In the midst of Mercury retrograde, the sun and Mercury hold a closed-door meeting in Scorpio. Bring your issues. Your top five annoyances. The one thing you'd change right now if you could. Hand them over to the mystery. Then find the question underneath the complaint. Make it true. Make it vulnerable. Ask something that, once answered, would give you a next move.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). Someone's behavior has you baffled. Don't worry about why they are like this, just figure out what works. Once you figure out what they respond well to, you have something better than a theory. You have a working method.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). What you're working on feels useless because you haven't landed on exactly what this project is yet. Accept that you don't know and keep producing. Once you have enough material in front of you, a form will start to emerge.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You'll get clearer about your stance on issues by talking things out. Pick someone who can debate with cool intellectual curiosity instead of passion, which could make the argument messy.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). Children want to be grown-up and grown-ups want to be children. Today, they both get their way to some degree. You take young people seriously, give older people an excuse to play, and you bridge a generational divide.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You're good at "working what works," but what about when it stops working? Today, that will be a blessing. Something interrupts your routine and sends you tinkering. By the time you're finished, you'll have a new method.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You're putting together an argument and it's not quite clicking. You'll discover that one of your facts is wrong. Well! That changes the whole story. Your case comes together perfectly when every piece of it is true.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). They owe you one. You know it, and they know it, too. You could keep score, but today offers something much more interesting to do. Put your energy into your own plans and trust that things will balance out later.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You're always you, but today you feel somehow more you because there's no one requiring you to pretend. Your tastes make sense to you. Your choices fit. You'll move through the day with the pleasure of good company: your own.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). People are counting on you, which is an excellent reason to avoid running yourself into the ground. Pace yourself. You'll get the important work done and still have enough energy left to enjoy your personal time.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Funny how you can keep coming back to the same argument without knowing what the issue is really about. Well today changes that. The underlying problem may not be pretty, but at least now you can discuss the right subject.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). It's easy to accept a behavior when everyone around you acts like it's normal. But with a little distance you'll see a familiar custom with fresh eyes. Suddenly it seems absurd. The fun part is deciding what to do instead.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Something has been weighing on you, but its actual size is only part of the story. Your position matters, too. Step away, hand off what you can or change your involvement. The situation may stay the same while becoming much lighter for you.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAY (Nov. 4). In your Year of the Brainchild, you're able to devote yourself to a beloved project, with terrific results and the side effect of feeling purposefully immersed. The flow state has benefits to your health and finances, too. More highlights: You'll host, visit and become part of traditions. Good fortune involving property, finding your ideal audience, team or customers. Taurus and Cancer adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 5, 11, 26, 30 and 42.

CELEBRITY PROFILES: Matthew McConaughey continues to blur the line between actor, storyteller and philosopher with his upcoming poetry collection "little dessert," while promoting films including "The Rivals of Amziah King" and "Brothers." McConaughey has spent decades reinventing himself without losing his unmistakable voice. His emotional depth, curiosity and magnetic presence are textbook Scorpio.

For more Holiday magic, visit HolidayMathis.com. To find out more about Holiday Mathis and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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