Horoscopes
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2020
Mercury Retrograde First Order of Business
The first order of business of this Mercury retrograde is to remember the order in which people actually do business: They make a snap, unconscious decisions and then find the supporting reasons -- not the other way around. It’s unlikely to convince anyone away from what they’re already doing. Get it on the front end. Persuasion is a function of preparation.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). You want to be alone and unbothered, but you talk to people anyway, and that lifts your spirits more than solitude could. It’s amazing how much happier you get when decide to let go of what you want.
TAURUS ( April 20-May 20). It’s a good day to get sort out who is in charge of what and take responsibility for as much of it as you can. After you handle things, use handsanitizer - actually and metaphorically.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). The self- help site suggests taking five minutes to decompress. Is that a joke? With all the pressure you’re under, you will need at least five hours or, better yet, five days.
CANCER ( June 22- July 22). Currently, there is no way to magically align your expectations with reality. The only method available is to go there and do that. You’ll know what an experience is like because you’re having it.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You’ll wonder what people mean and how they mean it. The same statement can denote so many different things, revealed best in sound. This is why a phone call will be so much better than a text today.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You may privately question your knowledge, skills and abilities, and that’s appropriate, legitimate and intelligent. However, this is a day not to wear those doubts on the outside. Wear a facade of confidence like it’s a power suit.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Excess can’t help but shift toward the empty. Drop water into the glass for a physical illustration. And what else in your life is like this today? Think twice before you tip one thing into another.
SCORPIO ( Oct. 24-Nov. 21). What you would do isn’t what they would do, and that’s the whole point of getting together. Society will be healed by people who can sit and hear one another without trying to persuade or win the conversation.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). In the game of darts and in life, the instant your fingers open and the dart flies free, you no longer have control. Take your best shot, and then don’t obsess over the target or what happens after you hit or miss it.
CAPRICORN ( Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Getting it wrong doesn’t automatically show you how to get it right, but today’s mistakes will attract excellent teachers. Setbacks can be used to improve your skills.
AQUARIUS ( Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Being near the person you think of as so special can be a bit like vertigo -- disorienting, causing a loss of balance and possibly leading to a fall. Eventually, reality will set in. Until then, grab a handrail.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). To remain calm in the face of frustration is a valuable skill and one you can hone today if you’re up to the challenge. Small disturbances and irritations are opportunities to practice patience, humor, reframing and the like.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Oct. 13). You’ve graduated from tedious lessons and now less can bother you, frees you from the sort of entanglements that used to keep your smile at bay. You’ll be appointed to a position and entrusted with secret, sacred or extremely powerful information. You’ll get that wonderful news you’ve waited years for. Gemini and Sagittarius adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 2, 18, 9, 30 and 44.
COSMIC CHECK-IN: The current journey of Mars in his home stretch of Aries is a case of the god of war being in the sign of warriors. It highlights the potential for conflict, but what doesn’t? Conflict is such that its potential is on a rather short fuse. There is always a war somewhere in the world. Countries, animal packs, anthills, vines raging against trees, cold fronts against heat thermals, waves against rocks and on and on.
The sun, currently traversing Libra, the sign of partnership, aesthetics and judiciousness, finds himself at odds with Mars now and just before the Mercury retrograde. The short fuse of conflict gets tugged and examined. One side teases the other with it, dangling it near flames.
On a personal level, our anger buttons are out there just waiting to be pressed. The best defense is precognition. Imagine what might happen. Think about the sort of person you’d like to be in those moments when the heat gets turned up. For many, avoidance is an excellent strategy, as there may be no good reason for being in situations with incendiary potential.
CELEBRITY PROFILES: Sacha Baron Cohen is the mastermind behind such comic characters Ali G, Borat and Bruno Baron Cohen. This Libra creates truly outrageous characters, explores their comic possibilities in the real world and then retires them. He’s on a quest for fresh entertainment opportunities and laughs and natal Mars in Aquarius reveals a need to rebel against social prejudices in the process.