The week ahead according to the stars from our expert astrologer Jessica Adams
ARIES
On Tuesday 17th March Uranus in Aries, your own sign, conflicts with Pluto, the planet which asks you to run your own life. Matters of reputation, image, ambition and position will come to a head very close to this date, but you are only being asked to commit more fully to two very good ideas. One is your own independence, in terms of how you look (or are viewed). The other is your right to pull your own strings in your own chosen field, business or industry. Be extremely careful with your secret, or the role you are playing behind the scenes. The astrological trends this week are confused and confusing and there are much better times to make decisions or take action.
TAURUS
The eclipse on Friday 20th March is another reminder to work harder on a friendship, or a group of people influencing your life so much. You may prefer to take mental notes then take action next week or even next month, as the situation is bound to be muddled at best, and messy at worst. An eclipse covers up; it conceals rather than reveals. All the more reason to size up the friend, or the circle of people concerned, then vow to clarify, contain and control things later, when there is more information. We also have a Uranus-Pluto clash this week. Change is never easy but sometimes change is necessary. You will become liberated as a result of what happens.
GEMINI
You may prefer to choose another time to clarify, define and control what is happening at work. This also applies to your unpaid work, or your university life. Tread water as best you can and wait until you are in a position to drop anchor or find a light house. Momentous choices made near the total solar eclipse on Friday are very unlikely to serve you, as you will not be given the full picture then. Try to stay afloat and quietly promise yourself to put in some firm controls when the time is right. On Tuesday 17th March Uranus clashes with Pluto. Freedom from a friend or group? Freedom through them? Either way it’s a rocky road to liberty, but Rocky Road is sometimes the right ingredient. As for Pluto in your finance, business, charity and property zone - you are used to these endless challenges to take control. And now you can. No matter what.
CANCER
Your ruler the Moon is implicated in a total solar eclipse on Friday 20th March, which will have a lasting impact on the way you travel, write, study, teach, publish - and particularly in the way you deal with people from foreign cultures or nationalities. The less you commit to or accept near that time, the better, as eclipses never show you the full picture. Something obviously has to be done about the fuzzy boundaries involving with particular people or organisations, but perhaps that can wait until you have a firmer footing. The Uranus-Pluto clash also reminds you of two important messages. One is that ambition matters less than freedom. The other is that unless you master what is happening with a certain person, then he, she or the situation itself masters you.
LEO
The financial, property, charity, business or retail discussions dominate the week and there may be crucial paperwork too. There is something semi-chaotic about the situation near Wednesday 18th March and close to the eclipse on Friday 20th March nothing will be as clear as it could. Under these circumstances you may prefer to wait before making or accepting major commitments - and when you do, make sure the boundaries are as strong as they can possibly be between all the players On Tuesday 17th March Uranus clashes with Pluto. Despite the pressure, commit (again) to independence as a traveller, publisher, web creator, teacher or student. And commit to your own empowerment with your daily workload and control over your own body.
VIRGO
You are well-known for your gift for detail, routine and method and your great interest in the small things. You are the person who finds the smallest shells on the shore and looks at the patterns on starfish. These abilities are of no use in the tidal wave now affecting your relationship with a former, current or potential partner. Or is this about your enemy, opponent or rival? Your ruling planet Mercury conjuncts Neptune himself on Wednesday 18th March and the details and small things are likely to be washed away in a situation which is hard to navigate. At any other time the New Moon would help you set a new course with this person, but as the total solar eclipse on Friday is likely to conceal what you need to know - rather than reveal it - you may prefer to wait until the coast is clear and you are back on dry land, astrologically speaking. Should children be involved, remember willpower contains the word power. It’s the key.
LIBRA
The Uranus-Pluto clash on Tuesday 17th March just confirms two things you already know. If you want more space with (or from) your partner, then you have to stick to your guns. This also applies to former or potential partners - and of course, any opponents. Liberty is worth it, as the Americans knew in 1781 and once you have it, you will never look back. The other fact about your life now, well-known to you, is that unless you use your self-discipline to take firm charge of your home town, homeland, house, apartment, family or household - you will continue to be at the mercy of the most relentless situations. The irony of your situation is that the resources you need are at your fingertips and always were. What else matters now? Your work or your body. You may prefer to get second opinions or further details as the eclipse this week covers up far more than it shows, which is just what an eclipse does - in the real world as well as in astrology.
SCORPIO
Your ruler Pluto clashes with Uranus on Tuesday 17th March compelling you to look at the internet, media, publishing and day-to-day communication (in person, or by phone) yet again. Nobody likes change, particularly the extreme change Pluto is now forcing upon you, but unless you control one situation then it will continue to control you. It is also time to look at your daily workload and your body, and to double your commitment to a more independent lifestyle if you really crave it. You must be determined to be free, but by April you will be glad you persisted. The fuzzy area in your life this week involves the world of babies, children or young adults. Alternatively, it involves your lover or mistress. You obviously need to put in all kinds of measures here, to stop the rising tide of confusion, but ride this situation out and make the big choice later.
SAGITTARIUS
Home is where the heart is, and your sense of grounding and belonging normally comes from your house, apartment, home town or homeland. The same might be said for your family or household. Instead, you are being presented with a rather blurred picture, which does not show you everything you need to see - and blots out the reality. Deal with this as best you can until Friday’s total solar eclipse is behind you, but do promise yourself a more organised life by April. The Uranus-Pluto clash on Tuesday 17th March proves what everyone knows: a revolution (especially one involving the world of lovers, or a younger generation) is never straightforward. It is also time to set your jaw more firmly when dealing with money, business, property, charity or precious possessions. It’s game on, Sagittarius, and unless you wrangle this, it will wrangle you.
CAPRICORN
Get to grips with the internet, the media, your computer, publishing, your phone - and communication in general - another time. You are practical if you are typical of your sign, but you also know how to patiently sit things out, and as this week is both confused and confusing, you may prefer to wait until a particularly potent eclipse has passed you by, after Friday. Some issues will not go away by themselves, though. You must draw firm lines in the sand just as soon as things settle down. This week also finds Pluto in Capricorn, your own sign, clashing with Uranus. You have already begun to take control of your brand, appearance, name, reputation or profile. You have also begun to experiment with exciting new ways to run your house, apartment, family life or household. Maybe you are even venturing into a new relationship with your home town or country. All these truths are self-evident to you, but what you lack so far is total commitment. The planetary clash on Tuesday 17th March is going to squeeze that out of you, and it’s a good thing.
AQUARIUS
Your ruling planet Uranus squares off with Pluto on Tuesday 17th March enabling you to identify issues with your own willpower, constantly affecting what you cover up from other people, or what you carry out behind the scenes. Willpower is a potent commodity and it takes time to acquire it, but what happens near Tuesday is so relentless you won’t need telling twice. It is also time to think about what you are prepared to do, in order to be far more independent online, in the media, in publishing or in your day-to-day communication. You could be so much more free, but perhaps you need to find out more from those who have taken this path before you. This is a flakey week for financial, business, charity or property decisions. You know you are out of your depth and need to curtail at least one situation, but your horoscope suggests there are better times to do that. If you absolutely must sign or accept a signature read the smallest of fine print.
PISCES
On Wednesday 18th March your ruler Neptune conjuncts the Sun in Pisces, your own sign, and his oceanic wife Salacia also forms a conjunction to the Sun in Pisces. If you throw in Friday’s total solar eclipse, also in Pisces, you can see why your symbol (the fish) swim in opposite directions. Your compass points regarding your name, reputation, appearance or profile appear to be all over the place this week and although you know you must do something definite to improve things, there are easier times to do this. It’s very unlikely that you are seeing particular situations clearly. It’s extremely unlikely that you are even seeing yourself clearly - no matter if you are using the internet, a mirror, a phone camera or a film camera. Try to allow Friday’s eclipse to pass before you take steps to clear things up. We also have a Uranus-Pluto clash this week which will convince you, once and for all, that you need to find what it is about friends or groups that makes you feel potent and then ask yourself what you have to do, to regain that feeling. Meanwhile, although you are on track to greater freedom with your money, business, house, flat or possessions, it may help to remember that Independence Day followed a few battles first.