Giving more attention to the people inside the phone than the people in the room is a way of hiding from life. It takes greater courage to figure out real interactions than it does to interact with people over a digital interface. With the sun and Pluto in quincunx, being courageous (not to mention respectful) must happen face-to-face, in the room.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). Should you sacrifice your needs for those of another? Of course! But how often? That's the crux of it. Sacrifice should feel like a choice, not a character trait. Your needs are important, too. Examine the balance in relationships.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). As social as you can be, your solitude is at times so sweet that no one can compete. When you need to be alone, you really need it and enjoy it thoroughly.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). The ones worth impressing aren't excited by high-dollar items that anyone with money can obtain. Taste, style and emotional satisfaction have more to do with specificity of choice and the reasoning behind it.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). Lifestyle changes come about in interesting ways for you. Your next great change will start with a pang of dissatisfaction then a judgement that spreads over your being as a realization.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Truly, when you make a decision about how malleable your mood will be, you'll have the power to stick to it. So it will be entirely up to you: Your smile could change the day, or the day could change your smile.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). The attitudes of people and the feeling of situations will matter even more than usual. In fact, in most things you encounter today, the tone will trump the content. Reactions will be knee-jerk and gut-level.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). In the current milieu, you are surrounded by artfully scribed declarations and advice. The decor, the coffee mug, the shirt, the bracelet — they all seem to be barking orders. You'll rebel. You don't need to be told how to do you.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You may contradict yourself, and that's just part of being a complex human with broad interests and a mind that can travel through time and span a universe of ideas, many of which are bound to clash.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You'll consider going out of your way to make a favorable impression or to please someone. Before you do, examine your motives. If it's approval you seek, you don't need it. If it's for fun or experimentation, you can't lose.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). The observations others make of you may clash with your self-concept now. It may feel greedy to take a compliment and rude to deflect it. Avoid both modes by focusing on the graciousness of others.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Your restrictions, real or imagined, are legitimate. The latter is harder to break free from than the former. That's what makes today's small victory so important. This is only the beginning.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Deprivation is a severe and impractical approach. Many things are better regulated than restricted. This guiding principle will help you navigate the tricky issues of the day.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAY (Aug. 9). It's said that madness carves its own reality. You're not at all mad, but you're a carver, too! You'll chip and shave away at your life until the masterpiece emerges. A glorious happening in the next three weeks will be the first of five. You'll invest in another and accidentally benefit yourself. Love and travel happen in November. Pisces and Virgo adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 18, 7, 49, 31 and 6.

ASTROLOGICAL QUESTION: "My friend is a Capricorn and she told me she liked this guy. Well, she tells me that a lot, because she likes a lot of guys. One day I saw this guy in the library and I was talking to him about my friend. We hit it off. About a month later, the guy asked me out. He's a Cancer. I didn't think it would be a problem since my Capricorn friend had already moved on to liking someone else. But as soon as the Cancer and I started dating, my friend got all mad. She started flirting a lot with my new boyfriend, and that really bugged me. She says that she liked him first and that a good friend wouldn't go out with someone her friend liked first. What do you think? I'm a Libra."

Libra is the sign of justice, and I understand that it's important to you to act with integrity in your relationships, especially your friendships. Capricorns like to lay claim on the world, and this is part of the reason they are such successful human beings. That said, your Cancer guy is not the front seat of a car that she can lay "dibs" on. You have nothing to feel guilty about. Tell your Capricorn friend: That's just life.

CELEBRITY PROFILES: Whitney Houston will be missed by friends and fans on what would have been her 54th birthday. One of the world's best-selling music artists, Houston sang from her heart, which happens to be the organ that Leo rules. Houston had Venus in Leo as well, indicating a genuine love for the entertainment business and all the glamour therein. Her moon was in fiery, passionate Aries.

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