"To have seen much and to have nothing, is to have rich eyes and poor hands."
Shakespeare’s As You Like It (IV.i.10)
Upcoming events, information is here. Click here to take the survey. Mercury is in apparent retrograde motion.
Cancer: When Mercury is backwards, like he is, in your own sign, it just compounds the problems. Then, too, it also makes you want to talk about the problems. Which is even more of a problem. I’ve had a chance to do a lot of verbal delivery. That gives me a chance to gauge a person’s reaction to a statement, suggestion or bit of advice. I had more than one client "talk over" me, too, and in those cases, I’ve learned that I just let them ramble.
When they verbally amble along side streets and take detours, I just let them go, especially at a time like this. There’s a coherent thread in the distracted points, but it’s a matter of understanding that this can be covered up with, literally, thousands of words. It’s birthday time. Cancer should have some fun. The moon heads towards its last quarter flavor. Not so good. Mars is in a position that imparts a little extra attention to the Cancer parties, good. But really, what you want to do? You want the fireworks to be set off in your favor, the flip side of that situation, is that you don’t need to be one with a hand in the actual ignition. Short fuses, you know.
Leo: At the edge of most metropolitan centers, where I live, and, in fact, even at the edge of some "one horse towns," there, too, will be the ubiquitous firecracker stand. Usually gets a coat of paint in May. Then, mid-June or so, a ton of product gets arranged on the shelves. The boards on the front are converted from coverings to awnings, and it’s the fireworks season.
It’s a brief heyday, maybe a couple of weeks at the most, when everyone comes and drops money on fireworks. Some people shouldn’t be allowed to handle these items, but as of now, there’s not a lot regulations that I’m aware of. Then comes the marketing, "Buy One Get 12 FREE!" Makeshift signs and some slicker, slightly more professional looking signs, all start to pop up. Generally, this occurs in areas that are outside the city limits. Some stand offer a place to set off the dizzying array of fireworks, too.
Then comes the amateur engineering, and I’ve seen this, "If I just tie this firecracker onto this rocket, and light both fuses…." Logically, both go off with spectacular sparks. But fireworks logic isn’t always crowned with sound engineering. More than once I’ve watched as the propulsion has been inadequate to deliver the payload. And that’s the problem for Leo, no "engineering" on fireworks. Or pyrotechnical devices. Nope, not a good time for that. Mars is just starting to create some tension, and Saturn is still here, just done with Venus, and while it’s a great idea? What might happen, and I’ve seen this, the rocket fails to get very far before the payload explodes, all too early. No reason to put your own, Leo life in jeopardy.
Virgo: I lived too long in a trailer park. In one case, there were some rather young people who lived close to me. I’d guess college students, but that’s only a haphazard guess, and it might be profiling. And for several years, right around July 4th, they could be counted on for spurious firecracker outbursts. Usually, it’s just a string of small poppers, but to some characters, it could also sound like small arms fire.
See, fireworks have a place in the upcoming celebration, but for right now? Consider what a little too much exuberance might do, how that enthusiasm might be a little too enthusiastic for some neighbors? Stop and think about it. I’m all for a good party weekend, a long weekend, and perhaps a fireworks show — or two. But doing it yourself? Mercury is backwards at this point. No need to put yourself in a situation where one of your neighbors mistakes firecrackers for small arms, and that same neighbor tries to return the fire.
Libra: "First it’s Mars, now it’s Mercury, do we ever catch a break?" Sure you do. There’s a long weekend associated with this upcoming holiday. Take it. Relax. Get out of the rat race. Might get into some other kind of trouble, and that’s all I’m warning you about. The July 4th Weekend, or in this case, just about the whole week, is a good time to make an escape from the human race.
A little bit of time alone — one way or another — is good for the soul. The Libra soul needs a break. There’s at least one foreign reader who might — or might not — understand the July 4th holiday. So it’s a localized phenomena, but one way, or another, this is a break. This is a good time to fish. Strictly speaking, it’s not that great of a time to fish, but less strictly speaking, it’s an ideal time to find some solace in a little quiet time by the edge of a body of water, and I know, if I’m there, I’ll probably have a fishing pole. Doesn’t hurt. Never can tell what one might catch, especially when you’re not really looking for it.
Scorpio: Ever deliver a stern measure of admonishment, only to have the message get missed completely? Ever deliver a stern warning, only to get laughed at? Ever try the line, or something similar, "Laugh now, you’ll be sorry…." And did you ever want to smack the astrologer, just once, for good measure? Please don’t. Thank you. Between two items, Mars and Mercury, you’re not being heeded, even though, you are, of course, perfectly correct. Just no one wants to listen to your sage advice. (Insert gratuitous "Hi Mom" here.)
Your stern admonishments are going to go unheeded, due to Mars opposite you, or worse, with Mercury backwards? Your warning will be misinterpreted. I would never laugh at a Scorpio — I’m not that stupid. But I’m not like a number of folks you’ll encounter, either. I was using this example about the sign that said, "Wet Paint." The non-Scorpio guy? "Yeah, well, I had to touch it, just to see how wet it was." In about four to six weeks? You can say, "I told you so," but until then? Keep it to yourself.
Sagittarius: There’s a process to the production around here. First, I cast a chart, which really, doesn’t involve a lot of casting, but is more about plugging in dates and times to make the astrology chart. I prefer to let the software do all the hard work. Then, the scopes get "roughed out" in a first pass. Then, there’s a second pass to correct factual problems, then a grammar checker gets the scopes. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, and I have to approve — or disapprove — of edits.
My words, I rule, therefore it more accurately reflects what I was shooting for. Then there’s a two more steps in the process before the material hits the web page. So that’s at least a half-dozen steps in making a horoscope. Theoretically, there’s enough fact-checking, grammar-checking, and spell-checking going on, plus link-checking, so that it all works. Comes out right. There’s the final edit, though, happens — usually — Wednesday afternoon or evening.
Between the two M Planets, Mars (in Taurus) and Mercury (retrograde in Cancer), there’s not enough levels, and that last, sometimes hasty edit needs more time. There’s a stray fact that needs to be verified, a bad link, or — heavens forbid — a typographical mistake. My goal, our Sagittarius goal, is to get to some of the production schedule work ahead of time, and make a second-to-last, more-than-cursory glance at the upcoming material. Sagittarius gets a little closer scrutiny this week, and as such, we need to be a little more careful. It’s that simple, really.
Capricorn: I was out, early one morning, meandering across the "Bat Bridge" in Austin. Home to millions of bats, the tiny, winged rodents take to the air at sunset in a dizzying array of "flying rodent power," off to eat insects and such, and they return, presumably, before sun up. It was between 6:55 and 7:10 AM, that morning. The sun was just creeping up over the horizon. As I crossed the bridge, bats were, like, dropping out of the air, dive-bombing their daytime roost. But it’s weird, because, me, like the bats, I’m largely nocturnal, and I’ve seen them fly into the night many times.
Great, huge clouds of bats off to forage and eat insects, all night long. So seeing them return was a little strange, the way, instead of coming in as a swarm, they were dropping, almost literally, one at a time, individual, and at the right time? It was like two or three bats every second. There would be a momentary lull, then more bats. The bats huddle under the bridge during the day, warm and safe in the cracks and crevices.
Mercury is still backwards, on the opposite side of the wheel. Bad news, there, or a good news in that you know, so you won’t do anything ill-conceived. But Mars? Mars is like those bats returning, singly, instead of en masse, like I’m used to seeing them at launch time. It’s not so bad for working, alone and working together, too, so maybe it’s more like the bats when they all exit together, yeah, that’s Mars, and Mercury is when they come home alone, to be together again. It’s one of those.
Aquarius: Roadside Beef Jerky is a culinary treat that I can rarely, if ever, pass up. Wouldn’t miss it for the world. I’m not sure of the source of the "meat" itself, nor, for that matter, am I really sure about the curing process. There’s one place, a little east of town, less of a stand, and more of guy with two coolers — and he sells beef jerky. His marketing ploy and the job itself is easy, he’s got a hand-lettered sign, one cooler full of his packaged beef jerky in a variety of flavors, and another cooler with beer and water on ice. A couple of packages of his wares, the beef jerky, are open for sampling, and he just sits on a desolate section of highway, usually in the warmer months, peddling his stuff.
Never got much conversation out of him, but his jerky is nicely packaged in plastic, so I’ll assume it’s okay. One time, he had this special "Chernobyl" batch. I couldn’t resist it. I had to have some. And it was aptly named, too. I saved if for a week or maybe a month or whatever and zipped open the bag not long ago. It was hot. Not just hot but really hot. When I read the ingredients, though I understood the ploy. It was just crushed red pepper and sugars. Smooth at first, then really, really, really kicks in with an after-burner in the heat department. Always too late.
Roadside, I’m sure he could easily charge three dollars for a small bottle of water, after a sample of this stuff. Chernobyl Jerky. Just as hot as it sounds. Maybe even more so. Mars is going to confuse an issue. Perhaps, even an issue about taste. As tears were streaming down my face, as I was thoroughly enjoying the burn, and reaching for multiple bottles of water, I kept thinking this was a good Mars kind of warning for some. Maybe, next time? Read the ingredient first. Or wait, until the sample has a chance to fully unload its potent flavor before jumping right on in. Sugar exacerbates the peppers. And Mercury? Mercury can make you a little hasty.
Pisces: I’d wandered a little further a-field than I usually do, and consequently, on my afternoon walk, I’d found myself in unfamiliar suburbs. Not really suburbs either, but I was in a neighborhood that I’d — in the past — only seen in passing from a vehicle’s window. There was, in one front yard, a mom, with a toddler. Or a kiddo, or whatever is the correct term for a person between 1 and 6 years of age. Guessing here, and while I was casually strolling, I didn’t want to stop and be impolite, or worse, weird. So I just watched. But for all the world, to me, it looked like the kid, in one of those kiddie pools? It looked like there was ice in the pool, too.
It’s summer, it’s hot, July 4th is the last day of this scope… the idea of ice in the pool is really kind of a nice concept.
Best way to beat the heat. There are a couple of other turns I can take with the kid on ice, but I’m guessing it was summer afternoon frolic and not much more. Perhaps the kid had requested it, and maybe the mom was thinking it might be a good idea. Hot as it’s been some days? Yeah, not a bad idea. Let’s swipe that idea from the mom and the kid, for Pisces. Not what the cause the consternation is? Getting a little heated up over something? Time to look for a way to cool off. A kiddie pool, filled with ice is a good start. It’s solution and remedy for keep yourself "on ice" while we wait out this Mercury Mayhem — and its related problems. No reason for a good Pisces to get all hot. Besides, that ice will melt pretty quick.
Aries: I was looking over some early attempts at video production, examples of what I’d been playing with for the weekly audio–video update. I thought it was funny, as there was the "wardrobe" credits rolling, and in that one segment, I wasn’t wearing a shirt. It’s hot, in a little trailer, in South Austin, and I’d just neglected to select an appropriate drape for my torso. In other words, I didn’t have a shirt on. No big deal, not to me, but it was worth a mention because, in that one segment, I still took all the credit for wardrobe &c., despite the fact I wasn’t wearing anything visible.
I probably had on some shorts, but I can’t verify that, not at this time. I don’t exactly recall, but I’m sure I’m close with the facts. But for hard facts, Mars is in Taurus now. And Mercury is all but done with his mess, but that doesn’t mean that the next week isn’t full of stupid, almost comical material that all be traced back to Mars & Mercury. Like, forgetting to wear a shirt, and then, to compound the problem, taking credit as the guy who picked the shirt out, the same shirt that wasn’t worn.
Taurus: Mars is an instigator. Mercury is confusion. There is no relief.
Doesn’t mean it’s all bad, but there’s the simple fact that Mars is pushing you to new and higher ground while Mercury is trying to hold you back. Doesn’t help that this runs until July 4th, either, and that’s even more of a problem as there’s also the marketing junk that infects the overall timbre of the times.
I don’t see a lot of relief. I see a harried Taurus, perhaps a strand of hair straying in front of the Taurus face, and your delicate Taurus self keeps pushing it out of the way, but that hair keeps falling down in front of your visage. It’s an annoyance. It’s not really a problem, and there’s a slightly disheveled look that you can adopt. I’m not saying that you’re a slob, but it seems like there’s too much to do, and not enough time, and Mars keeps beating his martial drumbeat.
There’s only so much Taurus to go around, and if you let it happen, there’s a comic ending to this pressure. Sit back, and enjoy the minor Mercury mishaps. Mars doesn’t want you to rest, though, and I’d suggest that some sort of extra activity is in order. What? That’s up to your fine Taurus sensibilities.
Gemini: I got a call from a Gemini buddy, "Dude, I’m out of the office this afternoon, let’s lunch." Sure, fine, no problem, But Mercury is backwards. A few minutes later, "Hey, I just a got a call from someone, can we push it back an hour, I’ve got meet her for a coffee." Okay, no problem. An hour goes by.
Phone rings. Again, "Hey, can we do, like a really late lunch? I got caught up here, and we’ve got to go look at a computer, real quick." Again, not a problem because, after all, I am an astrologer, and I understand what’s going with this Gemini and Mercury thing, "Hey, I’m going to need another hour to fix this thing, how about dinner, instead?" Again, not a problem, as I was working on a Gemini horoscope….
And the rest of the tale? I never saw my Gemini buddy that day. Didn’t bother me, as I was apprised of every step along the way. This just goes to show how it’s working, the Mercury in the sign after Gemini and Mars in the sign before Gemini, then too, I understand the Gemini mind (4 planets in Gemini, that one), so it’s not a big deal to me. I’d fixed sandwich, worked on a scope or two, then fished some. I didn’t deviate from the plan. However, the point might be lost on none-Gemini people, or personalities who don’t understand what’s happening. Not a big deal to those who understand — and love — Gemini. It’s just a Mercury thing, more than any other influence.
