Free Will Astrology

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The text for this week's oracle comes from Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), a great American statesman who, after escaping slavery, became a leader of the abolitionist movement. "Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation," he said, "are people who want crops without plowing the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning ... The struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, or it may be both. But it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand." Please apply these thoughts to your own situation, Virgo. You have entered the liberation phase of your cycle.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): I'm about to list some declarations that I hope will come out of your mouth at least once in the next three weeks. If for any reason you're not finding yourself in situations where these words would make sense for you to utter, please rearrange your life accordingly. 1. "There's nothing else I'd rather be doing right now." 2. "Is it okay with you if we take this really slow?" 3. "No one's ever done that before." 4. "Squeeze my hand when it feels really amazing." 5. "It's like we know what each other is thinking." 6. "Can I have some more, please?"

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): A political strategist told me one of her most important rules: To win an election, you have to help your candidate choose the right fights. I think that would be an excellent guiding principle for you in the coming weeks, Scorpio. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you will be getting invitations to spar, joust, and wrangle. Although it might be exciting to leap into each and every fray with your eyes blazing, I suggest you show careful discernment. Try to confine your participation to those tangles that will downplay your weaknesses and highlight your strengths.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In the famous children's book The Little Prince, the hero lives on an asteroid with three volcanoes, two active and one dormant. One day he decides to leave home and travel to other realms. Before departing, he meticulously scours all three volcanoes. "If they are well cleaned out," the narrator reports, "volcanoes burn slowly and steadily, without any eruptions." I recommend that you take after the Little Prince, Sagittarius. It's high time to attend to the upkeep of your volcanoes. Make sure they will burn slow and steady in the coming months, even when you're not at home.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): One of the classics of ancient Sanskrit literature is the Kama Sutra, which gives practical advice about erotic love. The most popular edition of the book offers instructions on eight kinds of kisses and 64 sexual positions, with additional tips on styles of embracing and caressing. This would be an excellent time for you to get inspired by information like that, Capricorn. Your relationship with the amorous arts is due for expansion and refinement. You don't necessarily need to rely on book learning, of course. You could accomplish a lot of empirical exploration simply by getting naked and firing up your imagination.