ARIES (March 21-April 19): For a limited time only, you’re in a position to consciously choose your next problems. This is a tremendous opportunity that I hope you won’t allow to go to waste. By being proactive, you can ensure the arrival of fun and interesting dilemmas, thereby avoiding the frustrating and draining kind. In other words, Aries, if you go looking for provocative new challenges, the same old tired and trivial trouble won’t come looking for you. I suggest you begin the quest as soon as possible.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): I know where actor Sean Penn lives. It’s a few miles from where I am right now. An out-of-town friend of mine who’s an aspiring screenwriter is pleading with me to drive by Sean’s house and hurl a hard copy of her latest script over the high wall that affords him and his family privacy. My friend imagines that Sean will find it, read it excitedly, and call her up to begin negotiating for rights to use it in a future film. I may do what she asks. It’s my policy not to discourage people’s fantasies about making the connections they need, even if they’re far-fetched. In that spirit, Taurus, I urge you to pursue any hunches you might have about forging alliances that could further your dreams.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): “Opportunities multiply as they are seized,” wrote Sun Tzu in The Art of War, an ancient Chinese book about success strategies to pursue in tough times. Now I’m conveying this idea to you, Gemini, as you enter one of the most opportunistic phases of your astrological cycle. What else can you do to get yourself in the right groove? First, adopt a perceptive, receptive attitude that attunes you to budding possibilities. Next, respond expeditiously to every little invitation that appeals to you. Finally, keep in mind that luck tends to happen to those who have done the hard work to generate it.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): If you ask young men what experiences have afforded them the most adventurous fun of their lives, a majority will talk about indoor activities. Some will say video games and others their sexual escapades. Only a minority will describe far-flung events in the great outdoors or exotic locales. What about you, Cancerian? Under what circumstances have your most amazing forays into the unknown unfolded? Where have you been transformed in ways that helped you stretch to meet your destiny? I’d like to suggest that it’s time to go beyond those previous benchmarks. You’re ready to transcend your personal limits as you wander into the frontier.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “Dear Rob: In my dream last night, I was playing with a lion in my garden. Suddenly it jumped up, put its paws on my shoulders, and got face-to-face with me. I realized it could either swallow my head or kiss me. I was excited by the possibility of the kiss and also scared because I sensed it wanted something from me but I didn’t know what. Can you offer any insight? —Leo in Limbo.” Dear Leo: A lot of Leos are dealing with themes like this right now. Here’s how I’d sum them up: The thing that’s most appealing to you happens to be wild. You need to exercise caution even as you go forward to engage with it more intimately. Just as you want something from it, it’s asking for something in return. You’ll have to know exactly what that is in order to protect yourself from its wildness.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In the course description for a fiction-writing class at Sarah Lawrence College, professor Mary LaChapelle encourages her students to practice the art of enchantment. “How do we avoid succumbing to safe and unoriginal decisions,” she asks, “and aim to recognize and trust our more mysterious and promising impulses?” This happens to be an excellent question for you to keep in mind right now, Virgo, whether you’re about to create something or are starting a new chapter in the epic story that is your life. (P.S. “If you cannot be a poet, be a poem,” advises actor David Carradine.)

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Evolution has given the human body a profound capacity to cure itself with its own resources, writes Roger Jahnke in his book The Healer Within. And yet most of us neglect to call on this inner reserve of natural medicine, looking mostly to drugs and doctors for the miracles we long for. Whether or not you read Jahnke’s book, I hope you will deepen your relationship with your inner healer in the coming weeks. It’s prime time to take a more active role in shaping your well-being.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Founding Father Benjamin Franklin said that the US Constitution “only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.” That’s a good reminder for you, Scorpio, as you enter a phase when you’ll probably have more success than usual if you hunt for pleasure, joy, and bliss. I suggest that you draw up an appropriate strategy to employ during the coming weeks. Start by creating a list of at least three sources of delight with which you want to commune. Then write descriptions of how you’re going to increase and expand their presence in your life.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): At the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009, the value of petroleum rose 40 percent. But by mid-January it had plummeted precipitously, even losing 12 percent in one day. As a result, suppliers started withholding large reserves from the market. For weeks, supertankers full of civilization’s most important fuel circled aimlessly offshore, refusing to unload their precious cargo until prices rebounded. I suggest you consider imitating their behavior, Sagittarius. Don’t make your best stuff fully available until your target audience is ready to reward you appropriately for its true worth. It’s okay to tease, though—or do anything ethical that will increase the demand for your services.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Even when you are not feeling your best, you try hard. You’re strong when things are broken. Where there is hurt, you rise up with surprising resilience to provide help and inspiration. If there are people who don’t know where they are or where they’re going, you are often a beacon of calm. Thank you, my beautiful friend. I applaud your urge to fight for justice not only in service to yourself but also on behalf of others who can’t be as composed as you are when things are broken. And I’m happy to inform you that the favors you’re doling out now will ultimately be returned in kind when you least expect it.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): I feel much better. Today I underwent plastic surgery for the first time. An intervention specialist over at the Consumer Counseling Center removed 40 percent of my credit cards from my wallet. She then cut them in half and burned them, releasing fumes that sent me spiraling into an altered state of consciousness that revealed to me the steps I must take to upgrade my approach to money. In that state I was also able to have psychic visions about the nature of your financial karma. What I saw is that you too would benefit right now from expanding your mind and changing your habits in all matters related to earning, spending, and saving money.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): If a cow is given a name by her owner, she generates more milk than a cow that’s treated as an anonymous member of the herd. That’s the conclusion of a study done by researchers at Newcastle University in the UK. “Placing more importance on knowing the individual animals and calling them by name,” said Dr. Catherine Douglas, “can significantly increase milk production.” Building on that principle, Pisces, I suggest that you give everything in your world names, including (but not limited to) houseplants, insects, cars, appliances, and trees. Of course this is always a good idea, because it enhances your connection with all of creation. But it’s an especially smart approach now, when getting more up-close and personal should be your specialty.

Homework: What’s your secret beauty—the great thing about you that no one knows about? Testify at FreeWillAstrology.com.