Virgo
Aug. 23 to Sept. 22
Critic Roger Ebert said of director and fellow Virgo Werner Herzog, “He has never created a single film that is compromised, shameful, made for pragmatic reasons or uninteresting. Even his failures are spectacular.” As you enjoy your solar return this month, Virgo, remember that so long as you create your life in a way that is uncompromising, proud, unreasonable and wholly interesting, you cannot possibly fail in any way that matters. The world waits with bated breath for the spectacle of your success.
Notable Virgo: Albertine Sarrazin/ Sept. 17, 1937
Libra
Sept. 23 to Oct. 22
I subscribe to the belief that unless you are a porn star or an astronaut, what you do for a living is secondary to, and far less interesting than, who you are as a person. But Libras are famous for braiding their identities into their careers. What is left when your title is stripped and your business card burned? Remember that while there is sweetness to be found in the fruits of your labor, the treasures of your mind are endlessly more fortifying.
Notable Libra: Thelonious Monk / Oct. 10, 1917
Scorpio
Oct. 23 to Nov. 21
Fellow Scorpio and hallucinogen advocate Timothy Leary asked that his death be videotaped for posterity. In his final moments Leary clenched and unclenched his fists, asking, “Why?” and then “Why not?” His dying word was “beautiful.” I imagine you might soon experience a kind of death or ending of your own. Whether you are releasing a relationship, job, belief or fear, do so with unclenched fists and an eye towards the beauty that exists between what has been and what will be.
Notable Scorpio: Zadie Smith / Oct. 25, 1975
Sagittarius
Nov. 22 to Dec. 21
Photographer and fellow Sagittarius Saul Leiter admitted, “I don’t plan things. As a rule I prefer to see what happens.” Apply Leiter’s words to your own life when Mars, planet of momentum and get-sh*t-done, goes retrograde this week. Normally plan-driven with an impulse for action, this reversal can leave you feeling either stagnant or serene, depending on your ability to embrace inaction and surrender to seeing what happens. If you let it be, archer, all shall be well.
Notable Sagittarius: Chadwick Boseman / Nov. 29, 1977
Capricorn
Dec. 22 to Jan. 19
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1843 short story “The Birth-Mark” a scientist goes to unimaginable lengths to remove a small blemish from the cheek of his otherwise perfect wife, killing her in the process. I wonder, sea goat, if a similar obsession with perfection is harming you, or by proxy, someone close to you. Remember that perfection is rarely interesting and always subjective.
Notable Capricorn: Andy Kaufman / Jan. 17, 1949
Aquarius
Jan. 20 to Feb. 18
The air for you, air sign, is heavy with transformation in the weeks ahead as Virgo season illuminates your eighth house of sex, death and rebirth. You are meant to learn there can be no growth without death and breakthroughs are born from what is broken. As you navigate these lessons and the change they demand, remember the creed of French chemist Antoine Lavoisier, “Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed.”
Notable Aquarius: Harry Styles / Feb. 1, 1994
Pisces
Feb. 19 to March 20
According to practitioners of Sex Magic, the most potent time for spell casting, manifesting desires or calling on powers is during orgasm. With a fresh full moon in your sign and a general attitude of experimentation, no one is more poised to benefit from this practice than you, Pisces. Whether you’re getting there with a pal or all on your own (recommended), the key to the ceremony is to set a clear intention and conduct your embodied energy toward it. Immediate benefit guaranteed.
Notable Pisces: John Lewis / Feb. 21, 1940
Aries
March 21 to April 19
Mars, your ruling planet, goes retrograde this week, putting a hitch in your giddyup. All too often you are focused on what comes next rather than what happens now; this backspin asks you kindly to slow your roll. Heed the words of fellow ram Tennessee Williams, who asked, “Has it ever struck you that life is all memory, except for the one present moment that goes by you so quick you hardly catch it going?” Practice standing still in these moments between memory.
Notable Aries: Gil Scott-Heron / April 1, 1949
Taurus
April 20 to May 20
You present as a calm, borderline stoic human even, and especially when you are internalizing rage, hurt, confusion or anxiety. With Mars in retrograde you are being called to find healthy ways to express and exorcise. Consider the confession of fellow bull, and OG sad boy Dante Alighieri who wrote, “I wept not, so to stone within I grew.” Soften your stone, Taurus, you gotta let it out to let it go.
Notable Taurus: Trent Reznor / May 17, 1967
Gemini
May 21 to June 20
You never fail to produce or impress, Gemini, but oftentimes your procrastinating leaves you late to, or breathless at, the finish line. Hot tip: Avoiding what you want or need to do is a condition of not valuing your time, and by extension, not valuing yourself. Be good to you and by default you’ll be better at the follow-through.
Notable Gemini: Agnès Varda / May 30, 1928
Cancer
June 21 to July 22
You prioritize partnership more than any other sign in the zodiac, Cancer. Your devotion is admirable but its limitlessness can interfere with professional advancement and your own personal evolution. Consider the sage wisdom of Lady Gaga: “Some women choose to follow men, some women choose to follow their dreams. If you’re wondering which way to go, remember that your career will never wake up and tell you that it doesn’t love you anymore.”
Notable Cancer: Post Malone / July 4, 1995
Leo
July 23 to Aug. 22
Surrender to leonine laziness this week. With Mars in retrograde, you’re bound to feel your mane thinning. The only anecdote is to go full Roman dinner party, my dudes: Eat lying down, nap proudly and allow your greatest exertion of energy to be a raised eyebrow or the brushing of a crumb from your high-thread-count toga. You have your work cut out for you in the months ahead, so stock up on down time.
Notable Leo: Philippe Petit / Aug. 13, 1949
