Astrologer Jessica Adams reads your stars for the week ahead
ARIES
Jupiter in Virgo squares Saturn in Sagittarius this week (unusual) and Mars retrogrades in Scorpio (noteworthy). That’s three departments of your life all switching gear at the same time. The good bit is your lifestyle, working day, routine – and crucially, your body. It may take considerable effort and substantial perspiration and navigation – yet you do stand to gain eventually. Ironically, it is the one thing you cannot square about your paid or unpaid work, and also your doctor, drugs, drink, food, healer, trainer, gym (and so on) that could be the grit in the oyster that makes the pearl. Saturn in Sagittarius requires some contemplation. You vaguely knew what you were doing, when you took on the world of publishing, academia, the internet, travel, foreigners and ‘the bigger picture’ a while back. Now, your chickens have come home to roost. You have to deal with what is there, not what you fondly hope might be there. Still, it’s a learning experience and you are in the school of life at the moment! Mars back in Scorpio is basically a rerun of familiar issues about the money, house, apartment, possessions, business or charity. You need to thrash out this sexually intimate agreement or deadly serious arrangement one more time. Stay positive and believe in the biggest and best, yet to come. In 2018 you’ll see why you were so right.
TAURUS
Mars retrograding in Scorpio is a big deal in your chart, because it describes the need to catch up with yourself, and him (or her). The person who pushes so many buttons now is probably your former, current or potential partner. Sometimes it can be your enemy, rival or opponent. You will now have a rewind or a re-run of a matter which was hot to handle before; now it may feel as if the same dish is reheated. What is the dish made of? Chemicals from both of you. Chemical reactions. This is quite some recipe you two have cooked, and now it has returned, you may want to analyse this further. What ingredients do both of you bring to this and how it is cooking? To extend this analogy, it’s also fair to say that if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. What else is going on now? Your best and most faithful bet is still the world of babies, children or young adults (and the relationships which take you into that world). Stay positive and keep believing, as this will stand you in good stead. The financial side of sexually intimate arrangements, or deadly serious agreements, is another matter. It’s hard work, and hard work needs a strategy. Plot and plan this. Don’t just leave it to chance.
GEMINI
Saturn in your opposite sign of Sagittarius is really stretching you, when it comes to the man (or woman) who requires such dedicated energy at the moment. The trick with this cycle is to understand life moves very slowly. There is no quick fix or instant solution, and it’s not wise to imagine this is something which will be over by (say) next season. Even if you gain closure on the issue for/about this crucial person, there may be another similar issue to deal with, when another comes along. Your former, current or potential partner? Your enemy, rival or opponent? It would be handy to think it’s about his/her personality or even the very particular chemistry you two generate. However, your horoscope suggests that it’s about the life lesson, not the person. What is the life lesson? Put simply, it is about the deliberate choice to take on board someone/something that you know will severely test you, but you believe to be worth it. If it’s not worth it? You may well walk away at some point. What else is going on now? Try to keep the faith with your house, relative, flatmate, apartment, home turf or country. You know you’re on track, no matter what. Jupiter in Virgo will reward you by September and even the twists and turns this week will ultimately end up being to your advantage, Gemini.
CANCER
You have action in three areas of your life this week, but one which is very familiar to you, dates from a cycle which took you through 2013-2015 and asked so much of your time and energy. It is the Saturn in Scorpio cycle, which put you through your paces with the world of pregnancy, babies, children or adolescents. A serious lover may have been involved, at that time (the kind who could bring a younger generation from their own circle into your life). What we have now is a kind of weird flashback. I am sure you could do without rewinds or re-runs in your life, yet this does have a higher purpose. You are heading towards the biggest and best cycle in 12 years for intense sexual relationships, parenthood or substitute parenthood, commencing in the final quarter of 2017. Nothing just spring on you in astrology. Everything is seeded long before. So – no matter how arduous it might be to deal with over-familiar issues now, try to believe in a happier, better future. It truly is out there for you. In fact, the brownie points you score by dealing with something/someone so utterly familiar now, help you in around 12 months’ time.
LEO
Jupiter in Virgo, Saturn in Sagittarius, Mars in Scorpio (again) – what should we focus on first? Maybe Mars, as this concerns your house, family, apartment, household, town, nationality and sense of belonging. You must now deal with a repetitive issue, which has come back for management, second time round. What you create for the future will stand you in good stead in about a year from now, when you stand to gain hugely from family developments, household choices, property news or big property moves. What about Jupiter in Virgo in your chart? Leo, no matter what you are tussling with financially, with property or with business – hang in there and believe. You can and will make/save a small fortune by September. This is like the 1966 World Cup and that moment when everyone thought Germany had won it, but England kept pushing. You are Nobby Stiles and Bobby Charlton. Keep pushing. The last part of your horoscope is the most intensely personal because it concerns your daughter, son, godchild, young relative, serious lover (the one who could bring a younger generation from their world, into your world) or pregnancy. Sometimes the issue is youth, per se, but in general it’s more personal. Saturn in Sagittarius is telling you to read, ask, enquire, absorb, understand, learn and treat this like a workshop. In Real Life.
VIRGO
This week’s major patterns concern a clash between Saturn in Sagittarius and Jupiter in Virgo, your sign – and retrograde action in Scorpio. Of all these clusters in your horoscope, Saturn in Sagittarius (which rules your home life) is the most important. One of the great truths about your life in 2018 and beyond, is that the house/apartment set-up you end up with, will be much valued, and thus more valuable to you. This also applies to the local area, or even the region/country if it’s relevant. At the moment you are in the hard slog phase of the cycle. This actually hones your sense of what and who matters most. It sharpens the diamond. Saturn cycles are notoriously demanding and you really have to ask around, seek advice, read widely and proceed with tremendous respect for those who know more than you do. This applies no matter how experienced you are with family issues, flatmate concerns, property, renovation, real estate investment and the rest. This also applies to the council or even your nation, if it’s relevant. On a Saturn cycle, you have to reach out to people who can help you expand your ideas and perspective. Guesswork or hopeful wishing is not going to help. You have to deal with who and what is there. Long-term this leads you to exactly the right set-up and ultimately you will be very proud of yourself for having got there.
LIBRA
Libra, we have a Jupiter-Saturn clash from Virgo to Sagittarius this week, and Mars is back in Scorpio for another trip. Let’s go back to your money, house, apartment, company, charity, business and/or possessions. (You will actually be going back to an old issue in real-time this week, too). It is very important that you relax in the knowledge that you are creating a bigger, better future for yourself here. In fact, from the end of next year into 2018 you are looking at a massive revolution, extending for many years, which will launch you into a completely different relationship with everything you own, earn or owe. Uranus, the planet of freedom, independence and radical reform, will move into your property, business and cash zone from 2018. Even before that, as you end 2017, you will make or save a small fortune. I mention all this now because I am sure you are heartily sick of spinning your wheels. Not only Mars but Mercury has also been retrograde, or moving backwards and forwards, since April 14th – all in your cash, business and property zones! What can you trust now? The process. Do go back over old ground. Do spend the time. Do believe in the future too. This is part of a higher plan and greater process and as you will see in 2017-2018, May 2016 also had its part to play.
SCORPIO
Saturn in Sagittarius makes his presence felt again this week, in a clash with Jupiter. In myth, Saturn was the father who ran on fear and defence mechanisms, and Jupiter was his lucky son, who believed in win-win outcomes. At the moment, you are dealing with a classic Saturn scenario which is affecting you, no matter how wealthy or skint you are! Saturn tends to bring people, organisations, trends and situations – beyond your control – where you have to deal with all that is slow, stuck, frozen and occasionally just beyond common sense. This is now the case with everything you own, earn or owe. It may be about possessions. It may be about shares. You have chosen your own path through life. The trick with this cycle is to give yourself plenty of time. Allow for a process to pan out, over several months. Take it day by day, simultaneously. Treat each case separately and try not to rush to an answer, or hasten towards some kind of miracle solution. The truth about the Saturn cycle is, there are no magic beans. What you will gain from this, if you can take it step by step, is a deep and rich appreciation of what or who you value most. This actually increases the value, to you. Therefore you gain. Only you can decide, this week, what that is going to be. Something money cannot buy, like integrity, or philanthropy, or independence? Or are we talking a Van Gogh? Getting to the core of what/who gleams and shines irreplaceably for you is paramount.
SAGITTARIUS
Of all the cycles which can alter your life, Jupiter in Virgo, on the Midheaven of your solar chart, passing through the Tenth House of achievement, is the most important. You only have this once every 12 years. Jupiter is also your ruling planet so this ups the stakes. What does Jupiter represent? Expansion, hope, belief, positive thinking, optimism and improvement. This cycle represents the solutions which result in win-win outcomes and bring increase all round. Placed in Virgo, Jupiter is now doing his utmost to reshape your curriculum vitae. This may be paid or unpaid work, a university degree or the full-time job of parenthood. The fact that Jupiter clashes with Saturn this week should only sharpen your view of the top of the mountain. What is your personal Everest? Do you need to hang on, or do you just need to get there? Maybe you are exchanging Everest for Kilimanjaro. This week is really important as you have a crossroads choice to make which will set you on a different path to the top, until September. Your odds? Outstanding.
CAPRICORN
This week your ruler Saturn is in Sagittarius, squaring up to Jupiter in Virgo. At the same time, Mars is back in Scorpio, which rules your friendships and group involvements. As you are a stayer, not a player, and learn so much from your own history – it may be wise to look at Mars in Scorpio. The issue will be familiar and the scenario is almost like a rewound DVD. You are back to the same scene you left behind, with this particular band, club, team, association, society, union or whatever it is! The story with your friend is also unchanged. What matters now is perspective. Cast your mind back to everything that went down in 2013, 2014 in particular. Those life lessons, so hard-won, will now be part of the overall picture for you. Look into the future, too. You will be stunned at how much your world opens up, in the most amazing way, from the end of next year – thanks to this very same group and this same friend. In other words, the choices you make about them/him/her between now and November are going to put you on a special path.
AQUARIUS
Jupiter in Virgo, Saturn in Sagittarius and Mars in Scorpio. Which pattern matters most this week? They are all there to reshape your life in 2017-2018, but as so much of your identity is invested in the art of friendship and ‘the hive mind’ of your groups, maybe Saturn in Sagittarius should lead. Money is money (and you are on track to save or make it by September) and success is success. What you cannot really substitute, though, is the particular path you are taking with others in the community, or circle, around you. Aquarius is the sign associated with the real water-bearers of Ancient Rome, who supplied the water – thus, the symbol of the man with the jug. Symbolically, you also supply your circles, networks and groups. The issue now, is that life has seldom been as challenging as it is now! The clash between Jupiter and Saturn is very important, because it hardly ever happens. Thus, you have some choices to make. You do need to weigh up what it is all worth to you. What do you believe in, here? Is it about loyalty to people who have been with you forever? Is it about the higher goal of the group? The people power involved? Maybe you are just dealing with that age-old Aquarian issue about individuality and independence, pitted against the needs of the hive mind. You have all the time in the world to figure out what you’re going to do.
PISCES
Jupiter in Virgo is a cycle worth hanging onto and using, no matter what. The square to Saturn this week should sharpen your mind, wonderfully. Look at your former, current or potential partner. Consider your enemy, rival or opponent. One man (or woman) in particular is carrying the cycle for you. What is it about? The expansion of your horizons and the reshaping of your world, so that it becomes bigger and better, for both of you. This may sound utterly mad if you are in a feud, battle or outright war with someone – yet Jupiter has a way of delivering grand results, even in tough situations. Most Pisceans are more engaged with the chemistry between themselves and a key person, for reasons which are sexual, romantic or perhaps vested in professional partnership. For you, the time has come to nail your colours to the mast. You either believe, or you don’t believe. You can either keep the faith, renew it – or realise you should get real about those ideals. This cycle is associated with empire building and tremendous expansion. You two are here to grow together but also to grow things together. Until September, this cycle will contain all the emotional energy in your life. If for whatever reason you need to grow with someone else,that may be obvious now. If you made the right choice since 2015, though, what tests you and pushes you now, will actually contribute to your greater good, together. You’ll see why by September.