“I doubt not then but innocence shall make
False accusation blush, and tyranny
Tremble at patience.”
Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale” [Act III, scene ii]
Mercury dips into the tropical zodiac sign of Libra for the briefest flirtation, then rights himself, according to the text I consulted, and starts to head off in a merry way. Well, sort of merry.
Make merry with Pisces this week for a trivia question….
Aries : I am less concerned with the mercurial manifestations this week for you which amount to nothing compared to the slow and inexorable crawl of Mars through the sign of Libra. Mars is going to lean on you some. In actual astrology terminology, he’s opposing you. And when your ruling planet is in the sign that is opposite you, there’s a degree of tension in the air. So don’t get your hopes up as long as Mercury is going in more forward fashion by the end of the week, there’s still a problem with Mars. What’s Mars going to do? Imagine yourself sitting in a little boat at dawn, looking over the lake. You’ve just had a Honey Bun and coffee, so you are amply prepared for the day. It’s a little cool out. You reach around for your fishing pole, getting ready to hunt down some big fish, and you discover that your fishing line has become this giant mess, a very tangled web. Now, you can waste away about three quarters of the day trying to undo this knot, or, you can pull out a trusty pocketknife, cut the tangled web of monofilament line away, put some fresh line on, and go to it. The choice is yours, in how you approach those knotty problems. Personally, my best advice is to cut right through and add new fishing line — it’s simpler solution with Mars where he is.
Taurus : I’ve used this analogy before, but it’s going to feel like it really applies this week, especially to Taurus. Just when you think you’ve got it made, just when Mercury delivers the briefest of respites, just when you feel like there is, indeed, hope for the immediate future, there’s a snag. You keep taking one step forward, as befits your current situation, but you find yourself running around in circles still. “But you said Mercury would leave me alone!” What I suggested was Mercury was going in a direct fashion — he will not leave you alone. So even though you keep trying to put one foot forward, and even though you keep trying to make a valiant effort to make progress, you’re still stuck in the same position. Here’s a hint: by the end of the week, if you try move both feet, not just one, you’ll find that you are less inclined to make this circling motion. If you keep moving the same foot forward each time, you just wind up right back where you started.
Gemini : Look, we can just write off the full moon this week for you. It’s not like it’s been a good couple of weeks and it’s not like this is getting much better. I wouldn’t say that there is no ray of hope on yonder horizon, but the Gemini camp is pretty upset with me because I have refused to pander to their desire for nothing but good news when everything still looks a little bleak. But wait, what light through the kitchen window is illuminated? It looks like it’s a Gemini light, and it’s got something which has been cooking up for a while. Better yet, there’s a chance, a single ray of hope that something will work out! Never mind, it was just somebody else — some other sign — getting up in the middle of the night to get a glass of cool water from the ice box. Now, if that was a Gemini, you would also be helping yourself to some of the food in there, leftovers. Something that doesn’t take a lot of time to prepare. It looks like the hot tip for is to examine that left over take out food before you toss it into the microwave — you want to make sure that grub’s only a few days old.
Cancer : Even though there is the pejorative effect of Mercury right now, and even though there is still some positive full moon flavored madness drifting around, I would not be doing my job if I promised that everything was going to be great for my Cancer friends, not this week. In fact, it won’t be great for the next several weeks, but that’s not the problem. This week will certainly have its moments when it seems like everything is wonderful. That’s good news. And this week will certainly have a joyous overtone to it, too, like kind of pleasure that comes from returning to a Fish Camp with lots and lots of fish on your stringer. Once again, that’s good news. But the joy is a transitory thing, a merest glimpse that there is a degree of happiness in the world. The overall feeling, and what you need to pay attention to, has a lot more to do with timing of certain business matters, perhaps family business matters, and there, it’s a problem. You can escape the problem for a little while this week, that’s the good news, but they will be back, and you’re going to have to face some tough decisions about these matters. I’m just trying to get you prepared. Holidays are around the next bend.
Leo : The last Leo I heard from said something rather untoward about Mercury. That Leo suggested a bodily function that I don’t care to print, much less think about. And in doing so, that one Leo suggestion also anthropomorphized the planet, giving it terribly human qualities (and frailties, too). But you really should pay attention to this little planet right now, because he’s moving in a highly agitated state. Actually, the planet is just following its orders, marching around the Sun, but it in an ordered state. It’s out Leo selves that are disheveled right now. Be a little fast on your feet this week, laugh a little louder, and be more willing to laugh at your own mistakes. “I can’t believe I really SAID that!” And then laugh. It will make your week a lot easier, and you’ll find that there is a degree of satisfaction that comes from escaping some of the poison darts everyone else is getting. Laughter is your best medicine. Or, at the very least, giggle.
Virgo : Dearly beloved Virgo. I realize I should finish up that statement, but there’s this one Virgo I’m trying really hard to impress, and you can never tell just which one that is. Part way through this week, I’m going to appear brilliant, as if in the blink of an eye, the world according to Virgo (the world according to the perfect Virgo) suddenly got a lot better. It’s not really just one little astrological influence right now — it’s several. Together, as the week gets older, and none of us are getting any younger, you’ll quit feeling your age so much, and there’s a gentle but perceptible shift. Could be Mercury. Could be the fullness of the Moon. Could be Mars. By the end of the week, the stuff that wasn’t working will start working better. And by the end of the week, the things that weren’t in alignment, will start looking like they might actually line up. Now, this isn’t to say that everything is all of a sudden better, but there’s a small amount of hope which can be derived from this missive. You can see an end to an apparently endless realm of troubles, all of a sudden.
Libra : There’s a little hint, comes along in the middle of the week, and it’s a time to stop whatever you are doing. It’s a time to stop everything, hit the pause button on the video titled “A Libra Life” and stop everything. Mars wants activity. You want to be active this week, but in the middle of the week, you’ve got about a 12 hour window where you need to stop and think about it all. Put that sharp Libra mind to work on some of the old problems. Realize that Mars is stirring up your passions like a spoon in the middle of a big five gallon pail of my chili. And think about it all. Now, like the chili, does this need more red pepper? Cayenne? Chili powder? This week reminds me of some Tex-Mex cuisines I sampled in England. There was far too much chili powder and far too little flavor. Any chef will tell you there has to be balance with the spices, and overloading a single spice, no matter how piquant that spice is, just doesn’t work. In the middle of the week, stop and pause, maybe sample what you’re working on, then decide if you need to seek a little more balance with it. Like my chili, sometimes it takes a while before it’s really ready to be served to humans. (And some humans wonder if that chili is really good for human consumption.)
Scorpio : The last few weeks have offered up a time for my dear Scorpio friends to relax, reflect, and perhaps an opportunity to look back on the past, a chance to take a stroll down memory lane. “Not exactly!” Okay, so it was more like a torturous hike through barren and rocky crags instead of a pleasant stroll. And memory lane looked an awful lot like on of the paintings depicting the “Inferno.” Maybe it was like a bad movie, with special effects and not a lot of plot, and as a Scorpio, you’re still trying to figure what it all means. There’s a bit of bad news at this time, and you’re not out of the woods yet. Mars is in position where he’s trying his very best to seduce you with something right now. It’s not exactly what you want, but Mars is going to wrap it up pretty – like, and hope that you take the bait. Remember what’s gone before you, and think twice before just saying, “Yes. Sure. Where do I sign?” — unless it’s a check for me — I’m not like the rest.
Sagittarius : Unexpected help from unexpected corners of the heavens is what’s in store this week. It’s not going to come from where you expect it. I realize that’s redundant, but I’m serious. And as soon as you start poking around those unexpected corners, then it becomes an expected form of help, and once again, that’s not where the rescue mission is coming from. So don’t be on the lookout for the Cavalry streaming over the next hill, just in time to rescue your sorry butt in the nick of time. But do count on some sort of succor this week, especially later in the week. The biggest challenge facing you is realizing that some one is there to be an angel for you, and not quite grasping the fact that the person is, indeed, an angel. Perhaps it’s because that angel might be dressed like businessman. Or even (heaven forbid) a lawyer. Whatever the case may be, there’s a small degree of respite which occurs, and it is from an unusual source.
Capricorn : You’ve been patiently biding your time, waiting for this slightly chaotic Mercury thing to hurry up and be over. You’ve been waiting for good things to start happening. In fact, you’ve got a little, albeit brief, hint that there’s a change blowing in on the wind. Venus is fast approaching your sign, and while traditional astrology suggests that Venus and and Capricorn don’t exactly have the same kind of energy, I tend to look askance at some traditional terms applied to both. Rest up this week, you’re going to need the energy in the later part of this month, like as soon as next week gets here. This is a week when you need to pull yourself together a little bit, maybe even schedule something else besides all that work. You have been working too much, pouring a bucket of water on each and every little brush fire you’ve encountered, and while that’s a good, if temporary solution, you haven’t had the chance to really address the bigger problem. Now, the little fires all settle down to smoking ashes, and you can stop long enough to get some rest. And even if there’s part of your brain that suggests you’re wasting time, consider the break in the fire action as a necessary point to regroup. You’re going to go charging forth, next week, so this week, do your very best to take it easy.
Aquarius : I was attempting to help another fisherman at a time — a time like you’re having this week, and all my efforts seemed wasted. I could clearly see how this guy was all confused, disoriented, and I could see how he needed my assistance. I freely offered copious quantities of helpful advice, I even offered to help him select better equipment at the moment, and I was quite voluble with my efforts. It all fell on deaf ears. No matter how much sage advice I had, and no matter how well-intentioned my efforts were, I was wasting both my time and his time. It’s enough to turn me in to a bitter old man, all that “do the right thing” effort was wasted. Now, this is a week when you’re going to feel much the same way. You may actually know more, and you may actually have a better idea. But you’re not getting ahead by trying to share this information. Sometimes, the people you try to help just get infuriated with your efforts to be helpful. Reminds me of the time I pulled over to help an (I thought) attractive and apparently helpless female change her flat tire. “I don’t need your help, and I don’t need your condescending male sexist attitude. I will not be slave a to your outdated concept of chivalry either.” The vituperative response was tempered a little, though, as I did show her how to loosen the lug nuts on the flat tire.
Pisces : This is good week for an attitude check. In fact, let’s just call it a good week to check back, too. Check what you feel like on Monday. Spirits are high, but it’s a Monday. Middle of the week, spirits are still high, and weekend is in sight. Weekend, you feel great. During this time, it looks like you haven’t been able to make one bit of progress on a money path, but you’ve done rather well in spite of the odds. You feel great. I figure you’re looking pretty good, too. But you feel like you’re just not getting ahead with the “making more money” thing. However, back to the attitude thing. That’s still good. In fact, some people will look at you and wonder how you can be happy at a time like this. The “personality” planets are all in good shape right now, as far a Pisces is concerned. The only planet that’s out of whack is the one which is supposed to bring you money. if I were rich, I’d write you a check right now based on your personality alone. But I’m not made of money, nor do the stars look good for actually getting ahead financially. But attitude? That’s great. You’re happy, carefree, and not the least bit disturbed by the things which seem to be bothering the other signs. This is a week when it’s easy to laugh it all off. I was thinking of a particular song, a Cowboy Yodel, with lyrics about “I’m broke but I’m rich…” Know the tune? Drop me a line and I’ll see about hooking you up with a free (abbreviated) planet profile, delivered via electronic mail. I’ll need the author’s name, source for the material, and then I’ll need you to send along your DOB, TOB & POB, along with that right answer.
