ARIES (March 21-April 19): The Indigenous Semai people of Malaysia have an unusual taboo. They try hard not to cause unhappiness in others. This makes them reluctant to impose their wishes on anyone. Even parents hesitate to force their children to do things. I recommend you experiment with this practice. Now is an excellent time to refine your effect on people to be as benevolent and welcoming as possible. Don’t worry—you won’t have to be this kind and sweet forever. But doing so temporarily could generate timely enhancements in your relationship life.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Taurus author Shakespeare reshaped the English language. He coined hundreds of words and revised the meanings of hundreds more. Idioms like “green-eyed monster” and “milk of human kindness” originated with him. But the Bard also created some innovations that didn’t last. “Recover the wind” appeared in Hamlet, but never came into wide use. Other failures include, “Would you take eggs for money?” and “from smoke to smother.” Still, Shakespeare’s final tally of enduring neologisms is impressive. With this vignette, I’m inviting you to celebrate how many more successes than flops you have had. The time is right for realistic self-praise.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): I hope beauty will be your priority in the coming weeks. I hope you will seek out beauty, celebrate it and commune with it adoringly. To assist your efforts, I offer five gems: 1. Whatever you love is beautiful; love comes first, beauty follows. The greater your capacity for love, the more beauty you find in the world. —Jane Smiley. 2. The world is incomprehensibly beautiful—an endless prospect of magic and wonder. —Ansel Adams. 3. A beautiful thing is never perfect. —Egyptian proverb. 4. You can make the world beautiful just by refusing to lie about it. —Iain S. Thomas. 5. Beauty isn’t a special inserted sort of thing. It is just life, pure life, life nascent, running clear and strong. —H. G. Wells.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): I read a review that described a certain movie as having “a soft, tenuous incandescence—like fog lit by the glow of fireflies.” That sounds like who you are these days, Cancerian. You’re mysterious yet luminous, hard to decipher but overflowing with life energy, fuzzy around the edges but radiating warmth and well-being. I encourage you to remain faithful to this assignment for now. It’s not a state you will inhabit forever, but it’s what’s needed and true for the foreseeable future.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The published work of Leo author Thomas de Quincey fills 14 volumes. He inspired superstar writers like Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Baudelaire, Nikolai Gogol and Jorge Luis Borges. Yet he also ingested opium for 54 years and was often addicted. Cultural historian Mike Jay says de Quincey was not self-medicating or escaping reality, but rather keen on “exploring the hidden recesses of his mind.” He used it to dwell in states of awareness that were otherwise unattainable. I don’t encourage you to take drugs or follow de Quincey’s path, Leo. But I believe the time is right to explore the hidden recesses of your mind via other means. Like what? Working with your nightly dreams? Meditating your ass off? Having soul-altering sex with someone who wants to explore hidden recesses, too? Any others?

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Virgo journalist H. L. Mencken said, “The average person doesn’t want to be free. He wants to be safe.” There’s some truth in that, but I believe it will be irrelevant for you in the coming months. According to my analysis, you can be both safer and freer than you’ve been in a long time. I hope you take full advantage! Brainstorm about unexpected feats you might be able to accomplish during this state of grace.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libran philosopher and writer Michel Foucalt aspired to open up his readers’ minds with novel ideas. He said his task was to make windows where there had been walls. I’d like to borrow his approach for your use in the coming weeks. It might be the most fun to demolish the walls that are subdividing your world and keeping you preventing free and easy interchange. But I suspect that’s unrealistic. What’s more likely is partial success: creating windows in the walls.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): More and more older people are transitioning to different genders. An article in The Guardian (tinyurl.com/GenderMeaning) describes how Bethan Henshaw, a warehouse worker, transitioned to female at age 57. Ramses Underhill-Smith became a man in his 40s. With this as your starting point, I invite you to re-evaluate your personal meanings of gender. Please note I’m not implying you should change your designation. Astrological omens simply suggest that you will benefit from expanding your ideas. Here’s Scorpio singer Sophie B. Hawkins, a mother who says she is omnisexual: “My sexuality stems from an emotional connection to someone’s soul. You don’t have to make a gender choice and stick with it.”

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Sagittarian author Mark Twain said that in urgent or trying circumstances, uttering profanities “furnishes a relief denied even to prayer.” I will add that these magic words can be downright catalytic and healing—especially for you right now. Here are situations in which swearing could be therapeutic in the coming weeks: 1. when people take themselves too seriously; 2.when you need to escape feelings of powerlessness; 3. when know-it-alls are trying to limit the range of what can be said; 4. when people seem frozen or stunned and don’t know what to do next. In all these cases, well-placed expletives could provide necessary jolts to shift the stuck energy. (PS: Have fun using other surprises, ploys and twists to shake things up for a good cause.)

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In Roman mythology, Venus was goddess of love, desire and beauty. Yet modern science tells us the planet Venus is blanketed with sulfuric acid clouds, has a surface temperature of 867 degrees Fahrenheit and is covered with 85,000 volcanoes. Why are the two Venuses out of sync? Here’s a clue, courtesy of occultist Dion Fortune. She said the goddess Venus is often a disturbing influence in the world, diverting us from life’s serious business. I can personally attest to the ways that my affinity for love, desire and beauty have distracted me from becoming a hard-driving billionaire tech entrepreneur. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. How about you, Capricorn? I predict that the goddess version of Venus will be extra active in your life during the coming months.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Thousands of heirloom food species are privately owned and hoarded. They once belonged to Indigenous people but haven’t been grown for decades. Descendants of their original owners are trying to get them back and grow them again—a process they call rematriation—but they meet resistance from companies and governmental agencies that commandeered the seeds. There has been some progress, though. The Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin has recovered some of its ancestral corn, beans and squash. Now would be a good time for you Aquarians to launch your own version of rematriation: reclaiming what was originally yours and that truly belongs to you.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): I like Piscean poet Jane Hirshfield’s understanding of what “lies at the core of ritual.” She says it’s “the entrance into a mystery that can be touched but not possessed.” My wish for you right now, Pisces, is that you will experience mysteries that can be touched but not possessed. To do so will give you direct access to prime riddles at the heart of your destiny. You will commune with sublime conundrums that rouse deep feelings and rich insights, none of which are fully explicable by your logical mind. Please consider performing a homemade sacred ritual or two.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): I’ve been doing interviews in support of my new book, Astrology Is Real: Revelations from My Life as an Oracle. Now and then, I’m asked this question: “Do you actually believe all that mystical woo-woo you write about?” I respond diplomatically, though inwardly I’m screaming: “How profoundly hypocritical I would be if I did not believe in the ‘mystical woo-woo’ I have spent my adult life studying and teaching!” But here’s my polite answer: “I love and revere the venerable spiritual philosophies that some demean as ‘mystical woo-woo.’ I see it as my job to translate those subtle ideas into well-grounded, practical suggestions that my readers can use to enhance their lives.” Everything I just said is the prelude for your assignment, Aries: Work with extra focus to actuate your high ideals and deep values in the ordinary events of your daily life. As the American idioms advise: Walk your talk, and practice what you preach.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): I’m happy to see the expanding use of service animals. Initially, there were guide dogs to assist humans with imperfect vision. Later, there came mobility animals for those who need aid in moving around and hearing animals for those who can’t detect ringing doorbells. In recent years, emotional support animals have provided comfort for people who benefit from mental health assistance. I foresee a future in which all of us feel free and eager to call on the nurturing of companion animals. You may already have such friends, Taurus. If so, I urge you to express extra appreciation for them in the coming weeks. Ripen your relationship. And if not, now is an excellent time to explore the boost you can get from loving animals.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Gemini author Chuck Klosterman jokes, “I eat sugared cereal almost exclusively. This is because I’m the opposite of a ‘no-nonsense’ guy. I’m an ‘all-nonsense’ guy.” The coming weeks will be a constructive and liberating time for you to experiment with being an all-nonsense person, dear Gemini. How? Start by temporarily suspending any deep attachment you have to being a serious, hyper-rational adult doing staid, weighty adult things. Be mischievously committed to playing a lot and having maximum fun. Dancing sex! Ice cream uproars! Renegade fantasies! Laughter orgies! Joke romps! Giddy brainstorms and euphoric heartstorms!

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Cancerian comedian Gilda Radner said, “I base most of my fashion taste on what doesn’t itch.” Let’s use that as a prime metaphor for you in the coming weeks. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you will be wise to opt for what feels good over what merely looks good. You will make the right choices if you are committed to loving yourself more than trying to figure out how to get others to love you. Celebrate highly functional beauty, dear Cancerian. Exult in the clear intuitions that arise as you circumvent self-consciousness and revel in festive self-love.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The amazingly creative Leo singer-songwriter Tori Amos gives this testimony: “All creators go through a period where they’re dry and don’t know how to get back to the creative source. Where is that waterfall? At a certain point, you say, ‘I’ll take a rivulet.’” Her testimony is true for all of us in our quest to find what we want and need. Of course, we would prefer to have permanent, unwavering access to the waterfall. But that’s not realistic. Besides, sometimes the rivulet is sufficient. And if we follow the rivulet, it may eventually lead to the waterfall.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Do you perform experiments on yourself? I do on myself. I formulate hypotheses about what might be healthy for me, then carry out tests to gather evidence about whether they are. A recent one was: Do I feel my best if I eat five small meals per day or three bigger ones? Another: Is my sleep most rejuvenating if I go to bed at 10pm and wake up at 7am or if I sleep from midnight to 9am? I recommend you engage in such experiments in the coming weeks. Your body has many clues and revelations it wants to offer you.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Take a few deep, slow breaths. Let your mind be a blue sky where a few high clouds float. Hum your favorite melody. Relax as if you have all the time in the world to be whoever you want to be. Fantasize that you have slipped into a phase of your cycle when you are free to act as calm and unhurried as you like. Imagine you have access to resources in your secret core that will make you stable and solid and secure. Now read this Mary Oliver poem aloud: “You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.”

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): An Oklahoma woman named Mary Clamswer used a wheelchair from age 19 to 42 because multiple sclerosis made it hard to use her legs. Then a miracle happened. During a thunderstorm, she was hit by lightning. The blast not only didn’t kill her; it cured the multiple sclerosis. Over the subsequent months, she recovered her ability to walk. Now I’m not saying I hope you will be hit by a literal bolt of healing lightning, Scorpio, nor do I predict any such thing. But I suspect a comparable event or situation that may initially seem unsettling could ultimately bring you blessings.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): What are your favorite mind-altering substances? Coffee, tea, chocolate, sugar or tobacco? Alcohol, pot, cocaine or opioids? Psilocybin, ayahuasca, LSD or MDMA? Others? All the above? Whatever they are, the coming weeks will be a favorable time to re-evaluate your relationship with them. Consider whether they are sometimes more hurtful than helpful, or vice versa; whether the original reasons that led you to them are still true; and how your connection with them affects your close relationships. Ask other questions, too! PS: I don’t know what the answers are. My goal is simply to inspire you to take an inventory.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In his book, Meditations for Miserable People Who Want to Stay That Way, Dan Goodman says, “It’s not that I have nothing to give, but rather that no one wants what I have.” If you have ever been tempted to entertain dour fantasies like that, I predict you will be purged of them in the coming weeks and months. Maybe more than ever before, your influence will be sought by others. Your viewpoints will be asked for. Your gifts will be desired, and your input will be invited. I trust you won’t feel overwhelmed!

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): William James (1842–1910) was a paragon of reason and logic. So influential were his books about philosophy and psychology that he is regarded as a leading thinker of the 19th and 20th centuries. On the other hand, he was eager to explore the possibilities of supernatural phenomena like telepathy. He even consulted a trance medium named Leonora Piper. James said, “If you wish to upset the law that all crows are black, it is enough if you prove that one crow is white. My white crow is Mrs. Piper.” I bring this to your attention, Aquarius, because I suspect you will soon discover a white crow of your own. As a result, long-standing beliefs may come into question; a certainty could become ambiguous; an incontrovertible truth may be shaken. This is a good thing!

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): If we hope to cure our wounds, we must cultivate a focused desire to be healed. A second essential is to be ingenious in gathering the resources we need to get healed. Here’s the third requirement: We must be bold and brave enough to scramble up out of our sense of defeat as we claim our right to be vigorous and whole again. I wish all these powers for you in the coming weeks.