Horoscopes for March 9, 2013

Listening doesn’t only happen in the ears. Many elementary school teachers are effectively using silent hand signals in the classroom to encourage support and meta-cognition in students. I bring it up because during the current Mercury and Jupiter square, the best messages of all will come wrapped in silence.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). Making a mistake once creates a neural pathway in your brain that is easy to follow the next time and the next. That’s why an extra dose of consciousness is needed to avoid making the same mistake twice.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). It’s no mystery what makes people feel better. Health is essential. The choices you make to promote health – yours and others’ – will ripple out to impact the entire planet.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Your guiding planet, Mercury, is taking a stand against avarice. Repelled by the greed you see, you’ll fight. The best way to defeat such evil is with love and generosity for those who need it.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). Passions may drive you to success, but it’s consistent habits that will keep you there. Think about what you will have to do to make success a fixture in your daily life.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). There’s nothing out there that’s too hard for you to get now. You just have to know what to focus on and what to ignore. Breaking down information into chunks will help, and so will a good teacher.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You’re no puppet, so avoid the ones who try to trigger your reaction by pulling emotional strings. Make it known that you are your own boss. With your talents and cleverness, you can always find new resources.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Regardless of how much formal schooling you may or may not have, there are holes in your education. It will feel wonderful to fill them. You will pick up knowledge wherever you look for it.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You’ll be working in a group to accomplish a project. Keep in mind that most people will be more sensitive than they let on. Remember who said what, because later it will be important to credit the right people.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Your guiding planet, Jupiter, is becoming mighty annoyed with Mercury’s retrograde tricks. You’ll be inspired to make a sweeping gesture of improvement to restore cleanliness and order to your world.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). The sense of relief you feel is related to the recent change of the moon and the knowledge that you don’t have to do everything alone. You have partners you can count on.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). If your brain feels tired, it’s something you can be proud of. Your activities take a lot of mental effort. You work hard every day. Your success comes because you make the effort.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). If a solution comes easily, you’ll move to a new problem. If not, you’ll approach again and again. So don’t worry about how long it takes to get to an answer. For as long as you are alive, you will be working on a problem.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAY. You make a heroic effort to embrace the more challenging aspects of your life with love, and this makes all things possible. You’ll have a breakthrough in April. June unites you with a cause. May features an important piece of paper. A winning of some kind can be invested in August to lucrative effect. Taurus and Sagittarius people adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 12, 1, 4, 33 and 29.

ASTROLOGICAL QUESTIONS: “My 9-year-old Libra is having trouble with mean girls at school. The problem is that it’s not the same girls. She’s been in completely different classrooms, and eventually the same dynamic always seems to emerge. One counselor suggested that since the common denominator in each scenario is my daughter, maybe she’s doing something to encourage the other children to pick on her. My daughter is pretty, smart and well dressed. There’s nothing that stands out about her that says “pick on me” except maybe that she’s pretty and others are jealous. What should I do? Try homeschooling?”

Your Libra is a lover, not a fighter. She may be unconsciously seeking approval from the other girls – a sign of weakness that bullies can’t resist. Before you try homeschooling, seize this chance to help your daughter acquire social tools that will be useful for a lifetime. There are many resources out there now – even social coaches – so read up and apply the techniques. Approach the issue with all the seriousness and follow-through you would apply to any important school project. How to get along is perhaps one of the best things to learn in school.

CELEBRITY PROFILES: Film critic Roger Ebert once wrote that Juliet Binoche is “almost ethereal in her beauty and innocence.” The Academy Award winner shines her heavenly Piscean glow in many ways, including as a painter, model and mother. Binoche was born when the sun, Mercury and Mars were all in the sign of the fish, but her chart also features many grounded earth signs.

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.