ARIES (March 21-April 19): In all of history, humans have mined about 182,000 tons of gold. Best estimates suggest that there are still 35 billion tons of gold buried in the earth, but the remaining riches will be more difficult to find and collect than what we’ve already gotten. We need better technology. If I had to say who would be the entrepreneurs and inventors best qualified to lead the quest, my choice would be members of the Aries tribe. For the foreseeable future, you people will have extra skill at excavating hidden treasure and gathering resources that are hard to access.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Stories have the power to either dampen or mobilize your life energy. I hope that in the coming weeks, you will make heroic efforts to seek out the latter and avoid the former. Now is a crucial time to treat yourself to stories that will jolt you out of your habitual responses and inspire you to take long-postponed actions and awaken the sleeping parts of your soul. And that’s just half of your assignment, dear Taurus. Here’s the rest: Tell stories that help you remember the totality of who you are, and that inspire your listeners to remember the totality of who they are.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Author Anaïs Nin said, “There are two ways to reach me: By way of kisses or by way of the imagination. But there is a hierarchy: The kisses alone don’t work.” For two reasons, Anaïs’ formulation is especially apropos for you right now. First, you should not allow yourself to be seduced, tempted or won over by sweet gestures alone. You must insist on sweet gestures that are synergized by a sense of wonder and an appreciation of your unique beauty. Second, you should adopt the same approach for those you want to seduce, tempt or win over: Sweet gestures seasoned with wonder and an appreciation of their unique beauty.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Are you more inclined right now to favor temporary involvements and short-term promises? Or would you consider making brave commitments that lead you deeper into the Great Mystery? Given the upcoming astrological omens, I vote for the latter. Here’s another pair of questions for you, Cancerian: Are you inclined to meander from commotion to commotion without any game plan? Or might you invoke the magic necessary to get involved with high-quality collaborations? I’m hoping that you’ll opt for the latter. (P.S. The near future will be prime time for you to swear a sacred oath or two.)

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In March of 1996, a man burst into the studio of radio station Star FM in Wanganui, New Zealand. He took the manager hostage and issued a single demand: That the DJ play a recording of the Muppet song “The Rainbow Connection,” as sung by the puppet Kermit the Frog. Fortunately, police intervened quickly, no one was hurt and the kidnapper was jailed. In bringing this to your attention, Leo, I am certainly not suggesting that you imitate the kidnapper. Please don’t break the law or threaten anyone with harm. On the other hand, I do urge you to take dramatic, innovative action to fulfill one of your very specific desires.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Many varieties of the nettle plant will sting you if you touch the leaves and stems. Their hairs are like hypodermic needles that inject your skin with a blend of irritant chemicals. And yet nettle is also an herb with numerous medicinal properties. It can provide relief for allergies, arthritis, joint pain and urinary problems. That’s why Shakespeare invoked the nettle as a metaphor in his play Henry IV, Part 1: “Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety,” says the character named Hotspur. In accordance with the astrological omens, Virgo, I choose the nettle as your power metaphor for the first three weeks of February.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Knullrufs is a Swedish word that refers to what your hair looks like after sex: Tousled, rumpled, disordered. If I’m reading the astrological omens correctly, you should experience more knullrufs than usual in the coming weeks. You’re in a phase when you need and deserve extra pleasure and delight, especially the kind that rearranges your attitudes as well as your coiffure. You have license to exceed your normal quotas of ravenousness and rowdiness.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In his “Crazy Lake Experiment” documented on YouTube, Harvard physicist Greg Kestin takes a raft out on a lake. He drops a tablespoon of olive oil into the water, and a few minutes later, the half-acre around his boat is still and smooth. All of the small waves have disappeared. He proceeds to explain the science behind the calming effect produced by a tiny amount of oil. I suspect that you will have a metaphorically comparable power in the next two weeks, Scorpio. What’s your version of the olive oil? Your poise? Your graciousness? Your tolerance? Your insight into human nature?

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In 1989, a man spent $4 on a painting at a flea market in Adamstown, Pennsylvania. He didn’t care much for the actual image, which was a boring country scene, but he thought he could use the frame. Upon returning home, he found a document concealed behind the painting. It turned out to be a rare old copy of America’s Declaration of Independence, originally created in 1776. He eventually sold it for $2.42 million. I doubt that you will experience anything quite as spectacular in the coming weeks, Sagittarius. But I do suspect that you will find something valuable where you don’t expect it, or develop a connection with something that’s better than you imagined it would be.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In the 1740s, a teenage Capricorn girl named Eliza Lucas almost single-handedly introduced a new crop into American agriculture: Indigo, a plant used as a dye for textiles. In South Carolina, where she managed her father’s farm, indigo ultimately became the second-most-important cash crop over the next 30 years. I have astrological reasons to believe that you are now in a phase when you could likewise make innovations that will have long-range economic repercussions. Be alert for good intuitions and promising opportunities to increase your wealth.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): When I was in my early 20s, I smoked marijuana now and then. I liked it. It made me feel good and inspired my creativity and roused spiritual visions. But I reconsidered my use after encountering pagan magician Isaac Bonewits. He didn’t have a moral objection to cannabis use, but believed that it withered one’s willpower and diminished one’s determination to transform one’s life for the better. For a year, I meditated on and experimented with his hypothesis. I found it to be true, at least for me. I haven’t smoked since. My purpose in bringing this up is not to advise you about your relationship to drugs, but rather to urge you to question whether there are influences in your life that wither your willpower and diminish your determination to transform your life for the better. Now is an excellent time to examine this issue.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Would you like to shed unwieldy baggage before moving on to your next big challenge? I hope so. It will purge your soul of karmic sludge. It will prime you for a fresh start. One way to accomplish this bravery is to confess your sins and ask for forgiveness in front of a mirror. Here are data to consider: Is there anyone you know who would not give you a good character reference? Have you ever committed a seriously unethical act? Have you revealed information that was told to you in confidence? While under the influence of intoxicants or bad ideas, have you done things that you’re ashamed of? I’m not saying that you’re more guilty of these things than the rest of us; it’s just that now is your special time to seek redemption.

Homework: What’s the best, most healing trouble you could whip up right now? Testify at Freewillastrology.com.

Q: I’m a single 33-year-old woman. Suddenly, after years of outdoor sports, I have a dime-sized dark brown sunspot on my face. It’s not cancerous, and I’m having it lasered off. This will take a while. Though I cover it with makeup, I’m terribly self-conscious about it, and I don’t want to date till it’s removed. I know how visual men are, and I don’t want a man to find out I have this thing and see me as unattractive. My friends say I’m being ridiculous.—Insecure

A: It’s a spot on your face that suggests you’ve done some stuff in the sun; it isn’t the Mark of Satan™ or a button with a message underneath, “Press here to activate the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.”

Your intuition that a clear, even complexion is important isn’t off base. Anthropologist Bernhard Fink and his colleagues did some pretty cool research on how skin tone uniformity affects perceptions of a woman’s attractiveness. This isn’t a new area of study, but almost all of the research has been on Western populations. Social science findings are more likely to be representative of human nature when the subject pool goes beyond the usual “WEIRD” participants (from Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic countries—and, more often than not, 19-year-old college undergrads fighting a wicked hangover to answer survey questions for class credit).  

So Fink and his team sought out 172 men and women, ages 17 to 80, from two remote tribes—the cattle-raising Maasai in Tanzania and the forager-farmer Tsimane tribe in Bolivia—each “unfamiliar with lighter-colored skin.” The researchers explain that these tribes have no electricity and “little or no access” to magazines or newspapers from the West. They also live far from any tourist destinations, so no—no pale-faced college girls dropping by, all “C’mon, Mr. Maasai … just one more selfie with me and your totally adorbs cow!”

Tribe members were asked to assess “age, health, and attractiveness” from photographs of skin—squares of white-lady skin cropped from photos of faces of British girls and women ages 11 to 76. Echoing findings from Western populations, women with “homogenous skin color”—meaning even in tone overall, with little or no “skin discoloration” (blotches or spots)—“were judged to be younger and healthier” and more attractive.

Research finds that humans, in general, prefer faces with clear, uniform skin, which is associated with being parasite- and disease-free. There’s also strong support, from cross-cultural studies, for the notion by evolutionary psychologists that men evolved to be drawn to female features that suggest a woman is young and healthy—and thus more likely to be fertile. Men just don’t think of it in so many words—“Better babies when Mommy’s got skin like an airbrushed Vogue cover girl!”—especially not in places where the nearest newsstand is maybe four days away by donkey.

Because women coevolved with men, women anticipate this male preference for flawless skin—leading them to feel, uh, undersparkly when their facial landscape is less than pristine.

This brings us to you. The thing is, you aren’t just a skin dot with a person attached. A guy will look at the whole. Also, we accept that people use products and technology to hide or fix flaws in their appearance—or to enhance the features they have. Accordingly, a guy is not defrauding you by using Rogaine, and no man with an IQ that exceeds your bra size believes you were born wearing eye shadow.   

Ultimately, you have more control than you probably realize over how much any imperfections affect your total attractiveness. A woman I know is a living example of this. She’s got two fewer legs than most of us. But she understands—and shows it in the way she carries herself—that she’s vastly more than the sum of her (missing) parts.

In other words, your real problem is you—your feeling that this spot is some kind of boulder-sized diminisher of your worth. Chances are, this comes from putting too much weight on your looks as the source of your value. Though you may not be where you want in your career, doing regular meaningful work to help other people—like volunteer work—might be the quickest way for you to feel bigger than that dot on your face.

There’s nothing wrong with getting it lasered off, but as long as it’s still with you, try something: Revel in having it instead of going into hiding over it. I’m serious. After all, it’s basically a sign that you went outdoors and seized life—not that you got drunk and joined one of those racist Tiki torch marches and now have to hit up some tattoo artist to turn the swastikas into butterflies.

Please note: This column appears only in our online version of the paper this week.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Anders Haugen competed for the U.S. as a ski jumper in the 1924 Winter Olympics. Although he was an accomplished athlete who had previously set a world record for distance, he won no medals at the games. But wait! Fifty years later, a sports historian discovered that there had been a scoring mistake back in 1924. In fact, Haugen had done well enough to win the bronze medal. The mistake was rectified, and he finally got his long-postponed award. I foresee a comparable development happening in your life, Aries. Recognition or appreciation that you deserved to receive some time ago will finally come your way.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In 1899, Sobhuza II became King of Swaziland even though he was less than five months old. He kept his job for the next 82 years, and along the way managed to play an important role when his nation gained independence from the colonial rule of the United Kingdom. These days you may feel a bit like Sobhuza did when he was still in diapers, Taurus: Not sufficiently prepared or mature for the greater responsibilities that are coming your way. But just as he received competent help in his early years from his uncle and grandmother, I suspect that you’ll receive the support you’ll need to ripen.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In my ideal world, dancing and singing wouldn’t be luxuries practiced primarily by professionals. They would be regular occurrences in our daily routines. We’d dance and sing whenever we needed a break from the numbing trance. We’d whirl and hum to pass the time. We would greet each other with an interpretative movement and a little tune. In schools, dance and song would be a standard part of the curriculum—as important as math and history. That’s my utopian dream, Gemini. What’s yours? In accordance with the astrological omens, I urge you to identify the soul medicine you’d love to incorporate into your everyday regimen. Then go ahead and incorporate it! It’s time for you to get more aggressive about creating the world you want to live in.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Psychology pioneer Carl Jung believed that most of our big problems can never be fully solved. And that’s actually a good thing. Working on them keeps us lively, in a state of constant transformation. It ensures that we don’t stagnate. I generally agree with Jung’s high opinion of our problems. We should indeed be grateful for the way they impel us to grow. However, I think that’s irrelevant for you right now. Why? Because you have an unprecedented opportunity to solve and graduate from a major long-running problem. So no, don’t be grateful for it. Get rid of it. Say goodbye to it forever.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Between now and March 21, you will be invited, encouraged and pushed to deepen your understanding of intimate relationships. You will have the chance to learn much, much more about how to create the kind of togetherness that both comforts and inspires you. Will you take advantage of this eight-week opportunity? I hope so. You may imagine that you have more pressing matters to attend to. But the fact is that cultivating your relationship skills would transform you in ways that would best serve those other pressing matters.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In December, mass protests broke out in Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city. Why? The economy had been gradually worsening. Inflation was slowly but surely exacting a toll. Unemployment was increasing. But one of the immediate triggers for the uprising was a 40-percent hike in the price of eggs. It focused the Iranian people’s collective angst and galvanized a dramatic response. I’m predicting a comparable sequence in your personal future, Virgo. A specific irritant will emerge, motivating you to stop putting up with trends that have been subtly bothering you.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In the late 1980s, Budweiser used a Bull Terrier to promote its Bud Light beer in commercials. The dog, who became mega-famous, was presented as a rich macho party animal named Spuds MacKenzie. The ad campaign was successful, boosting sales 20 percent. But the truth was that the actor playing Spuds was a female dog whose owners called her Evie. To earn money, the poor creature, who was born under the sign of Libra, was forced to assume a false identity. To honor Evie’s memory, and in alignment with current astrological omens, I urge you human Libras to strip away any layers of false identity that you’ve been pressured to acquire. Be your real self—to the max.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): The giant panda is a bear native to China. In the wild, its diet is 99 percent bamboo. But bamboo is not an energy-rich food, which means that the creature has to compensate by consuming 20 to 30 pounds of the stuff every day. Because it’s so busy gathering its sustenance, the panda doesn’t have time to do much socializing. I mention this, Scorpio, because I want to offer up the panda as your anti-power animal for the coming weeks. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you should have a diversified approach to getting your needs met—not just in regards to food, but in every other way as well. Variety is not just the spice of life; it’s the essence.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): You’re the star of the “movie” that endlessly unfolds in your imagination. There may be a number of other lead actors and actresses, but few if any have your luster and stature. You also have a supporting cast, as well as a full complement of extras. To generate all of the adventure that you need, your story needs a lot of dramatis personae. In the coming weeks, I suggest that you be alert for certain minor characters who are primed to start playing a bigger role in your narrative. Consider the possibility of inviting them to say and do more to advance the plot.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Thirty-five miles per hour is typically the highest speed attained by the U.S. Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carriers. That’s not very fast. On the other hand, each ship’s engine generates 190 megawatts, enough to provide the energy needs of 140,000 houses, and can go more than 20 years without refueling. If you don’t mind, I’m going to compare you to one of those aircraft carriers during the next four weeks. You may not be moving fast, but you will have maximum stamina and power.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The pawpaw is a tasty fruit that blends the flavors of mango, banana and melon. But you rarely find it in grocery stores. One reason is that the fruit ripens very fast after being picked. Another is that the pollination process is complicated. In response to these issues, a plant scientist named Neal Peterson has been trying to breed the pawpaw to be more commercially viable. Because of his work, cultivated crops have finally begun showing up at some farmers’ markets. I’d like to see you undertake metaphorically similar labors in 2018, Aquarius. I think you’ll have good luck at developing rough potentials into more mature forms of expression. You’ll have skill at turning unruly raw materials into more useful resources. Now is a great time to begin.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): An iceberg is a huge chunk of ice that has cracked away from a glacier and drifted off into the open sea. Only 9 percent of it is visible above the waterline. The underwater part, which is most of the iceberg, is basically invisible. You can’t know much about it just by looking at the top. This is an apt metaphor for life itself. Most everyone and everything we encounter is 91 percent mysterious, hidden or inaccessible to our conscious understanding. That’s the weird news, Pisces. The good news is that during the next three weeks you will have an unprecedented ability to get better acquainted with the other 91 percent of anything or anyone you choose to explore.

Homework: Imagine that you’re still alive in 2090. What’s your life like? Testify at Freewillastrology.com.