Free Will Astrology: Week of March 25, 2021

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ARIES (March 21-April 19): In the novel House of Leaves, the hero Johnny Truant describes his friend Lude as wanting "more money, better parties, and prettier girls." But Johnny wants something different. What is it? He says, "I’m not even sure what to call it except I know it feels roomy and it’s drenched in sunlight and it’s weightless and I know it’s not cheap." In my opinion, that declaration is far too imprecise! He'll never get what he wants until he gets clearer about it. But his fantasy is a good start. It shows that he knows what the fulfillment of his yearning feels like. I suggest you get inspired by Johnny Truant's approximation to conjure up one of your own. Gaze ahead a few years, and see if you can imagine what your best possible future feels like. Then describe it to yourself as precisely as possible.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): How distraught I was when I discovered that one of my favorite poets, Pablo Neruda, was an admirer of the murderous dictator Joseph Stalin. It broke my heart to know I could never again read his tender, lyrical poetry with unconditional appreciation. But that's life: Some of our heroes and teachers disappoint us, and then it's healthy to re-evaluate our relationships with them. Or maybe our own maturation leads us to realize that once-nurturing influences are no longer nurturing. I recommend that sometime soon, you take a personal inventory with these thoughts in mind. I suspect there may be new sources of inspiration headed your way. Get ready for them.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Self-help author Steve Maraboli has useful advice for you to consider in the coming weeks. I hope you'll meditate on what he says and take decisive action. He writes, "Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you do have power over instead of craving control over what you don’t." To get started, Gemini, make a list of three things you do have power over and three things you wish you did but don't have power over.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): While he was alive, Cancerian author Franz Kafka burned 90% of everything he wrote. In a note to a friend before he died, he gave instructions to burn all the writing he would leave behind. Luckily, his friend disobeyed, and that's why today we can read Kafka's last three novels and a lot more of his stuff. Was his attitude toward his creations caused by the self-doubt that so many of us Cancerians are shadowed by? Was he, like a lot of us Crabs, excessively shy about sharing personal details from his life? In accordance with astrological omens, I urge you to at least temporarily transcend any Kafka-like tendencies you have. It's time to shine brightly and boldly as you summon your full powers of self-expression.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): To create your horoscope, I've borrowed ideas from Leo-born author Cassiano Ricardo. He speaks of a longing "for all that is tall like pine trees, and all that is long like rivers, and all that is purple like dusk." I think yearnings like those will be healthy and wise for you to cultivate in the coming weeks. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you need expansive influences that stretch your imagination and push you beyond your limitations. You will benefit from meditations and experiences that inspire you to outgrow overly small expectations.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Virgo actor and director Jean-Louis Barrault (1910–1994) aspired to "wake up a virgin each morning." He wanted "to feel hungry for life," as if he had been reborn once again. In order to encourage that constant renewal, he regarded going to sleep every night as "a small death." I recommend his approach to you during the coming weeks. In my astrological opinion, the cosmic rhythms will be conspiring to regularly renew your desires: to render them pure, clean, raw, and strong. Cooperate with those cosmic rhythms!

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Is there anything more gratifying than being listened to, understood, and seen for who you really are? I urge you to seek out that pleasure in abundance during the coming weeks. My reading of the astrological omens tells me you need the nurturing jolt that will come from being received and appreciated with extra potency. I hope you have allies who can provide that for you. If you don't, search for allies who can. And in the meantime, consider engaging the services of a skillful psychotherapist or life coach or some other professional listener.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): "Blobs, spots, specks, smudges, cracks, defects, mistakes, accidents, exceptions, and irregularities are the windows to other worlds," writes author Bob Miller. I would add that all those things, along with related phenomena like fissures, blemishes, stains, scars, blotches, muck, smears, dents, and imperfections, are often windows to very interesting parts of this seemingly regular old ordinary world—parts that might remain closed off from us without the help of those blobs and defects. I suggest you take full advantage of the opportunities they bring your way in the coming weeks.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Innovative psychologist Carl Jung had a nuanced understanding of the energies at work in our deep psyche. He said our unconscious minds are "not only dark but also light; not only bestial, semi-human, and demonic, but also superhuman, spiritual, and, in the classical sense of the word, 'divine.'" I bring this to your attention, Sagittarius, because now is a favorable time to get better acquainted with and more appreciative of your unconscious mind. For best results, you must not judge it for being so paradoxical. Don't be annoyed that it's so unruly and non-rational. Have fun with its fertility and playfulness and weirdness.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The fantasy drama Game of Thrones appeared on TVs all over the world. But the audience that watched it in China got cheated out of a lot of essential action. Government censorship deleted many scenes that featured nudity and sex, fighting and violence, and appearances by dragons, which play a starring role in the story. As you can imagine, Chinese viewers had trouble following some of the plot points. Telling you about this, Capricorn, is my way of nudging you to make sure you don't miss any of the developments going on in your own personal drama. Some may be hidden, as in China's version of Game of Thrones. Others might be subtle or disguised or underestimated. Make it your crusade to know about everything.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): "Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind," wrote author Rudyard Kipling. Yes, they are. I agree. They change minds, rouse passions, build identities, incite social change, inspire irrationality, and create worlds. This is always true, but it will be especially important for you to keep in mind during the coming weeks. The ways you use language will be key to your health and success. The language that you hear and read will also be key to your health and success. For best results, summon extra creativity and craftsmanship as you express yourself. Cultivate extra discernment as you choose what you absorb.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Piscean linguist Anna Wierzbicka says the Russian expression dusha naraspashku means "unbuttoned soul." She continues, "The implication is that it is good, indeed wonderful, if a person’s 'soul,' which is the seat of emotions, is flung open in a spontaneous, generous, expansive, impetuous gesture, expressing full trust in other people and an innocent readiness for communion with them.” I wouldn't recommend that you keep your soul unbuttoned 24/7/365, but in the coming weeks, I hope you'll allocate more time than usual to keeping it unbuttoned.

Homework: Think of April Fool pranks that fulfill the following prescription: "Comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable."