“If thou art Dun, we’ll draw thee from the mire
Of this sir-reverence love, wherein thou stickest
Up to the ears. Come, we burn daylight, ho!”

• Mercutio in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliette (I.iv.41-3)

Horoscopes for 1.25.2022

Mercury is retrograde in Aquarius, slipping back into Capricorn on January 26. Mercury turns direct February 3. Venus, in apparent retrograde motion, turns direct January 28.

New Moon in Aquarius, February 1. And yet, we burn daylight, ho!

Aquarius

As we burn daylight, that New Aquarius Moon means we should launch in a new direction, regrettably, it’s affected by the Uranus in Taurus situation. Can’t fix that. The other minor retrogrades, getting better, but not out of the shadows yet. How do shadows and being daring mix and match? I have a simple process that’s proven effective for Mercury Retrograde plus the Venus thing, anyway, I have a small sticky note by the desktop. On it are three goals for yesterday. I accomplished none of them. Zero. However, on the way fix one problem on a website, I found another problem I didn’t know I had, and I was able to work some preventative magic to make it all better. Quick fix, ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, insert your own, snappy comeback. Didn’t hit any of the goals I wrote down, but I did fix stuff. Set three goals. Might not achieve any of them however, along the way? Be pleasantly surprised at what does get fixed. Journey, not destination.

Pisces

The New Moon occurs in the sign before Pisces, which, in turn, launches an expectant, “We are so over with these retrogrades” thought and then? It starts an action plan. Only?

As we burn daylight, and what with that New Moon where it is? What we need is that pervasive Pisces peace. Not action. The image of the fat monk (buddha), calmly and merrily meditating. That image of a peaceful Pisces, with a special, spiritual leadership ability that is based upon being serene in the face of mounting obstacles. Old adage, worked for me, and I’ll pass it along, “If you don’t have 10 minutes to meditate, then meditate for 20 minutes.” This current planetary array is messy, at best, and the one way that works? Spread that love, light and most important, calm. With what else is going on, these days? Yes, if you can’t mediate for 10 minutes? Maybe try 20 minutes instead.

Aries

As we burn daylight, what with the New Moon. (In Aquarius, loosely square Uranus)? The wan, winter light, meets with the first crescent of the Moon? Mars and Venus are headed towards an alignment. Getting your Aries self ready for that alignment is what this is all about. Easiest description? Whirlwind romance. That kind of spark that ignites a major flame, only, three-six weeks from now? Have that flame totally extinguished? It’s that multiple exclamation marks kind of force that hits, and then, just as quickly, the fire goes out. Small fires are better. Small fires last all night long. Bonfires rage in the night until, suddenly, they are gone, nothing left but cold, dead embers. The fun stuff, as long as my sweet Aries is aware that this is a flash of heat that might not last? As long as there is an understanding, then the next few weeks are easy to navigate. Understand what’s at play, temporary passion — real — but fleeting.

Taurus

Did I suggest, at the end of last week, there would be “No acknowledgement?” Was there acknowledgement? So far, and for the rest of this week, seems like there isn’t much recognition for what you’ve done. The goals accomplished, the standards set, the Team Taurus that won, yeah, not much recognition for having achieved the stated goals. There’s a hint, though, that there is something else to do with this, and maybe you don’t want the recognition. Maybe being noticed isn’t what you want — not right now. I know you’ve done well; you know you’ve done well; let’s let it sit with that. The New Moon is drawing Attention and Attention’s aberrant little sister, Controversy towards a situation, and maybe, looks like, this is like a celebrity scandal, and maybe? You don’t want any part of this. So is “No acknowledgement” a good thing?

Gemini

Ah, Gemini, dear? “We burn daylight,” as Mercutio says. That’s right before his Queen Mab speech. If you don’t know it, no worries, it’s a famous monologue, and one I love to hear, as I’ve seen it done very differently, each time, interesting interpretations with the words. Sad, happy, honey. Or about a Gemini minute, to some. I always thought Mercutio was a Gemini what with Mercury in his name. Doesn’t end well for him and what happens, his friend (Romeo) comes to break up a fight, and then the rest of the play is in motion. There’s a scene, much later, and I’ve used it to illustrate Mercury Retrograde and missed communications. Kind of a turning point, or, in my mind today? More of a downward spiral that just doesn’t get any better (for the characters). Long way around, with ample supporting evidence, that this is tragedy that could’ve been averted if they listened to their astrologer. Missed communications. Unattended details. Is there a more clear hint for Gemini?

Cancer

Morning coffee is a ritual cf, Pisces. I’ve added and subtracted to my morning coffee in a variety of ways. As we burn daylight in the sign of the Moon Children, I’ve found that simple addition of two minor herbs helps. One is the tiniest shake of Nutmeg. It can be the holier-than-thou, free-range, all-organic, fresh-ground stuff. Or, like me, since this more symbolic than anything else? I get some old, grocery store nutmeg and add just a shake to the morning go-juice. Part of the ritual. In and of itself, the nutmeg doesn’t quite do it for me, and there’s another trick, some think this left over from Xmas, but no, just an older tradition, and I add a shake of cinnamon. It helps with the almost-aromatic flavor of the nutmeg, and adds a festive spirit, while both of these herbs have metaphysical and alchemical properties. In real life, there’s also a fact-checked medical benefit, albeit slight. With the disruptive nature of this New Moon? A simple adjustment, like adding nutmeg on top of the usual cinnamon, just the tiniest of adjustments helps.

The Leo

Of the two Leo Archetypes I know? They are two sides of the very same Leo coin. The reaction to the current conditions is not going well — for either archetype. As the exhortation arrives, “We burn daylight,” one is in bed, trying to pull the covers over her head, “I don’t want to get up, I don’t need to get up, and you can’t make me!” The other Leo Archetype, she’s up, running, and moving forward with all haste, “C’mon, c’mon, let’s go!” She shoves a cup of black coffee into my hand, “Move it or lose it!” Two sides of the same energy, and both are right. Both are present, and the suggestion, with the mess from tension angles? Messy energy and what The Leo can do best? Whichever one it is, the “stay in bed,” or the “get up and go” Leo, whichever one is present? Go with it. I’m probably wrong, but that never stopped me from trying. Shouldn’t stop The Leo. either.

Virgo

As the week draws out longer and longer, it gets easier. What happens is the influence of the New Moon square Uranus gets easier to deal with, and its symbolism becomes more clear. This is about a fundamental attack — not really an attack, but the battle term seems fitting — that comes in full frontal and flanking. Standard military tactic, anyone who’s studied military history and campaigns, pretty sure this is evident in the Romans and the conquests, so I would hope that the idea goes back farther. My military history is a bit shabby and lacking, but the central idea, looks like there’s a guy head on, and that seems to be the target, when in fact, there are opposing forces on each side, forming a cup-shaped, inverted V wherein the enemy gets crushed. Flanks. Flanking maneuver, whatever it’s called, lured into a sense of complacency and then the trap snaps shut. Recognizing the flanking maneuver is the secret to Virgo success. We burn daylight.

Libra

Texas has two time zones, mostly Central with portions of West Texas in Mountain. At one point, I crossed that line, the time zone, every other month. Before automatic watches that are electronic minders, I wore a mechanical dive watch, and I got to where I didn’t bother adjusting the time for the time shift because it didn’t matter. This week’s catch phrase, from Romeo and Juliet, “we burn daylight” is about that voice in the back of the Libra mind, that singular tone reminding us all that we need to get a live one. Need to get moving. Need to shuffle on down that road. “Need to…” and then whatever the Libra mind is telling you. My suggestion? Go East, head west, or north? Maybe south? Given the current confusion and disarray, it will probably be the wrong direction, that first try. But if you don’t try, you can’t find the right trail, so get a running start, as the suggested catch phrase suggests.

We burn daylight.

Scorpio

I kept thinking of the late, great actor, in his best Western garb, “We’re burning daylight!” I’ve always been one for grabbing phrases out of older literature, especially Shakespeare’s plays, and from Mercutio, as he carries on about Romeo “we burn daylight,” sure it has a place. Saw the play last summer, in abbreviated conditions, at UT Winedale. It was a different take on the famous Queen Mab’s speech, but I plucked that quote out, again. It’s a John Wayne echo, but certainly predates the star.

This is about seizing the moment, and moving forward, and despite what you’ve been led to believe, now is as good a time as any to start moving forward. The challenge? There are two. First off, the play is a tragedy, so we know it doesn’t end well. Lot of needless tragedy, so there is that to watch for, for Scorpio to watch out for, and then, the other part, it’s that little mix-up with Romero’s letters, and how that would’ve prevented a bad ending. Yeah, careful, Mercutio’s Mercury is retrograde just yet.

Sagittarius

Hanging in the garage, I’ve got a bundle of fishing poles, mostly 6 to 7 feet in length, and each pole has a reel attached. These are old poles and ones that I don’t use that often. During Mercury Retrograde, I pulled that bundle down. A piece of a handle fell off one reel. I was concerned, hardware falling apart, but honestly, I hadn’t used that reel and pole — it’s kind of a specific arrangement for certain set of conditions — and I hadn’t used it in several years. As I looked at the piece, I realized that it was just a tiny screw that held it on, and that’s all that was loose. Wasn’t an issue, and at first, here, I thought, expensive repair for a piece of equipment that I’m not even using, when, in fact, it was just minor adjustments and the little screw, it was just like the screws on my reading glasses. Same screwdriver, as a positive note. So the big issue wasn’t a big issue. Simple fix. The conditions I need to use that pole? Might be soon, sort of depends on what the weather does, next few days. If that predicted cold blast doesn’t arrive, I might use that pole again, we’ll see, and now? We burn daylight.

Capricorn

The pressure is on, but the pressure is also off. What was inconsolable and tragic is getting easier to manage. In part, the reluctant shift in the relative position of Venus is part of this, and Mercury, too, as he moves along in his seemingly pointless meandering. Sure. But there’s a moment, a time, and it’s fast approaching, that New Moon in Aquarius when we can approach a new cycle, get a fresh start, and see things differently. Only, we’re not there yet. There is still a few items that needed attention long-before Mercury and Venus did their thing, and whatever that was, usually left unattended by others, and this is a responsibility that falls squarely on the shoulders of Capricorn? This must be attended to by you, fixed, repaired, now. There is no time better than now — “we burn daylight.”

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