HoroScope

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2017 Cosmic Style Matters

There’s tension between aesthetic Venus and lucky Jupiter. Pay attention to stylistic differences. They will matter! Whatever you’re building with another person -- a business, a relationship, a life -- the process will be more satisfying and the result will be more cohesive if you have a compatible style of operating from the start. ARIES (March 21-April 19).

You didn’t have to do any special conscious thinking to grow yourself to this level of human development, and you can’t think your way into, or out of, the next phase either. So just relax! Breakthroughs will happen naturally. TAURUS (April 20-May 20).

Luckiest move: Make an agreement with life. For the next 24 hours you’ll give it your all and expect nothing in return. You’ll be an enthusiastic servant to the fates and the spirit of goodness itself. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You’re just not in the mood to compromise. Some would call it stubborn. The bottom line is that you really want your way, and you’ll dig your heels in about it, too. Anyone wanting to negotiate would be better off trying in a few days. CANCER (June 22-July 22). Two people stand in the same place: One of them is lost; the other is home. The shift from lost to found is one of accepting a place and getting to know it instead of rejecting it as somewhere other than where you’re supposed to be. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Do you believe that there are some people you were meant to know? The fates don’t seem to be acting as efficient social directors these days, so you’re going to have to take it into your own hands. Mingle. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Your imagination and creativity are exceptionally strong today, and you can point them in the direction of fleshing out a task in a way that only you can. You’ll make yourself indispensable.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). If an actor were to play you in the movie version of your story, what defining characteristics and behaviors do you think would be the focus for this current period? A bit of objectivity will help you see how you can be more powerful in your life. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Your brain fills in blanks constantly throughout the day, so much faster than you’re even aware of. Create habits of mind to stay positive. Here’s a good one: “I’m happy because...” SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21).

The world is full of egomaniacs, and you feel a personal responsibility to counter that with selflessness. Check your motives, though. If you’re yielding to others so that they’ll approve of you, you’re not really helping anyone. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19).

If you deprive yourself of what you want, you’ll be all the more attracted to what’s on the “restricted” list. Your best bet will be a strategy of distraction. What totally different thing might you do to interrupt this pattern?

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Relationships get complicated. Love gets messy. Romance disappoints. You wonder if it’s worth the hype. Pull away to gain perspective -- a positive and restorative choice. The turn is coming. Love is worth the effort. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Just because someone is happy with what you are doing, that doesn’t necessarily make it right for you. People’s approval can be fickle, impermanent and certainly nothing to base your sense of self on. TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Aug. 16). You’ll change simple and small behaviors and get incommensurately favorable results. It turns out that your healthy choices don’t affect only you. As you do the things that help you command good energy, you’ll improve your career, family and social ties in the process. There are domestic upgrades in March. Libra and Aquarius adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 45, 20, 21, 32 and 38. ECLIPSE FORECAST BY SIGN:

Wisdom for your sign brought to you by the great American eclipse 2017, occurring Aug. 21. LIBRA: As the sign of the scales, you’ve an automatic impulse to offset loss with a counterbalance. Your impulse is to fill the void immediately. But what about when what was lost comes back? Now you have a crowd, an awkward situation, an “undo” to perform. The lesson in the eclipse is to wait for the return. Sit with the void a moment. See what happens.

SCORPIO: Temptation has been a theme for you lately, and it does seem to follow you wherever you go. Of course, the great temptation of the eclipse is to look at it with your bare eyeballs -- a dangerous move, considering the possible damage to your retinas is both painless and permanent. You’re daring by nature. This is why temptation is so attracted to you. Knowing your nature, think ahead. Take precautions. Make it easy to do the right thing.

SAGITTARIUS: Is it the spirit of adventure that drives you, or is it FOMO? The fear of missing out is certainly a motivating force, and one that your friends should be grateful for, too, because you’ll be the one to organize socially around the eclipse and milk every last drop of memorable potential from this event. CELEBRITY PROFILES:

Last month Madonna and the humanitarian organization Raising Malawi announced the opening of the only pediatric surgery and intensive care hospital in Malawi. The material girl has turned a great deal of her wealth, attention and effort to helping children around the world. Madonna’s natal chart is striking for the overwhelming number of planets in her 12th house, which signifies that she’s a powerful creator of all she imagines.

To write to Holiday Mathis, visit www.creators.com/author/holidaymathis and click “Contact.”