The Cancer full moon shone at the year's start, and shines again at the end, the glowing lunar bookends of the most unusual and memorable year in recent history. On the eve of 2021, the great conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter closes out the year with a lunar opposition and square to the planet of surprises, Uranus. Many feel we've had enough surprises in 2020 — though not of the kind we love. With open hearts, we wait from a safe distance.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). Some struggles are unending. Near their resolution, they automatically update so there's always a fresh fight ahead. If you knew the goal was unattainable, then would you still choose the path? Maybe you did know, but this week will require you to acknowledge your options and choose more consciously.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Victorian poet Robert Browning suggested, "A minute's success pays for the failure of years." Your attitude is better. You know there is no such thing as failure, only early prototypes and experiments with varying degrees of efficacy. Still, this week will bring you a particular kind of satisfying win.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You may be secretly ambitious, but that's not what the world sees now. They experience you as incredibly helpful, skilled and willing to support the group effort. Little do they know that you'll someday lead. Everything you're learning now prepares and primes you for a vision grounded in the reality of what the group needs.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). There are those who strive to put forth a polished image, and while you admire those efforts, you'll get a lot more mileage and love from your very relatable approach. You don't mind letting people know that you don't have it all together. You'll express what you need, and that's a big reason why you ultimately get it.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). If anyone can be regal and offbeat at the same time, then it's the royal lion. There's a time when the leader should be serious, but you're so powerful now that you get to say when that is. If you feel like using humor instead, trust that instinct. Your sense for making effective power moves will be right on point.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Maybe you're existing in the same environment, but make no mistake; this is new territory. As it goes with "foreign land," you can't expect to know immediately what you're doing. It may take a few tries to accomplish effective problem-solving here. At the very least, you'll need to calibrate your approach.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). To construct an ideal self and then measure yourself to that standard can be an act of ambition, cruelty or, more likely, both. It's kinder to first take stock of your position, commend the journey, love this stage, and then think about what a 5% improvement would look like. This week, a nudge will be better than a push.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). This week sees you in collaborations, some of which you've no control over. So when you do have options regarding your team, which will also be the case at times, it's important to shop around and carefully choose partners whose influence you welcome. You will most certainly rub off on one another.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You will walk that line between being assertive and aggressive. Because you haven't asked for your rightful due, it now may feel, to everyone involved including you, like it's not actually yours. The change will take effort, but you need to set it right. Stand up for yourself. It will be well worth the risk.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). The concept that most applies has to do with fit. When the others need what you offer and vice versa, lives become instantly easier. If the relationship is rough, if you feel self-conscious, if the plans don't fly, or worse, they get aloft but can't land, it's a problem of casting. When the people are right, the rest is easy.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Your initial vibes about a person or situation might not be completely accurate, but they are also not completely unfounded. Your ability to take the information that comes from your mind and senses as neutral and log it in an objective mental file is truly remarkable — a superpower that prompts amazing decisions.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Catch and release; nurture and let go; run to carry the torch and then pass it on. This is the cycle of grace. Without the second part of the cycle, legacy is thwarted. To a great extent, a creation, project, product and even a relationship will only be as potent as your ability to pay it forward and release it to live a life of its own.

THIS WEEK'S BIRTHDAYS: It comes up many times this year, the sneaking suspicion that this life you are living would be the envy of many around the world, that you are blessed beyond measure, and that you very well may be the best possible steward of this good fortune, as you are both grateful and gracious, paying it forward, sideways and basically all around. In spite of the world's problems, you see beauty, opportunity and connection. You point it out. You move constantly toward solutions.

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