Personal Power Times & Power Outages

Your ultimate best astro-moment falls at the time of your birthday. The sun is in your sign, giving you the solar power to shine. It's like a personal new year—and it's the best time to start new plans that truly reflect you. If you want to give yourself a new look, update then. If you've been putting your friends first, it's time to pull back and make it all about you. This is the time of year to ask yourself, "Who am I and what do I want?" The planets will help you come up with some interesting answers.

Other times of the year are better for chilling. Six months after your birthday, the sun is opposite your sign—a bit of an uncomfortable place. It's the farthest away the sun will ever be from your sign, so you may feel distanced from its power (and your own). You're literally out of the solar spotlight. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though! Use this time to ask others for support, take a vacation, and go easy on yourself. Good news: around this time, the full moon will fall in your sign. Remember those goals you set at your last birthday? Your half-birthday is the perfect time to cash in on some of those goods. Plan it right, and it's sort of like taking an all-expenses-paid vacation.

The other sleepytime happens the month before your birthday. The weary sun has now traveled the entire zodiac since it was last in your sign—and man, are you tired. It's the end of your astrological year, so catch up on rest, wrap up loose ends, and hold off on the new projects until after your birthday.