Free Will Astrology

ARIES (March 21-April 19): I hope you've been trying to bolster your stick-to-it-iveness, Aries. I trust you've been pumping up your follow-through and supercharging your determination. If you haven't been attending to this unglamorous yet heroic work, play catch-up. Your final exam will be administered no later than May 24. Here's a sneak preview of some of the material you'll be tested on. If a teammate drops the ball, do you: a. quit the game; b. throw the ball in your teammate's face; c. pick up the ball and start running in the direction your teammate was supposed to?

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): "Pain is weakness leaving the body," says fitness trainer Mark Duval. If that's true, you have gotten a lot stronger in recent weeks. By my astrological reckoning, you've shed a few months' worth of emotional distress, you've purged a few years' worth of frustration, and you've exorcised a couple of lifetimes' worth of confused dreams. Congratulations on all the new vitality you've earned through your constructive losses.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): As part of the arrangement your soul entered into before you were born, you were given the mission to accomplish five specific miracles. Three of these you have not yet even guessed the nature of. Why? For one thing, none of your elders or teachers ever named them for you while you were growing up. Secondly, you have been overly timid about imagining what you're capable of. That's the bad news, Cancerian. The good news is that you're very close to the mystery spot where one of those undiscovered dreams has been moldering.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): "The maxim for any love affair," wrote Charles Williams, "is 'Play and pray, but do not pray when you are playing and do not play when you are praying.' We cannot yet manage such simultaneities." But I strongly disagree with Williams, especially in regards to your destiny in the coming weeks. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you can and should play while you pray, and pray while you play. In fact, I recommend that you blend reverence and irreverence in every way you can imagine. Explore the revolutionary concept of sacred fun.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Seems you're pushing to learn all you can from places and ideas you barely even know existed a few months ago. Your experiments continue to provide such valuable lessons that you'd rather not wrap them up yet. That's fine. No rush. Take your time. We here at the Grind will welcome you back anytime you're ready. We completely understand if you want to stay out there on a limb until you're absolutely sure that the butterfly won't have any reason to try changing back into a caterpillar.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): "Dear Rob: I've been a Libra all my life, and I'm always puzzled by those who say that Librans have trouble making decisions. My experience of the Libra approach to life is that we are connoisseurs of completeness. We work hard to be considerate of other people's viewpoints. We strive to include all the applicable information in our deliberations, even if it's at odds with our personal perspective. Now it's true that urgency and speed are the cultural norms. 'If it can't happen immediately, I'm not interested in it' is an approach that has infected the majority. In that light, Librans may seem wishy-washy and hesitant. But in fact, we're actually thoughtful and judicious. Please help correct the bad stereotype about us. - Discerning Libra." Dear Discerning: You make excellent points. I will pass them on to my Libra readers because it's crucial that in the days ahead they avoid being misinterpreted in the way you described.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): A journalist visiting the home of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Niels Bohr was surprised to see a horseshoe nailed to the wall. "Can it be that you, of all people, believe a horseshoe will bring you good luck?" he asked. "Of course not," Bohr replied, "but I understand it brings you luck whether you believe it or not." I suggest you adopt the physicist's mindset in the coming week, Scorpio. Without dumbing down your powers of logic, be open to the possibility that you will benefit from forces that are beyond your imagining or unaccounted for by your belief system. [Source: Living Biographies of Great Scientists, by Henry & Dana Lee Thomas.]