Today, the Capricorn new moon gives you a push to make plans and set them in motion. While Capricorn is often thought to be deeply — even rigidly — traditional, it’s a cardinal sign, which means it can also be surprisingly comfortable seizing fresh opportunities and initiating new things. Make the most of the final new moon of the year by summoning your courage and taking the first step in a different direction.

You aren’t timid or overly modest, but even so, there are goals you imagine are simply beyond your abilities. It can seem impossible to develop skills that don’t come naturally to you, or that you’ll ever manage to transform your life in a thorough and lasting way. Today, though, don’t be so sure you know what you are and aren’t capable of. If you’re willing to put in the work and stay committed over time, you’ll find that your limits were mostly self-imposed. It’s not easy, but it’s not as complicated as you thought, either.

Stepping outside of your routine can be strangely stressful. Anytime you experiment with something different — a new hobby or a new haircut — it feels like everyone around you makes a huge fuss, and at a certain point you’d rather not bother. But today, don’t let other people’s anticipated reactions impinge on your freedom. Even if it feels awkward and embarrassing, you deserve to expand your horizons, so don’t hold back out of fear.

You know that there are some people you’ll never truly get along with. Your disagreements are so intense and your values so different that there seems to be no point in trying to forge a real friendship. Other times, though, the problems appear much worse than they actually are. So today, don’t write new people off too quickly. The ones who look most different from you might provide a much-needed perspective, and the ones who seem boring at first might prove to be anything but. Keep an open mind and you could be surprised.

Others often come to you for advice; they trust that you’re wise and compassionate and can see the situation for what it is. But while you’re good at getting to the heart of other people’s problems, it’s hard to see your own issues with the same clarity. Today, if something is plaguing you, talk it over with someone you trust. Others might notice things you don’t — not because you aren’t smart and perceptive, but simply because you don’t have the distance to see things objectively.

You don’t see the point in harping on your shortcomings — you’d much rather play to your strengths. Most of the time, this is a winning strategy, but every so often it’s valuable to pay a bit more attention to your weaknesses. If you make a genuine effort to improve on the things you’re “bad” at, you’ll find that you make real progress over time. You aren’t limited to the talents you were born with, and you can make up for a lot of perceived shortcomings with time and commitment.

You can get inordinately stressed about making a good first impression. Maybe you’re nervous you’ll say the wrong thing, or maybe you fear you’ll fade into the background and go unnoticed altogether — either way, you worry that you’ll miss the opportunity to make the right mark. But today, have a little more faith in yourself. There’s no need to put on a big performance — you’re smart and interesting, and when you relax, these qualities shine through.

Even if you’re mostly happy with your life, every so often you start to worry you should be doing something grander and more interesting. The structures of everyday life start to wear on you; familiar faces start to seem dull and uninteresting. Today, though, trying to escape the ordinary probably won’t provide the satisfaction you’re after. Instead of running away from the people and places you know best, recommit to them. By paying close attention, you’ll discover sides of them you hardly knew existed.

Some people seem to rush through life, leaping into new situations before they look. You, on the other hand, try to move deliberately. You want rock-solid plans so that you don’t have to make important choices on the fly. But today, remember that it’s not always possible — or desirable — to have everything planned out ahead of time. Sometimes, it’s exciting to take an unexpected lead. You have good judgment; even if you do have to change course, your instincts will carry you through.

When your confidence is low and your mood needs a boost, sometimes the best thing you can do is treat yourself with utmost gentleness, denying yourself nothing. But today, this might not work. Instead, it can be better to give yourself a push. Set a small goal you know you can reach, or give yourself a task that’s challenging but not insurmountable. What you need most might not be sweetness and pampering, but a reminder of how strong and capable you are.

By now, you’ve faced enough challenges to know who you are and what you’re made of. You’ve experienced what it’s like to rise to the occasion and embody your best qualities — and also to give into your worst impulses. You’ve mostly accepted your personality for what it is, but today, trust that it isn’t impossible to change. You are who you are, but you’re also capable of growth. If you want to show up differently in the world, to act braver or freer, it isn’t too late.

As boldly imaginative as you are, you’re also keenly aware of societal rules — both spoken and implicit. You recognize that people are “supposed” to act and think a certain way, and that trying to do things differently won’t necessarily win you any friends. It’s maddening to feel that you can’t live the way you truly want or can’t express yourself authentically. So today, remember that you don’t have to follow anyone else’s rules. It can be harder to go your own way than follow the crowd, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth it.

Sometimes, you try to take everyone else’s problems onto your shoulders, because you know that you’re strong and resilient enough to handle it. But just because you can bear it, that doesn’t mean you should have to. Today, make a point of seeking out support, even when you think you could get by without it. You’d never tell a friend they need to silently suffer through tough times alone, so stop expecting it of yourself.

Buy Claire Comstock-Gay’s book, Madame Clairevoyant’s Guide to the Stars, here.