HOROSCOPES
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (April 9): You’re breaking out of the norm this year. Seeing remote parts of the world, experiencing what others do day to day — this is what’s inspiring you. June and October bring opportunities and eye-opening adventures. A financial boost comes in July; improved working conditions happen in September. Libra and Sagittarius adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 5, 10, 4, 39 and 18.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): What you appreciate (recognize the full worth of) will appreciate (raise in value over time). You’ll see examples of this all around you over the next three days.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): People will tell you the most unusual facts about themselves today — probably more than you wanted to know, yet there will be something good and important in this.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21): You may anticipate the trouble, but you won’t fear it. You’ll meet it head-on, stare it in the eye, note that you’re bigger than it and then quite simply handle it so you can move on to the fun part of the day.
CANCER (June 22-July 22): You want to be around people who have something to teach you. You’ll soak up the new knowledge and skills. Some people’s influence will be immediately obvious; others’ will be subtler. Either way, you’re a fast learner now.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): When Hamlet declared that “the play’s the thing,” he had more specific purposes in mind than simply putting on a good show. You, however, are on a mission for lighthearted entertainment and will certainly achieve this.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Pretending can be fun, daring, playful or dangerous. The dangerous kind of pretending is the kind done to fit in with situations that your heart suggests are not actually that great of a fit.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23): You’ll get the chance to help someone else be prosperous, and you’ll jump at it. After all, it’s fun to see people succeed. You don’t even have to be particularly close to someone to feel lifted by his or her accomplishment.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21): To choose the right subject matter for casual conversation and then continually spin it in a direction that makes people feel positive about what’s going on — there’s an art to it, and you’re an artist!
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Getting involved in too detailed a thought process will be ineffective. Work with outlines, checklists and other structures to keep things simple and focused.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): It’s not as if you have to make big efforts to touch people’s lives; you do it just by existing. What happens naturally because you’re here is more than you might imagine. Whatever else you do today is gravy.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Doubt is a traitor. Don’t let it steer you off. In fact, just discount your doubt altogether today, as it has the potential to steer you off of the good you will do when you ignore your fear to attempt.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): To be able to direct all of your energy into what matters to you most may seem like a distant and unattainable luxury today, but with a little planning, you could make this happen more regularly — and to results most pleasing.
FORECAST FOR THE WEEK AHEAD: Is Mercury shrinking? After Pluto was demoted to dwarf planet, Mercury became the smallest official planet in our solar system, and some scientists believe it’s getting smaller. There is speculation as to whether Mercury’s fast spin causes a degree of cooling to its core, slowly condensing this already-impressively dense sphere. So the planet named for the fleet-footed messenger of the gods holds many titles: smallest, fastest, densest, closest to the sun and most blamed for human folly.
And the blame game will go on this week as Mercury begins a threeweek retrograde. This one starts out in Taurus and then crosses midway into Aries, so the focus of mistakes begins in the realm of the financial (especially luxury) and then buzzes around in the realm of identity (especially ego).
The important thing to remember this week when the money gets funny or the deals get hung up or the transactions get shorted is that it’s not personal. Accidents happen. Lend the benefit of the doubt even as you make it right.
The full Libra moon on Monday will illuminate the unvarnished nature of relationships of all kinds — for those who want and can handle the truth.