HOROSCOPE

Pisces Sun Engages Emotions Are you already starting to catch feelings? As the Pisces sunbeams invigorate the emotional realms, what was interesting yesterday transforms into a visceral call to action. Those intriguing ideas we played around with become full-blown pursuits. The “might-likes” become “must-haves.”

ARIES (March 21-April 19). You respond to realness and are hypersensitive today to anything not in the category, especially when it’s coming from a familiar source. Anything that seems out of character will be taken as a red flag.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). With your keen sense of direction, you’re unlikely to get lost in the city or the woods, but you might feel lost in cultural conditioning, an invisible maze best navigated with your spiritual true north.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Expectations cannot always be managed.

Sometimes imagination grabs the hand of passion and runs away before any reasonable limits can be communicated. Look for the wisdom in naive flights of fancy. It’s there somewhere.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). In every interaction, the first step is to set the scene. It will be set anyway, but maybe not in the way that puts you in the best light. So be deliberate. What’s the impression that will set you up for success?

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You’re not new to the situation. You’ve had time to assess the limits and risks. You’ve learned what’s necessary and what you can do without. You’ve earned the right to use shortcuts of familiarity.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Try a different role, even if it’s not the one you feel destined for. You do your job better once you’ve seen it from the position of the boss, the customer, the competitor and more.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You’re so cooperative by nature that you may assume others share your amenability. But many people have to be reminded. The best way to do this is to ask for help.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). If asked, say yes. If not asked, volunteer – because today the job at hand is sure to tap a well of your unused potential, awakening you to something new inside you.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Being in a crowd gets easier the more crowds you’re in. It’s one way to get in touch with your humanity, a connection that’s readily lost in the modern age. Get your ticket to go mix with the masses.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Your whispering mind, the word on the street, the experts and prognosticators – all go spinning tales about the latest outcomes, though no one knows for sure. All the stories have one thing in common: They are stories. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You are whole. So give your attention, because it feels good to give and because it’s your nature to love. You don’t need to trade your attention for partnership or validation, because you’re already whole. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). When you set out to contribute the best inside

you, the world can’t help but open up to you. People might be skeptical at first. But once they figure out your genuine intent, they’ll change their tune.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Feb. 18). Out of respect for the people you’re with, you’ve been reluctant to focus on yourself. But there’s a way to fulfill your role and still give consistent high-level attention to what you want. You tap into that, as well as a new way to hone and apply your talent to lucrative effect, and you make a lifestyle shift that gives you more time for fitness. Libra and Gemini adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 3, 1, 11, 4 and 26. ON PUBLIC PERCEPTION VS. SELF-PERCEPTION: Taking On a Spiritual Maxim

The guru touched my forehead and said, “What others think of me is none of my business.” And I went home in a daze about how to best apply this wisdom.

I am a pleaser. I want to be liked by

all. I want to see some sort of validation in every last eyeball. When I don’t get it, I pay attention. I dwell there. Why don’t they like me? Why-y-y-? And how

can I change it? That the guru would home in on my tendency to seek external validation made perfect sense.

Yet the more I tried to apply the salve of this spiritual wisdom the worse I felt about my mixed approval ratings. This message that was supposed to be a rung in the ladder to my enlightenment became instead a spiral staircase down to the depths of my obsession with approval.

“What others think of me...” OMG, they are THINKING of me? No-o-o-o-! What? What are they thinking?

Seeing as gurus can be very hard to contact for a follow-up visit (they book up), I had to take matters into my own hands.

Continued in tomorrow’s column. See you there!