Tag: Readings

Laura Linney, an Aquarius.
Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Getty Images

The moon moves through gentle Pisces today, squaring off with Jupiter in the morning before aligning with Saturn at night. You’re likely to feel relatively cheerful early in the day, but be mindful not to get overconfident, or you could make careless mistakes. Later in the day, the mood gets more serious as your responsibilities to others weigh heavily on you. Don’t feel guilty for being unable to single handedly solve all the world’s problems — everyone has their own small role to play; focus on fulfilling yours.

You try not to dwell on your shortcomings — it only makes you feel guilty and powerless, and you’d rather direct your energies in more useful directions. Today, though, avoidance will feel worse than facing your imperfections head-on. Taking an honest look at the traits you don’t like — neither reprimanding nor justifying yourself — can be clarifying and surprisingly freeing. There’s no shame in having flaws — the key is to remember that they don’t define you.

In general, you strive to be happy with what you have. That’s not to say that you don’t have big dreams, only that you want to enjoy life now, not put it off until you’ve achieved more. Today, though, you might worry that this approach is inadequate, that you should have built greater successes by now. Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide whether or not you’re satisfied with the life you’re living — just remember that being hard on yourself won’t make you happier or more successful. However you want to grow, you can be kind to yourself while you do it.

You might feel your limitations acutely today. You have soaring ambition, but only so many hours in the day; there’s so much you’d like to do, but limited resources make it necessary to prioritize. While it might be tempting to push yourself to cram more into each day, you’ll be more successful if you accept the fact that you can’t do everything — at least, not all at once. Instead, try to accept that the conditions aren’t perfect, and find ways to live a rich and meaningful life anyway.

There’s so much in the world that’s completely outside your control that you sometimes start to wonder whether it’s worth trying to change any of it at all. It might be easier, you think, to just make the best of things. Today, though, defeat might feel intolerable. You’re tired of treading water; you want a world where you can thrive. So don’t shrug and accept it: Find one area where you can make a difference, one person you can help, one small issue you have the power to change, and get started.

You might react to situations more emotionally than rationally today — and as a result, you could end up taking dramatic action, speaking before you think, or making big, unplanned life changes. Instead of beating yourself up, just adjust your plans and go with it. That’s not to say you should try to make chaotic choices — only that if you end up moving in an unexpected direction, trust that you’ve got what it takes to navigate the detour, and come out stronger on the other side.

Sometimes, alone time is necessary to think clearly and see your problems for what they are. Today, though, solitude is more likely to make you nervous and unsettled; you could quickly start spiraling as you ruminate on every loaded — or just awkward — interaction you’ve had lately. In the absence of other people, it’s easy to imagine that everyone’s out to get you — or that they never cared about you to begin with. But if you make a point to spend time with your friends, and even tell them about your concerns, you’ll be reminded that they’re on your side.

Today you might feel a strong sense of duty to the people around you. You’re eager to set aside your own desires and be an asset to your community — but while this sounds simple in theory, it can be incredibly difficult to figure out how to be of use. Nobody else is going to show up and tell you exactly how you can best contribute (as much as you might wish they would), so don’t be afraid to take matters into your own hands, either. You won’t be perfect, but simply putting yourself out there is the best way to get started.

You have a tendency to downplay your talents. Maybe you’re being modest, or maybe you genuinely think that, compared to other people, you don’t have anything special to offer. But while it’s valuable not to keep your ego in check, it’s possible to take it too far. You have unique skills and insights, but they won’t be of any use if you underplay their value. The world needs what you have to offer, so find a way to put your gifts to use.

Beneath your good-natured exterior, you have a confrontational streak. If somebody treats you rudely, you won’t take it lying down; if they hurt somebody you care about, you’ll defend their honor. Sometimes, it seems like the best, or even the only, way to do good in the world is by finding an opponent to fight and unleashing your ferocity. Today, though, you might do more good by caring for the people around you. The world doesn’t only need your fire — it needs your loving, protective energy, too.

If there’s one thing you can’t stand, it’s wasting time. Some people might be perfectly content to drift around without a plan, but you tend to get frustrated and antsy; you’re too aware of all the other, more useful ways you could be spending your time. Today, you might feel even more pressure than usual to make the most of your days — but remember that you’re not a machine. Give yourself space to wander: It might not be the most efficient, but it’ll make your life better all the same.

You’ve got the energy and drive to get ahead, but sometimes it feels like you’re only spinning your wheels without seeing any actual progress. Today you might feel like the answer is to push harder, move faster, do more — but that’s more likely to lead to burnout than to success. Stop imagining that you should be able to transform your life overnight — it’s an unrealistic goal that’s only putting unnecessary pressure on you. Commit to slow and steady change, and you’ll be surprised how far you get.

When you look around, you see so many people doing amazing things. It can seem like everyone else is constantly launching major projects, experiencing life-changing career successes, providing a crucial service to their communities. In comparison, your own contributions might seem embarrassingly small, at least to you. But today, resist the impulse to compare yourself to everybody else. What matters most isn’t whether you’re doing “more” or “less” than the people around you — this isn’t a competition — but that you’re carrying yourself in a way that you can be proud of.

Buy Claire Comstock-Gay’s book, Madame Clairevoyant’s Guide to the Stars, here.

Caitlin Clark, an Aquarius.
Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Getty Images

As the moon moves through Libra today, it has tricky interactions with a number of other planets, most notably Mercury in the late morning and Mars at night. Your thoughts and feelings are likely to be at odds with one another; to others, your emotional reactions could seem totally disproportionate to whatever is actually happening in your life. Do your best to relativize, but at the same time, trust that your feelings — however tangled — are trying to tell you something, so listen.

No two people agree on everything, and for the most part, you don’t just accept but actively enjoy this. Life would be boring if your friends were all carbon copies of yourself; you enjoy a bit of spirited back-and-forth. But today even good-faith disagreement can seem like a personal attack. As you move through your day, keep in mind that you’re probably more sensitive than usual, so seek out the people and places that make you feel safe and supported, not edgy and defensive.

You might feel a stark disconnect today between what you feel you’re supposed to be doing, and what you want to do. Your daily obligations seem unrelated to your bigger dreams; the career path you’re on seems to pull you away from your sense of purpose. This probably isn’t the best day to make drastic changes, but take note of how you’re feeling. If your life seems unfulfilling, it doesn’t have to stay that way: With each decision you make, you can slowly and steadily course correct.

More than most people, you know how to read a room; you’re good at calibrating your energy to match the mood around you. Today, though, your senses might not be as refined as usual, and you could feel uncharacteristically out of place. The best solution isn’t to try to improve yourself, but to embrace any awkwardness that arises. Don’t worry so much about making every social interaction seamless, and instead, focus on communicating honestly. There might be an uncomfortable moment or two, but there’s nothing wrong with that.

You have big feelings today, and your challenge is to find an outlet for them. You might think that it’ll pass and you don’t actually need to express yourself, but right now your emotions are likely to eat away at you unless you take action. Maybe the answer is to talk your feelings over with a trusted friend, or maybe it’s to get outside your head and get involved in a community project. What’s most important now isn’t what you do, but simply that you do something.

Whether you’re making an argument or simply describing how you feel, you might trip over your words and get small details wrong today. The stronger your emotions, the easier it’ll be to misspeak. Others might take this as a reason not to listen to you, and you might even begin to doubt yourself. Don’t be too proud to accept criticism and change your mind when you’re wrong — but at the same time, remember that small mistakes don’t necessarily mean that your larger point isn’t valid.

You care deeply about doing things well; you want the truth, even if it’s ugly, and you want to live your life in a way that feels right, not just easy. But in your determination not to settle for the most convenient answers, you occasionally make things unnecessarily convoluted, overlooking the most practical course of action. Today, be careful not to create complications where they don’t need to exist. Some issues are genuinely thorny and difficult, but others can be solved more simply than you realize.

Normally, you’re good at letting the small stuff go. You don’t dwell on your friends’ irritating or inconsiderate habits, because you know they have so many good qualities too. Today, however, these little traits could loom larger in your mind. You put up with a lot, and you’re sick of it. But instead of lashing out when others are imperfect, your challenge now is to be discerning about where you set your boundaries. Others will always do things that frustrate or annoy you, and it’s up to you to decide where you’ll draw the line.

You’ll be able to pick up on all kinds of signals and hints today; you’ll glean much more from reading between the lines than from taking people at their word. The trouble with this is that only some of the information you intuit will be reliable. Along with the accurate impressions you form, you’ll probably also read too deeply into others’ words, jump to faulty conclusions, or convince yourself of things that aren’t true. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t listen to what your instincts tell you, just do your best to fact-check them.

Some people tend to keep their true thoughts and feelings hidden, but you’ve never seen the point in that. As far as you’re concerned, the only way to connect with others and get your needs met is to be up front about who you are and what you want. Today, though, you might speak too freely, sharing more than you intended with people you don’t know well. Try to think through your words with care — but if you end up saying too much, don’t worry. Ultimately it’s better to be honest, even if it feels awkward in the moment.

Today, you might feel misunderstood by the people around you. So many of them seem satisfied with superficial conversations and connections. While you know that there’s so much more to you than meets the eye, nobody else seems particularly interested in finding out. You wish people would try harder to get to know you better — but waiting around for them to take the initiative will be frustrating and disappointing, especially today. Don’t be afraid to make the first move: If you want your friends to know something about you, tell them.

Once you make up your mind, you rarely back down — you put too much care and effort into forming your opinions to go around changing them at the drop of a hat. But even if you were correct when you first came to a conclusion, that doesn’t mean you’ll continue to be right forever. The world around you is in constant flux, and ideas that once made sense might eventually seem outdated. Today, don’t be afraid to reassess some of your old assumptions. You’re not being wishy-washy, simply growing.

You’re not bossy by nature; you accept that everyone is different and that they deserve to make their own choices, even when it’s not what you would do. Today, though, it could be especially hard. It hurts you to see people you love acting foolishly; you wish you could somehow make your friends stop getting in their own way. But resist the impulse to meddle. People need to learn lessons in their own time, and sometimes all you can do is offer support along the way.

Buy Claire Comstock-Gay’s book, Madame Clairevoyant’s Guide to the Stars, here.