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I recently realized that whenever Co-Star gives me an ominous reading for the day, tipping me off to the likelihood that I could expect “Trouble in Sex and Love,” I grow super anxious about the hours ahead, anticipating what kind of awful trouble is in store and cosmically out of my control. Sure, perhaps the short-term solution to stop my spiral of catastrophic thinking might be delete my Co-Star app, so that’s what I did. But that alone doesn’t halt the will of the universe from serving me a bad horoscope prediction for the day when that’s what’s on the planetary docket. And since every sign of the zodiac will get a rough horoscope every now and then, it’s key to understand what to do about it.
So if your horoscope prediction is gloomy, how can you go about your day without being overwhelmingly fearful and fatalistic? According to psychological astrologer Jennifer Freed, PhD, author of Use Your Planets Wisely, the first step for adjusting your outlook is adjusting your semantic habits. Dr. Freed says to banish the word “bad” when it comes to the notion of “bad horoscope” or “bad cycle” or “a bad time to love unconventionally right now.” “There is no bad,” she says. “It’s called adverse, or challenging. So there’s an adverse time ahead of you.”
Likewise, she says, even in the most challenging of astrological cycles, there are no explicitly bad things because all features are opportunities for positive growth. Meaning, you can tease extraordinary value from adverse or challenging times and become very fulfilled as a result. And you can use that comforting rebrand to help you through not just an ominous daily horoscope prediction but also a specifically bumpy transit (ahem, hi, Saturn return!).
“When fear creeps into your mind as you face a difficult cycle, remember what you’ve learned in past challenges. Agency is the antidote to mental perseveration.” —psychological astrologer, Jennifer Freed, PhD
Also keep in mind that with astrology, there’s no set course; there’s a number of options, and you get to decide your fate. You. Not Saturn, not Jupiter, not even Mercury. “When fear creeps into your mind as you face a difficult cycle, ask yourself to remember the best things you have learned and mastered in past challenges,” Dr. Freed says. “Agency is the antidote to mental perseveration.”
So if your cosmic future is reading as negative, look back to the past to identify how you previously approached a horoscope prediction rife with challenges. For instance, let’s say today’s forecast outlines that confrontation and miscommunication may arise with a colleague. Don’t fall into a spiral of negative thinking, assuming your supervisor is going snap at you for some screw-up, and then fulfill that prophecy by not getting any work accomplished as a result of your all-day jitters.
Instead, “jot down three action steps you can, and will, take to meet your challenges,” Dr. Freed says. “Also, deep, relaxed, concentrated breathing and cardio exercise are quick ways to calm the mind. Fear of what’s next is mental overuse and high noise,” Dr. Freed says. “When we move the energy downward into the body and anchor with the Earth, we become more present and resourceful.”
Incidentally, feeling better about my mind-set looking forward, I just re-downloaded Co-Star. But if I falter, I also have a gym membership to, at the very least, keep my cardio game strong.
The cosmic forecast for 2020 is actually looking pretty bright for everyone. And if you still don’t agree with your horoscope today? Maybe give Vedic astrology a spin.
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