Rob Brezsny crop
Homework: Forget all you know about gratitude. Act as if it’s a new emotion you’re tuning into for the first time. Then let it rip.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “There are works which wait, and which one does not understand for a long time,” wrote Libran author Oscar Wilde. “The reason is that they bring answers to questions which have not yet been raised; for the question often arrives a long time after the answer.” That’s the weird news, Libra. You have been waiting and waiting to understand a project that you set in motion many moons ago. It has been frustrating to give so much energy to a goal that has sometimes confused you. But here’s the good news: Soon you will finally formulate the question your project has been the answer to. And so at last you will understand it. You’ll feel vindicated, illuminated, and resolved.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Many seekers who read horoscope columns want common-sense advice about love, career, money, and power. So I hope I don’t disappoint you by predicting that you will soon have a mystical experience or spiritual epiphany. Let me add, however, that this delightful surprise won’t merely be an entertaining diversion with no useful application. In fact, I suspect it will have the potential of inspiring good ideas about love, career, money, or power. If I had to give the next chapter of your life story a title, it might be “A Thousand Dollars’ Worth of Practical Magic.”
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In 1962, when she was 31 years old, Sagittarian actress Rita Moreno won an Academy Award for her role in the film West Side Story. In 2018, she attended the Oscars again, sporting the same dress she’d worn for the ceremony 56 years before. I think the coming weeks will be a great time for you, too, to reprise a splashy event or two from the past. You’ll generate soul power by reconnecting with your roots. You’ll tonify and harmonize your mental health by establishing a symbolic link with your earlier self.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The Committee to Reward Unsung Good Deeds hereby acknowledges your meritorious service in the trenches of the daily routine. We praise your tireless efforts to make life less chaotic and more coherent for everyone around you. We’re grateful for the patience and poise you demonstrate as you babysit adults who act like children. And we are gratified by your capacity to keep long-term projects on track in the face of trivial diversions and petty complaints. I know it’s a lot to ask, but could you please intensify your vigilance in the next three weeks? We need your steadiness more than ever.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): You need a special pep talk that’s best provided by Aquarian poet Audre Lorde. Please meditate on these four quotes by her. 1. “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation. 2. “We have been raised to fear the yes within ourselves, our deepest cravings.” 3. “You cannot use someone else’s fire. You can only use your own. To do that, you must first be willing to believe you have it.” 4. “Nothing I accept about myself can be used against me to diminish me.” 5. “The learning process is something you can literally incite, like a riot.”
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Warning: My horoscopes may interfere with your ability to rationalize your delusions; they could extinguish your enthusiasm for clichés; they might cause you to stop repressing urges that you really should express; and they may influence you to cultivate the state of awareness known as “playful wisdom.” Do you really want to risk being exposed to such lavish amounts of inner freedom? If not, you should stop reading now. But if you’re as ripe for emancipating adventures as I think you are, then get started on shedding any attitudes and influences that might dampen your urge to romp and cavort and carouse.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Humraaz is a word in the Urdu language. Its literal meaning is “secret sharer.” It refers to a confidante, a person in whom you have full trust and to whom you can confess your core feelings. Is there such a character in your life? If so, seek him or her out for assistance in probing into the educational mysteries you have waded into. If there is no such helper you can call on, I advise you to do whatever’s necessary to attract him or her into your sphere. A collaborative quest may be the key to activating sleeping reserves of your soul wisdom.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Taurus author Roberto Bolaño suggests that the world contains more beauty than many people realize. The full scope and intensity of this nourishing beauty “is only visible to those who love.” When he speaks of “those who love,” I suspect he means deep-feeling devotees of kindness and compassion, hard-working servants of the greater good, and free-thinking practitioners of the Golden Rule. In any case, Taurus, I believe you’re in a phase when you have the potential to see far more of the world’s beauty. For best results, supercharge your capacity to give and receive love.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Once upon a time you were walking along a sidewalk when a fairy floated by and whispered, “I’m willing to grant you three wishy-washy wishes for free. You don’t have to do any favors for me in return. But I will grant you three wonderfully wise wishes if you perform three tasks for me.” You asked the fairy, “What would those three tasks be?” She replied, “The second task is that you must hoodwink the devil into allowing you to shave his hairy legs. The third task is that you must bamboozle God into allowing you to shave his bushy beard.” You laughed and said, “What’s the first task?” The fairy touched you on the nose with her tiny wand and said, “You must believe that the best way to achieve the impossible is to attempt the absurd.”
CANCER (June 21-July 22): You Crabs tend to be the stockpilers and hoarders of the zodiac. The world’s largest collections of antique door knobs and Chinese restaurant menus and beer cans from the 1960s belong to Cancerian accumulators. But in alignment with possibilities hinted at by current astrological omens, I recommend that you redirect this inclination so it serves you better. How? One way would be to gather supplies of precious stuff that’s really useful to you. Another way would be to assemble a batch of blessings to bestow on people and animals who provide you with support.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Chinese mythology tells us there used to be ten suns, all born from the mother goddess Xi He. Every 24 hours, she bathed her brood in the lake and placed them in a giant mulberry tree. From there, one sun glided out into the sky to begin the day while the other nine remained behind. It was a good arrangement. The week had ten days back then, and each sun got its turn to shine. But the siblings eventually grew restless with the staid rhythm. On one fateful morning, with a playful flourish, they all soared into the heavens at once. It was fun for them, but the earth grew so hot that nothing would grow. To the rescue came the archer Hou Yi. With his flawless aim, he used his arrows to shoot down nine of the suns, leaving one to provide just the right amount of light and warmth. The old tales don’t tell us, but I speculate that Hou Yi was a Leo.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You now have maximum command of a capacity that’s a great strength but also a potential liability: your piercing brainpower. To help ensure that you wield this asset in ways that empower you and don’t sabotage you, here’s advice from four wise Virgos. 1. “Thought can organize the world so well that you are no longer able to see it.” — psychotherapist Anthony de Mello 2. “Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable.” —poet Mary Oliver 3. “I like to wake up each morning and not know what I think, that I may reinvent myself in some way.” —actor and writer Stephen Fry 4. “I wanted space to watch things grow.” —singer Florence Welch