ASTROLOGY

BY ROB BREZSNY

for you. You don’t have to relocate to take advantage, of course. There are numerous ways to expand and diversify your world. Your homework right now is to identify three.

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22): Most of us continuously absorb information that is of little or questionable value. We are awash in an endless tsunami of trivia and babble. But in accordance with current astrological omens, I invite you to remove yourself from this blather as much as possible during the next three weeks. Focus on exposing yourself to fine thinkers, deep feelers, and exquisite art and music. Nurture yourself with the wit and wisdom of compassionate geniuses and brilliant servants of the greater good. Treat yourself to a break from the blahblah-blah and immerse yourself in the smartest joie de vivre you can find.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21): Over 25 countries have created coats of arms that feature an eagle. Why is that? Maybe it’s because the Roman Empire, the foundation of so much culture in the Western world, regarded the eagle as the ruler of the skies. It’s a symbol of courage, strength, and alertness. When associated with people, it also denotes high spirits, ingenuity, and sharp wits. In astrology, the eagle is the emblem of the ripe Scorpio: someone who bravely transmutes suffering and strives to develop a sublimely soulful perspective. With these thoughts in mind, and in accordance with current astrological omens, I invite you Scorpios to draw extra intense influence from your eaglelike aspects in the coming weeks.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21): “When I paint, my goal is to show what I found, not what I was looking for,” said artist Pablo Picasso. I recommend you adopt some version of that as your motto in the coming weeks. Yours could be, “When I make love, my goal is to rejoice in what I find, not what I am looking for.” Or perhaps, “When I do the work I care about, my goal is to celebrate what I find, not what I am looking for.” Or maybe, “When I decide to transform myself, my goal is to be alert for what I find, not what I am looking for.”

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19): Vincent van Gogh painted Wheatfield with a Reaper, showing a man harvesting lush yellow grain under a glowing sun. Van Gogh said the figure was “fighting like the devil in the midst of the heat to get to the end of his task.” And yet, this was also true: “The sun was flooding everything with a light of pure gold.” I see your life in the coming weeks as resonating with this scene, Capricorn. Though you may grapple with challenging tasks, you will be surrounded by beauty and vitality.

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18): I suspect that your homing signals will be extra strong and clear during the next 12 months. Everywhere you go, in everything you do, you will receive clues about where you truly belong and how to fully inhabit the situations where you truly belong. From all directions, life will offer you revelations about how to love yourself for who you are and be at peace with your destiny. Start tuning in immediately, dear Aquarius. The hints are already trickling in.

PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20): The renowned Mexican painter Diego Rivera told this story about himself: When he was born, he was so frail and ill that the midwife gave up on him, casting him into a bucket of dung. Rivera’s grandmother would not accept the situation so easily. She caught and killed some pigeons and wrapped her newborn grandson in the birds’ guts. The seemingly crazy fix worked. Rivera survived and lived for many decades, creating an epic body of artistic work. I bring this wild tale to your attention, Pisces, with the hope that it will inspire you to keep going and be persistent in the face of a problematic beginning or challenging birth pang. Don’t give up!

DEAR DAN: My boyfriend and I have struggled to connect sexually more or less since the beginning of our long-distance relationship more than a year and a half ago. First the issue seemed to be condoms, which he couldn’t stand, but now that I’ve gotten an IUD his desire for sex has completely plummeted. He says “this usually happens” to him after about a year but he wants to stay together and work through it. In all honesty, he seems unbothered by the lack of sex. I started snooping I am aware that is super problematic — and learned he had recently watched porn featuring exclusively Asian women and then found out he has been contacting random Chinese women via a social platform and asking to meet IRL so he could “learn more about Chinese language, culture and food.” I’m not anti-porn and I understand we all have types, but I’m weirded out by the possible fetishization and lack of transparency on his end. Big red flag?

— Perplexed And Sadly Sexless

DEAR PASS: That red flag is so big you can’t see the other red flags behind it. You’ve wasted a year and a half on this guy, PASS, and you shouldn’t waste another minute on him. And if it took a little snooping for you to figure that out — if it took snooping for you to see that your boyfriend has been lying to you from the start and that he was prepared to tell you (and other women) bigger and worse lies — you don’t have to waste any time feeling bad about the snooping. DTMFA.

DEAR DAN: I’m a cis woman who loves to go to sex clubs to try new things. The last event I went to, someone put his penis and balls inside of my pussy, which was such a great experience. But now I am thinking this was a mistake on my end because although he wore a condom on his penis, there isn’t a

BY DAN SAVAGE

“ball condom,” at least so far as I know. I want to try this again, but I also want to do it in a low-risk way to keep myself and my other partners safe. Is this considered a risky sexual practice? I know that balls normally are uncovered, but normally there isn’t nearly so much contact as having them inside of me.

— Somewhat Apprehensive Concerning Kink’s Estimated Danger

DEAR SACKED: A stranger’s balls slapping against your vulva (or your taint, or your asshole or your chin) while he fucks you while wearing a condom on his dick vs. a stranger’s balls inserted into your pussy while he’s fucking you while wearing a condom on his dick doesn’t make an enormous difference where the risks of STI transmission are concerned. Viruses such as HPV, herpes, or mpox can be transmitted via skin-toskin contact regardless of whether his balls are inside your vagina or being pressed up against your vulva.

The location of infection can make an STI harder to spot, harder to treat and more painful to endure. If the dude shoving his dick and balls into you has a small wart or sore from syphilis, herpes or mpox tucked away under his balls, you may not realize that it’s there. And a genital wart inside your vaginal canal may go unnoticed at first, thereby delaying treatment, whereas you or one of your other partners are likely to spot one on your labia right away.

In the final accounting, SACKED, letting someone put his balls inside you elevates your risk of contracting STIs that are passed through skinto-skin contact — but these are STIs you’re already at risk of contracting during casual sex even when using condoms and, depending on how often you frequent sex clubs, STIs you have probably been exposed to before.

Consider using a female/insertable condom next time.

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