Connecticut Post (Sunday)

horoscope

- HOLIDAY MATHIS

The way to get good at a thing is to play around with it first. It’s why children are inclined to pretending: mock fights, sports, dress- up, etc. All are ways to go through the motions and try things on.

ARIES ( March 21- April 19): You’ll form your life around what’s important to you. A few hours here and there will turn into blocks of time, and then a commitment, and then the endeavor is your lifestyle.

TAURUS ( April 20- May 20): Breath is wasted in trying to say something appropriat­e. Better to let your curiosity lead you to the questions that will spring interactio­ns to life. Riskier, maybe, but without risk there is no reward.

GEMINI ( May 21- June 21): Your environmen­t is full of optional experience­s, some of which present themselves as givens. There are no givens. You get to choose how or if you want to engage.

CANCER ( June 22- July 22): Just because you can name a feeling doesn’t mean you have to claim the feeling, which is just energy moving through you. Feelings can come and go without defining or becoming you.

LEO ( July 23- Aug. 22): The power source is already inside you, but the plug may have come out of the socket. Run yourself through a series of checks that will tell you where the energy is coming from.

VIRGO ( Aug. 23- Sept. 22): In your mind, a trajectory seemed like an easy, singular ascent. In practice, there is no such a thing. Ask any bird. Learning to fly is a messy affair that starts with learning to fall.

LIBRA ( Sept. 23- Oct. 23): A picture assimilate­s in the ether and is sent straight to the email inbox of your mind. This can be a working map for you, as it’s a kind of overhead shot of where you are going and the path to getting there.

SCORPIO ( Oct. 24- Nov. 21): You’re on an uphill climb. Your contributi­on will feel like something you are doing for you and you alone, but when you elevate yourself, you elevate the collective spirit.

SAGITTARIU­S ( Nov. 22Dec. 21): Adaptabili­ty is a willingnes­s to change when the current tactic isn’t working. Fickleness is an inclinatio­n to change regardless of the effectiven­ess of the current tactic.

CAPRICORN ( Dec. 22- Jan. 19): You are attracted to what is good for you. The actions that energize you will feel like the right thing to do. You’ll be drawn to the people who pull you into life’s fullness.

AQUARIUS ( Jan. 20- Feb. 18): Certain loyalties seem so cemented in place that you don’t think to test them. But it’s a short distance from comfort to complacenc­y.

PISCES ( Feb. 19- March 20): The bad news is also the good news: You will not win the lottery today. Instead, you will have the satisfacti­on of helping another person in a way money cannot buy.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAY ( June 27): Your openness to good things is exactly what attracts them to you. July brings a circumstan­ce to ramp up your vitality. You’ll be driven by ambition, not greed — the difference being a success that improves lives for many. Sagittariu­s and Capricorn adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 10, 4, 44, 38 and 5.

FORECAST FOR THE WEEK AHEAD: Scientists studying the animal kingdom have discovered that many animal species engage in play just as humans do. Though play is an instinct that sharpens and readies a juvenile animal for adult behaviors such as hunting and territoria­l fighting, playfulnes­s often carries over into adult life as well. How do animals communicat­e to one another that they are playing and not actually attacking one another? The lightness of playful movement is a tipoff, with fake blows and bites, pulled claws, and takedowns less forceful than an actual hunting behavior.

Additional­ly, scientists have recently tuned into an audible tipoff many animals share. Cats, canines, apes and more will signal to one another with a breathing sound — a rhythmic chuffling that communicat­es the message, “Let’s pretend for a moment...” The human correlatio­n here is the sound of laughter.

Venus enters the sign of the playful cat this week and the importance of play takes center stage. The Leo energy rules presentati­on, entertainm­ent and performanc­e. Our rule as a society is, anything happening on a stage is, by nature, pretend. And yet, we reward realism. We like our entertainm­ent ( aka “play”) to give us the thrill of actually being in a circumstan­ce. This Venus transit is an invitation to pretend. What would you like to try on? What would you like to practice a lighter version of? What would you like to laugh about?

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