ArcaMax

As the animal trainer knows, training a relaxed animal is hard enough. A stressed animal? Forget it. Our own wilder instincts follow the same law. Self-control comes after we calm down. In this first weekend of Pisces season in the Year of the Fire Horse, gentleness and trust become the path to mastery.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). If what they're doing doesn't sound fun to you, you don't have to force it. Being intentional about your free time might mean trying something new or meeting different people. What were you doing the last time you had a blast?

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). An interesting question: Who am I around this person? Let the answer factor into your decisions about where to take this relationship, if you should take it anywhere at all. Liking a person is far less important than liking yourself when you're around them.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Sometimes you wonder if you're getting enough joy in life, and if you have to wonder, the answer is no. No, you're not. Pleasure, relaxation, attention, novelty and the like are not luxurious or optional; they are essential to your health and vitality.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). You're not always the exquisitely protected crab. Today you're the snail, only half-protected by shell, at home while exploring, touching and touched, feeling and felt, sticky, not stuck. Steady, even while falling in love.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Though you're as empathetic as they come, today you won't be able to judge others' emotional experience by their immediate reaction. People won't express their feelings in typical ways. Being aware of that allows you to respond with understanding instead of frustration.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). New locations open to you and you aim to go as a traveler and not a tourist, experiencing what is, not the front that's presented to newcomers in exchange for top dollar. Take the same approach to new relationships, and you're golden.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Today's work is very important. There are rewards for doing it and consequences for not doing it. But you still always put people first and you'll never be sorry for that order of prioritization.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). What seems convenient could be a trap instead of a solution. Poke around. What other options are there? The well-known route might be the slowest way to get there, as too many travelers created traffic jams.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Your body moves in rhythm with your moods and mirrors your personality. Today, it speaks louder than words, revealing what you wish to express -- or hide. What surprising self-knowledge!

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). You and the stranger next to you have something in common. Say hello, and you'll discover it fast. Don't? You'll still feel that mysterious, unspoken connection, like you're part of the same secret club.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You're popular today, but you're made well aware that you can't always choose who wants your attention. You can, however, choose who gets it. Go where it's peaceful and people aren't trying to demand, steal or hoard your focus.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). You're not just going to succeed. You're going to succeed like YOU. You'll make it look so good and fun that others will imitate, trying to capture your style, which of course is impossible and flattering, too. Expect and enjoy your copycats.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAY (Feb. 21). Step into your Year of Feathered Friends, when connections and companionship send your spirit flying, flocked by kindred, and headed toward shared good fortune. Relationships, ideas, and collaborations soar to heights previously unimaginable. More highlights: You celebrate and bank on a personal achievement, family thrives in your support, and there are spontaneous entertainments and luxuries. Capricorn and Gemini adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 13, 5, 20, 12 and 33.

CELEBRITY PROFILES: In the high-octane crime thriller "Steal," Sophie Turner plays an ordinary office worker who finds herself at the center of the heist of a century. The Pisces actress with moon and Venus in Aries, the sign of the warrior specializes in characters as tender as they are fierce. "Game of Thrones" saw Turner's character, Sansa Stark, from childhood pettiness through the tortures and duties of leadership. Aquarius influences in Turner's natal chart offer the intuition and social consciousness of a natural-born leader.

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