TODAY'S BIRTHDAY (Oct. 28): You'll be invigorated, inspired and revitalized by this solar return. Because you've known life cycles in which you had to take two steps back to move forward, this new stretch will be thrilling by comparison. It's all forward movement and fresh experience. You'll take on a series of challenges and amaze yourself. Libra and Pisces adore you.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): You don't need to (and should not!) do anything bigger or better or differently. Just show up and be you. Trying to do anything more than that will cause an energetic ruckus around you that will only prevent you from enjoying yourself.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In the case of running out of gas in the car or ink in the printer, the obstacle isn't a block but a lack of resources needed to go forward. It bears mention as today there will be a chance to buy in bulk. Do it to help out future you.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21): At times, your own mind is like a grand, fully furnished room that you sense you know well but nonetheless cannot confidently navigate until you've first turned on the light. Curiosity is the light.
CANCER (June 22-July 22): Nothing cures fear like action. Action is a form of courage. When you're feeling trepidation, put one foot in front of the other before you can get the chance to build a case against it.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Triggers get hit today that tell people to tune out or maybe to rage against. Knowing where the buttons are and how they are wired is important if only so you can avoid them altogether in the future.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You will agree with a person while disagreeing with what the person is saying. You'll make the distinction and build trust with a person now. Mutually satisfying solutions are in your future.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23): The fun thing about connecting with people for the first time is that whatever happens will likely go down in the memory book, as first-time meetings tend to do. With this in mind, be a bit daring and make it count.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21): How you give your attention will be more important than how long you give it. Five wonderful minutes with someone will be more meaningful than 105 dull ones.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Fear, worry and self-centered concern will provide a continuous patter to drown out what's important if you let it. All you have to do is pause and notice. This small act will interrupt the noise.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): What would it take to get a stretch of free time and adventure? Put the plan in motion. Two outstanding benefits will come of it. You'll prevent future burnout, and you'll brighten the days leading up to it with sunny anticipation.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Your intuition is dialed up and ready to fill in today's knowledge gaps. Knowing what not to do will be more important than knowing what to do. But the most valuable instinct of all will be knowing when to stop.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): The difference between good communication and ineffective communication is often a matter of honesty. People are getting more and more savvy to deception. One whiff of it can taint all.
OPPOSITIONAL OPPORTUNITY
What causes despair is not the problem itself, but the sense that it is persistent, perhaps even relentless. The opposition of the sun and Uranus points out that this is good news. It means that a shake-up will solve a problem by breaking the pattern. Any kind of shake-up will do, so why not use this as an excuse to plan something super fun?
HALLOWEEN TRADITIONS
TRICK OR TREAT? While the fight for food is among the most basic tenants of our survival code, the instinct to give food is reserved for the highly evolved. Somewhere in its early development, the human species seems to have collectively agreed on one thing: The gods want our food.
Humans in every culture have been known to sacrifice animals, vegetables and relatives to the gods. In recent times, our gifts are more commonly indirect and representational. To leave oranges on an altar, ingest a sacrament or even treat St. Nick to some cookies is to observe some primal instinct to, if only symbolically, share food with the universe.
Consider the soul cake. Its early origins are murkily related to human sacrifice, but by the 8th century these baked items were paid to wandering beggars in exchange for prayers for the souls of dead relatives. From there, the practice evolved in various directions: sweets for songs, dances, costumes and other "tricks," sweets for for charity, sweets as payoffs to avoid trouble, or sweets just because on some basic level, down deep in our souls, we still believe that the gods must be hungry.
CELEBRITY PROFILES: Julia Roberts is an intuitive Scorpio with her natal sun, Mercury and Neptune in the deeply mysterious sign of the scorpion. She also has five luminaries in wholesome, hardworking, earthy Virgo -- a lovely contrast of astral energies. Roberts is in the early stages of work on a film adaptation of the thrilling bestselling novel by Chris Cleave, Little Bee.
Style on 10/28/2019