You can save yourself a lot of frustration and confusion today simply by expecting the unexpected, as Uranus and Mercury throw everything into disarray around midday. Plans might change at the last minute or the people around you could start acting up — but you might also receive help from surprising places and make sudden breakthroughs. The key is not to get ahead of yourself by thinking too far into the future; stay open-minded and take each moment as it comes.

Most of the time, you manage to avoid comparing yourself to other people — your ambitions are about you. But today, you could start feeling competitive with your friends. Their successes feel like a personal challenge; the happier they seem, the more jealous you become. Try to take a step back and reconnect with your own desires. If you feel like something is missing from your life, you won’t fix it by chasing after the things other people have, so focus on what you actually want.

There’s plenty in your life that you’re dissatisfied with, but you try to take the slow, steady path to personal growth. Today, though, you might feel suddenly impatient — tiny, incremental changes no longer feel like enough. Wait a few days to initiate any big new plans, if possible — your energy’s a bit erratic and you’re probably not thinking through the potential consequences clearly — but if a surprising opportunity comes to you, there’s no reason not to jump at it.

When the people around you all seem to be acting more chaotically than usual, you might feel the urge to join in. It’s hard to see the point in following the rules if everyone else is running wild. So give yourself a little leeway — there’s no reason to stick to old plans if the circumstances have changed — but try not to add to the mess all around you. Your challenge is to stay flexible but grounded, to know when to bend the rules and when to stand firm.

The more you break with your routines today, the more likely you are to encounter exciting new people. Even fleeting interactions can prove meaningful — just because someone isn’t destined to become your best friend doesn’t mean they can’t teach you anything. They’ll encourage you to broaden your outlook, to see your own problems differently, and to recognize that the world is bigger than you realized. They could even give you the push you needed to change the more stagnant parts of your life.

There’s a good chance you’ll get into a heated argument or two with someone close to you — not because you actually disagree with each other, but simply because you’re not speaking the same language right now. Where one of you feels you’re being politely assertive, the other only sees aggression; what one of you believes to be conciliatory, the other reads as condescension. It’s so easy today to assume bad intentions where none really exist. So if you can, hold off on serious conversations, and if not, then at least try not to jump to conclusions.

Usually, you’re not the sort of person to let the small stuff slide, but not even you can keep an eye on every little detail — your attention is not an unlimited resource. Today, adjust your expectations for yourself. If trying to manage everything yourself has gotten overwhelming, then ask someone you trust to tap in. If perfection is out of reach, then focus on doing the best you can. You don’t have to work so hard — ease up, and life will get more enjoyable again.

Sometimes, you get sick of being polite all the time. Pleasant small talk gets so boring; you’d rather chat about deeper feelings — even if it gets uncomfortable — than stick to the same old shallow, easy topics. But avoid the temptation to provoke people just for the sake of it; while it might feel satisfying in the moment, it won’t ultimately make you feel any better. You don’t need to be inflammatory to have the kinds of exciting, stimulating conversations you’re hungry for.

You’re a good judge of character, and for the most part, your instincts about people end up being right. Today, though, your friends might behave in surprising ways. Their actions seem so out of character, it might even be enough to make you worry. But be careful you aren’t pigeonholing the people you love. Stay open to the possibility that they might have facets to their personalities that you haven’t seen yet, and that they’re more complicated than you first gave them credit for.

You’re good at learning from the people around you. By observing their actions, you can pick up on new, better ways of doing things; by asking questions, you can learn the answers to questions you’d never thought to ask. Today, though, remember that other people don’t necessarily know any better than you. Approach the new information you take in with a critical eye: If something seems too good to be true, or if it goes against everything else you believe, be cautious.

It might be easy to catastrophize today — everywhere you look you see discouraging trends, bad omens, signs that your plans aren’t going to work out the way you’d hoped. Your challenge is to be honest with yourself about any negative input you’re picking up on, without using it to spin a narrative that you’re completely doomed. The future isn’t written in stone, and the actions you take now will play a big part in determining what happens next, so keep going.

You might feel conflicted today — part of you is bored with your life and would do practically anything to make it more interesting, but another part is terrified of the unknown. It might be tempting to act rashly in order to stir up some excitement, but there’s a good chance you’ll quickly regret doing anything too wild. Do your best to keep a cool head; you’ll have the opportunity for a new adventure soon enough, and the best thing you can do now is wait.

It might feel like life is speeding up today: Maybe your workload is multiplying, or new opportunities are falling in your lap, or your friends are all clamoring for your attention. It’s natural to jump into action mode and try to respond to every situation you encounter — but try to take a more considered approach. Some issues aren’t a priority; some don’t have to be your business at all. Focus on what you truly care about, and trust that you’ll get to the rest later.

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