Photo by Coyau / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-3.0 Sculpture by Petro Galli 19th century, at Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris

A quiet day, at least on the inside, where we seem to be alone with our thoughts, and too prone to concentrate on the negative and hurtful. Though where we’re damaged may seem an unavoidable focus of our attention, we can lift ourselves out of this rut by mustering ideals, what matters to us, and applying the full extent of our strength and authority, in whatever sphere we hold this. Showing our own competency and ability to affect circumstances to ourselves will both take our minds off what is weak, and prove to our doubting mental faculties just how well equipped we truly are.

Communications with others may take an uncomfortable turn, as well, since we are ill-suited to comprehending the intent in the message–and we are particularly unable to know whether they meant to hurt us or not. Withholding both words and judgments until we gain some perspective is recommended (Vesta semi-sq Ceres, Merc contra-parallel Chiron and the Sun)

Edvard Munch
‘Self-Portrait with Burning Cigarette’ 1895 {{PD}}

Today’s word image is the stranger who approaches you and asks you for something it’s clear you don’t have (in my case, in the past two days, this included cigarettes and the time, though I was dressed in such a way it was clear I wore no watch, held no phone, and had no place to keep cigarettes). It seems obvious what they asked for was not what they wanted; but what then did they want? Contact, to bring my guard down, to draw my attention away from something else, to get attention themselves, to blend into the scene if someone was looking for them? I can’t begin to guess. The message may be that what others ask of us isn’t at all what they are trying to get–so don’t take anyone’s words at face value.

X-Ray Flower Tub, when plugged in the flowers emit x-rays, c. 1920 – Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago) Photo by Daderot Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication

Today success depends on being both wise and totally ourselves–and the challenge may be not to use temper as a go-to when we find our uniqueness being undervalued or our priorities being dismissed. We (and everyone else) open our mouths and out comes a kind of x-ray of the unconscious. Stay awake; thinking and communications need to remain firmly grounded in our highest values. It’s the only way we’ll be able to navigate relationships and money, which will both require us to face matters ignored or denied, as well as our own anger–and we’re back to the caveat about indulging in temper. Put your energy behind and attention on the positive; for once this isn’t just a way to get through the day, it’s actually the most effective way to handle it (Uranus sxt Pallas, Mars sesq Uranus, Venus sesq Black Moon Lilith, Merc nov Vesta, qnx BML, sxt Sedna, Sun contra-parallel Chiron)

By Jos Zwarts -CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org

Today’s word image is a crow collecting beads and baubles and bringing them back to the nest. Small, dazzling things may stir a kind of acquisitiveness that is uncharacteristic of us (and these may be ideas, the promise of relationship or reward, or tantalizing experiences, as much as they may be actual things)–how we respond will determine whether we convert the impulse into something useful, or end up with a little bowl of sticks and grass full of shiny bits.

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By © Dietmar Rabich, rabich.de – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32016498

We’re optimistic about making things better, and opportunities abound–but we have to be clear that what we alter today must respect core values and commitments. Publicity aiming to change minds goes well today; so do showy and over-the-top power grabs. Listening to inner wisdom, rather than going directly for the immediate empowerment option, will be worth it, and actions not rooted in some principle or concept we honor will trigger problems and should be avoided (Jupiter trine Pluto, Mars qnx Vesta, Merc contra-parallel Pallas and parallel Juno)

Today’s word image is a fortune cookie with a nonsense message inside. Something wrapped up sweetly and pretending to offer wisdom (maybe even this blog!) is less than meaningless, distracting you from what you really need to know. Proceed accordingly.

George Frederic Watts 1886 {{PD}}

Today is a difficult day–why? Because what we want is definitely out-of-step with what we treasure–so much so that our thinking will conflict directly with reality, so determined are we to change things, to gain power, to gain control, to reach our goals. We are so desire-focused that we will deny instinct and everything we know deep within to be true–and that allows our own ‘blind spot’ issues to flourish, making us prone to all those flaws in logic that we aren’t aware we have but that others point to immediately. To top it off, some of us see man-woman problems, or animus-anima problems, or clashes between any fundamentally varied facets of our lives, and we may conclude the only way to handle this is by instinct, because our thinking is just too aligned with our desires to prove objective or reasonable in dealing with the matter–but that’s not exactly true.

The best course is probably acquiescence to the obvious and mutually-agreed upon (and it’s that second part, the agreement with others, that keeps us out of trouble), accompanied by a willingness to acknowledge that our ambitions and goals may need to be altered in some significant way, but that we’re not prepared to see what that might be just yet–and for current issues, to stay true to our highest values, protecting the current state of home and the mate relationship ahead of other, more momentary distractions (Mars semi-sq Zeus, Mercury parallel Zeus, contra-parallel Sedna, square Saturn, sxt Pluto, Venus square Mars, sxt Vesta, sesq Zeus, Sun sxt Sedna)

Today’s word image is high wind that knocks out electric power. Symbolic ‘high winds’ could be equated with bombast, or they could represent a powerful flow of emotion that takes a more mental form for expression–so words or thoughts fueled by feeling that have the effect of ‘knocking out’ our energy or our forward momentum. This comes from an imbalance of our receptivity in relation to the outward ‘push’ of our expression; when we are too receptive we may find the blowhards and emotional whirling dervishes of our world exhausting. See to your boundaries, and no energy loss occurs.

Have a wonderful start to your week!