Horoscopes

Aries (March 21-April 19): When you’ve a whole crowd of competition, standing out is crucial, and you won’t be able to do it with a mild move. Also, when it comes to love, playing it safe is dangerous. You can’t light a match without friction. Taurus (April 20-May 20): Affection is the golden ingredient. It’s the difference between getting the laugh and not, drawing people closer in camaraderie or repelling them with antagonism. Gemini (May 21-June 21): You know trouble when it walks in. That doesn’t mean you’ll stay away from it, though. You’ll move closer for the same reason people visit active volcanoes or walk to the ledge for the view — thrills. Cancer (June 22-July 22): Success will depend on creating smaller goals. That big aim happens in thousands of little moves. Give yourself an early win. Reward yourself for beginning and then for taking 10 steps and then 10 more... Leo (July 23-Aug. 22): Wanting it now is for children who haven’t been alive long enough to develop a sense of world time. When you get impatient today, step away and take a breath. Notice the already established rhythms. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Knowing a little about someone builds tension. The more slowly a relationship unfolds the more interesting it will be to you. People who are resistant to reveal themselves will appeal to you more than the fully disclosed. Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 23): It could very well be that the problems of mankind (and, by extension, the problems of the world) will be solved by small diverse groups of smart people. You’ll be in such a group today. Scorpio (Oct. 24-Nov. 21): Knowledge always builds on itself. One piece that’s missing or corrupt affects all that’s built on it. You’ll solve a problem when you investigate and deconstruct what you know to root out the misunderstanding. Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Loving someone means protecting that person’s ego. Ego protection involves an entire list of do’s and don’ts. Public support and loyalty are on the “do” list, and you’ll be participating in much of that today. Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Learning happens over time, and that time isn’t one night. A little bit every day is the way to mastery. As busy as you are, you have the 20 minutes to begin to master a new skill.

The moment things start to become hidden, that’s where problems arise. You prevent this by sharing your life openly with your close loved ones and staying in touch with the different parts of their lives, too. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20): Be careful not to lay down rules that make you feel better in the moment but won’t be sustainable over the long term. Look ahead. What move can you make now that’s going to create a tenable situation for the future?

To write to Holiday Mathis, visit www.creators.com/ author/holiday-mathis and click “Contact.” DEAR ABBY » My husband and I have been married for 26 years. We have a daughter, 25, who recently graduated from college. We will have a small gathering of close friends and family to celebrate.

During our entire marriage, anytime we invited my in-laws to birthday parties or other special occasions, they never accepted unless we agreed for the event to take place in one of their homes. I feel at this point they no longer deserve more invites. Although they were invited to attend the graduation, of course they refused.

My husband feels we should invite them, even though he knows they won’t come. I feel they don’t deserve any more invitations, but my husband refuses to agree. I have never been unpleasant to them or spoken about how I have felt about their snubs. My daughter has also reached the point of not caring if they are included because she feels the same way I do. Am I wrong for feeling this way? — Snubbed in the Midwest

DEAR SNUBBED » Not knowing why your in-laws are reluctant to celebrate milestones with you outside their homes, I can’t guess their reason. However, you are entitled to your feelings, and from my perspective, you should have asked them the rationale for their reluctance years ago.

That said, I do not think this is the time to punish them, particularly because your husband feels so strongly about it. They are his family. Send them the invitation and you’ll be beyond reproach. Who knows? They may surprise you and attend. However, if they don’t, it will be on their heads and not yours.

DEAR ABBY » I’m turning 30, and I have had many relationships. Some of them lasted more than a year, but many have been short-lived. I have been engaged once and proposed to three times. It’s a joke among my friends that I’m a serial dater, but I don’t feel it’s worth my time to sit around and be depressed about something that’s not working out.

I have been seeing someone now for the last four months, and I can honestly say I have never felt this way before. We complement one another in so many ways and have much to learn from each other as well. I’m as in love with him as he is with me.

My issue is, nobody around me takes it seriously because I have had so many relationships and “loved” so many times. I try to tell them this is different, but they brush him off as just another guy who will be gone with the wind someday.

I don’t want to take it personally, and I’m not usually the type to care about what others think, but it irks me because I am so passionate about this man. Should I try harder to make them understand, or just enjoy the love that I’m in?

— Lover in Pennsylvania

DEAR LOVER » Just be happy. Sometimes the harder we try to sell something, the more resistant the buyer becomes. You do not have to convince anyone that this is the real thing. As the relationship develops, those around you will see it for themselves.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

For everything you need to know about wedding planning, order “How to Have a Lovely Wedding.” Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $7 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby, Wedding Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.)