Gwen Stefani, a Libra.
Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photo: Getty Images
Today, love plant Venus and action planet Mars work together to smooth your path. It isn’t that all your problems will suddenly vanish, but they will feel more manageable. Suddenly, you may feel empowered to talk through difficulties in your relationships, newly reassured that whatever comes your way, you’re more than a match for it. If you’ve forgotten how capable or likable or interesting you are, today you’ll be prompted to remember.
You don’t usually get bogged down by nostalgia. Instead of replaying the past again and again, you’d rather keep your eyes on the future. Today, though, memories might tug at your attention, and dreams you’d given up on could start calling to you again. Don’t immediately slam the door on any old desires or emotions that seem to reignite. While it’s possible that you’re just feeling sentimental, don’t close the door on second chances.
You’re not typically one to act recklessly. Even when you do something that seems sudden to others, it’s usually a step you’ve been privately considering for some time. But today, you might surprise yourself by acting on impulse, whether it’s something as small as starting a conversation with a stranger, or as big as upending your whole life. For now, it’s probably best to go with it: Your instincts are solid, and might be pointing you toward something your conscious mind didn’t realize you needed.
There’s so much you’d change about the world, if you could. Your problem has never been that you’re short on ideas, only on time, resources, and power. The distance between your ambitions and your capacity to realize them can be despairing. Today, try to think on a smaller scale. Remember that doing something is always better than doing nothing. You can’t change everything — at least, not as fast as you’d like — but you can make your small corner of the world gentler and more beautiful.
There’s a part of you that feels you don’t deserve the things you want most. Instead of going after your dream job, or waiting for a relationship that’ll fulfill you, or fighting for the world you truly believe in, it seems more prudent to settle. This way, you’re less likely to get hurt. Today, though, you might find that you can’t quite manage to extinguish the desire for more. Maybe you can’t always get exactly what you want, but resolve now to stop talking yourself out of trying.
In theory, you recognize the importance of making mistakes; in real life, though, it’s terrifying. It’s not that you’re scared of messing up for its own sake — your fear is that other people will see you do it, and that they’ll take you less seriously or lose their respect for you. So today, you might benefit from some time and space to yourself. If a bit of privacy makes you feel safe enough to take risks, then make a point of getting away from other people so that you try something new.
Lately, you’ve been faced with seemingly impossible problems. No matter how hard you work, nothing has seemed to rise. In moments like these, it can be tempting to assume that you’ve exhausted all your options — but don’t be so quick to give up. Maybe you’ve tried out all of your ideas, but you’re surrounded by other people, with different backgrounds and experiences and skills. Work together, and you may find that your dilemmas aren’t so unsolvable after all.
When you’re working toward a long-term goal, sometimes the best thing you can do is follow your plan and keep plugging along, even if you don’t see the results yet. You don’t necessarily need to feel progress for it to be happening. Today, though, might be a good time to re-evaluate existing strategies. If what you’re doing isn’t working, you don’t have to stick with it forever. Whether you want to make a small shift to your plan, or try something else entirely, don’t be afraid to attempt something different.
You’re good at talking yourself out of your most ambitious ideas and poking holes in the plans you’re most excited about. It isn’t that you’re trying to be negative, just realistic; why let yourself get excited about something that’s probably not going to work out anyway? But while this mindset is good at protecting you from disappointment, it also holds you back. Today, give yourself permission to swing big, even if it leads to failure. Things are likely to work out, and at the very least, you’ll be glad you tried.
Your instinct may be to close yourself off from the people you care about. It’s not that you’re afraid of deep emotions, just that you don’t want to be the only one who’s feeling them. In any relationship, romantic or not, it’s painful to get the sense that you’re more invested than the other person. And while you can’t make anyone care more than they do, you can at least be honest about how you’re feeling. And today, you might be surprised: The simple act of opening up, on your part, could lead to the deeper intimacy you’ve been longing for.
You might be hesitant to let your soft side show — not just with new people, but with anyone. It’s not that you don’t trust the people in your life, only that it seems safest not to give them the opportunity to hurt you. But while this may protect you from pain, it also gets in the way of ever developing the connection you want. Today, consider letting some of your defenses drop. It’s scary to let people in, but the rewards are worth it.
You’ve probably felt out of sync with the people around you lately. Maybe you and the people you live with keep stepping on each other’s toes; maybe you and your coworkers aren’t collaborating well. Even if none of the issues are big or dramatic, small moments of discord pile up, making everything in life feel harder. Today, make an effort to find a resolution. Even if you’ve tried unsuccessfully before, you might find that everyone, including you, is a bit more willing to listen now.
If you had the freedom to live how you truly wanted, you’d spend less time working and more time dreaming, making art, loving your friends. But as much as you might wish you didn’t have to worry about money and deal with practical matters, you understand that it’s just the reality of the world we live in, so you try to be disciplined. Today, though, you might find that your motivation is flagging. Instead of trying to push through, give yourself permission to do what feels most enjoyable, and you’ll be replenished to do the work ahead.
Buy Claire Comstock-Gay’s book, Madame Clairevoyant’s Guide to the Stars, here.