Two influences inspire today's poetic feel. Neptune seeps into Mercury, filtering our perceptions and thoughts through an otherworldly haze, while Uranus kisses Venus, inspiring hope in relationships and excitement about creative endeavors. Anyone's sensitivities can be heightened by being receptive and responsive to this vibrant day.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). You'll level with anyone who asks you, as long as they don't hold the information against you. After all, you're the messenger, not the source of the news. So try not to take the reactions you get personally.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). From credit card companies to personal invites, people pursue you to join their clubs, programs and agreements. You're more interested in the exclusive arrangements that require you to pursue them.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You work well in a team. Keeping things light and breezy is your success secret. Don't get deeper than you have to by trying to figure out what's in it for the other person. It doesn't matter, as long as everyone works together.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). Is someone working at cross-purposes to your plan? Then you're lucky! It's so much easier to improve when you're up against a worthy opponent. Without an opponent, you'd get complacent.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Intent on being your own person, you have no desire to blend in with the crowd. It's too bad that being perpetually noticed and special has to take so much work! But it does, and so you do.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAY (JULY 6). You are a kind of Johnny Appleseed this year, planting the seeds of love and watching as all you do brings people together. Follow the discipline of seeing the good in your environment and one of your longest and deepest yearnings will be fulfilled. A sensational career move brings money in September. Aries and Leo adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 5, 10, 44, 17 and 19.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). It's simply not like you to exist in the uncomfortable and indistinct land of limbo. You want to know what's going on, why and when it's likely to change. So you ask pointed questions and get clear answers.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). The beginning of a new project is like an audition for the school play — you decide who you'd like to be and try out for the role. Though your suggestions are taken into consideration, ultimately you are cast where you best fit in.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You're too wise to take anything at face value now. Things that look cool aren't really, and things that look ordinary are extraordinarily rare. See with your soul, not your eyes.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Regarding the thing you got wrong last week, your stars are perfect for getting it right. Mentors will guide you if you ask. And if at first you ask the wrong question, ask again!

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). If you make occasional mistakes along your way to greatness, do not take them as a sign that you are out of your league. You're stretching. It's when you're not making any mistakes that you have cause to worry.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You've benefited from the kindness of others and now you're paying it forward. You're so generous to those less fortunate, and the blessings you bestow will boomerang.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). You're a hustler when you need to be. Recognizing when to lay off and go for the soft sell is also one of your specialties. You correctly read the situation tonight and make an effective play.

FORECAST FOR THE WEEK AHEAD: This week brings a rare meeting of two old friends, sometimes foes: Mars and Saturn. Friend or foe? It all depends on how far we attempt to push past our limits. Like a game of red light, green light, Saturn (red) slows down Mars, insisting things are done by the book, while Mars (green) is impatient with rulebooks and methods of self-restraint. All is not futile; setbacks and discontent are powerful engines for achievement — for by applying the bundles of focused energy and attention we have at our disposal to an area of life that vexes us, we move in the direction of mastery. Both planets join in analytical Virgo, and the phrase "the devil is in the details" is an apt description for Saturn in Virgo. This suggests there's wisdom at work behind attacking the details of a project or honing our craft to perfection. Saturn is also the lord of time, so actions involving precision of timing click into place. Pulling back, rather than jumping ahead, characterizes the week's energy. In matters that need a little more attention and time, take it. Practice makes perfect.

CELEBRITY PROFILES: George W. Bush begins his birthday year in the last months of his term in office. With the sun and Saturn in the initiating, private Cancer, these planets say much about his presidency. As a Cancer sun sign, his strong need to protect and defend his country was felt throughout. Saturn here intensified the sign's deep vulnerability to insecurity and his tenacity, thus his national security focus.

Holiday Mathis is the author of "Rock Your Stars." If you would like to write to her, please go to www.creators.com and click on "Write the Author" on the Holiday Mathis page, or you may send her a postcard in the mail. To find out more about Holiday Mathis and read her past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2008 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.