FOR RELEASE: MONDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2011 by Holiday Mathis on Creators.com

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FOR RELEASE: MONDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2011

Tempers are testy thanks to the terse arrangement of Mars and Jupiter, though Libran influences mellow the effect. With maturity comes the awareness that just because something is happening now doesn't make it important. The deeper your purpose the less likely you are to be put off course by momentary distractions.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). Practice is the key to mastering skills. You could get lucky in the beginning, and yet it still may take a good deal of practice to do it consistently right. Put in the time. It will be worthwhile to do so.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You've quested long and hard for something with very little evidence that you ever will obtain it. Today your fortunes change, though. It's as though after a long, dry desert journey, you have come to an oasis.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). When you think of the one who has been there for you along the way, special pictures and words come to mind. This is something to record so that when the time comes to express your gratitude, you will not be at a loss.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). Physical stillness is the best thing you could do to gain clarity today. You've been like a whirling dervish lately. When you quiet your body, you'll realize just how hard you've been working it.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). If only you had a staff of industrious elves to keep your domestic life running like the North Pole. Alas, you're dealing with human folk who are twice the size with half the work ethic. You'll make do all the same.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You'll hear of someone's unfortunate trials and tribulations. The positive outcome is that you'll realize how lucky you are by comparison and will have a new appreciation for your circumstances.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You will help a loved one with your open-minded approach to problem solving. You won't make moral judgments. Instead, you'll concern yourself with whether an action is helpful or harmful, useful or useless.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You love your independence, and you also love feeling close with someone you find splendidly attractive. If you plan it well, you'll enjoy both of these states of being today.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). When the right idea comes your way, you think you'll recognize it right away. You expect the earth to tremble, or maybe lights to flash and alarms to sound. Alas, the knowing feeling will really come as quietly as a whisper.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Making someone feel like the most important person in the world will in turn make you seem like an absolute genius in that person's eyes.

Your attractiveness will grow appreciably.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). There's much you'll be working on throughout the day. And when the time comes to shut off your head and go to sleep, your head simply will not want to quiet down. A steaming cup of tea will help.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). You'll deal with one who wants everything yesterday. This kind of impatience is difficult for you to relate to now, since you're becoming so effective at going with the flow. However, you'll try to be accommodating.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAY (Oct. 3). Your intentions are on target this year, and so the details fall into place more often than not. You make room for new people and different points of view, and suddenly your work and life get richer. There will be commotion in your family life, and you'll be the peacekeeper who brings everyone together. Aquarius and Scorpio people adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 24, 6, 15, 33 and 49.

CARDS OF THE MAJOR ARCANA — STRENGTH VIII: Pick up any fashion magazine, and look for an ad featuring a gorgeous model with a momentarily pacified but unmistakably wild animal. There's a 50-50 chance you'll find the image — not an exact statistic, but you've seen the same theme represented countless times, mostly because it speaks simultaneously to our primal fears and most cultivated tastes. And it perpetuates the idea that there's a beautiful, hypnotic serenity more powerful than a monstrous beast. That's the theme of the Strength card. A lovely maiden strokes a lion that at any given moment could bite her head off. But the lion doesn't. Furthermore, one gets the feeling that it wouldn't, out of loyalty or possibly even love for this fearless girl. When you pull the Strength card, you may immediately be reminded that such a fearsome beast lies within you. You've heard it growl on darker days. You've cowered in the knowledge that there's no way to overpower its feral strength. But if you are patient with this savage animal, if you calmly invite it to rest its head on your lap while you stroke its fur, you will no longer be at its mercy.

CELEBRITY PROFILES: Joan Cusack's distinctive voice can be heard narrating the public television series "Peep and the Big Wide World," playing Milo's mom in "Mars Needs Moms," or as Jessie, the yodeling cowgirl, in "Toy Story 3." With her sun and Mercury in Libra, Cusack's tone harmonizes well wherever she lends her talent. Mars in maternal Cancer promises that her real-life motherly role will always be her favorite.

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.