Sunday, February 4, 2018

Maybe sensitive people don’t have to harden themselves to fit into this world. And maybe rugged people don’t have to soften themselves to accommodate them. But what could help is if we all could appreciate and make room for one another’s unique gifts. Such behavior will start something beautiful during this Venus square of Jupiter.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). There are questions you just shouldn’t ask yourself today. “What if I had done this and not that?” is one of them. Instead ask, “What did I gain from doing this and not that?”

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You’ll multitask without realizing it! As you work, you’ll also be helping others who aren’t even around you. It’s because you’re inspiring. It’s what you get for sending your heart after a heroic endeavor.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). In some games, avoiding the obstacles will get you pretty far, but not in today’s situation. You’ll have to take them on to earn your points. And there will be bonus points for style!

CANCER (June 22-July 22). Frustration is only a dead end if you quit. But if you use that irritating emotion as a signal to change tactics and approach something from a new angle, frustration, instead of a stopping point, will be the key needed to open the next door.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Wanting is common. Wanting with enthusiasm, slightly less so. Wanting with consistency, admirable. Endurance is rare. That’s why your decision to show up no matter what is making you great.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). If anyone can do it, it’s not for you. You get bored really easily these days. You’ll focus well only if the task is super interesting and engaging to you and the challenge is also rather steep.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). In many ways, you’re the ideal partner today (if ever there was such a thing). You contribute, but you don’t take over unless it’s your turn. You’re supportive but not enabling. You’re deferential and independent in just the right amount.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Trying to be something you’re not? Well, that’s just how humans grow their personalities and strengths. Of course, much depends on how large the chasm is between where you are and where you want to be.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Many have tried and failed. So what makes you want to try, too? Because success and failure are beside the point on this one. It’s who you become because you tried that will matter.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Kindred spirits have a way of getting on one another’s nerves today. They’re interested in and good at a lot of the same things, so they have to compete for their place in the scene. Friction — expect it and accept it.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Just because things aren’t coming together easily doesn’t mean they won’t come together at all. Move to trying the next possible solution. The less drama involved in the transition the more energy you’ll have to attack this again.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Action is, by definition, moving through resistance. If there’s no resistance, you’re not swimming; you’re floating. There’s nothing wrong with floating, per se; it’s just that today’s thing isn’t a “lazy river” kind of ride.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Feb. 4). A sense of belonging and fun comes with the fortifying friendships you make this year. You’ll wind up in zany situations over the next 10 weeks because of a self-induced pattern-interrupt. There’s money to be made in a new area of interest. You’ll tinker and experiment a great deal before a big payout in November. Libra and Cancer adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 1, 9, 31, 20 and 16.

FORECAST FOR THE WEEK AHEAD: Compared with the planetary changes last week, the ones this week will be gentle on us. This week could be described as a lull, but that is in no way to be taken as an invitation to slack off. It would be a mistake to get too comfortable. The less active cosmic climate makes it the perfect time to be personally more proactive, because you don’t have to be so reactive to all that’s going on. Are you getting the operative theme here? Yes, it’s ”active” — that is to say, get doing. Put energy behind it. Be the initiator — not just the windmill but the wind, too. Yes, be the wind. All the rewards of life will be in the excitement of self-generated movement.

The sun, Mercury and Venus are all in Aquarius, which is for the people and of the people. Intellectual opportunities abound. It’s a time to focus on developing our higher faculties through reading, discussing and seeking new friends and mentors to bounce ideas off. It is said that you are a conglomeration of the five people you spend the most time with, and it’s even truer under the Libra moon in the first part of the week. We’ll be spending even more time with loved ones as we work out the problems of life together.

CELEBRITY PROFILES: After a long shift working on her feet in a department store in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks boarded the bus that began her lifelong journey in civil rights activism. Her simple act of staying seated when she was asked to move is an example of how one person’s will can change the world. Parks was born when the sun, Mercury and Uranus were in the humanitarian and revolutionary Aquarius.

Write Holiday Mathis at HolidayMathis@gmail.com.