If it’s your birthday

To get to the good stuff, you will need to endure some tension, and also embark on a quest to get closer to your personal truth. There is a particular quality you possess that is essentially you, even when many other factors change. What would that be? It’s a sense of purpose that goes deeper than any one role, relationship or assignment. You share a birthday with Jane Goodall, Alec Baldwin and Eddie Murphy. APRIL 20-MAY 20 Differences in ideology can seem more exaggerated than they are. In fact, that’s almost always true, and it’s not worth getting hopped up about. You don’t need to be stubborn and you don’t need to fight, especially about concepts. There’s room for everyone in the world, especially for you. MAY 21-JUNE 20 So far this has been an interesting Mercury retrograde. If you’ve managed to avoid controversy, you’re doing great. However, if you find yourself mixed up in a mix-up, I would remind you to keep your sense of humor, take things lightly, and show compassion for extremely confused people. JUNE 21-JULY 22 Don’t engage adversaries, detractors, trolls, freaks or flakes over the next 36 hours or so. Mercury retrograde in your house of reputation is making some delicate moves, and your words could be misconstrued. Give people a little time to reveal their positions. Then you can respond masterfully. JULY 23-AUG. 22 You must be on your best professional behavior for the next few days. Regardless of any example being set by the chief executive of the nation, follow all protocols, dress appropriately, and don’t repeat anything you hear. But write it down, so you remember it; and verify all alleged facts. AUG. 23-SEPT. 22 There’s an old figure of speech about “working things out in bed.” That essentially means conflict can be transmuted into passion and pleasure. You might experiment with that over the next few days. It’s amazing how little opinions can mean once the windows steam up. SEPT. 23-OCT. 22 Handle family and household matters delicately, till you have a better idea what’s really going on — or until you decide that nothing really is. If you get mixed up in any controversies between now and Thursday, you will feel like you’re caught in the brambles. Keep it positive and sincere. OCT. 23-NOV. 21 Tension is mounting, and it’s not just about nations and spy agencies and trade wars. It’s something in the psychology of nearly all people who are exposed to the internet. The old spiritual teachers (and for that matter the new ones) are right: everything is a choice between love and fear. NOV. 22-DEC. 21 Anyone who is good with finance can handle the fat times and the lean ones; the challenging times and the easy ones. That’s an important definition of success, and it’s one I suggest you aspire to. Things are a little weird at the moment, and that can work rather well for you. DEC. 22-JAN. 19 A situation is escalating in pressure, and you can do your part to cool things off. If you really need to, you can respond in a calm and objective way, rather than getting drawn into emotional drama. Use every bit of that skill over the next few days. When in doubt, slow down the movie. JAN. 20-FEB. 18 Take an easygoing approach to leadership for the next few days. Do the thing that you learned a long time ago serves you so well: Invest energy in seeking many opinions, and hearing people out, while not expressing your views directly. That alone will solve most of your problems. FEB. 19-MARCH 20 If you’re planning any official correspondence, such as a job application, sending out resumes, or any kind of political activity, outline the details and sit on them for a couple of days. Work out all the bugs and get every word in place. You will greatly increase your chances of getting what you want.