At the turning of the year, ancient wisdom listens to the language of flame and hoofbeat, to the spirits that move time forward. Of the 12 creatures in the Chinese zodiac, the Horse carries the wild knowing of freedom. Freedom is life. It is movement, growth and becoming. May wide-open horizons welcome your roaming heart. May you expand in awareness and creativity. May your soul ignite, animate and illuminate all the ways you are free in the Year of the Fire Horse.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). As for the sort of people who ruffle your confidence, it's only because you perceive they hold power over you, which isn't necessarily true. They may hold purse strings, permissions or status, but since those things are also available elsewhere, you needn't be beholden to any individual. No one outranks you. You have nothing to prove.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). It's helpful to observe life without always feeling you need to react to it. Indifference can be extremely useful in situations where you have very little control over an outcome. Sometimes caring less is not being careless. It's just conserving energy to apply it to what you're actually responsible for. Let your own happiness be high on your list.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You bring the magic. You don't need permission. In the past, someone benefited from you shrinking. Someone else decided what counted, and you had to go with it. Someone negated your reality. But this is no longer your situation. You have the magic, and you can use it without threatening the hierarchy. You'll be celebrated.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). You'll be extra aware and often delighted by the way you shape and are shaped by a certain someone. It's not that one is a sculptor and one is clay. You're both clay, working out the form of your relationship. You may never settle into one shape. It may keep changing like the nonhardening clay that is fun to play with precisely because it remains pliable.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). As the masqueraders and carnival performers know, wearing a mask takes energy. Circumstances will sometimes call for putting on a socially acceptable face reflecting something different from what you're feeling on the inside. At least your smile gives the rest of you a cue — it's all going to be OK. Your competence, in time, turns to confidence.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). It's important to have events in your future you're looking forward to because the anticipation of pleasure is a form of pleasure, too. Days are made lighter simply because they are leading up to the exciting event. If the event lives up to the hype, that's a bonus. Your ideas, your daring — that delicious audacity of yours is a gift.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Love isn't doing someone's work for them. It's doing the work of being the best human you can be, which sometimes involves helping others. This week, you will often be serving those around you, but you're not their servant. Think of your effort as mastering your own gifts. They benefit, too, but it's the work itself that actually uplifts you.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). The best scenario: You don't have to be pedantic about the rules because everyone involved has space to be themselves and the integrity to respect the expression of others. This is the ideal to strive for, at least. You'll be sensitive and observant. Outlining the boundaries will be your brilliant peacekeeping measure.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Your conscience has served you well. You've done the moral work, so improvement or vigilance is unnecessary. You need only accept that the accounting is finished. The record has been reviewed, meaning extracted, consequences integrated. Now, grant yourself the mercy you would extend to anyone else who had learned and changed.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Time for an audit on your sources of relaxation, leisure and fun. Are some of them simply too expensive? It's not just about money. Pleasure that extracts without replenishing may have too high a cost. Changes are easier at this juncture. You'll cultivate joyful habits and nurture relationships that pay you back.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Your emotions are a compass. It's safe to tune into emotional sensations without judging what comes up, whether it's joy, irritation, tenderness or feelings that you have yet to define. There is no wrong or right way to feel, only the way you actually feel, and many ways to interpret.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). You don't have to make big decisions this week, so avoid jumping to conclusions. It's more helpful to simply keep seeing, and it's very fun to gather feedback. Ask insiders, experts and newbies alike to weigh in. There's brilliance in a balanced picture. You'll make a friend in the process.

THIS WEEK'S BIRTHDAYS: Welcome to your Year of Rising Influence, when charisma, intelligence and timing have you shining like the morning sun that wakes the world. You will be an inspiring role model and teacher. Part of your income will be from sharing what you know. Another part will be from an astute investment of dollars and energy. More highlights: Gatherings, collaborations and joyful milestones bring a steady hum of contentment. New relationships are immediately exciting and continually nurturing. Creative work and business coincide for a windfall.

For more Holiday magic, visit HolidayMathis.com. To find out more about Holiday Mathis and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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