By Jack Fertig

Forecast for July 11-24, 2006

ARIES (March 20 - April 19): Your efforts to charm carry a dark, challenging undercurrent that suggests playing rough, sexually or otherwise. Give yourself a good physical challenge in order to work it out, especially where others can see your sweat and efforts.

TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): Your efforts at establishing financial logic will run into bureaucratic surrealism from bankers or insurers. Concentrating on domestic accounts and budgets can keep the focus where it won't threaten your sanity. Working hard on home improvements makes you very sexy!

GEMINI (May 21 - June 20): You need to display your wit, so go dazzle your siblings, neighbors, or classmates. Showing off just irritates your partner, as do your best efforts to be sweet. Listen carefully to your darling and be accommodating. It's not easy, but you can do it.

CANCER (June 21 - July 22): Solitude and work can be good for your soul. Just don't become isolated. Emotional stress seeks release through your wallet. Shop-aholic urges can easily get out of hand. Budget carefully and take pride in financial discipline.

LEO (July 23 - August 22): Yes, life is to be celebrated, but your enthusiasm for turning the whole world into a big party can annoy others who are in a more quiet, meditative frame of mind. Let the party find you, and leave everyone to his or her own pleasures.

VIRGO (August 23 - September 22): There's a struggle between your professional relationships and commitments at home, but you'll find the balance deep within. Mere meditation won't do it, though. Some kind of martial arts, exercise, or dance will be needed to bring body and spirit together to deal with the externals.

LIBRA (September 23 - October 22): Your most innocent efforts to make light conversation could end up dragging you into impassioned debates. That's not a bad thing, however. In any struggle over ideas, keep an eye on the logical outcome of any ideology or strategy.

SCORPIO (October 23 - November 21): Swagger and strut, baby. You got it going on, and the more you let it show, the more you'll get for your sexy self! The question is, quantity or quality? Be upfront about what you really want, and don't settle!

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 - December 20): Showing off your intellectual prowess can help improve a relationship or make it easier to start one. Your ability to listen graciously and argue considerately will improve your arguments and your attractiveness.

CAPRICORN (December 21 - January 19): Part of the tension at work is sexual in nature, and sex is certainly the best release. Common sense says to keep work and play separate, especially because your attitude and the reason for it will be clear to all.

AQUARIUS (January 20 - February 18): Politics makes strange bedfellows, and your bedmate could prove very helpful to you in that arena. Get creative on your own and be clear on your goals, but let your baby be the one to put you on top—politically, anyway.

PISCES (February 19 - March 19): A happy home should alleviate stress at work, but now it seems to be feeding it. Boosting morale at work while being creative and having some fun is the key to unlocking tension both at work and at home.

Jack Fertig has been working as a professional astrologer since 1977 and is a founding member of the Association for Astrological Networking. He can be reached for consultations at (415) 864-8302, through his Web site at www.starjack.com, and by e-mail at QScopes@qsyndicate.com.