Sunday, December 22, 2024

Madame Clairevoyant: Horoscopes for the Week of May 19–25

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Quannah Chasinghorse, a Gemini.
Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Getty Images

On Monday morning, the sun enters Gemini. (And it’s not alone: Venus joins the sun in the sign of the twins on Thursday afternoon; Saturday evening, Jupiter joins the fun.) If Taurus season was a time for stubbornness and dependability, Gemini season is an opportunity to loosen up. It can be hard to stay focused while the sun moves through the most curious and chaotic of the signs, so take this chance to expand your horizons, try something new, and surprise other people — or yourself. A full moon in Sagittarius this Thursday activates your spontaneous and adventurous side. If you’ve been playing things too safe, this moon encourages you to take a risk or two. Have faith in yourself. In the meantime, find the weekly horoscope for each zodiac sign, below.

When life gets boring, you’re good at creating your own excitement. You go out and find adventure instead of waiting for it to fall into your lap; rather than hoping someone does something interesting, you take action yourself. It’s time to let those tables turn. It’s likely that the opportunities you’ve been looking for will come to you this week, so instead of hurrying around trying to stir things up, hang back. See what happens if you wait. There’s no need to rush through life. Keep your eyes open and you’ll recognize your moment when it arrives.

When there’s conflict in your life, it can be hard for you to move forward until things have been definitively settled. You want to trust that the book has been closed, that some sort of resolution has been reached. The problem is that closure is rare. Sometimes there’s simply not going to be a distinct endpoint, or the kind of clear-cut answer you’ve been longing for. It’s up to you to decide when you’ve had enough. You’ll find freedom in resolving that it’s time to move on and live your life this week.

Your life isn’t static, and neither is your personality. Over time, you’re transformed by your experiences and relationships. You’re constantly growing, finding new versions of yourself. If you’re unsatisfied with the way your life is going, change is always possible. But remember that there’s nothing wrong with who you are right now, either. You don’t have to optimize your personality this week, or aim for some idealized future self with all your flaws sanded off. Stop comparing yourself to the imaginary person you wish you were. If you’re doing the best you can in the here and now, that’s enough.

Your routines can be supportive. They provide structure to your days, and they help you stay on track when you’re unsure what to do or your energy starts to flag. Sometimes, though, they leave you stuck, prevent you from growing, learning, taking new risks. This week is a good time to release habits that no longer serve you, or the fear holding you back, or the doubt keeping you trapped in place. You have the opportunity to step away from the structures that aren’t actually working for you and to create something new in their place.

One of the reasons you’re such a good communicator is that you’re aware of how you come across to others. When sharing a new idea, you know you need to present it in a way that will make sense to your audience; when describing how you feel, you know people will be more likely to listen if you express yourself in a certain way. You can take a break from worrying so much about what everyone else will think this week. For now, give yourself space to express your thoughts freely and authentically. You can worry about people’s reactions later.

You have clear ideas about how the world should be, and high standards for how people — yourself most of all — ought to behave. We all have our shortcomings, but while some could live forever in denial about theirs, you try to be honest about the moments you’ve failed to live up to your ideals. But this week, make sure you’re not demanding more of yourself than is reasonable or possible. You deserve more kindness than you’ve shown yourself lately. You’re human. You don’t need to be perfect; you only need to try.

You’re genuinely curious about the people and places around you, and you’re always learning and asking questions. With each new piece of information you discover, your world expands; with each new story somebody tells you, life gets more interesting. Still, remember to avoid getting so caught up in the details that you lose your perspective. Knowledge is valuable but not if you just sit on it forever. You have to do something with all that you’ve learned. This week is an ideal time for taking action, for putting all that wisdom you’ve gathered into practice.

Your cautiousness when dealing with other people is understandable. You’ve been hurt and disappointed enough in the past to think twice before opening up to anyone new; you’ve seen enough people behave cruelly and thoughtlessly to be careful where you place your trust. It isn’t wrong to act this way, but there are times when the best approach isn’t one built on suspicion, but on optimism and generosity. Occasionally, it’s necessary to put your faith in other people. Nobody is perfect, but if you believe in people, this week, they might pleasantly surprise you.

You try to stay open to new, unexpected possibilities; after all, you know that the universe is bigger than your understanding of it and that even the best-laid plans can be disrupted. Being human means being surprised sometimes, which is why you so often withhold judgment and remain open to changing your mind. This week isn’t the time for going with the flow, though, but for taking an active role in steering your life. Don’t wait around for opportunities to fall into your lap, or for your next steps to magically reveal themselves to you. You can’t control everything, but you have more power than you think.

You feel like you must leap at every opportunity that comes your way, regardless of whether it’s a good fit. You might believe you have a responsibility to do every favor that’s asked of you (regardless of whether you have the capacity), that it’s your job to keep pushing and pushing yourself to the edge of burnout. But the best thing you can do this week — for your happiness and mental health today, as well as your long-term success — is to say “no.” Take a step back. Let the unimportant stuff drop, at least for the moment. Everyone needs to rest, even you.

When it comes to the things you really care about — the projects you put your whole heart into — you sometimes find it surprisingly difficult to ask for support. You’re surrounded by people who love you and would be more than willing to lend a hand, and still, your proud and independent streak makes it hard to ask. But even if your instinct is to go it alone, allow yourself to lean on others this week. Your friends can hold you accountable, push you further than you’d go on your own, and believe in you when you struggle to believe in yourself.

Sometimes, you set a goal and follow through, and that’s the end of it: You arrive exactly where you plan to, right on time. Other times, though, the road is twistier, hitting obstacles, branching off in unexpected directions, leading you places you never imagined. When life isn’t going according to plan, your instinct is to worry you’ve failed. But the truth is that you’re just on a different path, not a worse one. The challenge this week is to release your old ideas about how life was “supposed” to turn out and to live fully, precisely where you are now.

Read the weekly horoscopes for the week of May 12. The weekly horoscopes for the week of May 26 will be online next Sunday.

Buy Claire Comstock-Gay’s book, Madame Clairevoyant’s Guide to the Stars, here.

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