Two planetary configurations color the day. Neptune spies the sun, bridging tentative awareness between our sense of oneness with everything and where we may feel unfulfilled. A second influence, Saturn, hones in on Mercury for an opportunity to hammer out the details of a plan. Our best work is achieved with diligent attention.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). You may be on the defensive, and it's no wonder. People will surprise you with abrupt opinions. You're open to sensible advice, though you'll be hard-pressed to find any.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You're gifted. Sometimes it's difficult to know what the best way to use your talents might be. You need someone to point you in the right direction. That someone shows up today.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You're so involved with the mechanics of what you're doing that you have to be extra careful not to lose sight of the bigger picture. Remind yourself of your purpose. Tonight, Scorpio has fun plans involving you.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). In order to remind yourself that you're powerful, strong and able, you need to do something for those who are not in that category. For instance, make a tax-deductible donation to a charity you believe in.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Your powers of empathy are stronger than usual now. It requires that you set your own identity aside and slip into the emotional space that someone else occupies — a slightly difficult endeavor, but so rewarding for you.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAY (AUGUST 15). This year brings the answer to your prayers. Do be open to the many forms that answer might come in. September brings colorful and inspiring new people into your life. November seals a deal. You're going to exciting places in December. Large purchases in January and June upgrade your lifestyle. Your charitable acts attract love in the new year. Your lucky numbers are: 40, 25, 39, 4 and 16.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Recent history has shown you more than your share of long working days, endless task lists and plenty to worry your pretty head about. You're ready for a nice, lengthy rest.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You need someone you can really talk to, and just as the need arises, the person does, too. This day is sort of magical in that way. Merely think about what would please you, and you're halfway there.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). A romantic quest you began long ago now has some extremely interesting developments. You thought you gave up on a dream, but embers have been glowing in your heart all of these years inextinguishably.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You're trying to be nice, really you are. Then in walks that person whom, for your own private and defendable reasons, you find it very difficult to be nice to. Watch those passive-aggressive tendencies.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). You have enough social awareness for both you and your very unaware friend. When this person kids about something that isn't funny, or serves meat to the vegetarian, you'll be the one to make everything better.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You thrive on serendipity, following your fanciful whims and allowing room for delicious distraction. Your friend may be more controlling and structured, which is fine, too. Make "tolerance" your motto.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Things change, people grow in different directions, and now here you are wondering how to meet up with a person whose world is currently so foreign to you. The common ground you do share is enough. Trust that.

WEEKEND LOVE FORECAST: ARIES: Find a physical way to let off steam and your beloved doesn't get caught in the crossfire. TAURUS: You harness the power of desire when wanting something (or someone) leads you right to it. GEMINI: Even if they can't demonstrate how much they want to give you, the intention in a partner's attempt says it all. CANCER: Taking painstaking care to communicate with kindness elicits the best of all possible responses. LEO: You finally address that nagging little bother, and this improves your whole relationship. VIRGO: Romance relieves stressors in other areas of your life, helping you relax. LIBRA: The heart may know no bounds, but expressed boundaries keep relationships and hearts intact. SCORPIO: Don't mistake a person's individuality as disloyalty toward the group. This understanding uplifts all involved. SAGITTARIUS: If you had a dollar for all the wonderful things people are saying about you, you'd know how rich you really are. CAPRICORN: Love carries you through self-doubt. All you have to do is believe. AQUARIUS: A partner illuminates an important decision as the cosmos align with a message for you. PISCES: Balance your need for private time with socializing — like taking phone calls from the bathtub!

COUPLE OF THE WEEKEND: For Gemini, romance begins with a conversation, preferably with someone who demonstrates skill in a knowledge base about which Gemini knows just enough to be dangerous. Virgo is happy to oblige, being impeccably smart, coolly modest and intellectually unflappable. Gemini will search for loopholes in Virgo's logic and will find none. And when these two couple up, it's love logical.

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.

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