Want something so bad you burn with desire? Maybe it's revealing your feelings to someone, or singing a song at open-mike night. The sun's entry into Scorpio moves us closer to the thing that makes our heart quicken. Risking humiliation and heartbreak, we push past psychological comfort zones to experience the fullness of passionate living.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). You're a maverick — you're so comfortable out of the mainstream that you become immune to risks of standing alone. This is why you'll be recognized and paid well.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Restlessness has its benefits, so don't be discouraged by the need to move. Travel will bring you benefits that are intangible yet very real. Scorpio or Aquarius turns you onto new stomping grounds.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You want extra reassurance from friends and loved ones. Charm it out of them and you avoid coming off as needy. Tonight, read. You'll learn precisely the information that will benefit you most.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). No matter how long you have to work, be sure to spend time with family. Being happy with your family is a cure-all. You'll be able to quickly resolve issues that unhappy kin spend a lifetime fighting about.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You have so much energy to burn off! Strenuous activities ultimately relax you. When you do sports and hobbies with loved ones, the bond thickens. Grown children still need you.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAY (Oct. 23). Your creativity helps you solve problems, change your life and attract just the people to help you on your way. You'll be encouraged to make a choice for your love life before the year is up. Wedding bells ring in February. Your new approach to work doubles your money in May. You share a special connection with Virgo and Leo. Your lucky numbers are: 10, 2, 43, 21 and 33.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Your total commitment makes success happen. Give yourself to a person or project with great conviction. When there is no room for doubt, there is no room for failure.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Sticking to the plan is noble — except when the plan is plain stupid. Luckily, you're flexible — and wise. Tonight is about those powers that have gone untapped and how you start tapping them.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Be mindful of the company you keep. The wrong influence makes you act very unlike yourself. The right one brings out your loveliest qualities. Sagittarius is a fabulous match.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). There's a message you are broadcasting. Are you aware of what it is? Today brings deeper self-understanding. If your message isn't captivating the right audience, you can always change it.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). You're genuinely happy everywhere you go. It's the staying that troubles you. Time to get organized at home. Keep working until at last there's a place in your abode that feels like a sanctuary.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Troubles are blown out of portion. Relationship issues boil down to simple miscommunication. Technical problems are easily remedied. Remember the old stand-by fix: Unplug it for a minute, then boot up again.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). You're mind is firing off images, memories and articulations a million miles a minute. You need a pen and pad at all times to capture your own brilliance.

ASTROLOGICAL TOPIC: The Three Stages of Scorpio. Scorpio has three distinct experiences of herself, each graduating to higher consciousness. No other sign gets three symbols! Scorpio sun signs push the limits of reality beyond the here and now in order to spiritually transform. Look inside yourself to understand the three Scorpio influences within you. First, the snake: The snake sheds old skin by dropping its attachment to living an existence based on desire. Jealousy, attachment and obsession can control the snake. Through shedding desire, we evolve to the level of scorpion. The scorpion has experienced the biting sting of loss, having recovered power, strength and self-awareness for the journey. The challenge for the scorpion is using power without abusing it — using insightfulness to help, not harm. Scorpions are clued into the gray areas between deception and truth; there, they learn to gently expose the truth without stinging. Graduating from the scorpion to the eagle, Scorpio finally soars. The eagle's instinctual side is now in service of the soul. No longer a slave to desire, Scorpio's mastered the ability to see the whole range of human experiences — the good, bad and ugly — to dive down, live in it and soar above it.

CELEBRITY PROFILES: After Libras walk on the light side, they walk through the shadows with Scorpio. Scorpions don't just experience the darker side of human nature more than any other sign, they purposefully grow through it. R&B singer Monica's tragic losses deepened her music. "I don't think people wanted to hear a big fun record from me, after knowing all the things that I had personally experienced."

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