TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Even if you’re not an artist, you’re a creator. It’s to this part of you — the restless, inventive spirit — that I address the following: It’s a perfect time for you to cultivate increased respect and reverence for your creativity. Tap in to the dormant potential of your amazing imagination. Feel confident about your ability to generate novelty. Realize how much power you have to change anything you want to change. Here’s your inspirational motto, courtesy of sculptor Constantin Brancusi: "Create like God, command like a king, work like a slave."
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): A lot of antifreeze tastes sweet even though it’s toxic. That’s a big problem for dogs and children, who sometimes come upon spilled or open containers of antifreeze and drink it. New Mexico is one of the first places in the world to pass a law making it mandatory for antifreeze to be bitter-tasting, thus discouraging innocents from imbibing it. This should serve as a metaphor for you in the coming week, Gemini. Your inner child or inner pet may be drawn to ingesting experiences that are delectable but noxious. Have your inner adult take steps to ensure this won’t happen.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): I won’t protest if you resort to some outrageous showmanship to boost your cause, Cancerian. I won’t judge you harshly if you try to walk the fine line between creative storytelling and over-the-top BS. Just make sure that you’re always motivated more by fun and idealism than by self-aggrandizement. It’s time to use all your tricks and call on all the favors you’re owed as you sell your self without selling your soul.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You’ve been given a prophetic glimpse of the great victory that’s possible. You’re very close to neutralizing an old bugaboo and making sure that the past will no longer hold you back. Now comes the hardest part: Will you be able to sustain your concentration until the triumphs are actually accomplished? Or will you be lulled into lazy complacency by the sense of security that your partial breakthroughs have provided? Personally, I believe you *will* summon the dogged ingenuity necessary to finish the job; you *will* turn *almost* into *completely*.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): If I were going to write a fairy tale about the current state of your life, I would say that your stolen treasure is locked away in a heart-shaped metal box at the top of a glass mountain. You have every right to steal it back, but you haven’t been able to get to it. The surface of the mountain is too slippery for you to climb. In the next chapter of the fairy tale, you will encounter an elf or dwarf or witch who has a pair of special shoes with suction cups that could allow you to scale the peak. But you will have to give something in return for those shoes. And here’s the tricky part: The elf or dwarf or witch may not tell you exactly what he or she wants; you might have to guess.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Polls reveal that many Germans wish they could return to the days when the Berlin Wall was intact. They complain that dismantling the barriers between the eastern and western portions of the country has led to economic turmoil in both areas. I mention this, Libra, because I think it resembles a feeling you’re currently harboring. A part of you is longing for the bad old days when a now-defunct obstacle was a fixture in your life. You’re romanticizing the protection that the obstacle offered and forgetting how oppressive and limiting it was. It’s OK to entertain the fantasy of restoring the wall — in fact, I recommend that you do — but don’t you dare actually restore it.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): For a limited time only, everything will be pretty much the reverse of what it usually is. Do you have an unlucky number? In the coming week, that number will be a sign that good fortune is nearby. Do you have qualities that you regard as weak or undeveloped? You can now make them work to your advantage. What are the things you’re afraid of? Deal frankly with them and you will stimulate a big boost in your courage. Are you weary of worrying about your enemies? They are about to become great teachers, maybe even helpers.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): You’re entering into the thick of the problem-solving phase of your astrological cycle, Sagittarius. You now have a heightened power to fix those dilemmas. In fact, I predict that soon after reading this horoscope, you’ll find you have access to unprecedented levels of wild but disciplined determination. As you go about your work, keep in mind Buckminster Fuller’s standard for measuring his effectiveness: "When I am working on a problem," he said, "I never think about beauty. I think only of how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong."
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You may have trophies, merit badges and plaques to commemorate your sexual accomplishments, Capricorn. You may have a PhD in tantra and letters from past lovers testifying to your excellence as an erotic partner. Nevertheless, I believe you have more to learn. There are frontiers you have not yet explored. And this is the perfect time for you to push to the next level. Open your mind and heart to the possibility that you’re ready to upgrade the way you stir up emotion-enriching, soul-expanding bliss.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): I was looking for a house to rent. A real estate manager gave me a tour of a place where the occupants weren’t home, but the manager had permission to enter. As she led me around, we came upon the master bedroom. A huge German shepherd was on the bed. It didn’t bark, pounce or even growl. On the contrary, it shivered with fear. Its protective instincts seemed paralyzed. The dog’s behavior was an apt metaphor for the current state of your own inner guardian, Aquarius — you know, the fierce part of your psyche that defends your interests. It’s unnaturally timid and hesitant, and is thus not primed to do its job properly. Do whatever it takes to cure it of its malaise.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): After rejecting proposals from many directors, Bob Dylan has finally authorized Oscar-nominated Todd Haynes to make a film about his life. Seven different actors will portray Dylan, including a black woman. "I am setting out to explode the idea that anybody can be depicted in a single self," Haynes told *The Sunday Times*. You already explode that idea every week of your life, Pisces, and you will be exploding it with even greater force and style in the coming days. I encourage you to be proud of your own riotous multiplicity. It’s something to be celebrated, not to be shy about. Why not fantasize about the seven actors and actresses you’d choose to play you in the movie about your life? Here’s this week’s homework: It’s easy to see fanaticism, rigidity and intolerance in other people, but harder to acknowledge them in yourself. Do you dare? Testify at
