It's been a while since you gave much thought to who your best playmates are. The question applies urgently to people of all ages now, as the need for quality play is much stronger and more primal than most people would guess. The Gemini moon suggests profound benefits to prioritizing social fun.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). What some creatures eat on the regular is poisonous to other creatures. Make no assumptions. Ask and you'll learn something interesting about the particular tolerances and preferences of those you adore.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Your future success depends on being able to read the crowd today. When you anticipate what people need and want, you gain real power. In short: Know your audience.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You're not always in a position to follow your hunches, so seize today's moment and run with it. This is a prime opportunity in which your life can be markedly improved when you act on your psychic inklings.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). Love will turn you into an artist. The sweetness you feel for someone puts a song in your heart, poetry in your dreams and other kinds of creativity you never even considered before into your able hands.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). If you needed another reason to maintain an easygoing attitude, just know that any troubles you encounter today will pass so quickly that they will hardly qualify as true "troubles." Call them "blips" instead.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Observe the situation a while longer. There will be tremendous benefits to being perceived as cool, mysterious and wise. You will embody all those things in silence.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Casual conversation will be most enlightening. Social experience will teach you what you can't get in a book. You'll be impressed by the eloquence of others, and it will rub off on you too.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You want more than the others want, and your drive is much stronger than theirs, too. Just be careful not to let your ambitions overshadow the small victories of the day that really deserve to be celebrated.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). It will take more than usual to see what's so fantastic about a situation, but don't stop looking. There is far more good than evil in the world. Focus on the many things that are going right.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). You don't always recognize "enough" right away, and that's something to work on now. Knowing the proper amount of energy to bring to the situation will make everything about it better for you.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You may not like the hand you're dealt today, but there's a winning way to play it. Probably you'll have to bluff a bit. Don't think of this as a lie; rather, think of it as a hopeful projection.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Of course you deserve your own kindness. If you're still struggling with that it's a good day to simply drop the fight. Assume that one of the main things you need right now is more compassion and then give it to yourself.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAY (April 10). You'll be chosen for a first-string team or some type of elite mastermind group. This will be an honor, a pleasure and a big responsibility. Your earning potential grows as you pick up more skills through the next six months. June and August bring adventure. Family bonds strengthen as you get out of your element together. Libra and Leo adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 5, 33, 39, 1 and 26.

FORECAST FOR THE WEEK AHEAD: The way we experience love changes according to the age of the lover. A 13-year-old crush is a completely different experience from the dance that 20-somethings do, and senior citizen dating is another story altogether. And yet, the senior citizen still has the 13 and 20 year-old mind and heart somewhere inside to draw from. Going back to the young love feeling is one theme of Venus in Aries. This assertive, youthful placement for the love goddess is prone to puppy love, and no age group is immune to it. This week, Mars adds to the excitement by enticing Venus in an auspicious trine. Mars is coming from the fire realm of Sagittarius and is pulling in a great deal of excitement and heat from the world at large. Under this cosmic angling, to love someone is to inspire that person, especially through the introduction of new influences, cultures, languages, lifestyles and experiences.

If you don't think that your lifestyle is a completely different world to another person, you need to get out and meet the "other people" who live completely differently from you. Whether you're the teacher or the student, this week's mash-up of social influences will be overwhelmingly positive and life-enhancing.

CELEBRITY PROFILES: Shay Mitchell is a fiery Aries born under the reasonable influence of a Virgo moon. This fire/earth combo is the perfect balance, made even more auspicious by Mercury and Venus in Pisces, the sign known for empathetic alignment. With the communication and love planet both in the sign of empathy, Mitchel can easily slip in and out of characters much different from herself.

To write to Holiday Mathis, visit www.creators.com and click "Write the Author" on her page.

Photo credit: Evo Flash