HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (July 18). You try things, produce results, frame them, live with them on your wall — and then the magic happens. You go deeper. You ask, “So, what?” You turn it on its ear and start all over. The remarkable things you’re able to accomplish in relationships, professional endeavors and more happen out of willingness to invent and reinvent. Gemini and Sagittarius adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 2, 14, 38, 1 and 4.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). The key to growing your energy is to let unimportant things go. You simply cannot do everything. By paring down processes, possessions and priorities, you’ll free up energy for what matters to you.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Keep going until you make something you’re 100% satisfied with. Hold onto all the preliminary versions, as this proof of your journey will be helpful to yourself and others in the future.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Instead of waiting for useful ideas to dawn on you, you’ll actively search for them. It all starts with questions like, “How can I make the endeavor more fun/less expensive/easier on myself?”
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). To regard yourself with compassion is the very least you can do. Admiration would be more appropriate. Look at how far you’ve come and what you’ve been able to maintain for so long. Wouldn’t you say it’s worth a pat on the back?
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You’ll be challenged to come up with a product the others will find not only satisfactory but also worthy of coveting. They will enjoy it with the feeling they’ve achieved an aspirational status.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). The pressure you’re under is exhilarating — just the sort of stress to trigger the opening of deeper resources. Here comes more energy, creativity, optimism and talent.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). You’ll communicate well with those you wish to influence, using buzzwords they enjoy, visuals to convey commonality, assurances of belonging … while still being mysterious, original and distant enough to make them reach.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). A simple way to get more joy flowing through your days: Seize the opportunity to tend to your pleasures. This is made much easier when you stop judging what brings you pleasure.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Once upon a time, you dreamed of becoming a person who had the very responsibilities you have now. With a change of perspective, the chores become privileges. All the things you have to do become things you get to do.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). People around you who believe in your magnificence make you work harder to live up to their image of you. It’s a metaphoric treadmill — never-ending strides to no destination that nonetheless keeps you in shape.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). There’s something you need to do, and you can’t afford to wait until you’re motivated to do it. Motivation almost never shows up early to the party of life. It likes to arrive when the celebration is already in full swing.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Pleasant circumstances are made more so by the feeling that you’ve earned them. Conversely, unearned luxuries are often taken for granted or accompanied by feelings of vague dissatisfaction to thwart their enjoyment.
FORECAST FOR THE WEEK AHEAD: The first week of the Leo sun provides the excitement, optimism and eclectic silliness of Muppets invading a movie studio lot ready to put on a show. So-called real-life offers glittery accoutrements often just as illusory as any stage prop, and we are constantly reminded that it’s the way we present things that impacts how we feel about the action. The difference between a comedy and a tragedy has a lot to do with tone, which can change with any number of adjustments — to our attitude, the lighting, our clothes, the music … .
The performance of life isn’t life. That’s one tenant to keep in mind in the weeks to come. What is presented prettily for the camera, the investors, the general good opinion of others is a story, which is different from the objective reality of a situation. Separating the two requires more vigilance now than it has at any point in human history. The phone is a spin doctor and special effects crew. Believing the hype of others can be damaging, but believing our own is a grave danger.
While the sun is in Leo, remember that the performative aspects of living, which are selfconscious and aimed at external validation, are a creative outlet. Who you are inside is so much more than could ever be performed or aspired to. You don’t have to entertain to have value in the world.