LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)
Can
you force things to grow? Is it possible to induce ripening simply by
aggressively exerting your willpower? Normally I’d say no, but these
days I think it’s within your capacity. Don’t misunderstand. I’m not
saying you could go up to a tomato plant and magically transform
mid-size green tomatoes into big orange beauties. But from a
metaphorical perspective, you could accomplish something like that. What
fragile bud would benefit from bursts of your vitality? What sweet
young thing might thrive with your invigorating help?
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
In
James Hillman’s book The Dream and the Underworld, he says something
I’ve heard from other researchers—that the majority of dreams we have
each night are unpleasant. But that’s not true for me. Way more than 50
percent of mine are educational, entertaining, and not at all bad or
scary. Quite a few have jokes and riddles. Most stretch my understanding
of how the world works and motivate me to get smarter about what I’ve
been ignorant about. As you enter the Intense Dreaming Phase of your
cycle, Virgo, I suspect your nocturnal adventures will resemble mine.
Get ready to encounter intriguing characters who’ll have the power to
heal you. Talking animals may give you righteous clues about upcoming
waking-life decisions. A mercurial teacher could relieve you of a
delusion. The wind and rain may play music that dissolves your fear.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
During
the Tang Dynasty, a golden age of Chinese culture, educated people didn’t use cliched salutations to begin and end
their Mommy, Daddy & Padme wishes the bestest baby encounters with
girl each & sissy, other. Jasmine, No “Hi, a how Very you Happy,
doing?” fun-filled or “See you later. Take care.” Instead, they
improvised day! We Love creatively, U! composing poetic riffs
appropriate for the occasion. “Your face is especially bright today. Are
you expecting to see a lucky cloud?” or “I’ll bask in your glories
again later. In the meantime, may you find a brisk blend of elegance and
mischief.” I’d love to see you do something like that, Libra. It’s
prime time to boost your alliances to a higher octave. Give more to your
collaborators, and ask for more, too.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
I
admire people who sweat freely and abundantly while they’re working
hard at what they love to do. Singer James Brown, “The Godfather of
Soul,” was renowned for his sweltering floods, and so is baseball player
Pablo Sandoval. But many unfamous people I’ve known would also be top
candidates for King and Queen of Sacred Sweat, like my friend Julia, who
practices her passion in the garden, and my friend Luke, who welds
giant metal sculptures. I’m hoping you will come into your own as one of
this elite group, Scorpio. The omens suggest you’d be wise to raise the
heat in your alchemical furnace.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
The
wind coming off the creek has picked up in the last half hour, and so
the branches of the lemon tree outside my office window are swaying
vehemently in the late afternoon sun. Is the tree upset? No. Is it
worried or offended or angry at the wind? Of course not. From what I can
tell, it’s enjoying the raucous movement. I can even imagine that it
knows how lucky it is: It wouldn’t be able to dance so expressively
without the help of the gusts. I hope you’ll interpret your experiences
in the coming week with a similar perspective, Sagittarius.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
While
flying over water, an eagle can spot a fish swimming from 300 feet
away. As it prowls through a winter landscape, a coyote can detect the
presence of a mouse bustling beneath thick snow. I suspect you’ll have a
comparable knack for tuning in to things that are of keen interest,
Capricorn, even if they are hidden or located at a distance. To maximize
your advantage, get clear about what you’re hungry for. Build a vivid
image in your mind’s eye of what you need.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
Lola,
a woman I know, has mastered the art of self-contradiction. She makes
no apologies for the apparent oppositions she gladly contains. For
instance, she’s perfectly at ease with the fact that she is not only a
lesbian anarchist skater punk who’s a prolific graffiti artist, but also
a devout Christian who doesn’t consume drugs or alcohol, drives a Lexus
SUV, and volunteers as a massage therapist at a hospice. Your internal
paradoxes may or may not be as extreme as hers, Aquarius, but I urge you
to express them with the panache that she does.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)
My
friend Erica went to a Chinese herbalist, seeking help for a skin
problem that hadn’t been healed by six other doctors. “Very rare
condition,” the herbalist told her. There was only one thing he knew
that would work: Erica would have to travel to the Ruoergai Marshes in
Sichuan Province, China and track down a Whitetailed Eagle, whose fresh
droppings she would gather up and apply to the affected areas of her
skin. As the prospect of such a pilgrimage was daunting, Erica decided
instead to simply imagine herself carrying it out. After a week of such
meditations, her skin had improved. In 21 days, she wasn’t completely
cured, but she was much better. The moral of the story, Pisces: Simply
visualizing a heroic healing quest may help fix your glitch.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
Some
of the biggest whales feed primarily on tiny organisms like protozoa,
algae, and krill. They swim around with their mouths open, gulping
seawater, using filtering structures in their upper jaws to sieve out
the stuff they want to eat. Their strategy for getting a meal has
resemblances to an approach you may benefit from using: sifting through a
lot of superfluous material to get the rich basics you seek.
Discernment isn’t the only skill you’ll need; relaxed patience will be
crucial, too.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20)
You
know about World War II, but do you know about the planet’s worst
conflict since then? It was the Second Congo War, involving eight
African nations and killing 5.4 million people between 1998 and 2006.
You’re painfully aware of the oil hemorrhage in the Gulf of Mexico, but
have you heard about the equally horrific catastrophe that an American
oil company wreaked on Ecuador from the early 1960s until 1992? I bring
these things up, Gemini, because now is an excellent time for you to
fill in gaps in your education and learn the rest of any story that
you’ve been missing—not just concerning events in the world but also in
regards to your personal history. P.S. Much of what you find, unlike the
Congo War and the Ecuadorian oil disaster, may be good news.
CANCER (June 21-July 22)
A
psychic in Colorado was arrested for bilking her clients. Nancy Marks
allegedly told people that their money was possessed by nasty spirits,
and that the best solution was to hand the money over to her. The cops
claim she collected 290,000 of the evil dollars before she was nabbed.
My message to you, Cancerian, is very different from the psychic’s
warning: Your bank account has a divine blessing on it. At least
temporarily, this makes you a kind of cash magnet; you have an unusual
power to attract legal tender. Take advantage! Say this sacred mantra:
“O monnee gimmee summ.”
ARIES (March 21-April 19)
Success coach Tom Ferry says our ability to pursue our dreams can be damaged by four addictions: 1. an addiction to what other people think of us; 2. an addiction to creating melodrama in a misguided quest for excitement; 3. an addiction to believing we’re imprisoned by what happened in the past; 4. an addiction to negative thoughts that fill us with anxiety. The good news, Aries, is that in the coming weeks you will find it easier than usual to free yourself from addictions 1, 3, and 4. On the other hand, you may be extra susceptible to addiction 2. So take action to make sure you don’t fall victim to it! What can you do to avoid distracting adventures and trivial brouhahas?
Go to RealAstrology.com
for Rob Brezsny’s expanded weekly audio horoscopes and daily
text-message horoscopes. Audio horoscopes also available by phone at
877-873-4888 or 900-950-7700.