Horoscope

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” is one of the most popular and critically acclaimed movies released in 2003. Yet some of its fervent fans have come forward to identify its many problems with continuity. Did you notice that Frodo’s scar migrates from his right cheek in one scene to his left cheek in a later scene? That’s just one of over 30 flaws registered by readers of the moviemistakes.com website. I applaud this effort. I’ve always believed that the most useful critiques often come from people who deeply appreciate the subject they’re critiquing. This so happens to be your mandate in the coming week, Taurus: Compassionately assess what needs improvement about everything you love.

Horoscope

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Sixty-six-year-old Taurus actor Jack Nicholson is a paragon of receptivity. “I’m dying to have my mind changed,” he told “Esquire” magazine. “I’m probably the only liberal who read *Treason,* by Ann Coulter. I like listening to everybody. This is the elixir of life.” Nicholson’s refreshing declaration should be your words to live by in the next couple of weeks, Taurus: It’s your astrological season of expansion and experimentation. Don’t just grudgingly agree to open your eyes and have your theories challenged. Learn to *love* the uncanny stretching sensation.

Horoscope

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): How have you measured your progress over the years, Taurus? Report cards, diplomas, certificates, and plaques? Pay raises, VIP friends, new titles, and nicer cars? Or have your benchmarks of success been subtler, like rising levels of self-love, a growing capacity for intimacy, more robust health, and friendships with people who bring out the best in you? Whatever signs you have relied on, I ask you to set them aside in 2004. Empty your mind completely so that you will be fully receptive to fresh intuitions about how to evaluate your ongoing evolution.

Horoscope

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “When you’re following your energy and doing what you want all the time,” says New Age author Shakti Gawain, “the distinction between work and play dissolves.” I’d like to add that you can go a long way towards blending work and play without having to reach Gawain’s impossibly high standard of *all the time.* It would be revolutionary to “follow your energy and do what you want” just *20 percent* more than your current levels. And the astrological omens for 2004 suggest that you can easily exceed that. I say shoot for 30 percent, Taurus. Experiment with creating rich new meanings of the term “labor of love.”