Horoscopes for 7-2-2024

Mercury enters Leo 7:51 AM Jul 2
New Moon Jul 5 5:57 PM 14°23’ Cancer
July 4th Sale!

Happy Birthday, dear Moon Children, gentle Cancer, the sign of the crab. Yeah, happy birthday America, huh. The dark of the moon, until that old moon turns new? Weird times, and uncertain energies. That restlessness that there is something left unadorned that needs adorning. After the new moon? Clarity of mind, clarity of purpose, and a definite direction. So that morning after July 4th? That’s the symbolic launch point, but not until then. Prior to that instant? Figure what needs to be addressed, cleaned up, maybe fixed. Plot and plan, then start to execute, in that order, except for that one, special Cancer, you know who you are. You can do this backwards, but for the rest of us? Plot, plan, then hatch those new designs. See where this takes us, as Venus is still here, making nice, just yet.

It was three in a row. Grandmother, mother, daughter. All three in a row, near identical reaction to perceived emergency, or rather, an “Oh My Gosh” — apparent — exigent circumstance. There was the same hands to the face, the same commentary, and same emotional outpouring. Is it hereditary? Genetic? Learned behavior? I’d look at the stars, myself, and spot similar elements, a familiar, familial thread that runs between the three. But that’s me. For The Leo?

We can spend a long time discussing the familial traits, and whether it is genetics, learned behavior, or some other influences (the stars). Doesn’t much matter, there’s that similar reaction, between them all, and what that means? We’ve got common ground, and as the holidays weekend starts? We need that common ground to move ahead. “Oh My Gosh!” (1) “Oh My Gosh!” (2) “Oh My Gosh!” (3) — see a pattern here?

It’s really too hot for enjoyable coastal inshore fishing. Love the idea, but the last outing was just searing hot. Like someone left the oven on, and I went to school in Arizona, so I know heat. Pictures of fish on the sites some place, I’m sure. Still, more as a reminder for myself than anything else, I’m not going fishing again until it cools off. Then a Virgo fishing buddy hollers at me, and we’re headed out to a nearby lake early in the morning. A little better but we were also off the water, the bass boat loaded up, and towed behind comfortable air-conditioned truck. Degrees, destinations, and swearing “I will never do this again,” all part of this week’s Virgo experience. Learn from mistakes, but also follow some of the common sense approach. If we go early, beat the searing summer heat, and if we’re off the water, long before noon? It’s not so bad. But fishing in the Corpus Christi Bay? In the summer? That was like sitting in a wok, and the oil just greased the bottom of the pan, so we just fried in that hot water.

Oh no, buddy just texted, “Want to fish next week?”

I really should learn to take my own advice.

In its simplest form, coffee is ground coffee bean and boiling water.

In my life, I’ve tried a variety of blends, and a variety of methods, with pour-over or French Press usually the quickest for me. From individual serving-size to a two-quart pot, I can go just about any way with this. But this is about the smaller servings and trying to extract the best flavor, in the shortest time, in the most expedient manner. The common element in all of these fancy yet remarkably efficient ways to make my caffeinated morning beverage? Hot water. In the simplest Libra terms? Boil down the situations, the problems, the questions, the hopeful answers, boil them all down to basic component parts. Hot water. Coffee beans. Or coffee-like substances. Whatever works, but what are the basics to make this work? Cowboy Coffee, in its simplest form? Coffee beans are mashed between two rocks, the grit, sand, and ground coffee, is all dumped into a boiling water.

Simplest terms to start.

Water balloons made a brief splash a while back. For a certain target audience, mostly male and generally between seven and eleven years of age? Those water balloons were great. There was a special quick-fill option, which allowed for a rapid deployment of the balloons, and then, there was the shattered carcass of the balloons, all up and down the cul-de-sac. This is a scene from a forgotten time, and a distant land, mostly in the past. Yelling, running, the smell of hot summer concrete with water splashed on it, all indices of youth. The trick was in the alliances that quickly formed and the good guys versus the bad guys, who was on what side, at a certain time. Then attempts at subterfuge that were often accompanied with shouts and yells. Laughter, too, the raucous sound of hyper-energized younger stars, echoing up and down the lanes. The Scorpio secret sauce is in the quickly-formed alliance, brotherhoods, friends of friends, and enemies of my enemies, all in a giant, roasting web of who is allied with whom, at this moment. Then splash, a water balloon over the head, and the heat dissipates. Every person for his or her self? Scorpio unite against the world!

But would you trust a Scorpio accomplice?

Standing on the beach’s sand, as the waves gently lap inward towards my feet?

Standing there, I’ve watched as the water eddies around my feet then washes out again, the motion of the ocean dragging a tiny bit of the beach backwards and ferrying it out to sea. It’s a gradual shift and shaping, the land itself, the contour of the beach’s facade itself, the tiniest yet perceptible change occurs as each wave washes ashore. I tend to wade out and just hurl a heavy sinker to hold down fresh bait in between the second and third bar, when possible. Then wait. This is a time, while it is fun to run up and down the beach itself? This holiday is best spent watching, and then waiting while that bait sits there and does what it is supposed to do.

Sagittarius?

Watching and waiting.

I was in ancillary part of legal action — not a real lawsuit. Just an action, and I was helping to prepare the right amount of documentation to make the point. Simple as that. Just a few phone pictures, and then, maybe, less than a paragraph of explanation. Not real legalese, but grammatically correct, properly punctuated, and I used a slightly larger type so it was easier to read. Then, of course I did a half-dozen slides in PowerPoint format. The final piece of this rather Capricorn puzzle was putting all that data on a flash drive to make the presentation, facts, corroborating data, make it all portable and accessible. Easy to find in hurried and harried presentation. Buddy got up, did his song and dance, pleaded his situation, and situational ethics, and my support, other than merely being present, was all that was required. Never used any of my data. But having it, on hand, easy to access, ready to go? That instilled a confidence — confidence that won the day. Preparation solves a lot of Capricorn ills.

While the concept itself is easy to grasp, the actual mechanics of the deal is more difficult to understand. That’s the problem, and this is a longer-lasting effect than we really want to consider, but the short-term solution? In the near-term for nominally easy-going Aquarius? Best action, reaction, and choice of expression? “I’m thinking about it.” Instead of direct action, or indirect action that looks like an attack on the flank, or any other kind of punitive gesture? “I’m thinking about it.” Then, as long as we have a moment or two to consider possibilities? The first thought pattern is how this will fail, miserably. The second analysis shows how there might be a possible route around, through, or over the issue, and that makes it all a tad bit better. Finally, and this is the third pass on the “Thinking about it” passage, but that third pass reveals an Aquarius understanding about how this would work out with the end results being mutually beneficial.

But before any of this happens?

“I’m thinking about it.”

I got sort of interested in baseball, and then, the material that follows. More than other sports, American Baseball seems to have inspired greater literature, depth and breadth of material, I would suppose. As such, I tend to gather much from some of the material as it floats around, and I like access to various sports media streams that deal exclusively with baseball. Or I did until I realized, there was one online article and the substantive content was based on speculation and rumor without a shred of supporting evidence. “I heard from a guy who knows a feller who knows this bat boy who worked for the Triple-A team affiliate, and he said…” Not one shred of verifiable, supporting evidence to back the speculative claim about trade, statistics, and what might — or might not — happen, as it was all reported as rumor. I tend to think of it more as pure fabrication, or where the fantasy game and the real game get intertwined in the telling of the tale. Better yet, one pundit was expounding on an idea, while it made good sense on paper, there was no supporting evidence in talk, hints, or rumors from either clubhouse about the possible deal. Sounded good, though. What Pisces much watch for with Neptune stationary are 29°55’ of Pisces? What’s real, and what can be corroborated, and what’s mindless fiction. Good stuff, but fiction, nonetheless.

At least once, in the next few days, at least once in the next few Aries days, take a moment, take a morning, and figure out some crap to unload. For me, it’s simple, as I have an extensive collection of arcane literature that I will never access again, and the purpose? Dubious — at best. Looks cool to have a bunch of astrology books. If I’m not reading those books? Or if I never plan, or can’t see why I have all the books? Time to sort that out, and get a stack of books to sell, trade, or donate. Get them off my shelves, making more space for new stuff. In some cases, I just need more space, or I could move back into a smaller place, and I would have less room. Think trailer park in old Austin, tiny home, and limited spaces. I never suggested we haul everything curbside and let the neighbors pick through our stuff, but think about what needs to be let go and get one box, one container, maybe just a single item, headed out the Aries door. “Does that include boyfriends?” Asked an Aries. Sure, if that’s one you need to get rid of.

A common expression, in my own world? “Run it up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes.” That’s been shortened to “Run it up the flagpole.” It’s meant as a public test, and to one software developer I know, it is the public beta. I’ve done these before. I’ve used that expression, and I wonder if it has one too many political implications in this uncertain environment, but the idea, and what that idea stands for? It’s the perfect expression of this week’s Taurus times and energies. Concurrent with the new moon, the holidays, dazed, and confused Taurus energies? Launch it. Publish the test post. Put that open public beta up online. Take some kind of forward action, tentative as that might appear to be, like a public beta, which means, the skeleton is open, and we will expect a few catastrophic failures, and none of this is perfect, but it’s a good start. That’s what we want, what this holiday energy — for Taurus — is about: a good start. Run it up the flagpole, see what happens.

I get all of these astrology theories running around in my head, and then? It’s easy to lose track of which arcane theorem directs this week’s Gemini energies. The markers are all in place, and it’s part of a cycle that is “new” without being “new,” if that makes any sense. I was wrestling more than one influence, and weighing that against another, more obtuse, theory. As it happened, when I paused to refill a coffee mug and reflect on what I was analyzing, I realized a hole in the logic, and the analysis had to be tossed. Start over. Theories and directions, sure, that’s still good, but the mechanics of the details? Here’s where a Gemini usually shines, but we don’t want to get our Gemini selves bogged down with the actual, physical steps. Leave the calculations, high-flown theories, and other arcane trivia to other signs, better able to handle those details. Wait, what were we discussing?

• July 1994
• 7/1/2004
• 7/3/2014

• 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