Aquarius (Jan. 20–Feb. 18)

Don’t make choices based on your weakest moments, but your strongest ones. If you always aim for only what you can accomplish when you’re at your worst, you won’t get much done—at least not much to be proud of. Strive for things you could only accomplish on your best days. Give yourself multiple opportunities to rise to challenges; lately it seems as if you’re setting up chances to keep the bar low, instead. By shooting for stuff you could only do while exercising your full potential, you’re much more likely to fail—but you also create the possibility that you’ll succeed, wildly.

Pisces (Feb. 19–March 20)

It’s sweet of you to try to be gentle when sharing bad news or criticism. But you may just be making things worse. Subtlety and tact are great, but in this case they might make someone miss the point entirely. How bad do you think they’ll feel when they finally figure out what you’ve been trying to say all along? A lot worse than if you’d just said it outright. In this case, the kindest thing to do is to be blunt and make sure your point comes across loud and clear. You can follow up with kinder words; soften the blow after it’s been dealt, not before.

Aries (March 21–April 19)

Appreciate your super powers. Compared to humans three centuries ago, you have plenty—you just take them for granted. You can fly, talk to virtually anyone anywhere on the planet whenever you want, find any information you need, and do only about a million other things our ancestors could barely imagine. When was the last time you appreciated all the things you could do? Take notice. Truly feeling grateful and lucky for all you have will not only make you happier, but it’ll give you a better starting point to improve upon it than bitching and moaning about what you don’t have ever could.

Taurus (April 20–May 20)

Being competitive is OK, as long as you don’t get too obsessed with winning. If occasionally coming in last, or even second, is going to piss you off, then it’s probably better not to engage at all. If, however, you can enjoy the challenge without being too emotionally invested in the results, by all means go for it. This week should present any number of intoxicating chances to show off what you can do. And if someone can do that stuff better, consider it a chance to learn and improve, not stew and mope.

Gemini (May 21–June 20)

Sure, you can show up at the hairdresser with no ideas, and convince the hairdresser to just “do anything,” but you probably won’t like what you get, unless they’re extremely talented and psychic. Going into any situation without a clear concept of what you’d like out of it is generally a bad idea. Of course, going to the opposite extreme and being satisfied only with something extremely specific (and probably not achievable) isn’t likely to do you much good, either. Try to find a balance. Decide what you’d like to aim for, but be happy, not disappointed, with a near miss.

Cancer (June 21–July 22)

The scariest thing about darkness is what you imagine may be lurking within it. The vast majority of the time there’s nothing there besides your own vivid fantasies. This is kind of like that. There’s very little light actually shining on this situation, so most of what you think you know about it is pure speculation. Guessing what’s hiding in the shadowy nooks of your life hasn’t gotten you very far—assuming you know what’s hiding in this murky situation isn’t likely to be much more successful. I suggest you turn on the light as soon as you can to see what’s really there—and until then, just try not to let your imagination get the best of you.

Leo (July 23–Aug. 22)

Knowing yourself is a strength—but like all strengths, it can become a weakness. How, you ask, could self-knowledge ever be a character flaw? When it starts holding you back. For instance, when you’re so certain about who you are that change is virtually impossible. Then you can’t really grow, and you keep yourself from fantastic, enriching experiences. You may know who you were, but remember: who you are and will be is always changing, transforming, and expanding—or it should be. Don’t let what you think you know about yourself keep you from becoming a better person or having a cooler life.

Virgo (Aug. 23–Sept. 22)

Sometimes your efforts to see someone clearly just fail; they’re too surrounded by the smoke and mirrors of their circumstances, habits, illusions, delusions, and baggage. Stop trying so hard. These are the kinds of barriers and camouflage that get stripped away naturally over time—but any efforts to tear them down prematurely often result in whole new smoke screens and diversions getting thrown up. It’s probably frustrating to have to wait around to see the real person so you can figure out whether or not you really have a connection—but in this case, it’s either that or walk away.

Libra (Sept. 23–Oct. 22)

Life is full of disappointment. That’s inevitable. The only thing you can control about being let down is your reaction to it. Do you let it poison the rest of your day, week, or month—or every similar situation until the end of time? Or do you feel bummed and then get over it, attacking each new experience fresh? Somehow, I think you’ve gotten too caught up in your expectations lately, and they’ve been making you sabotage situations that might just work out otherwise. Enjoy what’s happening as if it’s the first time. Guess what? No matter what else you think, it is.

Scorpio (Oct. 23–Nov. 21)

Throw something in a fire, and it’ll burn. Of course, physical causal relationships are easier to master than social ones. However, the ramifications of your words and actions should be obvious enough to be predictable. If you’re still being regularly surprised by how people react to what you say and do, you need to examine your own perceptions. Don’t just conclude that everyone’s crazy. That may be so, but it’s much more likely that you’re just oblivious to how your words and actions are most likely to be received. Fix the way you see that stuff, and you might not be caught off guard so much this week.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22–Dec. 21)

You’d be amazed at what a little extra sleep can do for you. You’re used to getting by without much—and generally, missing sleep doesn’t hold you back much. But being capable and functional is a far cry from the kinds of reserves of patience, flexibility, and energy that getting enough rest would grant you. I know you’ve got a lot to do, but make sure you give yourself enough time to recoup and recharge your batteries properly before you tackle each day this week. An extra hour or two is likely to make all the difference.

Capricorn (Dec. 22–Jan. 19)

It’s one thing to learn from past experiences, but another to trap yourself inside them. When approaching a new situation that’s similar to one you’ve had before, it’s good to recall that one and the choices that led to the results you experienced—but mostly to avoid recreating it. Too many Caps inadvertently do the opposite; they end up doing whatever they did last time and generating roughly similar results. You’ve already had that lesson; is it really important that you experience it again? I suppose if you’re expecting something different to happen while you do everything the same, it is. If you’re ready for something new, though, attack each situation as if it’s never happened to you before.