Horoscopes (Aug. 14-20)

James Noellert

Well, you have a lot going on. Caught between the past and the future, you're letting go of one thing and moving on to whatever's next. As you try to figure out where things are going, certainty is hard to come by. In your quieter moments, there are doubts that prompt you to think that maybe it's best to stick with the plan. Many of you try to dull the intensity of the moment by putting yourself to sleep with one thing or another. This is no time to go into a coma. Wake up to the fact that your life is on the line. Grab yourself by the cojones and be brave enough to start anew.

You can't expect other people to stop playing games when it's all they know how to do. Waiting around for anyone to wake up doesn't make sense. After all this time, you'd think that it would be easier to tell the truth about what's going on, but you seem to be afraid of what will happen if you do. At this point things could use a kick in the butt, so it won't hurt to bring up subjects that aren't half as sore as the one no one's ready to discuss. Underneath it all there's enough love in this situation to keep it real, but before that can happen you've got to be able to tell the truth.

You are better at biting off more than you can chew than anyone I know. How does it feel to be overwhelmed and under the gun? If anything, it's time to call a halt to whatever it is that has gone over the top. Reassessing recent decisions will come with a need to dig a little deeper into your psyche, enough to get to the bottom of what brought all of this on. The essence of your current situation has little to do with what's been playing out on the surface. This story goes all the way back to day one, and to things that have always made you feel like everything depends on you.

Too much is piling up, and if you're going to be the one to handle it all, you've got to rearrange a few things. This could include telling people you can't be at their beck and call; it could also involve explaining to them that you are not a machine. To say nothing will keep them expecting a regular outpouring of miracles from a spirit who hasn't had time to replenish much of anything for far too long. If a break is in order, take one. If you're not getting the support you need, ask for it. And if you've had it with all this nonsense, it's OK to fall apart and let someone else deal with it.

You have so much going for you. All of it is being supported by aspects that would inspire most people to wake up. How this is working for you could be easy or hard, depending on how you relate to yourself. Many of you are too fiery to be receptive to forces that are even more powerful than your ego; it would be so great if you could back off and let life show you how it needs to go. Those of you who are lighter and less forceful in your methods will have a much easier time tuning in to the winds of change and making the most of things that could turn your life around.

Things are about to lighten up. It's been so long since you've had a break, it'll take time to adjust to what it's like to be free. That being said, there's no way to tell you how the next couple of weeks will unfold: once you calm down enough to relax, anything could happen. The law of serendipity, and the arrival of people you haven't seen in a coon's age, will stir up opportunities and possibilities that enliven your life and remind you that you didn't come here to die on the treadmill. As things start to flow, the joyful part of your being will reunite your spirit with light and love.

The company we keep and the ways in which our friends and associates feed us or bleed us is a big theme for many of you right now. It's hard to know whether to keep hanging in there for people or whether it's better to break things off. Decisions like this were never your strong suit. The one that's currently pending is riddled with emotional overtones that make it hard to see straight. There is no right or wrong way to handle this, but one thing's for sure: love doesn't mean "putting up with anything." Don't allow yourself to be diminished by the company you keep.

The next big thing is making you wonder if it's worth it to be this involved with outer things, or if it's time to go within and forget about it. You're not sure where you stand. At this point, the need to walk in both worlds is being impacted by the fact that we seem to be half-past-human, stranded somewhere between this dimension and the next. I don't know how to explain this, but it looks like you're about to crack the code that will allow you to take the best of both worlds and make something new and beautiful with what is already in place. How that works is up to you.

You're in the middle of something that you will not fully understand for at least 10 years. By the time you figure it out, you will realize that this is where everything came out in the wash. For better or worse, here you are, wrestling with the crux of your purpose for living, walking the fine line between love and fear. The only thing that matters right now is where you decide to place your trust and the extent to which you understand that we are living in a time when love has to be the guiding principle in everything we do. Seen from that point of view, your choices seem clear.

If the stakes are getting higher, or the pressure is too much, it's because you're at a huge moment of truth. The business of reaping what we sow meets all of us head on, sooner or later. Those of you who have remained in alignment with the Golden Rule may very well be sweating bullets, but when it's all said and done, you will make it through this gauntlet in one piece. Those of you who have been skipping over your blind spots — exploiting other people's goodness, making excuses, or who owe too much allegiance to the God of Greed and Control — will have Hell to pay.

Things have gotten tense. It looks like you're too wound up to get real. Others aren't sure where you're coming from, and the situation will get better or worse, depending on your willingness to come clean about what's going on. A lot of this has to do with them, as much of it has to do with you. Before you can get on with the show, the truth has to come out. The last thing you want to do is hurt people's feelings, so find a way to say, or do whatever you've got to do without blowing too many minds. None of this has to come to an end, but it can't go on in this condition.

There are times when you feel like a lost soul. It is in these moments that we have the chance to go one step beyond whatever our current definition of reality happens to be. I am here to say that you are on the brink of discovery. If you are able to see it that way, what happens next will open the space for you to go within and connect with deeper reasons for living. In the meantime, it may be necessary to stop the madness and detach from other people and their demands. Kids in particular, yours or other people's, may need to be left to their own devices for the time being.

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