Freewill Astrology

ARIES (March 21-April 19): After analyzing unusual animal behavior, magnetic fluctuations, outbreaks of Twitter mayhem and the moon’s position, a psychic has foretold that a moderate earthquake will rumble through the St. Louis area in the next few weeks ahead. I don’t agree; I have my own prediction. Using data about how cosmic forces are conspiring to amuse your rapture chakra, I predict a major lovequake for many Aries between now and Aug. 20. Start preparing. Think about adventures and breakthroughs to boost exciting union. Get in a frame of mind to seek collaborative catharses to evoke sensory delights and spiritual insights.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “Tell me what you pay attention to and I will tell you who you are,” wrote Taurus philosopher José Ortega y Gasset. Use that idea to reach a finer grade of peace and grace in the next few weeks. The navel-gazing phase of your yearly cycle has begun–you’ll be in close alignment with cosmic rhythms when you know yourself better. How? Analyze what gets most of your attention. Another great way is to expand and refine how you feel about that.

GEMINI(May 21-June 20): Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano wrote that in Havana, people refer to their friends as mi sangre (my blood) or mi tierra (my country). In Caracas, he reported, a friend might be called mi llave (my key) or mi pana (my bread). You’re in an alliance-boosting phase of your cycle, so you’ll find reasons to think of your comrades as your blood, country, key or bread. It’s a good time to get closer and more personal. Affectionate depths are calling.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Your emotional intelligence is so strong right now, you could ease the pain of a loved one even as you soothe your own long-running ache. You’re so spiritually alluring, you could arouse the sacred yearning of a guru, saint or bodhisattva. You’re so interesting, someone may write a poem or story about you. You’re so overflowing with a lust for life, you might lift folks from their ruts just by being in their presence. You’re so smart, you could think of at least a partial solution to a riddle whose solution has evaded you for a long time.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The Queen of North America and Europe called me. That’s what she called herself. “I have a message for your Leo readers,” she told me. “Why Leo?” I asked. “Because I’m a Leo,” she replied, “and I know what my tribe needs to know right now.” I said, “OK. Go.” “Tell Leos to keep in mind the difference between healthy pride and debilitating hubris,” she said. “Tell them to be dazzlingly and daringly competent without being bossy and egomaniacal. They should eject their arrogance and nourish their mandate to express leadership and be a role model. Be shiny and bright, not glaring and blinding. Be irresistible, not envy-inducing.”

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Congratulations! You are beginning the denouement of your yearly cycle. Anything you do now to resolve lingering conflicts and finish old business will yield fertile rewards. Fate will conspire benevolently on your behalf as you bid goodbye to those old influences you’ll be leaving behind. To inspire your holy work, here’s a poem by Virgo poet Charles Wright: “Knot by knot I untie myself from the past / And let it rise away from me like a balloon. / What a small thing it becomes. / What a bright tweak at the vanishing point, blue on blue.”

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Between now and year’s end, a Libran genetic engineer will create a new species of animal and call it a dat. A cross between a cat and a dog, it’ll have the grace, independence and vigilance of a Persian cat and the geniality, loyalty and ebullient strength of a golden retriever. Its stalking skills will synthesize the cat’s and dog’s hunting styles. In the months ahead, you achieve greater harmony between the cat and dog aspects of your nature, and acquire some of the dat’s hybrid talents.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scorpio poet Marianne Moore (1887-1972) won a Pulitzer and other prestigious awards. She was a rare poet who became a celebrity. That’s one reason why the Ford car company asked her to create interesting names for a new model on the horizon. Alas, Ford said the 43 model names she gave were too poetic, rejecting them all. But some are apt descriptors for roles you could and should play in your new phase. Check these: • Anticipator  • The Impeccable  • Tonnere Alifère (French for “winged thunder”) • Tir á l’arc (French for “bull’s eye”)  • Regina-Rex (Latin for “queen” and “king”).

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): It’s conceivable that in one of your past lives, you were a pioneer who made the rough 2,170-mile migration by covered wagon from Missouri to Oregon in the 1830s. Or maybe you were a mariner sailing with Viking Leif Eriksson to the New World 500 years before Columbus. It’s possible you were on the team assembled by Italian diplomat Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, who went from Rome to Mongolia in the 13th century? An itch to ramble, explore and seek adventure may swell within you in the next few weeks. Consider going to the edge of your known world.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Dinosaurs died off 65 million years ago, but crocodiles didn’t. They were around for 135 million years before that era, and they’re still here. Why? “They’re extremely tough and robust,” says croc expert James Perran Ross. Their immune systems “are just incredible.” They “learn quickly and adapt to changes in their situation.” In accordance with astrological omens, I dub the crocodile as your creature teacher for the weeks ahead. You’ll call on a similar version of their will to thrive. (Read more about crocs: tinyurl.com/ToughAndRobust.)

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “My only hope is that one day I can love myself as much as I love you.” Poet Mariah Gordon-Dyke wrote that to a lover, and now I offer it to you as you begin your Season of Self-Love. You’ve passed through other Seasons of Self-Love, but none has ever had such rich potential to deepen and ripen your self-love. You’ll discover new secrets on how to love yourself with the same intensity you’ve loved your treasured allies.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “Poems can bring comfort,” writes Piscean poet Jane Hirshfield. “They let us know … that we’re not alone–but they also unseat us and make us more susceptible, larger, elastic. They foment revolutions of awareness and allow the complex, uncertain, actual world to enter.” As I understand upcoming astrological omens, life itself will soon be like the poems Hirshfield describes: unruly yet comforting; a source of solace but a catalyst for transformation; bringing healing and support but asking you to reinvent yourself. Sounds like fun!