Aries (March 21-April 19)

During his time in the Senate, former U.S. presidential candidate John McCain has been a strong advocate for Native Americans. As chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee, he sponsored or co-sponsored seven bills in support of Indian rights. And yet Native Americans voted overwhelmingly for McCain's opponent, Barack Obama, who has no such track record. When asked why, Native American author Sherman Alexie said that unlike most other groups, Indians don't vote merely for their own narrow self-interest, but rather for the benefit of all. They felt Obama would be the best president for America. That's the standard I urge you to use in the coming weeks, Aries. Stretch yourself as you work hard for the greater good, not just your own.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

Hope "is not the conviction that something will turn out well," wrote Czech writer and politician Vaclav Havel, "but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out." That's the kind of hope I suggest you invoke during your current adventures, Taurus. Be hungrier for meaning than for any specific outcome. If you do that, ironically, the outcome is more likely to be one you feel pretty good about.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

Describing my writing, one critic said that I was "like a mutant love-child of Anais Nin and Jack Kerouac." That also happens to be an apt description of the spirit you should bring to life in the coming weeks. So be like the memoirist Anais Nin: a collector of secrets, a connoisseur of intimacy, a fiercely sensitive alchemist who knows her own inner terrain better than anyone else knows their inner terrain. And also be like the novelist Jack Kerouac: a free-wheeling, fast-talking, wide-open traveler in quest of the spirit as it makes its wild plunge into matter.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

In giving the Nobel Prize for literature to French writer Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio, the award committee praised him as an "explorer of a humanity beyond and below the reigning civilization." I suggest you consider doing some of that kind of exploring yourself in 2009, Cancerian. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you will generate rich benefits for yourself by learning from people and influences that are beneath the notice of the mainstream, whether they're outside the box, off the grid, under the radar, or immune to the taint of the collective delusions.

Leo (July 23-August 22)

"Obstacles are a natural part of life, just as boulders are a natural part of the course of a river," notes the ancient Chinese book the I Ching. "The river does not complain or get depressed because there are boulders in its path." I'd go so far to say -- this is not in the original text, but is my 21st-century addition -- that the river gets a sensual thrill as it glides its smooth current over the irregular shapes and hard skin of the rocks. It looks forward to the friction, exults in the intimate touch, loves the drama of the interaction. Sound like a pleasure you'd like to cultivate, Leo? It's an excellent time to try it.

Virgo (August 23-September 22)

Until last August, Nigerian religious leader Mohammadu Bello Abubakar had 86 wives. Then an Islamic council ordered him to divorce all but four of them. He was reluctant at first -- many of his 170 children were born of wives he'd have to separate from -- but since the alternative was punishment by death, he ultimately agreed. From the standpoint of your own evolution, Virgo, 2009 will be an excellent time to draw inspiration from Abubakar. I encourage you, in other words, to cull the excess and chaos from your love life. If you're single, narrow your focus down to a couple of fantasies rather than a wide variety. If you're in a committed relationship that's worth working on, swear off any possibility of cheating or escaping. In either case, perform an exorcism of all the ghosts that might threaten to distort your long-term romantic future.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

"It takes a lot of time to be a genius," said author Gertrude Stein. "You have to sit around so much doing nothing, really doing nothing." I agree with her statement, which is why I have high hopes that you're going to tap into more of your dormant genius in the coming days. The cosmic rhythms are nudging you to enjoy a time of profound slack, and I think there's a good chance you'll agree to that.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

If you're an artist and you want to get steadily better at your craft, you need to continually refine your approach to telling the truth. The novelist Willa Cather said that. Now I'm here to invite you to adopt that strategy in 2009, whether you're an artist or simply a person who wants to live your life artfully. The coming months will be one of the best times ever for you to penetrate to the heart of the truths you aspire to live by and become highly skilled at expressing them in every little thing you do.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

When gasoline prices soared last year, a Christian group called Pray at the Pump organized vigils at gas stations, where they prayed for God's intervention. No one knows if their efforts were the cause, but the cost of gas did begin to plummet soon afterward. Inspired by their work, I have asked my team of non-denominational Prayer Warriors to gather in your behalf. Every evening for the next ten days, they will be calling on their connections with the Divine Wow to help you Sagittarians come up with smart and practical long-term plans for your financial well-being. On your end, you can supercharge their efforts by doing the appropriate research and meditation.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

Please don't wear a t-shirt that says what I saw on the canary yellow t-shirt of the Japanese tourist at JFK airport: "Sorry, I'm a loser." I also beg you not to read Ethan Trex's book How to Seem Like a Better Person Without Actually Improving Yourself. It's very important, in my astrological opinion, that you not demean or underestimate yourself in the coming days. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that you have a sacred duty to exalt your beauty and exult in your talents. Now go read Walt Whitman's Song of Myself, and periodically murmur the first line all week long: "I celebrate myself, and sing myself."

Aquarius (January 20- February 18)

While loitering on a sidewalk outside a nightclub in San Francisco on a September night back in 1994, I found the cover of a booklet lying in the gutter. Written by Marilena Silbey and Paul Ramana Das, it was called "How To Survive Passionate Intimacy with a Dreamy Partner While Making a Fortune on the Path to Enlightenment." Unfortunately, the rest of the text was missing. Over the years, I've tried to hunt down a copy of the whole thing, hungry for its wisdom, but have never had any success. I'm hoping that maybe you will consider writing your own version of the subject in the coming year, Aquarius. With the luck I expect you to have, you might actually be up to the task.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Now and then you may be able to whip up a wonderful breakthrough in the blink of an eye. But more often it's the case that beauty and truth and love and justice emerge in their full glory only over the course of a painstaking, step-by-step, trial-and-error process. "All that I made before the age of 65 is not worth counting," wrote renowned Japanese painter Hokusai. "At 73 I began to understand the true construction of animals, plants, trees, birds, fishes, and insects. At 90 I will enter into the secret of things. At 110 everything -- every dot, every dash -- will live." At this juncture in your personal evolution, Pisces, it's a perfect time to re-commit yourself to your life-long work.