Psychologists say most people need a scapegoat -- a personification of wickedness and ignorance onto which they can project the unacknowledged darkness in their own hearts. That's the bad news. Here's the good news: The coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to neutralize that reflex and at least partially divest yourself of the need for scapegoats. How? The first thing to do is identify your own darkness with courageous clarity. Get to know it better. Converse with it. Negotiate with it. The more conscientiously you deal with that shadowy stuff within you, the less likely you'll be to demonize other people.

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When they say "Be yourself," which self do they mean? Certainly not the self that wants to win every game and use up every resource and stand alone at the end of time on a mountain of pretty garbage. So which self is it? For guidance, tune in to your EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE.

If the weather turns bad or your allies get sad or the news of the world grows even crazier, you will thrive. I'm not exaggerating or flattering you. It's exactly when events threaten to demoralize you that you'll have maximum power to redouble your fortitude and effectiveness. Developments that other people regard as daunting will trigger breakthroughs for you. Your allies' confusion will mobilize you to manifest your unique visions of what it takes to live a good life.

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Take inventory of the extent that "No" dominates your life. Notice how often you say or think: 1. "That's not right." 2. "I don't like that." 3. "I don't agree with that." 4. "They don't like me." 5. "I'm not very good." 6. "That should be different from what it is." For help in retraining yourself to say "Yes!" at least 51% of the time, tune in to your EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE.

"If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried." declared comedian Steven Wright. My Great Uncle Ned had a different perspective. "If at first you don't succeed," he told me, "redefine the meaning of success." I'm not a fan of Wright's advice, but Ned's counsel has served me well. I recommend you try it out, Gemini. Here's another bit of folk wisdom that might be helpful. Psychotherapist Dick Olney said that what a good therapist does is help her clients wake up from the delusion that they are the image they have of themselves.

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How's your fight for freedom going? Are you making progress in liberating yourself from your unconscious obsessions, bad habits, and conditioned responses? For assistance and inspiration, tune in to your EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE.

What is home? The poet Elizabeth Corn pondered that question. She then told her lover that home was "the stars on the tip of your tongue, the flowers sprouting from your mouth, the roots entwined in the gaps between your fingers, the ocean echoing inside of your ribcage." I offer this as inspiration, Cancerian, since now is a perfect time to dream up your own poetic testimonial about home. What experiences make you love yourself best? What situations bring out your most natural exuberance? What influences feel like gifts and blessings? Those are all clues to the beloved riddle "What is home?"

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Assume that your drive to experience pleasure isn't a barrier to your spiritual growth, but is in fact essential to it. Proceed on the hypothesis that cultivating joy can make you a more ethical and compassionate person. Imagine that feeling good has something important to teach you every day. For inspiration in practicing this approach, tune in to your EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE.

You're most likely to thrive if you weave together a variety of styles and methods. The coming weeks will be a highly miscellaneous time, and you can't afford to get stuck in any single persona or approach. As an example of how to proceed, I invite you to borrow from both the thoughtful wisdom of the ancient Greek poet Homer and the silly wisdom of the cartoon character Homer Simpson. First, the poet: "As we learn, we must daily unlearn something which it has cost us no small labor and anxiety to acquire." Now here's Homer Simpson: "Every time I learn something new, it pushes out something old."

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"Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show." So begins Charles Dickens' novel David Copperfield. I'd like to inspire you to write a story of your own that begins like that. For help, tune into your EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE.

Filmmakers often have test audiences evaluate their products before releasing it to the masses. If a lot of viewers express a particular critique, the filmmaker may make changes, even cutting out certain scenes or altering the ending. You might want to try a similar tack in the coming weeks, Virgo. Solicit feedback on the new projects and trends you've been working on -- not just from anyone, of course, but rather from smart people who respect you. And be sure they're not inclined to tell you only what you want to hear. Get yourself in the mood to treasure honesty and objectivity.

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I invite you to keep a running list of all the ways life delights you and helps you and energizes you. Describe everyday miracles you take for granted . . . the uncanny powers you possess . . . the small joys that occur so routinely you forget how much they mean to you . . . the steady flow of benefits bestowed on you by people you know and don't know. What works for you? What makes you feel at home in the world? For inspiration in this noble effort, tune in to your EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE.

The poet E. E. Cummings said, "To be nobody-but-yourself -- in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else -- means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting." On the other hand, naturalist and writer Henry David Thoreau declared that "We are constantly invited to be who we are," to become "something worthy and noble." So which of these two views is correct? Is fate aligned against us, working hard to prevent us from knowing and showing our authentic self? Or is fate forever conspiring in our behalf, seducing us to master our fullest expression? I'm not sure if there's a final, definitive answer, but I can tell you this, Libra: In the coming months, Thoreau's view will be your predominant truth.

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All of creation loves you very much. Even now, people you know and people you don't know are collaborating to make sure you have all you need to make your next smart move. But are you willing to start loving life back with an equal intensity? The adoration it offers you has not exactly been unrequited, but there is room for you to be more demonstrative. For help in cultivating this approach, tune in to your EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE.

"When you do your best, you're depending to a large extent on your unconscious, because you're waiting for the thing you can't think of." So said Scorpio director Mike Nichols in describing his process of making films. Now I'm conveying this idea to you just in time for the beginning of a phase I call "Eruptions from Your Unconscious." In the coming weeks, you will be ripe to receive and make good use of messages from the depths of your psyche. At any other time, these simmering bits of brilliance might remain below the threshold of your awareness, but for the foreseeable future they'll be bursting through and making themselves available to be plucked.

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What are the obvious secrets you can't quite see? How could you turn your challenges into daily gifts for yourself? For clues to mysteries like these, tune in to your EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE.

Author Barbara Ehrenreich has done extensive research on the annals of partying. She says modern historians are astounded by the prodigious amount of time that medieval Europeans spent having fun together. "People feasted, drank, and danced for days on end," she writes. Seventeenth-century Spaniards celebrated festivals five months of each year. In 16th-century France, peasants devoted an average of one day out of every four to "carnival revelry." In accordance with current astrological omens, you Sagittarians are authorized to match those levels of conviviality in the coming weeks.

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Grace emerges in the ebb and flow, not just the flow. The waning reveals a different blessing than the waxing. Where are you in the great cycle of your life? For inspiration in figuring it all out, tune in to your EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE.

Kittens made French Emperor Napoleon III lose his composure. He shook and screamed around them. Butterflies scare actress Nicole Kidman. My friend Allie is frightened by photos of Donald Trump. As for me, I have an unnatural fear of watching reality TV. What about you, Capricorn? Are you susceptible to any odd anxieties or nervous fantasies that provoke agitation? If so, the coming weeks will be a perfect time to overcome them. Why? Because you'll be host to an unprecedented slow-motion outbreak of courage that you can use to free yourself from long-standing worries.

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Whether it's your time to ferment in the shadows or sing in the sun, fresh power to transform yourself is on the way. Life always delivers the creative energy you need to change into the new thing you must become. For more help in understanding it all, tune in to your EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE.

"The brain is wider than the sky," wrote Emily Dickinson. "The brain is deeper than the sea." I hope you cultivate a vivid awareness of those truths in the coming days, Aquarius. In order to accomplish the improbable tasks you have ahead of you, you've got to unleash your imagination, allowing it to bloom to its full power so it can encompass vast expanses and delve down into hidden abysses. Try this visualization exercise: Picture yourself bigger than the planet Earth, holding it tenderly in your hands.

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You can learn to be lucky. It's not a mystical force you're born with, but a habit you can develop. How? For starters, be open to new experiences, trust your gut wisdom, expect good fortune, see the bright side of challenging events, and master the art of maximizing serendipitous opportunities. For more help, tune in to your EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE.

I got an email from a fan of Piscean singer Rihanna. He complained that my horoscopes rarely mention celebrities. "People love astrological predictions about big stars," he wrote. "So what's your problem? Are you too 'cultured' to give us what we the people really want? Get off your high horse and 'lower' yourself to writing about our heroes. You could start with the lovely, talented, and very rich Rihanna." I told Rihanna's fan that my advice for mega-stars is sometimes different from what it is for average folks. For Piscean mega-stars like Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Ellen Page, and Bryan Cranston, for example, the coming weeks will be a time to lay low, chill out, and recharge. But non-famous Pisceans will have prime opportunities to boost their reputation, expand their reach, and wield a stronger-than-usual influence in the domains they frequent.

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Somewhere there's a treasure that has no value to anyone but you, and a secret that's meaningless to everyone except you, and a frontier that harbors a revelation only you would know how to exploit. Why not go in search of those things? For inspiration, tune in to your EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE.