“A dream itself is but a shadow.”

Hamlet (II.ii.216)

Horoscopes for 7-11-2023

New Moon in Cancer 7/17/23 1:32 PM

Cancer

Personally, I don’t believe in hexes and curses, like “That’s a bad luck thing.” I will admit, though, I’ve met a few people who are “snake bit.” Just can’t seem to guess the right answer, or in a situation where there’s an easy way and hard way? Always seem to favor the most arduous route to learn those lessons. Not operating under a curse, but yes, to a certain extent, just kind of snake-bit. Or, as the old expression goes, “Feller just cain’t win for losin’ — he’s snake-bit.” There are obstacles in some charts, but the obstacles and challenges represent lessons. Some folks just seem determined not learn those lessons. Until we get right up on the New Moon 24°54’ Cancer? Until the Moon arrives at its newest position? To a certain extent, especially in Cancer, the Sign of the Crab? Going to feel like you’re snake-bit. Easiest way to enjoy it? Slow down and pretend it’s your birthday month and as such, everyone should be doing stuff for you.

The Leo

Me, I’m always afraid of shoddy construction. Too often, I’ll start a task, a simple home repair, or an art idea, and I’ll get part-way into it, only to discover that some pieces of it are above my pay grade, or not part of a skill set that I thought I possessed. I started a simple project for a fishing buddy, a magnificent Leo friend. Simple idea. Budgeted less than ten bucks, and maybe half an hour to get it all done.

I was over budget in time and materials before that first half-hour was up. Took a couple of hours out of a hot summer’s morning, then I was off to the store, and then I had to wait until everything dried, and I could start again, the next morning, and that worked, a little better, as I was learning as I went, a skill set I thought I had, but as I could tell from the not-yet-finished product, no, wasn’t one of my latent skills. However, like a good Leo, I persevered. Three, almost four days, budget was close to four times what I thought I should spend, but my fear of shoddy construction? It wasn’t shaky. It was solid. He liked it, but dismissed it quickly. Feel my pain, Leo? This is about estimates that are laughable at best, and remembering it never goes according to plan. It does work out, but figure it might take all week for a half-hour project. Know what this means? Patience. Royal patience that only a good Leo has.

Virgo

Who was, the great philosopher credited with the “The un-examined life is not worth living?” I can’t recall, and besides, since I don’t read Ancient Greek, much less modern variations, yeah, I don’t know if that’s the exact quote. I might have my sources wrong, but the statement stands, and the statement stands as a Virgo challenge to answer as we get closer and closer to that New Moon in Cancer. This is more along the lines of a challenge rather than a question, too. Does it matter? Can a good Virgo stand an un-examined life? Do you want to looks closely in the nooks and crannies of that wondrous Virgo brain? There is the trap therein. There is a clause, a warning, something from the good Virgo fineprint about spending too much time too closely examining a particular nuanced expression. There is a temptation to do just that. Too much examination, not enough action. Tossing this around, though, not looking in the first place is the problem. The leap, unbeknownst? Not looking at all? Or get stuck looking too much? Pondering the imponderables? It’s a challenge, but one that we have to rein ourselves in from going too far in one direction. “Let me think about that, for a minute,” then? Two hours later, “I’m still thinking.” See the problem?

Libra

One of the greatest inventions of all time? Wireless earbuds. My first real pair? Cost what seems like a fortune, and lasted for several years. Worked across several devices, phones, tablets, and even a laptop. Pretty cool audio piped straight into the ear, and not much otherwise? The problems, though, it got harder and harder to tell the mad ones from the truly insane. The crazy ones? I’m probably one of those. The kind who can talk, just about anyplace, on the phone. I’ve tended, after a while, to get more circumspect about who I talk to, and when, and how. I was pacing around on the front walk of a tiny taco dive in Old San Antonio. Looked a little bit iffy to begin with, me with my latent old Austin sentiments, and attire, but the trick, instead of just talking to myself? I was on the phone, and I clearly had a mobile phone held up to one ear. Helps. Helps to have a prop. Helps to look the part, and that worked, even better. While I love the wireless earbuds? Think about this as the week unfurls like a slowly raising sail, think about the devices that others need to see. It’s not magic; let us see the props, no sleight of hand.

Scorpio

The trick to sure Scorpio success is concentration. Yes, I know that most decent Scorpio harbor great degrees of concentration. Just the steely-eyed gaze, doesn’t take much. But the Moon’s position, the planets’ dispositions, and the relative motions of the cosmic current leave Scorpio a teensy-weeny bit distracted. It can be hitched to a number of different influences, but the sum total is that Scorpio is easy to distract at this time. “I went in the kitchen for coffee, saw the dirty dishes in the sink, so I pulled open the junk drawer, and now, I forgot why I was here, and what am I doing with the contents of the kitchen’s junk drawer all over the dining room table. Oh look, I found that! I’ve been missing that.” And the Scorpio wanders off, no coffee, no clean dishes, no junk sorted, and we’re back to the problem of distractions. My cure is to write it down. But that only works for me, and I’m not a Scorpio. Big fan, but no, not me. However, when I flipped the planets around? Simply put? The trick to sure Scorpio success is concentration. How to concentrate? Check your notes, see what you wrote down.

Sagittarius

It is so difficult for me to think in strategic Sagittarius terms. But that’s what this calls for, more than anything else. First off, while the Moon completes her pass through the other signs, not quite new? Figure out what the big picture is. Figure out what the big, Sagittarius picture is. Got that as an ideal? Big screen, blue sky, the terms are limitless! Just get an image of that bigger than you and me, and even bigger than you and me together, get that image in mind. See it in our Sagittarius mind’s eye(?) Not sure if that was a statement or a question, and it could take a few days to get that resolved and in focus. Over the course of this horoscope, we’re trying to get the eagle’s eye view, the bird’s eye scene. From afar. From up on high. There’s a reason for this, once we have established the other parameters of the goals, designations, desires, and what the scene really is? Then it calls for some strategic Sagittarius thinking. Big picture then eventually zooming back down — next week — to where we are.

Capricorn

How to say one thing, talk about the one thing, and not talk about it? Name it without giving it a name? A favorite set of memes, recently, came through, and it was about how to show a particular skill, or place, location, without showing an obvious clue. I was thinking of this, and as a question for this week’s Capricorn? How to talk about that one thing without mentioning it? How to talk around, how to talk about, how to address the issue without actually mentioning the issue itself? It’s more of a challenge, but that new moon thing, up and coming? It lifts you off to a good start. How to talk about it without talking about it. That’s the goal, the one thing we all need to talk about? You need to talk about it, address it, or work it into the conversation without mentioning it.

“How old am I? I used to answer phone calls with pager and pay phone.”

Aquarius

I can coax a piece of software into doing exactly what I want it to do. Some days, this is easy, and some days, this is a bit of an onerous chore. I can get it to do what I want to it to do, but the computational overhead, the amount of brainpower required to achieve particular goals? Sometimes that computational overhead outweighs the destination’s purported desired outcome. Weighing options, weighing in with shortcuts? Looking at goals, and determining how close we can get without having to waste a whole day or two trying to get the exact result desired? There are some days, there are weeks even, when “close” is good enough. This is one of those weeks. For Aquarius, trying to coax that last millimeter of performance out of the software, getting that pixel-perfect image positioned in the precise location? Getting the software to do exactly as you envision it? Think, “I’m Aquarius, and Kramer mentioned that ‘close’ was good enough for now.”

Pisces

A business associate, a dear friend, occasional client, and sometimes confidante rang me up the other morning. We talked business. We talked the good, old days. We talked ex-wives and former lovers. We talked about coffee. We also hadn’t spoken in maybe a year or two, and we picked right up where we left off, an easy familiarity among real friends. Part of this is about shared history and years, but looking forward, for Pisces? This is about connections, and this is about connections that run deep. There’s also a level where this is about being a cheap bastard, like I am wont to be, from time to time. We talked, strolled memory lane, took a look at some historical data points, and then? Eventually signing off with that nebulous, “We’ll get together soon.” Kind of vague and open-ended. Business, societal, and social concerns keep us at arm’s distance for the time being. Something to consider, for Pisces, connections and nebulous plans for getting together some time soon.

Aries

I went from never really liking digital format books, e–books, to rather enjoying the experience. Most of this, I blame on the pandemic, as I had plenty of time to read, and I didn’t want to go into the library or bookstore. Yeah, and I don’t like having a dedicated reading device, like Kindle or Nook. However, I have the reader software on my tablet, so I can read in almost any format. A recommendation from a fishing buddy came though the other day, and I tried the novel, from the library, only it was an older copy of the novel, and it was stringently formatted. No scrolling, just pages on the screen like in the book. While I appreciate the page-to-page corroboration, I much prefer scrolling as I read faster. Then, too, I love the Public Library with access to lots of texts. Makes it easier — and this where the digital format books pays off. I’m not sure where your Aries self is on these e-books and digital format libraries, but as we make our way through a good, if hectic week? Be willing to look at previous, preconceived ideas, and try a second time. Might work. Might not. Won’t know until you try, right?

Taurus

That New Moon “energy” rolls in softly for Taurus. However, look carefully at the chart itself, the New Moon occurs really late in Cancer, so that means the Moon shifts into Leo quickly, and that’s the tension, energy, and slightly explosive sense that gentle Taurus needs to get up and get out, and do something. Sometimes, undirected action is wonderful. I’ve built a career out of that. Accidentally stumbling into destined people, places, and events that are where I’m supposed to be. So the volume, in Taurus? It goes from soft to loud, and it is like getting into a truck you drove home late last night? You stagger out in the morning, crawl in, and turn the ignition. The radio, stereo, Bluetooth thing, whatever it is? It suddenly comes on at a remarkably loud volume. Someone, not naming names, but someone was having fun singing at the top of her voice on the way home the previous evening. Today? The next morning? It is sudden and jarring. Leaves the Taurus nerves jangled. Softly then loudly, watch for it.

Gemini

I wouldn’t have to trot this one out again, if you listened — and remembered — from the last time. Apparently, from what I’m hearing, you didn’t recall. Remember, generalized statements tend to be too sweeping to adequately cover these very Gemini situations. There’s always a very Gemini temptation to paint with a few broad brush strokes, and then call it good. That’s not what this is about. Mars, safely in the early degrees of Virgo, and Virgo, with an attention to detail that bugs normal people? There’s a very Gemini temptation to cover this up with a few generalized comments. Bumper-sticker wisdom? Doesn’t work, not now. Attention to detail, and leaving nothing out? Or? In Pink Cake?

“All generalizations are false.”