Horoscopes for 6-25-2024

Moon conjunct Mars 7/1 11:19 AM 16°27’ Taurus
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Cancer

Birthdays are a effective time to stop, pause, assess where we are in the Moon Children’s life, and consider new options, moving forward for Cancer, the sign of the crab. Mercury is with you all week, as is Venus, and the Moon is on fast approach, but not here yet for that new cycle. Just grab a short piece of duck tape, pin that idea to the wall, where you will see it, and then, let’s pause and think about how to arrange that destination, that goal, that promise. “That’s what I want, I think.” It’s the last two pieces of the phrasing, “That’s what I want, I think.” Those last two words? “I think,” should, could be amended — I think that’s what I want, but I’m not sure, looks good right now, but maybe it’s not what I want, but maybe it is. Pacing, phrasing, perception of desire versus wants, or needs, and trying to figure this all out? Sun’s in Cancer, pause and stick it up on the wall, and see if that’s what you really want. “I want it, but I don’t need it, but it is my birthday, so I should get it.” Pause. All I’m asking for, a pause.

The other morning, I wanted a small change in my routine. I fixed my version of a Cubanno Coffee, which I guess should be called a Mexicano, owing as much to the source of the ingredients as to the recipe itself. Some of this is localized. Some of this is a bastardization of my understanding of the way various cups of coffee are enjoyed, and some this is just a light change to make things just a tad bit different in the mornings. My version?

It’s a small, a demitasse of coffee, dark (espresso) roast, maybe 2 ounces of hot coffee, and small chunk of a piloncillo (extra dark cone sugar). The beans were dark roast (Ruta Maya brand), and the sugar cone is something I keep on hand, just a small chunk, a little less than a tablespoon, in the tiny coffee cup. Don’t stir it up and the last half ounce of coffee is more like a brown sugar/coffee syrup. I would add more coffee to thin it out some. It’s a little change, but it was different, and therein is the idea for a better Leo life. A small change, just for one day, and not one that I would suggest every day, but for a single morning, try something different.

Virgo

A book title. Think that was it, saw a while back? I mean, this intrigued me, but as a practical piece of work, I’m unsure how that would fit, but the title itself? Instant Zen. What I know of some of the precepts of forms of zen, and Zen Buddhism? There is no such thing as “instant.” It’s a state that one arrives at after years of contemplation and meditation. Nothing is “instant” about that. I’d suggest work, but then it’s also the opposite of work, it’s no-work, for the no-mind. OK, I’m starting to get ridiculous and Virgo wants a solid hint. Hard work in a single, concerted area will yield results, but none of this comes quickly. It’s the opposite of “instant.” But picking a target with no personal, or emotional, investment in the outcome? That works.

Libra

I never fully understood the symbolism of a game of chess until I arrived at the academic version of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. We’ve long established that I don’t do anything in a linear fashion, or rational order, but I do onboard the information. In that play? The chess game between the two young suitors? It’s pretty clearly a sexual innuendo, an allegorical foreplay, and then, over the years, this is reiterated throughout other forms of literature. The purpose of symbolism is to tamp down and tame the imagery used on the Elizabethan stage, make it palatable, and this is found in more modern versions with “network” TV that has characters use language that is frankly a replacement for harsher stuff.

“No frigging way!”
(Way.)

The challenge as Venus, Mercury and the Sun are all ripping through Cancer? My Libra friends are prone to miss the obvious symbols. That’s a problem. Knowing that you might miss them, those subtle signs? Hope that helps navigate the waters ahead.

Scorpio

There’s a level where I am stand amazed. I joked about this, at one point, because I thought it amusing, thinking my own family’s motto, in Latin, should read: “Never the easy way.” Numerous family members, over the years, both sides, all except for my lazy ass, everyone else does it the hard way. I do a few things like that, but not much. However, as a notation, for the current events in Scorpio? Try the simplest route. Try the easiest way to get this done. Don’t make it difficult. “But we have to do it like that because…” It’s that hanging lack of rational justification that gets your Scorpio self — every time. “But, well, we have to do it this way!” Why? “Because…” We’re back to that lack of rational justification. If there’s no rational explanation for the actions, except that your Scorpio self wants to do it the more difficult way? Then you might try the easier way. A lazy Sagittarius is as good a guide as any.

“If there’s no one in line, you can just step up.” While that sounds like a disclaimer? It’s a straightforward selection process. It does surprise me, though, the number of people who would look at me, and then the list, and then back at me, and wonder if there was sign-in sheet that had to be filled out in order to chat. Early on, I did have lists like that, the marketing aspect of collecting names and addresses, and if someone paid with a check, I took it upon myself to “capture” the mailing address. I quit with that crap years ago, and I quit with the sign-up sheet, too. Too much trouble, not enough return on my investment of time, energy, or paper. Here’s the deal, Sagittarius, if no one is in line? Then step up and ask. No hesitation. Step up and ask. “You free?” I’m not “free,” but I am available for consultations. Won’t know unless you ask.

Capricorn

I developed a uniform, one that works for me. I have two shades of T-shirts, one batch is all-black. I consider the all-black shirts my winter shirts and my works shirts. My formal T-shirts, in one way of thinking. It’s a simple uniform, at least, this is simple for me. I got there by travel, trial, and error. Expense, too, as I used to love the way a crisp, starched and pressed, white cotton dress shirt felt — and looked. But collared shirts don’t travel well, and in the warm, wet climates where I travel? Except for a couple of days in January or maybe February, those starched white shirts don’t hold up well. It’s a simple uniform, shorts, t-shirt, and loud print shirt over that. In the cooler months, a long-sleeve flannel will work. Simple uniform. Black t-shirt is work, and other color is not work. Anyone who’s stood next to me, while I’ve engaged a server, cashier, floor worker, salesman, or counter person, anyone next to me knows that I don’t really “stop working,” but the uniform, such as it is, reflects when I’m “on the clock,” or “for hire,” or whatever the working term currently is. My long-winded explanation about what I do? It’s about an outward symbol that shows where we’re at. For me, it’s a simple, and simplified, “uniform,” but one that I arrived at over many long years of searching. What does the Capricorn search for a symbol mean?

Aquarius

There is a certain elegance when one can adjust on the fly. In a way, a manner of speaking, in my mind’s eye? This looks like a shuffle, a skiffle, and little two-step hop. The beat changes. The tempo changes. There’s a shift, a distinct and abrupt directional shove, and that’s what we must be willing to admit to. It’s about making an adjustment on the fly, seeing that the current route doesn’t afford the most expedient answer to those Aquarius questions, and then? Adjusting on the fly. In some examples from this next week or ten days? In some situations, it’s a simple, and easy motion, just a tiny shift in perceptions, just a simple step to one side, left or right, depends. In other situations, and this varies with the individual, more of a course correction is required. All depends. But the surest way to win? Adjust on the fly.

Pisces

I belong to a variety of belief systems. In that, I’ve found individual solace. There’s not one system that I adhere to blindly, though. Sit with me in a work setting, a paid reading, and I’ll talk about various aspects of my spiritual path, but I don’t put much of that online. It’s not out there on social media for all to see. I’ve found that the individual pathways are a personal item, and I respect that. I also keep portions of my own path strictly to myself, unless pressed and in a moment of elucidation about a planetary pairing, I don’t mention much. One of my frequent comments, though, is about structure, and understanding the internal — very human — need for rules, regulations, and rites. While I tend to steer away from most dogma-centered faiths, certain aspects or the rituals, rites, rules, and regulations are appealing. For Pisces, this is about seeing, feeling, and understanding what parts fit. There’s a reason why we all bow our head and observe a moment of silence. Please join us in that.

Been at this many long years. Nothing is better than that surprised notion I tend to see in the Aries visage when innuendo and casual flirtation manifests itself as a reality. It’s weird. I talk in circles, cycles, metaphors, allegory, myth, and mysteries. None of that is direct. The inherent Aries issue is that taking every statement at face-value, no hint of poetry, mystery, metaphor, allegory, tropes, even. It’s symbolic, but it might not mean what you think it means. Or it might mean what you think it means. Or? Definite maybe. Those two words, “Definite maybe?” Those two words elicit more trouble for me from the Aries camps than anything else. But hew to that expression, “Definite maybe.” I can’t, in good faith, suggest that a decent Aries not be what he or she isn’t, but I can remind you that the rest of the 11 signs — and you have to deal with us — are not as forthright and upfront with facts, data, and we make leaps where there might be an absence of supporting data. Best answer, from Aries? “Definite maybe.”

Taurus

I’ve heard it called several different kinds of coffee, but the way I understand it? My shorthand version is “Turkish Coffee.” Again: recipes vary; the essential ingredients are fine-ground coffee, spices, sugars, twice-boiled water. Mixture. Slurry, really, looks like a coffee slurry to me, but that might just be my own shading on the equation. Supposedly, way I’ve had it, it is served in the most diminutive of the demitasse cups, and the solution is basically half coffee (grounds, spices, sugars) and half water, so it’s a thick mess. The trick is to only drink the top half of the beverage, as the sediments, grounds, everything, might not be as flavorful or could be a desultory dietary digestion issue. The trick, and I’ve only had real Turkish coffee, maybe a half-dozen times, but the real trick? Sip the top half, and leave that sludge behind. What the stars spell out for gentle Taurus? Like that coffee? Sip the good parts and leave the sludge behind you.

Gemini

To this day, the wise words of one of my friends still echoes in my ears, which is weird, because it was a written text, not a verbal message. The succinct version? “Can’t dazzle them with brilliance? Get all metaphysical.” I was looking at charts, and there wasn’t a big deal, in any shape or form in the chart, nothing good, nothing bad, just sort of mid-range. My friend, just a touch of Gemini in that chart, she suggested, as she watched me flounder a bit, she suggested I get all metaphysical. What that amounts to, in my mind, and for Gemini, moving forward? “Get all mystical.” The stars are not misaligned, and Mercury isn’t retrograde, but after the summer solstice, the attention is drawn elsewhere, and good Gemini time is officially over. When asked, or more important, when pressed for details? Get all mystical. New musical notation for Gemini? “Let’s get metaphysical…”

• 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