“Come and take choice of all my library,
And so beguile thy sorrow, till the heavens
Reveal the damn’d contriver of this deed.”

Titus Andronicus (4.1.34)

Horoscopes for 9-19-23

• Sun trine Pluto 9/21 12:30 AM 27°59’ Cap/Vir.
• Sun enters Libra 9/23 at 1:50 PM

astrofish.net/travel for appearances

Virgo

Happy Birthday to that one special Virgo. To the rest? Hope it was enjoyable now that the planets are in a little less evil disarray. That’s for all of you Virgo. But I would be remiss if I didn’t bother to mention a recent question, and my answer? “I don’t know,” which is really, “I don’t recall.” I’m a big fan of letting the software do the hard stuff, letting the software take care of the so-called heavy-lifting. The computers, their original designs? They were used to make near infinite calculation, in repetition, accurately, over and over again. Let the machines do the hard parts. At this point, a client was asking about my services and what structure I use to automate the process of dispensing my horoscopes to social media, e-mail, and so forth. “I don’t know,” which really should be translated from me, as “I don’t recall.” But there is a process, look for what is the end result, what is the desired outcome. Look at where you want to be. Look at that, and then, plot a way to get the machines, the processes, the workers to do their parts so this is as easy as possible for Virgo. Let the machines do the heavy lifting, or whatever.

And the real answer to the questions? “A lot of work goes into making this look easy.”

Libra

Wrestling words to the page? Or, more realistically, wrestling with thoughts as I type on a screen? But the notion of wrestling with the right way to say something, and looking at the text as the cursor marches back and forth across the screen? There is a right way, and there is a wrong way, and then, of course, there is my way. (Cue your favorite version of that tune.) I’ve found that “thinking it through on paper” is the easiest way for me to arrive at possible solutions, and that’s what this is about. My preferred media? Word processor or similar text editor, and I’m not going to pick just one, that’s best left to individual tastes. But writing it out, maybe a paragraph, just like the length of a single sign’s horoscope, sometimes, that gives me enough space to collect the correct answer. What this means for Libra, it’s about finding the balance, and committing that idea to print, maybe never published, but wrestling the words to the page helps.

Scorpio

My first name was on the waiting list at a restaurant. Not exactly a fancy place, but there was a line. Server/staff person called my name, “Kramer?” As we stood and walked over, server looked at me, “Kramer? I kind of expected you to slide in,” he said with a grin.

I rolled my eyes, and and looked at my date. She shrugged. I’ve lived with this ever since that show was on the air. I never made the connection, and know precious little about the program itself. Same thing applies to this week’s Scorpio. You get noticed. You get confused with a comedic character. You care not. Best course of Scorpio action? Say, “Thanks?” There’s an unwritten subtext, “I guess?”

Sagittarius

Looking, about 75% of this is mental conditioning. The other quarter? That last 25%? It’s all in our head. Keeping those numbers firmly in mind? Most of this is “mental,” and that can be defined however one wants to, but think: it’s all in your head. That’s the principle component to this week’s understanding, and how to work with what’s there. 80% is mental conditioning, the other 20% is all stuck between the Sagittarius ears. Let’s try these numbers, nine-tenths is in your mind, and the remaining ten percent is purely mental.

Capricorn

I’ve used this example before, but it has a certain kind of message, and it works well for this week’s Capricorn. When I join one buddy for a fishing trip, local lake, I’ll just meet him at the boat ramp, and I’ll take two fishing poles with me. He has a floating tackle box, the bass boat itself, and he’s armed with at least a half-dozen poles with a variety of baits, floaters, sinkers, spinners, dead weights, topwater, and divers. Wigglers, non-wigglers, I mean, he’s got it all. I’ve found that I’ll have a hook, usually with a plastic work-like bait on one pole, and a little lure on the other. I’ll carry a pocket full of worms, hooks, leaders, weights, and bobbers, but otherwise? Just two poles. More time fishing, less time messing with tackle. There are a couple of tried and true baits that work across a variety of conditions and locations, work most near anyplace. I’ll rig one pole like that. The other? Look at the locals, and see what’s been working, or what they’ll admit has been working, and I’ll take one of those. I try it first, and if it works? I’m set for a morning of finding fish. If it doesn’t work? I swap out one of my two poles, and I’m good to go. I stand a much better chance of catching fish if I have a bait, a hook and something, on the end of a fishing pole, a much better chance of catching if I’m active with a line in the water. Less time fiddling with getting the perfect set-up, the best possible arrangement. More time, Capricorn, just fishing. Pictures are on the web, someplace. Me? I plan to come back next year and catch those same fish, again. They should be all grown up by then.

Aquarius

My simple guideline, loathe as I am to call it a rule? My simple guideline is “work then play.” Part of that is ingrained from being raised with a pioneer, protestant work ethic, and some ascribe it to my genealogical heritage. Think it’s more from a way that I’ve learned to survive, and the pattern is simple, work first, then play. The problem, for someone like me, and I’m not Aquarius, but I am certainly Aquarius-adjacent? The problem is I tend to see most of my “work” as an extended form of entertainment for myself. It’s like a puzzle, and fitting the pieces together, not always easy, but it can be done. I had on some background music, and I was swinging my ample hips to the tune, as I was looking at your chart. Technically, what I was doing was “work,” but I get to a place where the work itself fascinates me to the point of amusement and diversion, and doesn’t that count as play? I’m not sure what the right answer is, not for Aquarius at the moment, but find that joy in the daily rituals that helps make the work more like play. Or do what you enjoy. Still, the original guideline I was working with and the message of the planets? “Work then play,” unless, of course, you can do both at the very same time.

Pisces

“Monopoly” was a board game, one I’m remotely familiar with. Targets a certain age, works as entertainment and introductions to how business works, in a general sense. Variations on themes, there are huge number of licensed versions of the game, now. Some expressions have entered the vernacular, as in, “Get out of jail free card.” The next week, almost ten days, for Pisces? It’s like moving around on that Monopoly Game Board, assessing, being assessed, and transacting with play money. Some days, like this next week, it feels like this is all a game, a form of Pisces play. It’s not — it’s very much real, and the usual accoutrements, the tokens, the playing pieces, and the fake money? It’s all real. Careful how you roll those dice, and where you land each time.

Aries

There is a subtle yet pervasive influence Mars exerts when opposite like this. There are other triggering elements at play, but I like blaming Mars, as it is the typical Aries planet. This energy is more subtle and less all up in your face, but it is an energy that is very much present. Can’t be avoided. Can be used as a relentless energy to actively pursue a long-term goal. One of the best ways to harness this? Look further down the road than next year or the year after that. Look further afield than the typical Aries “in-a-minute,” which turns out to be more like in 30 seconds. Double the time. Then double the time again. Understand not everyone is moving at the same pace, and it is helpful if you grab two points. One, you’re faster with that Mars influence, and two? That speed is best used working on material that is way on down that Aries road, like in a year or three.

Taurus

I passed a storefront, local here, and the sign in the window said, “Restrooms out of order, sorry!” Further along the strip of stores? Another sign in the front window, “Restrooms are for paying customers only!” There’s a distinct feeling that borders on hostility but not quite hostile. Close, but not quite? Know the feeling? The sense that you’re not entirely welcome here? Sure, invited in if there’s a solid reason or an expectation of a cash transaction?

Another sign to stack against the “No Restrooms” signage?

“On Sale Now!”

Gemini

While I see this in literature, most often? The overuse of the terminology that refers to a carnival game, or child’s amusement? “Like playing Whack-a-Mole.” So it is a referent for Gemini, but one that I really don’t want to use. When it showed up in two different books I was reading, I immediately decided it is an overused trope. So I won’t use that term when referring to this week’s Gemini situation, but you know I’m thinking it. There aren’t a ton of really tough points, but there’s a myriad of little stuff that keeps popping up. Like that game, I suppose, I’ve never played it, but like that game? Every time you nail down one issue, another one pops up at a different location. It’s a never-ending battle, or so it seems. Is this the end? I doubt it. Is this a no win scenario? For the next couple of days, it will certainly feel that way. However, by the time the moon is full? New paths, new outlets, and new solutions begin to appear, and the little things you keep swinging that hammer at? Get easier to hit, or stay down longer once you hit it.

Cancer

Got two moods, and this applies to a number of people, but in the current time-frame? Astrologically speaking? Two moods, either Wide Full Open, oversharing with too much personal data, and too many intimate details that might be way too much for the average Cancer Moon child listener, or? Maybe not sharing anything at all, closed off, crawling back into that crab-like shell you might be famous for. Too little or too much. Me? I’m not worried, as I’ve always tended to be excessive until recent years foisted a kind of reticence upon me. But I learned the hard way about not oversharing, and it’s up to your Moon Child, Cancer self how this plays out. I would suggest, next few days? Less is more, like share less and listen more. But that’s just a suggestion from someone who is known for over-sharing.

The Leo

A watched pot never boils, right? But stay with me here, does a cup of water in the microwave boil? I mean, does it boil in the allotted minute, if you’re watching it? It’s just a cognitive dissonance situation. Or better yet, a short circuit to the Leo Brain, which, I might add is better than other brains, but that might just be my own empirical observation. Still, a watched pot doesn’t boil, but we can watch water boil in the microwave? Bit of conundrum, for The Leo. I don’t have an answer for you, but you can experiment, and then? Observe. Tell me which one works.