"Love is 20/20 vision," said no one ever. Fully conscious love is an oxymoron. Love literally makes people look at each other with heavy, half-drawn eyelids, as if to block out some of what there is to see. Venus and Neptune do their part with the cosmic fog machine today and Mercury goes retrograde to add chaos and confusion to the story.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). You're building a fortress of love around you now. Love cannot immunize you against all future sadness and emotional pain, but it will definitely make it much easier to bear.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You've plenty around you who, like dogs, love you unconditionally and are excited to see you. It's the cat-like people who are featured today, though. They might ignore you until they're suddenly in the mood for attention.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). If you were a flower you wouldn't be a rose with protective thorns to keep people from hastily plucking you up. You'd be a wildflower that grows where it wants. Being picked or not picked isn't the point for a wildflower.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). It's hard to do things just for your own self-improvement. Therefore, you don't call it "fun." It certainly isn't selfish, as no one selfishly causes their own discomfort. Do things just for you anyway, if only as an exercise to prove that you can.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). There's no shame in leaving the party at 9:30 p.m. Once you've done what you set out to do, found what you were looking for and gotten what you came for, there's no reason to stay.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Some endeavors are like the carnival that comes to town to delight you then takes its music and roller coasters to the next location. So what? Play the games; lose some money; ride the rides. It's more fun than staying home!

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). To give your heart to another when you feel the impulse to do so is usually the right choice. That doesn't mean it will work out. No one is guaranteed the joy. But regardless of what happens next, you'll be better for it.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You so freely give your love to everyone who needs it. What about you? You need it, too, possibly more urgently than anyone else around you today. Turn it inward.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Do you wonder why the cold people seem to gravitate to you? It's because you're fire and they sense they'll be able to warm up around you. They're right about that today.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Any attempt to control essentially uncontrollable forces will fall somewhere between laughable and futile. Disturbing elements are part of the landscape of life. The trick is to go around them, paying as little attention as possible.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). The bleak eventually gives way to sparkling interests — or does it create them? It will be your restlessness along with your enthusiasm that give meaning and color to your work and relationships.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). The damage we do over the course of a relationship or a job can't always be put right again, but when it's beyond repair we can still rebuild from scratch. The important thing is to have a hopeful attitude.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAY (Aug. 12). To sum the world up in a word: magic. The spell is in this bit of knowledge: Most problems are caused inside the relationship with the self — a relationship that will be healed, nurtured and well-tended this solar return. With great daring and caring, you'll help yourself become the hero of your own story. Capricorn and Aquarius adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 13, 22, 28, 1 and 18.

ECLIPSE COUNTDOWN: The most important thing to know about the great American eclipse of 2017 is that serious and permanent damage can be incurred by looking at the sun, eclipse or no. The painlessness of the injury makes it all the more dangerous. Great astronomers of early times, such as telescope inventor Galileo Galilei, suffered blindness attributed to this very practice. Buy eclipse glasses. Many of them are made of paper and not expensive, though the longer you wait, the more the price is likely to drive up. Parents need to be especially aware of this risk, as we are all counting on the young eyes of children to see us to a brighter future.

On a mystical note, the eclipse is connected to our sense of security at the most basic level. The ancients believed the sun was god, the giver of life, and parent to our presumably paper-flat world. It's hard to argue against the sun's supremacy even now, given that without that star we'd all perish. Imagine the terror of early man seeing god swallowed (by what some thought was a sky wolf) and not knowing, for a long moment, if this meant the end of everything. Maybe that story is still imprinted on our collective DNA. Anyway, as far as preparation goes, the eyes aren't the only organ that could benefit from a little forethought. More on that next week!

CELEBRITY PROFILES: Cara Delevingne has quickly blossomed from top model to top-billed movie star in a relatively short amount of time. Like a typical Leo, she's as royal as a lioness (with a noble family lineage to prove it) while being as playful and ferocious as a kitten. This solar return brings a slew of hot projects, including two with "fever" in the title: "Tulip Fever" and "Fever Heart."

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