Weekly Astroguide

The Venus opposition to your ruler is on the wane. Lately you've been feeling that getting what you really want is unrealistic. That the only way to achieve your desire is to confine yourself too tightly within a certain set of parameters. Now, though, the burden is easing. But you still need to shift your perspective a little. It might be that you need to set your sights on a new ambition. Though it may not appear to be the ideal candidate for your attention, if you examine it closely enough, you'll find it has hidden charms. In your love life: Feel as if you're stuck inside doing your homework while everyone is out having fun? Join them. Play is important too!

You can, unfortunately, be your own worst enemy. So can I. So can anyone. Hang on, what did you think I meant? Did you think I meant that I could be MY own worst enemy? Or did you think that I could be YOUR worst enemy? This may be the point we need to discuss. Sometimes you can be so busy scanning for adversaries that you'll see them even amongst friends. We can all do this from time to time. But Aquarians are proactive and protective. This week try to ask questions first and shoot later. In your love life: Worry less about what you are looking for. If you can focus on being who you are, what you are looking for will find you.

This week will bring a couple of jolts to your senses. You may be comfortable, swinging in a hammock or floating on a lilo, when someone comes along to poke you in between the netting or create an almighty splash. Try not to blame the messenger. Whoever it is will simply be serving as a reminder that there's a whole world of chaos and confusion out there. Although it's ready to come in at any moment, it doesn't have to be scary. It can be exciting. Embrace the unexpected and you'll take it in your stride. In your love life: The New Moon brings an opportunity to change the game, even if you don't know the rules. You can reach your goal.

There's no point getting frustrated. Frustration isn't the right way to express those feelings welling up inside. You can do better than that. You can make the passions and desires that swirl within you a little more palatable. The fire that burns within can be a useful tool. By adding the right ingredients you can cook a tasty dish, power a combustion engine or defrost an icy situation. Make sure this week that you use your heat' wisely and in moderation. You don't want to have to wear oven gloves when you're using the toaster! In your love life: The solution you seek is not yours to find. Let go of the problem you are so fixed on solving, you will find you can move on.

There will come a moment this week when you'll gain a new understanding about what's in your heart. It will be as if someone has changed the lens in front of your eyes. Instead of seeing blurry shapes on the side of the road you will be able to make out the sharp details on the signs ahead. Take heed of those signs. Get in the appropriate lane ahead of time. Better to know what you want, prepared to take the correct path, rather than be constantly surprised by the next turn, swerving, all indicators and horns! In your love life: Luck is on your side. Not the jackpot or golden ticket kind of luck, but something unexpected and good is on its way.

Time to embark on a new challenge. You've come a long way on the good ship Gemini. You've plotted some clever courses and made some encouraging forays into uncharted waters. You've even opened up encouraging avenues of trade in far-flung places. But lately there's a feeling that you've been stuck in port too long. Don't worry, the refit is nearly complete. Soon you'll be off exploring again. Take some time this week to work out what you most want to get from this expedition. It'll help you to bring the goods home. In your love life: An unequal situation has reached its tipping point. This week, the see-saw tips your way. Your patience pays off at last.

We all need to wipe the slate clean sometimes. That's not to say we can't be proud of our achievements. Of course we can. And there's plenty you can look back on that will give you a warm sense of satisfaction. But the New Moon in Gemini brings an opportunity to start afresh. This week you can clear your head of an old way of thinking. Open up your mind and investigate some new ideas. Your heart is often full to the brim with emotions and commitments. It's time to let go gently and make room for the future. In your love life: Time to say goodbye to self-pity. The New Moon brings a fresh start and will make you want to get up and go'.

You may find this week that you've got a new pet project. We both know how loyal, caring and concerned you are with the lucky souls that fall under your protection. This week it seems as though you might have to be on your toes to keep up with someone in particular. The New Moon heralds the start of a fresh adventure, the beginning of chapter with great possibilities. Don't be out-foxed at the outset. Keep up with your quarry and you'll soon have a rich new seam of emotional connection to mine! In your love life: Deep down, you know you need to make a move. Trust your instinct; the move you need to make is easier than you think.

My uncle's advice seems particularly pertinent for your astrological influences this week. He reminded you that you can't get emotional if you play chess. Or rather, you can but it won't help very much. The rules are the rules. Logical processes must be followed if the game is to be played. And if you find yourself in a tricky position or threatened by your opponent's next move, don't take it personally. You had just better put your emotions to one side and trust that something clever will come to mind. In your love life: This New Moon brings a chance to build foundations based on a recently discovered truth. You have all the tools you need.

Sometimes you care too deeply. And often, when you do, it may appear as if you don't care at all because you don't show outward signs of emotion. This is usually because you are worried about the integrity of your emotional dams. You need these dams to function well. You are, in fact, powered by a great depth of emotional pressure. You can't let it all spill out for fear that it will compromise this important inner structure and lessen its ability to generate your power. This week, take a risk. There's a spark in you that is worth sharing. In your love life: If you can identify your emotional needs this week, there's a good chance you'll attract what you need to fulfil them.

I bet that tastes nice,' says the pleasure part of the brain. Don't do it,' screams the disciplined bit. I will if I want to!' snaps the independent spirit. But do I really want to?' questions the searching soul. This week you may be tempted by something you can't or perhaps shouldn't have. Think again about what it is you want and whether the immediate gratification of this particular desire is really conducive to your wider aspirations. Ever experienced a D.R.'? If not, it may be time to sample a Discipline Rush! In your love life: Let go of something. Lighten your load. With more space in your suitcase there will be room for the gifts that lie ahead.

Jonathan was a well-known Sagittarian. Thus, to quite a degree, he was describing himself when writing for your sign. He wrote: To be a Sagittarian, is to be a person of great passion and enthusiasm. Whatever you do, you do wholeheartedly. Fine, if you are giving your all to an activity you enjoy. Not so fine, if you are giving your all to misery, pessimism or despair.' This week the sky is full of possibilities. It's up to you whether you turn them into opportunity or anguish. Make a positive choice. In your love life: There are times when things seem to fall naturally into place. Your time is now. Here is an opportunity that's perfect for you.

Even fairy tales aren't always simple and straightforward. They may have many moments of complication and confusion before their heroes and heroines finally enjoy a happy-ever-after. Whether we can call the world that we occupy a real environment' or a fantasy realm', we can be certain that it is rare that any of us can ever be sure of anything! We make a choice, we try to draw a line and then we start to wonder if we could have done it all a different way. Don't succumb to unnecessary uncertainty in June, you're doing just fine. In your love life: Are you allowing guardian angels to help you? Sometimes you just have to put trust in love; now is such a time.

Take care of the pennies,' so the saying goes, and the pounds will take care of themselves.' The wisdom of this adage is universally accepted even in lands where dollars, euros or yen are the predominant currency. Nor do people think that the meaning relates only to money. We all know that if we prioritise the small stuff, the big stuff will shape-up automatically. All fine and fair, as long as we have the time and patience. You'll have plenty of that in June and you will apply it, most wisely until it pays off most rewardingly. In your love life: There's nothing that can't be improved... and little that can't remain the same if you are determined to stifle progress.

Some say women are better than men at multi-tasking. But that is not the only factor that defines success with such a challenge. Much depends on what two tasks we are trying to combine. If, for example, we are attempting to pursue an opportunity whilst simultaneously suppressing outrage, anger or annoyance, we may find that the wrong thoughts overtake us and we fail to attain more preferable objectives. That's all the more reason to seek higher awareness and kinder consciousness in June. Be big and you will be brilliant. In your love life: When the Sun and Venus square your ruler, happy surprises can follow. It's part of the fun. Enjoy this precious time.

It is one thing to attain an understanding, it is another to maintain one. We may like to think that we have reached an agreement, arrived at a consensus or come to a conclusion. Yet on the great negotiation train, a destination may turn out to be a way-station, not a terminus. Watch, in June, for arrangements that need not be seen as set in stone. Don't worry about others reneging on their promises to you, just look at how life is presenting you with opportunities to side-step onerous commitments without any loss of integrity. In your love life: Somebody else might hardly be upset by the issue you are finding so irritating. But you are entitled to be taken seriously.

Before you worry too much about what you can and can't afford in June, be aware of one potential mistake which, if made, could overshadow all else. Be wary of your own reluctance to rock a boat, ask a question or broach a particular topic. Either because it makes you feel uncomfortable and insecure or because you worry that you may draw someone else's attention to a factor that they are currently unaware of you are trying to keep a low, discreet profile. Be brave, bold and brazen. Request what you need and you may yet get it. In your love life: An important bond is deepening. This will become ever more important, regardless of how near or far it seems today.

Venus and Mercury work as a heavenly tag team in June. As the planet of seductive luxury approaches the end of its tenure in your sign, your ruler has entered the race and is there to carry the baton; enabling you to move from a state of aspiration and anticipation into one of completion and contentment. If you conclude you are due to be well taken care of by a kindly cosmos, you are correct. You should, though, remember that even when we are benefiting from an auspicious advantage, we can still encounter tension. Keep worry in perspective now. In your love life: Meaningful exchanges are rare. If you now wish that someone understood you better, begin by trying to understand them.

It looks as if you are due to become as radiant as a fire in the chill of the evening and as bright as a beacon glowing out across a dark sea. Others will find their way towards you, irresistibly drawn by the warmth of your heart and the light of your mind. Venus will enter Cancer just prior to the June Solstice. That, other than the regular new and full moons that we get every month, is the most notable feature on which an astrologer might feel inspired to base a prediction. Be positive and you will bring positivity your way. With that, all else you need will come. In your love life: If you love someone, set them free,' goes the song. Let go of what you are hanging on to too tightly; you can only gain.

You only want to bring about a small change. It may seem as if a lot is going on and a great deal needs to be altered. But none of it is of quite so much consequence as you might imagine. It will be surprisingly easy to attain what you aspire to. There will, though, be a price to pay in terms of a compromise that must be made. Don't look so disheartened. You always knew that this would have to happen, didn't you? It will be as annoying as you choose to allow it to be. Be relaxed and you may not even be bothered at all. In your love life: Don't dismiss what's good just because you imagine it might be possible to find something better!

We all like to feel as if we belong. We like to know our place, be comfortable in our space and feel assured that our face fits within a group or organisation. Why should we ever suspect this is not the case? Maybe because someone has said (or done) something strange. Or we have begun to doubt ourselves. The trouble with self-doubt is that it sparks a process similar to that of unravelling a knitted sweater. We pull on one loose strand and the whole thing falls apart. Hold still and stay strong this month, and all will be as you hope. In your love life: Love is not supposed to be stressful. It will get a little easier for you this week... especially if you resolve to let it!

I'm grateful you have found the time to turn to your forecast for June. I recognise that in your current busy schedule, there isn't much time to sit and read. You've got decisions to make, points to prove and situations to command. You have to think on your feet, and people in a position of leadership rarely like to show weakness by canvassing too many additional opinions. I'm flattered you have allowed me to be your consultant and my advice, in June, is simple and clear. Despite whatever doubt may plague you, this is a fine time to trust yourself. In your love life: Ask a stupid question and you will get a stupid answer. Listen to your heart, not your head. Your heart will call.

Jupiter, in June, forms a helpful alignment with Pluto. Scientists may dispute the importance of what they now call a dwarf planet' but astrologers know it remains a potent, relevant symbol of mass hysteria and false fear. As ruler of your sign, it has a rather different meaning. It describes your immense sensitivity and deep, secret propensity to be powerful. The alignment from Jupiter implies a heavenly blessing that will protect you all through the month ahead as does the presence of Mars in Scorpio. You are about to taste great success. In your love life: Don't hurry to find answers. Check you are asking the right questions. Another's problems will soon stop being yours.

There is no great celestial secret that I need to reveal to you about how to do well this month. You need neither expect an epiphany nor prepare for a revelation. There are no lines you need to read between, no cryptic messages that you must decode. The only thing you need to be aware of is that you have been making some wise choices lately and you really now should see these through. Stick with what you have started. Stay on the path you have picked. Do more of what you are already doing and all will work out surprisingly well. In your love life: A brave step has been even more successful than you dared hope. Be willing to be vulnerable and you'll find true power.

The last in a series of sharp alignments between your ruler and Jupiter is due to take place any moment now. That's why so much seems to be stretching you so far, so fast. You don't feel as if you are able to relax and take control of a situation because it is subject to so many unpredictable forces and chaotic influences. Yet for all the mayhem, there is magic. A possibility now arises which may potentially alter everything in the world significantly (and speedily) for the better. You are right to believe in yourself and the possibility of a brighter future. In your love life: Are you misplacing your faith in someone? Just express your highest hope; keep a flame alive. You won't regret this.

When the going gets tough, the Aquarians come into their own. People born under your sign are naturally resourceful and incisive. Where others see a problem, you see an unusual situation which, if only it is properly understood, may give rise to great benefit. Your exceptional capacity to be clever will stand you in good stead soon. Just by thinking differently and asking the questions that others are apparently too unimaginative to form in their minds, you can do yourself (and other people too) a great favour in the coming week or so. In your love life: You are smart and sharp. You know that sometimes it is easier to lose a battle than to strive so determinedly to win one.

For some while, you've been frustrated by circumstances that you wish would change. You have done your best to find freedom yet have had little success. You are beginning to resign yourself to a future in which no progress is made. All that's a natural reaction to a series of right angles between Saturn and Jupiter. Yet the last in the current series takes place this week. With it comes a moment where the scenery changes and the play being acted out of the great stage of life begins to go in a different direction. This will suit you more than you expect. In your love life: Has a sense of defensiveness characterised a key part of your personal life? Tension is about to start melting away.

Once again, you find yourself facing less than ideal circumstances. Once again, you rise to the challenge like a trouper. You may doubt your own ability to make a difference to a tricky situation. That's not unusual, either. Recent events have eroded your confidence somewhat. Yet you have mustered almost heroic determination and have done better than many might ever have expected. You won't accomplish all that's on your to-do list this week. But once again, you will presently surprise yourself by how far you get. In your love life: When needs must, differences can be put aside and progress can occur. You'll see that delightfully demonstrated soon.

As Venus now ends its tenure in Taurus, you become blessed with an exceptionally observant eye. You will soon find yourself looking at a situation, recognising that something is not quite right about it, then gradually sifting through all possibilities from the obvious to the obscure until you identify the issue and take constructive steps to address it. A situation may be difficult but at least, in so far that you are so very well placed to right a wrong, we could argue that you have been blessed with a splendid opportunity this week. In your love life: You may not be sure about who is in the right over a current conflict. But you know where to direct your loyal support.

Sometimes, we try with all our might yet we don't seem to get far. How frustrated do we then feel when others appear to attain significant success whilst making hardly any effort? It may just be that they have chosen easier objectives or have found themselves in a situation that naturally favours them. Or it may be that they earlier put in much hard work and only now is that paying off. Others may soon wonder quite what you have done to warrant the wave of celestial assistance that is rolling into your life. You, though, can just be glad of it. In your love life: If life lately has obliged you to reveal more of your weaknesses than you wished, now you get to be at your best.

You can't do any more than your best. In theory, though, you can do less than your best! I say in theory' because you are a Cancerian. You hate to sell yourself short or to let anyone else down. You are diligent and hard working. Most crucially, you care. That, of course, is also why you become vulnerable. Yet when you go the extra mile and it actually makes a difference, there is an incomparable sense of elation. If it has been some while since you last experienced that, you will enjoy the pleasant reminder this week's events provide. In your love life: Hooked on being needed? There are times when much is to be said for a little distance. It may lead to a healthier future.

We always hope that things will improve. We know, somehow, that the moment we begin to expect deterioration, we will inevitably find ever more proof of this phenomenon in action. Both optimism and pessimism create self-fulfilling prophecies yet it is hard to look on the bright side after an experience that has brought some disappointment. You aren't sure, this week, what to make of the circumstances you face. You would like to feel hopeful but you feel you have a duty to be realistic. Actually, though, to be realistic now is to be optimistic! In your love life: You like getting attention. But is it the right sort? Look at the signals you send. You have more control than you think.

Mercury, your ruler, is reaching the end of its retrograde phase and Jupiter, having recently done much the same, is still proving slow to pick up pace. But less needs to alter than you fear or think. No great dramatic development is needed. If any improvement is really to come about, it will be the result of a factor that is entirely within your control: your own level of expectation. Your own understanding of what lies behind a situation (and what it might be fair to assume) could be changed just by changing something in yourself. In your love life: Change should emerge independently. Others can support but shouldn't push. Look at what you may change within you.

When you are just coasting along in neutral, you achieve impressive success. You are good at what you do, you have special skills and abilities and people tend to like the kind of person that you are. Once in a while, though, it is as if you become supercharged. The heat of enthusiasm builds up within, until a head of steam begins to come out of your ears! You get keen, eager, even passionate about some task you have taken on or a problem you intend to solve. At times like that (and thus in weeks like this) you really do make a difference. In your love life: Are you wanted for who you are or for what you represent? There may be a way to turn a situation to your advantage.

Whenever we engage too enthusiastically with a plan, project, idea or ideal, we become vulnerable to disappointment if things don't work out. Or we find that it all means so much to us that we are willing to risk what we ought to protect. Whether that's money, pride or time, it's tricky. They do say, don't they, nothing ventured, nothing gained.' But have we not all experienced moments where something is ventured, yet little or nothing seems to come of this? There are no guarantees this week, of total success but you won't ever regret trying your best! In your love life: When Scorpios have something to say, it means one thing: it is something worth saying! This week, you will be heard.

This week's big celestial story involves the last in the series of right angles between Jupiter and Saturn that have characterised so much of the drama that you have been through lately. You have coped well against daunting odds. Will life really now start to get lighter, more productive and less challenging? Well, you are a Sagittarian and things are never going to be quiet in your world for long. But you are entering a more relaxed, rewarding phase and you will soon have the satisfaction of knowing that the book is now closed on a stressful tale. In your love life: Might you be apprehensive about someone's attitude, even though they are nervous of you? Easier to resolve than you fear.

In next week's forecast, I will be telling you about the square between Jupiter and Saturn. Why, then, am I mentioning it this week? Because, in astrology, it is always during the time just prior to the culmination of an astrological angle that it has greatest influence. These two planets are so slow-moving that we could argue that we are, right now, reaching the peak of a process that has been unfolding for some while. It has largely been about facing facts, addressing problems, being brave. This very week, you will start to see how so much of that has paid off. In your love life: Are you the light of someone else's life, inadvertently casting a big shadow? You can mitigate this by being consciously brighter.

They say that the world was created in just six days. Is that, perhaps, what's wrong with it? Was it a bit of a rush job? Did the Creator omit a few things? Might it all have benefited from a bit more thought? Then again, we have had many millennia to do our own thinking since then. What are you inclined to conclude about the world in general or, at least, your own sector of the world right now? If it leaves anything to be desired, you are in an excellent position to meet that need, just by thinking differently and taking positive action. In your love life: Nothing mars a constructive relationship as much as a sense of divided loyalty. Now it is time for recognition and respect.

Shall we list the reasons why this week, you may not succeed? Shall we carefully categorise those difficulties, analyse and dissect them? Oh, come along, surely you don't want to do that? Aren't you tired of them all? Haven't you been round those houses more often than a delivery truck on a ring road? As Jupiter and Saturn edge closer to next week's right angle, a new by-pass opens up. Don't focus on what has been impossible in the past far less on why that was so. Look, instead, at what's possible now or in the near future and smile! In your love life: Do you feel your connection with another person is not as good as it could be? Any interference now is only temporary.

If it wasn't for night, we might never properly appreciate day. Happiness would seem bland to a person who has never experienced sadness. As for relief and release? Well, what use is that without something to be relieved and released from? If you suspect, from all that I'm saying here, that your outlook this week might be a little trying at times, well it might be. But only at times. If you hold tight to your own faith in a brighter future, you will yet see the light of real justified hope shining into every dark corner of your world. In your love life: Be kind, courteous and considerate. Where that's what you give out, it will be what you get back.

We cannot help but daydream. There's no shame in this. Who has the right to say which balls we must keep our eyes on and which ones we should be admonished for dropping? Where, pray tell, are the rules of life's game even written down? They are open to interpretation because we are designed to be free to find our own way. Be sensitive this week, to what the world might be expecting of you and try your best to live up to that. It will be easier than you think. Yet remind the world, in turn, that it has an obligation to let you keep your hopes alive! In your love life: We sometimes wish for more sympathy from a certain someone. One situation is the best it can be. Let that be enough.

Mercury's great recent retrograde adventure, now comes to an end at last. It has been quite some journey this time, especially with last week's impressive transit of the Sun taken into account. Does that not neatly echo the adventure that you have been caught up in lately? Have not immense, intense experiences changed some part of the way you will now see the world for evermore? Events this week, may also help you see quite how profound, positive, productive and profitable some of those realisations and revelations have been. In your love life: Everyone sometimes questions an involvement they are in. But you have far more to be glad of than to be aggrieved by.

Before you read any more of this forecast, would you be kind enough to fetch me a glass of water? And do you have a comfier chair I can sit in? Thank you. Sorry to be a trouble but my dog could do with a walk soon. Would you mind taking her out? Oh, sorry, were you hoping to hear something from me? Well, perhaps, after I have extracted a few more favours, I may oblige you with a forecast. What's that? We are running out of space? Ah yes, and you may run out of time if you allow the needs of others to entirely supersede your own this week. In your love life: If you want someone else's attitude or behaviour to change, begin by altering your own.

Those who depict the sign of Leo as outgoing and attention-seeking, may be misunderstanding the essential symbolic nature of your sign. It is, after all, ruled by the Sun. What else does that bright celestial star do, other than illuminate the rest of the world? It may be conspicuous by its absence at times, but its presence never demands too much close scrutiny. It is, indeed, dangerous even to look at the Sun. Don't fear that you are at risk this week, of being overlooked or left out. You are, as you are about to see, more appreciated than you know. In your love life: Could an arrangement improve? Consider this: might it be already far better than you once might have expected.

How did people keep one another in check before someone invented the rule of law? In the absence of autocratic rulers and interfering governments, belief systems had a big part to play in this. Even to this day, we have our morals, ethics and ways to see, in our mind's eye, how higher forces might be judging, rewarding and punishing us. Your life might have taken a very different turn had it not been for a passionate, personal, principle. Whether it has held you back or propelled you on, you will see it from a wider perspective this week. In your love life: The more you trust that something is basically good, the more you can trust yourself and others, the more reward you'll reap.

How odd that we so often fail to acknowledge the power and the choice that we have had in the past or that we still may have, even now. We see ourselves as victims. We suspect that we are helpless. Not only do we fail to learn from our mistakes, we miss the point of our successes, too! Thus we go round in circles when we could be forging some great path towards a far finer future. This week's events bring you recognition and awakening. They show you that you have far more power than you thought. Now, you just need the courage to use that. In your love life: Low self-esteem is only ever the result of looking into a distorted mirror. This week, you will see your true reflection.

You will go a long way in the right direction this week. You will make much-needed progress. You will overcome an obstacle that has long been a cause for concern. You will see at least a ray of hope in an area where all had lately started to look impossible. What, other than a constructive cosmic climate, will support and assist this? A decision, deep in your heart, to place more trust in certain people who you have lately begun to doubt. Nobody is perfect but nor are they all quite as irritatingly imperfect as we sometimes allow ourselves to imagine. In your love life: Mean-minded people deserve pity not punishment. Don't fear ill intent. Act as if others are on your side and they will be.

If we never make mistakes, when would we ever get an opportunity to correct our own errors? If we naturally behave impeccably, when would we ever be able to develop the character-forming humility that can only emerge through the making of a sincere apology? Events in your life this week, are all somehow about righting wrongs and addressing past injustices. You might not feel that there is very much you can do. But your best, if it is genuine, intelligent and reasonably energetic, will yet prove to be more than enough. In your love life: Don't nurse a difficult memory. The middle path is the best one to tread. For a fulfilling life learn from the past but let it go.

Capricorns are supposed to be risk-averse. That's how my colleagues portray the people who are born under your sign, so it must be true. Even if it is, it might be risky to assume that you would never make so much as a single speculative gesture. As your astrologer, I'm averse to taking that risk, especially in a week when there is a rare Transit of Mercury in the part of your chart that governs brave steps into the unknown'. Don't gamble anything that you can't afford to lose. But remember, this week, life can be full of surprises. In your love life: Someone, somewhere in your world now, is being a bit of a big kid. Let's just hope that isn't you!

Does this week's rare Transit of Mercury suggest that change will happen on the home front for you, soon? Well, perhaps not change in the physical sense. We may be looking at a moment of recognition or revelation that causes you to see a familiar situation in a brand-new light. Either you arrive at a different understanding and this, in turn, leads to the development of a new plan or policy with profound positive implications for your future or someone else's influence and involvement brings about much the same result. All looks good. In your love life: Someone special is a significant; changing developments invite you to look again at how much this means to you.

Might you be about to invent a better mousetrap? Or a perpetual motion device? An expression of such impressive creativity should not be ruled out. Many who share your sign have played a crucial part in ushering new ideas into the world. Einstein was a Piscean. This week's rare Transit of Mercury makes a classic Piscean lightbulb moment even more likely. Even if you don't come up with a technical innovation, you can at least expect to be blessed with a psychological insight; one that helps you solve a problem or beat a fear. In your love life: What matters most is a feeling that you get' what someone else is thinking. Wherever you find such a rapport, trust it.

We are ethereal beings, you and me. Eternal spirits, temporarily inhabiting physical forms. Or, at least, we are if that is what we believe ourselves to be. Actually, whatever we happen to believe, we really ought not to take the material world quite so seriously. We worry too much about security and stability. This gets us down and, ironically, prevents us from attaining the very success we dream of. The coming transit of Mercury invites you to loosen up and then helps you to rise to a higher standard of living. In your love life: This week's rare Transit of Mercury helps you gain a greater sense of emotional security for the time being, at least.

If you don't already know what an important and powerful week this is due to be, allow me to inform you. Taureans who have already received this news won't, I am sure, mind being reminded. The rare Transit of Mercury is taking place in your sign. That's rich with potent and positive, symbolism. It heralds the psychological equivalent of a makeover. You don't just get a chance to alter your appearance, but to rewrite the whole rulebook of who you are and how you lead your life. It won't all happen overnight but the process begins now. In your love life: The rare Transit of Mercury marks a turning point in your head and your heart. Only good can come from this.

None would envy a prisoner's life of restriction. At least, though, such a person would understand the reason why they have no freedom. How frustrating must it be when you feel as if you ought to be able to do so many things and enjoy so many experiences, yet in reality you find yourself thwarted and frustrated at every turn? This week's rare Transit of Mercury heralds a point of awakening and recognition. This is where you finally start to see what has been holding you back, why the past has been that way and how you actually can now do something about it. In your love life: Even if recent events have inhibited expressions of warmth, the coming Transit of Mercury will make them more possible.

Why do you keep the company you keep? Because you have no other choice? Because of family ties or social obligations? Or because the people to whom you connect most often in daily life, actually have something to teach you? And you, of course, have something valuable to show them. The rare Transit of Mercury this week deepens and strengthens an important bond. It changes it, too, but that's really nothing to fear. The upshot of this important heavenly event, will be a greater sense of interpersonal connection, affinity and empathy. In your love life: A relationship? Or a friendship? Distinctions must now be made. No harm will come from this to you or anyone else.

I'm so glad that you have turned to this page. Various people are unhappy about how the world is being run. They (and I) think it would all be better if someone like you took charge. You make good decisions, don't you? We all know you handle responsibility well. Events surrounding this week's Transit of Mercury, may cause you briefly to question the extent of this ability but even if mistakes have been made in the past, you can now profit enormously (and help others gain, too) from putting into practice what has been learned. In your love life: Do you take charge of someone else's choices? Is it healthier to allow them space to find some things out for themselves?

What do you believe? And what do you know to be true? Where might there be a disparity? That's rarely an easy distinction to make. We sometimes doubt what we know because we don't feel able to make much sense of it. Sometimes, too, we afford more trust than we should to an idea that we only believe to be real and right, yet have little or no proof to back this up. It just makes so much sense to us, we give it the benefit of the doubt. This week's rare Transit of Mercury opens your eyes, changes your mind and begins to vastly improve your future. In your love life: This week's Transit of Mercury broadens your horizon in what will eventually prove a wonderful way.

Did Shakespeare say, Neither a borrower nor a lender be?' Well, he had one of his characters say it. It may (or may not) reflect his personal view. Even back in his day, the world ran on credit. Now, it is worse. Consider all those bills that land on all those doormats each month. Have we got the best deals? Are we being overcharged? Do we feel so daunted by the effort it would take and the scrutiny that it might expose us to, that we leave such questions alone? The coming Transit of Mercury suggests you will soon be able to think less about what you owe to whom and more about who owes you what and how to get it! In your love life: For a healthy future, it is now time to acknowledge something that has been denied for too long.

When you signed on the line, did you fully understand what you were agreeing to? When you did the deal, did you know what deal had been done? Is this week's Transit of Mercury, in your opposite sign, causing a degree of discomfort because you feel that you can no longer stick with an unfair commitment or because you are becoming aware of how someone else has stretched the rules of engagement, until they have started to take on a rather different shape? Either way, this week, a positive process of renegotiation can be embarked upon. In your love life: You are growing conscious of an unmet need. You can't expect that to be fulfilled (or at least, not immediately) but there is no reason why you shouldn't carry on hoping.

The closer we are to an object, a person or a situation, the less clearly we see it. No optician can rectify that. It is simply a matter of lack of perspective. We can only compensate for this by recognising at least in principle that the phenomenon exists, even if we aren't conscious of quite how it is affecting us. This week's rare Transit of Mercury brings you a timely insight into a matter of honour and commitment. You will see something that is very close to home in a new light. The upshot of this will be a path towards a more fulfilling future. In your love life: The Transit of Mercury suggests you are about to do just the right thing, at just the right time, for someone or something.

Capricorns, so the expert astrologers advise us, to play it safe. I've always been inclined to argue with this, not least because the true symbol of your sign is not a goat but a mer-goat; a mysterious, mythical creature with miraculous powers. Will any of those be unleashed in May? Why not? The rare, potent transit of Mercury, takes place in the part of your chart that governs gambles. It is as if you are about to see how what once looked as if it might be a step too far, is the right move to make! In your love life: It's good to encourage each other to transcend limitations. Be aware that what's good isn't always easy. Stick at it!

May's rare, powerful transit of Mercury suggests a revelation regarding your deepest sense of belonging. You are about to discover what you have always been a part of yet have never felt sure you are connected to. It may not be so much a thing as a person or a group of people. But where once you had suspected you were all but alone with a struggle in life, it now turns out that you have allies, assistance, companions you can count on. Prepare to have your eyes opened to a most delightful sight. In your love life: Love is sometimes bittersweet. Be open now, to the idea that difficult' isn't necessarily wrong'. It may even be ideal!

Do people sometimes suggest you express yourself clearly but that the content of your conversation is carefully selected to ensure that some topics are never even touched upon? Do they even argue that this is out of character with a personality that likes to give an impression of being uninhibited? The rare, powerful transit of Mercury this month will have a significant impact on the way in which you get your message across. No matter how much you may be nervous about sharing information, you'll benefit now from opening up. In your love life: Afraid to ask for what we really want? The chance of an exchange arises soon. Trust yourself. Trust someone else, too!

This month's rare, powerful, transit of Mercury, implies an imminent improvement in your material circumstances. Money might not be about to come directly into your life, but at least there will be an ability to see where and how more might eventually be generated. Other inspiring ideas will also shed new light on old stressful situations in other areas of life. You may think that you've got problems but there are solutions. And, as you begin to recognise these, your optimism and confidence will significantly increase. In your love life: When yesterday's experiences colour today's, it can be hard to think or see clearly. Now, you can move on. And you should.

Your outlook in May would be bright enough even if there were no rare transit of Mercury in your sign. This is, after all, the time of the Taurean solar return and Venus, your ruler, is in your sign too. But the rare celestial phenomenon is exceptionally auspicious. It suggests you may witness the unveiling of a hidden truth and, in seeing that secret, you become enormously empowered. Change may be gradual but it will be steady and satisfying. Nothing now need stay the same unless that's what you want it to do. In your love life: Do you avoid touching on certain topics? Time, soon, for a deeply honest and rewarding (if slightly difficult) conversation.

Mercury, the smallest, fastest, planet in the zodiac, is the traditional ruler of your sign. It isn't always easy to see, even for an experienced stargazer. But, this month, a rare celestial phenomenon lets people in some parts of the world detect it in broad daylight as it transits the face of the Sun. But then, being able to see it isn't really the issue. Just knowing that it is happening is enough. It speaks of a month during which you become impressively powerful and are finally able to meet many heartfelt needs. In your love life: Even a small effort to show sincere empathy this week will do much to improve an important bond.

Though this month's transit of Mercury is most likely to impact Cancerians via the people they find themselves needing to look after. You may say, What's different there? Don't I spend much of my time putting the needs of others before my own?' Indeed, you do. But interestingly, now a degree of pay-back and reward arrives in that area of life. Your contribution has made more of a difference than you realised. Someone is more appreciative than you know. Here is their chance to say thank you. In your love life: Do we ask each other to jump through unrealistic hoops. There's now a chance to discuss such issues and resolve them!

The rare, powerful transit of Mercury won't be visible all around the globe but the fact that this elusive planet can be seen at all anywhere is deeply symbolic especially as it is due to be revealed against the face of your ruler, the Sun. That's a suggestion of power, influence, importance and authority, all making its way into your life soon, so that you can start making a mark on the wider world. Prepare to be more easily understood and to be placed in a more advantageous bargaining position. In your love life: It is so important now, to love yourself and then to show due gratitude to those who love you!

Tradition tells us that the celestial significator of your sign is Mercury. Given the spectacular show this planet is due to put on in some parts of the world this month, that's exciting. Only rarely do the people of this Earth get a chance to witness anything quite so rich, rare and positively portentous. It is as if the sky is yelling out to the watching world, 'Show some respect to all who were born under Virgo, for they deserve it.' Long ago, you stopped believing in a great, hopeful vision. Coming events may restore your faith. In your love life: We can't make anyone love us by trying to control them. It takes courage to be trusting and open; but the reward can be joyous.

Welcome to a powerful month during which truths must be acknowledged, facts faced and opportunities embraced. I understand that in using the word must', I imply lack of choice, or perhaps it sounds as if I am giving you orders but the instructions are not coming from me. The transit of Mercury simply suggests, by strong symbolic implication, that we have moved in your life, from a time of contemplation to a time of action. As you grow more decisive in May you will find surprising success. In your love life: Success in resolving tension requires knowing what's going on in the back of someone's mind. Precious insights are near.

The Sun and Venus both pass through your opposite sign in May, as does Mercury which is about to treat sky-watchers, in some countries, to a rare celestial spectacle. For you as a Scorpio, the meaning of that unusual 'transit' could not be clearer. An arrangement, agreement, contract or commitment is about to reveal itself to have a hidden additional facet. Once you get beyond the surprise of this in May, you will start to make substantial gains. In your love life: Every relationship has ups and downs. But downs can lead to reappraisals and glorious new beginnings! Expect that.

How will this month's rare transit' of Mercury affect you as a Sagittarian? It takes place in the part of your chart that governs duty, obligation, self-sacrifice and hard work. The sky's symbolic message is hopeful. You've been giving much of yourself freely to a situation that you have long begun to suspect is probably a lost cause. You fear you have been foolish and that the more time and energy you expend, the sillier you will be. Now, suddenly you see the point. With that comes so much inspiration. In your love life: Is someone asking for too much? Is fear involved? Focus on the positive. Then just watch how things lighten up soon.

Are you sure you can spare the time to read this forecast? Aren't you under some pressure? Don't you have a lot of serious responsibilities to discharge? Isn't an interest in astrology a somewhat frivolous indulgence? Might you not be wiser to apply more self-discipline? Such feelings may arise in you this week. It is strange how we sometimes give ourselves a hard time, when we are most in need of comfort and reassurance. But you are actually closer than you think to a moment of relief and release. Relax and go easy. In your love life: Psychologists say we sometimes use one another. Rise above that. A positive step to greater maturity will soon be taken.

You don't always see the world in quite the same way as others see it. You ask more questions. You raise more eyebrows. You think more thoughts! That, though, doesn't mean you always find more faults. Sometimes, your exceptional discrimination bestows you with genuine appreciation for people and situations. You can see where praise and acclaim is due, even where others may take much for granted. There may come a moment, this week, where you feel slightly awestruck by a revelation. You will soon gain so much from this. In your love life: Imbalance over a sense of self-worth needs to be addressed. It couldn't happen at a better time or in a better way.

What's the difference between a dream and a reality? Expectation! We don't think our dreams will come true, so we allow them to be fanciful. Reality, we have long-since learned, brings frustration. We should therefore aim low. Yet realism should never be an excuse for pessimism. Some hopes are truly viable. Don't torture yourself now, with a fear that you are reaching for too much. There is a reason why you are doing what you are doing. Though the upshot may not be quite as you expect, you may yet be very happy with how things turn out. In your love life: Don't fear the judgement of others. The only opinion that matters is from you-know-who. Your bond can deepen now.

Imagine if you were immortal. Wouldn't life become terribly tedious after a century or two? Isn't it only the fact that we are here for such a short while that keeps it all interesting? And what would happen, if we really did have everlasting life, to those profound philosophical thoughts that so often preoccupy us? Such as where do we come from?' Or, What happens when we die?' We wouldn't even have all those imponderables to ponder! Something fleeting, this week, will soon lead to something truly magical. Just be glad of that. In your love life: How long does love last? Don't ask. There's no need for anyone to make themselves insecure by asking unanswerabale questions.

Mercury this week, makes no discernible progress in its path along the zodiac. It is all but stationary, preparing to commence the phase of retrograde motion that will be in full swing next month, when a rare transit of Mercury' happens in Taurus. This symbolism gets stronger when we add the meaning of a Full Moon in your opposite sign. You've reached a point in your journey from which, before you can go further, you must first step back to the past. A commitment or a contract will be part of the process that leads to this. Don't fear it; trust it! In your love life: Give way over territory you might have felt determined to defend. A sacrifice? No. Not a gesture. It will help heal a wound.

At the fairground, they have machines into which people can drop coins. They collect on a platform which glides in and out. Once in a while, the coins on the top layer fall on to the layer below and, if the player shovels in enough money, the machine may disgorge a reward. The hope is that it will put out more than has been put in. The reality? Well, in your life, this week, you must make a hard-headed assessment of a process that has been repetitiously unproductive. This could yet be the wisest thing you have done in a long while. In your love life: Is it worthwhile? Sometimes the act of asking can tip the balance. The best thing might be to try not to think about it at all!

You know those forms we sometimes have to fill in, where they ask us how many dependents we have? What do you enter into that box? It can't be big enough to reflect the actual number of individuals whose lives would probably go to pieces if they didn't have you to rely on and feel supported by. And while, yes, the strict definition is legal dependency', don't you tend to place morality above all else, even law? The coming Full Moon sees you choosing between obligation and inspiration. How can you possibly pick anything other than the latter? In your love life: You have an amazing ability to command affection. The Full Moon will soon bring more of all that your way.

Whenever the Moon grows full, Leos become more powerful and influential. It is not that you deliberately court power. You can hardly help yourself. Others naturally gravitate to you. They find themselves looking up and acknowledging your authority. Although, there are some who say that adulation is best met with modesty, if you are too swiftly dismissive of someone's supplications, you may trigger great sensitivity. Be gracious and generous with your time now and you will further earn the great status that is about to be bestowed on you. In your love life: You are a force, especially at Full Moon. Know your power. Use it well. Have mercy on those who are too weak to resist!

Life forever teaches us new things. Yet, like all students, in all schools, we don't necessarily pay the lessons full attention. Our minds wander, our ideas drift and then we wonder why we no longer understand as much as we feel that we ought to. Might a process like this explain the recent crisis of faith that you have lately begun to experience? You are even wondering if it is time to alter some of what you believe in and trust to be true. Actually, though, as your ruler approaches its next station', this is the right time to get fully back on board a familiar train. In your love life: Accept others, just the way they are now, and you will yet magically find they will return that favour.

What would you like me to tell you about your week ahead? I ask, not so that I can curry favour by saying whatever you wish to hear but to highlight the potency of alignments between Venus, your ruler, Neptune, and Jupiter. So strong are these, they make it almost impossible for you to see the world in any light other than the sunshine of your brightest inner vision. Should anyone or anything cast a shadow over that, you may perceive a threat or an enemy. That is not necessarily fair. You are right to believe in yourself now but should heed other views too! In your love life: Relationships are much more meaningful between the two genuine faces that hide behind their masks! That's developing now.

Once a year, every year (well, sometimes twice, but not this year) the Moon grows full in your zodiac sign. That's such a powerful symbol of renewed strength and certainty. But don't forget, positive change can only sometimes occur after pressure has been experienced or a difficulty has been overcome. I may, therefore, be premature in congratulating you on your new sense of purpose and the marvellous progress this will help you make. First, there may be a bit of a struggle. But as you can surmise from all I have said so far, you will win that! In your love life: Who said relationships are supposed to be easy? The Full Moon may bring a bumpy ride, but comfort's just around the corner.

Things can't, this week, be exactly the way that you might most wish they could be. Happily, you are a Sagittarian. I can say this sort of thing to you. If you were born under some other sign, you would be getting ready to complain or at least turn the page. But if life has taught you anything in your time on this amazing planet, you have surely learned that the most magical, uplifting and profitable developments invariably come from processes that might seem like mistakes when we first enter into them. Hold tight. Have faith. Work hard. In your love life: We can sometimes hurt ones we love. Have you touched on the downside of a someone close? Here comes the upside.

Does the cosmos truly send emissaries with messages to guide us? Does it take that much of an interest in us? Or do we just see what we want to see, believe what we want to believe and interpret the events that unfold around us in whatever way most suits our subconscious agenda? Which direction should you head in now? You've already got a strong feeling about what your next move needs to be. How much more artificial persuasion do you require, this week, before you convince yourself to trust this? In your love life: Trying to defuse tension? Relaxation is the key to easing your mind about a process. Go easy now and all will go well.

We humans are sensitive souls. We may give others the impression that we are entirely oblivious to anything that anyone else ever says or does. But we don't fool ourselves! Only you know how much you worry deep down within. Only you know, too, how much you yearn to be reassured and guided by a voice you can truly trust. Your heart now knows more than you are giving it credit for knowing. Pay heed to the message that it is whispering to you and ignore all else that is so noisy and dramatic this week! In your love life: Dreading the repetition of some activity? Familiarity need not breed contempt. Try once more with an open heart.

We become so afraid of getting it wrong, we compromise our own ability to get it right! We allow fear to colour our judgement. We let confidence ebb away from our lives, like air leaking out from a small hole in a big balloon. The point of exit may only be minimal but the rate of loss can be surprisingly rapid. If you really want to avoid making an error this week, address your fear of making an error! Patch up that leak in your inner bubble, then re-inflate by drawing deeply on your strongest source of faith. In your love life: Strong opinions can polarise people. Nurture gentle hope now, rather than espousing prejudicial or divisive views.

Everything seems trickier when we are tired. Sometimes, we don't really know how exhausted we are. We may feel wide awake but this could be the result of too much coffee or adrenaline. We may have energy but do we have discrimination? Even amongst the truly well rested, is there sufficient self-awareness to recognise when enthusiasm is getting the better of wisdom? No matter what seems urgent this week, it is even more urgent for you to relax, put worry aside and proceed at your own pace. In your love life: When people don't show affection, it may be because of an old hurt. Be, now, as you wish others would be towards you.

As if life didn't provide enough challenges, we create puzzles and dilemmas for ourselves. Even the most decisive individuals will find some small dilemma to mull over privately, humming and hawing over the minutiae of various pros and cons. It's as if we need a bit of shall I, shan't I?' to keep boredom or complacency at bay. There's nothing wrong with uncertainty, somewhere in your world this week. Remain sure of a few key, vital points and all else will eventually decide itself in a way you are pleased with. In your love life: Seeking a boost in your personal life? Begin by looking at what might be improved in your own attitudes and expectations.

Things happen. Then, more things happen. After that? Well, on it goes. Unless, that is, you happen to be leading a quiet life. In which case, things don't happen. Then even more things don't happen. That may or may not be relaxing, depending on how much you wish the things in question were actually happening! We get so caught up in drama and detail, we forget life is a blessing regardless of what is (or isn't) happening in it. The way to ensure the right things happen this week is to appreciate the gift of existence. In your love life: Struggling with issues of low self-esteem? Find your inner confidence. You don't just deserve' to be loved; you are loved.

People who like to think of themselves as spiritual' often suggest we should make more of an effort to feel grateful. Others, on hearing this advice, raise their eyebrows and say, Grateful for what? Don't they know how much hassle I have to put up with every day?' It is difficult to feel thankful for something you wish you didn't have or for the fact that you are not getting what you would like to be getting. Even so, if you allow yourself to feel thankful for all you can see as good this week, it will yet make what's tricky so much easier. In your love life: When we worry about what we hope for, our actions will be guided by fear, not wisdom. Trust only what inspires you now.

Is life really as difficult and demanding as it sometimes seems? I'm not suggesting that we entirely invent all the tales of frustration that we tend to tell one another. I would not even go so far as to imply that we over-egg some puddings and exaggerate some points. But perhaps we do have a little tendency to compile an inner dossier of complaints. We take each new slight and setback as more proof that the world is a tough place. Yet it isn't. It need not be. Trust what's good this week and it will all soon get even better. In your love life: Try not to be too judgemental of someone else - or of yourself - now. And don't read a lot into a little!

If only, when people didn't know the answer to a question, they would say, 'I have no idea.' How different the world might be then. Yet often, people express an opinion, just because they don't like not knowing - or don't want to be thought badly of for lacking answers. So they bluff. Then none of us can ever be quite sure whether we are being told the indisputable truth or just having a point of view imposed on us. If you suspect there is another way to view a situation this week, don't be talked out of that. Your idea may well be right. In your love life: Compatibility is a mystery. There's no easy way to explain your special connection, but that doesn't make it irrelevant.

You never know when you may be able to do something amazing. It may seem as if all is ordinary. Yet one bright idea could alter a perspective significantly. One gentle word, whispered in the right ear, could lift someone out of a state of stress, up into a state of elation. One good turn, done just when someone needs a favour, could make a world of difference. You don't need wealth, power or influence to make a positive impression on someone else's life this week. And doing good will, of course, be good for you, too. In your love life: If I hurt myself, do you feel pain? No. But you can show empathy. It can make all the difference and be all that's needed.

Our lives, it seems, are governed by laws. We can't do this. We need a licence for that. Action X is only permissible under Circumstance Y. Who makes all these rules? We elect the people who set them when we place our votes! They then dutifully set about creating ever more legislation. That's crazy. Yet crazier still, is the way we tie ourselves up in knots when we let our own inner bureaucrats prevent us from exploring experiences we should feel fully free to revel in. Don't do that to yourself this week. In your love life: Contempt kills relationships. If involvement has not become mutual loathing, it can be improved! Things can get better.

We all secretly wish we were a little more powerful than we currently are. When I say, 'we all', I mean it. Even presidents and prime ministers find themselves feeling frustrated because they just can't exert the influence they wish they were able to. Might that, though, be at least partially because we don't always know how to use what power we actually have? Some of us have more power than we think but we give it away to others or allow our fears and doubts to erode it. Trust in your own this week. In your love life: It's challenging when someone close likes an activity we don't. 'Live and let live' sounds simple; but it's attainable.

Do you face too great a burden? Are you under too much stress? Does it seem a situation gets more difficult to deal with, the more you try to overcome some difference of opinion? Life, often challenges us. We can resent this or to rise bravely to the request that the cosmos is making. Don't waste time, this week, wondering if something has gone wrong and if so, how or why. Just ask what constructive steps might be most sensibly taken, then set about pursuing the right objective with the best attitude. In your love life: Sometimes, sweet satisfaction comes from bridging a great divide. Rise to a challenge and ascend to a happy height.

Don't worry, this week, about what seemingly can't happen and why an apparent obstacle now lies before you. Focus, instead, on the two clues that I have just placed before you in the previous sentence. Seemingly'. Apparently'. These are important words. They encapsulate crucial concepts. Little now is as it seems. Much is open to interpretation. Whilst nobody is being deliberately deceptive, you stand to benefit greatly from opening your eyes so you can see beyond an illusion. In your love life: We read more than we should into things others do or say. Coming events should provide much emotional reassurance.

We all like to think of ourselves as pragmatic. Even drifters and dreamers see a sensible person looking back at them when they glance in the mirror! None of us can be sure how down to earth we truly are. That's worth keeping in mind this week, because you find yourself following an impulse that can't be logically explained. It may be wiser not even to try. Your intuition is good. Your creativity is inspired. As long as you can see no way in which your plan could cause harm, it is safe. In your love life: Positive progress in your emotional life depends on you looking forward for solutions, not backwards for reasons'.

Is Mars, your ruler, stationary now? The technical answer is not yet'. Try telling that, though, to anyone studying the late-night sky. Mars is creeping along more slowly than a snail gliding across a marijuana plantation. It is hardly making the kind of progress we might associate with the traditional planet of power. Can we say much the same about you this week? Are you being sluggish where you should be speedy? If things are slow, it is only because you are waiting for something. Give it a chance to arrive! In your love life: Sparks will fly soon. Just remember that powerful reactions sometimes give rise to unexpected results. Avoid explosions!

Circumstances don't always align themselves with our requirements. Things don't invariably fall into place. Others, it seems, reap the benefit of serendipity while we struggle with irritants and impediments. Yet once in a while, life surprises us. Processes bring better results than expected. Or we find ourselves the beneficiaries of helpful coincidence. It wouldn't take much to inspire you to improve your view this week. One small development might make all the difference. Indeed, soon enough, it will! In your love life: Be sensitive on a point someone is keen for you to grasp; it will help them meet a pressing need, and give you a boost.

Some people adhere slavishly to life's rules and regulations. They know what's expected and bristle at the thought of doing anything else. Others are more aware of the gaps in the matrix, the loopholes in the law, the exceptions to the rule and the ways in which exemptions can be made. Don't you fall into that latter category, at least once in a while? Aren't you surprisingly smart? Can't you expect to rewrite a rulebook this week, and successfully have your innovation accepted? It turns out, you can! In your love life: Put your faith in someone who deserves your trust; they will show faith in you. Just believe in what you can build together.

We should be careful when we suspect we are losing. It may be we are winning but don't recognise the signs. Conversely, we should be wise enough to treat all indications of victory with suspicion, lest we are being led along a path that is due to take a sudden turn in a different direction. We should aspire to be open and hopeful, grateful for what we've got whatever that turns out to be. When your heart is in the right place, you are always ahead of the game. This week, you will find plenty to inspire you. In your love life: Are all relationships difficult? If something needs to be changed in now, work on changing something in yourself first.

We all have dark moments when we contemplate a difficult future. To be fearful, is to be human. So, too, is to be hopeful. Inevitably, we will experience emotions that take us from one of these extremes to the other. The secret of success involves refusing to get carried away by either of those emotional interlopers. All you need, this week, is to stay steady. As you edge towards the middle ground, so the ups and downs on what has recently been a bit of a rollercoaster ride will start to even themselves out. In your love life: Are you intimidating? Perhaps you trigger a sense of vulnerability in others. Go gently on such poor souls this week.

Don't be in too much of a rush this week. If others appear to be putting you under pressure, consider if you are imagining this? If you are sure this is not so, it still doesn't mean you are obliged to accept the expectations being placed upon you. Even people who belong together' don't own each other. Sometimes, we forget how much strength and independence we are entitled to. It isn't just in the emotional or personal realm these comments apply. Be sure in yourself wherever you go. In your love life: You need to know why a situation is how it is and why a person is behaving as they are. Wise insight could make a difference.

As Venus makes its way through your opposite sign, legal and contractual issues keep cropping up. What constitutes a fair expectation? What represents too much stress and strain from an agreement that was entered into in good faith? Who is being fair to whom? Where should there be more trust? Where should a line be drawn? These questions aren't easy to answer but the very attempt to give them fair consideration will help you bring peace to a troubled area of your life soon. In your love life: Life, this week, shows you a reality, and it also shows you how that reality is really far more precious than any dream.

Rare are those who feel truly secure. Even millionaires worry about money. When you think about what life is and how it works, that's not surprising. Don't we all arrive here under miraculous circumstances? Is not the one thing we can all be sure of, the fact that one day we won't be here any longer, yet we will never know when that is? This planet isn't designed to make us feel comfortable. It is here to afford an amazing experience for which we can be deeply grateful. Focus on that this week! In your love life: You may be bristling with indignation about someone's behaviour; take a saintly approach and bring a heavenly outcome.

Mars is in your sign. Right now, it is hardly moving. Night after night it is occupying much the same degree of the zodiac. Do you feel as if something is staying in the same place when it ought to be moving ahead? This may be a good time to look at what lies behind this and to consider whether the lack of progress reflects an inner conflict you have been reluctant to acknowledge. Perhaps you don't really want what you say you want. Once you decide your true priority, it will be easy to achieve. In your love life: Don't confuse a small healthy change with a difficult drama in your personal life this week. Trust a story that's unfolding.

Why do we have to strive for our goals while some folk can seemingly just snap their fingers and get whatever they seek? Quite possibly, they too, have had to work hard. It is just that this may not have been quite so obvious to you as an observer. Don't underestimate the extent to which you have already invested in a process that must surely, eventually, succeed. Things may not happen as quickly as you want them to this month, but if you remain patient and persistent, all will move on well in the right direction. In your love life: Do you feel awkward about a role you are being asked to fulfil? A tactful talk will create fluidity and ease tension.

It is strange how sometimes, we can lead our lives, tackle our chores and take the ordinary in our stride when suddenly, we open our eyes, look at our situation and realise there is something about it we don't recognise. Wow!' we say to ourselves. How did I get here? How did that happen?' Such moments of awakening are precious. They represent marker points along a journey of inner evolution being taken by our highest consciousness. Prepare, in April, for a revelation followed by a delightful transformation! In your love life: Some folk fantasise about celebrities. But you know someone much more real. Nurture your involvement with them now.

People often tell us we can't have everything we want. We must decide upon our priorities. We must let one thing go so that we can focus on another. It sounds sensible. It is usually true. Yet, once in a while, it really is possible to get the best of two worlds. You've been wrestling, for a while, with a difficult dilemma. In April, you start to see how the answer need not involve such a stark choice. With the application of ingenuity, a significant new possibility can be identified and successfully exploited this month. In your love life: Wondering how long to put up with someone? Do they have the staying power? You both do, if you want to have it.

Do you feel, these days, as if you are running up an escalator that is heading down? Do you suspect that, no matter how fast you run or how hard you try, you won't get where you need to be? Perhaps you should stop to consider whether it really is worth all that effort? Mars, your ruler, changes direction in April. That's a strong suggestion of hard work paying off, although this won't necessarily happen in quite the most obvious, direct way. You may just see a brand-new solution but you will greatly benefit from all that changes. In your love life: Appreciate all that makes the one' wonderful, even when daily life is stressful. Be wise and have faith this week.

We all like to feel as if we are a part of something. We need to know that we belong, that we fit in, that we know what's expected of us and thus we also know what we have a right to expect in return. When events seem to strike at the foundation of such an understanding, we feel insecure. Yet when events support our sense of engagement, convincing us that we must be doing the right thing we feel so much happier. In April, Venus will pass through the part of your chart that promises reassurance on all these fronts. In your love life: We all need to respect differing opinions.You see life one way; someone else sees it differently. It need not be a problem.

Why do you do certain things in certain ways? What are these habits you have fallen into? Are you trapped by rhythms and routines? Do you wish you could alter them yet see no way in which that could ever happen? Before we go any further into your April forecast, I must be clear. I am not about to tell you some long-awaited change will happen instantly. Even so, I have good news. You are about to discover the real blessing that comes with commitment. You'll see a real reward for sticking so dutifully to the familiar. In your love life: It's more than friendship. But are your respective guardian angels also getting along? Yes, if you reach for peace.

Cancerians are not shy, quiet and retiring. Or, at least, not when they have important causes to fight for, principles to defend or dearly beloved dependents to protect. You don't always demonstrate the full extent of your inner power but the world would be foolish to imagine therefore that it doesn't exist. Events in April help you to show your strength and to go beyond your usual boundaries. In rising to this challenge, you will be most successful and many will be inclined to thank you for a long time to come. In your love life: Beware of misinterpreting signs and signals. Listen carefully and communicate very clearly if you seek happiness.

Though the textbooks tell us you are supposed to be confident, assertive and strong, this is not an image of yourself that you always easily recognise. Often, you feel fragile, as if you would far prefer to be the beneficiary of someone else's guidance than the leader who strolls out bravely to face the fray. If, in April, your inclination to retreat becomes more intense than ever, don't assume there is anything wrong. You are intuitively biding your time, waiting for a moment of opportunity. When it arrives you will recognise it. You will then know just what to do to get it all right. In your love life: Is there someone you take for granted? There seems little sign of a special spark. A powerful discovery may soon be made.

Cosmic climates are like weather fronts. Things can stay stable for a while, then suddenly, we find ourselves dealing with changed circumstances. Just as we may need to dress differently when the Sun stops (or starts) shining, we may need to address our issues differently when celestial circumstances alter a situation. For some while lately, you have been dealing with adversity. You are now so familiar with the routine of self-protection, it has become second nature but in April things take a lasting turn for the better. In your love life: We can get caught up in wistful fantasy. Don't think too many faraway thoughts. Be glad of warm feelings, close to home.

Some people believe the way to get ahead is to probe a situation until they find an apparent advantage, then push with all their might at the possibility this presents. Others turn themselves into a kind of bait by creating various psychological hooks, placing these on display and waiting until they get a bite'. April brings you into a complicated situation that another person has created. You will have to follow their lead whilst doing your best to meet their need. This will turn out to be more beneficial than you expect. In your love life: Sometimes, for hidden reasons, we seek rapport with someone who won't pander to our whims. Respect the unexpected.

Your presence is requested, your co-operation is required, your input is invited, your involvement is asked for. In what? By whom? Ah, well, if you don't know already, you will do by the time April is over. Mars now changes direction in the part of your chart that governs material stability', and Pluto does much the same in an area of life to do with important personal interaction. So we find you responding to pressing requests and discovering, in the process, that you can do a great deal of good for others and for yourself. In your love life: Important involvements need time. Be careful about judging them too quickly. It is time to place trust in your heart.

Since Mars entered your sign last month, you have had great energy and determination to pursue a mission, yet it is proving difficult. To attain the success you desire, you will have to implement a strategy that allows more time to pass and a change to occur naturally. Aren't you in too much of a rush for that? Shouldn't you just do whatever will be more expedient? In April, Mars changes direction in your sign, dramatically reducing the pressure you are under, facilitating a chance to get the right thing done. In your love life: Trust your intuition. Speak from the heart. Be brave enough to be daringly definite, where you feel this may be appropriate.

Human beings were not placed on this earth so that they could all agree with one another. Even the wide-eyed idealists who dream of peace on earth, must concede that this would be a very dull world if we all saw things from precisely the same point of view. There is colour in conflict and fascination in argument. Why else do you suppose that all the best works of fiction focus on friction? Yet events, this week, provide you with a chance to defuse tension and arrive at a clear, new, productive understanding. Seize that chance. In your love life: Wounds can be healed; bonds deepened. Your deepest needs now dovetail nicely with a key person. You can find harmony.

A few wise words of insight and inspiration can make such a difference to our attitude. In much the same way as we may feel excited if we discover a long-forgotten banknote under our mattress, we gain a greater sense of wealth and comfort by rediscovering ideas or insights from long ago. Time, somehow, caused us to overlook what we once knew and felt so sure of. Now, though, you enter a different chapter of the story of your life. Here is where yesterday catches up with today and brings you sight of a bright tomorrow. In your love life: Despite all there may be to rail against, there's something magical to share and celebrate now.

Luck works in mysterious ways. If, indeed, it works at all. Some doubt that. But none question the way in which existence on this planet makes next to no sense, regardless of how hard we think about what it all really means. If this is a crazy place where crazy things happen, why can't at least some be crazily good? Actually, they can. And that can be the case in your life this week. Believe in yourself. Believe in at least the possibility of magic. Whilst sensational dramatic good fortune may not come, you'll be happy enough with how things turn out! In your love life: Even aspects of a personal connection that have previously been tense or troubling can be healed now.

We take a big step forward and then well, sometimes, we take a little step back. Because that step forward has been so big, we start to get big steps in our minds. Although the step back has actually only been little, we read more into it than we should. We then end up worrying unnecessarily or over-reacting to some minor source of conflict. At which point, if we're not careful, we inadvertently turn that small step into a big one. Celebrate what's good this week, and keep whatever seems less desirable in proportion. In your love life: Think fondly of a particular person, even if you have justification for feeling otherwise. Build a bridge, don't burn one.

None of us are immune to annoyance. It isn't as if there are some folk who can sail serenely through life, ignoring all sources of nuisance and irritation. But it does seem as if a few folk can put all this to one side and focus on a bigger, brighter picture, whilst others bubble and boil about what's bothering them, until it becomes like a concentrated liquid that coats every other thought. Success, this week, is simply a matter of looking away from what's upsetting you and towards whatever inspires you. Just find the will to do that. In your love life: Is something deep within you ready to erupt? Try to do what the old hippies used to suggest and, make love, not war.'

Do you recall, as a child, going to parties where they played 'pass the parcel'? Some say this game is a metaphor for life. It relates to responsibility. We all want to make sure that the blame goes to the person next to us. That tendency to 'hand over' anything that looks as if it could be problematic or controversial, applies equally to opportunity. We don't always jump for joy when a chance arises. We may feel inclined to let someone else take it, while we leave it alone. But the music, this week, stops while the power is in your hands. In your love life: Change, this week, should be hopefully, happily embraced. So should those who are changing!

We tend to assume that if we feel good about something, it must be right. If we have a negative reaction, it probably reflects some hidden drawback to a person or a situation. But is life really so simple? Children, for example, are enthusiastic about sweets and resentful of bedtimes. Don't we all still have an inner child inside us somewhere? Might we be in danger of encouraging ourselves in bad habits and talking ourselves out of good ideas? Events, this week, cause you to benefit from questioning an assumption. In your love life: You and another person are right for each other now, in many magical ways that no dating computer could ever explain.

How important are you? How much do you matter? I invite you to consider such questions, not so that you can compare the amount of appreciation that others are showing for someone else with the amount that they are directing towards you but to ask how much you trust and value yourself? While we all doubt ourselves to some extent, in some area of life or another, we all need and deserve to feel good about who we are. Events, this week, offer somehow to help bolster your personal confidence. Allow them to do this! In your love life: Make a conscious effort, this week, to be glad of something that you may too easily take for granted.

What happens if, before you take your foot off the brake, you rev the engine? Or if you pull back the bow as far as you can before you release the arrow? Under certain circumstances, we are all capable of unleashing impressive amounts of force and fury. Whilst we should be respectful of that ability and conscious of its implications, that shouldn't prevent us from making a deliberately dramatic move from time to time. This week, it is clear that something needs to change. You are in a position to set that change in motion. In your love life: Do you fully understand a certain someone? New discoveries, whilst surprising, can deeply enrich our hearts.

What would you like to be reassured about this week? Which situation is worrying you the most? Perhaps you feel that there is no element of choice here. It is not a matter of saying, 'please tell me, astrologer, how things will turn out here or there'. To you, it may seem as if there only is one issue or cause for concern. But even if so, there is more than one solution. You aren't as trapped as you fear. If, indeed, you set off confidently in almost any direction and keep walking purposefully ahead, you will naturally find your way to the right destination. In your love life: Events will remind you of how precious a particular person is and how much love you have in your heart. Be magnanimous.

Much information is reaching your ears but how seriously should you take this? Much conversation is happening all around you but need you heed it all? When a radio is playing in the background and someone is expressing an irate opinion on a phone-in, must you react to every word? Can't you just switch off your mind or the set? There may be a situation this week over which you have little control. But you do have power over how you respond to it and how seriously you take it. That will yet turn out to be all the power that you need. In your love life: Discoveries this week will turn out to be enlightening and inspiring, even if they also take you by a little surprise at first.

Some questions get harder to answer the longer we think about them. Things, at first, seem simple. But if we keep going over the same ground, we may begin to wonder why we ever chose to walk on it in the first place and whether there might be some far better direction in which to go. This week, we find you wrestling with a dilemma. What you really think, how much should you actually say, and to what extent does someone else's idea make sense? Stop thinking, start acting. What you find yourself doing most naturally will tell you plenty. In your love life: There is a special bond between you and a certain someone. Don't let a little passing tension detract from this.

Capricorns are famous for their ability to take trouble in their stride. You are calm, capable, intelligent and organised. No matter what chaos may arise, you will come up with a plan for coping with it. Yet once in a while, life throws you a curved ball and it takes a moment to remember where you have left your bat and how best to hold it as you send that missile flying elsewhere. This week's Jupiter/Saturn square symbolises the moment when you finally see why an issue need no longer pose a problem. In your love life: Don't ignore a problem; but don't dwell too long and hard on it either. Build a bridge over troubled waters.

You are looking further ahead than usual. You are thinking of the future. You are also, it seems, trying to make sense of a situation that once had you baffled. The Full Moon suggests you are re-evaluating old principles and priorities. Do you still believe what you once believed? Are you opening your mind now to a different perspective on a sensitive situation? New ideas will inspire you even more soon, and new opportunities will arise to match these. Faith, once all but exhausted, will reawaken. In your love life: You face a situation a narrow-minded person might frown upon. Investigate possibilities; it could boost your love life!

The world may or may not owe you a living but it certainly doesn't owe you a hard time. You don't deserve that and, if you secretly suspect you do, that just means that what the world owes you is assurance, comfort and friendship! This looks like the kind of week during which it may be possible for you to receive a fair amount of what the world owes you. It is as if the cosmos has been aware, for some time, that you have been struggling against daunting odds and now intends to set that straight. In your love life: You deserve happiness that has lately eluded you and progress that has lately proved elusive. More of all that will come soon.

Your life is not your own.' Or so it seems. Why? Who has taken your power? Surely, they must be made to give it back immediately. Oh, wait, what's that? You don't want it returned? You are honestly happy with the compromises you are having to put up with? That's remarkably reasonable for someone born under a sign that is famed for bestowing the trait of impatience and the desire for independence. You must be committed to something worth sticking at. Indeed, this week, you are! In your love life: Any tension you encounter this Full Moon week, is as likely to lead to healing as to hassle.

Some say we should be wary of believing in our dreams lest we get disappointed when they fail to come true. Others make the same point for a different reason. If our dreams do come true, we will have to live with consequences which may cause us to wonder why we didn't aspire to something less ambitious! Alignments from your ruler to Jupiter and Saturn imply the latter explanation is more likely to lie at the heart of any trouble you face this week. But that will be trouble you are happy to have? In your love life: Are you painting a true picture of a relationship? See beyond what you think you should be seeing; see what's truly there.

You have an impressive work ethic. If an idea appeals to you, you commit to it. If it looks as if much time and energy will be required, you summon your strength and focus your attention. Does this always get you as far as it should? Well, nobody can ever expect a 100 per cent success rate, no matter how hard they work or how lucky they are. This week, you've got your sights set on a goal. Even if you don't attain it, you will make valuable progress in some other respect, which will make it all worthwhile. In your love life: We want truth in relationships. Deception is unacceptable; discretion, though, can be both understandable and justifiable.

Why are things the way they are? Is a current situation just a reflection of the way things have always been? Are you following a familiar pattern out of habit? This week's Full Moon speaks of a need to question convention and choose change. Old ideas may have once been valid but new circumstances are arising. Be bold. Instigate a new regime before circumstances effectively oblige you to accept a situation that is being imposed on you. Jump before you are pushed and you'll land safely. In your love life: This week's Full Moon triggers a re-evaluation of an old arrangement. A minor adjustment may yet have a major impact.

Have you had a good idea? Is it time to act on that? Will you encounter resistance if you do? If so, where will the objection come from? Is someone else likely to disapprove? Or will it be your own lack of self-confidence that holds you back? Whilst it is always important for us to believe in ourselves and have faith in what we may be able to achieve, that's particularly vital this week. If you can draw a deep breath and focus on what must be a worthwhile goal, you will be surprised by how close you get to success. In your love life: Make time for what some might call self-indulgence and others would more fairly describe as much-deserved reward.

When is a problem not a problem? When you can see a solution! Whilst it is more comfortable not to have the problem in the first place, a situation that is entirely free of challenge and change is hardly ideal. What did we come here to this planet for, if not to be tested? Well, yes, okay. An attitude like that is easier to have if there is an encouraging outlook. But Mercury's alignments this week, along with a Full Moon, all point to a reason to develop greater confidence as you overcome various obstacles. In your love life: As we sow, so shall we reap. If there is something you wish you could change now, put your heart into doing the right thing.

The Full Moon in your sign explains the burden that is weighing you down, the drama that is bubbling up, the confusion that is swirling around and the inspirational moment of clarity that is about to lift you out of an unsatisfactory situation. Full Moons naturally give rise to excitement. This is often too easily misinterpreted as trouble that we might wish to avoid. You may feel as if you are riding on a rollercoaster now. Try to relax whilst you hold on tight. You will yet have a safe, happy outcome. In your love life: The Full Moon in your sign won't give you enough luck to win the lottery but it will help you in the lottery of life.

There are rules and restrictions, precedents and protocols, ways in which things can happen and other ways that cannot be contemplated. That's just the way it goes when you are dealing with an organisation, an institution or a situation that is somehow bigger than you are'. But you know the score, you've been here before. You can also see how life, this week, puts you in the best position from which to play the game and win. Accept what you can't change, then change what you need to change! In your love life: If you spend too much energy resenting a situation, you will limit your ability to do something constructive about it.

This week brings a rare alignment, a potent portent. Jupiter, ruler of your sign, forms an exact right angle to Saturn. It is often when planets are forming a right angle, that people start seeing things from the wrong angle. You might now feel frustrated about an apparently impossible situation. You can't get beyond a barrier or a boundary. But even if so, what you need can make its way past that obstacle and position itself in the perfect place. Ignore frustration and have faith in a better future it will come! In your love life: Have faith now, not just in what your own heart feels, but in the depth and integrity of someone else's heart.