After the flower has opened, she moves on. Petals wither. Fruit forms and falls. Each stage has its purpose and benefit, all without the help of the gardener. Likewise, past the full blossom of the Leo moon and moving into the early thrust of Mercury's retrograde, there's no need to push. Changes happen without our guiding hand.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). You've come to understand that often people are more fragile than they seem. You are careful not to overestimate their self-confidence or the thickness of their skin.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). There's a situation to deal with. Talking it out will be the least effective solution today. Almost anything else is better... moving it to a new environment, cracking the tension with humor, physical connection, dance break.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). That thing you want to work on once your finances are nailed or the schooling is complete or the promotion has happened or the child is raised... do not wait any longer. Start spending 20 minutes a day on it.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). It is better to have a hurting heart than a closed one. A closed heart powers nothing. The warrior lives and fights empowered by the wound and without certainty that it will ever heal.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). If you knew that in order to fulfill a purpose at a high level then you would have to feel your fear constantly — for a few hours, or a day, or even for a season — would you do it?

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). A true friend pushes you. They ask the question or pose the challenge that helps you reveal something to yourself. A true friend is a comfort sometimes but more often an agent for your development.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). There's a reason you choose to be with people who are living at their edge and moving beyond. You are like this, too. You do not tolerate mediocrity in yourself and seek those with similar tolerances.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You don't have to keep the cards you were originally dealt; you just have to play them. There will be a reshuffling, and the element of chance will once again play a role, though not as big a role as your play.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Skillful loving follows different rules than the rules of business or other social discourse. It involves emotional risk and great wells of creativity. Be willing to bring something new to mix into the relationship.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). When you're not finding role models or examples of what you want, search in the opposite direction. Get clear about what you don't want. Repulsion can be as clear a navigational device as any.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You're striving to be a more honest person with yourself and others, not because you're particularly dishonest but because you want to know who else you are beyond the person succeeding so well within society's rules.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). You would not wait for someone to ask for affection. You know from experience that by then it's already too late. The idea and feeling of being unloved has already set in.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAY (Jan. 30). Your idea of who you are is in constant development. Increasingly, your perception of yourself matters more to you than what others think. You'll invest in daring ideas and inhabit your desire without binding yourself unnecessarily. You've paid too high a cost for certain wins, and are now inclined to name your price. Aries and Taurus adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 9, 40, 1, 11 and 25.

TURN THE DOWNSIDE OF YOUR SIGN INTO AN ASSET: Each sign has strengths and weaknesses, and often they are the very same quality. As the sign of the scales, valuing things and weighing them against one another is second nature to LIBRA, who has the distinction of being the only sign of the zodiac represented by an inanimate object. It follows that Libra can be indecisive. A more positive outcropping is that Libra is objective and this is why Libran's have better taste than most. Impartiality gives Libra a path to a refined aesthetic. What Libra needs to remember to make the most of this gift is that, in the end, a decision must be made. And ultimately, whichever way Libra goes, commitment is better than vacillation.

SCORPIO has to work a little harder to earn people's trust because they often just don't know what to make of this enigmatic sign. The upside is that the cloud of mystery that hovers around SCORPIO is part of what makes this sign so magnetically attractive. It's natural to make assumptions about people who are too easy to figure out, but Scorpio interrupts that tendency and commands people to take a closer look without ever having to say a thing.

CELEBRITY PROFILES: Christian Bale has gone to extremes for the parts he plays — gaining and losing weight, perfecting accents, performing stunts and growing the long flowing beard of Moses. Sun, Mercury and Jupiter in Aquarius suggest that for Bale, acting is about more than entertaining the masses. These planets indicate a sincere desire to elevate humanity through the journey of storytelling.

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