ARIES (March 21-April 19): My Aries acquaintance Tatiana decided to eliminate sugar from her diet. She drew up a plan to avoid it completely for 30 days, hoping to permanently break its hold over her. I was surprised to learn that she began the project by making a Dessert Altar in her bedroom, where she placed a chocolate cake and five kinds of candy. She testified that it compelled her willpower to work even harder and become even stronger than if she had excluded all sweet treats from her sight. Do you think this strenuous trick might work for you as you battle your own personal equivalent of a sugar addiction? If not, devise an equally potent strategy. You’re on the verge of forever escaping a temptation that’s no good for you. Or you’re close to vanquishing an influence that has undermined you. Or both.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You have caressed and finessed The Problem. You have tickled and teased and tinkered with it. Now I suggest you let it alone for a while. Give it breathing room. Allow it to evolve under the influence of the tweaks you have instigated. Although you may need to return and do further work in a few weeks, my guess is that The Problem’s knots are now destined to metamorphose into seeds. The awkwardness you massaged with your love and care will eventually yield a useful magic.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): “Whether you love what you love or live in divided ceaseless revolt against it, what you love is your fate.” Gemini poet Frank Bidart wrote that in his poem “Guilty of Dust,” and now I offer it to you. Why? Because it’s an excellent time to be honest with yourself as you identify whom and what you love. It’s also a favorable phase to assess whether you are in any sense at odds with whom and what you love; and if you find you are, to figure out how to be in more harmonic alignment with whom and what you love. Finally, dear Gemini, now is a key moment to vividly register the fact that the story of your life in the coming years will pivot around your relationship with whom and what you love.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Congratulations on the work you’ve done to cleanse the psychic toxins from your soul, Cancerian. I love how brave you’ve been as you’ve jettisoned outworn shticks, inadequate theories, and irrelevant worries. It makes my heart sing to have seen you summon the self-respect necessary to stick up for your dreams in the face of so many confusing signals. I do feel a tinge of sadness that your heroism hasn’t been better appreciated by those around you. Is there anything you can do to compensate? Like maybe intensify the appreciation you give yourself?

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): I hope you’re reaching the final stages of your year-long project to make yourself as solid and steady as possible. I trust you have been building a stable foundation that will serve you well for at least the next five years. I pray you have been creating a rich sense of community and establishing vital new traditions and surrounding yourself with environments that bring out the best in you. If there’s any more work to be done in these sacred tasks, intensify your efforts in the coming weeks. If you’re behind schedule, please make up for lost time.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “Necessity is the mother of invention,” says an old proverb. In other words, when your need for some correction or improvement becomes overwhelming, you may be driven to get creative. Engineer Allen Dale put a different spin on the issue. He said that “if necessity is the mother of invention, then laziness is the father.” Sci-fi writer Robert Heinlein agreed, asserting that “progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things.” I’m not sure if necessity or laziness will be your motivation, Virgo, but I suspect that the coming weeks could be a golden age of invention for you. What practical innovations might you launch? What useful improvements can you finagle? (P.S. Philosopher Alfred North Whitehead attributed the primary drive for innovative ideas and gizmos to “pleasurable intellectual curiosity.”)

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Would you have turned out wiser and wealthier if you had dropped out of school in third grade? Would it have been better to apprentice yourself to a family of wolves or coyotes rather than trusting your educational fate to institutions whose job it was to acclimate you to society’s madness? I’m happy to let you know that you’re entering a phase when you’ll find it easier than usual to unlearn any old conditioning that might be suppressing your ability to fulfill your rich potentials. I urge you to seek out opportunities to unleash your skills and enhance your intelligence.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): The temptation to over dramatize is strong. Going through with a splashy but messy conclusion may have a perverse appeal. But why not wrap things up with an elegant whisper instead of a garish bang? Rather than impressing everyone with how amazingly complicated your crazy life is, why not quietly lay the foundations for a low-key resolution that will set the stage for a productive sequel? Taking the latter route will be much easier on your karma, and in my opinion will make for just as interesting a story.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Each of us harbors rough, vulnerable, controversial, or unhoned facets of our identity. And every one of us periodically reaches turning points when it becomes problematic to keep those qualities buried or immature. We need to make them more visible and develop their potential. I suspect you have arrived at such a turning point. So, on behalf of the cosmos, I hereby invite you to enjoy a period of ripening and self-revelation. And I do mean “enjoy.” Find a way to have fun.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): For the next two-plus weeks, an unusual rule will be in effect: The more you lose, the more you gain. That means you will have an aptitude for eliminating hassles, banishing stress, and shedding defense mechanisms. You’ll be able to purge emotional congestion that has been preventing clarity. You’ll have good intuitions about how to separate yourself from influences that have made you weak or angry. I’m excited for you, Capricorn! A load of old, moldy karma could dissolve and disperse in what seems like a twinkling. If all goes well, you’ll be traveling much lighter by July 1.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): I suggest you avoid starting a flirtatious correspondence with a convict who’ll be in jail for another 28 years. OK? And don’t snack on fugu, the Japanese delicacy that can poison you if the cook isn’t careful about preparing it. Please? And don’t participate in a séance where the medium summons the spirits of psychotic ancestors or diabolical celebrities with whom you imagine it might be interesting to converse. Got that? I understand you might be in the mood for high adventure and out-of-the-ordinary escapades. And that will be fine and healthy as long as you also exert a modicum of caution and discernment.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): I suggest that you pat yourself on the back with both hands as you sing your own praises and admire your own willful beauty in three mirrors simultaneously. You have won stirring victories over not just your own personal version of the devil, but also over your own inertia and sadness. From what I can determine, you have corralled what remains of the forces of darkness into a comfy holding cell, sealing off those forces from your future. They won’t bother you for a very long time, maybe never again. Right now you would benefit from a sabbatical — a vacation from all this high-powered character-building. May I suggest you pay a restorative visit to the Land of Sweet Nonsense?

Homework: Many of us try to motivate ourselves through abusive self-criticism. Do you? If so, maybe it’s time to change. Testify at Freewillastrology.com.

The week begins with a Wednesday new moon at 23 degrees Gemini, sign of the two brothers, one the personality (its light waning), the other, the Soul (I grow and glow). In Gemini we see “instability doing its work.” The purpose of instability in relationships is to help us, exhausted with conflicts, seek harmony and balance which comes with Soul direction. The Soul eventually shows itself and says with compassion to the struggling personality, “Here, let me help you. I am the Soul, I am Light Divine. I am Love, I am Will. And perfect in my design. I am your Soul.” When the Soul begins to direct the lower self, the personality is able to adjust to a more calm and harmonious livingness.

Gemini points out the relationship between personality (self) and Soul (Self). It is the story of Krishna (Teacher) and Arjuna (student). Krishna woke Arjuna early one morning and told him to look outside. There in the fields a war was proceeding. On both sides of the war Arjuna saw family members. Krishna told Arjuna to choose a side to fight on. Arjuna refused to choose. With great kindness Krishna informed his student the purpose of the choice and the battle—he was to discern which side represented the Soul and which side represented the personality. And to then choose where he stands.

Our present world situation, especially the U.S., is experiencing both an Arjuna lesson and predicament. The polarized political players represent the two warring parties. Humanity is Arjuna, needing to discern and discriminate between the two—the stable Soul qualities from the personality fluctuations. One sings, the other doesn’t. Things (appearances) are not what they seem.

And so, onto this week: Flag Day (Thursday), Father’s Day (Sunday), Neptune retrogrades (Monday), in our last week of Spring.

ARIES: You want to learn more, to communicate with intelligence. You’re curious; seek sensation and variety, instinctively cheerful and carefree. You’re restless, want to be with humanity, yet feel a bit distanced. You want to interact, walk neighborhoods, talk to siblings, be active, gather information, ponder upon and share it. You have errands to do, people to contact, letters (emails) to write. Visualize all this first.

TAURUS: All you want is a bit of peace and quiet, a place of repose, comfort and tranquility. Your need is to unwind and begin to heal old wounds. You need to be out in the Sun, in the gardens, tending to the soil, the plants, the grasses, working with the devas. You also must tend seriously to things financial concerning resources. You’re slow when it comes to cleaning and disposing of material possessions. Yet this must be done soon.

GEMINI: You want to begin anew. You don’t know where or how. You feel a pioneering impulse; you’re ready, willing and filled with enthusiasm. However, there are so many avenues available, choosing can be difficult. Making the choice, each day, with dedication to stand under the Light of the Soul, under the Will-to-Good, helps in making Right Choice. This is a challenge for you. Steadfastness. Just begin. Visualize.

CANCER: Things are a bit dreamy. You feel sensitive and susceptible. Your imagination is in full force, filled with impressions and pictures. There seems to be no boundaries, everything blending together, creating very interesting situations. Details are unavailable at this time. Things are just too mystical with spiritual developments occurring everywhere. It’s time for a retreat into the garden of joy.

LEO: Sometimes you must break the rules. The need for freedom makes old rules awkward and difficult. So often you must express your independence and uniqueness. It’s good to find a group that recognizes, admires, applauds and supports your creative individuality. You need activity, more people around, more of the world in order to have a sense of uplifted well-being. You need things bright and beautiful. Plant blue morning glories.

VIRGO: You sense a need for more planning, order and structure. So the future can unfold according to your needs. You feel limited from time, by time. Sometimes you feel you haven’t done enough. You want to feel successful. This is most important. And so you become more resourceful, are careful of time and energy and the right use of resources. You are serious and productive. You thrive in gardens.

LIBRA: It’s important to search out the truth concerning all decisions, activities and choices in your life up till now. This is because previous ways of life will soon become worn. You seek a new vision in life with new goals, new ways of interacting. Everything is an adventure for you. You will find emotional needs changing. This comes subtly. It’s important to have Right Relations with everyone in the family. Forgiveness liberates you.

SCORPIO: You hide a very vital part of yourself until you feel a sense of trust. You hide elation and sorrow, desires and misgivings, emotions, likes and dislikes, passion and pain. Some understand you, many don’t. When the moon enters Scorpio each month, you are urged to go even more undercover, to retreat into solitude where you assess fears and inhibitions. Brooding is your second nature. Brooding is a good thing. It fosters revelation and helps bring visions into materialization.

SAGITTARIUS: Creating harmonious interactions with everyone, externally and internally (how we act, what we feel) is important. This means internally having the intention for Goodwill, which creates Right Relations. Experiencing this from the heart creates a deep love and intelligent activity in all environments and interactions. This type of activity creates diplomacy and the peace everyone seeks. Although you can see both sides, choose from Goodwill. Right direction follows.

CAPRICORN: Each day we experience different states of consciousness. A disciple is one who is aware of these different stages, within the self and in others.  Disciples learn (and thus teach by example) to be aware of all actions and their outcomes. We learn about our role in society, a most important task for Capricorns. We learn to protect the kingdoms (mineral, plant, animal, human, angels). It is our destiny. You are already a leader. Now, day by day, more so.

AQUARIUS: Aquarians (part of the New Group of World Servers) are responsible for humanity’s evolution by bringing the future into the present, a major task of building the new culture and civilization. In between this weighty task you need a variety of experiences and light-hearted interactions to soothe restlessness and the deep need for human contact. Contact releases love. Make intentional contact.

PISCES: You need quiet places, peaceful environments, a sense of belonging providing solace and safety. With these conditions met you’re able to heal wounds, accomplish your unique spiritual and worldly tasks, discover feelings, hopes and aspirations that direct your life and motivate your specific ability to serve. Balance each day with gratitude and the awareness that your needs must come before assisting in the needs of others. Plant violet morning glories.