Power is responsibility, and responsibility is power. To assume power without assuming responsibility is impossible. False power may present a temporary illusion, but it will always be shattered by the emergence of true power. This is the message of lunar conjunction of Pluto in Capricorn, the station of both power and responsibility.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). Somewhere along this timeline, you're going to decide to stop forcing yourself to do other people's version of fun and stick to the version that's all your own. Why not now?

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). When hearts break, they don't heal all at once. In William Shakespeare's "Othello," Iago says, "How poor are they that have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees?" You may still feel it.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Your life flows best when you recognize what you need and you give yourself those essentials plus a pinch more for luck. But no more than a pinch! Because going too far past the essentials would set you back or get you stuck.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). Setting yourself up to succeed will involve recognizing what and how much you can do and seeking help for the tasks that are likely to go beyond those limits.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You'll step into a teaching position today. The education will go beyond you when you choose your pupils well. Who is likely to pay it forward? Who with ties to the group needs the information most?

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). The one you think of as a hero didn't aim for the role but landed there quite by accident. Having much preferred an easier, more ordinary route, this person found that life had other plans. You, too, will rise to the occasion when the time comes.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Physical, mental and emotional self-care is rooted in many practices (e.g., eating your vegetables, exercising, facing your fears) that unfortunately don't seem like fun at the outset but are nurturing of your best self.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). When the situation calls for small talk, there's no getting out of it, so you might as well use it for the opportunity it is. All conversation is a kind of personal brochure that shows people who you are and what you can do for them.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Part of doing the right thing is doing it at the right time. Arguably, part of what makes it the right thing is that it's right in a certain moment. If you took the action too far out of context, it would no longer hold such virtue.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Ever heard of "compassion fatigue"? It's the sort of burnout that comes to those who care for and help everyone but themselves, to the extent that they become undernourished at all levels. Don't let it happen. Be the priority today.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). If you are to devote yourself entirely to your challenge, you'll need to put on blinders of a sort, to keep yourself from looking back or sideways. There is only one goal, and it is ahead.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Even in the closest of families, things get tricky around money. It's best avoided today. This Greek proverb will steer you well: "Eat and drink with your relatives; do business with strangers."

TODAY'S BIRTHDAY (Nov. 12). Welcome to your year of exceptional timing. In love, games and social fun, your impulse will auspiciously align with opportunity. More highlights this solar return: You'll accomplish something you didn't think you could. An event will go down in your personal history. And there will be a windfall to help you meet a goal. Pisces and Virgo adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 9, 40, 21, 10 and 30.

ASTROLOGICAL QUESTION: "I'm a Scorpio, and maybe that makes me cynical, but I have a request for the general public: Stop telling me what to do! I'm tired of seeing posters and canvases and wall vinyl suggesting that I Live, Laugh, Love, Dream Big, Believe, Be Kind, etc. I'm sick of all the memes with clever sayings and quotations. Does your T-shirt really need to tell me your philosophy of life? Same for the bumper of your car. Just because I'm driving behind you doesn't mean I want you to tell me how to vote or what to read in the Bible or anything else. When did everyone get so self-righteous and bossy? From now on, I will only be friends with or follow people who maintain healthy social boundaries and respect my right not to know their opinion when I haven't asked for it. OK, that's all I've got. Thanks for the horoscopes."

I suppose that as the writer of the horoscopes, I am as guilty of telling you what to do as any meme or wall vinyl; they're only suggestions, of course. Your Scorpion intuition is the only advice you really need. Thanks for writing!

CELEBRITY PROFILES: What do Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears have in common with Ryan Gosling? They were all stars of Disney's "Mickey Mouse Club." The child star turned A-list movie star was born when the sun, Mercury and Uranus were in sizzling Scorpio. During his birthday solar return, Gosling can be seen walking on the moon as Neil Armstrong in "First Man."

Write Holiday Mathis at [email protected].