Aries (March 21–April 19)

Many people get stressed out by change; for the most part, you’re excited by it. That doesn’t mean, however, you should be in a huge rush to mix things up and turn them upside down. That’s desirable when you (or someone you love) is stuck in a rut, but that’s hardly the case right now. Change will happen naturally and at a fair clip all on its own at the moment, so don’t go shoving things around trying to accelerate the process. Just chill out and let the situation unfold at its own pace. That ought to be fascinating enough on its own to keep you happily involved for quite some time.

Taurus (April 20–May 20)

Forget learning iambic pentameter or finding the perfect bouquet of roses. Traditional romance is all well and good, but what will work best here isn’t a sonnet or flowers, but something more unique, real, and raw. Open up and just be vulnerable in a way that presenting a poem or store-bought blooms could never do for you. It doesn’t involve re-enacting a scene from some stupid movie or even anything remotely poetic; it just involves being absolutely and genuinely you, even if that seems incredibly mundane and prosaic to you. Trusting another person with your real self is about as romantic as it gets.

Gemini (May 21–June 20)

Bragging is never attractive. Even when people attempt to do it subtly, anyone with two brain cells to rub together can see right through them. Learn from them—don’t do it. Rattling off a list of your accomplishments won’t get you anywhere. Anyone who’s going to be into you because of your achievements is a moron, anyway, so impressing them should not be high on your list of priorities. Those who like you for you will be all the more amazed when they discover that you modestly didn’t mention all the shit you’ve done—and they’ll adore you all the more for it.

Cancer (June 21–July 22)

Your emotions at times are so overwhelming that you really have trouble moving on to the next thing until you’ve worked through them. At this point, you know more or less how to do that—but you often require time or attention that isn’t immediately available. This is when a little compartmentalization can go a long way. Put them aside until you can deal with them later. Then do address them later; letting them sit and fester would be very bad. However, being able to choose when, where, and how you deal with the stuff that’s happening to you is an important life skill. Practice it this week.

Leo (July 23–Aug. 22)

Make yourself ugly this week. Sometimes you get so worried about how you’re perceived that it actually holds you back from fulfilling your potential. Throw all that out the window for a while. Forgo wearing nice clothes, doing your hair, or wearing makeup (as much as you can get away with, anyway), and see who’s superficial enough to snub you and who might be impressed by the confidence it takes to just let it all hang out. However, this isn’t just an experiment to screen out the shallowest of your acquaintances, but rather simply an opportunity for you to let go (at least a little) of what other people think. Seize it.

Virgo (Aug. 23–Sept. 22)

While any wrongs you’ve committed should have been forgiven and forgotten by now, especially given your efforts to make amends, some people just aren’t adept at letting go of their grudges. This is a tough thing to accept; however, you don’t really have much choice. Nothing you can say or do will speed up this process—in fact, mostly you’d just make it worse. It’s time simply to let go and move on. If they’re ever going to come around (and that’s a big “if”), they need to do it in their own time and in their own way. Until then, just leave it alone.

Libra (Sept. 23–Oct. 22)

What you’re up to now is like waiting for an earthquake or global warming to make your house suddenly be on beach-front property. Don’t be that passive, because what you’re hoping for will never happen (the way you’re imagining and going about it). You’ve got to take some action here and push for what you want. You may never be able to move your house to an ocean view—but if you were determined enough, I’m sure you could end up living somewhere near the beach. What you want is in your grasp—it’s a matter of not being lazy and sitting around waiting for it to be handed to you.

Scorpio (Oct. 23–Nov. 21)

Speed up your thought process. It does you virtually no good to realize an hour or two after the event that someone cute was flirting with you and not just being friendly. You need to be present enough to figure out, in the moment, what’s actually happening, so you can respond to it appropriately. This is mostly a matter of paying proper attention, reading between the lines, and being imaginative enough to formulate and test theories about what’s really going on before the moment has passed. The best part is: This process is fun. Open your eyes and mind, and get out there and play.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22–Dec. 21)

Your competitive nature means you can never throw a game—even if some people think it’s the “right” thing to do. The best you can do is simply to absent yourself from the whole situation—not giving it your all if you were there would be inconceivable. That, unfortunately, may be the best-case scenario this week. If you’d feel similarly bad about a win or a loss here, all that’s left for you to do is abstain, and accept the outcome that occurs without your involvement. Walk away already, and go find something else to do—preferably something distracting.

Capricorn (Dec. 22–Jan. 19)

Sagittarians are completely unfamiliar with the concept of losing on purpose; you, however, know that there are times to retreat and that sometimes losing a battle is better for your overall strategy than simply charging into the fray without holding anything back. This week may present this exact scenario. Take a step back and look at the big picture. Would a loss or retreat on this particular front help you achieve your ultimate aim? All signs point to yes. Be a gracious and benevolent loser, and wait for your moment to strike; it will come.

Aquarius (Jan. 20–Feb. 18)

People who lose a lot can sometimes set themselves up to lose a whole bunch more; by resigning themselves to failure, they often create that very outcome practically before the game’s begun. Be careful—you may be cultivating this very loser mentality. Permanently forget phrases like “unlucky in love” or “financially unstable,” and never again apply them to yourself. Model yourself after someone who’s successful in the area you’ve had a streak of bad luck in. You may never achieve their level of success—but chances are, if you can shake the idea that you will always suck, you’ll come close.

Pisces (Feb. 19–March 20)

It’s not often you get a craving for something specific; usually, you’re more or less happy with whatever comes along. However, once you really focus on something, you’re virtually insatiable. That’s no problem, really; it’s kind of fascinating. The conflict occurs when it’s something you can’t have—or that you rely on someone else to provide. Then you can’t satisfy your own cravings, and consequently become an unmanageable mess. This is when a compelling distraction is in order, to keep your mind off what you can’t have (enough of). Luckily, one of these is floating around; avail yourself of it.