Vanessa Hudgens, a Sagittarius.
Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photo: Getty Images
Mercury retrograde ended yesterday afternoon, which means that the planet of thought and communication moves forward through Sagittarius all day. If your relationships have felt confusing over the past three weeks or if you’ve been unsure of your direction, a clearer picture may finally emerge — particularly if you used this retrograde period to slow down and reflect. Just don’t be too hasty to leap into action: Mercury is still moving more slowly than usual, so the more deliberate you can be for now, the better.
You might not be much of a planner by nature. It isn’t that you’re careless, only that you do some of your best thinking on your feet. Plus, the world changes too quickly for it to be worthwhile to make detailed preparations. Even so, today, you’ll benefit from giving some thought to the big picture. If you get clear with yourself about where you hope to be in a few years, it’ll help you stay on track and make good decisions as they arise.
Lately, you’ve been jumping to conclusions more than usual. It’s not your fault — when you don’t have all the facts in front of you, you often have no option but to muddle through based on your best guess. But today, try to be a bit more critical of the narratives you’ve created. While they might end up being spot-on, there’s also a good chance that you were missing critical context. If you’re not sure, now’s a good time to clear up any confusion by asking the right questions.
Your friends might find it frustrating when you’re in one of your indecisive moods. Occasionally, you even get irritated with yourself. You wish that you didn’t have to overanalyze everything, that you were one of these people who could simply act without worrying about all the minor details and potential pitfalls. But today, your tendency to pay attention to the small stuff will help you. Your instincts are sharp; don’t listen to anyone who tells you otherwise.
You try not to procrastinate, but that can be hard. If you’re intimidated by the work ahead of you, it can seem simpler to avoid it altogether. If you can’t figure out what to do next, you end up waiting around for answers that never seem to arrive. Sometimes, it’s useful to take a break while you collect your thoughts, but today, it’s time to start moving forward again, even if you don’t feel completely ready. The tasks that seem impossible now won’t be so bad once you start on them.
Stereotypes about your sign notwithstanding, you recognize that the world doesn’t actually revolve around you and you do your best to be attentive to the moods and feelings of other people. This means that sometimes you have to let someone else take center stage and keep your thoughts to yourself. But it might feel like you’ve been doing too much of all that lately. You’re bursting with unexpressed charm and big ideas; today, give yourself permission to shine bright again.
You try not to dwell on the past — but you don’t always succeed. Lately, especially, you’ve felt haunted by memories. Maybe you’ve been nostalgic for younger, more innocent versions of yourself, or maybe you’ve been embarrassed by all the mistakes you made along the way. Either way, you’ve felt stuck. Today, finally, it’ll seem possible to move forward again. You don’t need to ignore the past or pretend it doesn’t affect who you are today, but you won’t be bound by it either.
Most of the time, your curiosity is a valuable tool. Occasionally, though, it backfires: You take in so much information that you struggle to process it all and discern what matters in the bigger picture versus what is inessential or inaccurate. Today, remember that you don’t have to collect every tiny detail or listen to every story. It’s not your responsibility to know everything, and you’ll feel better and more centered if you focus on separating the useful information from the random junk.
You aren’t particularly susceptible to peer pressure; if others try to tell you what to think or how to act, you’re just as likely to lean in the opposite direction. But just because you’re independent, that doesn’t mean you’re infallible. It’s been easy to lose sight of what really matters to you lately — to start imagining that you need things or relationships that turn out to be inessential, or to devalue the ones you already have. Today, return to reality, recognizing what truly matters.
Normally, you’re confident in your ideas, plans, and beliefs. You know your mind is sharp and your thought processes reliable. Lately, though, doubt has crept in. You’ve been less sure that the conclusions you’re drawing are the right ones; even basic questions like who you are and what you want seem harder to answer. This uncertainty might not be pleasant, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Today, the more time you’ve spent grappling with big questions, the more sure of yourself you’ll be.
Some people enjoy lazing around, but having nothing to do is more likely to make you feel antsy and off. You’re happiest when you’re actively taking strides toward a far-off goal. But you’re still a human, and you need to rest sometimes. So today, avoid the temptation to jump into a new project just to give yourself something to do. This isn’t the time to fret about productivity or long-term outcomes but to relax, daydream, and enjoy your own musings — without worrying about where they’ll lead.
As much as others praise your unique perspective and ideas, sometimes they feel more like burdens. Life would be so much simpler, you imagine, if you could be normal, if you thought and felt the same way everyone else does. But today, you’ll be reminded that you don’t actually want to be like the others. There are already enough people willing to go along with the crowd. Buck convention and embrace your creativity and you’ll come into your own.
It can be difficult to assess your own abilities. You rarely know for sure whether your self-doubt is appropriate or overblown, whether your moments of confidence are well-earned or foolishly inflated. But for now, trust yourself. When you feel that you have valuable insights to share, don’t hold back. And when you can tell you’ve got more to learn, don’t be too proud to ask for help. There are times for seeking out advice and times for offering it, and today, you’ll know the difference.
Buy Claire Comstock-Gay’s book, Madame Clairevoyant’s Guide to the Stars, here.