Holiday Mathis

Volume is sometimes mistaken for clarity. As the person who tries to talk louder to be understood, with unsuccessful results, learns firsthand, though, turning up a misunderstood thing often has the opposite effect than intended. Address clarity problems instead by defining terms and clearing up the noise around a signal.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). The muses are with you now when you speak or write, and you’ll be communicating from the heart. With easy eloquence and effortless persuasion, you’ll enjoy the warmth of other hearts shining your way.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Your fantasy-world escape is offering free admission for brief visits. If you find yourself staying too long in the dream, however, the dream will start charging you rent.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Do you eat last and clean up first? Do you listen way more than you talk? Do you have the oldest phone in your family? Your self-sacrificing style may not always be fun, but you are deeper and richer for it.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). Your empathetic talents will serve you well. You’ll mentally put yourself in someone else’s place and make a good guess about what behaviors would be necessary in order to uphold that position.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Try not to think too far into a circumstance or dwell mentally on things that can only be experienced. There is no substitute for being there, so just go.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Since what you seek is also seeking you, all this shifting you’re doing only makes it harder for the thing to catch up with you. Be still. Stop searching for it and let it find you.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Confucius said, “To be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it.” Arguably, some offenses are more memorable than others. You’ll be judicious about which grievances to carry.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). It’s not always obvious how to best share. There are those who would accept your contributions but don’t really need them, and others who need them very much but don’t know to ask. Stay aware and awake to those who need you.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Force is, by definition, a conflict with the reality of the moment. Maybe it’s what’s necessary, though other considerations might be entertained. To do more than what’s necessary is a waste of energy.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). When you were a child, there was much you looked forward to with excited anticipation. Now there’s even more. A different and varied set of expectations alights the buzz of giddiness. Sometimes it comes on for no reason at all.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Your plate is full because people trust you to get the job done. They have a high level of faith in you — something you can effectively pay forward, as you’ll be needing to delegate some of this.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Freedom isn’t always a process that takes forever. Sometimes, it’s a state of mind that can be achieved in an instant. The way out may be just to get out — to rise above and find something different to care about.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (May 23). You’re not the only one going for a prize, but you’ll be the only one who takes it home. You’ll be impressed by who follows you. In fact, you could gain more support and attention than you know what to do with, at least at first. The inner journey will mirror the outer one and vice versa. Both involve great distances. Gemini and Scorpio adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 8, 3, 11, 30 and 49.

FORECAST FOR THE WEEK AHEAD: The midweek full moon in adventurous Sagittarius spotlights exploration. It’s been suggested that there are those who observe how things are and ask, “Why?” and then those who dream and ask, “Why not?” But these needn’t be, and usually aren’t, two different groups. The best thinkers, both diligent and imaginative, bounce between both questions, taking what they can from past conclusions as they move forward to build the new world.

The full moon is accompanied by a lunar eclipse, a cosmic omen of attractions and other magnetic fields interrupted. For instance, consider the magnetism of pain and injury. It is the body’s way to rush fluid to a sprain, thus the swelling. It is the ocean’s way, too: The waves go high and rush to the injury that is the shore — alone, dry and longing. Pain is a mover. What’s in pain’s path is swept the distance. Though it would be foolish to seek pain, there is solace in knowing the gift of it — how it tugs at the pit and brings about the irresistible currents of change.

CELEBRITY PROFILES: This Alaska native famously lived in her car while she delighted the coffeehouses of California with her unique voice and acoustic guitar. Happy birthday, Jewel, the versatile Gemini who is masterful in many different genres of music including folk, country, pop, opera — she even yodels. Jewel has her natal sun, moon and Mercury in the versatile, intelligent sign of the twins.

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