Like a field beginning to sprout new growth after a gale-force wind has passed over it, this week may seem boring when compared to the last few. But—repeat after me: BORING IS GOOD! WE LIKE BORING! BORING MAKES ME EXCITED!

Relatively peaceful and harmonious energies interpenetrate the week. It doesn’t mean that nothing tumultuous happens in the world or our individual lives, only that it’s not as unstable an energy pattern as we’ve seen in the last few weeks, so we can use this time period to create more sustenance in our lives. This week’s keynote is MOVEMENT TOWARD SECURITY.

There is, of course, positive security and negative security. A literary contract that produces income for your creative efforts—quite possible this week—is an example of positive security. But negative security is based on fear, doubt and a stubborn clinging to old patterns that haven’t worked before, but that you see no reason to give up because you don’t want to face the unknown. That’s also part of the current cycle. It’s still very much an “in your face” time.

So let’s talk about the relationship you’re still in even though you know you’re unhappy and it’s not going anywhere; or hitting up the girlfriend for a few more bucks while you tweak that (in your mind, sure-to-be-a-hit) hip-hop opera you’ve been working on for the last three years. That’s dependency, not security. And sometimes it’s a fine line, as Paul McCartney once said, between chaos and creation.

Still, this week is fruitful. This is the week where you can produce. It’s a bit of an active lull between the roaring cyclone we’ve been through lately and the upcoming currents which will spirit us off to unfamiliar territory.

With the Sun having entered the sign of Taurus, it’s all about what makes us feel safe and secure… namely: gain, possessions, a lack of—well, lack. So the emphasis this week may, in a word, be about money. Or, since Taurus is an earth sign, the environment. Or the need for more money in your own immediate environment. Expect more volatility midweek in the stock market. The news may be about the need for public patience with the economy.

Venus, patroness of the arts, rules Taurus, and the harmony or pleasure principle has come to the fore. It’s Spring, the Earth is flowering—at least in the Northern Hemisphere—and our own energy should be following suit.

What area of your life needs sustained effort in order to flower and give you, as a result, creative or financial security? William Shakespeare’s birthday is traditionally celebrated this week, and that was a guy who was prolific and focused. How many early dawns do you think he saw for the sake of a single syllable? Fixed energy, like that of Taurus, is fixed for a reason. Keeping your goal in mind and following through pays off big-time now.

Taurus rules the throat, the creative chakra; many singers, such as Adele, have planets in Taurus. (Sun-Jupiter conjunction, in her case, which is why she’ll never be thin.) It’s also very sensual, having to do with the senses. I once knew a middle-aged woman with four planets in Taurus, all in the 10^th House of career. She was a madam. Pleasure was her business. (No, I didn’t patronize her.) Taurus energy can be very self-indulgent, even lazy.

But with Mercury in Aries and Venus in Gemini, the current energy isn’t about lying on the couch and eating chocolate bonbons, even though you may want to. This is the week to do what makes you feel good and then capitalize on it! So go easy on the ice cream. It’s hard to work it off later.

As the week begins, the Sun makes a lovely trine, or flowing angle, to Mars in Virgo. This is a good time for financial negotiations, even though things could get a little testy as the Moon squares Mars. Tuesday’s energy is more social and lighthearted, with a flowers-and-candlelight Moon-Venus conjunction in Gemini. Read love poetry to your beloved. Better yet, write it. And hang out in lovely environments.

Venus moving through 16 degrees Gemini Monday and Tuesday also prefigures the “Transit of Venus” occurring June 6th, when the love planet passes across the face of the Sun. The energetic effect of great love and harmony, in whatever part of your life is affected by this degree, may well be foreshadowed now.

You may need that little moment because Wednesday and Thursday remind us that we are still in a boiling cauldron of a time period. Mercury in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn, the sign of authorities, government and big business, are at odds on Wednesday. Not the day to get into an argument with your boss. Flash-mobs and turmoil on the streets could occur now. T.S. Eliot once said, “April is the cruelest month.” Better to put that pain into a character in your novel than to experience it in your life.

Volatility continues on Thursday as the Moon in Cancer squares Uranus, the chaos-maker, and opposes Pluto, the powermonger. I’d be careful not to take things too personally just now. (That snarky critic probably didn’t really mean what he said.)

This aspect, with Mercury in Aries, gives us a T-square in cardinal signs, good for initiating matters, but not great for follow-through. Watch your driving, watch your mouth, watch your emotionality. Just watch. Don’t get involved. You can accomplish a lot creatively, but human interaction might be tough today.

Fortunately, the weekend is the cherry on top of that ice cream sundae you ate earlier in the week. Moon in Leo making fortunate aspects adds up to a fun and active weekend. So as the Bard says, “All’s well that ends well.” Okay, NOW you can go lie on the couch! And pass me that bonbon while you’re at it. I’m writing my latest love sonnet. Wait for it—it’s worth it.

And now, the poetry of the heavens for the 12 signs.

ARIES (March 20-April 19): It’s not like you to wait for the starter’s gun, but the race you’re currently running could turn into serious conflict if you let it. I know you’re fine with that, but think about the Tortoise and the Hare. You’re used to being the Hare. But who really won that race? Douse your fire enough this week to emit patience and steadiness. Your afterburners will still give you the margin of victory.

TAURUS (April 20-May 19): What do you and the furniture store have in common? You both like your couch. And this week you may be tempted to stay there and munch Doritos. But if you decide to step outside, the mailperson delivers your long-delayed check. Or its equivalent. The issue this week is not how lucky you are right now, but how receptive you are to earning it. Effort with an “E” is your new BFF.

GEMINI (May 20-June 19): Venus in your sign is making you seem like Mary Tyler Moore, turning the world on with your smile. But Lou Grant comes along midweek and shouts you down. Don’t give him any lip and you get through it all fine. The Sun moving through the sign just before yours represents a time to focus on old business, so finish that potential Pulitzer-winning article. Or move to Minneapolis. It’s Spring now, and Lou’s retired.

CANCER (June 20-July 19): You know that cardboard box where you’ve stashed your nest-egg? Take it out now and blow it on your friends/family. Be like Petula Clark and go “Downtown” where everything’s waiting for you. Face-time with others nets you dividends this week, maybe literally. As in money. BTW, those feet sticking out of the closet might belong to someone who’s decided to give you another try. Or vice-versa. Have fun!

LEO (July 20-August 19): What do you get a person who already has everything, or thinks they do, because they’re a Leo, after all? How about your private rocket ship, complete with crew? This week, the only thing you can do wrong is get ahead of yourself. Check all the instrumentation before you commence lift-off. That means you have to listen to others now. They’re praising you, but it’s because you’re not acting all royal. Unless you are. Then your trip to the stars could be delayed.

VIRGO (August 20-September 19): It’s been a while since you’ve felt this good. No goiters, no typos, no disorder. Which is why you need to go see the new Three Stooges movie—a little disorder is good for you. Still, this is the kind of week where you’re smoother than silk and life hands you crisp treasury notes just for being you. In other words, you feel worth it. And are, if you don’t recoil at a little spontaneity. A fun week? Soitenly!

LIBRA (September 20-October 19): For you, navigating this week’s energies is like being Ulysses (the Greek hero, not Joyce’s novel). It may seem like a bit of a long haul, but that’s because it occupies you deeply. You may encounter a few monsters along the way, but the Sirens calling to you don’t want to wreck your ship so much as enjoy your presence. So in this instance I’d give in to them. Think of it as fuel for your next epic poem.

SCORPIO (October 20-November 19): There’s nothing so demanding as getting what you want. Or you being the object of desire gotten. You can have your desires fulfilled this week and still be out-of-sorts if you don’t recognize that life is dancing with you because you asked it to. Remember that plea to be the belle of the ball that you thought only your pillow heard? Somebody took you up on it. Now what?

SAGITTARIUS (November 20-December 19): Imagine if you could take a rope and pull the horizon to you. What would you discover? This is the week you could be straddling that line between potential and attainment. So make sure it’s a strong rope because the horizon won’t come easily. Still, nobody’s actually tried to do it before, so your situation is unique. Offer it a cup of tea and listen to its tales. You and the horizon are about to become best buds. I mean, even more than usual.

CAPRICORN (December 20-January 19): One thing you can say about your temperament: nobody accuses you of being frivolous. This week, your sober sense of yourself enables you to surprise people with your cartwheels around the poker table. And you only had two pair, but they looked at you and thought you had an inside straight. Keep acting that way and before long you’ll run the table. This week you may find a new and different way to win.

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 19): It may be true that all the world loves a lover, but usually it’s just a mental theory to you. However, this week may change you from a denizen of the ivory tower to the intimate companion of Passion with a capital P. It might just be the ice melting in your brain, but hot-blooded thinking is all the rage for you right now. Accordingly, replace that threadbare carpet in your mind with a thick, luxurious Persian rug that supports your inmost dreams.

PISCES (February 20-March 19): Sitting by a pond watching dragonflies may not be like going to the gym, but there is more than one way to keep fit. This week is all about you exercising your imagination. Like a dragonfly, you can take wing and rise above the surface scum. Whether you choose to alight and deal with issues, or just float on the wind, is up to you. Careful, there’s a toad who’d like to eat you. So be aware this week of opposition, but try not to engage it.

NEXT WEEK: We all flower in the merry month of May!