Horoscopes for 2-18-2021

There’s a dainty mad woman, master,
Comes i’ th’ nick, as mad as a March hare.
If we can get her dance, we are made again.
I warrant her, she’ll do the rarest gambols.

Third Country Folk in Shakespeare’s The Two Noble Kinsmen 3.5.71-6

The Sun rolls into the Tropical Zodiac Sign of
Pisces around 0505 on 18 Feb 2021. The blistering cold, and problems with the power grid show the strength of Mother Nature, and the weirdness of Mercury Retrograde in Aquarius. (I warned you.)

Pisces

Always have a plan. Just makes life ever so much easier if our Pisces selves have a plan. Steps, you know, or shopping list? “Oh I never have plan,” explained one Pisces, and I watched. She pulled a recipe out of a magazine, looked at the list of ingredient, then made a quick list on the back of an old bill’s envelope. Off to the grocery store. Gather some ingredients, checking that list, and then, because I was along for the ride, I remembered to get coffee beans and coffee filters. Cardamon, too, organic cardamon, as I’ve included that in morning coffee this month. The next afternoon, that Pisces served up a delicious “coffee cake” of some ilk. Made from the recipe, with ingredient bought from that list. Looks like a plan, to me. Worked out great. Helps, this week especially, if you have a plan. “But I didn’t plan it, just a shopping list and recipe.” Helps to have a plan, right? Call it what you want.

Aries

Digital media is wonderful in its breadth and scope. It’s also a virtual quagmire of useless data, unless it is all properly filtered. This is about filters that Aries uses. Ways to see material, what’s important, what’s not important, what carries proper Aries value, and what might seem like it has value but, in fact, doesn’t. Or does it?

Depends on how you decide to filter the data, and for that matter, what data you choose to start with then — look: don’t do like me. I pick an answer and then select data that supports my already-chosen position. This is about selecting your point of reference then building on what is determined, not heading in a predetermined direction.

As they say?

“Good luck with that.”

Taurus

Mars and Venus make for fairly uncomfortable energy for Taurus. While not bad, there’s still a disconcerting disconnect that occurs with this tension. The way I handle it? I understand that Mars is drive and Venus is beauty, and one will try to run over the other. Then factor in a Retrograde Mercury? It all goes quickly downhill. My advice? Great time to play with pencils, especially colored pencils. Theoretically, the pencils are not permanent. Still, a chance to try various shadings, hues, thick lines, thin lines, no lines, red lines, yellow lines, personally, I prefer purple and pink, and that’s just to be a little different. Still, the idea has merit. The trick, the meditative point, the symbolism, I hope, is that “pencils” are not permanent markers. Experiment, toy, try, but now is a time not to make s definite decision about what colors, what dressing, what hues are best. It’s about energy and beauty, and how to deal with that? Try different shades, different colors, looking at it from different perspectives.

Gemini

Touchstones. There’s a character in a Shakespeare play called “Touchstone,” he’s a clown, but that’s not what this is about. This more along the lines of familiar objects, mementos, souvenirs, or even jewelry. My jewelry tends to be, ahem, “inexpensive,” not because I don’t like nice things, but I am hard on equipment and stuff wanders off. But this isn’t about me, this for Gemini and this is about that keepsake, touchstone, something that is familiar. It tends to evoke a sense of peace. We all need a sense of peace, but this is a clearly inanimate object, at least to a non-Gemini, clearly an inert piece of matter. A really Gemini, though, will be able to feel, detect, or even get vibrations from that touchstone — whatever it is. One of my old pocketknives is like that, for me, I just feel better patting my pocket and feeling it in there. The blades is not stainless, so the high-carbon steel is stained, with the edge still sharp from last week. Mercury was retrograde, you know. This week, all I have to do is pat my pocket, and I feel better.

Gemini: I don’t know what your touchstone is, but make sure you have it along. It will help with the mercurial machinations ahead.

Cancer

This is really hard to do in digital format, but maybe you can figure a way to work it. When I looked at the way most of the stuff is in Aquarius, then Pluto lagging in Capricorn, with Mercury just unwinding? I tend to favor a couple of texts for this, but it’s more like one of those random quote-generator things. I’ll open up a copy Marcus Aurelius and see where it falls open, gradually paging until I find something that answers whatever my pressing, momentary panic is about. I haven’t yet figured out how to do this kind of semi-random, zen-like approach to finding answers to ethereal questions. Some days, this works really well, and the universe provides answers, or ways of seeing a problem in a different light, and the seemingly random nature of searching and finding a meditative text? I like to think that I’m being directed. Likewise, CancerMoon Children need to take a moment and let a seemingly random act provide insight, clarity, and shine a ray of light where it was once dark.

Like I’ve said, I favor the Roman Marcus Aurelius and his Meditations, but your mileage may vary.

The Leo

Try doing the opposite. Push when you think you should pull. Pull when you think you should push. Hold when you should fold. Fold when you should call. The Leo is up against a bunch weird stuff at the moment, and since none of this makes any sense to a logical, stalwart, kindly, strong Leo?

Do the opposite.

Do the opposite of what people might expect. Do the opposite of what you might expect for yourself. While this is ongoing? The results, inevitably, will be something like a person looking at you, asking, “What were you thinking?” The correct Leo response? “Seemed like a good idea to change it up a little. You know, it might work better this way.” Do the opposite and be perceived as the brilliant person you really are.

Virgo

We’re prepping. I use a paper notebook, just as a way to drive ideas forward. Half-baked notions, bits of a plan that have no place, maybe a word I think I’ve been using incorrectly? Occasionally, it’s also a shopping list or a daily “to-do” punch list. All depends. Some days, I just scratch out vaguely icon-looking shapes. I’ve been trying with the paper notebooks for years. Some useful data. Lot of trash. Not much that matters, but I have a vague record and way to access the material, if need be. This is what I do for preparation. So when I suggest that the Virgo sky is “prepping,” this can take many forms. The Sun rolling into Pisces gives us a thin sense of what the flavor will be, but we’re not there — yet. So this week? Let’s prep. One Virgo buddy is an avowed pitmaster, so his version of Virgo preparedness? He’s marinating brisket. So there is that.

Libra

Balance. Yeah, yeah, we know that the Sign of Libra is represented with a symbols for scales, and that Lady Justice is a main archetype. Yeah, and she’s got on a blindfold, too. So this is about balance, but there’s a tricky point where this balance occurs, it’s between rock and hard spot, to resort to the lowest common metaphor I can find.

“Rock and a hard spot?
Seriously?”

There’s a lot of “fixed” energy floating freely, and the tricky point is to balance that energy between opposing factions, and this is where the Libra Balance plays such an important role. It’s that juggling act? It’s that sense of “shopping,” rather than “buying.” Look, listen, and nod appreciatively. Offer words of kindness, and words of affirmation, but maybe don’t commit just yet. With this stubborn, Taurus and Aquarius energies, balances as the Sun lies into Pisces — the best answer is a well-timed Libra acknowledgement, but maybe no action just yet.

Scorpio

The statistically improbable high number of Scorpio I’ve seen as clients? They all seems to fall into two categories, either the Super Scorpio personality, or what turns out to be more a reflection of the Moon Sign, or other elements in the natal chart. The split is usually obvious. So about half of the Scorpions are gong to be affected by the gentle susurration as the sun shifts into Pisces, with the other half, bouncing off the walls as the final pieces of that Aquarius material still makes a pejorative angle to the fixed elements. Part of that pushed for change, and part of that pushed to remain in a fixed position. Either way, it’s a time to consider the elements that might want to be changed, and in doing so? Considering? Not making a drastic change, but thinking about it? This helps with either kind of Scorpio and the mind finds peace while examining the possibilities without making the change, if we’re going to make a change, yeah, just not yet. “Let me think about it.”

Sagittarius

Life is easy and good when this works the way it is supposed to. The interruption, shortly after this scope goes live? There’s a cosmic pause button we all hit, well, all of our Sagittarius parts hit that button as soon as the Sun bumps into the Tropical Zodiac sign of Pisces. This is not an abrupt halt, more like a long slide that comes to an inglorious resting spot. Problem being, might not be where we want to stop. Might not be “pause” we want to pause at. Might turn into a rather inconvenient break in normal Sagittarius action.

“Whoa.”

First off this is a cosmically inspired break in the action, and one, what I’ve learned, maybe we didn’t intend it, but it never hurts. “No, must keep going. Can’t stop now!” Yeah, I agree, that’s what it looks like, but that’s not how this plays out. Slow down. Life is good when this works out the way it is supposed to, and what Sagittarius is supposed to do? Take advantage of this inconvenient break, and call it a temporary resting place.

Capricorn

I’ve been administering a home-network ever since I first cobbled one together in a trailer park in old south Austin. So the “home network” is nothing new, and I can perform basic, diagnostic, and maintenance actions as need be. Usually, these days, with a little help from the internet, but whatever. I had to overhaul the hardware and some of the wireless wiring recently. Updates, software patches, better extension cords, the whole works. Before I set about tackling the wiring, the plugging in, the unplugging, the questioning about “why this one isn’t working right?” Before all that, what I did was sit down with a notebook, a paper notebook, and a pen, ink pen, to plan. Planning works really well. There’s a Capricorn in the back, waving his hand at me, and he wants to remind me that it never goes according to the plan. We know that. However, having a schematic, it was merely a sketch of boxes with names, cable modem here, then the main router, then the Ethernet thing, then the wireless booster thing, and it was merely a simple sketch. In design terms? A wireframe. Planning. A few moments planning, just putting the devices in order, and where what will go, and what gets plugged into to whom. What. I tend to anthropomorphize my computer hardware, and they hate that. Before this week starts, before that one Capricorn project gets underway, pen, pencil, paper, or whatever media works, draft a copy of the plan.

Aquarius

A couple of years ago, I got a package of phone charger cables (Apple Lightening) for cheap. Three, maybe four cables, all looking like they were shielded with extra-heavy duty cable covering. Gradually, over the period of a little less than a year, each cable quit functioning properly. Each one died an inglorious death. There was a reason the cables were so, ahem, inexpensive. The packaging wasn’t much, and I was more interested in having a selection of charging cables around for various items, nominally, the phones, but other devices, too. There was a reason the cables were so cheap. There was an intermittent failure somewhere in the construction — could be a number of causes. Eventually, over the ensuing years, each cable, as it failed, was tossed. Couple of Aquarius pointers here, one the cheap stuff is usually cheap and doesn’t last. In this example, the cost-to-usage ratio paid off well enough. Having a cable handy, or having a cable I wasn’t afraid to leave behind, lose, or otherwise have “disappear,” as is their wont? Made it worthwhile. Realizing that the cabling was bad? That was a harder problem, as there was intermittent failures with each one, not a complete “It stopped working” event. This isn’t about cables, or phone chargers, you know? This is about cost versus utility. Usage. Not about what it cost, but having something on hand that works. Think about it, cheap is good. Sometimes, the cheap stuff — to have it on hand? That works better.

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