Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photo: Getty Images
The week begins on a tense note as the first-quarter moon in Pisces seems to throw obstacles in your path. Differences of opinion between you and a loved one could become impossible to ignore, or inner conflict could make you doubt your own instincts. But you’ll feel less stuck as the moon waxes through Aries and Taurus throughout the week. Life keeps changing, and so do you, and you’ll find that your problems aren’t as unsolvable as you’ve feared.
You don’t mind rushing around as long as you have some choice in what you’re doing. When you’re constantly responding to other people’s demands, being busy feels less invigorating and more like a drag. If you feel taken advantage of, this week is a good opportunity to reset the balance and reassert your boundaries. You’re generous with your time and energy, but you deserve to have some of it left over for yourself and the things you care about.
You’ve been stretching your limits lately, moving past the edges of your comfort zone. Maybe this has been part of an intentional project; maybe it’s been a matter of necessity. Either way, you could probably use a bit of recovery time. Nobody can constantly push forward without taking a break — as much as you tell yourself that you should always be up for a challenge, that’s just not realistic. This week, make a point of carving out time to rest, do what feels easy, and stop working so hard.
Some people instinctively dig in their heels when they’re faced with an opposing viewpoint, but you’re more likely to listen. Even if you don’t end up changing your mind, you might learn something new. But this week, your stubborn side might come out. So let it. You’re sick of always being the one to make the effort; you wish someone would try to understand your point of view. Your open-mindedness is a gift, but sometimes the best thing you can do is refuse to back down.
You work hard to act with integrity, treat others right, and put your ideals into practice. But in spite of your best intentions, you still have your moments of selfishness or laziness or bad temper, and this week it’s easy to feel intense shame over your flaws. Even though you understand that everybody falls short sometimes, you still imagine that you’re somehow uniquely bad. It’s tempting to try to hide your true self. But if you let others in, you’ll discover that they love you anyway.
Loneliness comes and goes, but lately it has felt particularly acute. You worry you’ll never be loved the way you need or that even the people closest to you don’t truly understand you. These worries are normal, but they aren’t reflective of the actual truth. In reality, you’re constantly interacting and connecting with other people — and as imperfect as your relationships may be, they still count. Don’t let yourself become convinced that you’re doomed to a life of sad isolation, because it simply isn’t true.
As capable as you are, you sometimes hang back in stressful situations. You don’t want to be presumptuous; you imagine that there’s probably somebody who knows more than you do or has more authority. This week, though, it might become apparent that there is no one else who’s better able to do what needs to be done. So don’t be afraid to step in. Even if you don’t think of yourself as a leader, trust that you have the wisdom and courage it takes.
There are times when it feels as if you have so little power, even over your own life, that it’s hardly worth it to try. You’ll make the best of whatever comes your way, creating small moments of beauty and happiness, but you won’t be able to alter the big picture. But this week, see what happens if you allow yourself to imagine that you can change the world around you — and your own trajectory. You may be proven right.
You can have a hard time accepting support from others — it leaves you feeling indebted, at a disadvantage. But it’s impossible to go through life without ever getting help, and this week you might feel inordinately stressed over the favors that you haven’t repaid. It’s easy to worry that people see you as a drag, someone who takes more than they give. There’s probably no truth to this — but even so, find a way to take action and give back. It’ll be better than endlessly beating yourself up over the idea that you’re not doing enough.
If you try to be liked by everybody, you’ll end up irritated and disappointed. People are unique, contradictory, sometimes maddening, and it’s not realistic to think you can be friends — or even work productively — with all of them. This week, be careful not to hold yourself to impossible standards. All you can do is approach people with a genuine desire to connect. Sometimes you’ll fail — but if you keep trying, you’ll also find surprising common ground.
You value your routines, but you’re probably not rigid about following them; you understand that there will always be times when you need to adjust to the unexpected. This week, the crazier the world around you gets, the more tempting it might be to throw your routines out the window: How can anyone stick to a schedule in times like these? But try to stand firm. The more you maintain your good habits now, the less chaotic your life will be.
Your ideas can seem “out there,” even silly, to others, but you come to them through serious thought; you’re not the sort of person to propose the first harebrained scheme that pops into your mind. If anything, you could probably stand to loosen up and let yourself be a little more playful this week. Right now, the most valuable insights are more likely to arise through lively conversation than through solemn intellectual discourse. You’re allowed to laugh and have fun — and your thinking will be better for it.
Other people don’t always recognize your ambition, but it’s always there beneath the surface. You want to use your time to the fullest, to change the world. But the more you focus on your career or your future, the easier it is to neglect your inner life. This week, devote some extra attention to your emotions and to your quiet, everyday life. Focus on making the choices that’ll let you be happy with who you are, even if they don’t yield tangible results, and even if nobody else is watching.
Read the weekly horoscopes for the week of December 1. The weekly horoscopes for the week of December 15 will be online next Sunday.
Buy Claire Comstock-Gay’s book, Madame Clairevoyant’s Guide to the Stars, here.