If it’s your birthday

Face any challenges with an open heart and mind, and you’ll turn them into your allies. It will help if you rise above self-defeating mental tendencies, which would make a first-quality psychological and spiritual growth agenda for the year. Happiness is possible, though in this life it’s something that we both earn and learn. You’re motivated to make real changes. You share a birthday with D. H. Lawrence, Harry Connick Jr., and Ludacris. JUNE 21-JULY 22 You’ve been rockin’ the whole career thing in ways nobody would have imagined possible. Now is the time to collect, in terms of feeling good about yourself. The money is coming, or will soon enough. The greater challenge and the greater reward come through deep self-acceptance. JULY 23-AUG. 22 Don’t confuse vanity, arrogance or narcissism with self-respect. All of those unsavory mental states are based on the lack of honest respect for oneself, and signal this fact to the whole world. Honoring who you are is a humble experience, it’s subtle and it takes practice. AUG. 23-SEPT. 22 In “The Teachings of Don Juan” series of books, the shaman describes “certainty” as one of the enemies of mankind. That’s because the true nature of the universe is change, and certainty is a fixed state of mind, where suddenly things cease to be negotiable. Be open to new information. It will help you. SEPT. 23-OCT. 22 Be grateful for what your personal struggles have taught you, and resolve that you don’t have to go through them again. Or you don’t if you choose to change the ideas that led you there in the first place. You don’t need to be such a harsh critic or, for that matter, a critic at all. OCT. 23-NOV. 21 You may be noticing that certain people around you seem unusually narrow-minded. Don’t get caught in this web of seeming intrigue or evaluation of reality. If you do, you may not get out for a while; and you have plenty of positive, productive and helpful things to keep you busy. NOV. 22-DEC. 21 The Sun is continuing to lean into Saturn in your sign, giving you a power of focus and concentration that will keep building as the week progresses. Listen to what partners and colleagues suggest, though keep your sense of humor and trust yourself to do the right thing. DEC. 22-JAN. 19 You are sitting on a power source. I mean this literally. You have a tap into energy coming out of the ground, and the deeper you plunge in, the more mojo you will draw up and be able to use. To do this, you must be a bit fierce. Your own power must feel a little dangerous. JAN. 20-FEB. 18 Certain aspects of your life are more complex than they seem. It’s as if you don’t know which details to focus on first. The details count, though the bigger scene is what matters much more. What is the direction you want to head in? What goals do you have? Leave your mind wide open. FEB. 19-MARCH 20 You could obsess over personal matters, or you could use the rare energy of the moment to advance some of the professional goals that are dearest to your heart. When you answer your true life calling, that shifts your personal relationships to others as they respond to your improved self-respect.