the217.com July 8 - 14, 2010
Is it weird that my best friend and I have a song?
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY ARIES
March 21-April 19
Have you added some bulk and stability to your foundation any time recently, Aries? Have you grown your roots deeper and asked for more from your traditional sources and recommitted yourself to your primal vows? I hope so, because this is a perfect time, astrologically speaking, to strengthen your link to everything that sustains you. You have a sacred duty to push harder for access to the stuff that builds your emotional intelligence and fuels your long-range plans.
TAURUS
April 20-May 20
I like the way you’ve been contradicting yourself, Taurus. I appreciate your ability to be inconsistent, paradoxical, and upside-down. It has allowed you to wriggle free of the rut you had been stuck in. You’ve stirred the affections of people who had been frustrated about your narrow focus. Yes, it’s true that you have also sown a bit of confusion in a situation that had formerly been clear and concise, and that may have rankled the sticklers. But in my opinion, this is a fertile, healthy confusion that will ultimately lead to an unexpected breakthrough.
GEMINI
May 21-June 20
“We’re all in ‘sales,’ selling our personalities, our accomplishments, our charms.” That’s a quote from Richard Grossinger’s new book 2013. I share his view of human nature. Is there any interaction between people that doesn’t involve a bit of hustling? The subtext of every encounter includes at least one of the following: 1. “I want you to like me.” 2. “I’m trying to get you to believe I am who I say I am.” 3. “I’d really like you to see how interesting and important and unique I am.” Given the fact that this is a ubiquitous phenomenon, there’s no need to be shy or embarrassed or secretive about it. That’s especially true for you these days. So get out there and sell yourself, Gemini. With brazen innocence and relaxed enjoyment, show the world who you are and why you matter.
CANCER
June 21-July 22
Have you ever observed the rising moon with such a steady gaze that you’ve actually seen it move? Have you ever sat yourself down in front of a rose bud during the hour it exploded into full bloom? Those experiences have resemblances to a slow-motion burst of graceful growth that’s unfolding in your own sphere. I hope you have the patience to give it your full attention, because that way it’s more likely to express its potential completely. To enhance your chances of nurturing the subtle magic, remember and ruminate on the images your nightly dreams give you.
LEO
July 23-Aug. 22
I’m not necessarily saying that you have superhuman levels of courage these days, Leo, but you do have more than usual. What’s even more important for the task at hand is the fact that you have an exceptional capacity for identifying the fantasies that frighten you and finding fresh and practical ways to deal with them. That’s why I say that you now have an excellent opportunity to achieve a major victory over your fears . . . to outwit them, outflank them, and even dissolve them. To get started on this glorious quest, chant the following ten times: “I am a crafty, compassionate warrior who finds amusement in every challenge.”
VIRGO
Aug. 23-Sept. 22
One of my Virgo readers, Mariann Grace, is conducting a research project. It’s rooted in two assumptions. The first is an idea of mine: that everyone alive has an inalienable right to a steady supply of fresh omens. The second assumption comes from the writer Angus Stocking: “Always interpret every omen favorably.” With these two ideas as her theses, Mariann is testing the following approach: “Interpret absolutely everything that happens as a favorable omen.” This would be an excellent game for you to play in the coming week, Virgo. Synchronicities are about to rain down upon you, flood toward you, and bubble up from below. Judging from the astrological configurations, I’d say it really does
July 8 – July 14
make sense to regard every one of them as meaningful, useful, and invigorating.
LIBRA
jonesin’
by Matt Jones
“Blocky Party” — no theme, no worries
Sept. 23-Oct. 22
It’s high time to banish the excuses you think you have for not doing your best. There is no longer any valid reason to hide from your true calling or deny yourself more profound happiness. You are ready to see that the supposed “obstacles” to your success are actually instrumental to your success -- prods that will make you so much smarter and stronger that you cannot be defeated by circumstances. Why is this happening now? It’s because a force working behind the scenes -- you can imagine it as God or destiny or karma if you like -- is clearing away the illusions that have held you in thrall to false ideas about who you are. If I were you, I’d shout “hallelujah!” as I pinch myself in the butt and pat myself on the head.
SCORPIO
Oct. 23-Nov. 21
SAGITTARIUS
Nov. 22-Dec. 21
For the foreseeable future, it’s fine with God (and with Nature, too) if you put all your eggs in one basket -- as long as the basket is well-woven and beautiful to behold. You’ve also got cosmic permission to forget about all but one of the tempting targets in your field of vision -- as long as the bull’s-eye you choose is very worthy of your sacred longing. To sum up, Scorpio, be single-mindedly focused almost to the point of manic obsession -- as long as you’re reasonably sure that the object of your devotion is your personal version of the Holy Grail.
In the next few weeks, the odds are higher than usual that you’ll inherit an amusement park or a tropical island or a profitable pig farm. There’s also a slight chance that you will win a Dutch lottery, find a diamond ring on the sidewalk, or be picked to star in a new reality TV show, “How Would You Use a Gift of Ten Million Dollars?” But what’s far more likely than any of those possibilities is that you will be able to capitalize on a legacy whose cash value is hard to estimate. Is there any birthright you’ve been neglecting to exploit? Any part of your heritage that may be ready to bring you a boost?
CAPRICORN
Dec. 22-Jan. 19
So it turns out that the “blemish” is actually essential to the beauty. The “deviation” is at the core of the strength. The “wrong turn” was crucial to you getting you back on the path with heart. I have rarely seen a better example of happy accidents, Capricorn. You may not realize it quite yet, but you have been the beneficiary of a tricky form of divine intervention. One good way of expressing your gratitude is to share with friends the tale of how you came to see that the imperfections were perfect.
AQUARIUS
Jan. 20-Feb. 18
Your anger is potentially a valuable resource. At least in theory, it can be a motivating force that gives you the clarity and stamina you need to make constructive changes. But how can you make sure that your anger serves your generous urges? What should you do to keep it from being just a self-indulgent thrash that leads to no productive action? Here’s one thing you can do: Express your rage very selectively; don’t let it leak all over everything. Here’s another thing: Cultivate loads of empathy, joy, and appreciation for beauty. Then when you do unleash your rage, it will be conditioned by love. Now would be an excellent time to try out these ideas.
PISCES
Feb. 19-March 20
Have you fallen in omnidirectional love these past few weeks? Are you swooning with such reckless splendor that at times you feel like you’re swimming in mid-air? By my reckoning, you have an urgent need to be caught up in a vortex of free-form affection. Your receptivity to being tickled and spun around by an almost insane outpouring of libidinous empathy is crucial to your education. If for some reason this has not been the case, please find out what you’ve been doing to obstruct the boisterously tender feelings the cosmos is aching to fill you up with.
Stumped? Find the solutions in the Classifieds pages.
Across
40 Term limits?
10 Anne of HBO’s “Hung”
1 Cape horn?
45 Dual-purpose
11 Reach (a goal)
9 Gaping holes
47 It comes before pi
12 Ben and Jerry, for two
15 It’s about a quart
48 Late 1990s Cadillac model
13 Singer Faithfull
16 Type of thermometer
49 Rental agreement
14 More likely to spill over
17 What an arrow indicates on e-books
50 Lose personnel, in militaryspeak
22 Seasonal Starbucks drink
18 Suzuki of the Mariners
51 Character from Greek myth associated with golden apples
19 “Poverty is ___ that obscures the face of greatness” (Kahlil Gibran) 20 Restaurant with a green and red logo 21 More bug-filled
54 Give in 55 Ayn Rand title word 56 Sprinkle in flour 57 Equals
23 Unverified 24 Red food coloring source 26 Smidgens 30 A few words from afar 31 Free glass 32 Beat badly 36 Bid
24 Title bee participant in a 2006 movie
Down
38 Suffering from insomnia
25 Make red with blood
1 It calls itself “The Broadband Phone Company”
41 Time period that shaped the Great Lakes
2 Lopsided
42 Sports & Leisure color, in the original Trivial Pursuit
27 Part of a Latin boast 28 Goethe play with music by Beethoven
3 Irritating sorts
43 Pater ___ (“Our Father” prayer)
30 Pluot center
4 ___ Online (long-running MMORPG created by Lord British)
33 “I’m ___ home right now...”
5 Cable ride
46 Faulty Challenger part
34 Sun. talk
6 Airport guess, for short
35 Calle ___
7 Turkey serving
51 Gp. that awards cinematography credits
37 Makes a big speech
8 “We ___ Family”
39 Feudal worker
9 Bowling league?
29 Sea eagle
44 Golf champ Sam and family
52 Despite, in poems 53 Radius location
buzz
19