Happy birthday. There will be victories and upgrades between now and the end of the year, but the thing that deserves the most celebration is your increasing ability to demonstrate compassion and direct it toward yourself. You'll influence a broader group in January. You'll become a part of a new family of sorts in March.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): The walls you built to protect the being you are at the core only served to separate that being from supportive people. Recognize when the protection is unnecessary. Let loving forces inside.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): The person to whom you turn to confess your sins or whisper sweet nothings knows you in and out and still loves you. Take this person's lead and accept yourself -- all the parts.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21): Be adaptable, but maintain your integrity. You have to be made of some very special matter to embody these two requirements at once. In fact, it's a very high-tech thing to accomplish.
CANCER (June 22-July 22): If you still feel like your efforts are a slog, your vision isn't clear yet. When you can really see where you want to be and you know why it's right for you, that's when action becomes a lot less work.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You have an inkling that it's only going to get better, but don't let that keep you from fully experiencing what's going on today. These are the good old days. Don't wait to feel the celebration in that.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You'll get the opportunity to handle a sticky situation or resist a temptation. These are tests, and yes, you are being graded -- officially, unofficially and by people you don't even know are watching.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23): The divisions between people today will have more to do with ideology than the actuality of daily living. You and your loved ones will get along much better if you set your individual belief systems silently to the side for a while.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21): A pleasing disposition is among the top characteristics you seek in others, but it's not in your top three. You'll be inclined to put up with someone's moods today because there are more important things at stake.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Short-term fixes only lead to future problems. Seek to solve it once and for all, even if this will clearly cost more or take more time. Fortune will favor you as you take action to flesh out the big picture.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): There's a sense today that there is something important to be lost or gained in the circumstances. While this is partly true, much will depend on your perspective. Ease up a bit. Stressing won't help.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): It is important that when your inner critic makes an assertion, you question it. By no means should it be taken as the voice of reason. It may be reasonable at times, but it is just as likely to be unreasonable and false.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Acceptance is not resignation. When you come to terms with the past and let go of the attached grievances, you will be free to soar above what has happened, not resigned to continue to be burdened by it.
Style on 08/28/2016