If it’s your birthday

In order to take charge of your life, you must set aside a desire to be liked or appreciated. The desire to be popular too often implies you will act like the people whose values and priorities you don’t share. Being the master of your own life might make you unpopular with others. You have your agenda and nobody but you has to approve if it, or of you. You share a birthday with Redd Foxx, Judi Dench and Imogen Heap. MARCH 21-APRIL 19 The question so few people ask about a sexual encounter is, does this serve my best interests? You’re certainly feeling the pull in a certain compelling direction, and you also have the discipline and self-control to make a choice about what’s right for you. It may not be — but it certainly may. APRIL 20-MAY 20 You’re about to make a discovery about how confident in yourself you’ve become. A discussion that might, in another era, have shaken you up or made you doubt yourself is now welcome and productive. What you learn, you’ll be able to apply easily, by making small adjustments. MAY 21-JUNE 20 Don’t let your security lead you to a place of self-doubt. There’s always that moment where you feel yourself questioning your abilities or your role in someone’s life, and you get to decide whether you’re going to fall for it. Catch that moment in time and send yourself a bold affirmation. JUNE 21-JULY 22 You may be tempted to let your emotions guide you, particularly through a workrelated issue. Yet any opinion grounded in how you feel is not entirely dependable at the moment. While Mercury is retrograde, think for an extra day or two before you change course or think you’ve solved a problem. JULY 23-AUG. 22 Where a career matter is concerned, proceed with a certain kind of caution: the ability to revise your choices. Conduct small experiments to see some results of your ideas, and to test how others respond. Whatever you may be doing, sketch in pencil rather than in ink, and be grateful for your eraser. AUG. 23-SEPT. 22 Holding steady means dancing to the music. Virgo is famous for control, and at the moment, there’s no way for you actually do this. So you need other options, such as being flexible, seeking a deeper understanding of events, setting aside judgment. From that space, you can truly listen. SEPT. 23-OCT. 22 Being honest with yourself this weekend may be challenging. It’ll be easy to forget some of your basic needs, and you might find yourself making excuses to others that you believe yourself. That would be the first thing to pay attention to. Listen to yourself carefully, and check your facts. OCT. 23-NOV. 21 Mars has entered your sign, which will come as a relief. You may notice that an odd tension has left your thoughts, and that you no longer feel like you’ve gone missing. You are back. Now, all you have to do is act like that’s true. Walk around and ask yourself, “What do I want?” DEC. 22-JAN. 19 Saturn’s entry into your sign over the next 10 days may feel like a metal splinter rising up out of your skin. You forgot when it got embedded a few summers ago, and your body has been gradually pushing it out. Then when it breaks the surface, you think it’ll hurt, but it’s the best feeling in the world. JAN. 20-FEB. 18 Avoid the allure of power. Emphasize service, in the form of supporting others. Focus on fulfilling your commitments and responsibilities. Concentrate on living as if your life is an example. Be a source of ideas, in the form of proposals, which would count as leadership. But power? Forget it. FEB. 19-MARCH 20 You have many resources for how to get results. Basically you have every tool in your toolbox to choose from. So make sure you use the right one for any specific job. Two of the most useful are an ability to peel back any situation to see what’s really going on, and your charming persuasiveness.