Free Will Astrology: Week of August 11, 2022

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ARIES (March 21-April 19): Tips to get the most out of the coming weeks: 1. Exercise your willpower at random moments just to keep it limber. 2. Be adept at fulfilling your own hype. 3. Argue for fun. Be playful and frisky as you banter. Disagree for the sport of it, without feeling attached to being right or needing the last word. 4. Be unable to understand how anyone can resist you or not find you alluring. 5. Declare yourself President of Everything, then stage a coup d'état. 6. Smile often when you have no reason to. 7. If you come upon a "square peg, round hole" situation, change the shape of the hole.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): If I had to choose a mythic deity to be your symbolic helper, I would pick Venus. The planet Venus is ruler of your sign, and the goddess Venus is the maven of beauty and love, which are key to your happiness. But I would also assign Hephaestus to you Tauruses. He was the Greek god of the metalworking forge. He created Zeus's thunderbolts, Hermes' winged helmet, Aphrodite's magic bra, Achilles' armor, Eros' bow and arrows, and the thrones for all the deities in Olympus. The things he made were elegant and useful. I nominate him to be your spirit guide during the next ten months. May he inspire you to be a generous source of practical beauty.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): To be a true Gemini, you must yearn for knowledge—whether it's about coral reefs, ancient maps of Sumer, sex among jellyfish, mini-black holes, your friends' secrets, or celebrity gossip. You need to be an eternal student who craves education. Are some things more important to learn than others? Of course, but that gauge is not always apparent in the present. A seemingly minor clue or trick you glean today may become unexpectedly helpful a month from now. With that perspective in mind, I encourage you to be promiscuous in your lust for new information and teachings in the coming weeks.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Cancerian drummer Ringo Starr is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Though he has received less acclaim than his fellow Beatles, many critics recognize him as a skillful and original drummer. How did he get started? At age 13, he contracted tuberculosis and lived in a sanatorium for two years. The medical staff encouraged him to join the hospital band, hoping it would stimulate his motor skills and alleviate boredom. Ringo used a makeshift mallet to bang the cabinet near his bed. Good practice! That's how his misfortune led to his joy and success. Is there an equivalent story in your life, Cancerian? The coming months will be a good time to take that story to its next level.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): One of the inspiring experiments I hope you will attempt in the coming months is to work on loving another person as wildly and deeply and smartly as you love yourself. In urging you to try this exercise, I don't mean to imply that I have a problem with you loving yourself wildly and deeply and smartly. I endorse your efforts to keep increasing the intensity and ingenuity with which you adore and care for yourself. But here's a secret: Learning to summon a monumental passion for another soul may have the magic power of enhancing your love for yourself.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Musician Viv Albertine has recorded four albums and played guitar for the Slits, a famous punk band. She has also written two books and worked as a TV director for 20 years. Her accomplishments are impressive. Yet she also acknowledges that she has spent a lot of time in bed for many reasons: needing to rest, seeking refuge to think and meditate, recovering from illness, feeling overwhelmed or lonely or sad. She admiringly cites other creative people who, like her, have worked in their beds: Emily Dickinson, Patti Smith, Edith Sitwell, and Frida Kahlo. I mention this, Virgo, because the coming days will be an excellent time for you to seek sanctuary and healing and creativity in bed.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libran author Katherine Mansfield wrote, "The mind I love must have wild places, a tangled orchard where dark damsons drop in the heavy grass, an overgrown little wood, the chance of a snake or two, and a pool that nobody’s fathomed the depth of." Be inspired by her in the coming weeks, Libra. I suspect you will flourish if you give yourself the luxury of exploring your untamed side. The time is ripe to wander in nature and commune with exciting influences outside your comfort zone. What uncharted frontier would you enjoy visiting?

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): When you are functioning at your best, you Scorpios crave only the finest, top-quality highs. You embrace joys and pleasures that generate epiphanies and vitalizing transformations. Mediocre varieties of fun don't interest you. You avoid debilitating indulgences that provide brief excitement but spawn long-term problems. In the coming weeks, dear Scorpio, I hope you will embody these descriptions. It's crucial that you seek gratifications and delectations that uplift you, ennoble you, and bless your future.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): "Wish on everything," advises Sagittarian author Francesca Lia Block. "Pink cars are good, especially old ones. And first stars and shooting stars. Planes will do if they are the first light in the sky and look like stars. Wish in tunnels, holding your breath and lifting your feet off the ground. Birthday candles. Baby teeth." Your homework during the next two weeks, Sagittarius, is to build a list of further marvels that you will wish on. It's the Magic Wish season of the year for you: a time when you're more likely than usual to encounter and generate miracles. Be proactive! Oh, and very important: What are your three top wishes?

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Author Aldous Huxley wrote, "That people do not learn much from the lessons of history is the most important lesson that history has to teach." While his observation is true much of the time, I don't think it will be so for you in the coming weeks. I suspect you will triumph over past patterns that have repeated and repeated themselves. You will study your life story and figure out what you must do to graduate from lessons you have finally, completely learned.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In the film I Origins, a scientist says this to a lover: "When the Big Bang happened, all the atoms in the universe were smashed together into one little dot that exploded outward. So my atoms and your atoms were together then . . . my atoms have always known your atoms." Although this sounds poetic, it's true in a literal sense: The atoms that compose you and me and everyone else were originally all squeezed together in a tiny space. We knew each other intimately! The coming days will be an excellent time to celebrate your fundamental link with the rest of the universe. You'll be extra receptive to feeling connection. You'll be especially adept at fitting your energy together with others'. You'll love the sensation of being united, merged, blended.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): My Piscean friend Luna sent me a message that sums up how I feel about you these days. I'll repeat it here in the hope it will inspire you to be perfectly yourself. Luna said, "Every time I meet someone who was born within like two weeks of my birthday, I end up with the impression that they are the loopiest and wisest person I've met in a long time. They are totally ridiculous and worthy of profound respect. They are unhinged and brilliantly focused. They are fuzzy-headed dreamers who couldn't possibly ever get anything practical accomplished and they are lyrical thinkers who charm me with their attunement to the world's beauty and impress me with their understanding of how the world works. Hahahahaha. Luckily for me, I know the fool is sacred."