Horoscope (September 21, 2012)

Awkward socializing can make people wish they had stayed home alone. But the people who do stay home alone are the ones most likely to perpetuate awkward socializing, as interacting breezily takes practice. The Sagittarius moon urges us to sharpen our skills, circulate and see relation­ships for what they are: a lot of work!

ARIES (March 21-April 19). You don’t need to branch out to strangers now. Shake down your current circle of friends first, and get personal rec­ommendations. Also, your friends will recommend you to others and speak of you in the highest esteem.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Prob­lems spin in your head for a reason: so that you can experience them from all angles. Your subconscious process is magnificent, and there’s no reason why you should try to make it conscious at this point. Trust.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). There will be very few instances in which it

 will be appropriate to share your opinions -- e.g., not in someone else’s house, nor in general assembly. Share only when asked sincerely and in private.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). Even the most adamant rules followers will thrill to the reckless way you abandon certain constraints. You act as if you don’t care what anyone thinks, and for key mo­ments, this will be true.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You can talk about your experiences and gain insights from others, but when all is said and done, you learn best from experiencing life first-hand. There’s really no substi­tute.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You’ll be made more aware of what brings you down and also of what brings you up. An air sign (Gemini, Libra or Aquarius) will live up to the reputation, bringing lighter spirits.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Each person you meet is a world connected to the world of other people on an

 less chain. You’ll consciously work to keep your reputation in line with who you really are, knowing how quickly word gets out.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Whole­some aspirations hang low in the air invit­ing you to grab on, but so do a few other less than wholesome temptations. As the shorthand version of St. Augustine’s prayer goes: “Oh, God, please make me a saint, but not yet.”

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Just as nutritional needs are different from person to person, so are other kinds of needs. It takes emotional maturity not to impose your own requirements on oth­ers.

 CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). You want to be able to help everyone, and yet if you were to try, then the people who most need your attention wouldn’t get very much of it. Focus on your inner circle today.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). It’s not so strange that other people read your responses before you even realize you are responding. You are unselfcon­scious today, and you’ll give your un­guarded self.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). The universe seems to test your ability to keep your cool, but only because it’s preparing you for something bigger, something that will require the utmost

 patience. To the patient go the spoils.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Sept. 21). Over the next five weeks, a healing power soothes your sensitive soul. In November, you’ll be ready to play a big­ger game professionally, and this affects lifestyle choices, too. The chance to com­mit yourself contractually comes in Janu­ary. March amplifies your passion, and you’ll race to a finish line in May. Leo and Capricorn people adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 6, 1, 3, 24 and 19.

WEEKEND LOVE FORECAST: ARIES: Remind yourself what you are curious about so you’ll be ready when someone wants to talk about your inter­ests. TAURUS: Because you want to live life and not have regrets later, you might agree to an adventure you’re not so sure about. GEMINI: You’ll demonstrate that you can solve someone’s problem, and that person will love you for it. CANCER: Loved ones make ridiculous requests of you, and you’ll oblige out of loyalty. LEO: You might think you’re being judged on

 how successful you are, but really you’re being judged on how well you empathize. VIRGO: Love is mostly guesswork. You guess right, or you guess wrong. Support yourself, and be on your own side either way. LI­BRA: You’ll capture the imagination of your target. SCORPIO: You will be suc­cessful on a date precisely because you have better things to do. SAGITTARIUS: You’re popular -- or at least people think you are, which makes you popular. CAP­RICORN: You’ll get your wish. AQUAR­IUS: You seldom evaluate your social performance the way you might in a work situation, but it would help you to do so now. PISCES: Your unlikely question will open new possibilities with someone you don’t know well.