This Leo Season is like a movie that opens right in the middle of the action, and these early beats of the story feature you, the star, already thick into the plot. If you thought you would need some kind of credential, invitation or blessing... well, it's too late for that. The season has already granted you permission to hop up on that stage and start doing the thing.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). Different interpretations begin to converge. Now people can coordinate their efforts and move forward together. Cooperation will get a little easier each day from here because everyone is working from the same understanding.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Many people enter new social situations trying to fit in. You'll have more success letting people discover who you already are. Genuine connections form faster when there is less translation required.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Today, assess people based on their curiosity, not their knowledge. What they ask — or if they ask anything at all — will tell you much more about their interests and motivation than what you might learn in an answer.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). Today brings themes of entitlement versus contribution. Judgments about who deserves what are often tangled up with people's self-image and personal biases. Many who think they should get more have less claim to it. Merit and self-confidence don't always go together.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Love doesn't happen to you so much as through you. It moves you to act because you care. Decisions made from love rather than fear will lead somewhere worthwhile. Acts of love have long consequences.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). The current situation calls for strategic thinking. Resist the urge to focus only on the immediate outcome. Sometimes the real victory is gaining experience you'll be able to use long after this particular challenge is over.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You lived the past, you imagine the future and now is the only moment in which you can really affect destiny. Three different times seem to exist simultaneously today. It's how you know you are, at your core, timeless.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). There are two paths: one bathed in sunlight, promising warmth and familiarity, the other shrouded in moonlight, fog and the allure of the unknown. You don't have to decide; your feet already know.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). When your brain is trying to hold too many open loops, you can feel overwhelmed. Write it out and the feeling of overload will decrease even before a single problem is solved just because you move the problem out of your head and onto paper.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Make a request. Use clear language and say the thing that lets everyone know where you're coming from and what you want. You'll be pleased by how quickly circumstances improve once people understand exactly what you need.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You don't have all the information, and that's OK. Focus on taking care of yourself instead of trying to figure everything out. Events will reveal something you couldn't have anticipated, and that change will ultimately put you on a better path.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). You may be tempted to keep thinking about a problem that's already been solved. Not because the answer is unclear, but because it's not the answer you wanted. Accept it, deal with it and move on. The next chapter is waiting.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAY (July 24). It's your Year of the Exceptional Standard, in which you're the one who gets to decide what quality looks like. As your expectations become your everyday reality, you'll find yourself eating, sleeping, working, loving and living better. More highlights: You'll attract both admirers and eager students. New styles and environments. Your inner life gets stronger in the same way muscles do: repetition. Libra and Capricorn adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 1, 13, 11, 17 and 26.

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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