Gwendolyn Brooks, a twin. Photo-Illustration: by: Preeti Kinha; Photos: Getty Images
This week, the moon rises as it travels through Virgo, Libra and Scorpio. Your emotions about your life and the people who live in it develop. Your questions about the next steps have not yet been resolved. You sense something new on the horizon, but you don’t know what shape it will take. You know, deep down, your life will change, but you don’t know when or how. It’s awkward to sit in this state of uncertainty, but that’s exactly what you need to do. The change unfolds along a timeline that you cannot control; right now, your job is not to try to slow down (or rush) it, but to watch, wait, and pay attention to what happens next.
It is not in your nature to avoid facing difficult situations: you run bravely towards an emergency (not far from) – throwing yourself headlong into the fight. You know that ignoring problems won’t make them go away forever, so you should act right away – waiting only increases your stress. But recently, life has put on unwanted delays and has required periods of frustrating inaction. You may have been worried that you may share the blame, that your strength and determination have left you. But this week, they will emerge again and you will finally feel like your bold self again – ready to move, fight, and make decisions with confidence.
Lately you have felt buried by the weight of your obligations. Your boss, your family, your social circle: everyone wants a lot of you. Your first instinct may be to withdraw, reject invitations, or enter the privacy of your home until everyone is at peace with you. But keep in mind that what you need may not be less activity in general, but more of the kind that really sustains you. This week, lean on the events and interactions that fill you up. Don’t just focus on stress. Participate in the beauty and magic of the outside world yourself.
You don’t think anyone has just a soul mate or a true professional vocation; you know there are countless paths to genuine happiness. But this does not mean that you can be happy with anyone or that all job opportunities can be equally satisfying. You are able to adapt to the conditions in which you find yourself, but remember that you do not always have to be complacent. Some people, races, and cities don’t fit together at all. This week, you can find a surprising amount of joy in saying no to what doesn’t suit you.
When you have even the slightest amount of time, effort or love left, you feel the responsibility to share it. Maybe it’s because others have been blaming you or because you have a strong natural sense of generosity. Either way, while this constant donation is possible in the short term, it is not sustainable. You can’t keep getting exhausted forever. This week, one of the kindest things you can do for yourself is to admit it when you’re exhausted and make your decisions based on that knowledge. Save some of your energy for yourself. Otherwise, you’re sure to end up with none.
There may be a part of you that is ready to give up anything you’ve been working on. Whether it’s a personal project or a larger collective struggle, you’ve been struggling to see any progress and you’ve wondered if in the end all this effort will be worth it. But even though everything seems unbearably difficult these days, don’t give up yet. You’re about to make progress, despite your concern that nothing will happen. Your efforts are already having a greater impact than you can see from where you are right now. Keep it up.
Sometimes, when you decide not to express your feelings, it is a matter of avoidance, of not wanting to risk a conflict. But more often than not, it’s because you have a good reason not to share. You have had too much experience making yourself vulnerable just to find yourself with anger, discomfort, or unwillingness to listen with an open mind. However, this week, it’s worth being explicit about your emotions, needs, and interests. You may not be understood in the end yet, and you may not leave all conversations feeling completely satisfied, but you will be lighter, to say the least, because you have spoken for yourself.
Kindness and a simple willingness to introduce yourself and listen can take you a long way to life, but at some point, you get to a point where you play well. Eventually, you come across an opponent who will not be moved by your generosity of spirit, a problem that cannot be overcome by negotiation alone. If you’re experiencing this right now, don’t make the mistake of thinking you have to double your kindness. Rather, it’s time for a new approach: show your strength. Others may have underestimated you in the past based on the softness you have shown, but they won’t.
You are incredibly perceptive. You can see beyond the stories that people tell and the masks they wear and the anxieties and insecurities that lurk beneath them. But no matter how skilled you are at seeing others clearly, recognizing their weaknesses and loving them anyway, you have had to work much harder to deal with that same honesty and care. This week, you’ll have a chance to see how far you’ve come. The hard work of loving oneself has not been in vain or impractical. Even now, it is illuminating a new path forward.
Most people are afraid to start over, but you can’t. At work and in life, you know how to come up with new ideas and new approaches, and you have enough courage to run when a project or relationship doesn’t work. This week, though, it’s important to make sure you don’t quit smoking too soon. If you know in your heart that it is time to move on, there is nothing more to say. Just remember that sometimes it can be helpful to play the hand they have given you, to get out of the strangeness to find what magic might be waiting on the other side.
The higher your expectations of your colleagues, friends and romantic partners, the more chances they will have of disappointing you. The frustrating truth is that no one can be their best self all the time. Everyone (even the ones you love and respect the most) experiences moments of imperfection, laziness, unreliability. You can’t even live up to your own ideals all the time, no matter how hard you try. Try to keep believing in people anyway. They may be disappointed at times, but if you give them a chance this week, they will be amazed at how brave and wonderful they can be.
No matter how fascinating and charming you find the people in your life, and no matter how much you enjoy spending time with them, you are not entirely confident that they will grant you the same generous open-mindedness. Suppose if you show someone your depth, they will find you too different, too much. But this is always a bet in this life; cannot be avoided. While openness can drive some away from you, many others will react with acceptance and delight. This week, hiding your truest, strangest self will only make you lose the human connection you need. Relying on your friends enough to show them who you really are is a risk, but it’s worth taking.
Lately you have focused a lot on everything you lack, on all the experiences, successes and relationships that others have accumulated and you don’t. It is understandable. The universe of possibilities is vast, and a single human life can only contain so much. You can’t help but regret the untrodden paths, the potential versions of yourself that never had a chance to be realized. But this week, try to avoid getting lost in the melancholy consideration of all that you are not. It is more useful and more joyful to focus on who you are, on this miraculous life that no one will ever experience more than you.
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