Horoscopes

ARIES: Astro-commentator Bill Herbst has an interesting take on this week, which suggests approaching it as an epic western: Your cavalry's up front, infantry in the middle, heavy artillery and supplies at the rear - and Mercury retrograde affords a natural breathing space to stop forward marching and let your troops rest and regroup.

TAURUS: Consider this week's Mercury retrograde a signpost on your driving route telling you to pull over, make a pit stop and do some routine maintenance. Like replenishing your emotional tank, tuning your psychological steering and checking you're headed in the right direction. And how about a nice wax and polish while you're at it?

GEMINI: This week's about the traffic flow of your internal energy. Retro Mercury redirects the usual driving pattern from its usual outward movement into less driving and more maintenance mode. Less going out and more coming home to yourself - or in Gemini's case, yourselves.

CANCER: As good a week as any for attending to that overdue pending pile, all those little jobs you've put off for the last however many months: cupboards, papers, fixing things, or even (take a deep breath) getting rid of them altogether... Futzing round the house should pretty well keep you out of trouble, though don't count on it.

LEO: Sure it's your month, but try not to rush headlong into any splendid new business, career or relationship venture just yet - early September's much more auspicious for initiating things. If your mind's insisting you run with something, check your organic technology - what's your heart saying? Be patient. Spring will be along any minute.

VIRGO: This week's retro Mercury provokes communication glitches. You say blue and think someone agrees, then their azure turns out to be jade. What to do? Accept that, like Bob Dylan sings: You are right from your side and I am right from mine... Plus any other stress-reducing, not stress-producing, strategies you can think of.

LIBRA: This could be the week your decor, wardrobe, job, friends and especially your hair all give you the screaming heebie jeebies - but face it, you're suckers for a makeover. And present aspects are totally auspicious for deep-cleaning grungy emotions, re-energizing friendships and any kind of relationship refurb.

SCORPIO: Yes, this week's retro Mercury can be aggravating and infuriating, so fume and brood if you want to. Or make better use of it for reflection, redirection and reorganisation - as in flushing your emotional plumbing, or having a lifestyle colonic and getting rid of unnecessary attitudes or grudges weighing you down.

SAGITTARIUS: Retrograde Mercury could lace this week with the kind of irritations and frustrations that usually make you hit the roof - or the road. So if you find you're wound up and pushing at life, ease off. Pull back. Resist blaming. Shift into assessment mode and calmly take stock of what works, what doesn't - and what could.

CAPRICORN: When making arrangements this week expect delays. Stay loose and leave a little slack - you know Murphy's Law's operating, so go with the flow. If you'd rather be fluid, flexible and unruffled than frustrated, flustered and furious, don't get too rigidly attached to particular structures or specific results.

AQUARIUS: When Mercury's retrograde, it's helpful to remember that old saying: The way to really amuse the gods is to make plans... You quite like surprises, but hey, there's limits - and this week's unscheduled interruptions to your arrangements could stretch you way past where you thought yours were.

PISCES: Sometimes we make bad choices that work due to luck, grace or good karma. Other times even the most careful decisions go awry - usually during Mercury retrograde, when we get blamed for things we didn't do and ticked off for what we did... A week for aerobic patience, spiritual feng shui and avoiding the firing line.