Horoscopes: Thursday, August 5, 2021

ARIES (March 21-April 19). One way to conquer fear is to learn all you can about what you are afraid of. Look at it; get involved with it; figure out its mechanics and preferences, what it needs and, most importantly, what it’s afraid of.        

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). How you feel around people will make a huge difference. Ideally, you have people around you who help you stay loose, creative and solution-oriented.        

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Don’t leave yourself an out. Go for the hike, not the treadmill, which can be abandoned on a whim at any moment. Once you commit to the hike, however far in you get, that’s the distance you’ll have to go to get back.        

CANCER (June 22-July 22). Praise is like food. A certain amount is required. The more nutrient-dense, the better. But praise too sweet, empty or overabundant may be gratifyingly useless or even treacherous. Be disciplined in your give and take.        

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). One simple principle will organize the rest. Decide what and who is important, and spend all your yeses there. Everything else is a no that you don’t even have to say. Everyone will see you’re busy!        

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You’ll see examples of ugly entitlement, an effective deterrent. How will you keep yourself from being spoiled? Humility, gratitude, charity, duty... no need to choose one. Take a teaspoon of each virtue, and mix it into your day.        

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). If you start comparing yourself to others, where will you stop? There are well over 7 billion people in the world, many of them with social media accounts. Minding your own business will pay off in healthy and productive ways.         

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). There is no way to learn less. You can forget the lesson, rebel against it or even adopt its opposite belief, but the learning still happened, and you’re still changed by it.        

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You’ll be challenged to difficult tasks, instructionless or unpopular, cryptically laid out, requiring of your courage and ingenuity. In other words, it’s just another day at the office.      

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Steer away from the overglorification of the intangible magic you wield. Stick with the nuts and bolts of the job. All charmed outcomes will come together through the proficient execution of tasks.        

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Your big heart cannot be contained. It will pump joy into everything you do, beat faster for someone special and stay in perfect rhythm with your highly choreographed world.        

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Everyone is great in a different way. With each person you meet, you make a habit of finding out just what kind of greatness you’re dealing with so you can feature and enjoy it.        

TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Aug. 5). You’re needed! Not so much that you feel pressure, but enough to where you understand the difference you make. Helping others will be your pleasure and happiness. You become self-sufficient in new ways, too, which gives you freedoms you’ve been craving. A financial gain will allow you to explore a new interest. Cancer and Scorpio adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 8, 30, 33, 21 and 18.