Horoscopes for March 4, 2013

How much work should you have to do to get what you want? Venus will accuse Jupiter of setting the wrong standards. Whether too low or too high, Venus insists that Jupiter has a backward and ineffective system of rewards. The rub between Venus and Jupiter may be minor, but it speaks to core issues.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). You take other people’s needs and wants into consideration before you make your move. But ultimately, they are not the ones who have to live with the consequences. The choice is yours.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Goodbyes are important. Whether they are happy, relieved or terribly sad, it is better to have the closure than not. Today you’ll get closure on an issue that has been open-ended until now.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Could the key to a happy life be something simple like making your bed or smiling at the general public? You’ll test the theory today as you behave in a basically tidy and happy manner.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). You will fall into a healthy communication pattern. It will be so easy to listen well and express yourself clearly that you may wonder why you ever had trouble in the past.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Is it true that worrying solves nothing? Usually, worrisome matters get more attention, and more attention is sometimes exactly what the situation needs to make improvement possible.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Your workload is intense, but so is your energy. Starting early will be the best thing for you now. The morning hours show you in high gear with a determined gleam in your eye.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). It’s one thing to be confident in your knowledge, but it’s quite another to rigidly assume that your way is the only way. Amazingly, you will be strong in your approach while still being open to new thoughts and methods.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You have a nose for trouble, and you use it to steer clear. Some people enjoy drama and danger, but you’ve already seen enough of it in your life to know that you want nothing to do with it.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). The best thing to strive for is personal improvement. By doing the best you can, you will develop much more quickly than you would if you were striving for perfection.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Your love life isn’t a subject for public speculation and debate, but it could easily become that if you tell even one person your business. Keep private matters to yourself, though, and you’ll love the way everything develops.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Never buy things out of insecurity. If a situation has you feeling ill-equipped, new material items probably will not help. Instead of reaching for your wallet, reach deeper, into your soul. You are enough!

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Someone seems to be insinuating himself or herself into your life. You like to be around people who know what they want, but you also prefer a direct approach.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAY. If you’re still not sure what you want to do with your year, don’t worry; just move. You’re so lucky now that even arbitrary action will lead to something good. Create momentum, and suddenly you’ll know the goal that’s worthy of you. The next six weeks bring new romantic energy. Projects finally make money in May. Cancer and Leo people adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 6, 30, 25, 41 and 19.

ASTROLOGICAL QUESTIONS: “My friend goes to a psychic who gets messages in bones. I don’t mean in a ‘I feel it in my bones’ kind of way. He actually uses animal bones to tell her future. To me this sounds like voodoo. Is it safe for her? The psychic has been quite accurate, and I’m thinking of going, too, but first I want to make sure it’s not an evil or cursed practice.”

It sounds like your friend’s psychic is practiced in the ancient art of astragalomancy. “Astragalos” is the Greek word for small animal bones. The ancient Greeks inscribed symbols on such bones – for instance, the vertebrae or knucklebones of sheep – and cast them like dice. Messages were derived from the dice, depending on where they fell. The knucklebones of sheep are very much like dice in form and were used in gaming, as well as fortunetelling.

I don’t believe the practice is inherently evil or cursed, but in these matters, much depends on the heart and the intent of the person reading the omens. If the reading brings a feeling of positivity and clarity, it is probably spiritually safe. A good reading should never cause confusion, fuzziness or weakness.

CELEBRITY PROFILES: Versatile Pisces William H. Macy has been called the consummate character actor. It is with great compassion that Macy plays many a loner and loser, helping the audience become emotionally involved in the lives of these sad characters. This ability is distinctly Piscean. Macy has both his natal sun and Mercury, the communication planet, in the sign of the fish.

If you would like to write to Holiday Mathis, 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.