- “Does the Sun try to do the rain’s work? Or Asclepius Demeter’s? And what about each of the stars–different, yet working in common?”
- Marcus Aurelius Meditations Book 6, Chapter 43
Virgo: I picked Marcus Aurelius because I’ve grown rather fond of his stoic works. Old military buddy tipped me towards Marcus Aurelius, pointing out that, outside of the Bible with its concomitant emotional baggage, and Shakespeare, there’s not a wealth of material that can be quoted for inspiration, without some kind of subtext. I like Marcus because the Christians embrace his work as that of a nascent Roman Catholic, and the Stoics embrace Marcus as a lone bulwark against the sea of odds, and my pagan friends point out that Marcus was still pagan. Best guess would be Cult of Mithras, but who knows? I have various translations, and I think, I might even have some in original Greek or Latin — should be Latin, but my last text was Greek. Birthdays, Moon Signs, Moon Beams. Birthdays. Be true to whatever your Virgo nature — your Virgo Nature — demands. Birthday. Pick something fun, for you.
Libra: When I lived in downtown Austin, South Austin, a trailer park in South Austin, I spent much time observing urban nature. In particular, there were hawks, usually Red Tail Hawks, frequently riding the lazy thermals over the downtown area. I’m not sure what they dined on. Maybe we ate in some of the same places, at the time. Further south, in San Antonio, I tend to see turkey buzzards as the predominate large bird.
That single image, though, meant something to me. It was sunset, near here, and I glanced up after taking the trash to the dumpster. I pulled my phone out and took a quick picture, unsure if the bird showed up. Doubt he did. More like a speck. It was one of the Red Tail Hawks, lazily circulating overhead, south of downtown. I briefly messed with the hue, saturation and warmth, attempting to make the speck more visible in the camera-phone image. Work with what is at hand. Not a great picture. But messing with the colors was fun. Barely see the hawk, and most birders will be hard pressed to validate my claim of hawk. Doesn’t matter. As Libra gets rolling through this week? Make due with what’s at hand, at the moment. Worse than taking a bad picture? Not taking a picture at all.
Scorpio: “Old is the new NEW!” Cute tagline. Might work. I was thinking of a perfect example of this, and I looked no further than the previous link in Libra. That single image, all it took. That was done with a phone camera. Frame, filters, photo-adjustments, all done on the phone. The total effect, according to one commentator, it “Looked Retro.” Cool. I’m not even sure what I was doing, other than toying with buttons on a phone. Just wanted to do something. My first point is that Mars (in Scorpio) will make Scorpio want to push buttons, almost in a dogged, haphazardly fashion. The second part is knowing when to stop. I usually don’t know when to stop, so maybe this isn’t a good example, except, when I glanced at the phone’s screen, it looked good enough. Push buttons. Stop before something blows up.
Sagittarius: This is a frankly delicious time for me. I’m a writer, first and foremost. Sagittarius, first and foremost. Writer. Writers slave away in relative obscurity, frequently unnoticed and unremarked upon, year after year. A decent novel can take years to produce. My first book, that was published, took close to a dozen years from idea and inception to finished product. As Mars creeps through Scorpio, it’s a time when fears, nightmares, long-dormant patterns, all of that can emerge.
As a writer, I have fun toying with the frequently macabre imagery buried in my subconscious. As a Sagittarius, we can rue the day we were born under our sign, or, better yet, we can revel in quiet disposition, alone with our thoughts. Again, I’m a writer, so I can put this time to good use. As a Sagittarius in general, and specifically, a little time alone? Is that so bad? Just realize the dark secret corners of our minds might be having a bit of macabre fun with the rest of the brain.
Capricorn: I stopped in a town in West Texas, some years back, and I stayed at a hotel that fell halfway between “fully renovated,” and “decent decay, gentle decline,” with some essence of both trends clearly evident. Historic, in as much as anything in West Texas can truly qualify as ‘historic,’ age being a factor and all. The harsh, high prairie and the relentless summer sun lend a burnt sepia sense to the images. Old and new coalesced in that one place, with hipsters and old road dogs mingling well. Interesting brew for an evening. I can’t linger. If only I could stay longer, I could get more stories about the old west, the new west, and the boom or bust that was going on that the time. Changes. As a Capricorn, you’re a passenger with me, this week. We’re looking. Watching. Recording observations. No judgement. That’s not the Capricorn job, not this week. Record, observe. No judgement.
Aquarius: “That what doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger.” Sure, lead with that. The problem is the corollary? “That which kills us leaves us for dead.” Either you get stronger or you get run over. As an Aquarius, I’m sure you grasp the concepts behind Darwin’s Law of Natural Selection. Here comes the Aquarius quip, “Where you going with this, Space Cowboy?” Mars (in Scorpio), and the basic Virgo sentiments of the Sun?
My fine Aquarius friends are going to run into a blockade. Can’t say for sure, if it’s at work, but I’d wager that’s the most common place that this would occur. Kill your project, kill your pet issue, kill off a favorite co-worker, watch the untimely demise of a favorite business? I watched as one coffee shop died an inglorious death, smothered by, well, chains. Struggle, adapt and survive. The real clue? Adapt. Change. Be willing to change, change directions, shift gears, move in an alternative way. Or, like me, I appear ADHD. Just drop what doesn’t work, that which might be killing you, and shift to something else. Relax, you can come back, once Mars is passed. Or closer.
Pisces: I make it sound like a joke, when I deliver this orally, but the line is solid and quite true. If a Pisces would just meditate, silent contemplation, perhaps with breathing exercises and a mantra, for just 20 minutes on a Monday morning, that Pisces could tell me what the rest of the week would hold. For both of us. Silent, contemplation.
Meditation. I’ve generated enough white-noise, audio kibble, I think that’s easy enough to find if the thought of absolute silence is that frightening. If the thought of holding it in for 20 minutes worries you, I’d suggest on the audio tracks. Something. Anything. When I lived on the lake in Austin, I considered a long hike around the lake to be a form of contemplation. Some meditative state. Personally, these days, I prefer a meditative state induced by TexMex or BBQ, but the idea is sound. The Pisces goal, before we go brokering any other planet news? 20 minutes of silent contemplation.
Aries: Saturn’s been in opposition, pretty much, for the last few years. We’re wrapping this up, in Aries. This wrapping up goes off with a bang. Or a punctuation mark. While, I’m sure you’d agree, a gentle comma, or perhaps a question mark, that would be a lot more interesting. Looks like there’s a cartoon quality to this, though. Looks like an exclamation mark. Maybe, to the disgust of the editors, and the grammar cops, maybe there’s three. Like this: !!! That’s either good, bad, or surprised. I prefer the “surprised” look for the Aries. The other expression that I favor? “I didn’t see that coming!” You read my horoscopes for a chance to see what you can’t see. I’m thinking this a good surprise and to insure that it happens like that? There are some days, attitude, Aries Attitude, there are some days, A2, all that matters. That sets the pace.
Taurus: Free carries a heavy price. There’s a sense that everything on the inter-webs is free. Legally, I’ve got a copyright on all my digital work, be it audio, video or written word. Practically? Anything I release on the website, be it audio, video, written word, or images? That stuff is fair game, as in, it can be copied, swiped, stolen, downloaded, uploaded, and reused. Happens more than we would like to admit. I prefer to think of my stock photography as too personal and too obtuse to be useful as commercial work. The sad fact is, anything let loose on the winter-webs is fair game. With my written work, I don’t have much to fear, as my style can’t be copied. However, there is a practical matter, with electronic distribution, anything published can be copied and redistributed. There’s a point of frustration you reach, as a Mars opposes your Taurus self, “Where did you get that?” The typical answer? “I copied it from your blog.*”
*FaceBook
or *Twitter
or *blog
or *BexarCountyLine.com
Gemini: I had a horrible luck with getting a single package delivered. It was just a regular (package delivery service), but the shipper was using “Air,” or “Express Delivery,” or some other distinction that I didn’t grasp. The tracking number showed it was out for delivery. The regular driver brought my regular shipment, a product I receive almost once a month — but not a special delivery package on board.
The special driver missed me three time. So he claimed. “I think I had the wrong trailer,” would’ve been an excuse, but that doesn’t work, now. I think he was lazy, incompetent, or just plain stupid. I had to call the help line, complain bitterly and beg that the package be handed over to my regular driver. “He’s here all the time; he knows me!” Complain, or correct, once, as need be. That gets results. Don’t forget to praise those who do work well for Gemini.
Cancer: Read the symbols.
Look at the inherent symbolism.
Make note of what is obvious. There are clues, every minute of every day, particularly now, and those clues all point in one direction.
As a Cancer (Moon Child), the clues, the obvious symbols carry more meaning, now that the Moon is in a renewed state. The clues, look: it’s like a stop sign. Red, octagonal, big, white letters? Means “STOP,” not a lot of hidden meaning, unless, you’re from California, where, as I understand, it just means “Slow down.”
Pay attention. There will be strident symbolism in the next few days. Which way should you turn, which way will you turn? If you’re really confused by the symbolism I’m sure I can arrange a time for a reading, but if you read this horoscope on the web? I figure you are alert — and bright — enough to figure out what that symbol mens, and which direction you should turn.
Leo: Rehearse the conversation. Think about what you’re going to say. Consider a better way to phrase that conversation. Keep it as a conversation and allow the other person to speak. Although, I’d figure, as a Leo, you’d tune them out. There are two, distinct editions of this next week for Leo. Before and after. “Before” is while Mercury is in Virgo, and “After” is when Mercury is in Libra. Listen during the “Before” time, then plainly state your case in the “After” time. I’d shoot for Monday, as the first time to plainly initiate that conversation with the “After” timing. The “Before” time? Listen, since, through listening, you might pick additional facts to use after.
