Astrology followers have been abuzz with news of a rare planetary event happening this August called the Cardinal Cross. Sounds like the ordination ceremony for a Roman Catholic clergyman (at least, to us). What it really is: a cycle when SEVEN planets in the cardinal signs of Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn will form a cross-shaped configuration in the sky. More specifically, these planets are in “squares” (meaning they’ll be at 90-degree angles to one another), an astrological angle that symbolizes dynamic tension, unavoidable change, and a tug-of-war between forces that don’t naturally fit together. Others will be in “opposition” (180 degrees apart), a similar sort of face-off.

While we often see two, even three, planets squaring or opposing each other, it’s rare that so many engage in heated dialogue at once. To top it off, the cardinal signs are known for stubbornness. (Think of the Aries or Capricorns you know—great leaders, but not famous for backing down. Or the Libras and Cancers—they pretend to go with the flow, but oh, the passive-aggressive backlash and resentment when they do!).

A metaphor for this Cardinal Cross could be an arms negotiation between the U.S., Iran, Israel and Russia. Or a Real Housewives of New Jersey conflict resolution session between its four cast members. The caveat: nobody’s leaving until SOMETHING has been settled or decided. Everyone must give something up for the greater good, but it will require a delicate balance, drawn in the face of much resistance. (Bravo’s Andy Cohen and the U.N. Secretary-General would earn some serious overtime.)

August 7^th is the big Cardinal Cross day, because the Cancer moon completes the actual cross shape. However, the effects are already palpable. Several of the planets involved are already in square—and you can probably feel the tension (or the exciting changes) brewing in your own life.

Planets involved:

Jupiter — planet of expansion (in Aries, sign of the self/individual)
Uranus — planet of radical change (in Aries, sign of the self/individual)
VS.
Venus — planet of harmony (in Libra, sign of relationships)
Mars — planet of aggression & action (in Libra, sign of relationships)
Saturn — planet of restriction and caution (in Libra, sign of relationships)

VS.
Pluto — ruler of the unconscious & deep transformation (in Capricorn, the sign of career and ambition)
VS.

Moon — ruler of emotions and reactions (in Cancer, the sign of home and family)

That’s a whole lot of contrasting energy happening at once. Jupiter, the ruler of expansion and risks, isn’t happy fighting over the last drumstick with Saturn, the father of restriction and temperance. Gracious, well-heeled Venus would prefer to avoid the intensity of Pluto bringing up everyone’s dark sides and moral transgressions at her cheery summer cocktail party in the Hamptons. Yet, the clashes are inevitable.

Naturally, if you’re a cardinal sign (Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn), you’ll be affected the most. However, each of us will somehow have to hit “reshuffle” in our own lives. Expect to feel pulled between personal desires, family, relationships and work—a classic modern dilemma played out in the astrological amphitheater. Political tension could certainly build, hopefully forcing an effective intervention for the BP disaster and other international crises.

Our August Monthly Horoscopes will have more details on how the Cardinal Cross affects your sign specifically. The best advice: remain flexible and open to change, but also know your bottom line. Pick your battles and stand up for your principles—but not just for the sake of winning the argument. Be willing to look at yourself, but call a time-out if debates get too heated. Change is nigh, but you’ll waffle between facing it like a warrior and a wimp.

As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” Or, as Kenny Rogers sang, “You’ve gotta know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em.” Just please, let’s all check ourselves before staging our own versions of Teresa Giudice table-flipping and Danielle Staub weave-pulling. Like each season of reality TV, the effects of this Cardinal Cross shall pass. Don’t let your own bad behavior be caught on tape, or end up a permanent part of history.

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There’s no such thing as an issue-free relationship. Anyone who tells you otherwise, probably isn’t having very much (or very satisfying) sex. Dynamic tension is what keeps the chemistry alive in love. Dealing with differences in a healthy way is what keeps a commitment strong over time.

This week, Mars the warrior enters Libra–the sign that rules marriage and monogamous relationships. Spears are drawn, shields come up, as we ready ourselves to go to battle with the problems in our love lives. Watch out though! The thing to attack here is the denial or refusal to communicate about problems. It will be all too easy to turn those weapons on our partners and get caught up in a war of words.

For people who find themselves in this jam, may we gently guide you to that couple’s therapist’s office? Between now and September 14, having a third party to interpret and mediate could save many a relationship. Warning: things could seem to get worse before they get better. That’s because we’ve all been repressing so much that we have to sort through the resentment before we can bring back the love.

Read your sign’s full Weekly Lovescope at mylifetime.com/astrology

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This week, challenging Saturn wraps up its tour of Virgo, not to return for another thirty years. How does this affect our love lives? Virgo IS the sign of the virgin, but that doesn’t necessarily mean life is bound for Orgyville when Saturn moves on to Libra on the 22nd. No, this week is about getting solidly grounded in what we will put up with and where we are unwilling to compromise. Everybody’s gotta have a bottom line. While it can be easy to lose sight of these boundaries when face-to-face with a breathtakingly sexy someone who’s pouring on the charm, Saturn in Virgo has been trying to teach us the importance of remaining grounded in our true selves.

No matter how dearly we love another person, it’s important to give ourselves permission to say “no” to them when our inner voice objects or simply doesn’t want to go somewhere. This does not have to be a turn-off or a relationship dealbreaker. Quite the contrary–it helps the people who love us see the shape of our personalities. Nobody likes a “yes man” for long; it’s just too grating and inauthentic. So, while Saturn is in its final phase of Virgo this week, look at where you haven’t been saying no, but desperately want and need to. Have a heart to heart, spell it out, but don’t blame! Our partners are not mind-readers and it’s up to us to assert our own needs, wishes and desires (lovingly) if we’d like to have them met.

Read the full Weekly Lovescope for your sign at MyLifetime.com

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It’s been said that self-love is the foundation for all healthy relationships. True that, but then there comes a point…This week, unpredicable Uranus turns retrograde in Aries, the “me first” sign of the zodiac. What was once a healthy, balanced relationship could turn into a vintage Jerry Springer Show vignette, with divas snapping fingers in their bewildered lover’s faces, as they announce, “you haven’t been taking care of my neeeeeeds.”

In a word, oy.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. If you want to get your needs met, then you’re responsible for enticing the object of your affections into doing just that. In many cases, this even required training. But there’s another question to ponder here: what are YOU bringing to the table? Love is a two way street. No matter how much of a catch everyone has told you that you are, you can’t lie back and be pleasured without serving up something in return.

This phase is an opportunity to deepen your connection to your own generosity and fabulousness, so don’t start keeping score unless you’re monitoring your own giving spirit.

That said, if you’ve been giving and giving and GIVING to a lazy mofo, AFTER you’ve vocalized your needs a thousand times sweetly, this is the week where you stop laying your pearls before swine.

Read the full Weekly Lovescope for your sign at MyLifetime.com

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The grills are heating up and so are the lover’s quarrels. This week, the Cancer Sun will form a tense relationship to Jupiter and Uranus in Aries. There will be fireworks aplenty, as we are pulled between feeling passionate and passive-aggressive. The biggest issue at hand? The planets in Aries need to express every thought, feeling, and impulse, while the Cancer Sun tells us to hold in our true feelings for safety’s sake. Finding the balance between letting it all hang out and playing our cards close to our chests won’t be easy. Timing is everything when it comes to addressing issues in our relationships. Look around. Think it through. The family reunion picnic might not be the best place to bring up your husband’s bad habits or probe into your boyfriend’s relationship with his baby’s mama..

Read your full weekly Lovescope at mylifetime.com/astrology

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Have you ever told yourself, “I’ll never be like my mother in my marriage!” or “I want to marry a guy just like my dad,” or some other statement comparing your life to your parents’?  We’ve all done it–especially with regards to our romantic futures. Our parents, for better or worse, were our first role models for relationships. This week’s eclipse on the Cancer-Capricorn cusp illuminates our personal family histories. We could find ourselves repeating undesirable habits that we learned as kids, or idealizing our idyllic childhoods with dear old mum and dad. The cosmic spotlight shines right on these behaviors, illuminating them on the psychological Big Screen. While we may not love what we see, this is an opportunity for a transformation. Take it all as a learning experience and start catching yourself in the act. Awareness is the foundation of any major change. Notice how many times you start picking up your husband’s dirty socks because it’s “no big deal,” only to boil with resentment later. Lesson learned? We hope so!

Read the full Weekly Lovescope for your sign at mylifetime.com/astrology

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Loveplanet Venus dirty dances through passionate, playful, theatrical Leo until July 10th, igniting exhibitionism in its wake. In the immortal words of the late, great (Leo) Patrick Swayze, “no one puts Baby in the corner.” Mmm-hmm, that’s right. This week, Baby happens to be played by each and every one of us. Drop the necklines, raise the hemlines, and prepare to be lifted by a strapping lover like a bird in the sky, while the crowds ooh and ahh…figuratively speaking, that is. Where we’ve been hiding our passionate nature, it’s time to be audacious. Life is too short to fester in unrequited love. Venus in Leo summons us to step out of our comfort zones and reveal our true feelings. Maybe, hopefully, they’ll be reciprocated. Maybe they won’t. At least we’ll be living life to the fullest, feeling the poetic force of our emotions, and finally understanding how the heck those ridiculous songs made it to the “Top 40” charts.

For those who are already attached, how about lightening up a little? Venus in Leo might be dramatic, but the point of this cosmic phase is to whoop it up like kids on the playground. That little boy who pulled our pigtails DID have a crush. Don’t shy away from teasing banter, practical jokes, or ridiculously silly dates. Somewhere, there’s a State Fairground waiting for you to celebrate Date Night at its Shoot The Duck machine.

Read the full Weekly Lovescope for your sign at mylifetime.com/astrology

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Lighten up, people! Flirting is as healthy as breathing. It lets us know that we still have a pulse. With chatty Mercury zipping into Gemini this week, it’s time to give the world a wink and a smile. Sexy glances and playful repartee is not necessarily meant to lead anywhere…in fact, in most cases, it’s best that these interactions go nowhere at all. Rather, we should allow ourselves to stock up on the life force energy that comes as a result of these momentary exchanges. When it comes to real deal partnerships, there are some new agreements to be formed…and some old ones to iron out. With Mars joining Saturn in Virgo until late July, we can no longer sweep those nagging relationship issues under the rug. Nagging altogether might become an issue, as this Mars phase makes us uber-critical of ourselves and our partners. Some healthy separation is called for, STAT. While it’s tough to watch the people we love make “mistakes,” rushing in for the save will only cause resentment and rebellion. Still, there’s gotta be a bottom line for the both of you in order to keep a healthy sense of trust alive. Ready, set, discuss!

Read the full Weekly Lovescope for your sign at mylifetime.com/astrology

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After two murder accusations and three years on the loose, 22-year-old Joran Van der Sloot has confessed to killing Stephany Flores Ramirez in Peru.

Why now?

We looked at Van der Sloot’s chart—he’s a Leo with a Pisces rising—for clues. We see a case of cosmically-fueled cockiness, even narcissism, behind his confession.

This week, outspoken Jupiter and anti-establishment Uranus linked up in fiery, hot-headed Aries. For Leos, these planets are in the ninth house of overconfidence and optimism. Van der Sloot may feel important, invincible and entitled now. In a twisted way, the international attention has made him feel like a “celebrity.” (To a fame-loving Leo, there’s no such thing as bad publicity.)

Jupiter in the ninth house also arouses gambling instincts, and an over-reliance on luck. Everything is tinted by rose-colored glasses. A prison jumpsuit looks like Armani, hard time like a day of community service. With evidence (including hotel security cam footage) mounting against him, Van der Sloot may have decided it’s better to ‘fess up in Peru, a country with no death penalty or life sentences. He could face 35 years.

Van der Sloot also has a rising sign on the Pisces/Aries cusp, and Jupiter just passed over his ascendant. This transit may have sparked a bout of egomania and uncontrollable truth-telling. Unfortunately for him, challenging Saturn–ruler of confinement, punishment and authority–was opposing Jupiter during the killing. Translation: Jupiter’s overconfidence was tempered by Saturn’s long-reaching arm of the law. The saying, “If you want to do the crime, you’ll have to do the time” typifies a Jupiter-Saturn opposition.

Will he confess to the 2005 murder of Natalee Halloway? Only if he thinks it will serve him. When Saturn goes into Libra on July 22nd, his communication sector, we wouldn’t be surprised if written evidence turns up.

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Married 40 years, Aries Al Gore and Leo Tipper announced a separation this week. Surprising, yet, but given the fact that Uranus and Jupiter are planting themselves in fiery, independent Aries, we may hear news of more shocking splits in the weeks to come.

Fire signs in particular (Aries, Leo, Sag) need to feel free to pursue their independent ventures this summer. Does that mean it’s breakup time? Not necessarily. Relationships that allow room for space and time apart will flourish. Absence DOES make the heart grow fonder now.

Earth signs (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) need to decompress, declutter and let go of outmoded habits, alliances, and possessions this summer. Indeed, the Extreme Plastic Surgery victim Heidi Montag (a Virgo) has moved out of the home she shared with husband Spencer Pratt (Leo) to clear her head.

Air signs (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) need to do a Facebook overhaul and upgrade. Out with the toxic friends, in with the new. Building fan pages for your passions and ventures can bring a surge of prosperity your way.

Water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) will be busy climbing ladders, taking over corporations, and making professional strides this summer. Don’t expect to be spending much time by the pool…unless you can hook up wifi access and extended life on your laptop’s battery.

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