BORN THIS WEEK
Penelope Cruz (April 28, 1974) Ruled by Venus, the emblem of femininity, the Taurus woman is often prized as the ideal. The face that launched a thousand cosmetic products, Cruz is cited as a model of perfection by female patients seeking body enhancement, consistently ranking high on hot lists in men’s’ magazines. This second zodiac sign rules the human age of innocence, 7-14 years. And, like Taurean Audrey Hepburn before her, Cruz advocates for children, having worked with Mother Teresa, and ultimately creating a foundation for homeless girls in India.
Aries With the Sun and Pluto making an intense connection, your senses are working overtime. As ascetic as Aries is, you delight in luxuries now, indulging any urge to splurge. You’re magnetizing more money than usual, so spending is sanctioned. Life imparts an erotic charge—hits of cosmic ecstasy, if you will. This makes you quite the culture vulture, wanting to expose yourself to artistic, culinary and socially fringed experiences. Significant others who applaud your awakening spirit enjoy extra intimate perks. Sticklers for convention will be left on a shelf. Venus conjunct the Moon, on Saturday, opens new romantic avenues.
Taurus “Monumental” best describes you now, albeit with emphasis on the last two syllables. The Taurus Sun mingles with Moon energy at the top of the week, attempting to justify raging feelings with the cool, collected image you seek to maintain. In an effort to transcend bottled emotions you become weirdly magnanimous, moving mountains professionally, taking even huge obstacles, slings and arrows in stride. Those who’ve tried to unnerve you are now shaking in their new spring sandals. Bigwigs headhunting superhumans to run splashy enterprises eyeball you. Undersell yourself a bit, and quiet spinning thoughts.
Gemini Inside-out, that’s how you roll now. Not only are you deconstructing in any creative process, you’re also letting the seams show in your personal life. Prettifying appearances, you realize, has delayed dealing with and healing relationship and family problems. But in accepting situations, bumps and all, you experience progress and growth. Your ruler, Mercury, now full-steam ahead expedites networking efforts. You’re master of ye olde elevator pitch, a true artist of the deal. Honesty is not only the best policy, you realize, but it also takes less time and effort to express than manipulating or sugarcoating truths.
Cancer Journeying to a primal place is in your stars. Especially when the Aquarius Moon huddles Neptune and Chiron, Tuesday: You are wont to explore the nooks and crannies of your subconscious mind for the combined benefit of increased self-awareness and intellectual inspiration. Rooting around for unique observations that have universal resonance offers emotional release to you, and comic relief to others. This is particularly helpful if you’re courting the muse of the written word. By Saturday, the Moon is gaining on Mercury, facilitating communication direct from your warped and witty psyche to pen or keyboard.
Leo Avoid avoidance. You’re the come-hither king/queen. But be proactive now. The Sun makes potent links to the Moon, urging you to face commitments. Sure, it’s worked in the past to hang back, making folks chase you, so you can bail, labeling others too high maintenance—i.e. hardworking, efficient and passionate. That won’t fly this week, so be forthright in fulfilling or shirking obligations. Ignorance of them isn’t bliss. It’s bad for your rep and wreaks havoc on your conscience. A Pisces Moon, Thursday, brings emotional numbness; perfect for making wrong moves. Hang in: Reward is right around the corner!
Virgo Saturn opposing Mercury, Mars and Venus, makes you aware of self-imposed restrictions on your social sphere, ambitions and love life. And you take baby steps to break out of them. This entails letting go, lightly, of fair-weather friendships that no longer serve you. Making initial moves toward a desired goal is all the witch doctor orders. Signing up for a class or just grabbing a brochure is enough. In love, you must strive all the more not to limit yourself. Nobody is out of your league. There is no league. There’s only you choosing to get off the sidelines and into the game. Already in a relationship? Stop playing mascot.
Libra The current cosmic climate brings temptation, potentially setting you off-balance. Your ruler Venus faces off with Saturn in Libra by Tuesday. This puts pleasure seeking at odds with newly acquired discipline. Maintain equipoise by grooving on the paradoxical nature of all so-called polarities, not to mention life itself: Discipline is no longer the authority figure you long rebelled against, but a trusted friend. Likewise, certain hedonism has long since promised to make you hip; if anything it could lead to your breaking one. So let’s remember our Keats and Yeats: Life is sweet but a surplus of goodies can cause decay.
Scorpio With work and home life running smoothly, focus shifts from function to design. As the Moon moves into conjunction with Neptune, by Tuesday, you’re expanding your aesthetic. It’s still rather spare, if a bit Spartan, but it is surely not without whimsy. One-to-one relationships beg for attention as your ruler Pluto is challenged by Venus. It’s a new variation on an old theme: negotiating so-called having it all against sharing quality time and energy with a significant other. Be flexible in negotiations, when the Moon hits Pisces, come Thursday. Retaining principles and compromise are not mutually exclusive.
Sagittarius Routine is a friend now when you’re thrown myriad monkey wrenches. Don’t jump to catch them. Keep on doing what you do, in the time you calmly allotted. Only then should you address irregularities in your agenda. Putting out fires is strictly forbidden. If flustered colleagues self-combust, so be it. To help them is to prolong the inevitable. The Taurus Sun, in happy aspect to Pluto, seeks to transform best intentions into soaring successes. It also makes glaring situations in which you are deluding yourself. Areas where you’re tired of keeping up appearances? You’ll now become exhausted enough to change them.
Capricorn A rose-colored vision is your default perception now as Pluto in Capricorn is lifted above the fray of mental conflict by the Taurus Sun. In layman’s terms: Life is so fraught with contingency and if/then speculation that you have no choice but to transcend to your happy place. And there are winsome consequences: A pragmatist like you suddenly waxing idealistic uncages a backlog of dreamy aspirations you’ve kept in lockdown. Loved ones may be surprised when you suddenly jumpstart a string of hobbies, crafts and disciplines. A Mars, Mercury, Venus mash-up animates your home, or, should we say, bustling salon.
Aquarius At home in the eye of a social storm, you find it more a challenge to be just one of many in the swirl. As the Aquarius Moon squares the Sun, through Monday, however, you relax into group dynamics, dropping your signature role of activities director. That was just an authoritarian way of detaching from others anyway. Folks you’ve kept at arms-length are given increased access to a more vulnerable and, as such, a more embraceable, you. And we’re not speaking only in the figurative sense. Aquarians get lucky more than most, now, with Uranus conjoined Venus. Herein, too, you’re more emotionally invested.
Pisces Take inventory of your motivations. Signs show you’re acquiring knowledge and skills with a vengeance. But is it all that’s fueling you? Putting delicious revenge aside, pursue a singular interest that aligns with purest desires. The Pisces Moon conjunct Neptune, on Wednesday, reveals that you are attempting proficiency in too many areas out of a need for others to widely defer to you. When in fact you should go deeper into one field of expertise with the sole aim of achieving a sense of personal accomplishment. For you, right now, it’s better to be the star pupil than it is to play power games instructing others.
Writers and astrologers Stella Starsky and Quinn Cox are the internationally bestselling authors of Sextrology and Cosmic Coupling and have contributed to Paris Vogue, Allure, Elle, and Style.com. They are metaphysical consultants in private practice. Their live musical comedy act of starry wit and social commentary is regularly staged at venerable venues like Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater in New York.
