For whatever you're interested in, the first quarter moon in Aquarius has the scoop. With the attractive panache of a person in the know, the Aquarius moon dignifies your deepest questions with a fresh, intelligent response. Gravitate toward the unknown to find the uncanny and ingenious skinny on all that intrigues you.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). Seek to understand your specific traits of character — even fall in love with them if you can muster it — instead of looking at others and wondering whether those traits would suit you better.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You're thinking about the whole picture. Balance between the various areas of your life is as worthy a goal as you could want now. When you're living right, all areas of your life are headed toward excellence.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). What you want from your loved ones, colleagues, employers and employees is loyalty. You want to know that what they do in your presence is the same as what they do in your absence.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). You do your work cheerfully and without being reminded. It's this, and not some grand gesture that you could make, that insures that you will make a difference in the world.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). If you're wondering what people really think of you, you probably are, on some level, catching the vibrations of their thoughts already. No, you're not imagining it. There's something to clear up so you are right with the world.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAY (Nov. 17). You make new rules for yourself this year — an endeavor you're likely to take in a high-minded direction, deciding to be kinder than is necessary, more tolerant than the crowd and generally open-minded. The result: Your luck, talent and income all expand. You share a special connection with Gemini and Cancer. Your lucky numbers are: 8, 20, 11, 39 and 17.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Trouble is caused by people acting silly. But try to have a sense of humor about it. Confusing moments at home can be avoided with organizational tools, such as a pen and paper placed by the phone.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). If you met yourself on the street now, what would you think? Well, that's practically what happens now as the universe conjures up a situation that allows you to look in an astonishingly accurate mirror.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You find yourself working against strong forces — a kind of emotional resistance training. You can't help but get stronger for this effort. Struggles end in success.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You're brave — even braver than usual. Knowing your fear is the key to making a major success of this day. Because usually what you fear is what you most need to do.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). People who adore you want you to experience a slice of their lives. As much as you enjoy seeing the world through the eyes of your friends, tonight, you can't wait to get home.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). New people come into your realm. You're not sure what to think yet, either. When in doubt over a person's character, just check out his or her friends. Those relationships, in unspoken ways, tell all.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Momentum on the career front is a direct result of changes in your personal life. When you take a "do it now" attitude, it all gets done. Virgo helps you know your priorities.

ASTROLOGICAL QUESTIONS: "I have the hotsy-totsys for a man born Oct. 30, 1948, and I was born March 6, 1955. Is this lust or something more? Both of us are attracted to one another like magnets. It's almost like a gravitational pull in action. I feel extremely comfortable in his presence."

Leave it to a Scorpio. Your magnetism is elemental. Water-water couplings define togetherness as the ease with which they flow. As water moves in the same direction as gravity, so it goes with you two. Finding your footing with this one proves harder, though. To him, ladies run like salmon on a salmon run. There is never a shortage of glamorous, irresistible women in his life. Which is not to say that you're not one of them — in fact, you are. So how long will this lusty affair continue? As Mars retrogrades through Pisces' solar house of love affairs through December 2008, you're vulnerable to unsavory behavior and the casual disregard inherent in casual dating, which highlights Saturn's duty tour in Virgo, the antithesis of casual relationships. Over the next few years, all Pisceans will separate the wheat from the chaff, the partners with long-term potential from the players.

CELEBRITY PROFILES: Scorpios understand other people's motives, and it's no stretch to say they know you better than you know yourself. Martin Scorsese has consistently used this skill to get in the minds of characters we otherwise wouldn't understand. Viewed from a psychological perspective, we can identify with any protagonists conflict — because we're all too human.

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.