PISCES (February 19 or 20 to March 20 or 21). Difficult days come on Jan. 10, 11, 17, 18, 24-26, and 30 and 31. Smoother sailing comes on January 3, 4, 7 to 9, 12, 13, 22, 23, 26-28, and 31. Weirdly transitional times are January 9, 19, 24, and 30.

And remember: "Difficult" can also mean "challenging, abundant with opportunity, interesting, and a risk-taker’s delight!"

The moon is in your sun sign on January 3, 4, 30, and 31.

Yes, I do list the days the moon is in your sun sign as both Difficult and Smooth – it’s up to you, but figure those two days basically provide a "blueprint" for the next month’s activities. People and projects that emerge then get larger play in your life over the next 28 or so days.

The big picture in a nutshell: This month has a lot of earth-sign action, which may not suit your fancy. As much as you say you enjoy consistency, your chaos-meter can live quite comfortably when there’s upheaval. This month, the planets are provoking Scorpio, Leo, and Taurus, so if you’re caught in the middle, or get entreated to "fix" things, figure it’s a (temporarily) losing battle. Pisces often gets brought in to do "clean-up," but the "mess" won’t be finished until very late in the month. Oh, and February fish may get some surprising opportunities to bring new entertainment to the masses. (This could mean a touring gig with some Euro-star, or a job at the big-box electronics store so you can finally stop flippin’ those burgers.)