Horoscope

ARIES: You love new directions, and this week stimulates an avalanche of innovative ideas. But to hear them, you'll need a quiet space - some peaceful park bench of the mind - while you figure out how to put your personal raw materials (talents, money, ideas, energy) to work in new and useful ways.

TAURUS: Your planetary ruler Venus is in a tricky and variable mood right now. Like the reggae song says: You can get it if you really want, but you must try, try and try... and is it really worth the effort? This week let others do it for you. Let what's yours hang onto you instead of the other way round...

GEMINI: Tired of last year's self and feeling like reinventing yourselves, Twins? There's no better time to shrug off that old persona and let the newer, truer you take the stage. And are the stars about to change your luck and rearrange your current state of mind, romance and finances? Yes they are...

CANCER: Feeling unappreciated and misunderstood? People who give things usually get given things. Cancerian entertainer George Michael recently announced he'd made enough money, so he'd be giving away his music free on the Internet. Is there something you feel you've been blessed with enough of to give away?

LEO: Experiencing a tug of war between commitments and freedom? Trying to create space for yourself inside the bonds of responsibility? If retrograde planets are giving you that claustrophobic, painted-into-a-corner feeling, make more room to move by deleting non-essential activities - watching TV, getting cross, big-noting...

VIRGO: There's a high risk of Virgo nervous burnout round about now, so axe a few of those must-dos. Virgos are great givers, but often poor receivers. It's time to revise your thinking that accepting gifts or help puts you in debt - being a one person show, doing everything yourselves from start to finish, is way too exhausting.

LIBRA: Gemini vibes turn Librans into multi-tasking maniacs. Variety's the spice of life, but jumping from one thing to another this week will completely discombobulate you and everyone else. Find your centre and stay there. Discipline yourself to finish one thing at a time. Try not to think aloud so others aren't tempted to throttle you.

SCORPIO: While others are busy turning life into a giant chat room, you're talkative as an oyster. But Venus in Gemini loves communicating and sharing information - and when she's opposite Pluto, it's secret information. Very challenging and confronting for Scorpios, but secrets and intimacy can't live together - one of them has to go.

SAGITTARIUS: You love learning new stuff, but nobody learns much when their lips are moving. Forthright, Sagittarian-type astrologers have compared the Sag mind to a motor that won't turn off, connected to a mouth working the same way. Check if this is a fair assessment by stepping back and watching yourself in action this week.

CAPRICORN: If you're being run ragged by your Inner Slavedriver, tune into the voices that guide rather than drive... Plans are changeable right now, like peoples' minds, so don't rely on promises. Relax, don't take things too seriously, and this week's Geminian playfulness could be just the rejuvenating lift your hardworking nerves need.

AQUARIUS: It needs some genius juggling to get the contradictory currents of your life working together. In California they juggle chainsaws, so anything's possible. Aquarian composer Mozart's radical view of genius might help: Neither intelligence nor imagination nor both together make genius. Love, love, love, this is genius...

PISCES: This week's lightning mind-flashes could have you dusting the cobwebs off the magic carpet and going places - but stay away from the ones advertising get rich quick schemes. And don't get bamboozled into making decisions before you're ready. Take all the time you need to make up your mind - it's your Piscean prerogative.