BORN THIS WEEK Natalie Portman (June 9, 1981)
The molting one herself is a Gemini ruled by winged Mercury. Twin-personality roles aside, Portman has dual Israeli-American citizenship. Gemini is the premier mental sign. It’s little wonder Portman was a psychology major (and Alan Dershowitz’s lab-research assistant) at Harvard. Mercury is the God of language and this starlet grew up speaking English and Hebrew, and learning French, Japanese, Arabic, and German. Portman’s own dance double stirred trouble when she claimed credit for toeing the bulk o’ Black Swan’s ballet.
ARIES Trust and satisfy your sneaking suspicions, probing situations for hidden agendas and would-be caveats. Mercury toying with Uranus in Aries says that every opportunity for change and growth —and there are a few—is wrapped in a wee bit of mystery or confusion. But don’t let that stop you. Consider it a cosmic lesson in exploring the intricacies of circumstance that you often glaze over. This is also a good time to turn your investigative gaze inward, getting to the source of, and gaining control over, reactive impulses. A Uranus-Pluto connection, by Wednesday, shows: Aries anger is an energy you can channel constructively.
TAURUS Jupiter newly in Taurus makes you feel expansive, like all is moving in the right direction. This has been true; you just see it better now. But that checklist of requirements for happiness you mentally tote around? Especially as concerns a partner’s to-do’s? It must be ritually buried. Conjoined Sun and Mercury, in trine aspect to Saturn, suggest that if-then thinking is a trap, specially designed to catch Taureans. So, be super-conscious of cultivating bliss the way things are, instead of relegating it to some future characterized by having x many ducks in a row. And avoid quacky self-help lit—it, too, postpones joy.
GEMINI Hello, Nasty. A slew of planets in Gemini work your mojo. Not only is your libido tweaked, but your entire psyche is rebooted. Deep-seated issues and weighted secrets don’t inspire their typical fear. Fusion of the Sun and ruler Mercury, named for the God-conductor of souls, allows you to journey into your own underworld, to face such truths you dreaded would undo you. What you emerge with are stories, however you choose to express them. With no lack of inspiration or complexity, you dispel pesky preconceptions that Gemini is superficial. It’s because you can go so deep that you confidently dwell on the surface.
CANCER Certain artistry is yours. And we don’t mean painting sunflowers by number or crocheting toilet-paper cozies. Although…at present you could elevate such creations to museum worthiness. A pack of planets transits your impressionistic sector, where transcending the material or ordinary becomes the focus. In a sense, all is art, or artifice, for you now. You shape circumstances to your liking, with freer license and fuller authority. Even the great masters among you have been in managerial mode, keeping it all together. But you’re ready to color outside the proverbial lines, if not unexpectedly decamp to Arles.
LEO Seeds of fortune are sprinkled in your path now, but you may not recognize them lest you stay attuned. Jack’s magic beans, mind, turned into a giant opportunity. With the Leo Moon squaring Jupiter, you may label chance nuggets “worthless.” But keep your mind’s eye on them. You may grow to like what’s on offer; and by the time the Moon and Jupiter face off, Saturday, you can envision the full potential of what requires only tiny leaps of faith on your part. Meanwhile, give kudos to those cooking up such recipes for success. Or will you spite yourself by pooh-poohing golden eggs you can’t take credit for hatching?
VIRGO Siblingesque relationships play a key role now, as you forge a deeper bond with actual sisses and bros, as well as deepen the familial affection of friendships. The tricky bit is in romance, and it’s a recurring theme: Here, you must beware of turning a potential affair into a cozy slice of camaraderie, devoid of any and all mystique. That goes double for you married Virgins. Your may-be ruler Mercury teams with loving Venus, Monday, squaring Neptune and Chiron, the planetoid of healing. This urges you to remain aspirational in love, and to stop projecting familiar dynamics from your upbringing onto intimate bonds.
LIBRA Your palms may itch, signaling a cash infusion is on the horizon. As a rule, you’re not materially minded, but money has become a necessary focus of late. And with Jupiter having slipped into your cosmic zone of shared resources, you are poised to have your purse filled by patrons or invest yourself in others’ projects, confident of pay off. Venus in Gemini, Thursday, blends energies with Uranus. This makes you brilliant at group collaborations, not typically a strong suit. You may be put in charge of those you revere as heroes or mentors, winning universal love and respect by keeping a cool Libran remove.
SCORPIO In deciding between the road less taken and the path of least resistance, your ruler Pluto in cahoots with Chiron in Pisces bids you to consider some paradox in each. Uncharted territory mightn’t be the jungle out there you imagine it to be, while familiarly trodden paths could be so pitted by others’ impressions that they cause wear and tear on your singular motivations. (We’re saying choose the former, in case you didn’t get that.) On Friday, the Moon joins in Saturn’s longstanding T-square to Pluto, opposing Uranus. This means that spiritual disciplines, even yoga or meditation, can unleash big, blocked emotions.
SAGITTARIUS Where you felt you had few choices, you suddenly have many as regards change of career, address, social circle, or educational direction. Knowing you, it will likely be all of the above. And power to you. Regenerative Pluto is in happy aspect to ruler Jupiter, freshly in Taurus. Meaning you are poised to parlay daily shake-ups in your routine into sustaining new experience. All you have to do is move through so-called setbacks. If you hear yourself complain, then you’re not letting the magic grow from the manure. Knowingly smile when you hit a wall, staying open to better options. This will also creep-out any green-eyed monsters.
CAPRICORN Up with people. You’ve so had it with your cloistered ways, and are ready to rub your elbows raw. You needn’t even explain to fair-weather friends that it’s finding your true tribe, not social climbing, that characterizes your experience now. By Friday, the Moon joins Saturn in its opposition to Uranus and T-square to Pluto, urging you to institutionalize these motivations. Take a leadership role in an event or on a committee, especially as regards education reform or a similar means of empowering others through knowledge. All those years of being called bookish has led to this moment. You are now ruler of the worms.
AQUARIUS A progressive of the first order, you’re further ahead of the curve than usual, tapping into cultural rumblings others won’t pick up on for ages. Fantastic for Aquarians in the business of gauging trends—and there are many—and those wishing to sell high that which they sense will soon dip in value. Venus’ entry into Gemini, Thursday, makes you amorous—that’s an understatement—as the Moon opposing Uranus causes an atypical disconnect between liberated ideas and the emotional capacity to realize them. This will be your own new trend: Synthesis of your evolved consciousness and your old-fashioned conscience.
PISCES Being bored takes nerve. Neptune and Chiron, in Pisces, see more action now than any other heavenly body. So there’s no excuse to not get yours in motion. But why pass off laziness as ennui? Let’s get to the root of it: Fear. Both fear of failure and of success have you caught in life’s headlights. That may be a familiar tune. It’s the fact you can’t hide this now that’s the real news! You have a rare opportunity to be comforted and advised. Fear again. You’re always there for people, but letting others deliver pep talks and life lessons can scare you. Or do you just feel you’re the only one qualified to offer this kind of guidance?
Writers and astrologers Stella Starsky and Quinn Cox are the internationally best-selling 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.
