This week celebrates the 75th birthday of Cancerian Nobel Peace Prize winner His Holiness the Dalai Lama, indefatigable advocate of kindness in our warring world and Cancerian Buckminster Fuller who observed:
Either war is obsolete or people are…

ARIES: Uranus the planet of surprises retrograding in Aries this week (followed by Jupiter later in the month) swirls flux and ferment into your world, so give plenty of thought to how you can act wisely on your own behalf – perhaps even using that most primal of prayers: Help!

TAURUS: This week’s astral emphasis for Taurans is on health and efficiency, which means it’s looking good for that paperwork you’d rather not think about: insurance, wills, refinancing, cost cuts, new ways to maximize savings – all sensible protection against the financial agitation rocking our world.

GEMINI: A week for locking in those glam home additions you’ve been planning, then inviting friends over to celebrate your new value-adding features during late week Gemini moon. But the present astromix also suggests accidents involving fire, so check smoke alarms and keep flammables off heating systems.

CANCER: July’s your month of confidence, optimism and home improvements, so nourish this week with whatever spiritual nutrition makes you feel safe and courageous. Say no to victimesque behaviour and pity parties, yes to tarting up the casa and adding new spice to the relationship cake.

LEO: Loved ones continue driving you nuts, though that’s hardly news. It’s hibernation time, but Venus in Leo likes to party so guess who’s this week’s radiant tower of power, majestic pillar of flame or plain old heat seeking missile? (Delete the inapplicable and pour another mulled wine…)

VIRGO: Virgo Mars can be rather sharp, so this week needs a creative approach. Where critics might describe someone as selfish and unreliable, Bono expresses similar sentiments another way in She’s a Mystery To Me – as you could defuse tension by choosing different words.

LIBRA: If demanding partners, financial tangles or domestic wrangles aren’t making life entirely rosy, cosy and toasty, this week’s still all about appreciation of your base station and personal sacred site. Because the more you’re at home there, the less you’ll be thrown by outside goings on.

SCORPIO: Scorpio’s a radical sign, and this week requires what my favourite astrologer Rob Brezny calls radical authenticity. It’s the year’s premier period for dealing with feelings, so if you ignore emotional sore spots they’ll demand attention via your lungs, nerves or some other body part.

SAGITTARIUS: As a tsunami of power struggles hits Planet Trouble, it could surface either at Sagittarius Mansions or in the corporate jungle of office politics. This week calls for the tricky tightrope walk of neither catering to other people’s expectations nor making those expectations wrong.

CAPRICORN: Consider the possibility that what you’ve learned in the past might not be a reliable guide to understanding what’s going on this week, which requires lots of personal nurturing and deep listening to activate a quantum shift in the way you think and operate.

AQUARIUS: This was the week the ancient Greeks honoured Athena, goddess of wisdom, since it’s a time when personal demons tend to act up. It could be a good idea to take a break from someone, or someone else may need to take a break from you.

PISCES: While the astral fandango puts everyone through life’s food processor, your job is not letting gloomy, confused people drain you or rain on your parade. Make this week’s birthday person Frida Kahlo your role model for maintaining vibrant optimism and artistic vision in adverse conditions.