Happy birthday (Jan. 27): You'll thrive on a balance of structure and spontaneity, which comes effortlessly. The loads of love heaped on you are well-deserved, not because you racked up the good karma in the past (you did, but that's beside the point ...) You were always worthy of the sweetest the world has to offer. Let yourself have more of it.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): You don't have to try to be different; your uniqueness is innate. You don't have to try to be the same either; you have all the commonalities necessary to belong.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You'll be a gamemaster of sorts. You have a knack for dreaming up creative challenges. If there's a simple setup and a clear goal, people will compete for the prize.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21): Your internal clock goes elastic, causing you to be in your own time zone. Some things are sped up, some take forever — and because of this, being punctual takes real effort but is so worth it!
CANCER (June 22-July 22): You've seen people do unpredictable things out of fear, so you go out of your way to make others comfortable, allay doubts and assuage worries. As a result, you'll project the future of the relationship with greater accuracy.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You're working on a co-creation. How people treat each other affects the progress and development of the project. A successful outcome will be the ultimate sign of group health.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Your interpretation of a subject is also a subject. How you see things is how you see you. And there's no action you can take now that won't point to what's on your heart.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23): You're preoccupied with playing out hypothetical conversations in your head. These mental negotiations, arguments and investigations will help you gear up for real-life scenarios of the future.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21): Some of your experiences are like a concentrated spice: essential to the dish, but a dash goes a long way. These more intense flavors of life are best mixed into the fullness of many mundane activities.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Four excruciating words will be uttered: "Not yet, but soon." Since the waiting is indeed the hardest part, don't wait. Make sure your spot is being held and go do something else.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The challenge is to focus on how things are, not how they were. As you interact with things in real time, you find certain regrets breaking off and drifting ever further away.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The snack between meals can contain more calories than the meal. The parking can cost more than the event. The casual mention in party conversation can impact more than the entire celebration.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): You'll learn what you need to know with casual observation and indirect questioning. Tip: The question that causes people to hesitate, fidget or laugh is too direct and will also cause them to hide the truth.
FINAL DAYS OF A VENUS RETROGRADE
Comedian Jimmy Durante joked, “I hate music, especially when it’s played.” While his opinion was certainly in the minority, this Venus retrograde has shown us how overexposure can contribute to burnout with even the very best things in life. To avoid becoming jaded in these final days before the Venus turn, practice moderation.
COSMIC QUESTION
Q: “I’m a Capricorn with a strong idea of who I am and what I want, but I’ve made mistakes in the pursuit of goals that end up not being very satisfying. I get what I want, then find out that I didn’t want the right thing.”
A: Instead of wanting with your ambition, try listening to what your heart wants. This will require you to tune out the messages of the mind and turn up the volume on your inner guidance system. Being dead set on a particular outcome is the primary reason why people ignore the heart’s messages. A narrow view of what constitutes a favorable result closes people off from universal wisdom. Their investment in one outcome prevents them from being open to other options, even ones that are much more beneficial. The primary reason people become so committed to one outcome that they cannot entertain the thought of any other result is the power of their egos. You can ask your ego to kindly step aside to allow for seeing the whole picture, but a tenacious ego will likely balk at the request, convinced that concession will lead to a loss of the ego’s control. You can lessen your threat to the ego by playing games of make believe. Ask “What if?” and let your imagination entertain different possibilities. An open mind will diffuse the ego’s grip on any one particular outcome.
CELEBRITY PROFILES: When Patton Oswalt is not narrating “The Goldbergs” or headlining comedy clubs or starring in an endless stream of film and television shows, he’s commanding millions of followers on Twitter with his biting wit. This would seem an extreme workload for some, but the high-energy Aquarian brainiac born under five air sign planets is uniquely equipped for the job. This is a mind that never stops!