BORN THIS WEEK
Tom Cruise (July 3, 1962)
Nearly Born on the Fourth of July, Cruise won a first Oscar nod for said film, sharing a birthday with “Yankee Doodle Dandy” George M. Cohan. Cancer governs the fourth House of patriotism, and American actors of the sign project an apple-pie image. Mother Moon-ruled, Cancer is female-dominated—Tom’s mom and three sisters (Scientologists, all) have either worked and/or lived with him at various points until 2008. And has he ever not been in a serious bond with a woman? He and biz partner Paula Wagner run United Artists.
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ARIESIncoming: You are bombarded with information now as plans change, rearrange, and caveats and amendments abound. This inspires vulnerability, neither a familiar -- nor your favorite -- sensation. Uranus in Aries opposing Saturn makes you feel fenced in by circumstance, urging you to cultivate freedom from within—a mechanism you’ve long needed to develop. Venus entering Cancer signals a return to old stomping grounds. You are challenged to redefine your idea of fun and pleasure seeking. Nature imparts more thrills than social scenes. Where you once were combative, you now see opportunity for compassion.
TAURUSLife is now in the details. Not easy to remember with Jupiter looming large in Taurus, inspiring grandiose plans and dreams and more enormous success than you’ve enjoyed to date. To boot, Jupiter’s dicey connection to Mercury fritzes communication with loved ones who may tag you too big for your jeggings. Oh, but what joy life would be if you paid closer attention to intimates and kept a tighter rein on finances—resisting the need to utter “it’s on me”—just at this moment when your professional star is on the rise. And what hell will be in store if caution is thrown to the wind, and relationships, under the bus.
GEMININo more suffering fools. Neptune and Chiron vibrating in your sector of status ensure that you’re given proper respect, and that puffed-up pests are put in their place. So what if you come across as selfish to some? Don’t doubt your own generosity just because you don’t advertise it. That’s not your brand of attention getting. Yours hits closer to home: With Venus in Cancer, from Monday, you desire tangible proof that your powers of attraction are at their peak. (You accept gift certificates.) In love, you’re serious. Those seeking your commitment sigh relief. Those avoiding the topic get their walking papers.
CANCERWith Venus slipping into Cancer, it feels like the world is your oyster. An apt metaphor for you, who—ruled by the Moon and subject to its namesake moods that shift like tides—manifests pearls of wisdom from the chaos of life. But enough of that. It’s now time to string together lessons learned into a single, solid belief system. Wishy-washy no more, you must be exacting. There are big decisions, and possible exits, to make. And you have no energy to spare on helping others navigate their own paths. Especially those forming a crossroads with your own. The Moon-Saturn conjunct, Thursday, lends you nerves of steel.
LEOThere is a tendency to be hard on yourself, now, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Two Grand Crosses bid you examine areas of life where you cut yourself excess slack. Signs show you must strive for innovation in your career, where running with others’ ideas has only gotten you so far. Pluto’s transformative energy is aimed at your love life, wherein you must think less about the receipt of affection and feel your way toward expressing it, without measure. If you find this too great a challenge, you may be barking up the wrong relationship tree. Venus in Cancer newly inspires a need for deeper spiritual connections.
VIRGOYou’re provided wiggle room with deadlines now, but beware of wasting the grace. Ruler Mercury square Neptune prescribes positioning your nose close to the grindstone, as a rogue Moon in Virgo, Wednesday, hurls huge monkey wrenches into the mix. Let’s see how that grace works under fire. We’re not the only ones watching: Signs show bigwigs are eyeing you, grooming you in their minds for a plum position or promotion. Venus takes over the Sun’s role in a Grand Cross, Friday, providing the clarity to not let flattery lure you into cul de sacs you swore you’d never enter. Destiny lies in the direction of your desire.
LIBRANo looking back. With Saturn a third of the way into Libra, you’re adjusting to the structure that heavy planet imposes. And you’re enjoying the elevation in status, both personal and professional, it has afforded you. (Admittedly, through some very hard work.) At this point you’re alchemically altered, made of tougher stuff than you were this time last year. And for all the struggle, it’s now nice to admit, you wouldn’t revert to old floppy ways. Come Friday, Venus is in a Grand Cross with Saturn, Uranus and Pluto. This signals a return to so-called good-life trappings. Just remember how bad for you some good things can be.
SCORPIOLook at you, flitting around social-butterfly style. Which isn’t exactly atypical. Although you usually mask your scene-making with brooding mystique. But that’s too much work now. Venus opposing ruler Pluto lets the air out of all the ways and means you take, or present, yourself too seriously. And it lets the seams show on all your wheeling and dealing. But some healthy deconstruction doesn’t hurt you a bit. Indeed, it exposes the fact that you have nothing to hide. Your personal style, too, is a bit undone. Funny how people seem to find that sexy, and say so. Not so humorous for a significant other if you have one.
SAGITTARIUSArchers ready? You’re poised to project farthest-reaching goals into the ether. This is a mental process of preparation, and should be without limits. Remove the word but and all its contractions from your vocabulary. Cash flow is not a consideration at this stage. Just get a fix on your dreams, the more impossible the better. Venus in your sector of personal transformation, from Monday, joins in on a Grand Cross on Friday. This will ensure that your highest aspirations will let fly and take root in the future. It may take time for the universe to deliver your bundle of wishes. But you will have needed to conceive of them now.
CAPRICORNWith Uranus in your domestic sector getting major planetary play, you’re rooting out negative patterns on the home front, ushering in an era of organization. From cleaning out (some metaphorical) closets to automating your digs to futuristic proportions, you modernize as you minimize. Meanwhile, Jupiter is rocking your creative life. A some-time interest has become a solid platform from which to stretch artistic muscles and reach for starry achievement. Taken together, efficient simplicity in your personal life boldly animates your professional world with frisky moves, resonant ideas and widening appeal.
AQUARIUSZero in on areas where you lack necessary knowledge or expertise to make yourself indispensable. This is key in work and philanthropic or community endeavors. Venus in Cancer makes more pleasurable those daily routines you typically dread; just as affection becomes an uncharacteristically quotidian need. Be aware of how a desire for lofty status in the past has isolated you from the company you now seek. Creative work necessitates isolation. But Mercury trine your ruler Uranus compensates by playing PR agent, altering your image to repackage you as an accessible, non-judgmental wo/man of the people.
PISCESSeeming at the mercy of others’ whims, if not their slings and arrows, you’re coaxed down from your cross by Wednesday, when a rogue Virgo Moon sheds light on the true power of your Pisces passivity: Imperviousness. Not only can you take (the proverbial) it, you don’t have to dish it out. This sets you apart from those in your midst who end up bowing to your ability to transcend the most fraught circumstances and environments. Silently you assume positions of leadership, oh so subtly giving slackers the heave ho. And that’s just on the home front. Professional detractors crumble, while disciples flock.
