HOROSCOPE
Mars/Pluto Earth Sign Trine We are all doing what we need to do to flesh out a given role. The plot is being revealed with each interaction; you are every bit as able to steer it as anyone else involved. Yes, the larger context is hard to change, but the Mars and Pluto situation reminds us that with consistent action in any particular direction, change is inevitable.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). Someone is expecting you to pull a rabbit out of your hat, and can you blame them? You’ve done this trick before to astonishing effect. Now for the key question: What’s in it for you?
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You’ll get props. These are probably deserved, but you won’t feel that way. Even if you think you haven’t earned this respect and admiration, don’t deflect it. A simple thank you is all that’s needed.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Go with the momentum. Resist the urge to make a thing perfect or start over the “right” way... this is just fear talking. Keep going; you’ll be able to build on what you have. Work what’s working.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). There’s the reason why you like each other, and then there’s the (SET ITAL) real (END ITAL) reason why you like each other, and they are seldom the same reason. The relationship will thrive in awareness and service of the real reason.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). The title of a poem by Paige Lewis reads, “In the Hands of Borrowers, Objects Are Twice as Likely to Break.” The notion holds true today, so be neither a borrower nor a lender.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You are needed for your talents. In some ways, you are indispensable. And while it feels good to do something that another cannot, it’s also a lot of responsibility that could get burdensome if held for too long.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). It’s absolutely brilliant to have something, and it’s absolutely brilliant to not have it. Each is its own kind of brilliance. Not worrying about a loss or gain... that’s liberation.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Now, more so than last week, you get attached to the thing you do routinely. Use this to your advantage by adding that one thing you want to be a part of your daily life.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Someone you admire is having a regular roller coaster of a time lately. Following someone so unpredictable is an adventure that, in a weird way, makes you feel grounded by comparison.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). What clear and poignant observations have you -- and now for someone to tell them to... it’s true they would be wasted on someone close to you. For now, preserve and save them just for you.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Animals don’t have leisure time, because they have no delineation between what they (SET ITAL) have to do (END ITAL) and (SET ITAL) get to do (END ITAL). It’s all just what they’re doing. You’ll benefit from an animalistic approach, reducing mental noise caused by definitions.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). There are aspects of you, caused by your sensitivity, that you sometimes want to change. There’s nothing wrong with these parts of you, but they make certain situations more difficult. Instead of changing, create workarounds.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (FEBRUARY 24). You didn’t think it was a burden at the time, and yet a responsibility will come to its natural ending place, and suddenly, you’re free to enter an era of discovery and exploration. It’s as though the color dial has been turned up in your worldview and life comes at you with overdue vividness and excitement. Cancer and Capricorn adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 6, 18, 44, 38 and 9.
COSMIC QUESTION: “Do you think it’s unreasonable to ask the teen I hire to babysit my 7-year-old not to use her cellphone while she’s working? My other friends don’t seem to care. My husband says it’s just how things are now. But I can’t stand for my daughter to have that kind of example to look up to. And I’m an Aquarius!”
Your Aquarian ease and love of technology stops right at the point where technology interferes with human interest. Your child deserves to have a distraction-free interaction with the babysitter. Your babysitter is also a child, and you are not doing her any favors by teaching her that it’s fine to be constantly on her cellphone in a professional setting. As an employer, it’s your responsibility to communicate your expectations. Here’s some verbiage you might try: “We have a no-phone policy for babysitters, except, of course, in the case of an emergency or to talk with your parents or us. Our child looks up to you, and we are counting on you to set an example of being fully attentive to others.”