Aries (March 21st to April 19th)

At first, it would appear that you’ve hemmed yourself up in a corner with your back against a wall and foes surrounding you at every remaining turn. It won’t do any good to tell you that you got yourself into this mess or to say that it could have been avoided because you don’t do “I told you so’s” or “I could have’s.” That you and regret ain’t the best of friends is one of the many things to love about you! We also must remember that this back-against-the-wall moment is where you were born, so to speak. You can thrive in what looks like no-win scenarios for other people. In fact, now it’s almost as if the odds are even and moving in your favor. Fight your way out of the corner, but do keep in mind that it won’t be your brawn and brute force that will see you through. It will be keeping your wits about you and getting enough of a clearing through the crowd to exit and run toward higher ground.

 

Taurus (April 20th to May 21st)

It’s often in a crisis when you learn who you are and who stands with you or against you.  You could be tempted to expend energy in standing against people, even friends, this week, but I encourage you not to do this. It’s not because they’re right or you’re right, but because you’ll find that your energy would be better spent on the people who stand with you and you for them. There’s a simple reason. I suspect your fight against folks is more an attempt to punish them for adding to the multiple “earthquakes” you’re experiencing. This won’t stop the quakes. That’s why it’s a fool’s errand.  You stop the ground from shaking all around you by building more stable structures and friendships.  However, nothing lasts forever, and you don’t even need forever. You only need people who see through for as far as they can see you, and you for them. Take care of those people.

 

Gemini  (May 21st to June 20th)

Friends or people for whom you’ve had the utmost respect, like a mentor or your boss, could fall off their pedestals this week. This is signified by how Venus, the planet of love and beauty, joins at the hip with Neptune, the planet of illusion and glamor, at the top of your celestial chart.  This suggests that you could have added more idealism and pretty picture stuff to someone you once held in high esteem undeservedly. The person falls off his or her pedestal because he or she never needed to be up there in the first place and that’s the illusion or Neptune part. Nonetheless, another part of the falling & failing does lie with you, too. We sometimes glamorize people, granting them superhero status, to make a placeholder for when we can be like them. Perhaps you’re nearer to that time than you may be prepared to recognize.

 

Cancer  (June 21st to July 21st)

When the forces of darkness gather to stop the hero in movies from completing her journey, they don’t necessarily converge all at once. There’s a qualifying event before the main struggle with the main villain. The hero almost has to show that she is worth the fight. This week may commence your own qualifying event before you get more to the main event later. Well, there’s no doubt your worthy enough for this struggle, so quell any doubts there. For this part of the battle, you’re going to have to use more of your mind than everything you got.  Generally, the qualifier is usually more concerned about him or herself or a mission that has nothing to do with the hero directly. The wrong approach is to attempt to fight back everything that engages you.  The better choice is to form allies for help and stay focused on battling what’s holding you back the most.

 

Leo  (July 22nd to August 21st)

Sometimes you have to break out the Vaseline, Leo. You have to be ready to scrap for what you believe and stand on principles that have been crafted by wisdom, not bravado or ego-infatuations. Although I only mean metaphorical Vaseline, I do want to prep you that when you have to stand up and speak your truth that it’s hard to keep up the pretty girl/boy image of yourself.  You can get ugly, and sometimes it’s the wisest course of action. You may have tried to keep on the kid gloves to preserve your dignity or someone else’s, but perhaps you confused vanity for dignity and things have gone too far. Sometimes the higher road to wisdom requires us to dig deep within ourselves to make choices that are practical yet hard.

 

Virgo (August 22nd to September 21st)

Last week’s falling outs or disagreements could lead to this week’s lingering effects. Perhaps you were attempting to avoid all of this from happening. But avoiding necessary actions to duck possible reactions is not a way to live life. You most likely did the things that you had to do and now you’re gripped by some of the consequences, including perhaps a sense of loneliness or isolation. Fortunately, this sense won’t last long.  Sometimes we miss more our hopes and desires with a particular person more than the actual person. Now is the time to examine what you may have attached to a person and what he or she actually brought to the table. You’re likely to find that you projected and endowed a lot more than what was actually there.

 

Libra (September 22nd to October 21st)

The Sun in the sign of Aries now stands off against Mars in your own sign. This can signify a moment when you could mistake the need to take a personal stand or make a personal statement for a personal stand off with someone. Making a personal statement is an expression of who you are and what you believe. On the contrary, a personal standoff is often when the people (and their egos) have become larger than the principles on which they stand or believe. You don’t want to be caught out there with a standoff now.  There are only losers with this, including you. The statement you do need to make now is most important. Stand on the conviction of that, not making issues about people.

 

Scorpio (October 22nd to November 21st)

You’re a sign borne more of inner conflict than most others. You may tear at yourself and your beliefs in order to examine and surface your motivations and feelings. That’s why often you’re so good at understanding and correctly perceiving what’s happening with others—you’ve had lots of practice.  However, that doesn’t mean you’re infallible. This is one of those times when you could get so fascinated by your own internal struggles and thoughts that you can become your greatest enemy and saboteur. Be careful not to let a blessing become a curse because it resembles a disappointment you experienced from someone or something entirely different. Stay in the present. It has a gift for you now!

 

Sagittarius (November 22nd to December 21st)

As the Sun faces off against Mars this Tuesday, you may be tempted to take a stance against a colleague or even a friend. Perhaps you’ll even think your argument is based on which of you is right. For the most part, it won’t be. Framed differently, it’ll be about who has chosen to have the least fun. I’m keenly aware that’s an odd way to frame it because you’re usually drawn to loftier or more high-minded notions. But I’m attempting to nip something in the bud because going the higher route could summon your penchant for self-righteousness. And that, again, cancels everybody’s fun, especially yours.  So if that friend or colleague wants to cancel his or her fun, don’t join in. Keep it moving, because there’s more fun to be had for you…elsewhere.

 

Capricorn (December 22nd to January 20th)

Trees provide an interesting metaphor for the landscape of your life this week. The roots of trees beneath the surface often cover way more area than the expanse of branches of leaves atop.  Now you’re pressed to dig both within yourself and push to expand how you connect with others, including some folks who have gotten off your radar. You would do well to dig up some contacts from the near or distant past, including family.  As you expand in a more visible way with your career, you could meet with some resistance from gatekeepers or people caught up in having power. Work around these people and stay more focused on cultivating your roots with other folks. You’ll see in a relative short period of time how you’re so much more nourished for doing it this way.

 

Aquarius (January 21st to February 18th)

It’s very possible that you’re attempting to manage a profound disappointment or loss this week. You’re not usually the kind to dwell on what you’ve lost or what it costs you, but this could feel sharper than usual. It’s more than okay to feel what you feel, but what defines us is what we do with those feelings. This is when you have to be very wary of blame and treading along its warpath as a result.  You could go from the important and rational practice of figuring out what went wrong to feeling betrayed and needing someone to blame. For instance, it’s one thing for someone to bump into you accidentally and your coffee spills all over your brand new white shoes. It’s a whole different thing to blame them for doing that on purpose and seek compensation. You’ll only lose more energy and time.

 

Pisces (February 19th to March 20th) 

Last week, I talked of capacity building, but there is a place in the topography of the soul where capacity is built the deepest and longest: the heart.  This is where you have to stoke what or who you fiercely love. And that love has to be grounded in the realization that love isn’t always the perfect picture. You have to be ready to love even when it lets you down or can’t fulfill all of your initially high-minded expectations.  This is the kind of love that writers endure after they’ve received the 100th rejection letter for a story they just adore. It’s the kind of fractured love you feel when you have to separate from a mentor or much-respected friend because you can no longer see the world as they do, but you wish you could. It’s a love where you must love the beauty you are and do, to quote a poet, not just the manifestations of it.

 

Samuel F. Reynolds is a NYC-based astrologer. As an EBONY reader, you’re eligible for discounted fees for in person or by phone/Skype consultations. For more info, visit unlockastrology.com, write [email protected] or follow on Twitter at @sfreynolds.