Free Will Astrology

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Swans, geese, and ducks molt all their flight feathers at once, which means they may be unable to fly for several weeks afterwards. We humans don't do anything like that in a literal way, but we have a psychological analog: times when we shed outworn self-images. I suspect you're coming up on such a transition, Aries. While you're going through it, you may want to lie low. Anything resembling flight ­— launching new ventures, making big decisions, embarking on great adventures — should probably be postponed until the metamorphosis is complete and your feathers grow back.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In 2011 car traffic began flowing across Jiaozhou Bay Bridge, a newly completed span that joins the city of Qingdao with the Huangdao District in China. This prodigious feat of engineering is 26.4 miles long. I nominate it to serve as your prime metaphor in the coming weeks. Picture it whenever you need a boost as you work to connect previously unlinked elements in your life. It may help inspire you to master the gritty details that'll lead to your own monumental accomplishment.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): An apple starts growing on its tree in the spring. By early summer, it may be full size and as red as it will ever be. To the naked eye, it appears ready to eat. But it's not. If you pluck it and bite into it, the taste probably won't appeal to you. If you pluck it and hope it will be more delicious in a few weeks, you'll be disappointed. So here's the moral of the story, Gemini: For an apple to achieve its potential, it has to stay on the tree until nature has finished ripening it. Keep that lesson in mind as you deal with the urge to harvest something before it has reached its prime.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): "Dear Rob: In one of your recent horoscopes, you implied that I should consider the possibility of asking for more than I've ever asked for before. You didn't actually use those words, but I'm pretty sure that's what you meant. Anyway, I want to thank you! It helped me start working up the courage to burst out of my protective and imprisoning little shell. Today I gave myself permission to learn the unknowable, figure out the inscrutable, and dream the inconceivable. - Crazy Crab." Dear Crazy: You're leading the way for your fellow Cancerians. The process you just described is exactly what I advise them to try in the coming weeks.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Picture yourself moving toward a building you haven't seen before. Trust the initial image that leaps into your imagination. What type of path are you on? Concrete or dirt or brick or wood? Is it a long, winding way or short and direct? Once you arrive at the front door, locate the key. Is it under a mat or in your pocket or somewhere else? What does the key look like? Next, open the door and go inside to explore. Where have you arrived? See everything in detail. This is a test that has no right or wrong answers, Leo -- similar to what your life is actually bringing you right now. The building you've envisioned represents the next phase of your destiny. The path symbolizes how you get here. The key is the capacity or knowledge you will need.