Weekly Horoscopes for the Week of August 28 by the Cut – The Cut

On Sunday, Mars enters Libra, where it will stay until mid-October. During this time, expect to feel even more indecisive than usual, wavering between multiple options or struggling to commit to a plan. Even if you do know exactly what you want, your path to get there might not be the most direct: Charm and persuasion will deliver better results than confrontation right now. Then on Monday night, Uranus retrograde ends: With the most rebellious of the planets traveling full-speed ahead, you can expect life to get more unpredictable in the months ahead. Finally, on Wednesday night, a full moon in Pisces reawakens your sensitivity and imagination. Nobody can be practical all the time. This is your reminder to let yourself dream.

Life’s been wild for you lately, filled with change of all kinds. And even though you’re good at dealing with unexpected challenges as they arise, you might need some time to regroup at this point. This week, if your heart or body is telling you that you need to clear your schedule, listen to it. You’re in near-constant motion, and that’s not sustainable in the long term. Try out stillness, rest, and quiet reflection for a little while.

Most of the time, you try to avoid surprises — it’s not that you want a dull and humdrum existence, of course, but, in your experience, unexpected change tends to bring problems, not excitement and joy. This week, things are likely to get unpredictable — but that isn’t necessarily bad news. If you’ve been stuck in a rut, you’ll have a chance to break free. Sometimes, surprises bring you exactly what you needed but didn’t even dare to hope for.

Even the most spontaneous, adventurous person — i.e., you — needs structure in their days. But while some routines provide a sense of groundedness and discipline, others only end up penning you in or distracting you from what you truly care about. So this week, take a moment to reevaluate the patterns of your daily life. It might not seem that exciting, but the effects will ripple outward.

If you’ve been struggling to make an important decision or sort through your feelings, it might help to get a little distance from the issue this week. Try breaking out of your routine for a bit: Cook a new-to-you recipe, make plans with new people, take a different walk to work. You don’t need to do anything dramatic — even the smallest changes can help you see your life through fresh eyes. Maybe you’ll end up confirming what you already knew, but maybe you’ll be surprised by what you learn about yourself. Either way, you’ll find the clarity you’ve been seeking.

Most of the time, you know all the right things to say, but this week, try to remember that there are some people who won’t ever be persuaded — and the more you try to make them change their minds, the more resistant they’ll be. If you’re feeling frustrated by someone in your life, the best thing to do is take a step back. The less pressure you try to exert, the more willing they’ll be to hear you out, and the more they might do what you hoped they would all along.

In friendship and romance, you try to be clear about your needs and expectations — not because you’re a fussy or demanding sort of person, but because you don’t want to waste anyone’s time. If someone can’t or won’t give you what you’re looking for, often the only thing to do is walk away. This week, just be careful not to cut and run prematurely. Building trust and intimacy takes time, and along the way, people make honest mistakes. You’re allowed to give (or ask for) second chances. Working through problems now can lead to stronger relationships later.

Over the years, you’ve worked hard to build and maintain your self-confidence, to learn to genuinely like yourself. By now, you know how wonderful and capable you are. The trouble is that you don’t always get the sense that other people do. This week, though, you may get the chance to show them. When challenges come your way, rise to them. You have the skills, the smarts, the inner resources to handle anything the universe throws at you. Let yourself shine, and others will finally take notice.

This week, you might find yourself feeling a little grouchy. You know that you’re interesting and smart, that you have so much to offer the world, but it’s hard to find a way to use your energies. You feel like it should be so much easier than it is to find a job that will challenge you, or a relationship that brings out the best in you, or a community where you’ll truly belong. But while everything may be unnecessarily difficult right now, that doesn’t mean it’ll be this way forever. Don’t give up hope — you’re making more progress than you realize.

You’re smart and observant, good at quickly reading and responding to social cues. This week, though, try to slow down a bit and take the time to be sure you’re really understanding what people are saying to you. It’s easy to jump to conclusions right now, to imagine the worst of others, to see bad intentions where they don’t exist. Give your friends a chance to explain what they really mean. Listen carefully. Ask questions. First impressions can be faulty, but if you approach others with curiosity and an open heart, you can get to the truth.

It’s hard to know what to do with all your energy and ambition when the world feels like it’s falling apart. What’s the point of working toward personal goals when the future is so uncertain? This week, if you’re not sure about everything else in your life, focus on relationships and community. Don’t worry so much about success or achievement, just make a point of treating others right. It’s even possible that kindness, more than any strategy or hard work, is what will help you make progress now.

You get frustrated, sometimes, when the people around you appear satisfied with the status quo, when they don’t seem to want more. You have amazing, creative ideas about what life and the future could look like, and it’s maddening to feel like nobody else is interested, like you have to explore them alone. But don’t resign yourself to loneliness — this week, you can connect with the people around you, get them as excited about your ideas as you are. Even get them to start dreaming bigger for themselves, too.

After a period of feeling worn down and out of sorts, this week, you may find that you finally feel like you again. If the inside of your head has been unbearably noisy, now you can hear yourself think. If you’ve been worried about a relationship, you’ll at least have the strength to talk about it. This isn’t to say that everything will get easy, only that you’re fully equipped to handle the ups and downs. You’re brave and kind, and you know who you are. Life is strange, but you just might find happiness anyway.

Read the weekly horoscopes for the week of August 21. The weekly horoscopes for the week of September 4 will be online next Sunday.

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