Free Will Astrology | July 10-16 

ARIES (March 21-April 19)
“The only way to get a difficult feeling to go away is simply to love yourself for it,” says author Christiane Northrup. “If you think you’re stupid, then love yourself for feeling that way. It’s a paradox, but it works. To heal, you must ... shine the light of compassion on any areas within you that you feel are unacceptable.” While I personally believe this is a crafty strategy, I suggest adding a twist in order to double its effectiveness: As you’re loving yourself for your difficult feeling, literally laugh out loud at how crazily worried and wound up you are about it.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
According to Harper’s Index, 97 percent of us believe that following our own conscience is a sign of a strong character. On the other hand, 92 percent of us think that obeying authorities shows strong character. What that apparently means is that most of us feel we can and should heed the dictates of our own conscience and please the people who control things. In the coming weeks, I think that might be possible for you to do once or twice. But most the time, I suspect you’ll have to decide between being either an impeccable rebel or loyal devotee.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)
Some people skip to the end of a book and read the last few pages while they’re still in its early stages. They want to know what will ultimately happen without going through the steps that lead up to it. While it’s harmless to prematurely peek at how a book’s story resolves, trying a similar approach could cause problems if you do it with your life in the coming weeks. Distortions might arise from trying to “time-travel” to a future date and foresee the outcome of a process you’re in the middle of. It could sap your ability to carry out the work you’ll need to do. Or it may fill you with false expectations that cause you to misjudge your allies. Be patient.

CANCER (June 21-July 22)
Mazel tov is a Hebrew phrase meaning “good luck,” but its literal translation is “may the stars be good to you.” It suggests that stellar energies influence our fate. In his book Jewish Magic and Superstition, Joshua Trachtenberg riffs on Judaism’s ancient debate about the subject: “The stars determine human actions, but they too are creatures of G-d, established by Him to perform this special function, and therefore the influence they exert is subject to His Will. Repentance, prayer, piety, charity, good deeds … are the instruments by means of which man can induce G-d to alter His decrees and consequently to modify the fate that is written in the stars for him.” I offer this, Cancerian, as evidence that the title of my column, “Free Will Astrology,” is not an oxymoron. You have more power to shape your destiny than you imagine—and now is a perfect time to prove it.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)
This oracle was originally commissioned by a spiritual wilderness school to train its students in high-stress meditation. It has been tested by disciplined explorers who’ve learned to be fluid and resourceful in the midst of natural chaos. Now it’s being made available to you, Leo—just in time for the last stretch of your dash (or crawl) across the wasteland. By contemplating the code phrase that appears at the end of this message, you will discover the key for turning poisons into medicine, taking advantage of your weaknesses, and knowing your direction without a compass. Here it is: Love the beauty and intelligence that are hidden in your darkness.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
In Terry Pratchett’s book Wyrd Sisters, there’s a passage in which he talks about how the sun conspires with the forest to pump millions of gallons of sap hundreds of feet from the ground up into the sky. And it all happens “in one great systolic thump too big and loud to be heard.” That’s the kind of activity I recommend for you in the coming weeks, Virgo. Collaborate with the source of all life—the physical sun, if that’s your preference, or God or Goddess, if that works better for you—to pull off a huge movement of lifeblood that brings sustenance from below to above.