Mercury in Gemini hits a dead halt and does an about face today. In a few days, the planet of communication will start delivering the mail to the right post office box and call back the vixens that made our computers their workshop for the past three and a half weeks. Whether the message was received today remains to be seen.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). In an "aha" moment (perhaps involving an astute Pisces) your perception of your personal life changes, even if the facts of your actual circumstance seem relatively the same. And perception is everything.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Scandals of the romance novel or tabloid hot sheet variety hold intrigue. As for the real-life, in-your-own-backyard kind of news, it's best to stay out of it now. Likely the word on the street is neither accurate nor fair.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). When you give loved ones the gift of clean dishes or lunch, you don't expect much. A simple smile will do. If said smile is replaced with a complaint, withholding future bounty works just fine to set the scale of gratitude right.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). Working with others is your specialty now. You notice people's strengths and point out talents they didn't even realize were talents. You could be asked to do a new and important job for this very reason.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You communicate well with those from a different species. Pets adore you and want to please. Note when you see wildlife, even if it's an ant on the concrete, and pay attention to what you might learn from the creature.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAY (JUNE 19). You do things in a way nobody else can. Be confident and you'll be widely accepted, paid well and given even more opportunity to shine. This month brings friends and family. Next month brings new people into the mix, the likes of which you'll want to impress. Travel in April is life altering. Pisces and Aries communicate with your soul. Your lucky numbers are: 5, 20, 16, 44 and 10.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Your patrons are interested in one thing only — how they feel around you. Your credentials, experience and the other pertinent details are superfluous to the main point: giving the superstar treatment.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You're human; mistakes are part of the deal. So is mortality. What are you going to do? Dwell on the obvious? Some around you will, which is a sign that you should go elsewhere fast.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Someone is asking you for a deeper commitment. Well, maybe this person hasn't actually said this yet, but you know it's coming. Get your answer straight now so you'll be ready.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Whatever is on your mind, you get the sneaking suspicion it's not what others are thinking, and you're right. There are times when you move to the common beat, but right now you're dancing to your own iPod.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Friends are "up in your business." They mean well — you're so interesting right now, you really can't blame them. Still, it's better not to tell all. Don't even tell most. Telling nothing is the best.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Easy connections aren't as appealing to you now as someone who poses a challenge. The untouchable, aloof person you know is actually yearning to be reached, and you're the one to do it. Observe, listen and wait.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Passive acceptance of the moment is beautiful … in theory. It's just that it's hard to get there when you're feeling this ambitious. The edginess inside you will compel you to move work and/or love forward.

ASTROLOGICAL QUESTIONS: "I have often wondered about how the elements (earth, air, water, fire) interact, as I am a Leo with a Pisces moon. I've always been an atypical Leo — less confident and showy than a normal Leo — and have wondered if my watery moon sometimes douses my fiery sun. How does this work?"

In this world where everyone's trying to shine brighter and bigger, it is a solar world we're living in, isn't it? And yet, all the ways I take care of "me," the moon's domain, is exactly what keeps our sun, the ego, purring. Astrology says the moon is our personality, and Pisces moon is softer, inspiring a more fanciful, imaginative version of the lioness than the "typical" Leo. You do have the creative command and charisma shared by every Leo, and others see this in you. And helping a lost soul find their way home, or getting your "om" on bring their own creative fulfillment and well-being, too. A water-fire combination merges passion and compassion, and while softer, is highly dramatic! Elementally speaking, no one element in our birth chart steals fire from the other — they work together — making you uniquely and expressively you.

CELEBRITY PROFILES: Isabella Rossellini embodies the light, effervescent beauty of a Gemini woman. And with both the sun and Venus in Gemini, she's a woman of many faces. Model, author and filmmaker, she once made a tribute film to her father, director Roberto Rossellini, and played almost every role — from Alfred Hitchcock to her mother, Ingrid Bergman — herself! Multi-faceted, she looks good from all angles.

Holiday Mathis is the author of "Rock Your Stars." If you would like to write to her, 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.

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