“The bonds of heaven are slipp’d, dissolv’d, and loos’d…”
Troilus in Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida (5.2.152)
Horoscopes for 1.18.2022
The Sun moves into the Tropical Zodiac Sign of Aquarius on January 20, 2022. Mercury is retrograde in Aquarius.
Aquarius
I was in the smallest room in the house, and I was scrolling through various feeds. I wanted inspiration for something uplifting and hopeful for Aquarius, and all I could do was laugh at memes. None of them were appropriate. Amused me greatly, then there was a political post that offended me, and then, I realized as I finished up, I was being entertained by “short attention span theatre.” Which is what Aquarius needs at the moment. Flip over to my various social media feeds — see if there isn’t something distracting, amusing, enraging, engaging, or evocative of some kind of intellectual pursuit. Need a distraction, and I can’t offer anything better for this week other than just poking around on the Aquarius interwebs, looking at images, or pictures of cats. Whatever it is. Dog on skateboard? Need a mental palate cleanse, and some happy, ironic, brash, bold, unnerving, or just plain stupid material in your feeds might be the best way to go.
Pisces
Old trick; works well. I wanted a quick, simple, easy solution to the confusing problems in Pisces. There are two or three issues pressing down on the Pisces psyche, and the biggest one, the easiest way to deal with it? More coffee. I realized that this won’t work for everyone, and I will offend some purists, but what I’ve found? It’s current iteration of my old coffee ritual, slightly updated, I get a big, cheap, two-pound bag of medium roast whole bean coffee from the big box store; Grocery stores if you like, our local grocery used to have this great stuff called “Jet Fuel.” Get some of that, then mix is with smaller, usually 12-ounce bag of Italian Roast.
The lighter roast is easier, sometime more aromatic while the dark roast is the flavor I crave. Big cheap bag of regular and then a smaller bag of the triple dark roast. Makes for a great coffee experience, and like I suggested, I was trying to navigate the waterways for Pisces, and this coffee? Helps. The big bag is usually the cheap stuff, too. Which helps even more.
Aries
When Mercury is retrograde, or Venus, for that matter, but when dealing with a retrograde pattern like this? What works best is a simple sweeping motion. This can be real, or metaphorical, but the idea, and this is time-sensitive as we want this finished by the week’s end. There’s a reason for that. Mars hits Capricorn next week, and before that happens? We need — want — Aries to be finished with whatever sweeping up was going to occur as a result of this Mercury (Venus) Retrograde. A quick dash through the house to pick everything up before the cleaners arrive. Or, in one case, a quick pass through the house before the family arrives and starts judging. That’s what I mean by “sweeping up,” and it’s less about actually cleaning, and more about just making a quick check to insure that we’ve done what we can to help move matters along despite the retrogrades.
Taurus
I made a simple suggestion to a business associate. I suggested a subtle, but effective change. Think of this like changing the shade of a tablecloth used, really, not a big deal. However, the simple changed resulted in an increase of income. From dark blue, to a bright pink, the simple change of the table covering brought about more traffic, which, in turn, brought in more money. Simple change that I suggested, occurred over a few days. I got no credit. “I decided I was going to change the background color, and that made the products pop!” After I suggested it? Sure.
What’s the message for Taurus? Might be your suggestion, but do you get immediate credit? No. Where the planets are right now? A mute nod is better than pointing out that you did make the suggestion, in the first place. You and me, we know you’re the source. Might not get credit in the next few days, that’s all. Humbly know you’re right. “No acknowledgement?” Not right now.
Gemini
The pandemic and subsequent lockdown introduced me to a couple of long-running serials, authors and stories, 40 or more books with the same characters. It makes for a slightly obsessive kind of reading, but then the books tend to satisfy, and the less time spent on backstory makes for a more compact tale. What Gemini needs is a more compact tale with less backstory. Less time spent filling us in on what happened, then, so we know why the story arcs this way, now. There’s a more compact nature to the way the serials read, in my mind, and that’s what I was thinking as a way for Gemini to push forward through this morass of a week. Assume that we know what happened in past. Assume we’re up-to-date on what happened in the previous installment, the earlier books. Shorter, more concise plot — streamline. The details from the previous books? No more than a short allusion to let us know what happened. Act like you’re in a serial, and assume that the rest us already know the Gemini backstory.
Cancer
To help mitigate the effects of Mercury Retrograde on the Moon Children? The Cancer portion of the charts, are deeply impacted, and it’s not all fun, but to help alleviate that stress from Mercury (and Venus, really)? It’s the flinch. The duck, wobble, and weave. It looks like a sparing situation and the best response? Duck, wobble, weave. A certain female leaned in for a hug, and I danced out of the way, unsure if it was a hug or an attack. “Kramer, I was just going to hug you, a friendly hug.” I had that wary, scared look on my face, I’m guessing. “No really, that’s all, Kramer, I promise.” I’m a little leery and still just a tad bit concerned about the lingering pandemic paranoia. Could be me, though. However, that weave, wobble, and duck footwork? It’s as an effective tool as any to help make it through this next couple of days. Equivocate. Equivocate, physically, as need be to ameliorate the effects of the planets on the Gentle Moon Children, that crabby Cancer.
The Leo
Timing and pacing. Two elements that are important when trying to work with this kind of situation or situations, as presented this week. Timing seems off, if only by a little, or a lot, kind of depends on the individual Leo, but the timing is off. What that does? Cascade effect, the pacing becomes stuttered and uneven. That doesn’t work, either. Only two, minor problem areas, in the Magnificent Leo Life, just two small errors. Timing and pacing. The upset in the pacing, was supposed to go a three-count and went at two, instead? Upsets the timing. So that’s the pacing issue. Or the timing was supposed to be at noon, but didn’t roll until late afternoon? It helps to understand that there is the continual issue with timing and pacing for the Majestic Leo. With that as fore-knowledge? Helps understand that there will be missteps, and you can use those to your advantage. “Oops. Sorry. Didn’t mean for that to happen.”
Virgo
How many of the great classics have you read? Let’s take me, as an example, and I have low-brow degrees in English, so there is that, but as far classics, read outside of class? Not many. I’ll be honest, too, I didn’t use the lockdown to “finish reading all of Shakespeare’s plays,” no that didn’t happen. I have, on separate occasions, listened to entire canon of plays, read aloud. Doesn’t mean I’ve read every passage, though. This idea of reading, or rereading, great classic of Western Literature? It seems appealing. Hot Virgo tip? Pick one. Pick one great classic that you intended to read, and start with it. Instead of reading all of Shakespeare’s plays, I’ll set a goal of listening to one of them read aloud, link for audio files on the site’s index, and I’ll listen as I make my way through the day. Used the old commute to Austin as a way to hear my way through the plays.
Let’s take a pause, here, Virgo dearest. Take a pause for the Virgo cause. That goal of 38 plays? 40 plays, read all the way through? Not happening, and not now, with the various retrogrades, but given a certain of stability infused by the Capricorn influence — there’s a hint. Pick one. Tackle that one. Not all the plays, but listen to one, all the way through. Or read one classic — that piques your interest.
Libra
One of the first Latin quotations I committed to memory, that old-school “learn Latin” mantra? It was, translated, “About taste, it cannot be argued.” Rather archaic in tone, and maybe a little dispassionate, in execution. Current online translations don’t deliver the way I recall it, and that’s a long, long time ago when I actually studied Latin. So I won’t quote it, not in Latin, at the moment, as I don’t feel like digging into the text book to prove that I can still get the stupid Latin endings to properly agree with its declension, or whatever. Still, the expression itself, despite my academic shortcomings and unwillingness to dig out the proper phrasing in the original? The meaning is quite clear, “One cannot argue about taste.” In this sense it’s fashion, style, and looks, or even about flavors, as I tend to peppery and flaming hot as a preference, and again, not everyone likes that. But it all depends, and the perfect Libra dictum for the rest of the week? “Can’t argue about one’s taste in (fashion, characters, literature, etc.”)
Scorpio
I have a sketchbook, a recent acquisition, a gift, and it’s proven useful, albeit not in the way it was originally intended. I’ll get a notion, a figure I see in my head, and I’ll draft it, a time or two, in that sketch book. Other times, I’ll do it my daily, running web journal. Or, the most preferable scenario? I’ll sketch an idea, with as few lines as possible, snap an image, then post it. Sometimes, depends, I won’t even use the real sketchbook. Having it, though, served as a turning point, and as a motivation to explore a slightly different avenue than what I’ve done before. The paper is a little larger, there are no lines, graphs, or dots. The paper itself is heavy, hand-made, textured material that feels rich in cotton rag. Lovely stuff. But once that journal’s full? I doubt I’ll refill it — wrong size for me. However, as a one-off, special gift, and then, as a starting point for further exploration, and place to play with ideas? It’s excellent. What Scorpio desperately needs? A place to play with ideas where the material is permanent, but not permanent. It’s playground for the Scorpio mind, that simple. Stretch the ideas without making a full commitment.
Sagittarius
I can spin around in my current “office,” a spare corner in a bedroom with books lining the walls, and I can grab a reference to ancient Eastern mysticism, Greek astrology and philosophy, reasonably current Shakespeare scholarship, and An Idiot’s Guide to Palmistry. That’s also the problem facing Sagittarius, or what’s at hand, to mix that last metaphor. There’s much, much, more at my command, and that’s just a quick glance at the books on the shelves that I might use for this week’s inspiration for Sagittarius scopes. Or, better yet, this serves as an example of paralysis by analysis. Get to thinking too much about what I should use, and then, I get distracted, and Mercury — along with Venus — relatively retrograde? Overthinking a solution, and shooting for the acerbic attitude doesn’t work. Stop. Do. Do not. Just do. There is no “it,” rather this a verb and suggestions some kind of action, forward action. Given the planets and the retrogrades, probably a mistake, but some mistakes are good, you know?
Need further suggestions? Gutenberg.org
Capricorn
There’s an edge that Capricorn holds over the rest of the population. Not a total grouping, but maybe, let’s say, about 80% of the people you are set to encounter? There’s a distinct advantage that you’ve got. Slightly sharper wits, maybe. Better elocution? More standard grammar? Better command of facts, or apparent facts than the seemingly opposition? Sure, all of that. Herein is the problem, just because you’re better armed, at the moment, better prepared, and on firmer footing? That pesky Mercury is still in its position, and relative to other planets? Did we mention Venus, too? So just because you’re better off than most? That doesn’t mean that you really have the upper hand in this dispute, and as such, you are best reminded to sit down, shut up, and wait until you’re called upon to answer that cry.
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