Madonna, a Leo.
Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Getty Images
This afternoon, the sun and Chiron (in Leo and Aries, respectively) allow you to shed some of the insecurities that have been holding you back. This doesn’t mean you need to convince yourself and those around you that you’re flawless, it just means that you can accept your imperfections while still believing you’re worthy of happiness. Then in the evening, the Cancer moon aligns with Jupiter, giving you a kind and generous spirit. The more you can share your good energy with others, the more you invite good fortune.
You value authenticity, and you never want to come across as fake. You’d rather be your true self, even if it’s slightly polarizing, than put on a show for the sake of making others like you. But today, remember that your “real” self isn’t static. You can make a concerted effort to play up your confidence even when you’re filled with self-doubt, or to channel your compassion even when you’re irritated, or to act brave even when, deep down, you’re scared. You’re not being inauthentic, but playing an active role in cultivating the best parts of yourself.
It’s all too easy to feel like all the bad experiences you’ve had in the past are still shaping your present. Each failure or rejection or bad relationship has impacted your perception of yourself, and about what kind of life you deserve. Today, though, try not to let past disappointments limit your ideas about what’s still possible. Don’t convince yourself you’ve missed your only opportunities for happiness. Some doors might be closed to you, but plenty more are still open.
You sometimes get the sense that your emotions are abnormal, your problems uniquely unpleasant, your life more complicated than anyone else’s. Even though you know, rationally, that this can’t possibly be true, everyone else seems to have it more together than you do. But today, have a couple conversations that go beyond surface-level pleasantries, and you’ll be reminded that everyone has just as many problems as you do. You aren’t alone, and there are more people able to empathize with you than you realize.
The best thing you can do for yourself, today, is stop worrying so much about the big-picture arc of your life. You can’t predict what’ll happen in the future, and trying to plan for every eventuality is likely a waste of your energy. Instead of worrying about the long-term consequences of every move you make, focus instead on doing your best in the short-term. Each new day, each opportunity, each new encounter is a fresh chance to do the right thing; try to make the most of it.
Sometimes, when you try to project confidence to the world around you, you worry you just look vain and self-important, or else like someone who is trying much too hard. You fear that they can see through your act, straight to the self-doubt within. So today, don’t worry about whether you look confident to anyone else — instead, pay attention to how you feel. By refusing to shy away from challenges and making decisions rooted in integrity and legitimate capability, you’ll bolster your inner confidence, and eventually, others will see it, too.
You probably find it incredibly annoying when people act as though you should be grateful for the difficulties you’ve been through, insisting that the hard times made you braver or wiser. If you’d been given the choice, you would have skipped all the suffering, even if it meant you missed out on some learning opportunities. Today, though, remember that it’s okay to acknowledge, even embrace, the ways you’ve grown. It doesn’t mean you need to be thankful for the bad experiences, only that you can recognize that they didn’t defeat you, and they weren’t for nothing.
The more fixated you are on your imperfections, the easier it is to imagine that everyone else is hyper-aware of them, too. In reality, though, there’s a good chance that nobody else even notices the qualities that you’re most insecure about. Your friends love you, not in spite of your flaws, but because of who you are as a whole person. Try to see yourself through their eyes, today, and you may realize that those defects aren’t nearly as bad as you thought.
When you aren’t sure what you really want, it can be wise to avoid making any big, consequential decisions. Today, though, you might realize that you actually do know what you want, you’ve just been scared to act on it because you understand that saying yes to one path means turning down all others. But sometimes, keeping all your options open ends up being more stressful than it’s worth. Right now, you can make peace with the knowledge that you won’t get to experience every possible version of your life, so commit to what matters most to you and let the rest go.
There are times when you wish you could get rid of all the weird facets of your personality. You imagine that others would accept you more easily, and you’d be happier, if you could just be “normal.” But it doesn’t really work that way — when you try to suppress the parts of you that are too loud or too unconventional, you only feel unsatisfied, like a hollowed-out version of yourself. Today, life will feel much more fulfilling if you can stop trying to be smaller than you really are, and embrace your too-muchness.
When you’re scared of failure, it can be tempting to refuse to try at all. You imagine that if you don’t put yourself out there, other people won’t get the chance to hurt you; if you never jump at big opportunities, you’ll never be rejected from them. But while this attitude might protect you from disappointment, it also inhibits you from the thrill of success and the gratification of having tried your best. Today, don’t pre-emptively dismiss yourself before anyone else gets around to it: You won’t succeed at everything, but give yourself the chance to try.
When others hurt your feelings, or get in your way, or just irritate you, it’s easy to imagine that it was their plan all along to cause problems; if they weren’t trying to make your life harder, then they simply wouldn’t. But today, remember that most of the time, people aren’t motivated by bad intentions. Often, they aren’t thinking of you at all. It doesn’t change the effects of their actions, but reminding yourself that people aren’t actively trying to mess up your life will make it much easier to find solutions.
You imagine that when you take on an ambitious project, or when you successfully face your fears, it should make the next challenge feel easier. And sometimes it really does work that way, but more often, life just continues to be difficult. This can make it feel like you’re not actually making any progress — but today, if you take a step back and reevaluate, you’ll realize that you’re able to handle much more than you could in the past. You’ve broadened your skills and grown your courage, and if each challenge still feels difficult, that’s only because you’re operating at a higher level now.
Buy Claire Comstock-Gay’s book, Madame Clairevoyant’s Guide to the Stars, here.
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