Gemini (May 21–June 20)

It’s not your duty to compensate for others’ shortcomings. It’s nice that you want to help out, but at the same time you shouldn’t feel it’s your responsibility to pick up the slack—especially if they’re not even aware that there’s any slack that needs to get picked up. They might, in fact, need a serious wake-up call—which means letting them take the flak for the slack they let slide. Step aside, Gemini. Your job is to do your job—and let other people do (or not do) theirs. What happens next is, rightfully, out of your hands.

Cancer (June 21–July 22)

You want out, get out. Just own your own reasons for leaving, even if they’re selfish or unflattering. The alternatives are uglier: manipulating the situation so that the other person becomes a villain and you a victim. That’s not really the case here, if you’re honest with yourself, and it’s hardly fair to anyone involved in or privy to the situation. Owning your feelings or being selfish doesn’t need to make you a villain; it just makes you human. Distorting the situation to avoid responsibility for that is actually far more malicious; please avoid doing so.

Leo (July 23–Aug. 22)

Treat the disease, not the symptom. Don’t let short-term solutions that make everything nice “for now” cloud your judgment—those will come around to bite you in the ass a little further down the line. Find a resolution that takes the big picture into account. Even though that might lead to more conflict and uncomfortable situations now, it’s better for all concerned in the long run. Swallow your pride, ignore your discomfort, and do the right thing right away, even if it involves conflict and unpleasantness. These issues need to be resolved anyway, sooner or later. You should know that sooner, in this case, would be far better—and ultimately less painful—than later.

Virgo (Aug. 23–Sept. 22)

Jealousy in more than the mildest dose is not flattering. Nor is making yourself unbearable, creating rules, and generally making your partner or friend “less than” he or she could be. You need to back off and remember your role is to be supportive, not restrictive, and magnanimous, not vindictive. If you really can’t trust your companion enough to let yourself be those things, you’re in the wrong relationship. Better you figure that out now, before you become someone you’d have trouble being friends with. Get out, if you have to, or let yourself be the trusting, generous friend I know you can be. Anything in between would probably be a waste of time.

Libra (Sept. 23–Oct. 22)

What’s right is right, regardless of the crap being thrown at you. Don’t let the disapproval of misguided strangers cramp your style, and certainly don’t allow someone’s poor judgment to change who you are, even temporarily. While it’s OK to take others’ perspectives and opinions into account, you’re far too susceptible to making broad alterations based entirely on avoiding others’ condemnation or scorn. This week, stand strong in yourself and the choices you’ve made. That doesn’t mean being stubbornly inflexible in the face of great resistance—it does mean, however, not bending to the slightest breeze.

Scorpio (Oct. 23–Nov. 21)

I can’t stand wearing rings. Sometimes I forget this and buy myself one—which soon enough joins other neglected rings that I’ll almost never wear. Even though this is a long-established preference of mine, somehow it can still occasionally slip my mind, or I can convince myself that “this one will be different.” It won’t. If you find words like those echoing in your head, deny them. You know who you are—at least in this particular case. Fooling yourself will almost certainly be a waste of time, energy, and even money, and will ultimately end up being a review of a lesson you quite simply already knew.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22–Dec. 21)

Being consistently real and frank is frequently more work than just saying what people want to hear. If you’re a complex person, most of the time you’ll have mixed feelings about a person or situation, and of course it takes more effort to clearly describe those varied, layered emotions than it would to just let them think something more unequivocal. However, certain people really deserve more than an artificial black/white scenario; a more nuanced and authentic response is in order, even though it involves more effort from you. Take the time to fill them in on the big, complicated picture this week.

Capricorn (Dec. 22–Jan. 19)

You do know better than most everyone else. But don’t get cocky. You still don’t know everything, and you can always learn—if you’re open to it. The most surprising thing is that you’re more likely to get insight from someone who’s actually relatively clueless overall than from a fellow expert, who’s unlikely to offer anything new. “Out of the mouths of babes” may very well be this week’s theme. Listen to those you might usually dismiss. They are clueless, and much of what they say will probably be rubbish. It’s your job this week to be compassionate about that, and to tease out the pearls of wisdom you could discover no other way.

Aquarius (Jan. 20–Feb. 18)

It feels good to get all caught up on the things you’ve been slacking on—whether washing the dishes, doing your homework, or making the kinds of romantic gestures that keep sparks flying. Life intervenes sometimes, and makes us put some of this stuff by the wayside while we attend to crises or other problems that have cropped up. But it’s important to pick them back up the next chance we get—if we don’t, someone will notice. This week, you’ll have time and opportunity to pursue (perhaps even conclude) neglected tasks. Don’t squander it.

Pisces (Feb. 19–March 20)

While you wish you could be loved for all your faults (affectionately dubbed “foibles”), that’s just not the case. The fact is, most of your less-endearing traits are things to be tolerated, not celebrated. People will put up with them because you have so many stellar qualities, but don’t expect them to put you on a pedestal for all the things you do that don’t really make you shine. Holding out for some ideal person who’ll simply love everything about you is foolish and foolhardy—especially when there are people who love enough things about you to patiently put up with the rest.

Aries (March 21–April 19)

It’s OK to slack off and have some fun when there’s an unexpected cancellation or opening in your schedule—or you break up with someone, or lose a job, etc….However, it’s all too easy to submerge yourself entirely in purposeless playtime and not get anything constructive done. Start being more proactive. You have a lot of shit just simmering on the back burner. Pull some of it up and see if you can get somewhere with it. You have so many ambitions and usually so little time. This week, don’t spend any surprise extra moments concocting new goals—instead, pursue some of your long-standing ones.

Taurus (April 20–May 20)

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. So goes the saying, anyway. However, don’t imagine a raging forest fire when it’s just a lit match. Sparks fly all the time, and sometimes they smolder a little before going out. You could, of course, spend all your time hoisting a fire extinguisher and putting things out before they ever get going. But I can assure you that nothing is more likely to keep sparks from flying in your direction. You have a choice here: You could be the loving life of the party, in which case you’d have nothing to worry about, or you could be the wet blanket whose jealousy or paranoia keeps anyone from having fun. It should be obvious which is the preferable paradigm.