Free Will Astrology

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You are getting to where you need to be, but you're still not there. You have a good share of the raw materials you will require to accomplish your goal, but as of yet you don't have enough of the structure that will make everything work. The in-between state you're inhabiting reminds me of a passage from the author Elias Canetti: "His head is made of stars, but not yet arranged into constellations." Your next assignment, Virgo, is to see what you can do about coalescing a few constellations.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Doctors used to believe that ulcers were caused by stress and spicy foods. But in the 1980s, two researchers named Barry Marshall and Robin Warren began to promote an alternative theory. They believed the culprit was H. pylori, a type of bacteria. To test their hypothesis, Marshall drank a Petri dish full of H. pylori. Within days he got gastric symptoms and underwent an endoscopy. The evidence proved that he and his partner were correct. They won a Nobel Prize for their work. (And Marshall recovered just fine.) I urge you to be inspired by their approach, Libra. Formulate experiments that allow you to make practical tests of your ideas, and consider using yourself as a guinea pig.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): This is not prime time for you to rake in rewards, collect hard-earned goodies, and celebrate successes you've been building towards for a long time. It's fine if you end up doing those things, but I suspect that what you're best suited for right now is getting things started. You'll attract help from unexpected sources if you lay the groundwork for projects you want to work on throughout 2013. You'll be in alignment with cosmic rhythms, too. Your motto comes from your fellow Scorpio, writer Robert Louis Stevenson: "Judge each day not by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant."

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): On a beach, a man spied a pelican that was barely moving. Was it sick? He wanted to help. Drawing close, he discovered that ants were crawling all over it. He brushed them off, then carried the bird to his car and drove it to a veterinarian. After a thorough examination, the doctor realized the pelican was suffering from a fungus that the ants had been eating away — and probably would have removed completely if the man hadn't interfered. Moral of the story: Sometimes healing takes place in unexpected ways, and nature knows better than we do about how to make it happen. Keep that in mind during the coming weeks, Sagittarius.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): A farmer in Japan found a 56-leaf clover. Well, actually, he bred it in his garden at home. It took effort on his part. Presumably, it provided him with 14 times the luck of a mere four-leaf clover. I don't think your good karma will be quite that extravagant in the coming week, Capricorn, but there's a decent chance you'll get into at least the 16-leaf realm. To raise your odds of approaching the 56-leaf level of favorable fortune, remember this: Luck tends to flow in the direction of those who work hard to prepare for it and earn it.