Horoscopes for 9–16–2021

Jove’s Mercury, and herald for a king!
Go muster men. My counsel is my shield;
We must be brief when traitors brave the field.

King Richard in Shakespeare’s Richard 3 4.3.55

The sun enters the Tropical Zodiac Sign of Libra on Sept 22, a little before 3 PM (local).

Virgo

Assuming that every perfect Virgo is a neat a freak, that’s a faulty assumption. But as we face the last few days of Virgo, the last few perfect birthdays? With Mr. Mars, where he is, moving like he is moving? (Mars is in Libra for a spell.) That suggests there is something immediate, at home, in front of you, in that living space your Virgo self calls “home.” Right there, in front of you. One of the greatest gifts? Time alone, time with one’s self, time not spent attending to others, but time spent attending to one’s own self. That Virgo self? It needs a little bit of attention, and the last days of the Sun being in Virgo is the best time to follow up. One — maybe two — last little ways you wanted to spoil yourself, without ever leaving the house.

Libra

A gentle shrug of the shoulders, a roll of the eyes, a simple gesture, these are all parts of the typical Libra ouvre. Expressions of non-verbal approval, disgust, amusement, or exasperation. Combining the gestures yields a more nuanced range of emotions. The challenge being?

It’s hard to get others up to speed to read the nuanced, and carefully shaded non-verbal Libra messages when that gets delivered to the rest of us in double time. It’s a shrug, then an eye-roll, then a warning finger. I’m not sure, all strung together in a space not more than half-a-beat? I’m not sure I get what it means. I see the finger, pointing at me, and that’s all I get, I know, me knowing Libra pretty well, that there is a world of information that I just missed. Therein is the challenge, slowing down the message, or possibly repeating the same message, out loud, perhaps several times over, just to make sure that the true, intended version gets through. Otherwise? We just think you’re mad at us, and mad at us (non-Libra) for no reason.

Scorpio

I’ve been in this business of trying to discern a relationship between the location of the planets and what people here in my neighborhood do? I’ve been at this business for many years. I was an early adopter of credit cards, and I’ve been through a large variety of services for the transactions. At one point, distant memory, one of the main service providers was involved in a class action suit for over-charging, or something. I can’t recall the details, but I got mail, e-mail, and other notices about joining the suit. I declined. Or more likely? I just ignored it. I was looking at less than $20 in recompense, for hours of work trying to dig out the details required. What I had to do? What Scorpio wants to think about? Is the effort worth the reward? Yeah, I know, the whole, “There’s a principle here!” I get that. But sorting through several years of paper files to find the credit card imprint receipts so I could identify the potential problem transaction, then, each transaction was worth $35, and the percentage was 1% per transaction, or less, so it worked out to — maybe — an optimistic $20. To get the proper paperwork itself submitted would’ve taken three working days, and $20 isn’t worth it. Yeah, yeah, I know, “It’s the principle,” but there’s also a principle that Scorpio should consider: reward for effort invested. Besides, I abandoned, and eventually destroyed, all that old-school credit card tech, like, years ago. All-digital, now. Ask yourself, “Do the rewards justify the effort?”

Sagittarius

One week, I swear this will happen, but one week? Each horoscope will be wrapped in a single apothegm. It could be done, and I’ll set that as a target, a single, preferably witty, simple expression about the week’s energies, and how to handle it. What to do. What not to do. Wrapped in a simple, cute, trite, clever, witty expression. Looking at the last of Virgo, for Sagittarius? Then, looking at my goal of a simple expression to help move us along? Despite the Sun’s location in the sign of the perfectionist? All I kept thinking about for Sagittarius? “Don’t sweat the petty things.” That, in itself, is a simple way to look at this. Or, as the maxim once suggested, “Don’t take it personal.” However, to make this a little more cute, and to be a little more Sagittarius-centric rather than a general (you know who you are), this should read differently, and it’s not like I haven’t suggested this before, but? “Don’t sweat the petty things, and don’t pet the sweaty things.” Hat tip? Who loves you baby?

Capricorn

“Are you a tough guy?” The most correct answer? “Tough guys are dead or in prison.” Which comes back to the question, posed for Capricorn, “Are you a tough guy?” In this instance, usage, “Tough guy” or just “guy” is non-gender specific. Not that it matters, but to some, it does. Not gender specific. However, the rest of the phrasing stands on its own merits. Mostly this is a matter of Mars and then, to a lesser extent, Venus, plus. Well, there are other influences, but those two worked easiest, and the answer to the question? “No, I’m not really a tough guy.” Of course, that’s speaking for myself. I don’t have anything to prove, and as a Capricorn, you’re going to be challenged with a similar, if not exactly the American, kind of question. So where are all the really tough guys who are bent to make sure you know they are tough guys? Dead or in prison. Do you have something to prove where being right, being the toughest one there, does that really matter that much?

Aquarius

Until you work in food service or retail, you will never understand the levels of stupid.

Aquarius: they are out there.

Be careful.

Pisces

Different times, different places. I’ve got a friend in Austin, we’ve passed through a number of locations at the same time. We were in Arizona, at the same time, she was on one side of town, and I was on the other, but this was Tempe, AZ, not exactly a big town at the time. Didn’t meet, then, but we were in the exact same circles, knew many of the same people, performers, and so forth. After I decamped South Austin, we met, and she’s a client these days. Friends, or friendly, and I’ve done many consultations. She still lives and operates in the same neighborhood I was in, from the good, old days in Austin. If this had even been a slightly bit more different, I’m pretty sure we would be lovers, perhaps coupled, and when I see one of her daughters, I think, “I might’ve been a step daddy to her.” This is a weird, very personal reminiscence about situations, and this applies — specifically to Pisces because this about missed connections, or timing, or things that could’ve been, but weren’t. In a different world, in a parallel universe? In an alternate reality, or just in a dream state? Not this lifetime, but at some point, perhaps another life, or some altered version of reality, which, considering this is about Pisces? That could happen. Doubt it, but it could happen. Timing seems a bit askew. Not totally off, but off by degrees. What could happen, what did happen, and where we are now? We’re dealing with a very different kind of reality these days. Still, we’re all connected, and we must respect that connection, weird that it might be. This plays out with certain Pisces having a trip down through the corridors of time, memories, and strange artifacts thereof. Dealing with it? Remember that we’re here, now.

Aries

Some song, leftover ear worm, I suspect, but that tune? Something about the Moon on Monday, know what I mean? One school of thought suggests that, “If you can dream it, you can make it happen.” Not that recent events have shown otherwise, or that I’ve listened as a number of very Aries dreams gets shattered, no, that’s not it. This is about understanding that tenuous, in my case, connection between the dream world, the world of fantasy and make believe, the realm of true fiction, and the real world. Over time, the world shrinks as it gets larger. The more I understand, the less I know. I do know that dreams and fantasies are a big part of this period of time, for Aries, and that those selfsame dreams and fantasies leak into the real world, or the real world as some of us understand it. As a goal, as a target, as some nebulous destination to aim for? Understand that the fabric between the real world and that fantasy world seems to be thinner than usual. While I doubt there will be true hallucinations, I do think that there’s a visible and tangible, a very real sense to some of the dream-land material that surfaces. What this means? Don’t get lost in the fabric of non-reality, or get it confused with the real world as everyone else (non-Aries) might understand it.

Taurus

On approach before we get to next week? Venus (associated with Taurus) is going to oppose Uranus (currently in the middle of Taurus). The first part of this kind of an opposition brings up the thought of new lovers, or a new spark to an older romance, or maybe, perhaps, lost and forgotten lovers who resurface? Can be any kind of a combination of old and new, or older and potentially new. There is, always, a catch. Don’t let a temporary infatuation be mistaken for true and deep, abiding love. Don’t confuse love and lust. Momentary sparks of animal magnetism makes for a wondrous feeling of potential romance, yet, in about ten days, when this is all over? Have we made a mistake? Is this really true love, or merely the hot concept of love, and when the fall out from the full moon is over? Does this really have what it takes to be called a real relationship? It’s a wonderful experience, breath-taking in its appearance, and yet, just as quickly, it departs. So there’s that idea that this coming few days, there’s a build-up to something really cool or really good, or there seems to be building towards that climactic moment. Yes, that much is true. But trying to reap long-term benefits from such an inconstant start? I’ve used this before, and take it from someone who has lots of experience in this area, the expression, “It seemed like a good idea at the time?” That’s what I’m trying to save you from having to say. “But it’s a great idea!” Right now, sure.

Gemini

A while back, I was in California, seeing family and whatnot. While I can disguise my accent from time to time, I let it slip, and drawling and twanging a bit, which, in the situation caused a sigh of relief from the counter help. “Yeah, around here? The tourists are nice. Locals? Not so much.” The “not so much” was left hanging, and there was an expectant air that there was more to the story. Me, I’m from Texas, and we are uniformly polite unless we’re not. (Politics aside…) Act nice, and most of us give you a break, and frankly, some non-Texans have wondered about how friendly we are. One neighbor always yells at me to get off his lawn, but that’s a friendly gesture, with zero real malice behind it. “What’s his problem?” He claims he doesn’t like hippies, but then, he’s been so kind otherwise. Anyway, that’s not what this is about, this is about that place in Northern Cal., where the locals are not well-liked, but the tourists are well-received. Has to do with temperament. Has to do with attitude. Has to do with being nice to each other. Simple action, Gemini simple terms like “please,” and “thank yew,” and “yessir,” or “no ma’am,” all of these are simple little forms of social lubricant and they all go long way in making the Gemini world a better place in the next couple of days. Don’t act like a local; act like a tourist — they’re nicer.

Cancer

Crisp sheets. Weird sensation, in a way, but easy enough — now — to duplicate. It was a freshly laundered set of bed sheets, I tend towards good linen for the bed as I spend up to a third of my life there, and the idea that the sheets were “crisp,” it just felt good. Just freshly laundered bed linen. I think there’s even now a scent from the essential oil people, “Freshly Laundered Linen,” but in my experience, and this was a recent experience, the actual feel of the fresh, crisp sheets felt wonderful. It’s the smallest of touches, but maybe that isn’t the right way to suggest it, it’s not small, it’s a total body experience, the sheets, clean, dry, and sitting under the AC vent, like I made the bed in the morning, and this was the evening, so it was nice and cool, hence the “crisp” essence to the feeling. Which is what this is all about for Moon Children, Cancer. I was looking for a way to take the edge off, and Mars, currently in an uncomfortable residence in Libra, which, in turn, makes for a tension angle to Cancer’s Moon Children, which, to make life easier? Crisp sheets. Simple solution to a complex problem. Hope it helps — it should.

Leo

One of my fishing buddies? Claims to have worked as a waitress. I take a small amount of umbrage with that, though, because I’ve watched how she treats waitresses, usually younger, prettier, but not as a witty, however, yeah, there’s a certain level of disdain. On some primordial level, it appears, there’s a competition. “This isn’t a race!” There are no winners and losers; this is the human race, and there is no upside to being mean just because of a perceived competition that really isn’t there. Every encounter with a younger, prettier, temporarily more eye-catching person doesn’t demand escalated tensions. As The Leo, one is not required to prove thy superiority every time. I know you’re way better than that. So when the situation pops up in this next few days, which it will? Remember I suggested there was no need to prove that you’re the better fit. Be the better person by example, not by berating the staff.

“The beatings will continue until morale improves.”