Your Stars

ARIES March 21 — April 21

Some of our possessions have sentimental value. Others have financial worth. A few have both. Pragmatism usually determines the distinction. We may never wish to part with the ring that Great Aunt Hilda left us, but if we inherited her dishwasher, we may more happily let it go if it stops working. What are you hanging on to now, not in terms of some material item but by way of an idea or a belief? Is it still making a constructive contribution to your life? Or might it now be getting in the way of precious progress?

TAURUS April 21 — May 21

They say “there is no substitute for hard work”. Are they right? Or are the people who say such things just creating a rod for their own backs? What is wrong with a smart short-cut or a time-saving manoeuvre? Or some gizmo or gadget that frees us from unnecessary toil and trouble. When we automatically assume that the only right way to do something is the difficult way, aren’t we just cheating ourselves? Some seemingly simple solutions can backfire. But others can prove to be truly brilliant - as you may yet see today.

GEMINI May 21 — June 22

When some objects break, they cannot be flawlessly reassembled, regardless of how much skill or superglue we apply. Yet not everything is ruined forever after an inadvertent, untoward, impact. Some mechanisms benefit from being dismantled and rebuilt. Structures, which might previously have been classed as ‘ornamental’, can turn out, after a shake up, to have had a hidden use from which an ingenious repair-person can extract a profit. Look more carefully at what you stand to gain today.

CANCER June 22 — July 23

What if you say something that someone disagrees with? What if they, in turn, say something that you don’t like the sound of? Might it be wise, today, to take a vow of silence and celebrate tacit discretion like some kind of Trappist monk? Not if there is something that needs to be said. Not if there is an unfair assumption that surely should not be left unchallenged. A conversation really doesn’t need to turn nasty today. But it does need to be held. The Full Moon promises a real reward for fairness and honesty.

LEO July 23 — Aug 24

Markets fluctuate. Prices rise and fall. Investments can turn out to be good or bad. Even those of us who have no involvement with stocks, bonds and shares appreciate that we live in tricky times where certainties are few and far between. Does all this then mean that you are right to experience trepidation and concern about an aspect of your own economic situation? Not necessarily. The Full Moon may now be helping you to avoid a potential calamity and take a step towards a much wiser decision.

VIRGO Aug 24 — Sept 23

As we approach the annual full moon in your sign, you are more sensitive than usual. You are more receptive, responsive, more conscious of what others may be thinking and feeling. That is saying something - because you are usually highly aware of such issues. Is it possible that you are worrying more than you need to? Or being overly deferential to an attitude that deserves to be ignored or defied? You may now need to make a big decision about how far you are willing to fight for what you see as right.

LIBRA Sept 23 — Oct 23

People who do things differently, often attract disapproval or suspicion. Whilst we all admire eccentrics, we generally prefer not to interact with them if we can avoid it, lest they challenge too many of our assumptions. Current cosmic conditions are casting you in the role of the oddball. There is nothing wrong with what you are trying to achieve or the attitude that you have adopted towards a situation. But you should try to be sensitive to the misgivings of those around you. Be persuasive rather than argumentative.

SCORPIO Oct 22 — Nov 23

When is a dead end street not a dead end street? When someone manages to negotiate a route that lets them pass successfully through the other side. Perhaps, for example, there is a building at the end of a cul-de-sac. Perhaps, if you can get hold of the key to that building, you could go through one door and out through another which faces a different street on the far side. You are looking at a situation now, which seems to involve a problem that has no solution. It may be time to look at it again more creatively.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 — Dec 23

What if the sky falls? What if the economy collapses? What if the Martians invade? More crucially, we should ask, what if none of the above takes place? Your current worries may not centre on anything quite so extreme but in a way, it would be better if they did; then, at least, you would clearly see how preposterous your fears actually are. At the moment, they are just about credible - or at least they are if you screw up your eyes and look at a situation from a particular nervous viewpoint. So don’t do that!

CAPRICORN Dec 22 — Jan 21

Capricorns tend to have great respect for authority figures. Often too, people born under your sign rise to positions of high status. Yet sometimes, you can be overly impressionable. You may believe what someone says, just because of their tone of voice - perhaps subconsciously because you would hope to be shown similar trust if you were making such a pronouncement. You can benefit, today, from raising a sceptical eyebrow whenever you are told anything that sounds as if it is incontestable.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 — Feb 20

When we are feeling ill-disposed towards the world, the most minor irritations can begin to seem like intense, unwelcome impositions. And when we are feeling reasonably cheerful? We can cope with a surprisingly large number of setbacks and nuisances. We may even be able to see the hidden advantage in a seemingly negative occurrence. Our mood, to some extent, determines our perception of how much good fortune we have available to us. If nothing else today, the planets will at least ensure you attain the best mood.

PISCES Feb 20 — March 21

Famous people, some philosophers argue, have less free will than anonymous folk. They argue that when a celebrity makes a choice, this may have an implication, of a kind at least, on many more lives than a similar choice made by a person with less social and emotional connections. Who is watching you now? Whose life may alter if you do one thing, yet not another? Who may even be secretly wishing and hoping that you reach decision X instead of Y? You may have less freedom than you think.