“I am but mad north-north-west. When the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a hand-saw.”

Hamlet (II.ii.252)

Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark

Horoscopes for 4-2-2024

• Mercury RX 4/2 27° Aries
• Eclipse 4/8 19° Ari.

Too As an Aries thought? “My mind has a mind of its own,” a gratefully purloined line. I came across the line reading some older, “classic” material that I enjoy. “My mind has a mind of its own,” and I thought, “sure, I get that.” Therein is the problem for the next few days. Idea, brilliant insight, action, failure, more brilliant insight, action, yet another failure, and then? More knowledge. Looks like you’ve got too much running around in the brain, and not enough coming out in a coherent fashion. I know maybe one, maybe not even that many, Aries who can successfully navigate these strange waters ahead. Instead of trying to push forward when nothing seems to be moving? Think like Mr. Hamlet, see above, and consider that in his madness there is no madness. He does dither a bit, and we’re allowed, in Aries-land, to poke around, fall down, make mistakes, and move forward under false assumptions. When questioned about a faulty decision? “My mind has a mind of its own.”

Taurus

In my own life, I’ve lived in at least two downtown environments that might be referred to as “sketchy.” Think: trailer park in old Austin (among others). That it never bothered me? No problem. That there was no immediate crimes to me, my person, or persons around me? Sure, that was good. I liked the local color, the flavors, smells, and odd noises in the night, and to my mind? This just adds intersections for cultures and shading between the various lifestyles. Not a problem.

There was, still is, in a way, an embarrassment of riches with these lifestyle choices and locations. Maybe not great, but not bad at all. Instead of looking across broad horizons for the next, distant Taurus destination, instead of casting far and wide? Look local. Look under your own feet, so to speak, look right where you’re at. There is more, and more of interest, in your own neighborhood than there is in some far-flung location.

Gemini

Early spring grilling, I was watching as a buddy was slapping some fish from last fall on his backyard grill. He was sipping a beer, offered up some burgers, too, but the fish was almost fresh, so we stuck with that. An errant wasp, probably a mud dauber, drifted into view. My buddy picked up a plastic, looked like a cross between a water gun and Nerf toy, and blasted the bug. “Salt gun,” he snickered. It shoots a tiny blast of air with plain table salt, and that should dissuade most flying vermin. For my buddy? The bonus was it helped with his aim. From my point of seeing this? It looked fun, and table salt is certainly less environmentally harmful than any kind of dread chemical insecticide. I don’t know if those bug-salt-air-guns are still available. When I first looked, they were kind of pricey, but the costs dropped over time. Effective? I can’t say, not for sure, but I looked at getting one for my own backyard. Now, remember Mercury in Retrograde and how this affects Gemini? Great time to shop. Might not want to buy that toy just yet.

Cancer

Early on, I used the metaphor of the little sand crabs at the beach, for me it would be the Gulf of Mexico. The little crabs were less than a silver-dollar in size and would scurry to and fro on the mottled sands. With over-sized claws and a relatively soft shell, the multiple of legs, like a spider almost, would carry the little crabs with great speed, to the left, to the right, and it looked like never in a straight line forward. Never. I suspect they have eyes on stalks, but I’m not sure, never got close enough. They lived (live) in the liminal zone along the shore, part of nature’s cornucopia of the bays. The sideways approach of the little sand crabs? Maybe think of this as a Cancer, Moon Children archetype? That never taking the problem head on? Always scuttling to one side or the other — on the sands of life? Might be the best answer moving forward by moving around, instead of straight on.

The Leo

A former lover, old girlfriend, well, she’s not that old, but she had a unique take on her faith. It was simple, unwavering, and straightforward. I respected that version of her faith because it was simple, uncomplicated, and pure. To me, it looked like a “pure of heart,” and of course, that’s what first attracted me to her. But like all young love, we went our separate ways, and I don’t know what happened. Pops up from time to time on various social feeds, but no, we’re in very different places. I still remember that unwavering faith, pure-of-heart, absolute in its surety. I admired that. I admired her form, too, but that was then. What The Leo responds best to? That same, unwavering faith, a pure-of-heart influence, an absolute belief that this is the way to do this. I can’t provide that. I can suggest that looking, rather than whole-heartedly swallowing a particular belief is the answer. Looking, trying, testing, see what fits, and then, test it again, in a few weeks, see if it still resonates.

Virgo

Used to be a game, an offshoot from a teaching statement, as an oracular device, perhaps rhetorical, but in this game? The preface is, “In a perfect world,” followed by a desired outcome. It is a good word-play within the Virgo confines of a chart, as this idea helps sculpt possible future outcomes. In the short-run, like now? You know the drill, correct? Mercury is Retrograde in fiery Aries, and that means the usual warnings and admonishments are in place. With that in mind? Take a chance on a verbal game like, “In a perfect world,” and then fill in the desired outcome. There is a destination. Might not make in the next month, but the destination, goal, dream, and the way you fill out that question, “In perfect world?” That dictates how this goes, not without a few mercurial misadventures, but it does work out. “In perfect world, those would work out faster for Virgo.” I’m not in charge, just offering some guidance along the way.

Libra

One place had a “Lobster Mac & Cheese” dish. One quick glance I guessed it was as close as a Texas would get to a real Boston Lobster Roll. Too bad it was temporary item, not a regular feature, and I’m not sure I could subsist on such fare on a regular basis, but as a single, one-off treat? It was great. One time. One shot, only that special, just the single time, and then? Leave well enough alone. There’s a hit, part of this is about comfort, part of this is about comfort food, and part of his is a spin on two elements that might, or might not, belong together. Turns out the “Lobster Mac & Cheese” did work, and worked well. Filling, flavorful, and long strings of protein in the lobster bits. Some elements belong together. Some don’t belong together. Try it out, see what works. Then, too, Libra dear, that rich comfort food? It’s good for one time during this Mercury is Retrograde period. Not each and every day.

Scorpio

It was a was wise Scorpio who once admonished me, “Time is better spent getting even instead of getting ahead.” Plot some revenge?

Sagittarius

Some Sagittarius are better at this than others. I know that. I’m one of the ones, I’m no longer any good at this. Was at one time, had great fun, won big, lost little, and played on. There’s a hint, a suggestion, a strong iteration, a planetary urge to go and gamble. That expression, in and of itself, can take a variety of forms. Some Sagittarius head to a casino, some to Vegas, others? I might, and that’s a big maybe, but I might buy a lottery ticket. That’s about all I’ll do, anymore, if it is meant to be, then it will happens like that, with a single stroke of luck. I used to be better at figuring odds, numbers, and energies, and that makes poker, craps, and roulette — any game of chance — more interesting. So one certain Sagittarius gets really lucky, but the rest of us? With Mercury and the eclipse action? Luck is strained. Not impossible, but look at the odds, and figure out how you want to play that.

Capricorn

One place I lived, there was an unwanted guest. A visitor overstayed its welcome. I was unsure of nocturnal activities and unwarranted behaviors, so I strapped a “game” camera in a tree in the backyard, pointed toward the house. Caught the guy, red-handed, ripping into the roof. I might still have one of the video clips from that, someplace. Digital ephemera we all collect, huh. The trick, the evidence I needed to proceed, the proof that I was right? Caught it on a camera. The doorbell camera used to catch all manner of wildlife, so it wasn’t that unusual, but the backward, and pointing at the house? Took a little time to get the adjustments correct, get the motion to trigger an image or video capture, but eventually it worked. These cameras have a multitude of uses. The problems facing this week’s Capricorn? It isn’t that there is an wanted guest, it isn’t that there isn’t a camera to catch this, it isn’t that there will be tangible proof, soon enough, none of that applies. It’s the controls. Have to fiddle round with the settings to get this thing to record correctly.

Aquarius

Two expressions come to mind. Two expressions that deal with the current state of affairs, or what it feels like, in Aquarius. “Dead man walking,” was one, and “circling the drain,” was the other. One particular Aquarius cocks an eyebrow at me, “So this is dead in the water, and going down the drain?” I’d rather pick one, and I’d rather stick with my versions, either one, as there’s a subtle sense of hope, but the hope isn’t apparent. “Dead man walking,” to me, it implies that there is still forward movement. Might not be dead in its tracks, just yet, but there is a time when we can all pause and assess. “No pulse, but he keeps moving,” so that fits, right? “Circling the drain,” not down the proverbial drain yet, not flushed away, yet, but on its last gasp. Last-ditch effort. There’s a subtle sense of hope, but it does look — and feel — a little bleak. That’s Mr. Mercury for you.

Pisces

It was commentary from the podium, in a lecture series, and the data point wasn’t important, not to the substance of the lecture. But it included the offhand comment about the Elizabethan, or some other era, habit of keeping a commonplace book, which, in my twisted thinking, became a quotidian collection. That eventually gave rise to the publication of my own Pink Cake, as a collection of quotes, various oddities collected over the years from high-brow lit to low-brow observations¹. The curation and collection is ongoing, but anymore, I just dump the stray bits of thought into the web journal, and leave it be. Then, too, there’s the problem that the sources of my material has gotten narrower. I’m pretty much limited to the King James Bible, Marcus Aurelius, and Shakespeare. While I consume a great deal of media, that’s the limit on what I would tote around with me. What are you willing to carry with you? That’s the question for this week’s gentle Pisces, what are willing to carry off into your sunset, or continue to play with, or still strikes a chord? What do you take with you? What do you add to your commonplace book of weird collections?

1. See: astrofish.net/books… ↩

• Aperture: ƒ/1.8
• Camera: iPad Pro (11-inch)
• Taken: 29 November, 2022
• Flash fired: no
• Focal length: 3mm
• ISO: 64
• Shutter speed: 1/60s