The only real happiness is happiness without reason. Reasons come and go; unreasonable happiness just is. Of all the skills worth mastering, unreasonable happiness is the habit with the most lift. The discipline (involving an integration of gratitude, contribution and focus) offers in return the superpower of spiritual flight.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). Holding on occupies your hands so nothing else can happen. No giving or receiving and no other work — just maintaining what is already in your grasp. What's worth holding on to?

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You're a study in contrasts — wise as an elder and playful as a child, living in a realistic dream, working playfully and playing like it's your job. Every facet you embrace makes you more powerful.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). The ideas keep coming. The early ones are nothing compared to the later ones, so don't be too quick to act. Keep the brainstorm session going. The winning choice is the one most likely to benefit many people at once.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). The stories that go directly from here to there are too logical to be memorable. Indulge curiosity on your way to the goal. Take advantage of the great and useful pleasure of meandering.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You think you know yourself, but it's just a theory. Theories need proof. You're not proving yourself to anyone. You're proving yourself because it's exciting to create the evidence of who you are.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Your thoughts want to be embodied, so express them in movement. Does it feel silly or strike you as nonsense? Then you're on the right track. It's not meant to make sense; it's meant to integrate the mind-body connection.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Relationships are as healthy as their communication systems. All lines are open and clear. No translation will be necessary on your end; you understand perfectly what is being exchanged.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). There are ambitious plans in the making. Now is the time to pose the honest question: Why this? There are many ways to fulfill your needs, some of which will be easier and less expensive than your original plan.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Opportunity comes knocking, but so will solicitors, unwanted visitors and the wind. You don't know which knocks to answer, so you have to answer them all. Your good fortune will depend on it!

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). There's a difference between presenting an idea and pushing it. Your natural charm disallows for pushing. Your genuine excitement on subjects will radiate and do all the work for you.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). When Walt Whitman wrote, there "will never be any more perfection than there is now," he made an excellent point. To believe this is to live in perpetual sweetness.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Whether or not you want to do a job will be irrelevant to you. You see what needs to be done and you do it. After it's completed, you'll get just how necessary it was.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAY (Oct. 10). You'll discover a niche that is a wonderful fit for you. What may seem like fluff and extras to the uninformed will be a source of great interest, a main area of study and a wellspring for fun, relationships and financial success, too. You'll drop or adopt a life-changing habit at the start of the year. Capricorn and Scorpio adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 5, 55, 38, 2 and 14.

FORECAST FOR THE WEEK AHEAD: We were conditioned to believe that success takes hard work, but is it true? The ancient wisdom declared the greatest success is to be content with oneself. There are those who think they will be content with themselves when they've fulfilled certain ambitions — a premise that usually falls flat. Striving typically leads to more striving. Contentment isn't a location; it's a decision that can be made from any location. It's a state of mind, not a state of geography, economy or social status.

Saturn — the stern headmaster of the sky — has been retrograde since May, relying on review packets and repetition to impart his wisdom. This week, Saturn goes direct. The early lessons of the transit involve such teaching devices as gratitude and acceptance. Commit to these practices on the regular and you'll inject the end of the year with brightness, levity and ease. The solar air-sign trine to Jupiter will offer up novel approaches to optimism, so staying on the bright side will also somehow match up with your intellectual and aesthetic interests.

CELEBRITY PROFILES: The film director Ed Wood Jr. made an unforgettable mark on the film industry even though critics largely regarded his films as models of terrible filmmaking. Libra's joyous artistic spirit was alive in his main creative aim to make people happy regardless of the resources or talent available to him. So impactful were his efforts that he's revered in the Woodism religion of The Church of Ed Wood.

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