There is a quote from the book Labors of Hercules that explains the task given to Hercules (humanity) during the month of Cancer. Hercules represents humanity (the World Disciple), living on Earth, encountering life experiences, given tasks and being (often severely) tested. For the Cancer task, the Fourth Labor, Hercules must make a choice. He must develop discernment and wisdom that leads to Right Choice. And then he must demonstrate and follow the “obedience of the heart.” This particular task is important to understand. The present world situation is demanding that we, too, have discernment and wisdom to make a Right Choice. It determines our future.

From the Fourth Labor of Hercules (Cancer), “The Great One, within Shamballa, spoke to the Teacher: ‘Where is the son of man (Sanskrit for the “thinkers,” all of humanity)?, who is the Son of God? How fares he, how is he being tested and with what service is he engaged?’ The Teacher said, ‘The third great test (Gemini) provided much teaching. He ponders and reflects upon it.’

“The Great One said to the Teacher, ‘Provide him now with a test that evokes his wisest choice. Send him to labor in a field where he must decide which voice, of all the many voices, will arouse the obedience of his heart. Provide a test of great simplicity on the outer plane, yet a test, which awakens, interiorly, the fullness of his wisdom and the rightness of his power to choose. Let him now proceed with the fourth test.’”  

Saturday, July 22, as Sun enters Leo, we (Hercules) begin the Fifth Labor (test).

ARIES: Throughout the year, great changes will occur. Your outlook on life will be concerned with freedom, especially how you express and conduct yourself. Breaking from the past will also occur. You will be like Snow White, “awakened” from a deep sleep. The awakening will happen through unexpected and interesting events. Break this gently to people who care about you so, as you change, they are not surprised. Cherish each surprising moment.

TAURUS: Unusual events happen particularly with your health. You might find unexpected difficulties almost every day affecting your well-being. How to handle these is to adapt to the realization that all patterns in your life are altering, including health. Perform daily tasks with deep awareness lest a spider or snake bite you. These are symbols for change. Have homeopaths and essential oils nearby.

GEMINI: Your friendships and social life begin to shift. You meet new and unusual people, encounter new ideas, consider group life more seriously. You study uncommon lifestyles and listen to alternative news. The idea of being free and free-spirited is long overdue. Vesta, the asteroid of “self as found object” is in Gemini. You must make a Vesta box. Find a box; fill it with treasures that represent your true self. You discover you are a lamp unto yourself.

CANCER: Talents and gifts you didn’t know existed within you are emerging and this will be a discovery both exciting and unexpected. You embark upon several new studies, directions and adventures. People consider you as someone who knows a lot about lots of things. You surprise everyone. They think of you as unconventional and studious. This is good. A new life story begins.

LEO: It’s possible you’ll be traveling soon, if you’re not already. Travel will be curious, unexpected, out of the ordinary. The journey will not be what you planned. You will meet unusual people who help you see life in completely different ways. Nothing traditional seems available, even though you long for this. Everything unconventional seems to know your name. Adapt. Your heart is stirred.

VIRGO: Unexpected events or happenings occur with shared resources of finances and money investments, taxes or loans. At first this doesn’t make sense. Then as time goes by it does. Allow yourself to realize that the pleasures you pursue and things you like do cost money. For some reason, you’ll feel you cannot depend anymore on your usual sources. Uncertainty results. You will find new paths and new resources and new people.

LIBRA: Some things in your relations with others, with close associates and intimates become surprising. Should you feel limitations, loss of freedom or resistance from others, you will shake it off immediately. It may be difficult to rely on anyone. If this occurs, be the ‘reliable one’ for others. Breaking free from things doesn’t mean you need to be cruel. Be gentle and kind—always, everywhere, with everyone. Isn’t kindness the Dalai Lama’s religion?

SCORPIO: Create new routines that include all things healthy. Each day you may find yourself disrupted. Everything becomes non-traditional and unconventional. This includes your health and vitality, which you need to pay attention to. Restlessness means a new rhythm is needed. You may work non-stop at times, then work not at all other times. Alternative healing benefits your health. Slow down. Prana breathe.

SAGITTARIUS: Know that more and more you will begin to express yourself in unconventionally creative ways. You will become even more so the “out of the ordinary” friend. Children (especially), non-conformists and oddballs will love you. There will be sudden occurrences in your love life. Previous inhibitions fall away. You become freer, spontaneous, even eccentric (more so). Everything you didn’t like falls away. You become light-hearted and playful. You’re happy.

CAPRICORN: Home is in a state of change and fluctuations. Things feel disruptive and erratic. There is movement in, out, here, there. This is good. It means no crystallizations or rigidity can occur. Life is speeding up. Sometimes you feel if you move too fast you’ll make a wrong turn. You feel tested, needing to approach the home situation in new ways. Sometimes you feel free. Sometimes you miss someone far away. Boredom isn’t in your vocabulary.

AQUARIUS: There’s a need for exposure to new worlds, new people, new lands and geographic areas. New opportunities come forth to express yourself and your gifts. You like to be with the people in the marketplace. Here you feel alive, in contact, love is released, people know and rely upon your expertise. You try to make contact with family, siblings, relatives. Your personal appearance changes. Your shell cracks.

PISCES: Over the next weeks and months, notice your values changing. All previous thoughts and desires disappear like cumulus clouds. New values and new endeavors emerge. A surrender to the present reality comes forth. There may be a sense of limitation, or a profound transformation that takes place concerning friends and/or associates. Unusual circumstances will bring about a different use of resources. All resources are to be used to build community. Study herbs and holy oils.

Free Will astrology for the week of July 12, 2017

ARIES (March 21-April 19): It’s not your birthday, but I feel like you need to get presents. The astrological omens agree with me. In fact, they suggest you should show people this horoscope to motivate them to do the right thing and shower you with practical blessings. And why exactly do you need these rewards? Here’s one reason: Now is a pivotal moment in the development of your own ability to give the unique gifts you have to give. If you receive tangible demonstrations that your contributions are appreciated, you’ll be better able to rise to the next level of your generosity.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Other astrologers and fortune-tellers may enjoy scaring the hell out of you, but not me. My job is to keep you apprised of the ways that life aims to help you, educate you, and lead you out of your suffering. The truth is, Taurus, that if you look hard enough, there are always seemingly legitimate reasons to be afraid of pretty much everything. But that’s a stupid way to live, especially since there are also always legitimate reasons to be excited about pretty much everything. The coming weeks will be a favorable time to work on retraining yourself to make the latter approach your default tendency. I have rarely seen a better phase than now to replace chronic anxiety with shrewd hope.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): At least for the short-range future, benign neglect can be an effective game plan for you. In other words, Gemini, allow inaction to do the job that can’t be accomplished through strenuous action. Stay put. Be patient and cagey and observant. Seek strength in silence and restraint. Let problems heal through the passage of time. Give yourself permission to watch and wait, to reserve judgment and withhold criticism. Why do I suggest this approach? Here’s a secret: Forces that are currently working in the dark and behind the scenes will generate the best possible outcome.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): “Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions,” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. “All life is an experiment.” I’d love to see you make that your operative strategy in the coming weeks, Cancerian. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, now is a favorable time to overthrow your habits, rebel against your certainties, and cruise through a series of freewheeling escapades that will change your mind in a hundred different ways. Do you love life enough to ask more questions than you’ve ever asked before?

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Thank you for contacting the Center for Epicurean Education. If you need advice on how to help your imagination lose its inhibitions, please press 1. If you’d like guidance on how to run wild in the woods or in the streets without losing your friends or your job, press 2. If you want to learn more about spiritual sex or sensual wisdom, press 3. If you’d like assistance in initiating a rowdy yet focused search for fresh inspiration, press 4. For information about dancing lessons or flying lessons or dancing-while-flying lessons, press 5. For advice on how to stop making so much sense, press 6.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The cereus cactus grows in the deserts of the southwestern U.S. Most of the time it’s scraggly and brittle-looking. But one night of the year, in June or July, it blooms with a fragrant, trumpet-shaped flower. By dawn the creamy white petals close and start to wither. During that brief celebration, the plant’s main pollinator, the sphinx moth, has to discover the marvelous event and come to gather the cactus flower’s pollen. I suspect this scenario has metaphorical resemblances to a task you could benefit from carrying out in the days ahead. Be alert for a sudden, spectacular, and rare eruption of beauty that you can feed from and propagate.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): If I had more room here, I would offer an inspirational Powerpoint presentation designed just for you. In the beginning, I would seize your attention with an evocative image that my marketing department had determined would give you a visceral thrill. (Like maybe a photoshopped image of you wearing a crown and holding a scepter.) In the next part, I would describe various wonderful and beautiful things about you. Then I’d tactfully describe an aspect of your life that’s underdeveloped and could use some work. I’d say, “I’d love for you to be more strategic in promoting your good ideas. I’d love for you to have a well-crafted master plan that will attract the contacts and resources necessary to lift your dream to the next level.”

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): I advise you against snorting cocaine, MDMA, heroin, or bath salts. But if you do, don’t lay out your lines of powder on a kitchen table or a baby’s diaper-changing counter in a public restroom. Places like those are not exactly sparkly clean, and you could end up propelling contaminants close to your brain. Please observe similar care with any other activity that involves altering your consciousness or changing the way you see the world. Do it in a nurturing location that ensures healthy results. P.S. The coming weeks will be a great time to expand your mind if you do it in all-natural ways such as through conversations with interesting people, travel to places that excite your awe, and encounters with provocative teachings.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In late 1811 and early 1812, parts of the mighty Mississippi River flowed backwards several times. Earthquakes were the cause. Now, more than two centuries later, you Sagittarians have a chance—maybe even a mandate—to accomplish a more modest rendition of what nature did way back then. Do you dare to shift the course of a great, flowing, vital force? I think you should at least consider it. In my opinion, that great, flowing, vital force could benefit from an adjustment that you have the wisdom and luck to understand and accomplish.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You’re entering into the Uncanny Zone, Capricorn. During your brief journey through this alternate reality, the wind and the dew will be your teachers. Animals will provide special favors. You may experience true fantasies, like being able to sense people’s thoughts and hear the sound of leaves converting sunlight into nourishment. It’s possible you’ll feel the moon tugging at the waters of your body and glimpse visions of the best possible future. Will any of this be of practical use? Yes! More than you can imagine. And not in ways you can imagine yet.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): This is one of those rare grace periods when you can slip into a smooth groove without worrying that it will degenerate into a repetitive rut. You’ll feel natural and comfortable as you attend to your duties, not blank or numb. You’ll be entertained and educated by exacting details, not bored by them. I conclude, therefore, that this will be an excellent time to lay the gritty foundation for expansive and productive adventures later this year. If you’ve been hoping to get an advantage over your competitors and diminish the negative influences of people who don’t empathize with you, now is the time.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “There is a direct correlation between playfulness and intelligence, since the most intelligent animals engage in the greatest amount of playful activities.” So reports the National Geographic. “The reason is simple: Intelligence is the capacity for learning, and to play is to learn.” I suggest you make these thoughts the centerpiece of your life in the coming weeks. You’re in a phase when you have an enhanced capacity to master new tricks. That’s fortunate, because you’re also in a phase when it’s especially crucial for you to learn new tricks. The best way to ensure it all unfolds with maximum grace is to play as much as possible.

Homework: Do you let your imagination indulge in fantasies that are wasteful, damaging, or dumb? Stop it! Testify at Freewillastrology.com.