Free Will Astrology

ARIES (March 21-April 19): "Men should be barred from holding public office for 100 years," says billionaire Ted Turner. "Men have been running the world for too long and they've made a mess of it." If women were in charge, he adds, "It would be a much more peaceful, prosperous, equitable world in a very short period of time. You'd have a huge shift away from military budgets and into education and health care." I agree with everything Turner said except when he implied that men should be prohibited from serving. That's totalitarian, the exact opposite of what I trust a feminine majority would usher in. From an astrological perspective, by the way, 2008 is prime time to move forcefully in the direction of bringing more women into power. And it so happens that Aries people of both genders are best able to lead the way. To jumpstart your ability to fulfill this potential, I urge you to take three actions in the coming week to foster female authority. Men, you may devote two of these to boosting your inner woman.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Musician Chuck Prophet has artistic integrity even if he isn't a mega-star. He keeps making records that are inspired by his creative urges rather than by a lust for fame and riches. At age 43, he still tours all over creation, performing in small and mid-size clubs. "I have a dark need to drive around the world in a van like I'm 22," he told the San Francisco Chronicle. "And I'm good at it, too. I'm good at staring out of a window for long stretches." Prophet's your role model in the coming week, Taurus. I hope he inspires you to do whatever's necessary as you go about the business of promoting what you love to do with dogged integrity.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): I've got some of the strangest good news you've ever heard. Ready to open your mind to the odd opportunities? Get this: 1. Your wild speculations could serve you better than your educated guesses. 2. Your experimental urges might be smarter than your cautious plans. 3. Your "stumbles" may lead you to brilliant detours. 4. You just may be able to create lucky breaks out of apparent mistakes.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): The World Dream Bank (WorldDreamBank.org) collects tales recorded by spirited dreamers. I'd like to call your attention to one of those dreams, because you'll benefit from entertaining similar themes. Here's a paraphrased report: "I dreamed I was a telepathic teenage unicorn with five hearts. My lesbian twin, an untameable mare from the Middle of Nowhere Desert, came to join me, as did my best friend, a cute Tyrannosaurus Rex doctor on roller skates. We built a boat and sailed off into a warm red sea, headed towards a rite of passage that we looked forward to as a fun adventure. We passed a buoy with a sign that said, 'Beware of Insane Swimming Bunnies.' We weren't scared in the least. We had packets of magic confetti that we knew would make the bunnies sane."

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Tibetans use the phrase "Gadrii nombor shulen jongu," which literally means "to give a green answer to a blue question." It's what happens when a person offers a reply that is unrelated to the question that has been asked. This is an apt description of a certain situation you're either dealing with now or will soon be. It may be that someone close to you is responding with irrelevant answers to your piercing inquiries. Or it might be that you have misunderstood a mystery that a friend has presented to you. A third possibility: A question you've been asking yourself is the wrong question. (Thanks to the book Toujours Tingo for the Tibetan phrase: http://tinyurl.com/2sgv6z.)

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): "Success means controlling your own time," observed actor Rod Steiger. "If you gain control over 60 percent of the time in your life, you are really successful." in 2008, Virgo, you will have far more power than you've had before to fulfill this definition of success. And right now you happen to be in a phase of your astrological cycle when your hard work toward this goal will have maximum impact. The ironic fact of the matter is that it's an ideal time to slave away in behalf of greater freedom.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): "When it comes time to do your own life," wrote author Rosellen Brown in her book Civil Wars, "you either perpetuate your childhood or you stand on it and finally kick it out from under." According to my analysis of the omens, Libra, you will, sometime in 2008, reach the pivotal point Brown referred to. And the coming weeks could be a big turning point. So which way will you go?