CAPRICORN HOROSCOPE

You haven't been too happy about the enforced changes that have been made in your life lately. You don't like people – or outside forces for that matter – messing with your routine and changing methods that don't need to be changed. Yours will never be mistaken for an adaptable sign, but Capricorns are still practical in the end. The Uranus/Neptune sextile on August 28th shows you finally getting a handle on all the different developments in your life. You still don't have the control you'd like to have, but you can see what needs to be done to make things work and perhaps even prosper.

June through early August is typically a low energy period; like you just can't get it together no matter what. It makes sense when you remember that you're a winter sign. You know how animals hibernate in winter? Well, that's you during the Summer. Thankfully the Sun entering Virgo on August 22d will feel like the power switch has been flipped back on. You're suddenly alert and tingly with anticipation of what the new work season will bring. This also explains why you were one of the few children who couldn't wait for Summer to be over so you could go shopping for school supplies.

As a Capricorn, you're used to surmounting problems. If something bedevils you at every turn or thwarts your progress, you will find a way to master it and by mastering it – triumph! But not all problems can be solved in this way. There are some that you just have to sit with before a solution presents itself. The Saturn/Uranus sextile on August 11th shows that the only way to deal with a certain obstacle is to acknowledge that it is impassable; that it may be something you're going to have to accept. Sometimes embracing a burden provides the means to learning how to live with it.

Mars will occupy a prominent place in your horoscope for the next 6 ½ weeks. It's very important that you set the right intention for yourself while this planet is so influential. The intention should be positive and it should involve targeting a goal that takes you out of your comfort zone. You need to focus on the things that you want to see happen in your life and not on the things that you are afraid will happen. Mars supports brave moves and bold decisions, not timid ones. Give direction to this powerful force and you will go further than you have ever gone before.

You may have noticed that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to go through the motions of your day-to-day life recently. Maybe you’re forgetting appointments, spacing out during meetings, or running late on deadlines. For years you told yourself that if you ever reached a certain goal or attained a desirable income bracket then you would make time to stop and smell the roses. Well, you’ve met those goals and there still isn’t a rose in sight. The psyche has ways of getting your attention and one of them is by pulling the plug. Create a more life friendly schedule and your energy will perk up again.

Dipping into rainy day funds always gets you down. And it doesn't matter how many times you tell yourself that this is what savings are for, you will always feel like you're standing on the brink of financial disaster. You aren't. If anything the double Sun trine to both Saturn and Neptune ensures that you will not only recover what you laid out quickly, but that whatever you're paying for saves money in the long run. Not right away, perhaps; but it will happen. Meanwhile try not to bemoan expenses too loudly because you're doing a lot better than some of the people around you.

It's not always easy reading the writing on the wall. Admittedly as a Capricorn, you're predisposed to having a pessimistic view of matters but oftentimes you're proven right. On July 17th you'll see how things aren't going to turn out the way a loved one or close friend wants them to, but instead of pointing it out try staying mum instead. It may feel like you're holding back valuable information, but actually keeping silent allows them to figure out things for themselves so that when they decide NOT to do what they were going to do, it will be a choice they can be proud of.

You can feel how fundamentally life has changed since Pluto left Capricorn and Saturn entered Aries. This is different from the mountain climbing of the past few years when you were summitting new heights in pursuit of loftier goals. Back then you were looking up and ahead and nowadays you're more concerned with the here and now. Living in the present tense isn't easy for Capricorns, but it's something you'll come to appreciate while Saturn is retrograde from July 12th to November 28th. It allows you to get your house in order – both literally and figuratively – as you begin the next chapter in your life.

Neptune turning retrograde on July 4th may not be a bad thing. You yourself were questioning how resolved you were about concluding matters so this might have bought you time. You're not a big fan of going back the way you came but if there's anything you need to get used to with Neptune traveling through the base of your solar horoscope for the next few years it's fluidity. Simply put no one knows how life will turn out and despite your Saturnian proclivity to read the ending of a book before the beginning, being open to whatever happens isn't the worst way to live.

Part of being there for someone is knowing when NOT to intervene. And this includes weighing in with unsolicited life advice, offering pointers from the sidelines, or bailing them out financially. Capricorn has a reputation for being cold and unfeeling, but the truth is you're paternal. You don't want the people you care about to fall on their face, however the Sun/Neptune square on June 23d insists you let them find their own way. There are some life lessons that people have to learn for themselves and your respect for that and faith in them speaks more to your love than any last minute rescue will.