ARIES (March 21–April 19): A mushroom shaped like a horse’s hoof grows on birch trees in parts of Europe and the United States. If you strip off its outer layer, you get amadou, spongy stuff that’s great for igniting fires. It’s not used much anymore, but it was a crucial resource for some of our ancestors. As for the word “amadou,” it’s derived from an old French term that means “tinder, kindling, spunk.” The same word was formerly used to refer to a person who is quick to light up or to something that stimulates liveliness. In accordance with astrological omens, I’m making Amadou your nickname for the next four weeks.
TAURUS (April 20–May 20): “Human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them,” wrote novelist Gabriel García Marquez. “Life obliges them over and over to give birth to themselves.” Here’s what I’ll add to that: As you mature, you do your best to give birth to ever-new selves that are in alignment with the idealistic visions you have of the person you want to become. Unfortunately, most of us aren’t skilled at that task in adolescence and early adulthood. The selves we create may be inadequate or delusory or distorted. Fortunately, as we learn from our mistakes, we eventually learn to give birth to selves that are strong and righteous. The only problem is that the old false selves we generated along the way may persist as ghostly echoes in our psyche. And we have a sacred duty to banish those ghostly echoes. I tell you this, Taurus, because the coming months will be an excellent time to do that banishing. Ramp up your efforts NOW!