On a recent visit to a daycare center in Nonthaburi, Public Health minister Pinij Jarusombat shocked educators by suggesting that students should no longer be taught Aesop’s fables. Instead more modern stories should be written and used to teach moral principles to children, he said.Angry teachers, librarians and bookstore owners responded by threatening to march to the minister’s house waving colorful “Pinij is a Pinis” signs. Fearing violence, or at least an embarassing spectacle, officials agreed to a compromise.

AQUARIUS (Jan 20-Feb 18) Marie and Pierre Curie discovered radium. Chemist John Walker invented the match. Physicist Wilhelm Roentgen was the first person to find out about X-rays. What do these great minds have in common? They all refused to take out any patents in connection with their innovations, believing that they shouldn’t make any profit on something that rightfully belongs to everyone. They’re your role models right now, Aquarius. Let them inspire you to give away your brilliance for free. (P.S.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22-Jan 19) Stage magician David Copperfield made an intriguing announcement recently. He told the German magazine Galore that in his next show, he will use magic to make a woman pregnant - without touching her. That’s similar to the kind of mojo you will possess in 2006, Capricorn. It’s true that your success in the past has usually come from your pragmatic intelligence, organizational ability, and thoroughness. But in the coming months you will also have a talent for conjuring beautiful illusions that ultimately become very real.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22-Jan 19) Germany and the Soviet Union failed to sign a peace treaty after the global hostilities of the mid-20th century. Technically, then, World War II never officially ended. This lack of closure doesn’t seem to have had any lingering repercussions, though, so I won’t worry about it. On the other hand, there are unresolved situations from your past that are still causing you problems. In my astrological opinion, 2006 is an ideal time to finally wrap up all the unfinished business that has been subtly draining you.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22-Jan 19): Happy Holy Daze, Capricorn! I’ve been meditating on the perfect holiday gifts for you. What items might inspire you to take maximum advantage of the cosmic currents in 2006? And the answer is: anything that makes you laugh harder, deeper, faster, and more often. For me that would be something like DVDs by comedians Margaret Cho, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, and Sarah Silverman, but you might need different stimuli. The point is, you’ve got to significantly raise your Laugh Quotient in the coming months.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22-Dec 21) "If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about the answers," wrote novelist Thomas Pynchon. Between now and the end of the year, Sagittarius, please gaze into a mirror and tell yourself that advice regularly. You can't afford to let anyone - authorities, experts, enemies, or even friends - set the ground rules or define the contours of your quest for the truth. Your driving passion should be to frame the unique questions that will lead you inexorably to what you need to know next. (P.S.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22-Dec 21) Wave farewell to your old self, Sagittarius. Maybe blow a few kisses as well. But don’t linger too long. Refuse to get bogged down in ambiguous rituals filled with interminable goodbyes and meticulous inventories of the past. It’s time to go! Off with you! You’ve got urgent appointments with the unsettling but fascinating future, and it’s best to part ways with habits that have dulled your initiative and comforts that have numbed your courage. You’re ready for more change than you think you’re capable of.

SCORPIO (Oct 23-Nov 21) “Dear Rob: Thanks for your ongoing attempts to burn away negative stereotypes about us Scorpios. Here’s more fuel for your fire: I’m not perfect, nor do I aspire to be. Perfection is a form of death. I’m grateful for my demons because in the worst of times they’re my allies, and in the best of times they’re the measure of my accomplishments. I don’t seek truth, I seek reason. Truth is relative and found only by consensus, while reason is irreducible and adamantine.

LIBRA (Sep 23-Oct 22) Columnist L.M. Boyd told the story of Mark Gubin, a photographer whose business was located near Milwaukee’s airport. A lover of pranks, Gubin decorated his roof with a giant sign that read “Welcome to Cleveland.” Countless passengers arriving in Milwaukee by plane were amused and confused by the greeting. I suspect that a similar event will occur in your life this week, Libra. As you arrive at your new destination, you’ll get signals that lead you to believe you’re not where you thought you were. Ignore the misdirection.

LIBRA (Sep 23-Oct 22) It will be a good week to Google yourself, ask people point blank to tell you how much they need you and brag about yourself with extravagant gusto. In fact, Libra, you now have cosmic license to celebrate your glories in a hundred ways. Why not buy yourself special gifts, gaze into the mirror longer than usual, and yes, even make love with yourself? (If your religious beliefs regard the latter as a sin, simply touch yourself in unsinful ways.)