astrology

Madame Clairevoyant: Horoscopes for the Week of October 16

Eileen Chang, a Libra. Photo-Illustration: by Preeti Kinha; Photos: Getty Images, Wikimedia Commons

The Libra solar eclipse on Saturday the 14th brought changes to your life, and you’ll continue to feel the effects this week. We’re in the heart of eclipse season now, building up to the lunar eclipse in Taurus at the end of the month. The best thing to do right now is give yourself, and others, as much grace as you can. Life’s more chaotic than usual, and it’s hard to be your best self in moments of upheaval, but small acts of sweetness and generosity can make a difference.

Weekly Horoscope Aries

Aries Weekly Horoscope

This week, other people might frustrate you, seeming to always get in your way or like they’re actively not being supportive. Sometimes what you need most is for your friends to take your side wholeheartedly, no questions asked. Other times, though, it’s a little more complicated: You need for them to be willing to challenge you and argue with you, to (respectfully) tell you when they think you’re off base — and vice versa. You need people who will dream with you, but you also need them to challenge you. Your relationships might not be easy this week, but they might help you grow.

Weekly Horoscope Taurus

Taurus Weekly Horoscope

It’s possible that you’ve been feeling unmotivated lately, your work pointless or your life uninspiring. You’ve tried to push through it, trusting your routines will carry you through (and maybe it’s even worked to an extent), but you’re longing for something more. It’s not necessarily that you’re looking for fireworks. You just want to feel like your life is meaningful and you’re spending your time in a worthwhile way. This week, listen to the part of yourself that wants change. Switching things up, even in small ways, can make a big difference to your mood.

Weekly Horoscope Gemini

Gemini Weekly Horoscope

Everyone craves external validation at times, including you. You need occasional reassurance that your creativity hasn’t gone unnoticed, want to know that your work has been meaningful to someone other than yourself, that you’re making a mark on the world. The challenge this week is to make sure that you don’t lose yourself in your search for recognition. Even if you aren’t being lauded right now, that doesn’t mean that you need to rearrange your life or rethink your approach. You may feel like you need to change yourself to please someone else right now. Don’t.

Weekly Horoscope Cancer

Cancer Weekly Horoscope

One of the best things about you is that you’re willing to put others’ needs ahead of your own. You recognize that you’re not the center of the universe, that you don’t matter more than anyone else. When asked for help, you’re happy to do what you can. This week, though, make a point of reacquainting yourself with your own needs. You may find that right now, you need a turn to ask someone else for help. Don’t expect yourself to be able to give endlessly without ever receiving support in return. Your friends want to show up for you, so let them.

Weekly Horoscope Leo

Leo Weekly Horoscope

You aren’t afraid to stand up for yourself; when someone in your life is wrong, you don’t hesitate to let them know it. The world would probably be better off if more people were as confident and steadfast in their beliefs as you. This week, though, arguments — no matter how well reasoned or impassioned — are unlikely to get you anywhere. Instead, the best thing you can do is listen. This isn’t the same thing as being a doormat. It’s about creating the conditions for genuine communication where people (maybe even you) can feel safe changing their minds.

Weekly Horoscope Virgo

Virgo Weekly Horoscope

You’re sharp and perceptive, and you understand better than most that there are no easy answers in life, and even your own instincts sometimes lead you astray. Your active and analytical mind is a gift, but occasionally, it only serves to make things unnecessarily complicated. You overthink even the smallest interactions and second-guess your deepest emotions and desires. This week, it’s okay to make decisions based purely on what feels good or right, on what you know in your heart to be true. For once, don’t think so hard.

Weekly Horoscope Libra

Libra Weekly Horoscope

“Fake it till you make it” can be an effective way to build up your self-confidence, and to persuade others to believe in you too. Acting as if you’re fearless can make you feel bolder; behaving the way a self-assured or generous or hopeful person would is often enough to make it reality. Eventually, though, the pretending starts to wear on you. It gets tiring, having to put on a brave face all the time. This week, if you’re angry or sad or discouraged, you’re allowed to say so. Prioritize honesty right now.

Weekly Horoscope Scorpio

Scorpio Weekly Horoscope

Being gentle with yourself probably doesn’t come naturally to you. When you cut yourself slack, you feel like you’re being lazy; when you view your mistakes with compassion and understanding, you worry you’re just letting yourself off the hook. This week, though, approaching yourself (and others) in the spirit of generosity is the most important thing you can do. Nobody’s perfect — or even good — all the time. Everyone makes weird and regrettable choices occasionally. And while it’s important to make amends when you’ve genuinely hurt someone, remember that you don’t have to apologize for being human.

Weekly Horoscope Sagittarius

Sagittarius Weekly Horoscope

At times (and especially when you’re already stressed out), every social interaction feels like an obstacle course, a battleground. You’re anxious about coming across poorly, saying the wrong things, “failing” at the encounter in some vague sense. You fear you’re talking too much, or too little, or not following the correct script. Ultimately, all that fretting makes it impossible to connect. So this week, don’t worry about making any particular impression, or convincing the other person to like you, or getting anything out of the encounter. Try to remember, you can simply enjoy each other’s company.

Weekly Horoscope Capricorn

Capricorn Weekly Horoscope

You’ve been working hard lately in your pursuit of a meaningful life: You’ve taken risks, made difficult changes, been braver than you thought possible. Now, though, you might look back and feel disappointed that all this effort hasn’t gotten you farther. You imagine that you should have more to show for all your work, that your life shouldn’t still be this chaotic. Really, though, life will always be messy and imperfect, so this week, try to embrace it. Better to live and learn from setbacks than not live at all.

Weekly Horoscope Aquarius

Aquarius Weekly Horoscope

Everyone seems to have big ideas about what you should do with your life, what path makes the most sense for you. Mostly, they mean to be supportive: They aren’t trying to boss you around. Rather, they offer advice because they care about you. That said, at a point, their strong opinions start to feel oppressive. They act as if they know you better than you know yourself. This week, listen to their input, but don’t take it to heart if it isn’t quite right. Trust your own instincts first.

Weekly Horoscope Pisces

Pisces Weekly Horoscope

Right now, you’re caught up in tangled emotions, trying to make sense of your desires, your relationships, your purpose in life. Nothing is as straightforward as you’d like, and you have too many complicated memories and contradictory feelings to come to any definitive conclusions. If you’re looking for absolute clarity this week, you probably won’t find it. What you can find is a way forward from here. And ultimately, that’s all you need: not a perfect plan for your entire future, but a clearer sense of where you are today, and what you want to do next.

Read the weekly horoscopes for the week of October 9. The weekly horoscopes for the week of October 23 will be online next Sunday.

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

Madame Clairevoyant: Horoscopes for the Week of October 16