The day has two tones: first quiet, then outgoing. As the moon moves from Virgo to Libra, a humble, reflective day spent working alone in our cubicle corner of the world shifts when someone walks right in, sits down and starts chatting up a storm. This renewed focus on companionship feels natural and welcome.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). All things are spiritual. So tending to the needs of your soul shouldn't be something you set aside time to do — your every endeavor is a soulful act. You'll be conscious of this through the many tasks of your day.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You're an expert at shrugging off the disease called seriousness. You'll get the chance to clown around in front of an appreciative audience. New people to love are in this crowd. You'll know them by their laughter.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). A very, very basic knowledge of subjects will be enough to get you into interesting conversations at the least, exclusive clubs at the most. You were born with the gift of gab — now work it!

CANCER (June 22-July 22). Your career benefits from some tough market research. This requires you to be objective, which you're particularly good at. You see what people need and ways that you can change what you do to fit those needs.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You understand the larger scheme of things, which allows you to decide fast and act quickly. Many of your loved ones appear to be waffling around, which drives you crazy. Just as you have your process, they have theirs.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAY (JULY 8). You hear a calling this year. It may seem to come from outside yourself, though you intuitively know it's coming from your heart. Your journey is fully underway by the middle of August. New people turn life temporarily topsy-turvy in September. Material signs of progress come in October. Sagittarius and Pisces are your fans. Your lucky numbers are: 20, 1, 44, 17 and 18.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You're joyous when making other people happy. If what you're doing doesn't delight to the degree you thought it would, that's OK with you, too. Your fun is in the preparation and the giving. Let nothing damper that.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Your faith leads you to more daring and wild places than you dared traverse only a few days ago. And so you step off of the safe path into the waiting arms of your inner guide.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Starting something new? You couldn't ask for a better promise of what the future will bring. Of course, you're not one to fall easily for promises. You need the proof — and you get that now, too.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). There's a lot to be said for fitting in. You may even adopt a new habit in order to seem more in line with what your peers are doing — an indication of how powerful the need for human bonding really is.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). You're inclined to think things through, even if it means not coming to a decision anytime soon. Honor your instincts. You intuitively know that reckless and abrupt actions have equally sudden consequences.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Doing exactly what your higher-ups ask of you may in fact be a radical move. You're being tested. You'll pass with whatever decision you make, as long as it's one you totally believe in.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). When it comes to your loved ones, you'd jump through hoops, walk through fire or endure any variation of the sort. Apply the same fearsome conviction toward the aim of protecting and promoting your ideas.

ASTROLOGICAL QUESTIONS: "My potential partner and I (I'm a female Taurus and she is a Libra) are experiencing an issue. We used to talk to each other almost every day, laughing, telling secrets and whatnot, but as of the last few weeks she hasn't been acting the same. She won't return my e-mails or phone calls. She's aware of my sexuality and I'm aware of hers. Is she avoiding me?"

Libra got cold feet. Why? Libra, skilled in the art of persuasion, is rarely ambivalent about encouraging a relationship, but deciding how far to take any relationship is a personal one, a decision made in the privacy of her own mind. I'm thinking she reached her comfort threshold when you made your affections clearer — she hadn't counted on this relationship going any farther than shared secrets and laughter. If you're interested in preserving the friendship, you might try letting it cool on the back burner. If she knows where you stand, being less obvious about your feelings gives her space to figure out her own. Her curiosity might get the better of her, and she'll call. Give her time.

CELEBRITY PROFILES: Cancer Courtney Love has been called "the most controversial woman in the history of rock." Outrageousness and talent notwithstanding, her uncanny ability to get tangled up in the lives of other creative folk has proven both difficult and fruitful. Vesta, the asteroid of singular focus, is in the sign of Pisces in her chart. Taking restorative creative retreats alone integrates these energies.

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.

COPYRIGHT 2008 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.