Horoscopes July 31-August 6, 2011

BORN THIS WEEKJ.K. Rowling (July 31, 1965)Most superstars happen to be Leo women. Ruled by the life-giving Sun, their potential for creativity is total. Leo’s 5th astrological house is that of “co-creation with ‘God’” and a Leo’s artistry can smack of divine intervention. Rowling admits her vision for Harry Potter came in a flash, fully formed. The 5th is also the house of children, generations of which Rowling is destined to inspire. Utmost authority is Leo’s birthright. She is happiest at the top of her game, field or heap. Only Rowling could turn the status tables on Oprah as she did in a recent interview that had viewers wondering just who’s zooming whom.

ARIESPower of concentration is at a peak, percolating grains of ideas into practicable projects. Mars sliding into Cancer, by Wednesday, urges you to approach work from a more gut level. There is a need to humanize plans that work on paper, in the abstract, but lack touchy-feely elements in actuality. Opening the doors of business, getting to know people you work with, or customers you seek to nurture, is crucial for success. Your signature cool remove is seen for what it is: Fear of friendly intimacy. So try to make a few one-on-one dates with those you’d like to know better. And do only forty percent of the talking.

TAURUSAs Venus leans into the Sun, you shine in expressions of diplomacy and charm. Keep it real. Pursed-lipped shows of affection or canned admiration get you labeled insincere. Talent, of which you have boatloads, is half the recipe for fulfillment. Employ humility and be a team player in situations that typically inspire diva growls. As Neptune retreats into Aquarius, by Friday, you can right professional and personal wrongs of the recent past. If olive branches are extended, grab them. And spark peace pipes yourself by conceding that avoiding issues with loved ones caused more friction than was there in the first place.

GEMINIAnalytical doesn’t even begin to describe you now. As Mercury slows to retrograde, by Tuesday, you’re endowed with a laser-like ability to cut through foggy situations and get to the bottom of what ails systems and relationships that are just limping along. Though credited with an infomaniacal knack to manage minutiae down to every detail, you’re naturally nurturing your higher mind, as magic Neptune slips back into Aquarius. You need a belief system you can count, if not bank, on. Indeed, ramping spiritual practices makes you a calmer, more coherent commodity in whatever market you strut your stuff.

CANCERThat great big Jeopardy theme song in the sky stops playing, and the cosmos demands some answers. Particularly regarding real estate, relocation, or both. Mars entering your sign Wednesday gives you the chutzpah to verbalize self-concerns in feeling polarized between personal comfort and professional promise. The stars say you can have it all. Still, it requires being more mercurial and willing to go the extra mile (often literally) to bridge business and an ideal design for living. Children or those acting like them will tug at heart or apron stings. Or are they just pulling your chain with codependent demands?

LEOWith the Sun conjunct Venus, there’s no resisting your directing and delegating—you’re like Tom Sawyer getting his fence painted, and being thanked for it to boot. So, dedicate efforts to doing as much good for as many people as possible. Of all signs, Leo is now the most involved in charity, which begins you know where. But woe to any loved one who thinks like a loser. You demand little more than a winning attitude. So long as one accentuates the positive, you back ‘em wholeheartedly. Regardless of any outcome? Well just remember that Yes isn’t just an expression of affirmation, it is also one of acceptance.

VIRGOAs skittish as you can be, you tap into a new confidence and ease now. No need to act cool. You personify it. Retrograding Mercury in Virgo, opposes Chiron and Neptune. This means you must address personal and artistic delusions, while healing lingering relationship issues. To employ some vernacular fitting to your sign: Work! That is to say, put gifts to the test, showing others what you’ve got to give. You can make a living off talents and be the most productive babe with the most functional bonds on the astrological block. Big achievements take sweat, which you no longer have for the small stuff.

LIBRAThis is a banner week, as Saturn in Libra ends its stand-off with Uranus. You’re free to embrace your expertise, without being challenged by a fringe elite questioning your value or vision. Still, expect to perform a juggling act, balancing others’ needs with your own. Mars in your career zone fuels pioneering efforts, and you carve out a singular identity within your chosen field(s). Mercury retrograde seems to slow down time, helping you maintain a spiritual center and avoid mentally racing ahead, succumbing to anxiety or energy depletion. You have many irons in the fire, all of which can yield desired results.

SCORPIOAt a crossroads, you wonder whether to remain in the safety of the status quo or plot a new course and make drastic life changes. We prescribe the latter. Mercury retrograde, from Tuesday, illuminates the ways you’ve kept far-reaching success at bay. It’s over-simplifying to say that love or familial bonds are to blame, because it has been right to devote to them. But now you can stand on the shoulders of loved ones and further global aims. As the Scorpio Moon opposes Jupiter, squaring the Sun and Venus, by Friday, you begin to dismantle structures, real or metaphoric, that you spent the last several years building up.

SAGITTARIUSA sort of rebirth is in the stars as Mars enters Cancer, signaling Sagittarian psychological transformation. As you well know, old habits die hard. And though your instinct is to curtail unhealthy actions, expect a few extinction bursts—explosions of bad behavior en route to eradicating it. Might as well enjoy it while it lasts. Neptune retrogrades into Aquarius, Friday, inspiring magical thinking. This is a good thing now as believing is seeing you lifted out of ruts you feared might permanently engulf you and your business. You’re being asked to entertain extraordinary experiences and ideas in your daily routine.

CAPRICORNThe week kicks off with a mini version of your infamous dark nights of the soul. But instead of swimming in a sea of unrequited feelings and regret, you pass over them, as if in a glass-bottomed boat, observant but unscathed. Mars entering Cancer, opposing Pluto in your sign, allows you to channel these inky feelings into vividly creative expressions of personality. Your style, speech, and mannerisms may all wax darkly superior. These planet moves deepen your artistic voice as they sharpen your tongue in business to the point of dominating in verbal deal making, and making demands others scramble to meet.

AQUARIUSPatience is no longer a virtue when dealing with those who are lousy at the deliverables. As ruler Uranus breaks free from Saturn’s grip, Monday, don’t stand on ceremony in taking what’s rightfully yours. And if over-promisers can’t put up, then you’re free to pull out of raw deals, dire partnerships or anemic associations. By the same token, you can’t hide away from those to whom you’ve made moral or monetary pledges. Leading with the thought “what’s in it for me?” closes off the possibility of unseen opportunities, while acting on generous instincts, not retracting them, avails you of chance, choice benefits.

PISCESIt’s time to recreate, in every sense of the word. Neptune sliding out of Pisces takes your delusions of grandeur with it. You’ll be steeped in starkest reality, refreshing your mind and spirit with simple tasks and pleasures, instead of taxing it with posturing, puffery, and sycophantic plots. Not to say you shouldn’t have aspirations. But they must emerge from inner yearnings, not from looking at yourself through others’ eyes. Mars in Cancer gets creative juices flowing, urging you to make or do something because it strikes your fancy, perhaps tapping an inner passion, not because it could yield a shot at fortune or fame.