HoroScope

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2017 Vitality Trine

Many people are aware of how thought processes influence moods, but fewer are keenly attuned to how things loop in the opposite direction. Our bodies signal to our minds, too. Active Mars and Uranus form a trine of vitality. All stretching, exertion, care and comfort given to the body will contribute generously to a joyful spirit. ARIES (March 21-April 19).

Modes of mind can be triggered automatically before you even notice or know what’s happening. For this reason you can’t be blamed for your moods, though you’re still responsible for managing them. TAURUS (April 20-May 20).

There are people who are just better for you. They bring out the better side of you. They make the stresses of daily life seem like no pressure at all, because you see yourself as they see you -- strong and capable. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). It’s possible you’ll think more deeply than clearly, which won’t be helpful. So when you feel yourself getting very ponderous without a direction, simply stop asking questions and do something physical, such as walking. CANCER (June 22-July 22).

You’ve a very upbeat attitude, and there’s nothing petty that can bother you or throw you off your game. Truly, optimism makes you immune to 80 percent of the things that bother those around you.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You command attention, sometimes uncomfortably so. Sometimes you’d rather deflect it or hide out than take your moments. It’s fine to feel shy, but is this a missed opportunity to channel awareness to what’s important to you? VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You are dedicated to your chosen work and willing to apply yourself more intensely than before. In fact, the subject of your strong feelings may take over your life in the next few days. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23).

Serenity is not some distant ideal. You already experience it many times a day. It’s just a matter of letting those moments spill into the rest of the hours. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21).

Remember the moment when you owned the room, though quite by accident, making people laugh and want to play? Well, it gave you a taste for being the center of attention, and you’ll figure out how to get back there today. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec.

21). Memory is kind. Happy ones get better over time, and sad ones fade. What happens over the course of this day will be a perfect package for nostalgia to wrap itself around in the future. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19).

Emotional states are infectious. Yawns, laughter, nerves and just about anything you can feel have the possibility of rubbing off on others. Associate with the happy and fortunate people and be one yourself. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18).

Since there will be people around you who have expertise they either don’t mind sharing or would absolutely love to share, you’ll be in a lucky position to learn -- and possibly have your problem solved for you. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20).

Don’t worry about willpower. Your imagination is so vivid today that when you direct it to see and taste what your work will bring you, you won’t even need willpower to move toward that gleaming prize. TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Sept. 2).

You’ve seen enough plans come to fruition to think a little bigger and enough dashed hopes to respect the risk and sweat investment that must be made on the regular. Family celebrates together in December and May. You’ll get a fresh start for a relationship that’s been through a lot. Cancer and Taurus adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 12, 2, 22, 7 and 31. ASTROLOGICAL QUESTION:

“My friends seem to be able to take dating a lot less seriously than I do. They don’t get so crushed with the changes. If I spend three weeks seeing a person and then it doesn’t work out in the end, I’m devastated for six weeks. What do I do about my horrible achey heart? It’s so fragile; I don’t know what to do. I’m a Cancer.”

Try to get into a more intellectual space around this. It’s either a good match or a wonky one, and how you match up with another isn’t really something you can control. You can’t get mad at a key just because it’s the wrong key for the lock. You just have to keep trying other combinations until you find the right one. Sometimes it’s a good match for a time, but then the time is over. Sensing when the time is over is kind of like sensing when the party is over. Try to take your ego out of it. The love equation gets remarkably simple when you stop making it all about you. The good news is that every time you go through heartbreak, your heart gets a little bit stronger. Scar tissue is tough elastic. CELEBRITY PROFILES: Salma Hayek, aka Kitty Softpaws in the movie “Puss in Boots,” is a vivacious Virgo with Venus and Mars in the sign of the cat (where they happen to be today). Though her onscreen persona often utilizes these fiery Leo influences, the rest of Hayek’s natal chart reveals a more practical, down-to-earth and hardworking nature. Look for Hayek in “How to Be a Latin Lover.”

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2017 Mercury, Mars and Risk

Social situations are tricky and easy to get wrong. But everybody gets them wrong at one time or another, so the forgiveness rate is high. Anyway, if you’ve nothing to forgive, you haven’t risked enough. Do it now under the Mercury-Mars conjunction. Learning will be swift.

If you don’t get it right, you’ll at least be admired for your boldness. ARIES (March 21-April 19).

You’re very sensitized to deviations from the norm. If one or two things are out of place, you’ll pick up on it right away and read it as a signal that there’s something very wrong -or very right -- afoot. TAURUS (April 20-May 20).

Thoughts about your home, food, belongings, family and work will supersede everything love-related -- until tonight. Romance will seem to be (and indeed will be) what all of life swirls around. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Your work will be art when it’s done. But right now, it’s art in progress. Tweaks, fixes and alterations are in order. Then rinse and repeat. This stage could take a while. CANCER (June 22-July 22).

Small daily habits, such as doing one situp or saying hi to one new person, will open the way for a lifestyle change. You won’t believe the remarkable difference one seemingly minor but incredibly persistent gesture can make.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). These days, you’re a minimalist at heart. All you need is a purpose and a cellphone. But it doesn’t hurt to also have supportive friends you can share news and views with at the end of the day. V IRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You’ll try to keep your word no matter what. In fact, you stress yourself so thoroughly over showing up strong that it makes you want to be even more careful about what you promise in the future.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). If people would actually take your advice, their problem would most likely go away. Alas, they are not even asking today. Their bad. Withhold your unsolicited opinions, and focus on what will make (SET ITAL) your (END ITAL) life better.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). The person who gets flustered around you has good reason to. When one cares about making a connection, every move seems crucial. That’s a lot of pressure. In other words, no one wants to disappoint a crush. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21).

You’re comfortable with who you are, so silliness ensues. Who cares if you’re being ridiculous? So much about life is ridiculous that you’re really just matching up with the nature of existence. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19).

Social situations may be harder to understand today, but if you’re at a loss as to what to do next, just remind yourself that you can’t be expected to automatically know. Everything is a learning process. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18).

You’re a mystery. It’s not because they don’t know you but because no matter how well they know you, there’s still more to discover. Enjoy your mysterious status, because it’s certainly working for you today. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20).

You’re confident in what you have to offer. Put a high price on it first and see what happens. The “price,” by the way, doesn’t have to be in dollars. For today, most exchanges that are worthwhile won’t be monetary. TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Sept. 3).

Ease and comfort will definitely be a part of your destiny, though not a big part. From a distance, you like the way it looks -- but when you get inside it, the leisure life can only entice you for the shortest amount of time. The rest you get only primes you to jump back in the game to play at an even higher level. Leo and Libra adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 10, 5, 33, 28 and 16. FORECAST FOR THE WEEK

AHEAD: It came to my attention that some of the emojis I was sending to express joy and appreciation appeared as one face when I viewed them from my computer and quite another when seen from a mobile device. The mobile interpretation was more of a grimace than a grin, the kind of look one makes when an egregious error has been committed. By the time I noticed the discrepancy between my intention and the face at the receiving end of it, it was too late. I had already sent grimaces to the school nurse, an insurance agent and my grandmother, among others. Any rush to explain how my emotional state may have been misrepresented seemed, well, a little over-the-top. I resigned myself to have a laugh over the fact that emojis, like the emotions they represent, can be complicated, often misconstrued and (judging from their keystroke computer codes) difficult to aptly name.

The emotional full moon in Pisces this week offers a depth of feeling beyond ideas and sensations. With the intensity turned up in this way, it’s not nearly enough to talk out feelings. To express them by pouring them into passionate endeavors is certainly favored, but ultimately, when it comes to feelings, representation will always fall short. Sometimes you just have to feel them. CELEBRITY PROFILES: Virgo Charlie Sheen makes a hobby of bringing controversy and drama to the limelight. Sheen was once roasted by Comedy Central at the same time as the season premiere of “Two and a Half Men,” the sitcom he had just left. He was born under a worldly, liberated Sagittarius moon. His natal Mercury is in entertaining Leo. His Mars and Neptune’s being in Scorpio suggests he’s like the phoenix who rises from the ashes.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2017 Solar Opposition to Neptune

If a mistake of the past is still making you cringe in the present, the opposition between the sun and Neptune could help you see it differently and let it go. Replay the memory machine once more to extract all the learning you can. Then create a ritual to release it. At a loss? Burning the written version of the story is classic standard as far as rituals go. ARIES (March 21-April 19).

When you’ve a whole crowd of

competition, standing out is crucial, and you won’t be able to do it with a mild move. Also, when it comes to love, playing it safe is dangerous. You can’t light a match without friction. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Affection is the golden ingredient. It’s the difference between getting the laugh and not, drawing people closer in camaraderie or repelling them with antagonism

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You know trouble when it walks in. That doesn’t mean you’ll stay away from it, though. You’ll move closer for the same reason people visit active volcanoes or walk to the ledge for the view -- thrills. CANCER (June 22-July 22). Success will depend on creating smaller goals. That big aim happens in thousands of little moves. Give yourself an early win. Reward yourself for beginning and then for taking 10 steps and then 10 more...

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Wanting it now is for children who haven’t been alive long enough to develop a sense of world time. When you get impatient today, step away and take a breath. Notice the already established rhythms. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Knowing a little about someone builds tension. The more slowly a relationship unfolds the more interesting it will be to you. People who are resistant to reveal themselves will appeal to you more than the fully disclosed.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). It could very well be that the problems of mankind (and, by extension, the problems of the world) will be solved by small diverse groups of smart people. You’ll be in such a group today. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Knowledge always builds on itself. One piece that’s missing or corrupt affects all that’s built on it. You’ll solve a problem when you investigate and deconstruct what you know to root out the misunderstanding. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21).

Loving someone means protecting that person’s ego. Ego protection involves an entire list of do’s and don’ts. Public support and loyalty are on the “do” list, and you’ll be participating in much of that today. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19).

Learning happens over time, and that time isn’t one night. A little bit every day is the way to mastery. As busy as you are, you have the 20 minutes to begin to master a new skill. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18).

The moment things start to become hidden, that’s where problems arise. You prevent this by sharing your life openly with your close loved ones and staying in touch with the different parts of their lives, too.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Be careful not to lay down rules that make you feel better in the moment but won’t be sustainable over the long term. Look ahead. What move can you make now that’s going to create a tenable situation for the future? TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Sept. 4).

You know people. You’ll quickly decide whom you can trust, partner with and create beautiful life events with, too. Fresh personalities come into your life in the next seven weeks. Your time and gifts are precious, and you’ll have to guard them to prevent waste and maximize opportunity in November. Cancer and Libra adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 49, 2, 14, 38 and 10. ASTROLOGICAL QUESTION:

“I noticed that there are two types of Aries. I am not the typical aggressive/assertive Aries unless I am pushed. I am actually envious of my fellow sun mates who are more ‘rambunctious’! I definitely have the fear factor going on (fear of rejection on so many levels). Could you expand on the ‘shrinking violet’ Aries?”

Violet, it takes a lot of strength to push through the earth’s surface for the first time. As the first sign on the zodiacal wheel, the act of “becoming” is risky. All Arians are confronted with that same new flower dilemma: “Should I go for it?” Some of you boldly forge ahead, risking life and limb. As shrinking violets mature, you’ll learn to feel the fear and do it anyway. You light up in situations requiring courage -- whether that means pursuing a job or joining an outdoor singles adventure group. If your goals are too ominous, start small. One step is all it takes to be your own hero. Here’s an encouraging quote by Anais Nin for the violets: “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” CELEBRITY PROFILES: According to one Vogue magazine cover, the world is ruled by Beyonce Knowles. If that sounds like a lot of pressure for one person, don’t worry; Knowles may be cut out for the role, with her sun in hardworking Virgo and ambitious Mars in entertaining and royal Leo. But the prevalent energy in her natal chart is Libra, signifying that her greatest strength is in working cooperatively with others.

To write to Holiday Mathis, visit www.creators.com/author/holidaymathis and click “Contact.” COPYRIGHT 2017 CREATORS.COM