Horoscope

After thousands of years of wearing heavy animal furs to keep out the cold, humans now have the technology to make warm clothes that are also extremely light. This trine of Jupiter and Uranus is a lucky time to apply cleverness to the realm of feelings.

(March 21-April 19): A conversation doesn’t have to be long to be effective. In fact, the longer it is, the less effective it will be. Think about what you are feeling. What is worth expressing here? Choose very carefully.

(April 20-May 20): Human interaction is hardly ever about what it purports to be about. The puzzle this poses is reason enough for you to slow down and listen closely. Of course, figuring it out also gives you an edge.

(May 21-June 21): It’s as hard to communicate with someone who easily takes offense as it is to relate to someone who readily gives offense. Choose your topics well and tread lightly, and you’ll cross the minefield intact.

(June 22-July 22): Small daily improvements lead to sizable monthly improvements. If you only do 1% better each day on something that matters to you, in 100 days you’ll have completely transformed your skill level.

(July 23-Aug. 22): When you can’t see your way forward in the dark, a flashlight won’t do you any good unless it is also turned on. Asking for help today will be like flipping that switch. Let there be light.

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22): There can be many morals to the same story. Your takeaway is going to be different from that of others who lived the same experience. The value of this is something all people set for themselves.

(Sept. 23-Oct. 23): Environments have psychological weight, a fact you’re all too aware of today. Figuratively feel the temperature of a door before opening it, as though bracing for a room on fire.

(Oct. 24-Nov. 21): It is rare to be in a situation where a mentor knows exactly what to do with your talent. You’ll have to figure out quite a lot about yourself on your own. As long as you expect and embrace this, the process will be fun.

(Nov. 22-Dec. 21): The value you give today’s pursuits can be summed up by these words of explorer Dame Freya Stark: “Love of learning is a pleasant and universal bond, since it deals with what one is and not what one has.”

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19): People change their minds all of the time, though most prefer to do this privately. Public shifts of thought can be equated to admitting error, which egos of the big and fragile variety cannot abide.

(Jan. 20-Feb. 18): They really have no idea what it’s like to be you. But before you get to worrying about that, it will be helpful to answer this question: What is it like to be them?

(Feb. 19-March 20): You know that you don’t yet understand a thing enough to form an opinion. This knowledge is, in and of itself, virtuous. A lesser person wouldn’t even realize the gap.

(Dec. 15): Travel will be your soul’s thriving influence, as will connecting with new people. You’re gifted in the art of reading and relating to people, yet you’ll seek to further build your emotional intelligence, thus ratcheting up the excitement in your personal life. Cancer and Leo adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 7, 1, 3, 45 and 44.

THEME ONE: While there are many ways to let a thing go and the benefits are obvious, letting go is still somehow difficult. The last week of the Sagittarius sun offers a cry for liberty and an opportunity of the sort of big-picture perspective that inspires us to see what’s holding us back so we can finally break loose of it.

THEME TWO: In the movies, the hero battling evil is seldom freaking out at the same time.

A focused intensity is usually the mode that gets it done. In real life, it’s much easier to lose it and act out with the emotional upsurge in ways that later seem regrettable. Emotional mastery is among the most useful skills to pick up along life’s way.

Venus enters Aquarius, providing an emotional coolspray on those hot emotions. The temperature drop allows for greater mastery and management. Recognize the state you’re in and use it to your advantage. You can move through it, turn down the internal temperature even more to get a grip on a situation, or turn it up because it’s time. These are the skills that will lead to success this week.

would discard effectively, and declarer would lose a diamond and a heart.

“You won’t believe what Ed did,” Cy told me. “He let the queen of clubs win. East had followed with the five — the lowest missing club — so West might have shifted. But West led another club.”

Ed took the ace and cashed the ace of trumps and the A-K of diamonds. He led his ten of trumps to dummy’s jack, discarded his last diamond on the king of clubs and ruffed a diamond with the king of trumps. When the suit broke 3-3, Ed got back to dummy by leading his three of trumps to the four and pitched his heart loser on the 13th diamond. Making six!