HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY

Happy birthday. It may seem like the consequences of one direction or the other will alter life drastically.

Don’t let this paralyze you. The reality is that you’ll come out smiling either way. Lighten up and choose. Companionship is rich, though September calls for a solo mission. Professional breakthroughs happen in

January and June.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): This week features the cosmic equivalent of an invitation to a fancy dinner in which you’ll be around new people you’d be keen to impress. Your choice of attire will be equally important to the topics you pull out of your conversational hat.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): It’s hard to “hate the sin and love the sinner,” when both the “sin” and the “sinner” happen to be forwarding your interests. Take a look at what you might be complicit in by simply wanting what you want.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21): The reckoning your soul longs for may be with someone from long ago. That moment has passed, and it will be impossible to get back to it, but there’s still a way to make things right going forward.

CANCER (June 22-July 22): While the welfare of others is a worthy investment, don’t give your resources out of a sense of guilt or obligation. Anyone who makes you feel as if you’re indebted is incorrect.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): It may feel as though you are toning down something about yourself to avoid challenging, upsetting or offending people around you. It’s true that what you really want will cause waves, but it’s nothing you can’t handle.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The universe will be persistent with you. What starts out as a suggestion, if not taken, will later be presented to you as a challenge. If you still do not take on the idea, it will present as more of a demand.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23): If your leisure time doesn’t provide the stress release you need and your work keeps increasing the tension, perhaps both need a serious look. Don’t passively live out the default version of your life. Go for the juice.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21): The words that help you reason your way through a problem will mean nothing to your emotional brain, which speaks a different language. To get your whole mind on board, engage through your senses.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): People will often go to greater lengths to avoid boredom than they will to avoid pain. You can use this fact to your advantage and get good results by applying your knack for entertaining. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): It will take more than hard work to win at this game. Momentum will help. It’s a matter of reducing friction and aligning yourself with maximum congruence.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): More than any other time in history, people have come to expect to be entertained at every juncture. Finding reasons to be engaged is a sign of special intelligence.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): In those times when your life feels completely filled up and yet oddly unfulfilling, identify the activities that are the equivalent of eating junk food — i.e., quantity rich and nutrient poor.