“I trouble thee too much, but thou art willing.”
Brutus in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar (IV.iii.259)
Horoscopes for 1-30-2024
Mercury enters Aquarius 2/4 11:11 PM (local)
- Books: astrofish.net/books…
Mercury Conjunct Pluto 2/5 6:06 AM (local)
Aquarius
A singular failing of my own education left a gap in time wherein I never got the proper, now obviously stilted, take on Texas History. Doing so backwards never bothered me. Instead of starting at the Alamo, I began with the natives, since some of the earliest “pre-history” in North America is found in Texas, and my own, native Southwest, I started with what — who — came first. Still up for debate. Still being investigated, but this kind of backwards “long view” helps put the more recent material into a better place, and one realizes, over time, what’s really important, and what might be less important, other than as a shrine. There is no denying the Spanish colonization as a big impact on shaping my lands and cultures. There is no denying the existing native culture as a part of the lands. Take a beat, take a pause, take a moment to stop and reflect, from a historical perspective for the Aquarius Life, and figure out where you’ve been, and what influences are still present, to this day, in your actions, behaviors and motivations. It helps to understand where you’re coming from in order to better move yourself ahead. This is a time to pause, reflect, then carefully plot a path forward with the increased understanding that an extra year brings to the equation.
Pisces
To me, this looks like someone slipped you a note. This is the old-school way of doing it, too, a message, maybe just a number on pink piece of paper. I’ve seen those recently, one setting I used to work in, I would get the occasional note, with a number, just a name and phone number, ostensibly I was supposed to discern what the message was. Still, it fits with the imagery that someone slipped you a note. (Probably an Aquarius, but who’s counting?)
The old-fashioned term, and the outdated method of communication? While more symbolic than anything else, it leads to another, older, possibly out-dated term, because passing you a note “Leaves a paper trail.” There’s a singular passage in the planets, and that tickles an event, a memory, or an ancestral Pisces moment of one ilk or another — varies from Pisces to Pisces — but it does means that there’s a note, could be a few simple letters, maybe just some numbers, scribbled on a slip of paper. In my example, what I was thinking of? I was sitting with a client in front of me, and the counter help showed up with a pink phone message slip, and just dropped it on the table’s surface. Simple. Easy. Triggered a flood of emotions. Then I thought about old notes, messages, like that, left over from a more archaic time when everything was done by hand. For gentle Pisces? This starts with a note slipped to you, real or metaphorical, and what you do with that information, for real.
Aries
Pretty simple, from the way I can see it. You can’t count on it. Aries: you can’t count on that happening like you plan. In other words? You can’t count on it. It might happen, the other people — non-Aries — involved? Pretty sure that they will mess up the order, they will mess up the positioning, or they will mess up the timing. You can count on that. “Is Mercury Retrograde?” No, but the planets aren’t aligning in a simple way that spells out gentle Aries success. Instead of blindly staggering forward, plan on there being at least contingency situations with everything, “If it goes this way, then we we can adjust on the fly,” and “if it goes that way, we can adjust again on the fly,” and if it all falls apart? “We collect the pieces, assemble what we’ve got to get started all over again.” Contingency plans, and then? Contingency plans for other possible scenarios, “Expect the best, but prepare for the worst.”
Taurus
There has to be a convenience factor. A recent set of interactions I had with a certain government entity, the fees were assessed then there was an additional “convenience charge” for doing it online. Probably an uptick in handling charges, but it was all digital, and think it was a just another way to squeeze a dime out of a dollar, added fees and surcharges. More for the fineprint most of us don’t bother reading. Still, the term “convenience fee,” and my Taurus spin coming up? The convenience factor. I want to do this with a single action, I want to accomplish those goals with a simple set of commands, and I want this all to be at a low-low price. The question, moving forward, the question moving Taurus forward? What’s the convenience factor you’ve got to work with? What works? What doesn’t work?
“Look! This one has free delivery!”
Gemini
It’s all about how we choose to squander our resources, and I think I just wrapped a new way to express energy in a simple phrase. See how this works. Of course, it was when I was working on the Gemini horoscope that I came up with — I thought — cute turn of a phrase, “It’s all about how we choose to squander our resources.” Still, not exactly a smooth phrase, but the juxtaposition of ideas, while working within an established framework, that gets to the heart of the problem, and for Gemini? This is the essence of what we’re working on, and what we’re working with, at this moment. It’s about the judicious squandering, that means, piddling away, resources. To some, this might be wasteful, but for a good Gemini, this is anything but wasteful. Sure, it looks like you’re frittering away valuable time, energy, and finances on a seemingly unimportant subject, but there’s merit in the pursuit of the unstated Gemini goal. We’re learning stuff, just not the usual way, but then again, as I often remark, “Normal is so boring,” and every Gemini hates boring.
Cancer
The age-old adage? “Can’t fight City Hall.” And no, for the Cancer, Crab Cakes in life? Remember that, “Can’t fight City Hall.” The deeper meaning is that there is an established bureaucracy and it’s not worth the effort required to surmount that obstacle. Sometimes, it’s just a whole lot easier to go with what is the rule rather than trying to rail against that which is over our heads. The companion comment? “Over my pay grade,” as in, “I’m not being paid enough to put up with this crap.” Or, it is crap that requires a more knowledgeable and better-paid employee to negotiate the correct answer. In sort, for the week ahead? “Can’t fight City Hall,” and if that doesn’t track? “It’s above my pay grade.” You win by not fighting with the forces that be.
The Leo
I’ll share a coffee making secret with The Leo. For a near perfect pour over? It’s not an expensive, ceramic cone, nor a pricy stainless steel mesh filter. It’s a simple plastic one, cheap, almost disposable, but not quite, and the idea is, these are really inexpensive. That, a good filter, fresh ground beans, add hot water, it’s really simple. This is not a complex process. Grind beans, place in a filter that is in a cheap, plastic filter cone, add hot water, and we’re good. I was looking at expensive ceramic cones, for pour-over coffee, and I realized that the ceramic, on these cold winter mornings, that would shed the heat faster than the cheap plastic one I use. There’s a message, just a cheap, plastic, the opposite of fancy, that works. Works best. It’s almost disposable; not totally, but in a pinch, easily replaced. However, back-to-back testing, the ceramic cones weren’t nearly as effective as those plastic ones. That’s the important note for The Leo, where the cheaper one outperforms the expensive one. After all, we just want what is best — for The Leo.
Virgo
It’s the stupid little details — they get you every time! What to watch for? The stupid, little details. Not the big stuff, that’s easy enough to attend to, especially for a good Virgo. What’s the killer? The details. The seemingly infinitesimal grit that holds everything together in the Virgo world? It’s the minutiae that matters most. I’m serving as a reminder, it isn’t always like this, but for the time being, the next few days ahead? For the decent Virgo slice of the heavens? It’s the details that matter. Look after the little bits, pieces, bobs, and parts, the tinier, the better? Look after those, and the bigger picture will resolve itself.
Libra
Accessories. “Accessories?” Yes, add-ons, extras, and to one special Libra, it means purses, shoes, belts that all match. To me, it means a fishing reel that goes with a fishing rod. But accessories are how we make it forward. For gentle Libra, the accessories make the outfit, or, in my example, the accessories are what outfit we all use. Same thing. Now there comes a time, like this next little stretch of days — for Libra — when the idea of the proper accessory is correct, but let’s search, shop, and to some? “Research.” Looked more like an internet search and casual clicking on link-bait, but it’s about letting those digits do the walking before we buy anything. Simple guideline? Look before you buy. Simple idea, but, at times? Difficult to implement. “Look before you buy.”
Scorpio
Immediately a couple of deep-cut memories surface. There are elements in particular charts that I recall. Not the whole chart, just the person, maybe not the name but pieces of the chart and the raw, electric sense that went with that. Like a lightening bolt or grabbing a live wire, that first connection, that first sense, and more than once, I would feel the hackles on my neck go up — while my back was turned. “You’re psychic, right?” That doesn’t speak to the primeval prescience that happened. It’s not bad (Hamlet link). It was just that shock, that perception or even precognition, and the animalistic behavior it evokes. Scorpio: There’s a week of this kind of almost feral realizations, recognitions, and perceptive presciences. I would suggest, just as a guideline, don’t stand there and gape, like I do. Might not be the best look for a good Scorpio.
Sagittarius
I spent many long years looking at a desktop bauble, just a toy, really. Kind of expensive but not really, a tool that, in my mind I could justify. If I got it? I could see, for the first few hours, it would be a benefit to my own productivity. After that? Just another useless tech bauble in the stack of other toys that are no longer enjoyed. There are a few items I’ve toyed with that did work. “Mechanical Keyboards” were a rage. I found one, plugged it in, used it for a day, and now it’s in my spare parts bin. Several wired and wireless keyboards are there, joining that mechanical one. Loved the look and feel, but the noise was too much — for me. There was another tech bauble, that I spent many long years looking at, researching, and thinking, “If I just had one of these, then the sky was the limit.” This was a high-end item and would require some modifications, and then? Would it really matter? I’ve found, and I need to remember this, as much for myself as to pass along to other good Sagittarius minds, the hardware doesn’t define us. Do you want one? Yes. Do you really need one? Yeah, well, maybe not yet.
Capricorn
There’s a simple secret that leads to certain success, and what Capricorn isn’t more concerned with certifiable wins over empty promises? It’s not got my “100%, Money-Back” guarantee, but it does have a higher-than-usual success rate, and that’s what we’re all looking for. But this only works for capricious Capricorn under these conditions. If you look annoyed? People think you’re busy. Try it this next few days, see what happens. Look annoyed. People think you’re busy.
- Aperture: ƒ/1.8
- Camera: iPad Pro (11-inch) (3rd generation)
- Flash fired: no
- Focal length: 3mm
- ISO: 160
- Shutter speed: 1/60s
