Horoscopes

Aries (March 21-April 19): The better you know yourself and the more in touch you are with how you’re feeling, the greater your control will be over the messages you send to the world. Nonverbal communication will say more than words. Taurus (April 20-May 20): In some way, you feel stuck. You long for someone to share an insight with you that will wake you up to the way things really are. Make it a priority to spend time with people who are emotionally intelligent. Gemini (May 21-June 21): You’ll share what’s on your mind. There are those who relate your issue to one of their own and somehow never bring it back to you. Your story fades; theirs takes over... narcissism at its finest. Seek those who know how to listen. Cancer (June 22-July 22): Treats and indulgences seem like acts of self-care but aren’t, really, unless they line up with what you really need. Offer yourself warmth and acceptance first, and go from there. Leo (July 23-Aug. 22): Stories are powerful. A story can be a weapon, a vehicle, a seduction or an identity. Your own personal stories are worth caring for as you would other cherished things. Repeat stories to find the best way to tell them. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Why do you think people come to you instead of doing the millions of other things they could be doing? There’s a good reason. To understand that reason is to appreciate your own inherently lovable qualities. Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 23): Anticipate disruption instead of fearing it or going on like it will never happen. Your path will be littered with obstacles, but you are wide awake and ready to swerve, jump or conquer as necessary. Scorpio (Oct. 24-Nov. 21): If you’re afraid to say what’s on your mind or let your guard down, there had better be a good reason — maybe you’re being paid to take on a role. If not, what are you doing with people you can’t be yourself around? Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Wherever you are, the sign will meet you there — it’s the sting of a cat scratch; it’s what the wild waves say; it’s the parlance of posies. You’ll translate sensations, decode experience, and you’ll just know. Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Falling in love, like all falling, implies a loss of balance. But real love is different from that disorienting infatuation stage. Real love provides foundation. It strengthens and builds you. You’re more solid because of it. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): There’s a decision or some knowledge you arrive at inside yourself before the work is done. This is the true takeaway from the work and perhaps its real purpose, though one that’s always hidden by the more tangible results. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20): It all matters. Not one exchange is meaningless. Still, it’s a matter of pacing yourself and finding the glad nexus between the quality of attention you want to bring to a thing and the quality of attention it demands or prefers. DEAR ABBY >> I live in Atlanta, and my family lives four hours south. My brother travels here often to visit his girlfriend and their son. I never know he’s in town unless another family member mentions it or he posts a photo of himself at a local landmark.

My parents and brother came here to attend my nephew’s school band concert. No one mentioned that they were coming or contacted me during their visit. I learned about it after speaking with my grandmother the following day. Since then, I have spoken to my parents once briefly, and they still haven’t mentioned it. Apparently, judging from the group text I just received, my brother is back in town again today for another event.

I don’t want to make this about me, but I feel left out. Do I have the right to have hurt feelings?

— Forgotten sister in Georgia

DEAR SISTER >> You have the right to feel however you feel. But I have to wonder how close you and your brother really are, and whether you get along with the girlfriend. I suspect this may be why you are not included during these visits. Your parents may not have told you they were in town because they were asked not to or didn’t want to hurt your feelings. I think it’s time for a family discussion, don’t you?

DEAR ABBY >> I’ve always been very independent and haven’t had many serious relationships in my 34 years of life. For the last two years, I have been in a healthy relationship with a man who is kind, smart and makes me feel like I can be myself.

On our first anniversary, although we had never talked about marriage, he surprised me with a proposal. I didn’t feel the excitement and joy that I had always pictured myself feeling when this moment finally happened to me. We haven’t set a wedding date, nor am I thrilled about getting married.

I love this person and appreciate him, but I feel like I should be over-the-moon about spending forever with him. Do these blase feelings mean this isn’t the right person for me, or that I’m simply not ready for the next step?

— Bewildered mountain girl

DEAR GIRL >> Real life isn’t like it is portrayed in the movies and on television. There is no cookie-cutter reaction to receiving a proposal. Many women would be thrilled to receive a proposal of marriage from a man who is kind, smart and with whom they can be themselves. (I am not implying that this should be you.)

My recommendation is that you two have a LONG engagement as well as premarital counseling, so you can both determine what’s important to you and if you are on the same page. Frankly, these discussions should have started well before a proposal.

DEAR ABBY >> I have been married for five years and together with my husband for 15. I love him, and I try to look attractive for him.

I recently got a shorter haircut that I thought looks nice. When my husband saw it, his reaction was, “It doesn’t look bad,” and, “If you like it, that’s all that matters.” I can’t help but feel slighted and a little hurt. Am I being too sensitive?

— Hurt in Washington

DEAR HURT >> Maybe. Your husband is entitled to his reaction, and he was honest with you. Would you have preferred that he lie? If you like the new hairstyle, keep it. If you are having second thoughts, remember it’s not an arm or a leg; it’s only hair, and it will grow.