked (I should say again since it’s likely you’ve been down this road very recently.) In fact, you’d do better to think how this next time becomes the last time you have to make clear that you’re not here for poachers, moochers, or liars. For instance, if you’ve made it clear to a co-worker that she can’t keep spreading false rumors about you, then you might want to avoid beating her down in front of her two year-old son while a bunch of people make you Vine fodder. You’d do better to request a staff meeting where she’d have to substantiate her claims and let her shame and stammering speak for itself.

Taurus (April 20th to May 21st)
Express yourself while connecting with people who inspire and appreciate how you’re flexing new muscles.
This week you still have plenty to fix, whether it’s a device or disastrous turns between people. You’re usually fond of details and having tangible things on which to focus and manage, but something’s starting to shift, at least for now. You’re raring to be daring in a way that expresses more of who you are, rather than be caught up in only the most practical of solutions. When you put an importance on self-expression that usually comes with wanting to be near people who inspire more expressiveness or who can appreciate it. This week you might come across a co-worker or a chance encounter with someone you see regularly who “gets” where you’re coming from now. These fortuitous meetings could stimulate more adventure and prospects than you had imagined. Roll with it. Even if nothing elaborate comes out of the sharing, it’s good to flex different aspects of yourself.

Gemini  (May 21st to June 20th)
A letdown could lead to creative or competitive breakthroughs with new people.
A friend or set of friends may show they are not as reliable as you once thought. For a moment, you might find yourself in a lurch; but considering how much you’ve been tapping the power within, you’ll more than likely pull yourself up quickly enough. In fact, you could very well meet a new cadre of people who are more your speed. They are better able to stoke your creative and even competitive fires. You’d also do well to find activities where you can be both playful and competitive at the same time, such as a good game of basketball or spades. If your life circumstances are leaning more toward the creative than recreation, then you’ll be grateful to see that a new person may come with more muscle and action to put behind a current project or endeavor.

Cancer  (June 21st to July 21st)
Although this weekend’s full moon will help reveal more of the backstory, you’ll need to act fast during the week to contain a situation at the job.
Intuition and improvisation are most likely what will carry the whole week, especially at work. You’ve probably been sensing that’s something’s a little off with a work situation. With a full moon on Saturday, you’re likely to find out the Lifetime story behind it. However, the square off between the clear-minded Sun and quick-thinking Uranus signifies that you’ll probably have to take quick action before that full moon and make due with a less than ideal option. You may have to step on someone’s toes, but that’s better than letting an already bad situation get worse. Toward the weekend, take time away from work to spend important one-on-one time with someone who could be burdened with too much. Or you could enjoy the glow of the moon quietly, reflecting on how your birthday season is shaping up and what’s to come.

Leo  (July 22nd to August 21st)
A break with tradition may be just the thing you need to re-orient you toward fresher scenery.
You’re likely to experience a break with an established (maybe even beloved) tradition this week, and it’s probably for the best. There are some traditions we’d rather not see depart, such as meeting your best friend for coffee at your mutually favorite diner once a week. However, there are other traditions that have become more superstitions or just plain derogatory, like the one that says you shouldn’t let a woman be the first person to step foot through your front door on New Year’s Day. (Say what?! Chile, just google it.)  So shake things up, and don’t lament too much about your world shifting around. Some things need to be in a different place, and the shift may happen more toward hump day. You might spend the weekend adjusting to new arrangements by letting your body soak it in with a refreshing drink or a nice bath.

Virgo (August 22nd to September 21st)
Don’t make yourself a martyr when people aren’t making the effort to be worth it.
This is the part of the story where you don’t pick up your cross to grin and bear it. If you’re still dealing with folks who have hard heads and soft everything else, then they’ll have to learn on their own. You’ve now approached the point where you’re doing more injury to yourself (and the collective effort) by catching the slack. Sometimes the best way to take one for the home team is to let the home team take it. However, if you must break hearts (or at least expectations), then do it with style and gentleness. You might be tempted toward the middle of the week to give certain people a mouthful, but blowing up bridges doesn’t make a good exit strategy. You can make changes without putting people through changes.

Libra (September 22nd to October 21st)
Sometimes the best way to keep the peace is to let folks know you’re not afraid of war.
There’s a reason why astrologers say that more generals are born under your sign than perhaps any other. It doesn’t take much effort to start a fight, but only someone rational, who can weigh things in perspective like the scales that symbolize your sign, can wage a successful war. Also, keep in mind that sometimes a war isn’t waged to beat someone up as much as to remind others that you’re going to let someone beat you down. Perhaps you’ve tried multiple approaches to keep the peace: minding your business or  trying to make somewhere a better someplace to be. However, every now and then, you have to take action, stake your ground, hoist your flag up, and let folks know you mean business. You likely won’t have to do much. Like I said, there’s a reason why astrologers say that more generals…  

Scorpio (October 22nd to November 21st)
Don’t confuse controlling your desires for repression. Be led more by love than fear.
Although last week we talked about micromanaging how your desires manifest (and that may still be an issue), this week you may struggle with repressing desires that you had forgotten were there. This is when you’re going to have to be honest about your feelings and circumspect with your actions, because those two could easily get out of synch now—leading to hypocrisy or confusion. Things go haywire when you confuse control for repression. Controlling your feelings or desires means that you own them and care for them in a way that respects what harm they can do and yet not be lured by their power, such as a good parent “controls” her children while they’re in the toy store. Like that good parent, you can avoid the repression trap if you focus more on a love for the best possible outcome more than the fear of what could go wrong.

Sagittarius (November 22nd to December 21st)
Go for win-win solutions, and if people are not on the up and up with you, the full moon will reveal the truth.
Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, is right: compromises suck. When one party succumbs to second best and the other doesn’t, then there’s really been no noble path paved for both parties. As a Sagittarius, you’re all about the noble path and creating win-win solutions. Keep that in mind when you appear to come to an impasse with someone who jeopardizes the freedom and leverage you currently enjoy. Don’t step into a “bygones be bygones” deal until you feel you’re getting what’s most important to you, not necessarily everything you want. You don’t have to rush anything either. If someone hasn’t put all his or her cards on the table with any deals you’ve made, you’ll know what’s what in short order once the full moon happens on Saturday.

Capricorn (December 22nd to January 20th)
Don’t over-rationalize or labor to justify flights of harmless whimsy you have this week.
Even though you’re a great planner, let’s not pretend that capriciousness isn’t a part of being a Capricorn. The root for caprice even shares a root word for your sign. You’ll have ample chances to own a penchant for whimsy this week, and it most likely will work in your benefit. What will work against you, however, are attempts to make a flight of fancy into a life-or-death struggle for freedom against any kind of authority, including let’s say a 10 year-old who has the nerve to stare you down because you’re hoofing it on a skateboard up “his” street. If that sounded way over the top and halfway to the moon, then you’ll be able to properly gauge when you’ve converted a simple whim into a fight the power kick. Get a grip, don’t over-rationalize. Everything ain’t got to have a reason or rhyme to be what’s right or on time for you.

Aquarius (January 21st to February 18th)
Your assumptions about people are challenged, and you may need to develop a different awareness about how people work.
A full moon shines a bright light on inefficient or detrimental practices at your job. This could mean that it also catches someone (likely not you) out there who had been counting on the shade to stay, well, shady. This might create a mini-crisis at work or with your routines. This “outing” inevitably brings up some issues for you about trust and how well you perceive the people around you. In his book, Mastery, Robert Greene illustrates how there’s a naïve way to assess social situations and another with social intelligence. The naïve way is to assume that people operate and think exactly like you would or should. Social intelligence demands that you work to understand people from their perspective and actions. This goes beyond empathy, however. It’s learning to recognize when you’re bumping up against sharks in the water rather than playful fish because you’re a “good” person and you can’t imagine how anything else would be around you.

Pisces (February 19th to March 20th)  
Taking a stand or making a commitment will take its toll, but it has to be done.
They say you have to crack a few eggs to make an omelet. Likewise, there’s little wiggle room for getting out of this week without taking a stand or putting your money where your hands and heart want to be. You might instead want to swim away from all the drama of making something happen, and that’s not shade on your work ethic at all. For you, I imagine, it’s difficult to cope with what seems like an inevitable sense of loss of something precious for you, whether that’s time, resources, or worse, the image of how everything looks perfect in your head. You might also avoid taking measures that could upset or disappoint others. In your case, empathetic Pisces, there’s no telling your heart that you can’t please everybody all the time, because you probably truly wish you could. It might be a better sentiment to strive hard to please people at divinely appointed times, and, for some, it’s not their time to be pleased.

Samuel F. Reynolds is a NYC-based astrologer. Find out what more the stars have in store for you with a consultation based specifically on your personal stars. As an Ebony reader, you’re eligible for a 25% discount for an in person or by phone/skype consultation. For more info, visit unlockastrology.com, write [email protected] or follow Sam on Twitter at @sfreynolds.