Pluto is so far away, so slow moving and so not a planet that one might be tempted to disregard his retrograde status as a trifling matter. He hates that. It only makes this ruler of the underworld try harder to get our attention. Transformations will occur now through mid-September as we review our lives and decide what we'd like to change.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). You won't like the way a situation is going. Good news: You're so creative now that you'll be able to come up with about seven ways to lead the action in an alternate direction.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Send a message of forgiveness to your own mirror. If there's something keeping you from doing this, identify the issue. What might help you get past it?

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Your lifestyle will speak volumes to the people close to you. Consider what you might do now to make them know how deeply they are loved. Adjustments to your schedule may be necessary.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). Children look to develop their identities by associating with people who are more or less their own age. You'll be like a child now, too, figuring out how you might fit in with a new group and what it will mean to do so.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You're probably not looking for love, but that doesn't rule out having it in your life. Love, in its many forms, will be out there looking for you today, and by the day's end, you'll consider yourself found.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You'll only share your visions and dreams with those you really trust. People have to know you and prove their trustworthiness over a period of time before you'll open up to them. It's how you keep out the riff-raff.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You'll be mentally sharp in the morning and then again late in the evening. The afternoon brings a slump that will actually be quite enjoyable if you give into it and relax with good company.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You feel that the onus is on you to put a few crazy notions into the mix. Contributing ideas from outside the existing pattern will cause heads to tilt, eyebrows to arch and hands to clap. You're a brilliant thinker.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You've been dreaming about how things should go or could go in a perfect world. Now you'll be reconciling the way things actually are with those fanciful imaginings.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Extenuating circumstances may have you taking less than optimal care of yourself. Get back to basics. Your mood is always better when you feel secure in your health, sustenance, finances and home.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). The one who loves you is also able to hurt you with so much as a cross-eyed look. Knowing this, you might recognize the similar power you hold with your love and wield that power gently.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). You have a way of spiritually reaching into the heart of someone, plucking a molecule for examination and then reading the feeling. You can sense even the quietest anger, fear, joy and elation.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAY (April 10). Strong relationships will transform and bring unexpected benefits to your world this year. Take a chance on yourself over the next six weeks. The training you get or an investment you make will pay in September. Friendship and romance decorate your July. Social connections lead to financial connections in June. Libra and Scorpio people adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 5, 2, 13, 29 and 41.

ASTROLOGICAL INSIGHTS: PLUTONIAN REVERSAL ALERT: Captain Underworld is intent on getting our attention. For a small dwarf planet, Pluto packs a punch! His slow reversal through the realm of Capricorn will only move him a few degrees backward between now and mid-September. And yet those slight increments of between nine and six degrees in Capricorn will be enough to inspire some serious soul searching for individuals and nations alike. Capricorn is the realm of responsibility and power, the balance of which is always precarious. When power is seized by one who is unwilling to handle it responsibly, the victory is fleeting.

So, who do you want to be?

Humans are not like snakes who shed their skin all at once. We are always sluffing off old layers of ourselves so that each new day brings the potential to be someone else. Who do you want to become next? To use the power of this transit on a personal level, consider the energy of transformation in your own life. This usually requires delving into the bit of history that got you into a position to begin with. But I feel ready to give it a good look. How about you?

CELEBRITY PROFILES: Aries actress Mandy Moore is scheduled to star in a new comedy pilot about the families we make for ourselves and the families to which we can't help but belong. Moore, who came into acting by way of being a pop singer, was born under the entertaining Leo moon and when Mercury was in Taurus, the sign that rules the voice.

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