November 2013 guide to the five visible planets http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/visible-planets-tonight-mars-jupiter-venus-saturn-mercury Post New Moon Do you feel new in some way? Yesterday's new moon and total solar eclipse in Scorpio happened in darkness, but they flipped a light switch on in some area of life that needed to change. Ride the gathering momentum by planning, writing things down, talking with like minds and getting focused on your next steps. ARIES (March 21-April 19). The quality of your day will depend on your ability to stay focused and persevere. The tantalizing distractions around you will cease to be such when you're convinced that you have something better to do. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). One way to avoid indulging in short-term pleasures that are bad for you is not to give yourself the option. Rid your environment of temptations, and you won't have to resist. You just won't think about it at all. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Under stress, you are more likely to misbehave. Do the thing that will bring your stress level down or, better yet, the thing that will keep stress from entering your life. CANCER (June 22-July 22). By being willing to listen to everyone in a hierarchy — those who rank both lower and higher than you — you will reduce the number of mistakes you make. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You don't like being told things gratuitously, especially things you already know. That's why you are careful not to offer unwanted advice to others. Your motivation is to help, which you'll do more by asking than by telling. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Your life is the way it is in part because of the people you choose to put in it. The way today plays out will depend on with whom you decide to spend your hours. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You are dependent on someone to accomplish a task, and so it is imperative that you build a relationship with this person that supports solid, task-related communication. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You are not always rational, and you are not always emotional. You'll employ a perfect mix of the two in today's decisions and later be happy with the outcome. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You want to know whether you are doing something wrong, but a person who fears you, or respects you a great deal, may not offer a correction unless you ask directly for feedback. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Procrastination is a trap. Remind yourself often throughout the day that by taking action now (even though it might feel unpleasant) you avoid getting into a bad position later. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Everyone likes the idea of progress, but far fewer people like the idea of change. You'll realize that progress without change is impossible and start wrapping your head around what's to come. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). An interestingly imbalanced relationship will be a feature of the day. Maybe someone knows quite a lot about you, while you know very little about him, or perhaps there's a difference of attraction levels. TODAY'S BIRTHDAY (Nov. 4). You'll enjoy a better quality of relationships in settling in with the kind of twosomes that meet the needs of both people. Your plans will change, but keep making them, adjusting and rewriting to get more of what you want out of life. Your work gets thunderous applause in January and March. May and August bring visitors. Capricorn and Pisces people adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 29, 2, 16, 10 and 38. MERCURY RETROGRADE TIP 6: Hopefully this Mercury retrograde in Scorpio hasn't given you too much trouble. Take heart, as there is only one more week of the cycle. Before things go back to normal, it's a good time to stay focused on the kind of stellar communication practices that will minimize misunderstandings. One such practice is to never interrupt. Make the space around you an interruption-free zone. Of course, you can't control whether another person interrupts you, but anything you do on your own side of the equation to better the communication will certainly help. One reason people interrupt each other is because they don't understand why it's so harmful to do so. Interrupting is essentially saying to another person, "What I have to say is more important than what you have to say" — and by extension, "I am more important than you." It is particularly demoralizing for a person who is trying to express deep emotions to be interrupted. If you make it a policy to hear people out, even when their emotional retelling makes you uncomfortable, you'll have healthier relationships than those who can't be patient or loving enough to listen. CELEBRITY PROFILES: Will Matthew McConaughey spend his birthday in a wormhole struggling to conquer the vast distances of interstellar travel? It's entirely possible as he works with the all-star cast of the upcoming science fiction film "Interstellar." As for his own natal planets, McConaughey was born when the sun, Mercury and Neptune were all in the intense sign of Scorpio. 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. To find out more about Holiday Mathis and read her past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2013 CREATORS.COM