Note to readers: My colleague Yasmin Boland has had a child and is on maternity leave. I'm taking turns some weeks standing in for her daily column. These horoscopes are being posted to our subscribers as well. The first set runs through Friday. - ef

Tuesday, Oct. 17, Moon enters Virgo 4:15 pm AEST
The Virgo Moon makes few major aspects today, which means that the story of our lives will proceed on the side streets and back rooms rather than out front and in the open. It's a good time to fraternise with the enemy, add up facts and figures and check what's going on up in the attic. Food shopping at an open market would be the best way to get the most from this lunar phase.

Aries (March 20-April 19)
Focus on what needs to get done. Idle minds are the devil's computer, and you may for a moment have forgotten how much you need to accomplish. I suggest you remind yourself. You are going through a kind of psychic power surge, and have all this energy for a reason. The more constructively you invest it, the better of a position you'll be in when the time comes to negotiate an increase in pay or responsibilities that may be on the horizon. This may not develop for another month or so, but you can be sure you're being carefully observed now.
 
Taurus (April 19-May 20)
If you can keep an eye on the difference between opinions and what has been verified, you'll be a lot happier, and life won't seem so mysterious. Much of what passes for true is something someone wants us to believe, or something we want to believe. Straight away, you could resolve a lot of mystery by keeping track of all the things you want to be true. This way, you'll be able to recognise them when you see them, and apply some reasoning, logic and discernment. These would be good tools to keep around the next few weeks.
 
Gemini (May 20-June 21)
Though you may not have noticed yet, an intriguing drama is developing in your workplace. You need to keep your distance even though as the story unravels you may seem to be at the center of it all. Now is the time to take a few preventive measures, such as making sure everything you do and say is actually your personal truth. Keep notes on what people tell you, and keep your paperwork in order. A few diary notes would not hurt anything. In two weeks they will count for a lot more than they seem to today.
 
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
At the moment, you seem to be hatching an idea or a plan, perhaps something you've had brewing deep beneath your waters for a long time. It may be an escape plan, or it may be a creative project that allows you to express yourself in a deeper way. Whatever it may be, if you want something to come of the idea, there is a commitment involved, and you'll have a few of the usual ups and downs that come along the way to accomplishing anything worthwhile. Yet the real commitment here is about having faith in yourself.
 
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23)
The problem is all in your mind. Well, not all, but enough that if you can do the work on the mental level, the rest of the issues will untie like a bow. In the past few days you were fooled about something, or accepted someone's flawed reasoning about a situation that turned out to be more personal than you imagined. The first step in the solution is making sure you've updated your files about what is and isn't true. The next step is figuring out how you fell for it, which will prevent it from happening again.
 
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
The Moon in your sign for the next couple of days will, gradually, help you feel grounded again -- either that, or remind you that you need to claim back some of your space. Either way, it amounts to the same thing. Start by wiggling your way out of any emotionally oppressive influence, particularly if it goes back to your distant past. That alone will help you feel like you're standing on firm ground under the clear sky. Motivate yourself by imagining how good it will feel not to drag this along like you have for so many years.
 
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23)
Gradually, you're moving into a strong position. Try not to forget this, no matter how much you may struggle with the notion of "being powerful." What you've got developing is about being strategically located and taking advantage of that situation. This is about your physical location as much as it is about the people you know and the influence they have. Remember all you've learned about understanding relationships, and how they can add up to something that has the ability to rectify a difficult situation -- or create something entirely new. Create, not destroy.
 
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)
You can spend $100 million on the most awesome motion picture ever made. But if you try to project it onto the screen without using a lens, for all practical purposes it'll be worthless. Right now you're like that exciting movie. Gradually, a lens is being placed in front of your perceptions and this is helping you not only see the world, but conceive of yourself in a more realistic way. Note, however, that your perceptions are a work in progress. One observation will lead to the next. Prepare to change your mind for the better.
 
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22)
Long turning points are really made of many smaller ones. The big decisions are often composed of many smaller ones. You're now in a moment where you're working with a larger situation as if in miniature. You get to work out certain details, or at least see the dynamics in action. Here is a little clue: the story involves learning not to skip over a particular detail, making sure you're attentive to each step in the process. If you can identify even one skipped step, you've gone a long way toward solving the whole problem.
 
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20)
Slowly you are stretching your capacity to exchange with others; yes, to give and receive, but also to acknowledge your personal truth and accept when others acknowledge theirs. You've been patient with this growth process, but now is the time to let yourself feel some of the very natural itching that indicates a healing process is nearly complete. I would suggest that you can now ask more direct questions and insist on the whole answer, particularly if you feel it will help you resolve something from the deep past.
 
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19)
If others experience you as an emotionally destabilizing influence, you have two choices, really. One is to figure out what it is about you creating that influence, and make some kind of correction. The second is to notice what it is about them, and decide whether their reaction really means something to you. We all have a long way to go in refining our personal style to gleaming perfection, but you're actually not doing too badly. If others seem oversensitive and are having a hard time accepting you, maybe that really is their problem.
 
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
One day at a time, little fish. You are not being tested -- you are growing strong, and you are having a real-life demonstration of your power of resolution. You are learning the power of consistently sticking to a goal -- any goal, but I know this one is a vitally important one. Don't distract yourself with how you feel others are acting, or whether you think they really have the commitment the situation calls for. Set the example and pay close attention to who notices. Some will; some will not. Just remember who is who.

To unsubscribe, click here