“Come, my lord,
We will bestow you in some better place,
Fitter for sickness and for crazy age.”

Talbot in 1 Henry 6 (III.ii.87-9)

• Sun enters The Leo’s sign 7/23
• Mercury enters Virgo 7/25 at 5:42 PM

The Leo

The original version is slightly different, but I like my version better, as this works best for The Leo. OOPA. The special Leo trick is the first two letters, Orient and then, Observe. The rest falls into place easily if those first two are in place. It’s borrowing from a military acronym, similar, but not the same. I was going to try and cut this down to just a few letters, but The Leo is best served if one would Orient yourself, first. Where’s north? Where’s the easiest exit? Where can I hide, and where is center stage? Get your bearings, get oriented, first. Then? Observe who does what, and how they do it, and where, and all that? Observe. Once you gather enough information, and have a location firmly in mind? Then you can plan. Plan your actions. Plan how you are going to dominate, escape, and win. Finally, and this comes last in our little list, then you act. But first? Orient, then observe, then plan. Then act.

The Leo: Orient, Observe, Plan, Act. OOPA.

One of my fishing buddies, we have a shorthand expression, and on the outside, if you see us clowning, the immediate assumption is that we are in altered states of consciousness. “You guys high, or what?” It’s really the “or what” part because — despite age, experience, and appearance? Neither one of us is a consumer of herb, medicinal, or otherwise. Doesn’t stop us from being silly and stupid. This stems from our shorthand expression, “Jah will provide.” My buddy does better, being raised on the Texas Gulf Coast, he can feign a faux Jamaican accent. “Jah will provide, mon.”

However, the shorthand is a longer version of deeply held beliefs that some sense of order in the universe, and the goodness of some people, will help overcome what’s bad. In the example, with my buddy, and the news for Virgo? Understand that a small leap of faith is what it takes to move ahead. To move your Virgo self forward, imagine one of my Redneck friends, with proper accent and intonation, almost disconcertingly so, telling you, “Jah will provide.” Mix faux Jamaican with a some South Texas Coastal Twang.

The author, James Joyce, is credited with saying, “Mistakes are portals to discovery.” While I certainly applaud such a statement, as a Libra-loving fan? We’d rather learn from other peoples’ mistakes. So much easier to observe and change directions based upon what trips up other signs. That’s the beginning — and ending — for the weekly notation. Observe other people, other signs, as they falter, fall, and fail, and then? Learn from those mistakes. Or, and there will always be one, “But I’m different, and just because it didn’t work for those other people, maybe I can make it work.” It’s a simple enough trajectory, let me know how you fare.

Observe. Simple observation. Simply put? Watch how the locals, the natives, the neighbors and people around you, watch how they do it. Instead of complicating this Scorpio situation, simplify Scorpio matters by observation. Watch, and learn. Or look at what the other people are doing, and consider mimicking them. At first, this is met with Scorpio skepticism, but give it a minute, pause for a beat, and watch how others are doing it — watch the locals. I’ve always been a big fan of local flavor, so I’m keen on observing the way it is done, wherever “here” might be. Observe. Mimic local behavior. Simple observation, and an attempt to follow current conditions is far more successful than any other pathway. Simple observation saves Scorpio.

The other afternoon, I was snippy with a series of people who I found to be at fault. The problem, and it ran across several interactions, the issues all stem from what was perceived as “my attitude.” My normally gregarious, genteel, and easy-going attitude was marred by recent events, an inherent herd stupidity, and general dismay at current astrological conditions for Sagittarius. Moving through the next few days, it’s less about my attitude, and the perceptions others have. The most common expression? “Your attitude is a problem.” No, my attitude isn’t a problem. The problem lies with your approach to my attitude. It’s my attitude, for good or for ill, you got a problem with it?

That’s your problem.

So far, living in this new neighborhood, thus far? I’ve been approached, door-to-door sales, for roofing, tree services, lawn services, power washing, pest control, and joining a church. I am not interested in any of that. I solicit those services, some times, and I use a couple of neighbors for recommendations. Otherwise, I go and look online, see who has the fewest complaints. Or like pest control services? I count the dead bugs and lack of repeated calls. Results count. Don’t answer the call.

Capricorn? My standard answer? “I’ve got guy.” Then I shut the door.

Fascination with foods. It’s a little bit of an outlier, but still, worth notice, I hope. My research is incomplete, I’ve never been to that ball park, and I’ve never had a hot dog like that, but the idea? Gets lots of airplay, a Happy Dog at the Cleveland (Indian’s) Guardian’s stadium. It is a hot dog on a bun, traditional enough, with a scoop of mac’n’cheese, laced with bacon, and then? The coup d’grace? Fruit Loops. Salty, crunchy, cheesy, bacon-flavored, and Fruit Loops. All the food groups in one? I’m not going to try this in my own home, and I’m probably not ever going to see a game in Cleveland, no disrespect to the team. But no, I’ll personally pass on this one. However, dear Aquarius, we’re talking about items that don’t belong together, and yet, according to sources, really do well work together. Just because I’m not brave enough to try it, well, I’m not Aquarius.

We all encounter certain situations where our best efforts fail to capture what we see in our collective mind’s eye. We fall short of expectations. I spent some years trying to capture the perfect image of a certain scene, and to this day, I’ve remained largely unsuccessful. Over the years, the image, in various forms, has shown up. Throw away cameras, pictures printed up and then scanned, that was the first version. Then there was my experiences with early, and rudimentary digital image devices, and finally cheap fishing cameras I almost bought wholesale. Eventually, the phone camera supplanted all of that, and yet, to this day, with software, timing, cropping, filters, and flavors? I have yet to successfully capture what I can see in my mind’s eye, and get that onto a digital image format of any sort. I can describe what I see, and I can write paragraph after paragraph of descriptions, but the images I’ve captured, over the years, still don’t do it justice — not to me. While my current phone is an older model, there is a setting on it, and I was thinking, as I was writing this Pisces horoscope, maybe that new setting would finally get the results I wanted. Back a few minutes later? I tried it. Didn’t work, but sometimes, chasing the idea is more important than the actual results.

More than once, date enough Virgo and you’d understand, but more than once? “God is in the details.” Repeat that phrase. Adjust the belief system as required to understand and utilize the expression, “the gods are in details,” or “the dude is in the details,” or whatever works for Aries.

“Buddha is in the details?”

Maybe not all of these work, but Mercury, shifting out of Leo and into Virgo creates a situation for Aries where every little detail counts. Pay attention to the details, and that’s not a typical Aries trait. I want this week to be successful, and the way to make it work best? Go over the finite details. Check what that fineprint really says. I have a row of plastic ducks. Get those duck in a row. Real ducks? Problematic, at best, but some of this is easy enough — if you pay attention to the details.

Client came to me with a pitch. The proposal was essentially a partnership arrangement where I did all the work, and I got half the income. Like any other kind of consultant, as long as I’m on the clock, the meter’s ticking? I’ll listen to the pitch. I suggested that the stars weren’t right for the idea of the partnership, no 7th house traffic, but I urged that client to pursue those goals. It wasn’t a product I was interested in, it wasn’t something I could use in my own life, and frankly, I thought it wasn’t well-conceived to approach me with the pitch. Wrong audience. I can’t say all bad ideas won’t work, as I’ve made a career out something that started as a joke, and altogether the original partners long since drifted away, I did find my own way. The Taurus weekly challenge is about finding that little corner where you — alone — can thrive and drive. Where you do what you do best. You get an extended amount of airplay from this, but it’s all you. No room for (business) partnerships.

There were three of us in a boat. Slack tide was just over, and we were “anchored” at the edge of a marshy bay-like structure that was just about to start draining, as the tide shifted from no movement to heavy flow. As the current started to drain the bay? The big Reds started to move, along with some trout. The Spotted Sea Trout taste better, but the Reds are way more fun to catch, and offer a better steak-like selection on the grill. Take your pick, there were plenty of both, once the tide started to move. It was eery, from calm water to watching it, like a cosmic flushing motion, and suddenly, the water was draining, and the fish were following the bait into the bigger bay. We had six poles up with lines out, and waiting, and once that water started to flow, three guys, right? The frenzy started. At first, it was just one, then two, then three, but when the fourth pole bent over, it was decision time, which pole, who, and what to let go. As a good Gemini, it’s like that, with the phase of the moon, the tide is moving, which pole, who gets what, and how is this divided? I was horsing a big Red on the one line so when my other pole jiggled, and little bit of the line stripped off? I knew I’d rather keep the bigger one. One at a time, Gemini, one at a time.

On the road to Austin, oddly enough, we stopped for a bathroom break, coffee, and a working beverage for myself. From decades of trial and error, what works for me? In the moment, at that store? I got a double shot of espresso, hot. Piping hot, expertly poured by the machine, and yet, still about as good as one can expect in Central Texas on summer’s morning. Peel the lid off the top of the cup, sniff. Smells like espresso. Looked like it, too, with nice of head of creama. Sniff, test the aromatic qualities. Take a simple taste, just a tiny sip, let the coffee beans’ oils settle on the tongue, appreciate the flavor. Then, just as the solution starts to cool, slam down most of it. Finally, there’s just a little bit left in the bottom of the cup, toss that back, and avoid the fine grounds that made it through the mesh filter. From what I’ve gathered, it’s an Italian beverage and a continental way to appreciate a morning shot of espresso. It’s also quick, efficient, and gets to the point, ready to face Austin’s traffic. It’s all of about three sips, in total, and does the trick, but for me? I like the notion that I’m honoring the old ways. Pay homage — Cancer, the sign of the Crab, Moon Children — pay homage, obsequies, prayers, offerings, or whatever — pay homage to the old ways. Respect the original even if we don’t do this too often.

Archives

• 7.25.2019
• 7.24.2014
• 7.23.2009
• 7.22.2004
• 7.26.1999

• Aperture: ƒ/1.8
• Camera: iPad Pro (11-inch)
• Taken: 29 November, 2022
• Flash fired: no
• Focal length: 3mm
• ISO: 80
• Shutter speed: 1/60s