horoscopes – Page 7 – Memphis Flyer

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Philosopher John O’Donohue wrote a prayer not so much to God as to Life. It’s perfect for your needs right now. He said, “May my mind come alive today to the invisible geography that invites me to new frontiers, to break the dead shell of yesterdays, to risk being disturbed and changed.” I think you will generate an interesting onrush of healing, Aries, if you break the dead shell of yesterdays and risk being disturbed and changed. The new frontier is calling to you. To respond with alacrity, you must shed some baggage.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Right-wing religious influencers are rambling amuck in the United States. In recent months, their repressive pressures have forced over 1,600 books to be banned in 138 school districts in 38 states. The forbidden books include some about heroes Nelson Mandela, Cesar Chavez, and Rosa Parks. With this appalling trend as a motivational force, I encourage you Tauruses to take inventory of any tendencies you might have to censor the information you expose yourself to. According to my reading of the astrological omens, now is an excellent time to pry open your mind to consider ideas and facts you have shut out. Be eager to get educated and inspired by stimuli outside your usual scope.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): I think we can all agree that it’s really fun to fall in love. Those times when we feel a thrilling infatuation welling up within us are among the most pleasurable of all human experiences. Wouldn’t it be great if we could do it over and over again as the years go by? Just keep getting bowled over by fresh immersions in swooning adoration? Maybe we could drum up two or three bouts of mad love explosions every year. But alas, giving in to such a temptation might make it hard to build intimacy and trust with a committed, long-term partner. Here’s a possible alternative: Instead of getting smitten with an endless series of new paramours, we could get swept away by novel teachings, revelatory meditations, lovable animals, sublime art or music, amazing landscapes or sanctuaries, and exhilarating adventures. I hope you will be doing that in the coming weeks, Gemini.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): The scientific method is an excellent approach for understanding reality. It’s not the only one and should not be used to the exclusion of other ways of knowing. But even if you’re allergic to physics or never step into a chemistry lab, you are wise to use the scientific method in your daily life. The coming weeks will be an especially good time to enjoy its benefits. What would that mean, practically speaking? Set aside your subjective opinions and habitual responses. Instead, simply gather evidence. Treasure actual facts. Try to be as objective as you can in evaluating everything that happens. Be highly attuned to your feelings, but also be aware that they may not provide all facets of the truth.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Is there anything in your psychological makeup that would help you do some detective work? How are your skills as a researcher? Are you willing to be cagey and strategic as you investigate what’s going on behind the scenes? If so, I invite you to carry out any or all of these four tasks in the coming weeks: 1. Try to become aware of shrouded half-truths. 2. Be alert for shadowy stuff lurking in bright, shiny environments. 3. Uncover secret agendas and unacknowledged evidence. 4. Explore stories and situations that no one else seems curious about.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The country of Nepal, which has strong Virgo qualities, is divided into seven provinces. One is simply called “Province No. 1,” while the others are Sudurpashchim, Karnali, Gandaki, Lumbini, Bagmati, and Janakpur. I advise Nepal to give Province No. 1 a decent name very soon. I also recommend that you Virgos extend a similar outreach to some of the unnamed beauty in your sphere. Have fun with it. Give names to your phone, your computer, your bed, your hair dryer, and your lamps, as well as your favorite trees, houseplants, and clouds. You may find that the gift of naming helps make the world a more welcoming place with which you have a more intimate relationship. And that would be an artful response to current cosmic rhythms.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Are you aimless, impassive, and stuck, floundering as you try to preserve and maintain? Or are you fiercely and joyfully in quest of vigorous and dynamic success? What you do in the coming weeks will determine which of these two forks in your destiny will be your path for the rest of 2023. I’ll be rooting for the second option. Here is a tip to help you be strong and bold: Learn the distinctions between your own soulful definition of success and the superficial, irrelevant, meaningless definitions of success that our culture celebrates. Then swear an oath to love, honor, and serve your soulful definition.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): The next four weeks will be a time of germination, metaphorically analogous to the beginning of a pregnancy. The attitudes and feelings that predominate during this time will put a strong imprint on the seeds that will mature into full ripeness by late 2023. What do you want to give birth to in 40 weeks or so, Scorpio? Choose wisely! And make sure that in this early, impressionable part of the process, you provide your growing creations with positive, nurturing influences.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I recommend you set up Designated Arguing Summits (DAT). These will be short periods when you and your allies get disputes out in the open. Disagreements must be confined to these intervals. You are not allowed to squabble at any other time. Why do I make this recommendation? I believe that many positive accomplishments are possible for you in the coming weeks, and it would be counterproductive to expend more than the minimal necessary amount on sparring. Your glorious assignment: Be emotionally available and eager to embrace the budding opportunities.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Actor Judi Dench won an Oscar for her role as Queen Elizabeth in the film Shakespeare in Love — even though she was on-screen for just eight minutes. Beatrice Straight got an Oscar for her role in the movie Network, though she appeared for less than six minutes. I expect a similar phenomenon in your world, Capricorn. A seemingly small pivot will lead to a vivid turning point. A modest seed will sprout into a prismatic bloom. A cameo performance will generate long-term ripples. Be alert for the signs.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Most of us are constantly skirmishing with time, doing our best to coax it or compel it to give us more slack. But lately, you Aquarians have slipped into a more intense conflict. And from what I’ve been able to determine, time is kicking your ass. What can you do to relieve the pressure? Maybe you could edit your priority list — eliminate two mildly interesting pursuits to make more room for a fascinating one. You might also consider reading a book to help you with time management and organizational strategies, like these: 1. Getting Things Done by David Allen; 2. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey; 3. 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management by Kevin Kruse.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “What is originality?” asked philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Here’s how he answered: “to see something that has no name as yet, and hence cannot be mentioned though it stares us all in the face.” Got that, Pisces? I hope so, because your fun assignments in the coming days include the following: 1. to make a shimmering dream coalesce into a concrete reality; 2. to cause a figment of the imagination to materialize into a useful accessory; 3. to coax an unborn truth to sprout into a galvanizing insight.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries author Eric G. Wilson has written a book that I might typically recommend to 40 percent of the Aries tribe. But in 2023, I will raise that to 80 percent of you. The title is How to Be Weird: An Off-Kilter Guide to Living a One-of-a-Kind Life. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, it will make sense for you to stop making sense on a semi-regular basis. Cheerfully rebelling against the status quo should be one of your most rewarding hobbies. The best way to educate and entertain yourself will be to ask yourself, “What is the most original and imaginative thing I can do right now?”

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): One of your potential superpowers is cultivating links between the spiritual and physical worlds. If you develop this talent, you illuminate the ways that eternity permeates the everyday routine. You weave together the sacred and the mundane so they synergize each other. You understand how practical matters may be infused with archetypal energies and epic themes. I hope you will be doing a lot of this playful work in 2023, Taurus. Many of us non-Bulls would love you to teach us more about these mysteries.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Here are fun and useful projects for you to cultivate in 2023: 1. Initiate interesting trends. Don’t follow mediocre trends. 2. Exert buoyant leadership in the groups you are part of. 3. Practice the art of enhancing your concentration by relaxing. 4. Every Sunday at noon, renew your vow to not deceive or lie to yourself during the coming week.
5. Make it your goal to be a fabulous communicator, not just an average one. 6. Cultivate your ability to discern what people are hiding or pretending about.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): In 2023, I hope you will refine and deepen your relationship with your gut instinct. I will be ecstatic if you learn more about the differences between your lucid intuition and the worry mongering that your pesky demons rustle up. If you attend to these matters — and life will conspire to help you if you do — your rhythm will become dramatically more secure and stable. Your guidance system will serve you better than it ever has. A caveat: Seeking perfection in honing these skills is not necessary. Just do the best you can.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Psychiatrist and author Irvin Yalom wrote, “The question of meaning in life is, as the Buddha thought, not edifying. One must immerse oneself into the river of life and let the question drift away.” But Holocaust survivor and philosopher Viktor Frankl had a radically different view. He said that a sense of meaning is the single most important thing. That’s what sustains and nourishes us through the years: the feeling that our life has a meaning and that any particular experience has a meaning. I share Frankl’s perspective, and I advise you to adopt his approach throughout 2023. You will have unprecedented opportunities to see and know the overarching plan of your destiny, which has been only partially visible to you in the past. You will be regularly blessed with insights about your purpose here on earth.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): As a young woman, Virgo-born Ingeborg Rapoport (1912–2017) studied medicine at the University of Hamburg in Germany. But in 1938, the Nazis refused to let her defend her PhD thesis and get her medical degree because of her Jewish ancestry. Seventy-seven years later, she was finally given a chance to finish what she had started. Success! The dean of the school said, “She was absolutely brilliant. Her specific knowledge about the latest developments in medicine was unbelievable.” I expect comparable developments for you in 2023, Virgo. You will receive defining opportunities or invitations that have not been possible before. Postponed breakthroughs and resolutions will become achievable.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Of the 2,200+ humans quoted in a 21st-century edition of Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, 164 are women — a mere 7 percent! At least that’s more than the four females represented in 1855’s first edition. Let’s take this atrocious injustice as our provocation for your horoscope. In accordance with astrological omens, one of your assignments in 2023 will be to make personal efforts to equalize power among the genders. Your well-being will thrive as you work to create a misogyny-free future. Here are possible actions: If you’re a woman or nonbinary person, be extra bold and brave as you say what you genuinely think and feel and mean. If you’re a man, foster your skills at listening to women and nonbinary people. Give them abundant space and welcome to speak their truths. It will be in your ultimate interest to do so!

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): To prepare you for 2023, I’m offering you wisdom from mythologist Michael Meade. Of all the signs in the zodiac, you Scorpios will be most likely to extract riches from it. Meade writes: “Becoming a genuine individual requires learning the oppositions within oneself. Those who fail or refuse to face the oppositions within have no choice but to find enemies to project upon. ‘Enemy’ simply means ‘not-friend’; unless a person deals with the not-friend within, they require enemies around them.”

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “I will always be as difficult as necessary to achieve the best,” declared Sagittarian opera singer Maria Callas (1923–1977). Many critics say she was indeed one of the 20th century’s best. The consensus is that she was also a temperamental prima donna. Impresario Rudolf Bing said she was a trial to work with “because she was so much more intelligent. Other artists, you could get around. But Callas you could not get around. She knew exactly what she wanted and why she wanted it.” In accordance with astrological omens, Sagittarius, I authorize you, in your quest for success in 2023, to be as “difficult” as Callas was, in the sense of knowing exactly what you want. But please — so as to not undermine your success — don’t lapse into diva-like behavior.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Cardiovascular surgeon Michael DeBakey lived till age 99. He almost died at 97, but was able to capitalize on an invention that he himself had created years before: a polymer resin that could repair or replace aging blood vessels. Surgeons used his technology to return him to health. I am predicting that in 2023, you, too, will derive a number of benefits from your actions in the past. Things you made, projects you nurtured, and ideas you initiated will prove valuable to you as you encounter the challenges and opportunities of the future.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): I decided to divine the state of your financial karma. To begin, I swirled a $10 bill through the flame rising from a green candle. Then I sought cosmic auguries in the burn patterns on the bill. The oracle provided bad news and good news. The bad news is that you live on a planet where one-fifth of the population owns much more than four-fifths of the wealth. The good news is that in 2023, you will be in decent shape to move closer to the elite one-fifth. Amazingly, the oracle also suggests that your ability to get richer quicker will increase in direct proportion to your integrity and generosity.

These are your horoscopes for the week of December 22nd. To see what’s in the stars for you for the week of December 29th, visit freewillastrology.com.