Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Getty Images
The moon moves into energetic Aries in the morning and gets boosts throughout the day from Pluto, Venus, and Mars. It’s an ideal time to connect with new people, deepen your bond with old friends, and express your feelings. Mercury and Mars are both retrograde, so it’s probably not the best time to make grand gestures or initiate ambitious plans — but by relaxing and being yourself, you’ll be happier by the end of the day than you were at the start.
You could be more emotional than usual today; everything seems to touch you deeply. All the cruelty and injustice in the world affects you on a personal level, but at the same time, the love and kindness buoy you. For someone as action-oriented as you are, this can be frustrating: Hard as you try, you can’t figure out what to do with these emotions. So for now, the best thing is simply to feel them.
As much as you value your friendships, you don’t need constant social interaction to be happy. You enjoy your own company, and you aren’t scared to spend time alone. Sometimes, though, it’s easy to forget this — you get so busy tending to your community that you lose sight of how nice it is to be by yourself. If you can, set aside time today to do what you want to do. No need to cater to anyone else’s desires — for now, just worry about your own.
You understand that it’s unrealistic to expect everyone to like you — but it’s also unrealistic to expect yourself to like everyone you meet. The more people you cross paths with each day, the more likely you are to find some of them irritating or off-putting. This is normal, but sometimes the small conflicts and petty jealousies begin to wear on you. Today, try to take a break from judgment. If you make a genuine effort to get along with people, some of them might surprise you.
You’re probably relatively private by nature — not necessarily shy or withdrawn, just careful about how much of yourself you share. The trouble is that people often fill in the blanks with their own, often incorrect, ideas about what sort of person you are. If you’ve felt misunderstood by the people in your life, today is a good time to set the record straight. Don’t drop vague hints or dance around the issue — be direct.
It can be comforting, even enjoyable, to settle into routines. When your daily life is structured and predictable, it frees up brain space to focus on more interesting things. Today, though, you might feel restless. You want adventure and excitement; you want the world to surprise you. Give yourself permission to break with your usual patterns. While it isn’t always advisable to shake things up, now it could make your world bigger and more interesting and open doors you never would have discovered otherwise.
You’re not afraid of complexity in most situations, but it’s frustrating when your own feelings are contradictory. The outside world is chaotic enough; you want clarity in your inner life. Today is a good opportunity to sort out any emotional confusion you’ve been grappling with. Whether you want to talk it through with a trusted friend or simply spend some time thinking seriously about the matter, you can cut through the muddle and figure out how you really feel — and perhaps even decide what you’ll do about it.
You avoid unnecessary confrontations — but today, a bit of conflict might be needed by everyone. Whether out of politeness or sensitivity or fear, there’s so much that people hold back. And while every passing emotion doesn’t need to be spoken out loud, sometimes it’s best to get everything out in the open. Don’t be shy about speaking up, even if it makes you seem difficult. The people around you will respect your forthrightness, and you’ll all be relieved to finally be on the same page.
It can be almost impossible to change your life on your own. Old habits are hard to break, and even somebody with as much willpower as you might be tempted to give up when your new routines get difficult. So today, ask your friends to help. Maybe you need them to hold you accountable, maybe you just need a few words of support to keep morale up. If you let your community help, you’ll stick to it.
You’re incredibly generous with your time, your resources, your energy — partly for the sake of others, and partly because it feels good to you. It gives you a warm glow to know that you’ve made someone’s day a little better. Today, remember that generosity feels good to others, too — so there’s no need to be reluctant or ashamed about requesting support or understanding when you need it. For the most part, people enjoy giving what they can.
Sometimes it’s more enjoyable to spend time with new friends than old ones. There’s so much emotional baggage between you and the people who have been in your life forever; the ones who know you less intimately offer you a chance to start fresh, free of the embarrassments of your past. Even so, try to focus on the people closest to you today. Connecting with family or your oldest friends will make you feel supported, and will remind you how much love surrounds you.
Today it could seem like everyone — at work, in your social life, simply around your neighborhood — wants to chat with you, tell you their story, become your friend. It might be enjoyable, but if you’re busy or stressed, it might feel like an irritating distraction. Try not to close yourself off, no matter how much work is on your plate. If you can stop wishing you were someplace else, you might find that these little interactions are actually enjoyable. You could even end up with a new friendship or two.
It can be difficult to appreciate your own skills. You imagine that if an activity feels effortless, then it must not be worth much, and that if you aren’t struggling, you aren’t working hard enough. Today, though, remind yourself that you have unique talents, and just because something is easy for you, that doesn’t mean it’s easy for everyone. Trust that your natural gifts and inclinations have value, and follow where they lead you.
Buy Claire Comstock-Gay’s book, Madame Clairevoyant’s Guide to the Stars, here.