Free will astrology for the week of March 20, 2019

ARIES (March 21-April 19): During the coming weeks, everything that needs to happen will indeed happen only if you surprise yourself on a regular basis. So I hope you will place yourself in unpredictable situations where you won’t be able to rely on well-rehearsed responses. I trust that you will regard innocence and curiosity and spontaneity as your superpowers. Your willingness to change your mind won’t be a mark of weakness, but rather a sign of strength.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In the animated kids’ film Over the Hedge, 10 talking animals come upon a massive, towering hedge they’ve never seen. The friendly group consists of a skunk, red squirrel, box turtle, two opossums, and five porcupines. The hedge perplexes and mystifies them. It makes them nervous. There’s nothing comparable to it in their previous experience. One of the porcupines says she would be less afraid of it if she just knew what it was called, whereupon the red squirrel suggests that from now on they refer to it as “Steve.” After that, they all feel better. I recommend that you borrow their strategy in the coming weeks. If a Big Unknown arrives in your vicinity, dub it “Steve” or “Betty.”

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): I urge you to locate a metaphorical or very literal door that will give you access to a place that affords you more freedom and healing and support. Maybe you already know about the existence of this door—or maybe it’s not yet on your radar. Here’s advice from Clarissa Pinkola Éstes that might help. “If you have a deep scar, that is a door,” she writes. “If you have an old, old story, that is a door. If you love the sky and the water so much that you almost cannot bear it, that is a door. If you yearn for a deeper life, a full life, a sane life, that is a door.”

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Musician Carol Kaye is the most famous bass guitarist you’ve never heard of. Over the course of five decades, she has plied her soulful talents on more than 10,000 recordings, including gems by Frank Zappa, Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra, Simon and Garfunkel, and the Beach Boys. Twenty-seven-time Grammy winner Quincy Jones has testified that Kaye has written, “some of the most beautiful themes I’ve ever heard in my life,” and that she “could do anything and leave men in the dust.” I trust this horoscope will expand the number of people who appreciate her. I also hope you’ll be inspired to become more active in spreading the word about the gifts that you have to offer the world. It’s high time to make sure that people know more of the beautiful truth about you.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “When you want happiness, what are you wanting?” asks aphorist Olivia Dresher. The repeat of an event that made you feel good in the past? A sweet adventure you’ve thought about but never actually experienced? Here’s a third possibility. Maybe happiness is a state you could feel no matter what your circumstances are; maybe you could learn how to relax into life exactly as it is, and feel glad about your destiny wherever it takes you. In my opinion, Leo, that third approach to happiness will be especially natural for you to foster in the coming weeks.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): There are old traditions in many cultures that pay special attention to the first brick or stone that is laid in the earth to initiate the construction of a future building. It’s called a cornerstone or foundation stone. All further work to create the new structure refers back to this original building block, and depends on it. I’m pleased to inform you that now is a favorable phase to put your own metaphorical cornerstone in place, Virgo. You’re ready to begin erecting a structure or system that will serve you for years to come. Be sure you select the right place for it, as well as the best building materials.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Born under the sign of Libra, Ivan Kharchenko (1918–1989) was a military officer and engineer for the Soviet army. His specialty was disarming explosive devices before they detonated. Over the course of his career, he defused an estimated 50,000 bombs and mines. Let’s make him your patron saint for the coming weeks. Why? Because I suspect you will be able to summon a metaphorical version of his power: an extraordinary capacity to keep volatile situations from blowing up. You’ll be a virtuoso at waging peace and preventing strife.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): There was a time, less than a century ago, when pink was considered a masculine color and blue a feminine hue. In previous eras, many European men sported long hair, wore high heels and favored clothes with floral patterns. Franklin D. Roosevelt, one of America’s most prominent 20th-century presidents, sometimes wore skirts and feather-bedecked hats as a child. With these facts as your keystone, and in accordance with astrological omens, I encourage you to experiment with your own gender expressions in the coming weeks. It’s prime time to have fun with the way you interpret what it means to be a man or woman—or any other gender you might consider yourself to be.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): According to estimates by population experts, about 109 billion humans have been born on planet Earth over the millennia. And yet I’m quite sure that not a single one of those other individuals has been anything like you. You are absolutely unique, an unmatched treasure, a one-of-a-kind creation with your own special blend of qualities. And in my prophetic view, you’re ready to fully acknowledge and celebrate these facts on a higher octave than ever before. It’s high time for you to own your deepest authenticity; to work with extra devotion to express your soul’s code; to unabashedly claim your idiosyncratic genius.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): We don’t know as much about European history between the 6th and 9th centuries as we do about other eras. Compared to the times that preceded and followed, cultural and literary energies were low. Fewer records were kept. Governments were weaker and commerce was less vigorous. But historians don’t like to use the term “Dark Ages” to name that period because it brought many important developments and activities, such as improvements in farming techniques. So in some ways, “Lost Ages” might be a more apropos descriptor. Now let’s turn our attention to a metaphorically comparable phase of your own past, Capricorn: an era that’s a bit fuzzy in your memory; a phase about which your understanding is incomplete. I suspect that the coming weeks will be an excellent time to revisit that part of your life and see what new evidence and insights you can mine.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Why do some American libraries ban certain books, ensuring they’re unavailable to local readers? The reasons may be because they feature profanity or include references to sex, drug use, the occult, atheism, and unusual political viewpoints. Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis is one of the most frequently censored books. Others are Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Beloved by Toni Morrison, and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. In my astrological opinion, these are exactly the kinds of books you should especially seek out in the coming weeks. In fact, I suggest you commune with a variety of art and ideas and influences that are controversial, provocative and intriguing.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): At the age of 97, Piscean cartoonist Al Jaffee is still creating new material for the satirical Mad magazine, where he has worked since 1964. There was one 63-year stretch when his comic stylings appeared in all but one of Mad’s monthly issues. I nominate him to be your role model during the next four weeks. It’s a favorable time for you to access and express a high degree of tenacity, stamina and consistency.

Homework: What’s the thing you lost that should stay lost? What’s the thing you lost that you should find? freewillastrology.com.

Here we are at the beginning of a new season (spring), a new sign (Aries), planets (Mars, Mercury, Uranus) and a new element (fire). Spring is the beginning of a new spiritual year—on a higher level than last year. The seasons pass through cycles of dark and then of light. Here we stand, emerging out of the darkness of winter, into the spring’s fiery light.

Humanity, being part of this Earth, is made of elements (fire, Earth, air, water). And humanity—a universe in miniature, possessing the same secret (occult) springs of life—also passes though the same cycles of light and darkness. When the creative life forces are ablaze (when spring arrives), there is also a blaze within us. Often we ask, “Who are we, and what is our task?” The answer is, “We are the world disciple, the Fourth Creative Hierarchy. Our task is Ray 4—to bring harmony out of conflict and chaos.” Aries, along with the Forces of Restoration, Mars, Mercury (Archangel Raphael) and Uranus, helps humanity in this endeavor to “make all things new” again.

Everywhere we look, there is a golden hue of green blossoming. Over the months of spring we see multiple shades of green (Ray 3). And if we are quiet, we can hear that a word is being spoken–over and over, the word “creation” is sounded. And the kingdoms, hearing this command, begin to multiply and propagate. It is a joyful season.

When spring arrives, the fires of Aries are to burn away the old nature (winter), so that new life can be released. Seeds, when placed into the ground, disintegrate their outer shell and release a new green plant; a tiny shoot of life sprouts upward. With roots pushing downward for nourishment, the two green Aries-looking leaves push upward out of the soil seeking sunlight and air. The growth of the plants is like Aries pushing outward for expression, pouring itself out into life, creating, initiating, beginning, always at the beginning of things. And so, we remember the words from Frank Herbert’s Dune on beginnings: “A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that the balances are (always) correct.”

ARIES: The sign and time of Aries demands that things not come too easily. We need challenges, a contest, a test. We need to feel daring, and that life is an experiment where only the brave need participate. There needs to be a bit of opposition, something to defy, something to call forth one’s courage. If these aren’t in the air, then there’s no reason to be in the game of life. Aries understands the “chase.”

TAURUS: There may be difficulty expressing yourself at this time, especially with Mercury (Ray 4) retrograde. It isn’t easy to share your inner thoughts. What we know about you is this: you’re subtle, hidden, compassionate, complex, and in need of comfort; interested in psychology and helping others. You do not show your feelings in public, only with those you trust. They’re the lucky ones.

GEMINI: Are true and lasting friends around these days? Are you assessing the friends you have and have had? With Mercury retrograde, it’s important to assess if what you value is true and real and useful. There are many ideas presented in our world, but there is only one truth. Are you following what others believe? Geminis have a responsibility to discern untruths, to gather the real truth and disperse it to a waiting humanity. Geminis can’t just be followers.

CANCER: You wonder how you contribute to the world at large, if you have authority—and if so, in what. You wonder if anyone listens to you, honors you and if you are a guide to anyone. These are important questions for everyone, but especially Cancers who can hide away forever under a shell, while also hoping someday to be seen as strong in character, important and able to communicate successfully. Are these thoughts you are having?

LEO: The essence of all your past experiences, relationships, learnings, and lifetimes, all taken together, constitutes your philosophy of life. As you review the past, including what you valued then and what you value now (childhood, parents, friends, lovers, places you’ve lived and traveled, what you have studied, all life events, etc.), you see how life educated you, offered you vision, long journeys, and spiritual realities. These days, you have the mind of a priest, a judge, a journeyer, a professor, and a deep transformative mystery.

VIRGO: There may be a sense of losing one’s direction or boundaries, a sense of self-sacrifice in order to blend with others, forming contact and connection. There’s a sense of something disappearing or dying. Not physical death, but perhaps the death of limitations that leads to new growth, transformation, regeneration, rebirth of the self, or of a relationship. The changes may be creating a crisis. This will pass. You’re the phoenix.

LIBRA: All Libras need social things—lots of people, relationships and intimates—to bring them out into the world, to be friends, to partner, to play, to travel, to talk with, and to share with them. The “other” is always Libra’s basic need. It is only with the other that Libra can reflect upon and understand the self. Libra is always learning how to be in relationship. Libra is intelligent, has a loving nature, attracts love, and learns how to create harmony out of all of life’s conflicts, chaos and vicissitudes.

SCORPIO: You have very artistic abilities, deep and refined. However, often you are unable to see them. You keep your abilities quite protected. It’s important to have a peaceful and harmonious environment that is beautiful. You often act like an old soul who is very young at heart. Be clear, direct and truthful when communicating. Relationships are really about communication. Begin to be the peacemaker. Warriors have the heart of peacefulness.

SAGITTARIUS: There’s lots of drama in your life, and in all lives around you. There are also sensual and romantic things around you. Art and music. All are needed, calling forth your creative self-expression. Your heart’s desires go hand in hand with your feelings. What you’re really displaying is kindness, compassion and warm-heartedness—a colorful and vibrant blend of things.

CAPRICORN: Perhaps you’re thinking of your heritage, ancestry and lineages. And childhood times. The planets in the sky have precipitated down into wherever you are. Perhaps in your home and garden. Trying to secure themselves, and offer their seeds of wisdom in your heart, creating within you a sense of hope and stability. They call you to rest more, to relax, to know all’s well. Their sound is Om.

AQUARIUS: You have many ideas and talents, and are curious with a very intelligent mind. You seek community through family, siblings, friends, short journeys, writing and communication. There is a need to assess what your values are (people, events, resources, things, etc.), and to communicate your gratitude with those who love and care for you. There will be a lot of moving about in your life. Stabilize each day with prayers of gratitude

PISCES: Your environments are to reflect color, calm, beauty, order and organization. Memories occur of early childhood experiences. We realize that families and relationships are given to us so that we may learn how to help and care for each other, develop compassion and strength, and recognize forgiveness. All our relationships have this as a purpose. We remember our family, our early lives. We are grateful, always and forever.