TAROTSCOPES for the week of 06/11/15

ARIES

Growing up my parents, particularly my father, was very strict about being “on time.”  If I took too long throwing my feet over the side of my bed in the morning my dad would stand in the door way and clap his hands together loudly twice and say, “Chop! Chop! Let’s go!”  And if that didn’t work there were other penalties and fines to pay.  By the time I was 8 years old I had been trained to leap out of bed at the first call.  Across the river my best friend was always late.  “It’s just so hard to get out of bed!” She’d say.  “I don’t get it,” I’d say.  “You just…get… out of bed.”  Now I understand that not everyone is the same or has been conditioned in the same way.  I’ve also found that as an adult there times when I can’t respond to anything but my own immediate needs and sometimes that means not being able to get out of bed when the alarm goes off, or staying up too late because I “just can’t stop” watching “Freaks and Geeks” on Netflix.   

Aries, this week, you are more likely to be moved by the tide of your emotions than the strength of your will.  You might find yourself saying, “Just…get..out of bed,” but your body isn’t about to and your body isn’t wrong.  As the sign who rules the head and face it is good to give this part of yourself a rest every now and then and let something softer take hold.  It may actually be in bed where your next good idea materializes.  

(Priestess of Cups/ An Ode To A Gym Teacher- Meg Christian)

TAURUS

The other evening a friend of mine invited me to go rollerskating.  I agreed but then texted, “I can’t stay for a super long time because I have a lot of work to do.”  I could feel my friend’s eye roll coming through the phone from across town.  “I have a lot of work to do,” was something she’d heard me say several times before.  “Well it costs $10 so it’s not really worth it if you don’t stay for at least 2 hours,” she replied.  Sensing her frustration I texted, “Okay so like 8-10pm?  I can do that.”  This my friend didn’t even dignify with a response.  If you are someone, like me, who works a lot and maybe slightly compulsively, then it probably doesn’t make sense to take up even more time talking about how much work you have to do.  Especially not with the people who are trying to help you let loose and have fun.

Taurus, this week you may be tempted to redraw or fortify lines or boundaries unnecessarily.  Allow yourself to wade into more relaxing waters and leave any superfluous rules and rigidities off the dance floor and out of the roller rink.  

(IV Emperor/ Go Bang- Dinosaur L /Arthur Russell)

GEMINI

The other day in L.A. it felt like the weather was trying to start a ghost story, “The wind howled and the sky was dark with ominous clouds…” But rather than the lightning, thunder and torrential rain you’d expect to accompany this kind of set up, the sky would just spit tiny inconsequential droplets of water.  You could never get to the good part.  “Yeah, so, and then what?” I wanted to ask. 

Gemini, this week you may feel something forming beneath you, or perhaps above you.  Maybe a new thought or idea is gathering, but you aren’t quite ready to share it or put it into words.  Keep feeding these thoughts with your own anticipation and excitement.  Before too long you will be ready to deliver the whole storm.  

(Shaman of Swords L/ The Sphinx- Amanda Lear)

CANCER

The other day I was FaceTiming with my mom.  We were discussing healing, “A wound doesn’t ever really go away,” I said.  “It’s like wabi-sabi!” My mom exclaimed.  “Do you know about wabi-sabi?”  “No,” I replied. “What’s that?” “It’s from Japan.  They take a tea cup with a crack in it and fill it with gold because they believe there is strength in imperfections.”  The image this description left me with was so clear that when I looked up wabi-sabi on the internet later I expected only to find an image identical to the one in my head: a porcelain tea cup with a gold-filled crack in it.  Instead I found the following wikipedia definition: “Wabi-sabi represents a comprehensive Japanese world view or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection.”  

Cancer, this week you may be clarifying the course you want your life to take from here on out.  Perhaps the image you have in your head is as clear and simple as a teacup with a gold-filled crack.  Wabi-sabi may be a good philosophy to consider as well.  Whatever fears may have created chasms and potholes for you in the past need not bring you shame, but strength.  Fill them with gold.     

(XVII Star/ Lavender Country- Lavender Country)

LEO

Earlier today I found a giant spider on my ceiling.  I’ve tried for years to overcome my fear of spiders, but as soon as I think I’ve made a little headway some new information or an old reminder disturbs me.  Everything about spiders is like a horror movie played on a micro-scale- their fangs, their eyes, the way spin their food into a cocoon and then suck the life out of it.  But mostly I don’t like the way their eyes easily follow you around a room.  I contemplated trying to escort the spider in my apartment outside by trapping it in a jar, but I could tell it was the kind that jumps and I lost my nerve.  Several hours after I’d forgotten the spider I spotted a giant cockroach in the bathroom.  I ushered it out the back door with a broom, simultaneously remembering the spider from earlier in the day.  I wondered if it was capable of taking out a roach with it’s web and cocoon method.    

Leo, this week you could find it difficult to close the door on others needs, demands or eyes.  While you may need your privacy and solitude, there also might be a good reason to keep your door slightly ajar or to not kick all the spiders to the curb.  You just might not know the reason until later.  

(4 of Discs L/ Someone Like You- Sylvester)

VIRGO

Good memories, memories of the “perfect” day are places I find my mind retreating to when things are more difficult.  Most of these good memories also involve the ocean.  Some of my best days have been at the beach.  The other night I had a dream that I was in a motor boat on the ocean with a few friends.  I’m not sure where we were going but the waves were quite big.  After we were already some distance from the dock I remembered the weather report, the meteorologist had advised that there would be a big storm in the area.  I opened my mouth to suggest we turn around and woke up.  In dreams, water and the ocean are said to represent your emotions.  It makes sense then that the very same place, the ocean, could be the sight of my fondest memories and my biggest fears. 

Virgo, this week you may find yourself feeling worried about the sustainability of happiness, whether or not there will be more magical moments and perfect days ahead.  Keep in mind that your anxiety and your happiness are all located in the same place, within you.    

(XIX Sun Rev/ Summertime Blues- Joan Jett)

LIBRA

Sometime around the ages of 17 or 18 my childhood shyness subsided.  I have a clear memory of impulsively standing up on a bus in Brazil at 18 and giving a short pep talk in Portuguese to my fellow exchange students who were occupying many of the seats.  The director of the exchange program had just doused us with a list of rules and I felt called upon to raise the spirit of adventure and moral.  I already knew Portuguese from having lived in Brazil with my parents.  My parents had moved to Indonesia and I went back to Brazil as an exchange student.  Being on my own gave me confidence and blundering through another language made me less afraid of making mistakes in general.  I learned how to laugh at myself and at the same time I learned to take my needs and desires more seriously.

Libra, this week you may be feeling more confident.  You might find yourself standing somewhat apart in the thoughts, needs or desires you choose to express, but this will not likely deter you.  It is perhaps standing alone or in the same position for so long that has given you the confidence to speak your mind.          

(Priestess of Swords/ You Don’t Own Me- Leslie Gore)

SCORPIO

The other day at the roller rink my friend and I saw a very young mother in roller skates nursing a baby on a bench.  Some senior members of her family were there too and took turns watching the baby while she made a few jaw dropping laps in the rink.  “She’s incredible,” my friend said.  I nodded in awe and agreement.  I think we were impressed both by the woman’s skills in the rink but also by her attitude, by the way her life and her enjoyment of skating continued on.  Not without help of course, but “Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da, life goes on” I thought to myself.

Scorpio, this week you may find yourself moving on or recovering from some change or transition more easily than you or anyone would have expected.  Perhaps this is partly because you’ve had help, but you may feel that your life is on wheels and rolls easily forward and into the next song.  

(10 of Swords Rev/ She’s Got Her Ticket- Tracy Chapman)

SAGITTARIUS

It is Pride month.  When I was first coming out as queer in my late teens I had the very fortunate experience of living in a house in the midwest with three older queer women for a summer.  We would have dinner together every night and sometimes they’d invite a friend to dine with us.  Most of their friends seemed to like me and I sensed felt a sort of responsibility to educate me on the history and lineage of which I was now a part.  I remember one evening an older, tough-looking, butch woman came to dinner.  She told me about when she used to frequent the gay bars in the midwest in the 80s.  “It was a war zone,” she said.  “They would throw bricks at us and we would stand outside and throw them right back.”  In the years following that summer I collected my own stories of bigotry and homophobia, but they never seemed as difficult to deal with knowing the stories of bravery I’d heard at that dinner table.

Sagittarius, this week it may be helpful to understand that no matter who you are, the challenges you are currently navigating are part of a history.  You are not starting from zero, you begin on the shoulders of whomever came before you.

(VII Chariot/ Tongues Untied- Marlon Riggs)

CAPRICORN

The other day I was watching an episode of Medium where Allison’s daughter Bridgitte comes into the kitchen waving her arms.  Allison struggles to interpret the gesture until her other two daughters enter the picture and explain that Bridgitte has been “jinxed” and that only saying her name can “unjinx” her.  The scene brought back of flood of memories of my own, of how seriously rules were taken as a kid.  I remember playing a game my friends and I had invented called, “Lava.”  It was a game of tag but it all took place on a playground structure.  You weren’t allowed to touch the pea gravel below because it was molten lava.  I remember believing so adamantly that the gravel was in fact lava that my toe actually felt hot when it touched the gravel.  I also remember some kids who fell into the gravel saying, “Wait, that didn’t count!” And then they’d come up with an elaborate argument for why they weren’t actually “dead” according to the rules of the game.  

As a Capricorn you likely take rules very seriously, even if they are just your own made up ones.  It is very healthy to periodically liberate yourself from any thoughts, structures or rules in your life which have become to rigid.  This week it seems you may have figured out how to “unjinx” yourself or perhaps you have found a loop hole in the rules of the game and discovered you aren’t actually “dead.”  

(4 of Wands/ Muda de Vida- António Variações)

AQUARIUS

The older I get the harder I find endings to be.  When I was younger it felt much easier to skip from one stone to the next.  I remember standing in my room with my mom when we were leaving Brazil to come back to the the U.S., our apartment was finally empty and my mom put her arm around me and said tearily, “You grew up in this room.”  I felt a certain sadness too, but it was all tangled up with the excitement I felt about the fresh start awaiting me back in the U.S.  This is something I don’t think actually ever changes. Every ending is braided with a new beginning even when you are at the very top of your life ready to jump into the next.  But for some reason the older I get, the more I surprise myself with my attachments to what is familiar and the excitement becomes harder to find.

Aquarius, this week you may encounter an ending.  Perhaps you are transitioning from one thing to the next.  Even if the change is welcome, you may find yourself feeling rather raw and vulnerable about the transition.  You don’t have to bully yourself into seeking out the excitement that is buried beneath the rubble of loss, but know that it is there when you are ready to embrace it. 

(Daughter of Cups Rev/ You’ve Got A Home- Fanny)

PISCES

Pisces, as the sign associated with music, I know you probably know what I mean when I say music can liberate me from the foulest of moods.  The other day while roller skating, a song (which will remain unnamed because I’m slightly embarrassed that such a simple song can have such a profound impact), came on and I felt like all negative and self defeating thoughts I’d held prior to that moment were flying off of me, rolling off with the beads of sweat.  

Pisces, this week it seems you may find the secret ingredient or song that can liberate you from any self-defeating or negative thoughts which may have previously played on a loop in your head.  Change the record and play this new tune at maximum volume.    

(5 of Swords Rev/ Rocket Man- Elton John)

TAROTSCOPES for the week of 06/04/15

ARIES

I’ve been watching TV shows set in high school again.  This is something I catch myself doing periodically when I’m going through some sort of emotional transition.  High school is like a vulnerability concentrate.  Carrying your lunch tray through a crowded cafeteria, waiting for the bus, waiting for your parents to pick you up from school in a mini van, navigating the hallways while wearing a backpack.  The awkwardness of occupying the overlap from kid to adult, being simultaneously dependent and independent.  This feeling returns during periods of transition in adulthood when you are trying to make a change, trying to shift your dependency for one thing or job or project or person to something new or maybe just settling back into yourself.  

Aries, this week you may find yourself feeling impatient about a transition.  Perhaps you are still being made to adhere to someone else’s rules and that can kick up old frustrations you may have been more accustomed to in high school.  Trust time to help provide momentum towards your desires.  In the mean time I recommend watching some high school dramas, comedies or dramadies to take the sting out.  

(Daughter of Swords Rev/ 

TAURUS

There is this part in the Kids in the Hall movie, “Brain Candy,” when the scientist who has just created a revolutionary antidepressant goes on a talk show and an audience member, an older man who looks to be in his seventies, asks how he can become a famous scientist like him.  The scientist flounders for a minute and then replies, “Work hard and stay in school!”  This moment is funny but also kind of heartbreaking.  It is clear the man will likely never become a famous scientist in this life time unless he was a practicing scientist already.  What he may want or desire, like recognition, respect, admiration, to help people, to make a valuable contribution, these things he can have.  

Taurus, this week you may feel disappointed that something you’ve been working hard at isn’t yielding the desired outcome.  Take a moment to think about what you REALLY want because that you can certainly still have (and maybe you have already) even if it doesn’t take the form you thought it would.  

(2 of Cups Rev/

GEMINI

The other day I found myself scrolling through a rather morbid collection of thoughts.  One thought drifted into another thought I’ve had before, one I’m sure many people have had before, which is that every minute that passes, every full rotation of the second hand on my watch, moves us all closer to death.  Then I thought about those timelines they have at museums that depict the “evolution of man” or the development of certain technologies.  I thought about how we are all walking timelines and that certain famous persons have or have had timelines plotted with points announcing their contributions to society.  But not included may be the more personally significant psychological events that propelled them towards a particular dot on the timeline.  

Gemini, this week you may be thinking about the next point or points you want to plot on your timeline.  Somewhere between pressure and patience is contained the seed of your next direction and desire.  

(7 of Cups L/

CANCER

“What color is the dirt where you come from?”  my friend from South Africa was asking.  I’d been remarking about how orange all of our once-white gym shoes were from the dirt.  We were playing softball in gym class at my high school in Brazil.  “Brown,” I replied as though it were question.  I had thought dirt was brown everywhere.  I spent a lot of time trying to wash the red out of my sneakers without much luck, but when I returned to the U.S. I clung to the dirt that stained my shoes.  I need it to help tell the story of where I’d been. 

Cancer, this week you may find yourself standing up for something you believe in or asserting your position on some issue.  Know that your perspective is valuable, if only because you know different kinds of dirt and have stood on other soils before and so you may be seeing the situation from places others can’t.  

(7 of Wands/

LEO

When my parents announced we were moving to Brazil lots of adults looked at me with Kewpie doll eyes of concern, “How do you feel about moving so far away?”  Prior to their announcement I had asked my parents to send me away to boarding school in India.  “Great,” I replied.  Adults often say change is hard for kids, but the way I thought about it at the time was that my inner ear hadn’t yet solidified, I could still go on the tilt-o-whirl and I could still move to another country and adjust, maybe even easier than an adult.  Moving set me free from a place where I’d come to feel stifled and alien.

Leo, this week you may enter a period of radical change.  While change is frequently and unfairly described in negative terms, this change seems to be kind which ultimately sets you free.  

(XVI Tower/

VIRGO

Recently I’ve been thinking about what makes one’s own body a difficult place to call home.  Pain seems to be the biggest culprit.  Physical and emotional pain can send your mind to the moon between blinks.  I’d been feeling emotionally raw and noticed that I was escaping by contemplating other people and their problems, even fictional TV characters.  

Virgo, this week it may be more of a challenge to inhabit your body than usual.  Have you been experiencing physical or emotional pain?  Consider how you might make your current bodily residence more comfortable.  

(Ace of Cups L/

LIBRA

In the context of exercise (usually running or climbing stairs) various people have tried to impart to me their endurance tricks.  “It helps to look ahead, focus on where you are headed,”  my brother, a Capricorn, once told me when we had attempted to run together.  For myself, I’ve found the opposite to be true.  If I look too far ahead it only reminds me how far away my destination is.  But if I look just a few feet in front of me anything is possible, my journey could end in a few yards or a few miles.    

Libra this week you may feel, when you look ahead, that the future you desire is very far away.  Try looking down at where your feet are right now, because at this point, anything is possible.  

(9 of Cups Rev/

SCORPIO

I decided to first write Tarotscopes by hand this week and then type them.  The added step seemed appropriate given the Retrograde and I found it easier to keep from getting distracted.  However, when I went to write your tarotscope, Scorpio, I wrote “Scorpio,” at the top of the page and then took a fifteen minute nap which was actually twenty minutes because I snoozed for five after the alarm went off.  When I woke up and returned to your tarotscope I couldn’t help laughing at the irony.  

You aren’t likely to voluntarily take many naps this week, Scorpio, your focus is unwavering.  You also aren’t likely to be writing by hand because your mind may be moving too fast for your hand.  It may, however, be helpful to consciously slow yourself down to avoid or allow for any potential Mercury Retrograde snafus.

(Son of Discs R/

SAGITTARIUS

One thing I’ve observed during my stay here on planet earth is eventually you will be sitting in someone else’s seat.  One moment I am consciously or unconsciously judging someone for something and the next moment I find myself in the exact same position.  Of course there are exceptions, but I have encountered several almost comical turns of the table.  Once I was literally sitting opposite my brother at the breakfast table and he started scooting my cereal bowl away from me by pulling on the table runner.  He obviously hadn’t thought the prank through because he ended up pulling his cereal bowl into his lap.  I went from victim to victorious.  

Sagittarius, this week you could encounter some struggle or struggles which may cause you to consciously or unconsciously judge another person or people harshly.  Venture to see the situation from all sides and if you can’t, be willing to ask questions to get a clearer picture of the conflicting view points.  Try not to be too intent on getting another to see things from your perspective or to change the other people/ person’s perspective as this may inadvertently result in you pulling your own cereal bowl into your lap.   

(3 of Swords/

CAPRICORN

There is a quote inscribed on a slab of stone I like to pay a visit to on occasion at my favorite old church in Los Angeles.  The words have become so weathered and worn that it is nearly impossible to read.  I usually have to get on my knees and run my fingers over the letters as if it were written in braille.  The stone reads, “Not till the hours of light return/ All we have built do we discern.”  The stone itself skirts a large sundial and the two are clearly in conversation.  

Capricorn, prior to this week it may have been difficult to see the fruits of your dedication and hard work.  This week however it may become more apparent.  Perhaps “the hours of light” have returned.  

(9 of Discs R/ 

AQUARIUS

At some point in season 4 of “30 Rock,” Tracy Jordan and Liz Lemon get in a fight because Tracy claims Liz’ book is ruining his marriage.  Jack tries to mediate and announces he will “cut the baby in half” eluding to the biblical story of the Judgment of Solomon.  Tracy interjects saying, “And I will take the top half, for that is the part with the face.”  When I was a kid my mom told me the story of the Judgment of Solomon.  Two women are both claiming to be the mother of a baby, King Solomon aims to resolve the dispute by suggesting they cut the baby in half.  At this point in the story I had the same thought as Tracy, “Take the top half! It has the face!”  My mom shocked me with the surprise ending- one of the mothers gives up her claim in order to spare the baby from being severed.

Aquarius, you may feel that there is no easy solution to a difficult decision currently occupying your thoughts.  Perhaps the decision was presented in the form of a question that implies a difficult choice.  Consider that the solution may not be directly implied by the question.  In this particular situation is it most important to keep the baby alive or to keep the top half?

(2 of Swords Rev/

PISCES

A long time ago, I jokingly remarked that sleep deprivation was my “drug of choice.”  At the time it made me feel loose and silly like a champagne buzz.  I would like to retract that statement, or at least retract it for now.  I am currently operating on very little sleep and feel more like a rubberband stretched to its outer limit.  I don’t feel silly, I feel irritable and the dog keeps barking at a squirrel on a tree outside the window and I keep wishing I could bark like that too because it seems like the only sound I could make that might relieve the tension in my body.  

Pisces, this week you may find, once again, that you have surrendered to a sea of sensation and emotion.  There may be no fighting the feelings you are encountering, the same way it can be nearly impossible to fight sleep.  While some may describe this state as foggy, it is also the most clear and honest because you may be incapable of denying the direction your feelings are sending you.  In the case of sleep deprivation, to the mattress.   

(IV Emperor Rev/

TAROTSCOPES for the week of 05/28/15

ARIES

The other day on a run I passed a smashed bottle cap.  It was smooth and flat like a quarter.  I thought about how if I was describing it to someone it would sound like I was describing a quarter, but it still wouldn’t pay for my parking at the meter.  Later at dinner with my brother I described the encounter with the bottle cap and compared it to internet dating, “You could describe what you were looking for in a person as shiny but…”  “But they still wouldn’t fit the bill,” my brother finished knowingly. 

Aries, this week it may be necessary to be very specific about describing what you want and noticing how those desires may be different from what others want or from what is perceived as the “right thing” to want or do.  Perhaps it is something like this story in reverse, are you describing a quarter, when what you really want or need is a flattened bottle cap?  

(V Hierophant/ All Cats Are Grey- The Cure)

TAURUS

Recently, I’ve been thinking about how much easier the “hard way” can be.  I think this is because the “hard way” often involves some level of control or perceived control.  A long time ago I made the screensaver on my phone a picture of little girl pushing a ball up a slight incline.  Originally I thought of it as symbol of encouragement, to keep the ball rolling even when the “landscape” physical, or emotional, made it more difficult to accomplish the task.  I think at that point in my life I needed this gentle push, but now it feels like a time to readjust the image so I can see the ball rolling downhill without quite so much effort.

Taurus, this week it may be important to reflect on where you may be pushing a ball up an incline or subconsciously choosing the “hard way.”  Consider all the pots that boil without your interference and all the other areas of your life which, even when left unattended, continue to grow.    

(XII Hanged One Rev/ Hikaru Michi (The Shining Road)- Sonic X)

GEMINI

A few days ago I was walking down a street in Los Angeles which has been tread by many feet, but rarely my own because it is on the opposite side of town from where I live.  There was all this stuff I hadn’t seen before and for a moment I felt compelled to snap pictures in rapid succession like a tourist and post them on instagram.  Lately however, because of the internet, I’ve had the sneaking suspicion that everything has already been seen.  “Even this incidental pile of trash has probably already been posted on Facebook or instagram or maybe it even has its own wikipedia entry,” I thought.  Down the street I reconsidered my somewhat pessimistic conclusion from a few paces back.  We all look at things from different angles and with different eyes.  Excitement, interest, engagement is worth sharing even if you are sharing it again.  

Gemini, this week you may find yourself talking back to any voices which have prevented you from unencumbered self-expression or which have tightly belted the sharing of your vision.  Set your sights on loose and free.    

(XVII Star/ We Don’t Go to God’s House Anymore- Chumbawamba)

CANCER

I’m writing this from a coffee shop, on my way here I noticed a pipe dripping water on asphalt.  Stumbling upon drips in Los Angeles is kind of nightmarish due to the water shortage.  My horror was quelled somewhat when I followed the trickle to the ground and noticed a trail of plant life taking advantage of the puddle.  A few days prior to this incident I was attempting to water some plants behind my house with a hose that I couldn’t get to attach to the spigot correctly.  It kept spraying water out of the weak connection, but I gave up trying to fix the problem when I realized that the leak was also watering a nearby shrub. 

Cancer, similar to the scenarios described above, your emotional leaks may be indirectly or inadvertently watering or supporting small ecosystems, but they may also be contributing to a larger problem- like a widespread water shortage.  In the long run it would probably be best to fix the leaks and find a more direct application of your emotional energy.  

(Priestess of Cups Rev/ Slippin’ and Slidin’- Little Richard)

LEO

A poker face and a stiff upper lip and a blank stare and a straight-lace or a straight-face.  Fine-how-are-you?  Conversations about things that aren’t feelings but sound like feelings like the weather, the drought or the ocean.  Masking emotions behind menial tasks.  My mother once held her hands up a few inches apart and said jokingly, “I’d say that’s about the emotional range of expression in our family.”  In my early twenties when I was confronted with emotions I couldn’t mask or bury I found myself grabbing at what seemed like viable alternative solutions.  “Do people tell you all their problems?” I asked a bartender at my neighborhood bar.  “No,” she replied flatly.  “Can I tell you mine?”  “Okay,” she replied reluctantly.  

Leo, this week you may find yourself swimming in deep emotional waters.  Perhaps the feelings you are navigating are your own or perhaps they are someone else’s, either way consider your boundaries.  Consider where over time you may have become too rigid and where and when you may need to redraw a line.     

(Shaman of Cups R/ Feeling Sad- Sha-Weez)

VIRGO

In my memory of things that have happened at night there are always pieces missing.  I remember sneaking out of my friend’s house at 1 am but the image of the memory is just a hand on a gate or a foot crossing a threshold or my friend’s red shirt under a street light.  Night memories are more of a collage, an implied whole based on pieces of information.  Besides the obvious cloak of darkness, I think this is also because there were things I was literally trying to hide or hide from.  The fears that accompanied the hour also fragmented my visual memory.  There was a fear of getting caught and the fear of danger hiding in the shadows, but these potentials only made the experience more desirable.  

Virgo this week might be a bit of a mystery.  The future is likely cloaked in darkness and only fragments of your current experience may be available to you in retrospect.  It might help to imagine you are in a film noir and also to acknowledge that your fears are inextricably tangled with excitement.       

(XVIII Moon/ Be Alive Now- Celia Swann)

LIBRA  

“Mom! You’re blonde!” I exclaimed recently when face-timing with my mom.  “I’m easing in the grey,” she replied casually.  My mother has changed her image and style several times over the years.  I remember once in the 90s she even had an asymmetrical bob like the red-haired neighbor-character in “Edward Scissorhands.”  But when I think of her, when I think of “Mom”  with a capital M, I think of the natural frizzy brown bob she had for much of the late 80s and early 90s.  The blonde made more sense when I acknowledged her current style and expression. 

Libra, this week you may be introducing a new form of expression into your life or at least contemplating the change.  Perhaps you are easing into this new form slowly.  Don’t be afraid to shock or surprise, especially the people you’ve known the longest.  Maybe their image of you is a hold over from the 90s and as such is also in need of an update.     

(Ace of Wands L/ Runs in the Family- The Roches)

SCORPIO

A few weeks ago I was having a heated discussion with a friend.  “You can’t just put on my shoes and imagine that you are seeing things from my perspective,” I said in frustration.  “I want you to try and imagine what it would be like to be ME in my shoes.”  This is something I’ve thought about a lot recently.  I think most people have difficulty truly considering or understanding another’s perspective, “If I were you I would just quit.”  The advice is excessively simple because the person has not had to deal with all the things that preceded the difficulty, the anxieties, the emotional anguish, the external and internal pressures.  Sometimes it is helpful to be offered outside perspective, other times you want someone to empathize with your situation and that involves something more than just trying on your shoes with or without socks.  

Scorpio, the difficulties you encounter this week may have something to do with perspective.  Where are you truly able to empathize with another and where is that more difficult to accomplish?  Where do you feel that others are not empathizing with you?  One possible solution may be to provide more information and/ or ask more questions.  With Mercury Retrograde in Gemini, remember that you may have to repeat yourself or ask others to repeat themselves.    

(8 of Swords R/ Say- Cat Power)

SAGITTARIUS

I could point to several astrological influences as the culprit, but whatever the reason, I always want to be able to answer the question- why.  I want to know why every little thing is the way it is and why I feel the way I feel and why someone else feels the way they feel.  A long time ago I posted a short story I wrote when I was a kid on Facebook.  It was a ghost story and it said something to effect of: “There was a haunted house, but no one believed it was haunted and then a family moved in and they all died because of the ghost, the end.”  My friend commented underneath, “Cause and effect.”  This pretty much sums up how I look at most things in life: cause and effect.  I want to thoroughly investigate the causes and I want to know all the effects. 

Sagittarius, this week the Full Moon in your sign may alter the way you've been thinking or feeling.  You may feel emotionally liberated from some situation, but you aren’t entirely sure why.  Maybe the situation hasn’t changed, but you have.  Perhaps you feel ready to move in a new direction, where in the past you felt thwarted by internal or external barriers.  Yours is the sign associated with higher truths and the quest for meaning so you may be slightly dissatisfied when the answers to your questions are empty or unavailable.  For now just revel in the freedom you feel and don’t worry about all the whys or wherefores.      

(O Fool R/ Lithium- The Vaselines)

CAPRICORN

Recently a friend was making a blueprint of another friend’s apartment on the computer.  He was working on some proposed modifications.  Glancing over his shoulder I exclaimed, “I had no idea that wall was tilted at an angle!”  “That’s really cool that you can see that.  Lots of people don’t know how to read blueprint like this.  They just don’t know how to translate something 3 dimensional into something flat and vice versa,” he said.  His compliment was deeply flattering in large part because it caught me off guard and because I didn’t realize that reading a blueprint required a special talent.  

Capricorn, there are likely many things you do without expecting or receiving recognition. Consider that there are many things that come quite naturally to you, languages you speak that others don’t easily understand.  This week you may get some of what you are due even if it is just a complement.    

(Son of Wands/ Skills- Gang Starr)

AQUARIUS

A few weeks ago I rescued a hummingbird from my neighbor’s cat.  About a week ago a hummingbird started showing up at my kitchen window.  I tried to check for missing tail feathers like the one I’d released, but it moved too quickly for me to make out such a small detail.  Later I realized that it was attracted to something in the compost bin beneath my window.  In the wilds of my imagination the bird was coming back to let me know it was okay, a story which could still hold water, but the visits were also easily explained by much less romantic evidence- just another animal sniffing out the garbage.

Aquarius, this week you may feel slightly pessimistic about what could have been a beautiful tale.  Perhaps, with the retrograde, things haven’t been going as smoothly as they would under normal astrological circumstances.  Trust that even if your life’s ferris wheel is currently stopped up at the bottom, it will rise again and provide you with a fresh perspective.      

(VIII Justice Rev/ Bird In Hand- Lee “Scratch” Perry & the Upsetters)

PISCES 

The other day I was headed to a coffee shop near my house thinking it would be abandoned on a week day.  As I approached however, I noticed a slew of people sitting outside.  I was standing in front of the walk light across the street but as it turned green I found myself hesitating.  I felt anxious about being surrounded so many people even though the whole reason I was headed to the coffee shop in the first place was to get out of my house and be around people.  Acknowledging this lifted my spirits and my feet from the pavement.  

Pisces, this week you may be opening the door again after a period of reclusion.  Even after you step outside you could still have a few more internal doors to open before you feel fully comfortable being out and about.  Try to keep your heart light and the doors won’t feel so heavy.  

(4 of Discs L/ Cavern- Liquid Liquid)

TAROTSCOPES for the week of 05/21/15

ARIES

QUIET QUIET

Quiet often gets repeated as a command or is used as an action, softly silencing whatever noises are disruptive to what is about to unfold next.  Quiet carves out a space for something specific to present itself. 

Aries, this week you may find it important to carve out some quiet for yourself.  Spend some time alone with your creative projects and whatever materials you use in that process.  Something new or something specific may grow from the space you provide.  

(9 of Discs/ Rags and Old Iron- Nina Simone)

TAURUS

THERE THERE

Once and you indicate a location, but twice is an expression of comfort.  “There There” implies you are just where you are supposed to be- experiencing feelings and getting to a better feeling place from which to make your next move.  

Taurus, this week you may find that the target you are aiming for is slightly obscured.  Perhaps it is blurred by emotion as Venus, your ruling planet, is out of bounds in watery and sensitive Cancer.  In any case, know that you are right on track and right where you need to be in order to easily make your next move (most likely some time after the retrograde).

(Son of Discs L/ Before the World Was Big- Girlpool)

GEMINI

NO NO NO

As the sunset the other evening I couldn’t bring myself to flip a switch.  It didn’t feel like the thing to do.  “No, no, no” I thought as if I was speaking to each lamp, every electrical suggestion.  I lit three candles and let everything else grow dark.  A particularly painful bout of menstrual cramps earlier in the day had left me feeling like a jellyfish without the stinging power.  Nothing I’d determined to do that day had been done, my physical and emotional waves had effortlessly rolled over my rigid schedule, water will always win.

Gemini, this week may give rise to feelings bigger and stronger than whatever you’ve built to contain them.  It may be necessary to say no to the things you traditionally would easily accept.  Maybe you need to turn down one light in order to see another more clearly.  

(IV Emperor Rev/ Where Do We Go From Here- Death)

CANCER

!!!

This is cheating a bit since an exclamation point is not a word, but three in succession is so common place these days that it seems an appropriate concession to the theme.  This punctuation is often repeated as an expression of excitement or surprise.  It reminds me of a Dennis the Menace comic, like it belongs in a thought or speech bubble accompanying a cartoon-person with eyes drawn like this:  (((o o))).  In many ways it conveys emotion more authentically than an actual word.  

Cancer, this week you may find yourself in a dramatic situation or feeling dramatic about a situation.  It may be helpful to turn all thoughts and words into punctuation to remind yourself of the feelings at the heart of the conflict and also to allow you to approach the situation with humor.    

(3 of Swords/ Vincent Van Gogh- Jonathan Richman)

LEO

I…I…I

Sometimes you need to stammer a bit before you find a word to stand on, particularly when you are asserting yourself or changing your direction or the rules.  It isn’t usually weakness or a lack of conviction that makes it hard to find the words or get them out, it’s the accompanying emotions.

This week, Leo, you may find yourself needing to make a change which is more supportive of who you are or how you’ve changed.  Don’t worry about stuttering or repeating yourself until you find the words to convey the change you are desiring to make.  

(V Hierophant R/ It’s My Life- Talk Talk)

VIRGO

YOUR NAME

Sometimes when I’m on the phone with an automated telephone operator, even if I’m alone in a room, I feel self-conscious saying my own name out loud.  It feels even more strange if I have to repeat myself, “I’m sorry.  I didn’t hear what you said.  Please state your full name followed by the pound key.”  When other people say your name or say it more than once, it is often to create intimacy or connection.  Sometimes it is an expression of love or to let you know that they see or know you.  

Virgo, this week you may find it a helpful exercise to repeat your own name out loud to yourself.  You may be getting more familiar or comfortable with yourself in a new context.  Perhaps you are also enjoying hearing others say your name, knowing it is an expression of love and recognition.     

(XIV Temperance/ You Know Me Well- Sharon Van Etten)

LIBRA

WELL WELL WELL

At the point in the movie when this phrase is employed, our heroine has fallen into a seemingly impossible trap set by the villain.  “Well, well, well,” the villain says, “What do we have here?”  But the heroine goes on and so does the movie.  A riveting escape or chase ensues and whatever the heroine set out to achieve is accomplished.  “Well, well, well” is only the beginning of the end, with the end being a kiss, or a sunset or a high five.

Libra, you may feel this week that you are the well, well, well part in the movie.  This is not the end, it is only the beginning of an end which will probably be followed by a sequel.    

(XX Judgement L/ Miranda- Angel Olsen)

SCORPIO

NIGHT NIGHT

This is something my grandfather used to say to all of us kids and grandkids as we would head off to bed.  Sometimes he would say, “Night, night, see you in the morning bright.”  I found it strangely comforting.  A friend of mine, who I occasionally call Mrs. Piggle Wiggle because she is an amazing babysitter, told me that being afraid of the dark is an actual phase in a child’s development.  The wikipedia entry on this fear actually states quite beautifully that, “fear of the dark is usually not fear of darkness itself, but fear of possible or imagined dangers concealed by darkness.”  When my grandfather said, “Night night,” I knew it was a promise that he’d see me in the morning, that I’d make in through the night to see the “morning bright.”  

Scorpio, this week you may be surrendering in the same way you surrender to sleep and the dark every night, with the knowledge that there will be a “morning bright.” 

(10 of Swords Rev/ Almora Sunrise- Ariel Kalma)

SAGITTARIUS

YEAH, YEAH, YEAH

Turning 20 was rather disappointing.  “Why?” a friend asked.  “Because now no one will ever say, ‘she did all that’ or ‘she did this and she’s not even 20.’”  I don’t know why I decided 20 was the cut off for youthful accomplishments, I suppose because it meant I was officially no longer a teenager.  I can easily laugh about this now, but what I have noticed about getting older is that it is harder to accept that there are things I am still learning, things people younger than me may already know.  My friend Zackary once said in a discussion about her art, that she tries to think of everyone as children because it is easier to feel compassionate towards them.  This has stuck with me and I try to use it on myself too when I find a harsh voice in my head saying something like, “You’re almost 32 and you still don’t know such and such?”  

Sagittarius, this week as Saturn lingers at the first degree of your sign and Mercury delivers messages from the past, you may find yourself painfully acknowledging that something you thought you already knew, something you were tempted to just say, “yeah, yeah, yeah” to, like a teenager to an adult or maybe even an adult to a teenager, is actually a lesson you are still trying to integrate.  Go easy on yourself, we are all children.  

(IX Crone L/ Something- Phyllis Dillon)

CAPRICORN

HOT HOT HOT 

This phrase may have been employed in every food chain commercial ever made.  I think the idea was to remind you of all the possible connotations of the word hot:  hot temperature, hot sexy, hot popular…  The way I use it most often, however, is when I’m getting in the bath and the temperature is inevitably too hot and I say to the water, “Hot, hot, hot, hot..” until my body acclimates.  

Capricorn, you may find yourself coming into contact with every possible meaning and iteration of a word and also employing it when you need to acclimate to a new situation.  In general, this week, it may be important to balance between your physical and emotional needs, tempering one with the other.   

(8 of Cups/ Steve Polyester- Ava Luna)

AQUARIUS

OK OK

If you’ve ever given or received a pep talk than you know that the response is not always very notable at first.  The person’s face (or your own, if you are receiving the talk) typically relaxes, but there may not be any other indication that the words helped turn the person towards perseverance.  In high school I was the recipient of several of these helpful speeches delivered by my older brother.  Visibly these talks took me from tears to releasing a few words on a sigh, “ok ok,” but emotionally they were far more impactful and got me up off the couch or floor many times.  

Aquarius, this week you may find yourself feeling slightly deflated.  What is it you feel you can’t do and what would it take to move you from frustration or stagnation to accepting that you are fully capable of moving what may feel like mountains when viewed from down in the dumps or even just the couch?     

(2 of Wands Rev/ Don’t Let Me Down- Solange)

PISCES

HA HA HA

For some reason, early in my introduction to texting I felt inhibited about typing the words “ha ha” or “ha ha ha” to indicate laughter.  I think I thought it was “cheesy” or that it sounded sarcastic and so I would always punch out, “That is soooo funny!” or “I’m laughing so hard I’m crying!”  Because I also felt that “lol” (laughing out loud) or “rofl” (rolling on the floor laughing) did not convey that I was actually laughing out loud since these abbreviations were and are so commonplace.  Now there are simple emoji’s which express these sentiments and I felt similarly resistant to using them to express myself when they first became popular.  But because texting has replaced a good portion of verbal phone communication, I’ve had to let go of my hang ups (no pun intended) and embrace the “cheese.”  

Pisces, this week you may be feel shy or worried about appearing “cheesy” (aka vulnerable) in your communication with others or just in the communication of your ideas.  Now, with Mercury in Retrograde, it may be a good time to get comfortable with a new form of expression or a new idea you have been chewing on.  You don’t have to completely embrace it, just ease into the possibility.  

(0 Fool Rev/ Days To Come- Bonobo)

TAROTSCOPES for the week of 05/14/15

ARIES

HEADPHONES

One of the first things I learned in a college course I took on hacking electronics was how to turn headphones into a microphone.  It was surprisingly simple, but more than the physical act of transforming one into another, I was drawn to the idea that a tool for listening and a tool for speaking were essentially the same tool.  These particular headphones, the ones in my junk drawer, are the kind that are supposed to fit your ears, but these don’t fit in mine.  In fact, they are extremely uncomfortable to use for any length of time and I only keep them as back up incase I can’t find my other headphones.  Maybe one day I will make better use of them and finally turn them into a microphone.  

Aries, you have likely been listening long enough to the things around you that you finally have something to say about what you’ve been hearing.  Now would be a good time to turn your headphones, or at least the ones in your junk drawer, into something which will allow others to hear or experience your insights.        

(Shaman of Swords/ All Apologies- Lorde)

TAURUS

CANDLES THAT LOOK LIKE CRAYONS

Remember jumbo crayons?  Maybe you don’t have to remember them, maybe you are looking at a set right now.  They still exist, but I haven’t seen them since the early 90s.  The candles in my junk drawer are the same general size and shape of those jumbo crayons.  The lid of the box says, “Megacandles.”  Below that it says, “8 candlesticks,” but there are only 6 in the box, two have been used, two have been lit.  Jumbo crayons were always for big ideas, or to outline something big, probably on butcher paper, maybe to trace my body or someone else’s.  I remember starting with jumbo crayons, but eventually I wanted to get more detailed and have more variety in terms of color and there were usually no more than 8 colors in the jumbo box.  

Taurus, this week, this moon, in your sign, is for starting something new.  You don’t have to finish with the same tools you started with, you are only being asked to begin.  You just have to light the candle or pick up the crayon.  You could even start by tracing something that already exists.

(2 of Wands/ The Beginning- RuPaul)

GEMINI

LETTERS TO PEOPLE WHO USED TO LIVE HERE

Weeks ago I was expecting a letter from a friend.  Every day I would go to the mailbox hoping to find it, but the cranky metal box was only a vase for a bouquet of advertisements.  One day I lifted the lid to find nothing but letters addressed to former residents of my apartment.  It seemed like a cruel joke, even the ghosts were getting mail.  Those letters now pad my junk drawer, but they are symbolic of something you may experience this week, Gemini.  

Mercury, your ruling planet continues to travel out of bounds, meaning that it is not comfortable following the straight and narrow and neither are you.  What you are looking for may not be as obvious or easy to find as it could be under “normal” astrological weather conditions.  Mars in Gemini will soon join Mercury out of bounds asking you take action that may not follow convention or prescription.  If you keep going to the mailbox, expecting to find a message for you, you may only find something addressed to someone else, someone who used to be in your position, but took a very different route.  This week do not get trapped under a feeling of obligation or rules that someone else has written.  Now is the time to consider where you really want to go and what you really feel compelled to do.      

(V Hierophant/ Stone Is Very Very Cold- Spell)

CANCER

TEALIGHTS WITH MAYBE ONE QUICK FLAME LEFT IN THEM

There are three metal tins in my junk drawer that used to hold Colombian coffee.  In my attempt at organizing, I shoved a bunch of partially used tealight candles in one of the tins.  There is still wax in each cup, but the wicks look spent.  I would guess that if I lit them I might get a three second flame out of each one.  I’m sure I kept them for this reason, for the three seconds they have left to spare.  But in terms of a candle you can use, their lives are over.  I think they originally provided ambient light when I took a relaxing bath a few months back so maybe part of what I’ve kept in that tin was the memory of an experience to which they made a significant contribution.  

Cancer, this week you leave the past behind you.  You can light the candles and let them burn out on their own, but you seem aware that their function, their place in an experience you once had is no longer available or accessible with these tools.  Mentally, this week, you move on and prepare yourself for new light and fresh sight.  

(10 of Swords Rev/ Ominous Cloud- Broadcast)

LEO

TWO ROLLS OF TAPE- DUCT AND MASKING

Duct tape, according to wikipedia, is used “in situations that require a strong, flexible, and very sticky tape.”  Apparently I haven’t run into very many of these situations because the roll is almost unused.  The masking tape on the other hand has about a quarter left on the roll.  According to wikipedia, masking tape was invented to provide a “gentler adhesive” one which won’t take up paint.  I’m mostly a “gentle adhesive” kind of person, I’m not interested in pulling up paint, but the duct tape I keep around because I know that I will eventually run into a situation which requires something stronger, more flexible and very sticky.

What am I talking about?  Tape?  Yes and no.  Yes AND no, Leo.  This isn’t a week for throwing one thing out for another, for consolidating your tape.  This is a week for multiple uses.  This is a week for being flexible and strong when needed and providing a gentler adhesive when the situation demands it.  

(2 of Discs/ Earth Song- Truck)

VIRGO

A VERY POWERFUL FLASHLIGHT UNDER A STACK OF NAPKINS

It is what it is, Virgo- A very powerful flashlight under a very thick stack of napkins in my junk drawer.  It doesn’t belong to me, I actually put it in this drawer so I wouldn’t forget to give it back to the person who originally gave me the napkins.  But I did forget.  I would probably remember it in an emergency, if the power went out.  My first thought would likely be, “Thank god I have this flashlight” and my second thought would be, “Thank god I have this VERY powerful flashlight.”  

Virgo, don’t wait until there is an emergency to remember your light, your ability to illuminate certain things by focusing on them.  You don’t have to do or be anything other than you, but try not to hide who you are under a stack of napkins or anything else. 

(Son of Wands L/ What A Day For Me- Harumi)

LIBRA

A PENCIL WITH LITTLE OR NO ERASER

This pencil is from The Standard hotel in Los Angeles and so it says “The Standard” on it which as far as pencils go it is…standard.  It does everything it is supposed to, which is to write on paper or paper products.  It no longer erases mistakes however, something it used to do.  Now if you were to try and erase something it would probably trace the line you erased with another line or smudge.  If you use this standard pencil, you will have to surrender to your mistakes, you will have to let the mistakes show you what else they can be or become.  

Libra, you may be used to feeling that you can easily undo or change things if they aren’t going your way.  This week see what happens when you don’t go back or try to return to a blank page, but instead move forward and allow any “mistakes” to show you what they can become.  

(XII Hanged One L/ Journey Within- Fred E. Scott)

SCORPIO

A BASKET THAT LOOKS LIKE A PINWHEEL OR THE SUN

This is one of my favorite objects.  I can’t remember where I first found it, but I have always loved it and now there is a small hole in one corner from loving it so much.  It isn’t very big and it is an unusual shape so it is hard to know what to put in it.  It would be a good place to put things that weigh very little or nothing at all.  

Scorpio, this is a good week to think about things which weigh nothing at all, things which are as light as a basket and evoke balloon-like, uplifting feelings like love and joy.  

(XIX Sun L/ The High- Kelela)

SAGITTARIUS

A CLAW 

Is that what it is called?  It is a hair accessory probably developed in the 80s or maybe before and I’m slightly embarrassed about how often I use it.  I usually try to position it so that you can’t see it, so that it looks like I’ve successfully piled all my hair on top of my head with very little effort or object.  I’m sure the claw was never intended to be seen outside of a salon, it was a tool, another hand to hold the hair away while the barber or stylist cut it.  I’m not sure from where my shame around this object stems.  I think it might have something to do with not wanting to be perceived as lazy, or ignorant.  But I have yet to find a suitable replacement.  When I’ve attempted a more traditional hair piling method, I find I have to hold my head very still, otherwise the whole style unravels and shoots pins.  I trust the claw, the claw is a helping hand or another set entirely.

Sagittarius, this week don’t be too hard on yourself about the method or means you use to achieve your goals.  How you get to where you are going is important, but let the situation show you what it needs…like maybe a helping hand or a claw.  

(VII Chariot/ I Say A Little Prayer- Aretha Franklin)

CAPRICORN

A 9V BATTERY FOR A SMOKE ALARM

A few months back an inspector came to our apartment building and demanded that three alarms be installed in each apartment: 2 smoke alarms and one carbon monoxide detector.  One morning around 6 am one of the alarms started to chirp.  It was loud and sharp like an audible pin prick to your ear drum.  In my groggy fog I was unable to determine which alarm was making the noise so I disarmed two of them by removing the battery and wiring and the sounds stopped.  This battery, cast into my junk drawer, is a remnant of the incident.  It is also a reminder that I have not resolved the situation.  The casings to both alarms are still dangling from the ceiling unable to fulfill their assigned duties.  

Capricorn, this week you may feel a little disconnected and out of sorts.  There is a solution or maybe more than one to the difficulty or difficulties currently gnawing on you or perhaps incessantly beeping in your ear at 6 am.  The solution or steps required to reaching a solution may be simple enough, but the accompanying feelings might not be as easy to navigate or sift through.  Give yourself time to sort it all out.   

(XIV Temperance Rev/ We Can Work It Out- Twice As Much)

AQUARIUS

A VINTAGE COIN PURSE I MET WHEN I WAS 17

I think it was originally from the 60s or 70s, but I found it a thrift store in Iowa when I was 17.  I had just come back to Iowa from Brazil and something about it seemed symbolic of a new direction I was looking toward.  This has happened to me periodically thorough out my life, an object or an item of clothing will become symbolic of something I’m trying to change or way of being I’m hoping to adopt.  When I found the coin purse I was trying to be more tough, more snappy, I was learning to say no.  I carried it with me through the next few years of my adolescence, a period a therapist would later refer to as an “agitated depression.”  It still snaps, it still says yes or no, open or closed, the way I wanted to and did back then.  

Aquarius, now may be good time to recall some old wisdom, an old piece of advice or even an old heirloom that you once gave a purpose and a meaning.  You may not use it in the same way, but the general idea could be helpful to you as you figure out how to move through this next period of growth and change.  

(6 of Wands Rev/ Don’t Let Our Youth Go To Waste- Galaxie 500)

PISCES

BIRTHDAY CANDLES

There are certainly a lot of candles in this drawer, these particular ones are for you Pisces, because, similar to your current situation they mark time and achievement.  These candles are curly and brightly colored to be festive, to announce themselves, the cake, the party, the transition from one year to the next, from one age to the next, from one day to the next.  This week, you may feel that you are coming closer to lighting these candles.  Perhaps it isn’t time yet, but if you keep moving forward in the direction you’ve been headed you will get to the party, the celebration and the knowledge that you can’t go back.  What you’ve gained, you’ve gained, whether it is age, experience or likely both.  

(XI Strength L/ The Waiting- Angel Olsen)

TAROTSCOPES for the week of 04/23/15

ARIES

MOVEMENT SONG by AUDRE LORDE
Do not remember me
as disaster
nor as the keeper of secrets
I am a fellow rider in the cattle cars
watching
you move slowly out of my bed  
saying we cannot waste time
only ourselves.

Aries, this week you may feel a little disconnected from someone or the someones you love.  Perhaps you are even physically uncomfortable by close proximity right now and worry that, more than time, you are wasting yourself.  Resist the impulse to run up the mountain alone.  Consider the thickness of your skin right now which has perhaps grown slightly more callus in proportion to the emotions you may be trying to protect underneath.  The only way in which you might be “wasting yourself” is by not sharing yourself with the ones you love.     
(2 of Cups Rev/ Coat of Shellac- Ava Luna)

TAURUS

LOVE ME LITTLE, LOVE ME LONG by ANONYMOUS
Love me little, love me long,
Is the burden of my song.
Love that is too hot and strong
    Burneth soon to waste:
Still, I would not have thee cold,
Not too backward, nor too bold;
Love that lasteth till ’tis old
    Fadeth not in haste.

You Taurus’ are known for your dependability, which on the surface may sound dull or boring, but it is nothing of the sort.  In love you may be capable of holding the flame longer than anyone without letting it burn out.  Some of my oldest friends are Taurus’ because over the years, even with all my ups and downs and costume changes, they don’t flinch.  This week however, Taurus, you may find your love light wavering.  This could be a sign that there is something else you need, something to feed the fire.  You may be tempted to point to some sort of physical disturbance in your environment, but it is likely something less apparent.  Perhaps it is time to let someone else hold the flame steady for a little while.   
(Son of Cups Rev/ Unable- Antena)

GEMINI

WILD NIGHTS- WILD NIGHTS! by EMILY DICKINSON
Futile- the winds-
To a Heart in port-
Done with the Compass-
Done with the Chart!

Gemini, as I mentioned before, Venus is currently out of bounds in your sign.  You may feel more impatient about the materialization and manifestation of your desires at this time.  Dreaming up these desires may happen in rapid succession, but they take more time to manifest on the physical plane.  Don’t throw out all your navigational devices just yet, especially when you are so close to “port.”
(9 of Cups L/ Wild Wild Life- Talking Heads)

CANCER

I WROTE A GOOD OMELET by NIKKI GIOVANNI
I wrote a good omelet…and ate
a hot poem…after loving you
Buttoned my car…and drove my
coat home…in the rain…
after loving you

Cancer, this week you are likely trying to assimilate a change, which may not be easy especially for you.  Cancer is the sign which represents comfort and home and this week the unfamiliar will probably out weigh the familiar.  Be willing to trip, to make a fool of yourself, to drive your coat home or write a good omelet.  Comfort will surface again, but right now try to enjoy the oddities and peculiar feelings that arise in this moment.    
(Daughter of Discs R/ We’re All Water- Yoko Ono)

LEO

LOVE LETTER (CLOUDS) by SARAH MANGUSO
The act of falling happens in time. That is, it takes long enough for the falling to shear away from the moments before and the moments after, long enough for one to have thought I am falling. I have been falling. I continue to fall.

Leo, this week time may feel a little distorted.  Something that you would normally describe as happening in a matter of seconds could happen slowly enough for you to stop and observe the process.  Conversely something which you would typically expect to unfold over several days, may happen in less than half the time.  Now is probably not a good time to make firm decisions, but it is  good time to take note of the shifts, fast and slow, as they reveal themselves.  
(7 of Discs/ Barracuda- Miho Hatori)

VIRGO

EXCERPT FROM GRAPEFRUIT by YOKO ONO
Mirror becomes a razor when it’s broken.  A Stick becomes a flute when it’s loved.

Virgo, this week something in your life which you, with the support of others, have been nurturing and watching grow, may now be reaching a stage of completion.  This finish is also a new beginning as the change takes shape, it moves from stick to flute.  Don’t look too long in the mirror, but send the love you feel back out to those who helped shape the change in you.  
(10 of Discs/ The Golden Flute- Yusef Lateef)

LIBRA

SOMETIMES WITH ONE I LOVE by WALT WHITMAN
Sometimes with one I love I fill myself with rage for fear I effuse unreturn’d love,
But now I think there is no unreturn’d love, the pay is certain one way or another
(I loved a certain person ardently and my love was not return’d,
Yet out of that I have written these songs).

This week, Libra, you can expect to find yourself looking at an old situation or yourself from a new angle.  You may be more comfortable expressing yourself, as you are less concerned with trying to pigeon-hole or corral the way in which your expression is received.  And you will likely get a positive response anyway, even if it is in a form which surprises.  
(8 of Swords Rev/ Combination of the Two- Yuya Uchida & The Flowers)

SCORPIO

ONE HUNDRED LOVE SONNETS:  XVII by PABLO NERUDA
I don’t love you as if you were a rose of salt, topaz,  
or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:  
I love you as one loves certain obscure things,  
secretly, between the shadow and the soul.

Scorpio, as sign associated with the seedy underbelly of things you are also certainly familiar with what exists “between the shadow and the soul.”  This week however, something, a gift of sorts or something which provides a platform for new growth, may soon surface in even your blindspot.   
(Ace of Discs L/ Yeah- The Alarm Clocks)

SAGITTARIUS

LOVE SONG by DOROTHY PARKER
My love runs by like a day in June,
      And he makes no friends of sorrows.
He’ll tread his galloping rigadoon
      In the pathway of the morrows.
He’ll live his days where the sunbeams start,
      Nor could storm or wind uproot him.
My own dear love, he is all my heart,—
      And I wish somebody’d shoot him.

The free spirit, Parker describes here in Love Song, could easily be a Sagittarius.  Even more than her writing, fellow fire sign, Dorothy Parker was famous for, as Wikipedia says, “her wit and wisecracks.”  In many ways her biggest contribution to society or the society in which she circulated was her personality, just being completely and utterly herself.  Sagittarius, as a mutable sign, you may understand yourself best in context and this week the context may be the company of friends who appreciate the contribution of your personality the most.  
(3 of Cups/ Lady With The Braid- Dory Previn)

CAPRICORN

[LOVE IS MORE THICKER THAN FORGET] by E.E. CUMMINGS
love is less always than to win
less never than alive
less bigger than the least begin
less littler than forgive

Capricorn, this week it may require effort to see the difficulties currently facing you for what they are, in context and in proportion.  It may be important to overemphasize the love you feel where you feel it because, as cummings states, “love is less always than to win” and “less litter than forgive.”   
(3 of Swords/ Bridge Over Troubled Water- Aretha Franklin)

AQUARIUS

WHEN YOU ARE OLD by W.B. YEATS
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

Traditionally, the Aquarian shadow-side has been described as a tendency to detach from emotion and a desire for approval at the cost of your principals.  This week, Aquarius, however they reveal themselves to you, you may have some run-ins with some old devils.  While you may be tempted to say, “You again!” and turn your back, it might be better to think of these difficult confrontations on friendlier terms.  It is your struggles who know both your “changing face” and the “pilgrim soul in you.”    
(XV Devil L/ Since Yesterday- Strawberry Switchblade)

PISCES

YOU’RE by SYLVIA PLATH
Clownlike, happiest on your hands,  
Feet to the stars, and moon-skulled,  
Gilled like a fish. A common-sense  
Thumbs-down on the dodo’s mode.  
Wrapped up in yourself like a spool,  
Trawling your dark as owls do.  
Mute as a turnip from the Fourth  
Of July to All Fools’ Day,
O high-riser, my little loaf.

I haven’t read Sylvia Plath in a long time, but I don’t remember her poetry being so joyful.  Maybe that’s because I only read it when I was feeling moody and introspective and I only read the poems that matched my mood.  This week Pisces, you may find yourself feeling “Clownlike” and “happiest on your hands.”  You may have recently made a change or transition and you may now be experiencing the joy of that choice.  Keep moving with this mood, O high-riser, my little loaf.
(4 of Wands/ U Got Me Up- Dajae)

TAROTSCOPES for the week of 04/16/15

ARIES

ROOM OF ONE’S OWN
I recently rediscovered a photo of myself from when I was 7 or 8.  I’m sitting on this dark blue carpet in the middle of a giant mess.  Papers and notebooks are busting out of shelves, baskets are overflowing with books, belts and ribbon are in knots on the floor.  I’m sitting in the one patch of blank floor space looking rather triumphant.  I actually think the picture was taken to show me the squalor I was living in, but based on my expression it probably didn’t make much of an impact.  My room was my sanctuary and everything in it was symbolic of things I was investigating, learning, creating or teaching myself.  
Aries, this week it might be a good idea to spend some time alone in your room or in a room of your own.  There maybe things you are investigating, learning, creating or preparing to teach and it would be helpful to immerse yourself in the experience.
(IX Crone L/ Atlantis- Azealia Banks)

TAURUS

BATHTUB
I realize a bathtub isn’t a room, but it feels like a room when you are in it.  There is something about the quiet and the way the water sounds echo off the tile that bring you back to yourself more easily than by other means.  My favorite bathtub was in an apartment I lived in in Oakland, California years ago when I was still in college.  I remember one day I had left class early because I was having horrible menstrual cramps.  I climbed into the bathtub with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and within the hour made a full recovery.  
Taurus, this week you may need to take frequent baths, or if you don’t have a bathtub, just the splash of water echoing in a quiet bathroom could be very therapeutic and help bring you back to yourself.  
(4 of Cups/ Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair- Nina Simone)

GEMINI

GREENHOUSE
I used to have mostly bad associations with greenhouses because I was accidentally left at a botanical gardens when I was little.  I also found them claustrophobic and the fake humidity always reminded me of hot bad breath.  But when I moved to Minneapolis in my early twenties the greenhouse outside the Walker Art Center became part of my winter survival network.  Almost all plants grow in the same direction, towards the sun.  This was always a helpful reminder when sometimes the sun didn’t show itself for days on end and only the plants seemed to know which end was up.  
Gemini, this week you may be growing towards the sun, or towards whatever photosynthesizes you and makes you feel bigger and brighter and encourages you to produce flowers and fruit.      
(8 of Discs/ The Long and Winding Road- The Langley Schools Music Project)

CANCER

ATTIC
When my dad and his siblings were growing up they all agreed that their attic had “weird energy.”  My uncle, who was very young at the time, called this energy, “The Buff.”  The attic was to be avoided otherwise “The Buff” would get you.  When I brought it up to my dad’s other brother recently he laughed, but then said soberly, “There was something weird going on up there for sure.”  One of my favorite books when I was a kid was “A Light in the Attic”  I used to stare at the cover and wonder if it was “The Buff” you could see in the attic window, which in the image is also the top of a person’s head.
Cancer, this week you may be sweeping out “weird energy” or ghosts which may have taken up residence in your literal or figurative attic.  Perhaps Pluto’s station and retrograde motion will help clear some cobwebs or shed some light on a situation you may have previously avoided, allowing you to see it for what it is.  
(XV Devil Rev/ Talk It- ESG)

LEO

COFFIN ROOM
I’d always heard that a caterpillar liquifies in the cocoon, but I recently read an article where they described it as an act of digesting itself.  From birth it carries these things called “imaginal discs” which are like dreams of the caterpillars potential.  Some of these discs never materialize.  I’ve probably mentioned this before, but when I first moved into my current apartment there was this weird addendum on the room just big enough for a standard-size coffin.  You could see it from the outside of the apartment too.  Later I realized it was a space to roll a bed in and out.  The street where I live is named after a plant with strong healing properties.  It is said to help people who have a difficult time living in the physical body.  I consider my street, my apartment is a good place to digest ones self.  
Leo, this week you may need to find a good place to digest yourself.  Think about what imaginal discs you might be carrying, what shape will they tell your soup self to become?  
(XIII Death R/ El Condor Pasa- Simon and Garfunkel)

VIRGO

DARK ROOM
As a kid I was aware of my wild imagination, but it still sometimes got the better of me.  In the dark, a folded sweater in the closet easily became a toothy devilish grin and an open window, at night, became the residence of all sorts of imagined evils.  It wasn’t long however before I figured out how to tackle the wilds of my imagination, I simply got wilder.  Beneath my bed a monster-eating monster lived and in the closet was a second folded sweater that kept the first under surveillance.  
Virgo, this week, you may find creative ways of dealing with the fears and stress that may have previously run you ragged.  It doesn’t matter how unusual or wild your methods are as long as they work for you.  
(9 of Swords Rev/ Werewolf- The Frantics)

LIBRA

IMAGINED/ REMEMBERED ROOMS
My mother used to tell me a story about how when she was growing up my great-grandmother (her grandmother) would sometimes call out of the blue and before my grandmother (her mother) could even say hello, my great-grandmother would say, “Martha, what happened?”  Not only did she know that something had happened, she was so certain of it that she didn’t even bother to preface the question.  When my mother would tell me this story I would imagine my great-grandmother sitting in a room in North Carolina (where she lived) by an old clunky telephone because it was 50s or maybe the 60s.  I would see her sitting there and suddenly she would sit up as though a voice had startled her out of a silence.  In my imagination, as she called my grandmother she would be holding a vision of her in another room in Illinois (where she lived).
Libra, all this is to say that your intuition is very strong this week.  Venus, your ruling planet is very active right now.  Listen for messages.  Allow yourself to feel confident in what you are perceiving.    
(II High Priestess/ Taki Rari- Yma Sumac)

SCORPIO

FAKE ROOM
I’ve had the surreal experience of being at more than one silent party.  This happened because I was cast as a “party-goer” for friends films or TV shows. Either you weren’t allowed to make any sound, or you had to have a certain kind of forced, intimate, whisper-conversation with a perfect stranger.  It had every appearance of a real party, but then a wall would end abruptly or there was some sort of unnatural lighting.  Conversely, I’ve also been at real parties and felt like I was in a movie.  Sometimes the imagined intimacies on set felt more real or more intimate than the presumed organic conversations that happen at an actual party.
Scorpio, this week you may find yourself navigating intimacies in your own own life and feeling at times strangely intimate with people you don’t know and perhaps somewhat distant from people you know quite well.  This may be more reflective of an internal shift.  Like a camera, you may find people coming in and out of focus in an effort to find what fits with your larger vision.  
(10 of Cups Rev/ Gossip Folks- Missy Elliot)

SAGITTARIUS

LIVING ROOM
According to Wikipedia, historically, a living room was called a “parlor” and it was not just for living, but was also where bodies were laid out for visitation following a death in the family.  The term “living room” appeared in reference to parlors which side-stepped the Victorian conventions of the late 1800s and instead reflected the designers own aesthetic.  Recently, I was sitting in my living room (which is also the bedroom, the drawing room and the conservatory) on my couch with my back against the wall, when I heard the window start to rattle behind me.  The vibration seemed to ripple out from there and through the wall I heard my neighbor’s girlfriend shout, “Earthquake!”  By the time she got to “quake” it had already subsided, but I continued to feel the memory rattling my bones.  
This week, Sagittarius, you may find yourself sitting in a room or a place you often occupy and feeling quite different.  Whether or not you experience a literal earthquake here, you may feel a sort of rattling in your bones which could, in turn, become a compelling incentive for change.  As these changes sweep through, you may find that, temporarily, what is living is also sharing space with the dead.  
(XVI Tower R/ Get Up Offa That Thing- James Brown)

CAPRICORN

EMPTY ROOM
I moved into my current apartment gradually because I could.  There was a two week overlap between when my previous apartment expired and when the current one became available.  I had painted my entire apartment (the new one), including the floor, white.  The only furniture for a while was an inflatable mattress.  The kitchen table, a built in, I used as a desk.  I overly romanticize those two weeks still, because it was a rare moment when I felt completely unburdened by distraction.  My life felt simple and monk-like.    
Capricorn, several planets are in earth signs this week.  This often has the effect of making many people feel focused and goal-oriented.  Because you are one of these earth signs, you may feel the weight of this shift more directly.  This time may be best used to determine what is of most importance to you currently and in terms of your larger life goals.  
(Son of Discs/ Pressure Drop- The Clash)

AQUARIUS

WAITING ROOM
I’ve probably already mentioned this before but some of my favorite rooms are waiting rooms.  I often feel like life moves on a conveyer belt or maybe a treadmill and a waiting room is a welcome reprieve.  As a shy kid with older parents (even my brother and cousins were teenagers by the time I rolled into the picture) I found myself frequently waiting and watching from the sidelines of conversations and I felt quite comfortable there.  It was jarring when adults spoke to me directly, especially since they often used a different voice than the one I was used to hearing them use with other adults.  Similarly, it is also jarring to sit in a waiting room and without warning hear your name called, to suddenly have to step into action when you’ve been on the sidelines or in your observation booth for so long.  
This week, Aquarius you may hear your name get called or maybe someone is suddenly speaking directly to you.  Either way you are likely being asked to make the move from waiting and observation to action.  This may be a slightly jarring transition, but it is also an opportunity to apply new knowledge and skills and to learn through your participation.   
(Daughter of Discs/ It’s You- Jonathan Richman)

PISCES

MPR
The MPR, when I was in middle school, was the “multi-purpose room.”  It was actually a large window-less cement box with extremely high ceilings that was designated as an extra gym, a lunchroom and for school dances.  The first time I walked into the MPR for lunch, I witnessed some of the popular kids ruthlessly bullying a kid from my elementary school.  Another time my friend convinced me to attend a school dance and a scary kid with a crew cut who always had scabs on his face from getting into fights asked me to dance.  I politely turned him down and made a hasty exit.  I began to notice that nothing good seemed to come from the multi-purpose room and yet it was the most popular room in school.  It was where the party was, but it was never my kind of party.  Eventually, I told my friend who was always pressuring me to eat lunch there that I thought the room looked like a prison and it was the last place I wanted to be.  This was incredibly liberating though it abruptly separated me from the herd.  
Pisces, this week you seem to find your way out of any “window-less boxes” by acknowledging how you really feel.  Be willing to say no, in order to say yes to something that is truly supportive of you, your needs and who you are.    
(5 of Swords Rev/ One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show- Big Maybelle)

TAROTSCOPES for the week of 04/09/15

ARIES

Even with the drought in California, there is always a mysterious puddle of water at one end of my bath tub.  The other day I finally figured out what the water was pooling in.  There is a slight indentation from 90 years of people taking baths.  I can’t believe it took me this long to figure it out, maybe I was in denial.   I found this new information simultaneously creepy and comforting.  Creepy for obvious reasons, but comforting because I now understand that what I am being held by every time I take a bath, is a historic record of people taking care of themselves, relaxing and thriving.
Aries, this week, in the wake of the Eclipse you may find yourself beginning to feel more supported by the universe, perhaps because you are sitting in some sort of groove, or resting your back against a history that continues to offer you support now and into the future.  
(XX Judgement/ A Sailboat in the Moonlight- Billie Holiday)

TAURUS

As I write this I’m fending off some sort of cold that seems to be attempting to set up shop in my head, where I spend a good portion of my time.  This territorial dispute over the occupancy of my head is making me feel irritable and spacey.  The upside is that other distractions are being pushed to the periphery.  I can only hold a dual focus: tackling the cold and trying to write Tarotscopes.  Anything else, or anyone else for that matter, will, I’m sorry to say, be made to wait until the dispute is settled.  I always know when one of my Taurus friends is not feeling themselves because their signature abundant generosity becomes sort of…rusted.  Normally, when I go to a Taurus’ house I can count on there being some sort of feast or lavish spread (the Taurus tarot card is the Empress after all).  But if they aren’t feeling themselves, they will still attempt to feed me, but the spread will be meager and usually in the form of pickled items.  It is a dead give away that something else is going on or depleting their energy.  
Taurus, this week you might consider looking in your refrigerator in order to figure out what other areas of your life, which may or may not be food related, are in need of restocking.  
(6 of Discs L/ What I Need- Crystal Waters)

GEMINI

I have three old photos of my parents from when they lived in Panama in 1975 or 76.  Actually there is only one of my mom and dad together and the other two are just my mom.  The pictures didn’t come out very well so you can’t see the room in which she is sitting or anything other than my mom herself. In one photo she seems to have been caught mid laugh and in the other she is making a sort of dramatic gesture with her hands on her hips and her nose to the ceiling.  I remember my mom telling my brother and me that when she and my dad first got to Panama she thought, “What have we done?”  And she was furious with my dad for pushing them to accept jobs there.  This was a surprise to both my brother and me because we always held that it was my mother who was the more adventurous one.  The pictures seem to have been taken after my mom had settled into life in Panama and after she had settled into the person my brother and I would eventually come to know.  
Gemini, this week you may find that you are sinking more deeply into yourself.  Perhaps the recent Eclipse helped clear some of the obstructions to your creative and spontaneous self expression.  In any event, you may be quite prolific this week and less afraid to show off the person that people know you to be.   
(Son of Wands/ Picture On The Wall- Phyllis Dillon)

CANCER

I was listening to Billie Holiday the other day in honor of her approaching 100th birthday and found myself thinking about the twenties.  The twenties were when Billie Holiday would have played in clubs and on phonographs and when my house would have been newly built.  Maybe the occupant of my unit was also a writer working under a self-imposed deadline.  I found myself wondering how they would have procrastinated or what distractions were available to them.  Maybe they would read the paper or puff on a cigar.  Even as I write this, a bell has sounded twice on my computer, alerting me to emails I’ve received.  The notifications ask me if I want to read or delete the email, they ask me to take immediate action.  There must have been nothing so immediate in the twenties save a knock on the door.  It must have been easier to keep ones eyes to the horizon, to reach the end of something without initiating ten other things along the way.
Cancer, this week you may find yourself excessively distracted from purpose, from the things you set out to accomplish.  This could manifest as something small or perhaps it is something larger like a goal you’d set that you’ve now abandon.  It might be helpful to imagine that you are doing what you need to do in a different time period, when technology had not yet produced the impediment of so many immediate distractions.
(8 of Discs Rev/ Unfinished Paintings- The Aislers Set)

LEO

My aunt and uncle used to have a huge tapestry with knots periodically holding together separate strands of yarn that created a repeating diamond pattern.  It used to frustrate me when I would stare at it because I wanted the strands to hang separately.  To me it looked like a tapestry of hang ups, like these threads were all going somewhere and then they got tied up along the way, and not just once, like a million times over.  I just wanted the strings to get where they were going, the floor.  I think my frustration was also partially because I had very messy hair as a child and I projected my own desires for a smooth mane on to it’s strings.  I’m sure if I saw it now I wouldn’t be quite so frustrated by it because messy hair doesn’t bother me like it used to and I understand that life is way more interesting when it takes detours or when it presents opportunities to collaborate with others.     
Leo, Jupiter goes direct this week in your sign, presenting you with an array of opportunities to make your life’s tapestry more interesting.   
(8 of Wands/ The Boat That I Row- Lulu)

VIRGO

It rained in Los Angeles.  I think it lasted all of about two hours, but the clouds bookended the event holding the mood for much longer.  In Los Angeles, weather isn’t often a consideration unless its unseasonably warm, so when something like rain happens the mood it creates is often excessively romantic or theatrical.  My neighbor and I were, at different times, listening to Nico and Mazzy Star and other rainy day music in our separate apartments, taking inspiration from one another.  There is a feeling of potential with rain, that something is going to come out of it no matter what.  Plants have an opportunity to get green and sprout new growth and so do we, but it starts by being confined by the rain.  I often feel more creative when the weather is dismal.  
Virgo, this week you may be feeling the need to hole up.  This is actually a fine idea.  It doesn’t mean that you will be defined by this decision in the future, only that it may be necessary in this moment in order to generate new growth.  
(4 of Discs/ Taking People- Cat Power)

LIBRA

The rug under my couch is a black and white zig zag pattern.  My apartment is small so there are only so many places I can work.  Frequently, I find myself sitting on my couch staring at the rug, allowing my vision to blur into something I can use for Tarotscopes.  The nature of a zig zag is that it goes up and down, it has peaks and valleys.  On my rug the zig zags end at a rust-colored border.  Red is a not a passive color, it is activating and is frequently associated with fire and in the tarot with the suit of Wands.  The Wand cards frequently point to some form of spontaneous expression.  I’m leading you all down a crazy worm hole with this train of thought I realize, but this is where I go every week when I write Tarotscopes, following the zig zags in my mind until they come out at the rust colored border of spontaneous expression.  
Libra, this week you may find yourself trying to find your next target.  It may be difficult to make out much of the road you are currently traversing.  Trust the peaks and valleys and know that this movement is likely moving you like a muscle closer towards some form of spontaneous expression.
(Son of Discs L/ Get Up, Get Up- Younger Lovers)

SCORPIO

My brother is six and half years older than me and over the years I’ve learned a lot from him and from the things he exposed me to at an early age like rated R movies and MTV.  Occasionally, he abused his privilege as my older brother by making up stories he would tell me were true.  He’d often start by saying, “Wait, you don’t know about that yet?”  He told me about ancient familial rites of passage which involved having your toes chopped off with an axe when you turned 13 or that he had been born with a third lung.  I not only believed many of his lies, I perpetuated them by bragging to all my friends about “my brother’s third lung.”  In some cases it took me years to sift through the false information to discover the truth and sometimes I’d decide that I liked the lies better.  
Scorpio, this week you may find yourself overwhelmed by a lot of information.  You may not be sure what to think or believe or how much of what you are hearing is true or authentic.  It may be important to take some time by yourself to organize your thoughts and consider the sources of your information.  From there you can decide how you want to proceed.  It is best not to make long range decisions before you feel certain you have your facts straight.    
(6 of Swords Rev/ Things I Wonder- The Shaggs)

SAGITTARIUS

I feel like I’ve pulled the Devil card for you before quite recently Sagittarius.  This would make sense since you are currently the host of Saturn and the Devil is one of the main cards associated with Saturn in the tarot.  Both deal with structure and the main questions raised by both are how do you create a supportive structure in your life and which established structures in your life are stifling rather than supportive?  It may not be obvious and this week perhaps even less so.  Take time to investigate the areas in your life or the parts of yourself that you feel are constricted or aren’t getting enough oxygen.  It may not be convenient to acknowledge many of these structures, but as it is Saturn’s way, your acknowledgement and willingness to see what is being pointed out to you by your current sense of restriction will pay off in time.   
(XV Devil/ Listen To My Heart- Ramones)

CAPRICORN

The older I get the more I find myself engaging in conversations with younger versions of myself.  Sometimes I imagine I’m at a conference table and all these old selves are present, the shy, the indignant, the self-righteous, the sensitive.  Lately, I’ve become aware of how age can cause your foundations to settle, sometimes in ways which are counter productive or which stifle new growth.  Like many others before, during and after me, my early twenties were devoted to a set of somewhat unexamined principals.  I was kind of wild with them,  “Tell the boss I’m not coming in today and I’m not coming in ever,” or “I had to quit because you keep hiring sexists.”  But recently I’ve been wanting to talk to that old rebel again because somewhere between us is the kind of person I want to be more consistently.  
Capricorn, this week you may be seeing your power to change and grow in ways which include acknowledging old versions of yourself.  Consider the lessons you have learned from your youth as you think about the future you want to step into.       
(XXI World/ Echo Beach- Martha and the Muffins)

AQUARIUS

They are screening a bunch of Hal Hartley movies at a theater in L.A.  My friend and I went to go see “Trust” the other night, one of his earlier films.  There is one scene in particular that jumped out at me.  The main character, Maria, is talking to a nurse from the abortion clinic at a diner and telling her that she met a new guy.  She complains to the nurse that he’s been acting differently than when they first met.  The nurse tells Maria matter-of-factly that she changed him, that he can’t be the same because he met her.  He changed you right?  She says.  It suddenly dawns on Maria that she has changed since meeting him.  There is a scene in the movie “Bridesmaids” like this as well where two of the bride’s best friends are arguing whether people change or stay the same.  “I think people change all the time,” one of them says.  “Yeah, but they still stay who they are, pretty much,” the other counters.  
Aquarius, this week you may feel that a person or circumstance has effected in you in ways you may not be eager to acknowledge or perhaps are having difficulty seeing.  Allow yourself to be moved by what you are feeling.  You may come to a conclusion that encompasses more than one perspective, that people indeed change all the time, but are still “who they are, pretty much.”  
(6 of Cups Rev/ Tomorrow- Amanda Lear)

PISCES

I lost my first tooth by accident.  I had just picked out a giant picture book to “read” (I didn’t actually know how yet) and I was joyfully running back from the book shelf when I tripped on my shoelace and my mouth landed on the book’s corner.  My tooth was knocked out at the root and hung by a thread at an awkward angle.  I was not the only child crying at the sight of myself.  “This is why we don’t run, we walk,” the adult who cleaned me up said calmly.
Pisces, this week you may find yourself slowed down, not necessarily by something catastrophic like a bad fall, but perhaps a short cut you were hoping to take has proved to take more time in the long run.  While the adult part of yourself may be tempted to say, “This is why we don’t run,”  the child part of yourself likely knows how to make the best of the situation by putting it under your pillow and understanding that even a setback can potentially bring reward in another form.  
(Son of Swords Rev/ How Soon is Now?- The Smiths)

TAROTSCOPES for the week of 04/02/15

ARIES

I’ve been trying to ground myself lately by reminding myself of simple facts like, “I live in Los Angeles,” or “I’m sitting at the table,” or “The cup is empty of coffee, but the bottle is full of water.”  These are actually just thoughts, nothing in my immediate environment has changed by my acknowledgement.  But my relationship to these things shifts when I do this because I’m reminded of my physicality and my own power to move the objects on my table.  
Aries, this week it may be important to ground yourself in tangible fact.  What or who is with you at your table right now?  Take the time to acknowledge all that you have accomplished and all that you are capable of.    
(4 of Swords/ Eye Know- De La Soul)

TAURUS

A while ago, I was talking with a dear Taurus friend about relationships, “My love don’t come with a leash.  You have to want to be here,” I said in the passion of an argument I was making.  “I don’t even keep my dog on a leash, most of the time.”  I didn’t always hold this opinion.  In my early twenties I’d chase anything that looked like love up a tree.  I’d go to great lengths and make huge sacrifices for my friendships as well.  I’d give up my ground completely if I thought it would keep the love light glowing.        
Taurus this week you may experience some difficulty in a close relationship.  Perhaps you are just feeling disconnected from the world around you in general.  You probably already know this, but I will remind you anyway: you don’t have to do anything to keep love alive except love.  You are full of love, your love needs no leash and people want to be where you are.   
(VI Lovers Rev/ It’s Good To Be Here- Digable Planets)

GEMINI

Despite their cultural midwestern politeness, both of my parents have been known to cut a room with a comment.  My dad tends to voice what everyone is thinking, but afraid to say.  And my mom tends to say exactly what she is thinking, which, for better or worse, no one else has probably considered before.  These tendencies may be even more pronounced because it is so unexpected coming from two smiling midwesterners.  
Gemini, this week you may find yourself voicing your opinion quite openly.  Because you are not afraid to express yourself authentically, you provide an opportunity to both shock and delight everyone with your insights.   
(Priestess of Swords R/ Paris and Rome- Cranes)

CANCER

The other day I was thinking about zooming in and zooming out.  My brother and I were arguing over how much control a person has over their own life.  My brother was holding down the, “Shit happens that you can’t control and you have to deal with,” end of the argument.  To counter, I brought up zooming in and zooming out.  If something unpleasant happens in the course of your day it is possible to pinpoint the minutes that the unpleasant situation actually occupied.  On either side of those minutes may have been other minutes of pleasant feelings, the sun, a good song on the radio, running into an old friend, etc.  If you isolate those minutes it becomes easier to see that good minutes are not necessarily in short supply, but difficult minutes tend to take up more space in our memory.  “When you zoom out, when you look at your life as a whole, there is a tendency to summarize all those minutes, to say “it was an exciting life” or “it was a challenging life, but it was rewarding.”  And the summary I think we have more control over,” I suggested.    
Cancer, this week, it may be important to back up and think about how you want to summarize the collective moments of your life.  Consider zooming in on the minutes to see how they stack up.  Make room for happiness to occupy more of the minutes of your life.      
(XIX Sun Rev/ Big Time Sensuality- Bjork )

LEO

My neighbor recently told me about this app that allows you to see on instagram who you follow who doesn’t follow you back.  I was horrified, “That’s completely unfair!  What about people like me who are bad at or sloppy with technology?”  She agreed that it was problematic and that she ended up deleting the app after she found out that her girlfriend (who is very supportive of her) wasn’t following the instagram for the party she throws.  
Leo, don’t take this personally, but your sign is known for your tendency to take things rather personally.  But the truth is you probably don’t have much to worry about because most people like you for the other traits you are known for: exuberance, love, fun, playfulness etc.  This week it would be a good idea to avoid any app that supplies you with data you could potentially misinterpret.  At the Eclipse everyone will be even more inclined to throw their bad mood or discomfort to the person nearest them and it would be a good idea not to indulge this behavior by taking it personally.  Just put it on the pyre with the rest of your insecurities and self doubt.    
(6 of Swords/ Keep On Movin’- Soul II Soul)

VIRGO

Recently, I was talking to a friend about anxiety and I said, “Everyday there are things you can control and things you can’t control.  I spend a lot of time trying to figure out which one is which.  Anxiety seems to happen after you’ve been taking action on the things you can control and then run into something you can’t.”  
This is perhaps an over simplification, but it is worth an experiment.  When do you experience anxiety, Virgo?  You may have been swinging back and forth, lately, between the things you can control and the things you can’t.  This week you seem to find a point of surrender.  Perhaps you are seeing more clearly that you’ve done all you can do and you’ve acknowledged what you can’t.  
(XII Hanged One/ Rhymes of An Hour- Mazzy Star)

LIBRA

An old friend of mine has a story about a time she was jogging and as she passed a biker he put up his hand.  Energized by the exercise and thinking he was offering a high five she slapped his hand.  He lost his balance and almost fell off the bike.  Turns out he was signaling a turn.  “I thought he was trying to say, ‘Yeah! We’re exercising! High five!’” She explained.  I completely understand this feeling.  Exercise gets your endorphins going, but it also seems to do something else that is more difficult to explain.  The other day I was running and I kept passing all these people in these sort of vulnerable moments, like a tiny girl who was just learning to walk and some dogs who had gotten out of their gate.  I realized that I, the observer of these moments, was also vulnerable.  A deep sense of connection washed over me and I had an urge to high five the next person I saw, to say, “Yeah! We’re vulnerable and brave! High five!”
Libra, yours is the sign associated with balance and harmony and sometimes you may feel like it is your job to bring peace to an unstable situation (or maybe that actually is your job).  This week however, you are likely to find a place of peace without trying, simply by seeing your connection with other humans (or animals) and feeling your place in the “family of things” (to quote Mary Oliver).         
(10 of Wands Rev/ Spontaneity- Bahamadia)

SCORPIO

The other day I was trying to cheer up a disillusioned friend.  “People always disappoint you,” she said.  “That’s probably true,” I replied.  “Because people are only human.”  This is similar to something my grandfather, a Cancer, used to say.   He rarely said anything negative about anyone, instead he would shrug and say, “People are funnier than anybody.”  To my friend I said,  “People might sometimes disappoint you, but love doesn’t have to.”
Scorpio, this week you seem to be moving on from disappointment.  Perhaps you didn’t get something you wanted, but it may now come to you in another form and it is all love.  
(5 of Cups Rev/ I Could Fall In Love- Solange (Selena cover)

SAGITTARIUS

In my tarot book the title of the chapter on the Chariot is entitled, “Winning One’s Own Way.”  Growing up, my friends all had some sort of ribbon, or medal or trophy on display in their rooms.  I had one, but it wasn’t actually an award, it was a bookmark that looked like a blue-ribbon.  I did receive a deep sense of satisfaction from finishing a book, so it seemed an appropriate place holder even if these accomplishments weren’t recognized by anyone other than myself.  
Sagittarius, this week you may win at something, but likely your own way.  Even if you are rewarded with a ribbon, medal or trophy, the object itself will likely be less satisfying than the endurance you mustered or all the obstacles over which you triumphed to get to this point.     
(VII Chariot/ You Can Make It If You Try- Sly and the Family Stone)

CAPRICORN

When my brother’s best friend’s little brother was in middle school he started a small business selling day old donuts at lunch.  I can’t remember how much he made every day, but I remember thinking it was an ungodly amount of money compared to my meager allowance.  “That’s brilliant! Why didn’t I think of that!” I lamented.  My brother suggested I start a similar scam at the rival middle school I attended, but at the time I was the target of some bullying and I didn’t want to draw any more attention to myself.
Capricorn this week you may start to see the pay off from a new job or business venture.  The future may still feel somewhat uncertain, but this could be the beginning of a much brighter economic future.  And it will feel even brighter because the money is likely made from your own merits or wiles.    
(9 of Discs L/ It Ain’t What You Do (It’s The Way That You Do It)- Fun Boy Three and Bananarama)

AQUARIUS

My first day in an American high school after moving back to Iowa from Brazil I reported back to my parents that I’d “seen the inside of hell.”  Most of what I found unbearable had to do with the imposed structure, the system of bells and the anxiety of potentially arriving to class late because of the literal traffic jams in the hallways.  At my school in Brazil there was a bell but it didn’t mean much because we had almost ten minutes to get to our next class and each class was over two hours long so by the time the bell rang, class was already winding down so it didn’t feel as disruptive.  This isn’t how the school was set up when I arrived, but the students complained and the school actually listened.
Aquarius, this week you might find yourself butting heads with a structure or institution.  Try not to allow the institution to change your voice, or stifle your creativity.  Consider that when you stand your ground you have the opportunity instead to change the structure in a way that is more accommodating and enjoyable for everyone involved.
(IV Emperor/ Cactus Tree- Joni Mitchell)

PISCES

Sometimes when I’m working on Tarotscopes I get incredibly impatient with my “creative process.”  I find my mind jumping around from different angles.  Sometimes I try to coach the thoughts out, “Come on!  You can do this!  Just one more and then hit the shower!”  and other times my approach is more of a parent/ child relationship, “You can have a snack after you finish writing Taurus.”  All this really does is help alleviate some of my anxiety around the process, but the ideas usually come in their own time.  
Taurus, this week you may find yourself trying to speed up a process which runs on its own time.  You can still try to coax the result you want in the time you want it because this may help alleviate your anxiety, but it may not actually change when or what results.
(7 of Discs Rev/ Tokyo Drifter- Hajime Kaburagi)

TAROTSCOPES for the week of 03/26/15

ARIES

“Out of the gravel there are peonies growing.” -ALIAS GRACE by Margaret Atwood
This is just the beginning, Aries, the first line of Margaret Atwood’s book Alias Grace.  It may be important for you to observe what is sprouting from the gravel or growing from the concrete as a reminder of what is possible, this week.  If you find yourself feeling somewhat deflated, try to search out what thoughts or situations might be impeding your growth or blocking your sun.  Consider that not even rocks or concrete can stop some plants from sprouting.  
(XX Judgment Rev/ Can I Change My Mind- Hortense Ellis)

TAURUS

“Dear James:  I have begun this letter five times and torn it up five times.” -THE FIRE NEXT TIME by James Baldwin
Sometimes I think about beginnings that never reached an end or like this letter, things I’ve started and torn up five times.  There seems to be something in that process, like chewing.  You have to keep biting down on whatever you are trying to transform until it becomes something you can assimilate or deliver.  This week, Taurus, you may feel impatient, waiting to receive what you intuit is coming, perhaps a letter, or new information.  Trust the time it takes, even if you feel exasperated about having to start over or having to wait for someone else to start over.
(7 of Discs Rev/ Hologram- Umm Kulthum)

GEMINI

“Gardens played a large part in my life as a child, but those I remember most clearly, those which featured so vividly in my play and, most particularly, in my inner life of fantasies and dreams, were not real gardens at all, but imaginary ones.” THROUGH THE GARDEN GATE by Susan Hill
This book belonged to my grandmother.  When I was twelve she died and I inherited it.  I always thought it sort of strange that a 75 year old woman kept what is essentially a children’s book.  But the first line helped me understand what may have drawn her to the book in the first place and feels representative of where she and I overlapped in our lives.  
Gemini, this imaginary garden may sound familiar to you as well.  Right now all is potential, a community of fat seeds ready to explode.  Many of these seeds may never leave the garden of your imagination, but this is probably less important than the garden itself.  For now, keep watering it all.  
(7 of Cups/ Love Is The Drug- Grace Jones)

CANCER

“The moment was strange.” THE CITY AND THE PILLAR by Gore Vidal
The other day I was at the doctor and in an effort to pin point the discomfort I’d been experiencing, he pressed on my stomach in different places asking each time, “Does this hurt?” A few places I said, “No not exactly.”  The feeling was sometimes strange, but not easily described in terms of pain.
Cancer, this may, in some respects, describe your situation this week.  Stay present with the feelings, while you could be asked to describe the situation in degrees of pain, you might find that it is actually more accurately described as “strange” and does not necessarily read as a warning sign of some future failure or difficulty.  
(7 of Swords/ Dances On The Moon- Charlyne Yi)

LEO

“About Me and This Book” LORETTA LYNN: COAL MINER’S DAUGHTER by Loretta Lynn
I got my driver’s license later in life because I lived in Brazil for most of my teen years and missed driver’s ed and all of those deeply American traditions.  When I was twenty and I finally got my license, the first tape I listened to in the car was Loretta Lynn.  I think most of her songs can be summed up in two sentences, “You had your turn, now it’s mine,” and “This is who I am, take me or get out of my way.”  It can translate to somewhat reckless driving, but also helps build confidence when you are new behind the wheel.  
Leo, this week you may feel hesitant about the possible realization of your dreams, perhaps you’ve run into a road block.  Consider Loretta Lynn’s story and the frankness with which she tells it (“About Me and This Book”).  Facing these obstacles is different than writing about them afterwards, but imagining what you will say, how you will speak to these challenges when they are no longer in front of you might be helpful as you confront them now.    
(Shaman of Wands Rev/ Is That All There Is- Cristina)

VIRGO

“Eyes mark the shape of the city.” AFTER DARK by Haruki Murakami
This sentence reminded me of an old thought I occasionally come back to:  what if green to one person is blue to another?  We can never see exactly what another person is seeing (or at least until they come up with some sort of technology for this purpose).  A city is viewed by millions of eyes from different angles.  The same city opens itself up, hints at possibility and in the next minute makes a fist, or turns its back, but it may only be the eyes that have changed, not the city itself.      
Virgo, this week you may find yourself with a new perspective on something you previously felt trapped by.  Consider that almost any situation can be unlocked when you look at it in this new way.  
(8 of Swords Rev/ Hide and Seek- The Feminine Complex)

LIBRA

“There was a day in my life when I decided to live.” TRASH by Dorothy Allison
Perhaps this line feels dramatic when you hold it against your feelings and various obstacles this week, Libra, or maybe it sounds about right.  But in this light it may be easier to see where or when you drag your feet or back peddle.  Whatever the difficulty is currently presenting itself, big or small, it may be helpful to frame it in the context of the biggest decision you’ve made (conscious or unconscious), the decision to live.   
(XV Devil Rev/ Top Of The Mountain- Dorothy Morrison)

SCORPIO

“To Marty with Love Grandpa”  LUCID LIVING by Tom Freke
This line is taken from an inscription in “Lucid Living,” a book my grandfather sent to me a few years back.  My grandfather used to mail books like they were greeting cards.  They conveyed more than a card could because they also showed you what he’d been reading and thinking about and also that he’d thought of you in the course of his reading.  They were also inspiring because they came from someone sitting at the top of his life and conveyed what he thought was truly important from that perspective.  In this case, it was “lucid living,” staying awake.
Scorpio, you may find yourself being presented with various options, roads to take in the week or weeks to come.  Try not to step away from these decisions or set them aside.  Just sit with them and stay awake.  Consider setting an intention now, that when the time comes to make your next move, you will make it “with Love.”  
(2 of Swords L/ Simplicity- Ace of Cups)

SAGITTARIUS

“In the dry time of the year, the dangerous time, the risk time, an old woman climbed a hill.”  THE FIFTH SACRED THING by Starhawk
To climb a hill during the “dangerous time of year” is something someone who doesn’t know any better would do.  But it is also something someone would do were they familiar with the risks, but not impeded by the thought of the fear of the dangers.   
This week, Sagittarius, you may find yourself at a peak in some area of your life.  Your intuition may have guided you through a variety of difficult situations and this week it seems to have led you here to claim some sort of reward for your efforts.  Or maybe just meeting the challenges is reward enough.    
(4 of Wands R/ Caledonia- Lavender Jane)

CAPRICORN

“What do you suppose happened to all those Beatniks?” mused a blonde freshman as she drove me back to San Francisco after my reading at Berkeley last year.” MEMOIRS OF A BEATNIK by Diane di Prima
This line was written in 1969.  It seems strange and sad that only a few years after the Beatnik era ended some youth would wonder where they’d all gone.  It reminded me of old animations of the extinction of the dinosaurs we would watch in elementary school.  In a few seconds a living, breathing triceratops became fossilized bones.  In this situation, the “blonde freshman” was speaking directly to a notable former Beatnik, the author, Diane di Prima- hardly a fossil.  Di Prima says later in the passage, “Things now are more like pretty.  A New Age, with a bit of the baby fat still showing.  Stay stoned.”
Capricorn, you may find yourself feeling nostalgic for a certain version of the past, but as long as you are alive carrying the flame of whatever feeling or dream you were a part of, there are no fossils only new growth, “a new age.”  Keep the feeling alive, as di Prima says, “Stay stoned.”
(2 of Discs Rev/ The Old Grey Goose Is Dead- Jean Ritchie)

AQUARIUS

“This year it turns out me and my cousin Marlys are going to be in the same room, room 9, Miss Martles’s class.” THE GREATEST OF MARLYS by Lynda Barry
Have you read this book, Aquarius?  It is a comic actually, so it was harder for me to determine what the “first line was.”  To me comics feel like a neighborhood and books more like a closed door, or something you disappear into privately.  I suppose that is because more than half of a comic is composed of generally accessible, visual language, you can drop in, stop by more easily than you can with a book.  I found this first line to be nostalgic and comforting.  It is easy to recall the feeling of relief upon discovering you were in the same class as a friend or relative.    
Aquarius, this week you may be find yourself experiencing a deep satisfying sense of connection to the world around you.  Perhaps you are reconnecting with old friends in new places or maybe you are forming new friendships in old places.  The world may not feel as small as you feel big.    
(10 of Cups/ Meet Me At The River- Miriam Makeba)

PISCES

“I dreamed I was on a sinking ship.” AIRLESS SPACES by Shulamith Firestone
I’m almost certain I have said these exact words, maybe more than once and more than once these words or ones similar have been met with the following response, “Sounds like an anxiety dream.”  I can’t help laughing at the contrast between something as dramatic as a sinking ship and a fleeting feeling of anxiety.  But even our subconscious is not without a sense of humor.
Pisces, this week you may find yourself feeling somewhat dramatic about your worries.  Try not to catastrophize the situation or if you do exaggerate your anxieties do so in a way that highlights the humor in the situation and then direct your energy towards finding a solution for what really ails you.
(5 of Discs L/ Chilly Winds Don’t Blow- Nina Simone)

TAROTSCOPES for the week of 03/19/15

ARIES

A few nights ago, I came home from a very long day and collapsed on the edge of the bathtub to brush my teeth instead of standing like I normally do.  Because I wasn’t distracted by looking in the mirror, I noticed a spider who had made its web in a corner.  The threads of the web were so fine, I couldn’t make it out.  The creature itself was hovering upside-down in mid-air like a an action movie poster.  A stray hair that must have fallen from my comb was also caught in the web, so that it too looked like it was frozen in time, stopped on its way to the floor.  The spider and my hair didn’t interact, they just hung motionless next to one another.  I felt like the spider was teaching me something, like it was showing me how to surrender, how to hang out with the mystery of life.  “See, your hair can do it,” was the message this moment seemed to convey.  
Aries, this year your birthday season kicks off just following a powerful Solar Eclipse and as usual your season heralds spring!  In addition to all that, the astrological attention has been turned on you as the host of Uranus over the last few years and for the next few.  Change is never easy, but as we move into your season, Aries, you may find yourself occupying this place of transition more easily.  You may even be able to offer a sense of hope to others with your positive light or just by being you.
(Son of Wands/ Ladies Night- Lil Kim feat. Left Eye, Da Brat, Missy Elliott, Angie Martinez)

TAURUS

The other day a friend was over, we had been discussing music and how it seems to be more fun to play when you don’t know how.  “It’s like when you are a kid, you can draw perfectly and then as soon as you really learn how to draw, you can’t anymore,” she observed.  I drew a picture of a circle with lines protruding from it like a wilted flower, “This was a hand when I was a kid,” I said.  “I knew it didn’t look exactly like a hand.  But because I didn’t know how, drawing was more like a language and this was a symbol for ‘hand.’”  “Once you learn all the rules then you can give yourself permission to break them again,” was our consensus.
Taurus, this week you may feel caught between the beginning, when you didn’t know any better, and a level of proficiency where you feel confident enough to break the rules again.  In order to break out of the rut, consider creating your own symbolic language that allows you to still maintain a connection between what you know concretely and the freedom to which you aspire.
(0 Fool Rev/ How Little We Know- Carmen McRae)

GEMINI

The other day I was thinking about how we humans have a tendency to replay events over and over in our minds, to tell and retell a story to ourselves or to others.  Scientific studies have shown that this retelling actually causes our memory of a story or situation to change.  On a recent dog walk, my friend and I stopped in a bead shop so she could buy a piece of leather string to fix some lacing that had worn away on her shoe.  Remembering the original color of the string when she had first bought the shoes she pointed to a rich brown-colored leather, “What do you think?  That one?”  “Hmm,” I said considering.  “You may want something else to match the way the color of has faded on the rest of the shoe.”  It was difficult to forget the original color of the shoe in order to find a match in its present state of evolution.   
Gemini, it may be important to consider events this week as they are, not as they were or not as you wish they were.  Often we retell stories in order to change our feelings about them or to relive the feeling if it was a pleasant one, but keep in mind that the re-telling alters the original memory.  Our distance from a situation in time may naturally change our feeling of it and good feelings will come again with the courage to let go of previous versions.
(XV Devil/ What’s Fair- Free Kitten)

CANCER

In the commercial I was in when I was ten in China, which was later dubbed into Chinese (since I didn’t speak the language) there was a scene towards the beginning where the directors son (who was translating for his father) explained, “In this scene, you are mad, because you don’t want your birthday cake, you want peanuts.”  I did my best to follow his direction, even though I thought it was ridiculous, “what kid would want peanuts over cake?”  Later my mom reported, “I just talked to the director.  He said you are really good at pouting, I guess you’ve had a lot of practice.”
Cancer, this week you may find yourself wishing you had peanuts instead of cake or cake instead of peanuts.  Perhaps you have been trained to chose peanuts over cake and now you are realizing this is either no longer true for you or maybe never was.  The solution to your current difficulty may be to acknowledge your true feelings, get to know them well.  From there you can make your next decision.
(5 of Cups/ It’s My Party- Leslie Gore)

LEO

“Why do people have to have so many opinions?” My brother once asked me.  It was a rhetorical question, but I found myself thinking about it long after he said it, even though he had asked in a fit of frustration about something having to do with work.  The first definition of the word “opinion”  according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary online is, “a view, judgement, or appraisal formed in the mind about a particular matter.”  Another definition is, “The formal expression of judgment or advice by an expert.”  My observation of the first definition was that it made an opinion sound similar to an oyster, or actually its pearl.  My observation of the second definition was that an opinion seems to grant a person some sort of authority, the way a title does, like Prof. or Dr. even if you hold neither of those titles.    
Leo, this week, I urge you to steer clear of forming opinions.  There will be plenty of time for opinions after the eclipses and after Jupiter goes direct in your sign.  For now stick to observations.   
(2 of Swords/ I Don’t Know- Jill Scott)

VIRGO

Recently, at the beach with my friends we ventured into the water as the waves were rolling in at heights of what appeared to be 7 or 8 feet.  When I expressed concern, my friend said, “Don’t worry its going to quiet down in a few minutes.”  “How do you know?” I asked.  “Because I’ve been watching the water,” she replied.  Sure enough within minutes the water became placid, almost still, like a silk sheet rolling over the sand.
Virgo, this week it would be a good idea to follow your feelings where they lead.  Even a very powerful emotion will likely smooth out to a few gurgling bumps if you are willing to stick with it.
(6 of Cups/ Down Where the Valleys Are Low- Judee Sill)

LIBRA

There is a certain song, which will remain unnamed (its between me and the song), and whenever I hear it on the radio I feel like it is a sign that I’m on the right path, that I’m making sound decisions.  It is even more significant because I usually hear it when I’m in the car so I’m literally on a road.  It often seems to come as an answer to my silent questions: “is this the right decision?”, “is this the best use of my time?” or “Am I on the right track?”
Libra, this week you may begin to notice signs that you are either already on the right track or signs pointing out the best path to you.  If you are feeling uncertain keep your senses open for various forms of confirmation.
(8 of Discs/ I’m the Sky- Norma Tanega)

SCORPIO

The other day I caught myself scouring the news in search of plane crashes and a scene from the movie “When Harry Met Sally,” popped into my head.  Sally argues with Harry who accuses her of not having a dark side. “I have just as much of a dark side as the next person,” she says.  Harry tells her that when he sits down to read a book he always reads the last page in case he dies before he finishes. “Now, that is a dark side,”  He says triumphantly.  “Geez,” I thought to myself.  “Can’t you just wait for bad news to come to you?  Why do you go out looking for it?”  I realized that the answer to these questions was something like Harry’s response to Sally.  I wanted to know what was going to happen before it happened or at least before someone says, “Did you hear about that plane crash?”  Since I had a few friends flying that day my investment was somewhat personal.  
Scorpio, this week you may find yourself engaging creative ways of “reading the last page” so to speak.  While others may accuse you of being morbid, this may actually help alleviate some of the anxiety you feel over things you cannot control.     
(5 of Discs Rev/ It’s Better Not To Know- The Royalettes)

SAGITTARIUS

Years ago, when I was looking for a job, I remember reading through a bunch of craigslist ads demanding a certain set of skills.  The word that kept popping up from desk jobs, to restaurant jobs was “multitasking.”  “Must have the ability to multitask.”  I had just left a position as a host at a sushi restaurant because I felt the pace at which I was being asked to perform was beyond my capacity.  At first I just sort of bobbed my head through these ads, “Sure, I can multitask.”  After awhile, however, something snapped.  I realized I was trying to adjust myself to the word rather than considering whether the word genuinely described my proficiencies.  I ended up getting a job that stressed, “An attention to detail,” over “multitasking.”
Sagittarius, this week you may feel that your attention is being pulled in a multitude of directions.  This is the potential “shadow side” of having Jupiter as your ruling planet, sometimes you want to expand at a rate faster than you can actually accommodate.  It may be best to choose only the things you can throw your full weight behind and let the other less pressing details go.      
(10 of Wands/ Didn’t Leave Nobody But The Baby- Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Gillian Welch)

CAPRICORN

There is a scene in one of my favorite movies from my teenage years, “Wet Hot American Summer” (if you haven’t seen it, its about a summer camp) where campers are in a canoe about to go over a smallish waterfall.  The situation is made ridiculous by frequently cutting back to the scene, showing that the campers are still trapped on the edge of the waterfall several minutes later as counselors attempt to rescue them by rounding up the support of other counselors back at camp.
Capricorn, this week and quite possibly this entire month, you may feel very much like the campers in this scene.  You may sense change approaching long before it has arrived.  Like many of the things you engage with, these changes may come step by step.  Be patient and trust that there is no great danger, since your boat isn’t moving all that fast anyway.   
(XVI Tower Rev/ Crazy In Love Remix- Beyonce)

AQUARIUS

Aquarius, I was almost finished with Tarotscopes this week, when I started counting the songs for the playlist and realized I was one short which led me to a huge oversight.  I’d skipped over a Tarotscope entirely.  I was already behind when I started writing this week for health reasons and in my haste to finish I somehow missed your sign completely, Aquarius.  Be assured that is no reflection of my opinion of Aquarians.  I hold you in high esteem, my own mother is a card-carrying member.  It was like I had run to the check out line without a basket and dropped an item along the way.
Aquarius, this week you might find yourself feeling impatient.  Perhaps you are racing a deadline, or maybe you are just eager to see the end result of something you are currently working on.  Try to pace yourself so you don’t end up in the situation I almost did this week, with big hole in your horoscope.  
(Daughter of Swords/ Be A Body- Grimes)

PISCES

During a recent trip to the beach my friend told us the story of Moby Dick and my thoughts wandered over whales and water.  In the tarot the element of water is represented by cups and is said to point to a persons emotions.  In the documentary, “Blackfish” a scientist tells an interviewer that the emotional center of a whale’s brain is more highly developed than a human brain.  The story of Moby Dick is a story of a ship of humans made vulnerable by a whale attack at a time when whaling was very popular.  There is a lot to be learned from water that sea mammals already innately understand.  We take advantage of their vulnerability, but it would seem that they are not unaware of their precarious position.  They may have adapted by developing a highly evolved emotional center of their brain.  Once in the water humans are forced to adhere to the oceans rules, which like our emotions must be acknowledged.
Pisces this week if you find yourself feeling vulnerable, like the humans in Moby Dick, consider taking a whales approach.  Acknowledge your precarious position, but use your situation to facilitate a deeper understanding of the oceans of emotion you currently occupy.  
(IV Emperor Rev/ Caribbean Blue-Enya)

TAROTSCOPES for the week of 03/11/15

ARIES

BABY, NOW THAT I’VE FOUND YOU
When I pulled your card for the week Aries, the lyrics to a song by The Foundations popped into my head: “Build my world around you,/ I need you so,/ Baby, even though,/ You don’t need me,/ You don’t need me…”  The song is called “Baby, Now That I’ve Found You.”  This song, the way I heard it, doesn’t necessarily have to do with your baby or your “Baby,” Aries.  It likely has more to do with the way we build our world around a certain set of emotions, or some idea of “who we are.”  When you get used to looking or feeling a certain way, whether that way is comfortable or not, it is easy to get stuck.  Even a bad feeling can start to feel like home if you take up residence there for any length of time.  
This week we are approaching the final Uranus-Pluto square.  Uranus is currently traveling through your sign, Aries and when it meets with Pluto on Monday change is typically the outcome.  Who you are at your core, your authentic self, may be called on to take a stand against a structure which has been imposed upon you or perhaps one which you have even imposed upon yourself.  Let your feelings guide you through this potential challenge.  Just the way water flows to the sea, your feelings may show you how to get from a constrictive place to a wide open space.          
(8 of Cups L/ Blue Smoke- Dolly Parton)

TAURUS

EL CONDOR PASA (IF I COULD)
This is a cover by Paul Simon of a song by Peruvian composer Daniel Anomia Robles.  I’m not sure which lyrics are Robles’ and which are Simon’s, but the ones that stood out to me for you this week, Taurus, were these:  “I’d rather feel the earth beneath my feet. Yes I would, if I only could, I surely would.”  This week, Taurus, you might feel as though the ground beneath your feet has given way.  Like a Wiley Coyote cartoon, you may have become so focused on chasing a specific goal (Roadrunner) that you didn’t notice that you’d run out of ground.  While potentially terrifying, this moment is also incredibly liberating.  It sets you free to begin a new cycle, to consciously consider the course you want your life to take.  Of course as a Taurus, you’d probably “rather feel the earth beneath your feet,” but consider the power of this moment to start fresh and know that also like Wiley Coyote, you will land and live.  
(10 of Swords/ Sound and the Fury- Fanny)

GEMINI

THIS MAGIC MOMENT
Besides the lyrics that stuck in my head when I was meditating on your card for the week, Gemini, I think it interesting to note that the man who wrote these lyrics, Doc Pomus, spent a good portion of his life on crutches and later in a wheelchair as a result of polio he contracted as a child.  These apparent physical challenges did not stop him from achieving much in the music world.  His early career was spent tirelessly performing in clubs as a blues singer, leaning on his crutches for support.  The lyrics I found myself singing, to the tune of your card this week, Gemini, were, “Everything I want I have,/ Whenever I hold you tight.”
Gemini, consider that everything you really want, you may already have in some form or another and when you nurture those seeds they grow from garden to jungle.  Don’t allow yourself to get hung up on the things you don’t have or wish you had.  These absences or scarcities may act as speed bumps, but they certainly don’t have to stop you altogether.  
(III Empress L/ Silver Dagger- Joan Baez)

CANCER

TELL ALL THE PEOPLE
This song, like many of the Doors’ songs, is thought to reference LSD as well as the bible, but for you this week, Cancer the lyrics point to still another meaning.  “Tell all the people that you see/ Set them free/ You tell them they don’t have to run/ We’re gonna pick up everyone/ Come out and take me by the hand/ Gonna bury all our troubles in the sand, oh yeah…Follow me down/ Can’t you see the wonder at your feet/ Your life’s complete.”  
This week, Cancer, is a time to get grounded, by reflecting on “the wonder at your feet.”  I’m not trying to make a sales pitch, Cancer, but the umbrellas I sell on my website are a good example.  They say “You Already Are,” emphasizing the thought that you don’t need to run to reach perfection, you already are perfect with all your imperfections.  “Tell all the people,”  all the people that you try and strive to be, that you’re going to “set them free.”
(10 of Wands Rev/ Running Up That Hill- Kate Bush)

LEO

SWEET SWEET BABY (SINCE YOU’VE BEEN GONE)
Aretha Franklin sings nothing without power and she empowers everything she sings.  When I took singing lessons in my early 20s, (not with the idea that I would become a talented vocalist, but because I literally wanted to find my voice) my teacher asked me to bring in the songs I wanted to sing.  I brought in an entire Aretha Franklin album, “Why don’t we start with something a little simpler,” my teacher said kindly.  I didn’t expect to become Aretha Franklin by singing her songs, but I thought by singing her words I could feel the strength with which she belts them out.  The lyrics I found myself pinning to your card and sign this week, Leo, were the following, “Baby baby, sweet baby/ There’s something that I just got to say…Speak your name/ And I’ll feel a thrill/ You said I do/ And I said I will.”
Leo, this week you may be returning to the possibility of your dreams finding realization.  Perhaps you’d given up on them completely or just put them to bed.  But now you may feel that there is “something you’ve just got to say.”  Commit to yourself (“Speak your name”), to your dreams (“You said I do”) and then with the strength of your will (“And I said I will”) follow through.  You may not be Aretha Franklin, but you will be you and that is important too.
(9 of Cups L/ Daughter of the Sun- Sharon Tandy)

VIRGO

PARTY LIGHTS
I used to have a cassette tape called “Sock Hoppin’ Sixties.”  I would to listen to it in the dead of winter in my car when I lived in Iowa.  It became the soundtrack of my ride to work.  Somewhere between “Runaway” and “Shout! Shout! (Knock Yourself Out)”  I would stop at a bakery for a treat and typically “Party Lights” (by Claudine Clark) would fall somewhere between the bakery and work, it felt appropriate given the circumstances.  “I see the lights, I see the party lights/ They’re red and blue and green/ Everybody in the crowd’s there…There goes Mary Lou/ I see Tommy and Joe oh oh and Betty Sue.”  Okay I really only included that last line because I love how songs from the 60s used to call people out by name.  But this week, Virgo, you may be feeling similar.  Perhaps the party lights are calling your name and it would be a fine idea to rebel against your internal parent or inner taskmaster and enjoy yourself.  The eclipses are coming (the first one is next week) and with them comes a wave of change so now may be a good time to cut loose before you are propelled or compelled (as the case may be) in a new direction.     
(3 of Cups/ The Nitty Gritty- Shirley Ellis)

LIBRA

STAND BACK
Stevie Nicks has often said that for many of the songs she writes she embodies a different character.  But the character that developed in “Stand Back,” she says, was not her idea.  “It has an energy that comes from somewhere unknown and it seems to have no timespace.  I’ve never quite understood this sound…but I have NEVER questioned it,” she writes in the liner notes to her TimeSpace album.  For you this week, Libra, the following lyrics may resonate, “Stand back, stand back/ In the middle of my room/ I did not hear from you/ It’s all right, it’s all right/ To be standing in a line.”
Libra, you may find yourself leaning away from your feelings this week.  Perhaps you have even demanded they “stand back.”  But since your feelings are a part of you, they may be difficult to separate out or distance yourself from.  Your feelings are some of your oldest friends, and so there is no need to be formal (“Standing in a line”) with them or to brush them off (“It’s all right, it’s all right”).  Though it may be a struggle, try to stand just where you are (“In the middle of my room”) and hear what they have to say.        
(Shaman of Cups L/ The Goonies R Good Enough- Cyndi Lauper)

SCORPIO

CALIFORNIA
I feel a little embarrassed about making this movie reference, but I will anyway, because the act of doing so makes part of my point.  In the movie, “Love Actually,” Emma Thompson jokingly tells her husband that it was Joni Mitchell who taught her how to feel.  This week, I’ve selected the following lines from the song California by fellow Scorpio, Joni Mitchell, for you Scorpio: “Sitting in a park in Paris, France/ Reading the news and it sure looks bad/ They won’t give peace a chance/ That was just a dream some of us had…They said, ‘How long can you hang around?’/ I said, ‘A week, maybe two, just until my skin turns brown/ Then I’m going home to California.’”  
This week, Scorpio, even if you are home, you may feel rather far away.  Perhaps there is also an accompanying pang of longing typically associated with homesickness.  While this feeling is often paired with words like “going back” or “returning,” it would actually, ultimately, best be used to propel you forward or to inspire a future vision.  For now (“a week maybe two,” when the first eclipse is happening), swim with your feelings and any pain associated with this feeling will likely dissolve.  
(XVII Star Rev/ All Over The World- Francoise Hardy)

SAGITTARIUS

COME SAIL AWAY
Wow, how did Styx get caught in my head?  It’s like having water in your ears, which may also describe your feelings this week, Sagittarius.  “But we’ll try the best that we can to carry on/ A gathering of angels appeared above my head/ They sang to me this song of hope and this is what they said/ Come sail away…”  Hearing this song and these lines in particular I was reminded of the documentary, “Maidentrip,” a story about a 14 year old girl (Laura Dekker) who sails around the world alone.  Laura talks about surviving the treacherous water and weather conditions off the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.  She says, “I didn’t feel anything but focused.  I was on the top of being alert and being scared was totally gone.”  A Cape newspaper reported, “Not even the most seasoned skipper will round Cape Point in winds like that.”
Sagittarius, this week it may not be clear where your ship is headed, but for now you destination is probably the least important part of this stretch of the journey.  Consider what demands the current weather is making on you.  Later the papers may call you brave, but for now the only thing to tune into is “a gathering of angels” or the navigation of your boat.  
(XVIII Moon/ Study for Voice and Tape- Alice Shields)

CAPRICORN

EYE OF THE TIGER
Maybe I’ve told you this before, Capricorn, but at one time it was almost humanly impossible for me to be late.  It may sound like I’m bragging when I say that I have an innate sense of time, but being so punctual, I’m frequently made to wait.  I used to get annoyed, first with myself, then with others, but now I actually love waiting.  So many amazing things have happened or been observed while I was waiting. The song I found for you, Capricorn is “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor and the lyrics that stood out were these:  “So many times, it happens too fast/ You trade your passion for glory/ Don’t lose your grip on the dreams of the past…It’s the eye of the tiger/ It’s the thrill of the fight/ Risin’ up to the challenge of our rival.”  
Capricorn, this week you may find yourself hurdling towards the finish line in some area of your life.  Don’t forget to enjoy the “home stretch.”  When you see where you want to go, it is easy to rush ahead, but as the lyrics of the song say, when it “happens too fast” there is a danger of trading your “passion for glory.”  Go at your own pace and don’t be afraid to wait.  
(VII Chariot R/ Ask The Elephant!- Yoko Ono)

AQUARIUS

I’M GOING TO SAY IT NOW
Paul Ochs’ music isn’t as well known as some of his contemporaries, but I find the lyrics to “I’m Going To Say It Now” get stuck in my head often and this week they seemed quite appropriate for you, Aquarius.  The lines I’ve selected for you are as follows:  “You’d like to be my father, you’d like to be my dad/ And give me kisses when I’m good and spank me when I’m bad/ But since I left my parents I’ve forgotten how to bow/ So when I’ve got something to say Sir, I’m going to say it now.”  
Aquarius, this week you may feel hesitant to speak your truth.  Consider where someone may be acting with authority they don’t have or perhaps where they are abusing the authority they do have.  Mercury is transiting the last degrees of Aquarius now before plunging into Pisces this week.  While Mercury is still in your sign, consider the truth that you may have the privilege of seeing and don’t be afraid to “say it now.”  
(Shaman of Swords L/ Roving Woman- Connie Converse)

PISCES

HELLO, I’M SHELLEY DUVALL
This isn’t a song actually, Pisces, its just a collection of introductions from an old TV series called Faerie Tale Theatre (for those who never had the privilege of seeing this show when it was on).  Someone compiled all of these beginnings and put them on youtube and a few other people have remixed this collection into songs.  But I still find myself getting the original stuck in my head as if it were song.  I suppose the way Shelley Duvall introduces herself is like a song because she says it almost the same way every single time even though they were introductions to very different stories.  It just makes you realize that no matter how many roles she plays or costumes she wears, Shelley Duvall still knows who she is and how to introduce herself.  
Pisces, this week, as you navigate a discomfort or transition surrounding eclipse season you may find it helpful to keep introducing yourself to different people or in different settings, even if it is only to yourself in a mirror.  You might even consider making a song of it, this way you aren’t likely to lose touch with who you are at your core, though the climate and setting may shift.  
(9 of Wands L/ How Can I Lose- Shirley Ann Lee)

TAROTSCOPES for the week of 03/04/15

ARIES

FEELS LIKE- A cool breeze
SOUNDS LIKE- Heavy stone scraping against heavy stone
I guess I’m still thinking about Indiana Jones (a reference to last weeks Tarotscopes in case you missed them) because when I thought of “stone scraping stone” I was imagining a door opening in, I think, “The Temple of Doom.”  Its the sound of something old, big and heavy which was once obstructing your way, sliding aside to let you pass.  In this case, Aries, it is likely an idea or concept you previously felt trapped by, but which no longer holds water, or you captive.  The cool breeze also shows you that the door is open and it often indicates a change, day to night, summer to fall.  The way becomes clear because you have cleared it yourself.
(V Hierophant Rev/ Ghosts- Ibeyi)

TAURUS

FEELS LIKE- Wet socks
SOUNDS LIKE- Electricity buzzing
There is a hike I sometimes take in Los Angeles that loops through these big power lines.  The first time I passed by I was with a friend.  As we approached she was telling a story and stopped mid sentence, “Wait…what is that?”  We both listened for a second before I gestured to the power lines.  Having pinpointed the source we both quickened our pace.  It seemed dangerous, in one way or another, even though the lines were held by big metal towers high above our heads.  
Wet socks, to this day, are something I can’t abide.  As a kid I could frequently be found in the bathroom with the hairdryer trying to blow out a wet toe or heal.  A wet sock was something I couldn’t ignore, especially in winter when it was usually a cold puddle of snow I’d stepped in.
Wet socks and electricity probably seem like an unlikely combination, but the feeling is similar.  The desire to move on, move forward, make a change which is how you may feel this week, Taurus.  Perhaps you’ve run yourself ragged and there is a sense that you can’t go on at this pace.  Now is the time to collect yourself before the next wave of change comes in with the eclipses.
(9 of Wands/ Scandalize My Name- Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman)

GEMINI

FEELS LIKE- Inhailing a flock of doves
SOUNDS LIKE- The TVs on downstairs
The sound of a television from a distance is almost as recognizable as the sound of a television up close.  The difference is knowing something is being said and knowing what is being said.
There is a street corner in Los Angeles I pass by often enough that I’ve noticed there is frequently a community of pigeons and rock doves putting a bend in the power lines with the weight of their bodies.  Sometimes, usually around sunset they take off in a huge swell.  Every now and then, when they swoop low, I worry they will dip into traffic and be massacred.  I hold my breath and my heart beat quickens, but this is also because it is exhilarating to watch.  You can so easily project yourself into the flock.   
Gemini, this week you may find yourself feeling far away from what you want to say and what you want to hear.  It might be helpful to go somewhere you know you can see birds take off en masse because it is easy to project yourself into the flock and feel free.        
(Shaman of Swords Rev/ The Eagle and Me- Lena Horne)

CANCER

FEELS LIKE- Pine needles
SOUNDS LIKE- Ripping paper
First grade was full of pine needles.  The house I lived in most of my childhood had a big sappy pine tree out front and the school I went to had a larger grove of the same kind.  I remember making a home in the grove with some friends during recess.  We’d each scrape a pile of needles into a bed.  They were incredibly soft to lay on, but if you hit them at the wrong angle they warned you away with a bite.
In elementary school someone always seemed to want to borrow a sheet of paper after the teacher had called the class to attention (“All eyes on me”).  Ripping out a sheet of paper from your notebook at these moments typically caused “all eyes on me” to shift to “all eyes on you” as the teacher glaringly waited for the ripping to finish.  It wasn’t a sound anyone could talk over.  
Cancer, there are ways of setting boundaries without words, the way a pine needle stabs you if you encounter it at the wrong angle, or a teacher’s glare, or simply by silencing everyone by ripping a sheet of paper.  But this week, it may be best to state what you want and need clearly in words or writing.     
(6 of Swords/ Tell Mama- Etta James)

LEO

FEELS LIKE- Using your foot as a brake
SOUNDS LIKE- Rusty metal
When my training wheels were first removed I used to coast around on my bike with one or both feet floating off the peddles in case I needed to throw a foot down to slow, or stop myself because I could never remember to back peddle in the heat of the moment.  But when you use your foot in lieu of your actual brakes it often takes longer to slow down and if you are going too fast down a hill the result can be catastrophic.  This method also implies a lack of confidence in your bicycle.  When you are collaborating with anything, the ride is often smoother if you can relinquish some control and trust the services it provides in moving you towards your destination.  
I won’t go into an explanation of “rusty metal,” its probably just the sound your foot would make if it were actually a brake and not a foot.  In any case, Leo, what you may be feeling this week is similar to what I’ve described, perhaps like something is dragging on your usual “get up and go” Leo tenacity.  This could be because you are not trusting your “collaborators” to pull their weight or do what they were designed to, like a bicycle.  Part of the uncertainty may be because you are heading in a new direction.  Take your time, but do continue to put one foot in front of the other, eventually when you get more comfortable you’ll probably find it easier to trust your brakes rather than throw your foot down.   
(VII Chariot L/ Someday, Someway- The Marvelettes)

VIRGO

FEELS LIKE- Slapping a fly with the swatter
SOUNDS LIKE- A mosquito whizzing past your ear
When and where flies are in need of swatting it is typically hot.  When I pulled your card for the week, Virgo, I imagined a place where it is so hot that everything moves as though it were held back by liquid or caught in jello.  Sweat is the only thing that travels fast, sweat and fly swatters.  This past week your energy may have been amping up with the moon as it reaches its peak in Virgo on Thursday.  You may feel more like the fly swatter than anything else in the afore mentioned scenario.  Keep in mind that everything else might, in comparison, feel trapped in jello.  Put the fly swatter down periodically to give yourself some room to breathe.  You aren’t likely get behind in your work, because you are probably already so far ahead.  
(Daughter of Swords R/ Better Than You- Rye Rye feat. M.I.A.)

LIBRA

FEELS LIKE- A shawl over your shoulders
SOUNDS LIKE- A wooden shoe on a wooden floor
My mother discovered shawls (“pashminas”) when my parents moved to Indonesia.  I was 18 at the time and thought this aesthetic was the embodiment of what it means to be an “old-lady.”  As I write this I have a shawl over my own shoulders because it is warm, feels like a hug and the associations don’t bother me anymore.  For myself, I’ve noticed that getting older sometimes means taking comfort in different things or in the same things, but in different ways.  There is a sort of shawl we wear over our shoulders as we get older which may be partially described as the comfort of knowing ourselves, from holding our own hand through various challenges over the years.  It is solid, like the sound of a wooden shoe against a wooden floor.  
This week, Libra, you may find yourself less afraid to go out on a limb or make a statement because there is comfort in knowing who you are and having seen yourself through change and transition before.
(Priestess of Swords/ Window Seat- Erykah Badu)

SCORPIO

FEELS LIKE- A warm spot in the water
SOUNDS LIKE- Silence under a blanket
When I was a kid I didn’t believe a warm spot in water could be a good thing.  Even though I liked the way it felt, I never allowed myself to feel comfortable there.  In a pool I thought it meant that someone had peed and in a natural body of water I was thought it was a sure sign sharks were lurking nearby, warming the water with their giant bodies or hot breath (which of course doesn’t make any sense because they breathe through gills and are cold-blooded).  “It’s warm because of the sun,” someone would remind me time and again, but I always forgot.  
Scorpio, this week you may find yourself waiting for something to materialize or develop.  Maybe you aren’t even sure what you are waiting for, but whatever it is, allow yourself to enjoy this reprieve because it probably has more to do with the sun than sharks or urine.  
(7 of Discs/ Chasing Time- Azealia Banks)

SAGITTARIUS

FEELS LIKE- Red rover
SOUNDS LIKE- Someone talking on their cellphone next to your conversation
Is Red Rover illegal yet?  I wish it had been when I was a kid.  I remember my classmates sweaty hands gripping my wrists because I kept my hold intentionally loose so I could escape at the last minute.  The chant felt ominous too, “Red rooooverrr…red roooovvverrr…send… _____ right OVERRR!”  Most kids didn’t seem to get that the best way prevent the person from breaking through your linked hands was to bend to their impact.  The tactic usually employed was to remain as ridged as possible, which is, I would guess, how all the arms I heard about later were broken.
It may seem unrelated but trying to maintain a conversation you’ve started with one person while the person next to you is talking loudly on their cellphone is similarly challenging.  Resistance, I’ve found in this scenario, is often fruitless.  
Sagittarius, you may feel this week that you are trying to hold everything together, or maybe just hands with the people around you.  Remember that the way through might have something to do with bending to the blows and not struggling to talk over the noise, but finding another route through it.   
(2 of Discs/ Baby Can I Hold You- Tracy Chapman)

CAPRICORN

FEELS LIKE- Flattening cardboard boxes
SOUNDS LIKE- Breaking glass
I’ve been put to the task of “breaking down” cardboard boxes before, either as kid or as a task at a job.  In terms of chores or tasks it is always presented as a treat because it is rather satisfying as opposed to sweeping a floor or cleaning a toilet.  There are a few different approaches you can use to deconstruct the box, either by taking it apart in the same way it was constructed or by stamping on it until its flat.  The sound accompanying this action is not nearly as satisfying or impactful as the sound of breaking glass so that is why “breaking glass” has been selected as the accompanying sound effect.  
Capricorn, this week you may begin taking apart the structures in your life which have been taking up too much room.  What ideas or concepts have you been living your life around?  Now is the time to dismantle them or just stamp on them until they are flat.
(XV Devil Rev/ I Can’t Help It- Betty Carter)

AQUARIUS

FEELS LIKE- Wading through water up to your neck
SOUNDS LIKE- “Sunday Sunday Sunday…” on the radio
I haven’t heard it in a long time, but when I would listen to the radio as kid I remember hearing regularly an ad for monster truck rallies.  They always began or ended with, “Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!”  It was always so jarring because I was usually listening to the oldies station, so it would be sandwiched between something like “Lollipop” and “Penny Lane.”
The problem with trying to walk through water when it is up to your neck is that you can’t know how to navigate, you can only see what is happening on the surface.  If you really want to make your way through the water with any ease or speed you have to be willing to get your head wet.   
What do these two things have in common, Aquarius?  I’ll tell you where they meet in my mind- going with the flow and collaborating with life.  It might be necessary to take a break this week from what you are doing so you can see, hear, smell and taste where you are and understand the waters in which you are swimming.   
(Son of Swords/ A Bridge Over Troubled Water- Roberta Flack)

PISCES

FEELS LIKE- A mouthful of cotton balls
SOUNDS LIKE- A whisper
I can’t remember ever having had an entire mouthful of cotton balls, but somehow I know exactly what it would feel like.  I guess it might be related to having gauze in your mouth at the dentist, the texture and dryness is probably similar.   
Pisces, there may be something you want to express or put out in the world, or perhaps you are preparing for a trip and are feeling slightly reluctant about leaving.  Maybe your mouth is full of cotton or you are afraid of what will happen after you commit to expressing the things you are beginning to feel or after you’ve left your current location for a new one.  Consider practicing first in a whisper and then getting louder.    
(8 of Wands L/ Can’t Get A Letter From Down the Road- Elizabeth Cotten)

TAROTSCOPES for the week of 02/25/15

ARIES

ROSE-COLORED GLASSES
When I was a kid I loved watching old classics.  One of my favorites was “Sabrina,” with Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart.  My favorite part of the movie was always when Sabrina (Hepburn) went away to Paris and transformed or as she says, “Learned how to live, how to be in the world and of the world, not just stand aside and watch.”  Towards the end of her stay she writes a dreamy letter home to her father and describes her experience, saying, “Someone across the way is playing  “La Vie En Rose,” it is the French way of saying, ‘I’m looking at the world through rose-colored glasses,’ and it says everything I feel.”  The first time I saw this movie was the first time I heard the phrase “rose-colored glasses.”  As a kid I thought she was talking about an actual pair of glasses and I thought to myself, “I’m going to find a pair of those one day.”  
Aries, this week you may be donning your rose-colored glasses.  You are also likely to feel both “in the world and of the world.”  Venus and Mars are renting rooms in your sign this week and filling your house with love, laughter, joy and passion which will definitely help you find solutions to any difficulties currently presenting themselves simply because you are looking for them and through your rose-colored glasses.  
(Ace of Swords/ Any Other Way- Chuck Jackson)

TAURUS

EYES IN THE BACK OF YOUR HEAD
When I looked up this saying in the idiom dictionary it gave an example, “Parents of young children have to have eyes in the back of their heads.”  When I visited my friends with kids this past summer I remember being impressed with their ability to carry on a conversation with me and at the same time avert disaster or a skinned knee.  “I’m afraid I’m too spacey to be a parent,” I told my friend as we sat on a blanket with her son.  She and her partner met me in the park after having rescued a 2 year old who had wandered into the middle of the street (and whose caretakers clearly did not have eyes in the back of their head).  “That changes when you have a kid,” she assured me and then said something like, “You develop another kind of radar.”  Or eyes…in the back of your head you might say.  
Taurus, in order to make use of the eyes you have in the back of your head you might have to start by tuning into what is happening for you on a more internal level.  Finding a moment to yourself may be difficult this week, but it will also be extremely important so you can see more clearly and connect more fully with your intuitive wisdom.   
(IX Crone Rev/ I Am a Psychiatrist- Lee “Scratch” Perry)

GEMINI

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN
I remember learning about different ecosystems in school, the way the mountains created a barrier and that one side of a range might be green while the other could be dry or even desert.  The visual in our textbook, I remember too.  It showed a cartoon raincloud hitting a peak like froth on a root beer float.  On the other side of the mountain the sun was beating down.  
This week, Gemini, you may find yourself cautiously approaching the precipice of what has perhaps been a challenging winter.  The other side of the mountain you intuitively know, and perhaps have been told, is sunny, but you may find yourself clouded by skepticism until you actually feel the sun on your face when you reach the other side.  
(XIX Sun L/ I’ll Bet You- Jackson 5 )

CANCER

BLIND YOUTH
In high school while on an exchange program in Brazil, I ran away.  I was later discovered in a town a few hours away by the director of the program.  I was intercepted towards the beginning of my journey, but the trip I was planning covered a good portion of the entire country.  Later many people asked me, “Why did you do it?”  I shrugged, “I wanted to travel.”  Looking back, I can now understand more easily the element of danger that others, mostly adults, saw more glaringly, but at the time I felt only the pulse of adventure.
Cancer, your card this week is the Fool.  In the tarot the Fool is considered protected by her sense of adventure.  In the Motherpeace deck, the Eye of Horus, the Egyptian God of Protection, watches over the Fool as she dances through life, throwing herself into new situations.  The idea is that when we are brave enough to take a chance, to leave our comfort zone, we are often rewarded.  Expect to hear the call to adventure this week and also know that your intuition and even your ignorance may protect you from potential difficulty or hardship along the way.   
(O Fool/ Silly Billy- Poly Styrene)

LEO

STAGE LIGHTS
I don’t have much experience being on stage, but when I graduated from high school we had to walk across the same stage where I’d seen the Joffery Ballet perform The Nutcracker when I was in Kindergarten.  I remember the stage lights beaming on us in our hot polyester robes.  The lights were so bright you couldn’t see very well what was happening off stage.  Do most people graduate on a stage?  I haven’t been to enough graduations to know and is it just so your family can see you more easily or is it meant to be symbolic, as in “the next stage of your life?” Forgive me if I’m a little slow on the uptake, I honestly never thought about it until now.  In any case, what I can say from having been on and in that stage, you really can’t see what is up ahead, what is beyond that stage or even your friends or family in the audience, but you know they are there.    
Leo, this week you may find yourself on or in a new stage of life and leaving behind an old one.  You may not be able to see beyond this point, but it’s not necessary anyway.           
(Ace of Wands/ I Can Tell The World- Afrika and Roland Hayes)

VIRGO

FLOATERS
I think I’ve actually used floaters in another theme for another sign, but it is an apt description of your astrological weather this week, Virgo.  Floaters are like tiny clouds that drift across your field of vision caused by degenerative changes in your “vitreous humour” (the clear gel that fills your eyeball).  For the most part floaters are only just mild irritations, but they can occasionally obstruct your view.  My aunt complains of floaters and she said it sometimes makes it difficult to read the paper because they sort slowly meander across the page, blocking out certain words she’s trying to focus on.  The trick, she says, is to relax your eyes.
Virgo, this week you may feel pressured to make a decision, but it may be like trying to visually fight your way through a sea of floaters.  At certain times, certain options may be obstructed, but if you relax eyes and allow the floaters to pass, another option may be revealed.  
(2 of Swords/ Politicians in My Eyes- Death)

LIBRA

LOVE GOGGLES
No one escapes love goggles.  Love goggles are what filters out the flaws of someone or something, flaws which are glaringly obvious to someone who doesn’t share your love.  I find this is most apparent with people and their pets.  I am guilty, I am almost completely blind to the flaws of my dog.  In some cases I’m aware of the flaws, but I don’t see them as flaws, her putrid breath for example.  And why not, your pets will always look at you through even bigger and thicker love goggles.    
Libra this week, with Venus and Mars in your 7th house of marriage and partnership, you may be looking at the world through your love goggles.  Which is actually a good thing even if it sometimes distorts your perception.  
(2 of Cups/ Love Hangover- Diana Ross)

SCORPIO

A BLEMISH
Once in high school my friend got the biggest zit I’d ever seen on the end of his nose.  It was really hard not to talk to the zit when you were trying to have a conversation with him.  I remember silently thanking God that I’d never had a zit like that.  I’m not exaggerating when I say that the very next day after thinking this thought, I got a zit on the side of my nose and within a few hours it had swelled to the same proportion as my friends.  “God heard me and struck me down!” I thought.  Suddenly I was having the same distracting conversations, but this time the roles were reversed.  I could tell by my friends’ facial expressions that it was difficult to focus on the words I was saying because their eyes were naturally drawn to the zit.  At first, I attempted to hide one side of my face in the shadows, but this was distracting too because people expect you to look at them directly when you are talking to them.  There was nothing to do, but surrender to the situation.  I started introducing the zit, like it was a friend visiting from out of town.  This worked.  Once the zit was acknowledged we could all move on to other topics of conversation.
Scorpio, this week you may find your way out of what could have been a difficult or awkward situation, simply by openly acknowledging the situation exists.  Make friends with the difficulty and all parties may be set free.    
(5 of Swords Rev/ Something Else- Kelela)

SAGITTARIUS

WHAT HIT YOU
Often times this phrase has bad connotations, but for you this week, Sagittarius I see it in a completely different light.  The idea behind the phrase, most commonly heard as, “I don’t know what hit me!” is something which happens by surprise or takes you by surprise.  It is similar to the thing which comes “out of left field!”  This is a time to engage both sides of your centaur self, horse and head, instinct and idea.  When you leave your plans at home and head out into the world empty-handed, or more accurately, open-hearted, you invite the possibility of surprise.  You are forced to collaborate with life rather than adhering to script or prescription.  This week you may find yourself saying quite blissfully, “I didn’t even know what hit me!”    
(7 of Swords L/ Willow- Joan Armatrading)

CAPRICORN

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
If someone says, “can we talk about the elephant in the room?”  it is usually the first act of a difficult conversation.  But I will always be excited to dive into this conversation, because it started with my favorite idiom and a reference to one of my favorite animals.  To me its like saying, “Can we talk about something you love?  Actually, lets talk about two things you love, elephants and an idiom with an elephant in it.”
Capricorn, this week you may become increasingly aware of an issue or situation that needs your attention.  Consider which words you might choose that will help you approach the situation from a position of love.     
(9 of Wands R/ I Hear The Lambs A-Crying- Marian Anderson)

AQUARIUS

THE BOX
“The box” is a collection of socially acceptable ideas.  There isn’t much room in “the box” so most people can only fit a few aspects of their life inside of it.  The rest of their lives, which fall outside of “the box,” are either acknowledged or unacknowledged depending on who you are.  If you are an Aquarius then you have likely embraced the territory outside of “the box,”  because that is Aquarius’ domain.  
This week, Aquarius, may feel like a block party outside “the box.”  You may be connecting with other people who think about things in similarly unconventional ways and this is fuel for the fire and generative of new sparks which could lead to future creative projects, ideas or collaborations.    
(3 of Wands/ Lose Control- Missy Elliot (with Ciara and Fatman Scoop)

PISCES

COLOR BLINDNESS
The color blindness I’m referring to is not the literal kind, where certain colors are visibly illegible, but the kind that some (typically white) people have asserted.  Many are already aware that this form of blindness is problematic and a form of racism itself.  The problem is that by failing (or often refusing) to notice that you are white and someone else is black or latino, you also miss the forms of racial privilege and or prejudice embedded in this position.  And if we do not confront and acknowledge issues of racism and racial privilege then the problem stagnates and festers.    
Pisces, this week you may encounter certain obstacles which would be best examined and confronted.  The difficulty may actually be something relatively small, but by dealing with it you avoid the possibility of making a mountain out of a mole hill.       
(Shaman of Discs L/ Propaganda- Dead Prez)

TAROTSCOPES for the week of 02/19/15

ARIES

In the car I mostly listen to the radio.  If a song on one station doesn’t suit my mood, I will flip back and forth between about 4 or 5 different stations.  I prefer to listen to the radio over a tape or my iPod because it makes me feel like I’m doing something with the rest of Los Angeles.  When driving is your main mode of transportation, as it is for many of us in Los Angeles, it is easy to dislocate, to seal yourself into the bubble of your car and disengage from your fellow travelers or your surroundings.  They play Missing Persons (an L.A. band from the 80s) on at least 3 of the stations I flip between.  I’d say their songs “Words” and “Walking in L.A.” get about equal airtime.  The band clearly understood the isolation that accompanies L.A.’s urban sprawl and car culture.  The question asked repeatedly in “Words” is “What are words for when no one listens anymore?”
Aries, this week, you may want to find other ways of listening, or other senses from which to engage a situation.  Perhaps excessive car time is limiting you to a very two-dimensional experience of things.  Maybe you aren’t feeling heard or maybe you are having trouble hearing what someone else is saying.  Maybe you need to find another station to tune into or maybe you just need to get out of your car and go for a walk in order to see things from a new angle.      
(8 of Swords/ Pacifics- Digable Planets )

TAURUS

Recently, I came home after house and pet sitting for a few days in another part of the city and realized it had been a long time since I’ve thought of myself as “coming home.”  In college when most of my friends were going “home for the holidays” I would be visiting my parents in Indonesia or meeting them in Vietnam.  I have often reflected that I feel more at home in places between destinations than the destinations themselves.  But here, just a few days ago, I “came home” and felt it.  I was partly following my dog’s lead.  She wagged her tail, ran to her food bowl and then to her bed to dig in a crevasse for an old bone.  I ran to the cupboard where I remembered I’d left half a chocolate bar.  I felt the embrace of the walls, of all my things which were right where I left them.  One of my dear Taurus friends often says, “You’re perfect.”  Which of course no one is and this is precisely her point, that we all our perfectly imperfect beings.  And this is how I felt about my house, which, in that moment after having stepped out and come home, was also a sort of mirror.            
Taurus, “let go of just so” that was the phrase that popped into my head as I was writing your Tarotscope for the week.  This week it may be time to come home…to yourself and all your perfect imperfections.  Soak up all the comforts of home, then when you leave, you will be able to see more clearly and create more easily reflections of that feeling in the world too.  
(4 of Discs/ North of the Sunset- Thelonious Monk)

GEMINI

I’ve been thinking about sheep lately as I reflect on Year of the Sheep ahead.  Long ago, at a county fair in Iowa I received, without warning, a nasty bite from a sheep and I’ve been prejudice against them ever since.  As a kid I would say things like, “Sheep are dumb.  You can tell by their eyes, there’s nothing going on upstairs.”  These comments were based on my one negative experience and on their reputation as “herd followers,” not being able to think for themselves.  However, when I started reading about the Year of the Sheep and the characteristics associated with the sign, I found myself reconsidering my old projections.  According to astrology, those born under the sign of the Sheep are peaceful and though they like to be around other sheep, they tend to be rather quiet and thoughtful.  The peaceful descriptions I read reminded me of clouds, which sheep certainly resemble with their fluffy coats and causal grazing.  This is not my zodiac sign, but I found myself relating to the associations.  As a kid, adults sometimes mistook my silence for stupidity, but I always thought this was more reflective of their ignorance than mine.  Now, years later, I find myself wondering if the same might be said for my sheep prejudice.   
Gemini, this week you might find yourself pondering something seemingly mundane or simple like sheep for long enough that you uncover new information about both the animal, plant, person or thing and also come to understand yourself on a deeper level as well.  By separating yourself from the herd for a time you might find yourself deepening your sense of connection to it.    
(IX Crone R/ Ring Ring Ring- De La Soul )

CANCER

The other day I met a friend of a friend who was a contestant on Jeopardy.  The questions, he said, were not nearly as difficult to figure out as the buzzer.  It seems there was a sort of lag time between when you’d know an answer and when you could finally get the buzzer to go off.
Cancer, this week you may find yourself in a similar situation.  You may intuitively know the answer to a question that has been weighing on you, but you may be hesitant to hit the buzzer and when you finally do, it could be a little longer before the contraption actually sounds.  Try to be patient with the things you can’t control and be aware of things you can.  Know that you have the answer and move from there.       
(2 of Swords L/ How Will I Know- Whitney Houston)

LEO

I’ve never done a study or read one, but I’m sure there are plenty, about the kinds of things people share about themselves or their lives on social media platforms.  I have very few judgements about what people post, but I’ve heard others complain:  “Not another food pic!” or “Why do people post pictures of their cat? Cats don’t do anything.” or “T.M.I!” (too much information).  Originally, I hypothesized that these judgments could be categorized by age, as generational assumptions, people who grew up with the internet and people who were introduced to it later.  But I find that opinion doesn’t always fall within these lines.  My own willingness or reluctance to share various aspects of my life probably follows the phases of the moon (again, I haven’t done any research).  But I would probably say that the days when I’m feeling particularly happy and optimistic are the days when I find myself compelled to share my thoughts and feelings.  Maybe that’s obvious, but it wasn’t obvious to me until I took note of the pattern.  
Leo, this week you may find yourself hesitating before you press the button and post something publicly about your personal life.  Allow yourself to move with the joy of life.  Don’t hold back what you feel compelled to shout from the rooftops just because it’s a “food” or “cat” pic or you worry someone might think it’s t.m.i.  
(Ace of Wands L/ Ring My Bell- Monie Love and Adeva)

VIRGO

When I was a kid my best friend (a Virgo) and I made a vow which we later amended.  We promised to be kids forever and then later we amended it to, a promise to be kids “at heart” forever, because we realized that there were certain aspects of adulthood that can’t be avoided and maybe we wouldn’t want to avoid, when the time came.  The vow was inspired by our observation and interpretation of adult rituals and practices as “boring” and lacking “imagination.”  More recently I’ve been thinking about being an adult, about what it feels like to now “be an adult.”  As a kid I never imagined being an adult, I’d mentally skip right over my “best years” and picture myself extremely old and wrinkly with long silver braids.  So now I’m an age that I never imagined being, that I never considered, but I feel I’ve kept my vow.  Joan Didion has a quote about being on speaking terms with your old selves she says, “I think we are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be…otherwise they turn up unannounced and surprise us, come hammering on the mind’s door at 4 a.m. of a bad night and demand to know who deserted them, who betrayed them, who is going to make amends.”
Virgo, this week I would add to Didion’s suggestion, that it would also be good to be on nodding terms with your future self as well.  What kind of an adult do you want to be, even if you are one already, what do you imagine your evolution to look or feel like?  Consider keeping a place at your table for your past, present and future selves.
(XVII Star/ Everyday People- Sly & The Family Stone)

LIBRA

The other day I was meditating on knowing and not knowing.  Actually, what I was really trying to investigate was not knowing.  I am the youngest in my family, by a lot, so growing up I was often the only kid in the room.  I remember watching movies and saying, “What’s going to happen?”  Usually people would ignore me, but if I persisted, my mom or someone would say, “No one knows, that’s why we’re watching.”  In my meditation on the subject of not knowing I decided to try and nail down the things that I did know with absolute certainty.  “I have a place to live,” I started to tell myself, but I quickly realized that the future, even the very next minute is all a proposal.  Then I started thinking of the things I didn’t know, which was really everything.  I started to get excited thinking of the future as a present that is unwrapped each minute and is revealed as it becomes “now,” the present moment.
Libra, change is coming, big changes, for you.  Knowing this, try not to let yourself feel discouraged about the present moment.  Think of all the good things in your past, which were once wrapped in the future and then delivered in a moment and consider that each minute you are unwrapping something new, even if it is seemingly mundane.    
(XVI Tower L/ No Woman, No Cry- The Fugees)

SCORPIO

As I was leaving a dinner party the other night I found myself shocked by the contrast between the inside of the house and party, and the outside.  Inside everything was golden and warm and loud, it was like stepping out of a flame.  Outside everything was colored in shades of blue and grey.  Fog was looped between homes and hills like hair caught in a comb.  I became shockingly loud, my heart beat, my breathing, my thoughts were all ringing in my ears as the voices of the party had been just a few seconds before.  This could have been an uncomfortable moment, I had been just as loud and vocal as everyone else in the party.  Outside, what had been quiet, what had been hidden from view, certain thoughts and feelings, were shouting.  But I was not uncomfortable because I know that voice and those feelings and thoughts so well.  We’ve been together since we were kids, since before I can remember.
Scorpio, this week you may be struck by a similar moment, a contrast between the person you are with others and the self you go home with.  Be kind to this voice, breath and heartbeat.   She is and will always be your oldest friend, even if you get in a fight.         
(6 of Wands Rev/ Vibes and Stuff- A Tribe Called Quest)

SAGITTARIUS

The other day I decided to consult my GPS to see which route to my destination would be fastest.  The map displayed two paths, one was a few minutes shorter and the second was the one I was most familiar with.  I decided to go with the familiar route convincing myself it would take less time than trying to learn a new way.  I often find myself impatient with the demands of the world.  When I figure out one system for doing something, or one route to a destination, I find myself repeating it simply because I don’t want to have to think about it ever again.  I just want to be done with it so I can spend the rest of my life in my head.  But of course I do live here, on this planet and so I am always and periodically brought home, back to earth and asked to consider how I’m doing something, what method or means or route I am taking.   
Sagittarius, this week you may be asked to reflect on something you may have hoped to never again consider.  Perhaps an old method is actually wasting your time or energy or resources.  As the sign associated with philosophy and religion, there are probably things you’d rather think about than the pebble in your shoe.  But it’s removal could drastically change your perspective.   
(5 of Cups Rev/ The End of Silence- Elaine Brown)

CAPRICORN

I was thinking about structures for you this week Capricorn, particularly structures of support.  The other evening at a dinner with some friends I made my exit saying, I still have a bunch of Tarotscopes to write.”  A friend who didn’t want to see me go said something like, “Just make them short.”  “I’ve tried,” I said.  “But I can’t.  It’s like if you wrote ‘The End.’  You can’t take off ‘End’ it would just say ‘The.’”  It’s all a part of the forecast.  
Capricorn, this week you may be tempted to try and do without something, to cut corners or shrug off support because you feel hurt that its not being offered.  Try to be honest first with yourself and then with others about what you need.  Perhaps think of your situation as a sentence, there are certain words that can’t be removed, or it wouldn’t be a sentence.    
(6 of Discs L/ You Never Can Tell- Chuck Berry)

AQUARIUS

Recently, I was re-watching the movie “Jane Eyre,” (the version with Charlotte Gainsbourg, in my opinion, the only version) and there is a part where Jane is teaching Adele math.  There are some problems written on a chalkboard which Adele has answered.  I found myself checking her work, I even paused the film at one point so I could read some of the other equations.  I found that all of Adele’s answers were wrong and I found myself remembering the feeling of writing answers on a chalkboard and knowing that some of them were wrong, but not being sure how to find the right answer.  I remember one tactic which introduced by a teacher was to “work backwards,” to start with your answer, with the solution and try to work your way back to the equation.  
Aquarius, the difficulty you may encounter this week isn’t necessarily a math problem, but you might find it helpful to think about it this way rather than allowing the problem to haunt you or get blown out of proportion.  Consider working backwards, start with the answer, or the desired outcome and trace it back to the equation you are currently facing.  
(9 of Swords/ Gotta See Jane- Martha Reeves)

PISCES

A few weeks ago was my mother’s birthday.  On the phone I asked if she’d talked to my brother.  She said she had.  “He asked me if I felt like birthdays are hard when you get older.  I think maybe he feels that way,” she told me.  “But I told him that when you get to be my age you just feel lucky that you lived to see another year.”  
Pisces, we’ve officially entered your birthday season.  Yours approaches or perhaps is happening this very minute.  Every year probably feels very different from the last.  A gift when you were seven probably feels very different from what you now consider a gift and what you may consider a gift seven years from now.  According to the cards and stars, you can expect the kind of gift this birthday that is appropriate to your current perspective on the matter.  
(Ace of Discs/ The Times They Are A- Changin- Josephine Baker)

TAROTSCOPES for the week of 02/12/15

ARIES

My parents and I moved from Iowa to Brazil the week after I turned fifteen.  The internet was still a relatively new tool and the books I read didn’t paint much of a picture of what I would encounter.  As open-minded as I strived to be, I had still packed a lot of preconceived notions and assumptions about what I thought it would be like to live in Brazil.  I remember writing in my journal on the first morning of our arrival, “There are mango and avocado TREES outside our apartment.”  Until that moment I never considered how or where a mango grew.  Later, around lunch time, several people came with sheets of cardboard to lie out on the grass in front of our apartment building.  I wrongly assumed they were homeless.  Over time I discovered they were actually employees of the grocery store across the street taking their lunch break.  When we finally returned to Iowa when I was seventeen, I felt almost as confused as I had when I first arrived in Brazil.  
Aries, this week you may find yourself looking at a situation from the opposite direction.  Perhaps you feel like a visitor in your own home, or perhaps the place you are visiting is starting to feel more like home.  This process could become an incentive for bigger changes in your life.  
(XVI Tower/ I See, I Say- Ebony Bones)

TAURUS

When I was a kid we had one of those pop-up campers that collapses into a rectangle and trails behind your vehicle.  I remember waking up some nights when my family was camping in complete darkness.  The bed didn’t feel much different from the bed I slept in at home so I would find myself very disoriented.  There was no light to adjust my eyes to, so I’d just lie there listening for clues, which would come in owl hoots or my dad snoring.  
Taurus, this week you may be orienting yourself using a different set of senses.  Even if you can see where you are physically, you may now find it necessary to take stock of where you are in a spiritual sense.  Keep your awareness open to a different set of clues.    
(II High Priestess/ My Life’s All Right- Shira Small)

GEMINI

Some of my favorite hours as a teenager were the ones between when school let out and my parents got home.  I’d open up the house and blast my music through the stereo in the dining room.  I think my dog liked these hours too because I would let him roam the woods behind our house and then call him home for dinner.  This was another moment where I came to understand waiting as its own arrival.  
Gemini, this week you may feel suspended.  Perhaps you are waiting for a specific result or maybe you are just waiting for something to change without a specific idea of what those changes might look like.  Try to see this moment as its own arrival.  This is an opportunity to sink more solidly into yourself before the next rock rolls.  
(7 of Discs/ Shake a Hand- Little Richard)

CANCER

When my family first moved from the small town where I was born to the slightly larger town where I grew up, we rented a house that, as a kid, I thought was completely tricked out.  My favorite part was the attic which was tucked away behind a trap door in the ceiling.  It was pretty large as attics go and had a small “stage” (a 4 inch step) where I would give short babbling lectures to a selected audience of stuffed animals and dolls.  It was the only stage I had ever felt comfortable on because it was so hidden.
Cancer, this week, you may be discovering new stages or places where you naturally shine.  Perhaps you’ve always enjoyed these things in the privacy of your own home, now would be a good time to bring them down from the attic.   
(Son of Wands/ One In A Million- Aaliyah)

LEO

I lived like a monk in Oakland when I moved there for the second time.  I had my own studio apartment in a relatively quiet part of the city.  I didn’t have a lot of friends because I had just moved from Minneapolis.  I was finishing my undergraduate degree and so I spent most of my time reading or working on projects.  I didn’t necessarily make anything in those days that I find particularly exciting these days, but the self-study I did during that time was and continues to be invaluable.
Leo, this week as Mercury goes direct there may be an unveiling of the ideas or things which were percolating when Mercury was retrograde.  Perhaps you’ve been rather monk like, but starting this week, you may find yourself ready to run some flight tests on the things you’ve been working on in your solitude.  Even if the only thing you were really working on was yourself.  
(9 of Discs Rev/ Revolution- Nina Simone)

VIRGO

When I first moved into my previous apartment, I did not anticipated the extent to which not having parking would alter my life.  If I came home past ten o’clock at night I’d find myself either circling the neighborhood for an hour looking for an open spot or I would be forced to park several blocks (Los Angeles blocks) from my apartment.  Eventually, if I went out at night I wouldn’t come home until the following morning just so I didn’t have to brave the parking scarcity.  Other nights I would decline invitations to go out because I had “a good parking spot.”  Finally, I started pet sitting for friends and airbnb-ing my apartment.  This actually turned into, for a short time, a full time job which not only resolved my parking conundrum but also took care of the scarcity in my bank account.      
Virgo, this week it might be helpful to consider where a scarcity in your life may have created a sense of limitation.  The scarcity might be real or just a way you are looking at a situation, but consider how you might be able to liberate yourself from the accompanying sense of constraint.  
(Daughter of Wands L/ Don’t Let Me Drop- Gloria Weems)

LIBRA

A long time ago, when I was living in Minneapolis and experiencing the coldest winter my body, mind and soul had ever experienced, I made the decision to move back to California.  I was reluctant at first because I couldn’t afford the move and my parents agreed to help me but only if I promised to finish college.  There were a few long months between when I made my decision and my actual departure.  During that time my best friend and I would go to a coffee shop on the far side of town next to a church which would announce its sermons on a glowing white sign out front.  The sermon titles were like fortune cookies to us.  I remember one day after a snow storm seeing the sign capped with snow and the sermon title was, “You shall live and not die.”  Knowing I would be leaving, that I would “live and not die” set me free to enjoy the city even in the dead of winter.    
Libra, as an air sign, you may have found all the watery Piscean energy in the air lately difficult.  This week, give yourself something to look forward to and if you don’t, I will or the cards and stars will.  According to the card I’ve pulled for you and the astrological weather ahead, there is a lot for you to look forward to.  The wheel is turning and spring may have more than flowers in store for you.    
(X Wheel of Fortune R/ I’m Having a Good Time- Alberta Hunter)

SCORPIO

Years ago when I first moved back to Oakland from the midwest, my brother and I made a plan to find an apartment together.  At the time he had a beautiful apartment, but he shared it with two guys he had mixed feelings about.  After a few days of looking at apartments on my own while my brother was in school, I started to realize that what I really wanted was to live alone.  I wasn’t particularly messy, but my brother, especially at that time, kept his room as sparse and clean as a hospital.  I knew I would be expected to adhere to a similar level of cleanliness and I wasn’t excited about following someone else’s rules.  It wasn’t easy, at first, to explain this to my brother, but I think he eventually felt a little relieved, probably because in his version of living together, he imagined he’d be constantly cleaning up after me.    
Scorpio, yours is the sign of intimacy and depth in relationship.  This week, however, whether you live alone or with others, or whether you are in a relationship or single, you may find yourself appreciating and savoring your independence.  Others may not initially understand your need to separate, but it probably won’t take long for them to realize that the time apart is in fact mutually beneficial.  
(Priestess of Swords/ Woman Got A Right To Be- Caiphus Semenya)

SAGITTARIUS

The other day I cut off the bottom of an old t-shirt because it was too big, had a stain on it and I needed rags.  A few days later I was wiping down the counters in the kitchen with one of the rags when I realized I was wearing the t-shirt it had derived from.  It was a strange moment and feeling.  I stopped short thinking about a scene from the movie I’d watched the previous night, “Houseboat.”  In the scene Cary Grant tries to explain an idea to his son by demonstration.  He extends a glass pitcher filled with water for his son to see, “Try to think of this pitcher as being me, my body.  The pitcher on its own has no use except as a container for something.  In this case it contains water which you can think of as being my life force.  Now try to lose that.”  He hands the pitcher over to his son, who then dumps it over the railing of the houseboat (where they live).  “There!” His son says triumphantly.  “The only thing is,” Grant explains.  “It isn’t lost, it’s part of the whole river.”  
Sagittarius, this week you may feel like you are sailing into a mystery, but you need not be afraid if you can remember that what you fear may be lost will just become part of the whole river.  And if you stain your t-shirt, you can make rags.      
(XVIII Moon/ Lord Keep Me Day By Day- The Caravans)

CAPRICORN

When I used to visit my grandparents, and eventually just my grandfather, after my grandmother passed away, I remember coming back to the house after a long day out and my grandfather would say, as if announcing our arrival to the house, “Home again, home again, jiggidy jig!”  The phrase itself feels like home to me now and I find myself thinking it even when I’m no where near my actual apartment, when I’m just feeling at home in my bones.  Over the years, having moved around quite a bit and having lived in different countries, I’ve found home to be a feeling more than an actual place.  If home were an instrument it would probably be a theremin because finding it is like finding a certain note in the air, you have to slide back and forth a bit.
Capricorn, this week, you may find yourself saying something similar to my grandfather’s saying, “home again, home again, jiggidy, jig!”  The funny thing is you may not even find yourself in a specific place, perhaps you are just surrounded by the right people or experiencing the right weather conditions or just feeling like yourself in the world.    
(Priestess of Discs/ Ave Maria- Leontyne Price)

AQUARIUS

The apartment where we lived in Brasilia, Brazil was provided by the American School where my parents worked, but belonged to the British Embassy.  It was very spacious and must have been quite luxurious in the late seventies when it was last updated.  The kitchen looked like one you would find in a church basement and had just as many cupboards.  In Iowa my dad made frequent trips to the grocery store, I think it was mostly an excuse to be alone, but in Brasilia the grocery store was across the street.  Sometimes, if I couldn’t find my him, I’d cross the street in my flip flops and look for him in the grocery aisles as if it were just an extension of our apartment.  The weather in Brasilia is pretty much always 75 degrees and sunny all year round so it was easy to forget if you were outside or inside and added to the feeling that the whole neighborhood was in the same room.  When friends or family from the U.S. came to visit they always fell in love, with each other, or the fruit trees and especially with Brazil.    
Aquarius, this week, where ever you are you may be feeling a sense of abundance, whether it is an abundance of cupboards in the kitchen or fruit in the trees.  Perhaps you are entertaining guests or just entertaining a feeling that your neighborhood is all hanging out in the same room.     
(III Empress R/ A Love Supreme- Alice Coltrane)

PISCES

Years ago, when I lived in Minneapolis, rent was so cheap that people would often try to find ways to make it cheaper.  I remember being at a party once and talking to someone who said they were renting out the stairs at a punk house.  “I don’t understand,” I said. “I mean how do you sleep on the stairs?  Is there a landing?”  They tried to explain it to me in words, but to really understand would have required drawing a diagram.  At the time, I had four roommates myself which felt like a lot.  I used to drive to St. Paul to be by myself.
Pisces, this week, you may find it necessary to get some time alone if only to hear yourself think.  Whether or not you are sharing your home or stairs with anyone there may be a lot of emotional changes you are trying to assimilate or understand.  Remember that your intuition is famously accurate, so when you finally do get some quiet you will likely have a much clearer picture of how to proceed.  
(7 of Wands Rev/ You’re Not Alone- Marion Black)

TAROTSCOPES for the week of 02/04/15

ARIES

The other night I ran into someone I’d met only once before.  The first time we met we were on the beach, the sun was shining and we were in our bathing suits.  She was holding a gurgling baby who did not seem at all displaced by the density of strangers or the wind and sand.  He was very curious about everything and stuffed a few pages of a culinary magazine in his mouth.  “Last time I saw you we were in bathing suits on the beach!” I exclaimed on our second meeting.  “That’s right,” she replied.  “Oh beach days!  They will come again…Soon!” I added.   
Aries, this week you may run into people you knew from warmer days or destinations and other signs of spring.  Signs of spring are also signs that your birthday is fast approaching.  By the time your birthday rolls around, I have a feeling that you will be feeling just as content as the baby I met on the beach.  You may even have the same impulse to stuff everything in your mouth and taste the sweetness of life.  
(XIX Sun L/ So Glad I’m Here- Bessie Jones)

TAURUS

It’s almost tax season again and this year I’m bracing myself for the strong possibility that my taxes will be excessively complicated.  What I also know, is that when it is all over, when I’ve walked through that fire, some time in April, I will have a better understanding of how to approach my taxes in the future.  On a similar note, I was recently dragging the garbages to the curb for collection and thinking to myself, “I hate this.  This is gross.  Also, I know for a fact that there are families of black widows tucked under the lip of these bins.”  Then I took a step back.  The sun was setting over the palm trees and across the street my favorite neighbors were having a barbecue and acoustic guitar jam session, which was actually the perfect accompaniment, both in smell and sound, to the setting sun.  The situation was only gross because of the thread of words I’d weaved through it, I was “taking out the garbage.”  But I was also outside in Los Angeles on a beautiful evening.  And I was taking care of something for myself and my neighbors, I was doing the thing we all hated to do.  It was a small fire to walk through, but when the last bin was in the street “taking out the garbage” felt good too.       
Taurus, whatever “fires” you are walking through this week, know that there is another perspective to step back into or a future feeling of satisfaction at having tackled a difficulty and not let it get the better of you.  
(9 of Wands/ Rock A Shacka- Hopeton Lewis)

GEMINI

The other day a friend was over and called from the bathroom, “You have such a beautiful collection of soaps!”, referring to the soap remnants that I have piled on my soap holder.  Originally, I shared by friend’s opinion, they are a lovely collection of earth tones.  But later, when I started to feel that my life was getting too disorganized and chaotic I found myself looking for things to streamline.  “Maybe I can melt the soaps into one bar…” I thought.  It didn’t take me long to realize this was an extreme waste of time and an elaborate distraction from the things that really needed my attention like my closet and taxes.   
Gemini, this week you might experience quite the opposite conflict.  It seems you are willing and eager to bravely confront the more pressing matters in your life, but you may also have far less patience for the little things.  Consider that the little things will come to a natural end given time.  Feel free instead to devote yourself to your more persistent concerns.   
(XIII Death R/ Me Siento Loco (Quiero Volar y No Puedo Gritar)- Los Yetis)

CANCER

The other day I went to the farmer’s market on my way to the grocery store.  I wasn’t thinking about the fact that I would have to leave all the produce I’d collected at the market in the car while I was in the grocery store.  But when I arrived at the store and all the shaded parking spots were taken, I had a moment of despair (that’s a slight exaggeration, but you get the idea).  Then I notice I had a white umbrella on the floor in the passenger side of the car.  I popped it open and it provided the perfect sunshade.  Both my mom and my aunt have a heavy dose of Aquarius in their astrology charts.  Aquarius is the sign of the inventor or innovator.  When I told my aunt this over the holidays, she said, “I don’t think of myself that way.”  “But what about creative problem solving?” I offered.  This is a phrase my mother uses frequently to describe moments like the umbrella-vegetable-sunshade invention I described above.  “Yeah, well I guess I do do that,” she conceded after a moment of reflection.      
Cancer, this week you may encounter a moment of despair.  Don’t make this feeling your home.  All the situation may be calling for is a creative solution.  Before I realized I had the umbrella in the car I was planning on rushing into the grocery store like I was on Supermarket Sweep, but a better solution presented itself.  Consider the difficulty at hand from multiple angles, what haven’t you tried?  
(5 of Cups/ Mon Amie La Rose- Francoise Hardy)

LEO

Lately, I’ve been feeling time moving faster than my feet.  In my attempts to catch up, I fell out of step with my own rhythm as well.  In order to synch back up with my natural pace I decided it would be a good idea to reconnect with my kid-self.  I re-watched the only video I have of myself as a kid, which is a commercial for a brand of peanuts I did in China when I was ten or eleven.  I had to search for myself in the video because not only am I acting, but the commercial is dubbed in Chinese.  The only thing that felt familiar was that I had clearly cut my own bangs.  Adults often comment that kids are so “in the moment.”  Asking a kid what they want to be when they grow up is a very adult question.  The reply does not necessarily come from the kid imagining themselves as an adult, or projecting themselves into the future, the answer, as I remember it, usually came from what I was feeling in that moment.  Because as adults we feel responsible for the future and for the creation of our future it is easy to get away from the present moment and from yourself in present tense.  This is the importance of re-connecting with your kid-self.  
Leo, this week, go cut your own bangs or do something else impulsive because your adult self demands it.  Leo is the sign of children and play.  If you are not giving yourself adequate time to play or you are not allowing yourself to approach your work or your life playfully, then you may have also fallen out of step with yourself.  Take this last week of Mercury Retrograde to remember yourself as you once were, are and will be, joyfully in the moment.  
(Shaman of Wands L/ Eyes- Clio)

VIRGO

Not long ago, when I was at dinner with a couple of my friends who are in the process of moving to Austrailia, I asked them about the flight.  “It’s the longest flight in the world,” my friend said.  “That sounds terrifying,” I said dramatically.  “Does it make you nervous to be up so high for so long?”  “No,” he replied, casually.  “I love it up there.  It’s a rare perspective to have on the world.”
Virgo, your sign is known for an attention to detail, you are used to seeing things up close.  This week, however, you may get quite a different perspective.  You may not be seeing your world from a plane, but the feeling is something similar.
(XX Judgement/ Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh- Ofra Haza)

LIBRA

Recently, I was introduced to a man who was in his late 80s.  He had long droopy earlobes, which my friend later told me is “the sign of a Buddha.”  He said, “We own nothing.  We are given stewardship of things, but when we die we don’t get to take any of it with us.” As I was thinking about your card for the week, Libra, and the things in life a person can and can’t control I had the realization that every object in my apartment I have control over.  I could throw my dishes on the floor or put all my clothes in the bathtub.  This realization was actually a sort of epiphany.  I was surprised by my own surprise.  I knew that the objects belonged to me, but I have a tendency treat everything in my apartment as if we were roommates, like my dishes are subletting the cupboard and my clothes rent out the closet.  It was helpful to observe my personification of things and also to note, that we are stewards of the things in our life, we are responsible for them and it is for this reason that I do not intentionally break my dishes or wad up my clothes in the bathtub.   
Libra, this week the balance you may be striking is a deeper understanding of what you can and can’t control.  This may also include noticing to which things you are a steward.  
(XV Devil Rev/ Wave of Mutilation- Kristin Hersh)

SCORPIO

The other night I was turning on my lamp when the words “There’s a trick to it,” popped into my head.  This is true of my lamp.  It was probably made in the 60s and the electrical mechanism is just as old.  You have to turn the switch two or three times before the lamp will stay on and even then you have to be careful not to bump the cord because it causes the light to flicker.  I’ve come to take these idiosyncrasies for granted, in fact I kind of like knowing its secret.  When something has “a trick to it” it just means it doesn’t work the way other things of a similar description work.  It has its own unique pathway to illumination or designated result.
Scorpio, consider that your path may also stray from the directions.  Your method of doing things might have “a trick to it.”  This week you could feel pressured to call a lamp a lamp, even when you know that it functions slightly differently.  The “trick” of how something operates, doesn’t have to mean that it doesn’t work properly, only that you are in the unique position of knowing its secret.  
(V Hierophant/ Girlie Girlie- Sophia George)

SAGITTARIUS

A few weeks ago I was showing my drippy bathroom faucet to the handy man our landlord typically works with to resolve any maintenance issues in the building.  “So that’s it?  No more leaks?” He laughed pointing to the ceiling on his way out where he’d repaired a leak above my bed a few weeks before.  I laughed too, but our laughter was cut short when our eyes fell on a rust colored stain emerging in a corner and occupying two walls and a portion of the ceiling.  “Oh, okay,” he said solemnly.  The previous leak stain I’d found an appreciation for because it was shaped like a goose or swan in flight.  I felt it was always gently urging me to action, pushing me to get out of bed and meet the next challenge.  The new leak stain I haven’t yet found an appreciation for and so I feel more persistent about making sure that it gets fixed, which I guess is what you are supposed to do when you discover water damage.   
Sagittarius, this year, more than one astrologer predicted you might be confronted with similar problems to the ones detailed above- literally leaky pipes and water damage.  The challenges presenting themselves this week may or may not have to do with water.  Whatever the difficulty, it seems you are more determined to find a solution.  This is perhaps in part because you’ve run out of any fantastical temporary fixes and your attention has likely, somewhat organically, turned to more viable long term remedies.  
(Ace of Swords/ Just My Imagination- The Temptations)

CAPRICORN

I was looking back at a journal entry I wrote from the airport in December.  I described seeing a younger woman pass me on the way to her gate wearing what was unmistakably a bright red terry cloth bathrobe.  “The holidaze,” I wrote, “like Halloween, seem to give people license to do unusual or atypical things.  I’m wearing a dress over jeans.”  The airport is the epitome of the Hanged One, the card I pulled for you this week, Capricorn.  Between getting to the airport and arriving at your final destination, there isn’t much to be done.  You simply have to hang out and wait to board your plane and once on the plane you have to wait to deplane.  Waiting is the same as breathing at the airport and there is a multitude of suggestions for passing the time.  Watching is my favorite airport pastime.
Capricorn, this week, just like the airport, you may feel that waiting and breathing are one in the same.  You may not know exactly what you are waiting for, but you also may be aware that there is nothing to be done.  Allow yourself to enjoy the freedom of this moment.  Wear a bathrobe in public or a dress over your pants, get comfortable.  Your plane might take off tomorrow, so let yourself enjoy the privileges of being somewhere between here and there, now.    
(XII Hanged One/ L.A. Woman- Imaad Wasif)

AQUARIUS

The other day I was exiting the farmer’s market when I literally almost ran into a little girl and her father.  The girl was wearing a green and white girl scout uniform and her dad was holding a clipboard.  “Do you want to buy some cookies?” The girl asked squinting up at me through the sun.  Her sash was falling off her shoulder and her hair was slightly messy.  I felt something shoot through me and I said, to my own surprise, “Have you got any of those Samoas?”  I walked away with a box in hand only later realizing that I couldn’t eat the cookies because of my wheat allergy.  “This is how they get you,” I thought to myself, “Nostalgia.”  For me the feelings of nostalgia were double-sided, I had been both a seller and consumer of the Girl Scout Cookies.  I ended up attaching my rent to the box and when I handed the package to my landlord she just stood there looking at me for a moment in surprise, “Those are for you too,” I explained.  She looked down at the box and the corner of her mouth sort of cracked which is more than she usually offers in terms of a smile and I wondered if she felt nostalgic about the cookies too.  
Aquarius, this week you may be more led by your emotions than you normally allow yourself to be.  Aquarius’ are known for looking at things from a distance, but this week that could prove difficult.  You might find yourself responding instinctually to situations.  Given time I think you will find that this is a good thing, even if it causes you to buy cookies you can’t eat.
(6 of Cups/ Saints- The Breeders)

PISCES

A few weeks ago I had a burst of energy.  I accomplished more in one week than perhaps at any other time in my entire life.  Despite the feeling of achievement and my expanding horizons, I found myself slightly disappointed that there weren’t more gaps between activities in which to contemplate the events of the day.  Usually my bed is a good time and place for contemplation, but I was doing so much during the day that by the time my head hit the pillow I was already out for the count.  Towards the end of the second week I started to feel robotic.  I was reminded of a ride I went on in Disney World as kid where you sat in a boat that sailed through a fake cave and mechanical pirates would pop out at you from behind rocks.  Except, in this case, I felt more like the pirates were real and I was running on a mechanism.
Pisces, four planets are still crowded in your sign which could contribute to an impulse to over do or over commit yourself to things.  You will succeed at what you are trying to accomplish even if you allow more holes to occupy your schedule.  Take time for yourself so you can see where you are going and enjoy the ride.  
(VII Chariot R/ Congratulations (to me)- The Trashmen)

TAROTSCOPES for the week of 01/28/15

ARIES

“SERPICO”
I’ve never seen this movie in its entirety, but the last shot is quite beautiful.  Al Pacino sits on a curb behind a giant old english sheepdog in a brown hat against a black background.  A slouchy leather bag rests next to him on the curb.  The camera slowly zooms out and the following words roll over the screen: “Frank Serpico resigned from the Police Department on June 15, 1972.  He was awarded the medal of honor for “conspicuous bravery in action.”  Serpico is now living somewhere in Switzerland.”  The camera reveals, as it zooms out, that the black background Pacino is crouched against is a large ship.  
Like I said I haven’t seen this movie start to finish, only finish, but in just the last 30 seconds I was struck by what a crappy deal Serpico got.  He was awarded a medal for his “bravery” but he had to leave the country and go into hiding.  I was reminded that doing something brave doesn’t always come with a reward or fair compensation.
Aries, this week you may feel that the reward for your bravery or humility is less than appealing.  Know that this is not the end of the story.  Even in Serpico’s case, it was really just the beginning of a new story (one set in the Alps).  Consider that this moment may also be a beginning and that it opens with an act of bravery or humility on your part.  
(VIII Justice Rev/ Happy Landing- The Miracles)

TAURUS

“ESCAPE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN”
I haven’t seen this movie since I was probably seven years old, but I’ve always loved the title.  Whatever and wherever “Witch Mountain” is, it is somewhere I want to go.  The last few seconds are quite beautiful too.  An older man with bushy eyebrows is holding a black cat.  He looks in awe out across a valley hung with a purple mist.  We see that his astonishment is in response to a silver flying saucer which hovers over the field and then disappears into the purple mist.  The cat meows and the old man tells the cat cradled in his arms,  “Well they’re home now.”
Taurus, this week you may also want to retreat into a purple mist or escape to Witch Mountain.  Perhaps you’ve been feeling out of synch or off step with yourself.  Now is a good time to reconnect those wires and get back in your own self-directed space ship.  
(9 of Discs R/ Can You Hear the Witches Laugh?- the Vyllies)

GEMINI

“CLEOPATRA”
I haven’t seen Cleopatra all the way through, but the set and costumes have always been an inspiration.  The last scene is no exception.  Cleopatra is laid out on a beautiful stone bed, which looks like melted marble.  She is wrapped in gold sequined wings, and looks like a faded moth that flew too close to the light.   A sharp, stern man stands a few paces away from where she lies, watching as another woman clings to the side of the marble bed.  A narrator says,  “And the Roman asked, “Was this well done of your lady?” And the servant answered, “Extremely well, as befitting the last of so many noble rulers.””
I apologize, I don’t know what is actually happening in this scene as I’m unfamiliar with the story, but according to “the Servant” Cleopatra’s life came to a “noble” end.  Your life is not coming into any sort of conclusion this week, Gemini, but now may be a good opportunity to imagine a noble end to the difficulties currently facing you.  Consider which part you may be playing in this scene.  Are you Cleopatra, present only in body, but not spirit?  Or are you the Roman who arrogantly snorts, “Was this well done of your lady?”  Or are you the Servant who says bravely and defiantly, “Extremely well.”     
(Son of Swords R/ Comment Te Dire Adieu- June Miles Kingston and Jimmy Somerville)

CANCER

“FLAME IN THE STREETS”
Again, I haven’t yet seen this film completely, but I know that it was made in 1961 and focuses on racial and economic tensions in London during that time.  In the last few seconds of the film we see an older couple, a white man and white woman descending a staircase.  The woman pauses at the landing as if too weary to go on.  The man puts a hand on her shoulder and they continue down the stairs and enter a doorway to a living room.  Another younger couple is there, a black man and white woman.  They are a few paces apart, but as the older couple enters the room the younger white woman quickly crosses the room to stand next to the younger black man.  The camera zooms out and we see the couples staring at each other in silence across the room.  The words “The End” appear between them.  What I was struck by in this final scene of “Flame in the Streets” was the distance between the two couples, large enough to fill with a wide font, “The End.”  They acknowledge each other and the distance.  They’ve taken steps forward, but there is still a whole room to cross.  
Cancer, this week, you may feel you don’t have the energy to confront the changes taking place in your life.  Some of these changes may be happening outside yourself, but you are being asked to confront the way they effect you internally as well.  It seems you may not have the luxury of dragging your feet in the near future.  Consider what you can do to synchronize with the shifts.    
(Shaman of Cups Rev/ Bring It On Home To Me- Millie Small)

LEO

“AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER”
“Anything can happen don’t you think?”
“Yes darling, yes, yes, yes, yes.”
Cary Grant wipes tears from Deborah Kerr’s face with a white handkerchief.  Then takes her head passionately in his hands and it looks like they will kiss, but it slides into an embrace instead.
A chorus sings “Our love affair to remember” over a shot of a snowy Central Park as “The End” appears between the trees.  This movie is considered by many (and the American Film Institute) to be one of the most romantic movies of all time.  
This may be something that you would secretly (or not so secretly) like said about you, Leo, that you were the most romantic of all time, or the most creative of all time, or the most passionate of all time.  These are, in fact, all considered Leo characteristics.  While the American Film Institute might not have anything to say about it, you could start to see, this week, the possibility of the achievement of something you’ve dreamed about.  Prior to this moment you may have felt a sense of limitation, but this week that hold lessens.  You might now be more likely answer the same question Deborah Kerr poses to Cary Grant with at least a “yes,” if not a “yes darling, yes, yes, yes, yes.”      
(9 of Cups L/ Paper Ships- Dead Man’s Bones)

VIRGO

“RODAN”
Over a spewing volcano, a narrator says, “And when at last they spring upon us, can we be certain we shall beat them back a second time?  The answer lies in the Future.  Our fears for now, have gone up in flame and smoke.”  The volcano continues to explode under the words, “The End.”  
This film is part of the Godzilla series.  I haven’t actually seen any of them, but it seems, based on the titles, that creature after giant creature threatens to destroy human communities.  By the end of each installment the humans remain victorious.  As the narrator says, their fears go up “in flame and smoke.”      
Virgo, whatever difficulties potentially lie ahead, are likely as difficult to anticipate as an attack by a winged-monster.  Your fears have, in many ways, “gone up in flame and smoke,” probably because you’ve already beaten back at least one monster, releasing you to your own unencumbered visions of the future.         
(XVII Star/ This Time Tomorrow- The Kinks)

LIBRA

“THE FLY”
This is not “The Fly” that terrified me as a kid, the one with Jeff Goldblum, but it is apparently based on the same short story.  In the final scene, an older man with a grey mustache is sitting in a garden telling a small boy, “The search for the truth is the most important work in the whole world,” he pauses and says, “And the most dangerous.”  The boy replies shrilly, “I’d like that.  I’d like to be an explorer like him.  Will you help me uncle Francois?”  “Yes, Phillipe,” Francois laughs.  Phillipe runs off camera and we see a woman sitting next to Francois.  She says, “You’re a dear one, Francois, so kind and so thoughtful.  Thank you.”  Phillipe reappears, “Here I am!”  The woman gathers them saying, “Well come along you two.  I’ll see you off.”  The three exit the garden as the words “The End” over their backs.  
I’m not exactly sure what came before this scene, but more significant to your week, Libra, is this exchange between Francois and Phillipe.  You may be more open to the truth and what lies ahead.  Perhaps you are approaching the truth as an explorer.  This would be a good tactic, as you may be less afraid of what you might find when you consider it a sort of adventure.     
(4 of Cups L/ Dare Me- The Pointer Sisters (This video!)

SCORPIO

“JULIA”
Over a silhouette of someone sitting in small boat, not far from a dock, in low light or perhaps cloudy conditions, a narrator says, “And I’ve gone on for many years since.  Sometimes fine, not always.  But he was right.  I am stubborn.  I haven’t forgotten either of them.”  
This is one of those endings that seems to blur into a beginning.  The boat hasn’t left the dock or maybe it has just returned and it isn’t clear if it is dusk or dawn.  I haven’t seen this film and I’m not entirely sure what it is about, but there is something strong and persistent about the narrators voice (its Jane Fonda, after all) and her words are honest and promising.  They make a promise never to forget, not to fade away even as the scene does.  
Scorpio, this week you may feel a similar sense of determination, of resoluteness.  Perhaps you can point to a specific victory, a tangible reward, maybe not, but the feeling is the same.  And like most victories this one also seems to slide between an end and a beginning.  
(VII Chariot/ Run, Run, Run- Ann Peebles)

SAGITTARIUS

“THE MAN FROM BEYOND”
This silent film stars Harry Houdini, the famous illusionist, stunt and escape artist.  In the last scene we see a couple caught in an embrace in a garden, both of their hands are clasped as if they were praying together.  Their mouths move rapidly over the plunk of some tinny piano keys.  The film departs to the words which are meant to be the woman’s, “Yes—even as you speak, it is as if a small voice were whispering, it is true, you must believe.”  
Sagittarius, you may feel that the situation you are caught in this week, is rather dramatic.  Perhaps you are entrenched in a fight or a deadlock that seems to have no apparent resolution.  Consider that perhaps there is another voice to listen to, one which whispers and says, “it is true, you must believe.”  
(3 of Swords/ This World Today is A Mess- Donna Hightower)

CAPRICORN

“THE CONVERSATION”
Having never seen this movie, watching the last few seconds of it was rather comical, even though I don’t think it was intended as such.  Gene Hackman sits in a corner of an apartment that has been torn apart, playing the saxophone.  The camera pans back and forth over the wreckage as if surveying the damage.  For some reason it reminded me of a scene from the Simpsons and I half expected to see Lisa Simpson playing the saxophone in the corner, instead of Gene Hackman.  In any case, this scene, combined with the title, gave me next to no information about what happened in between the opening titles and closing credits.  But I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and not knowing and I’m not sure I want to see the movie and have it spoil the strangeness of this scene by providing an explanation.  
Capricorn, this week you may be tempted to stare down the future, or tackle the hidden meaning in something esoteric.  Consider simply allowing humor to hold the situation for now.  Sense will likely be made of your situation in the not too distant future, but not knowing can be quite fun as well.  
(XVIII Moon R/ Rama Lama Ding Dong- The Edsels)

AQUARIUS

“BORN FREE”
A narrator says over a shot of a lion and her cubs, “We saw her many times again, born free and living free.   But to us she was always the same, our friend, Elsa.”  A few seconds later Andy Williams cuts in with the song, “Born Free” and the camera jumps back and forth between shots of a lion and her cubs and a male lion with a regale beard.  Eventually the camera zooms out and we see that all the lions are sitting on the same rock, lapping up the sun.  
This week, Aquarius, perhaps it is your birthday or just was, or soon will be.  You are likely feeling a bit like these lions, loving life and your freedom.  As the sign ruled by the planet Uranus, your friends may know you to have an unconventional approach to life or to be quite spontaneous.  Your consistency may be in your consistent ability to surprise those around you with new ideas.
(Ace of Cups/ Born Free- Andy Williams)

PISCES

“GODZILLA VS MOTHRA”
This ending was quite a surprise, especially since I didn’t see anything that came before the last 30 seconds.  A few adults call up to a boat of children that are disembarking, “Hello, children!  Are you alright? Hello?”  The kids wave in reply and the camera moves to a shot of a shoreline and then quickly pans up to a cliffs edge.  A few men and one woman scramble up the peak and look out over the ocean smiling and waving as the camera moves to reveal what look like two giant larvae swimming out to sea.  The only thing I grasped was that some how these humans and this creature had collaborated in some way, perhaps (given the title) to defeat Godzilla.
Pisces, this week it seems you are excited to collaborate.  If not with people, than with elements, or maybe even giant sea larvae.  There will likely be a certain amount of ease to this collaboration even when you consider the potential communication barriers which may exist between human and Mothra.    
(3 of Discs/ Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man- Loretta Lynn)

TAROTSCOPES for the week of 01/22/15

ARIES

“It is really exciting when this happens b/c it means I am connecting to my intuitive roots.  With the roots all animals have to the earth b/c we are all connected and it just means that there is a language available to us if we relax and don’t even listen b/c listening is an action.  You just let the information come in like the tide it will come in all by itself and you don’t have to pull it in or push the water in any direction.”  
Aries, this week, you may be compelled to speak or to express yourself in some way which, like a breath or the tide, feels quite natural.  Let it out, say or express what it is you feel compelled to say or express, because it is likely part of the “language” available to us all but not always accessible to all of us simultaneously.  
(Shaman of Swords/ Wordy Rappinghood- Tom Tom Club )

TAURUS

“Ugh, pipe smoke.  Take your own word to heart.  The birds are making music, a jam session.  There is a burger food truck over there.  I said I wouldn’t eat it but now my stomach is growling.  I know who is smoking the pipe, it is the guy in the DWP vest.  Which I actually kind of like.  It seems cool to smoke a pipe while you are fixing a water leak in the pipes.”  
Okay, whoa, this one is obviously from the “ex-stream of consciousness.”  But somewhere in this garble is something you may experience this week, Taurus.  It may start by acknowledging all the things and people and smells in your environment and then acknowledging how you feel about all of those things.  “Take your own word to heart.”  From there you can decide if you need to move away from a bad smell, or satiate your appetite.    
(6 of Swords L/ Ping Pong Affair- The Slits )

GEMINI

“I feel so frazzled this morning.  I can feel the wheel of Saturn, cranking me up a slow turn of the wheel like a bingo caller with one of those baskets of wooden letters.  I can’t seem to stop thinking of everything I need to do.  Everything I should be doing.  I am sipping tea.”
Gemini, this would be a good time to ground yourself in the material world.  With Mercury retrograde in a fellow air sign, you may feel somewhat scattered this week.  I’m not sure what I meant in the above passage about “Saturn cranking me up,” I can only assume I was talking about my impending Saturn Return.  Wherever you are in your Saturn cycle, the planet is currently in Sagittarius, your opposing sign, further emphasizing the need to slow down and examine the direction your life is taking or the direction in which you are taking your life.  Despite your long list, sipping tea might be the most important thing you do all week.    
(III Empress L/ Mama Told Me Not To Come- Odetta)

CANCER

“I was just breezing through my Thoth book again.  My favorite are the Fool and the Tower.  The Fool says, “The True Self is the meaning of the True Will: know Thyself through Thy Way.  Calculate well the Formula of Thy Way.  Create freely; absorb joyously; divide intently; consolidate completely.  Work thou, Omnipotent; Omniscient, Omnipresent, in and for Eternity.”  Then the Tower says, “Break down the fortress of thine Individual Self, that thy Truth may spring from the ruins.”  Okay that is all I will copy here.  I have so much energy for new things.  I’m excited about life.  Hopefully that is not just the cappuccino talking.”  
Okay, so this isn’t very stream of consciousness, but I thought it was surprisingly relevant as it was the Fool I pulled for you this week, Cancer.  You might be tempted to write off your impulsive urges as “just the cappuccino talking,” but these urges, in fact, come from a much deeper place, from “Thy True Self.”    
(O Fool Rev/ Nine Hundred Miles- Barbara Dane)

LEO

“The second dream was that my cousin and I and all our parents were going to an island near Baja to go snorkeling.  I was frantically scrounging around trying to find snorkeling equipment before the helicopter came.  I couldn’t find anything except one flipper and a mask.  The mask had what looked like pubic hair inside the nose area.  I couldn’t wait to get to the ocean to rinse it out.  The island was really small and the water was vast.  I felt nervous about being dropped on the island.”
Leo, this week, an activity which is supposed to be fun or relaxing might have you feeling anxious instead.  You may be tempted to point to a pubic hair in your snorkel mask as the culprit, but the real shift is likely something less apparent.  Perhaps you feel unprepared for the changes taking place in your life.  Consider that you don’t actually need any equipment at all to enjoy yourself in the ocean.
(3 of Wands L/ Hello Stranger- Julia Holter )

VIRGO

“I feel like shaky bones.  I need to exercise more.  I need to go to yoga and dance and do all sorts of things to improve my well-being.  I need to look at the list of needs and decide which needs aren’t being met.  Also if I’m bored I need to figure out another activity that doesn’t involve giving creepy people your phone number.  I need to get off my sprint plan and switch to verizon. I feel so crazy about the future.  What is it?  What do I need to do now to prepare for the future?”
I don’t remember writing any of this so it is particularly funny for me to re-read it now.  Virgo, I highly recommend you make a similar list of needs, not as a way to point out the things you are neglecting (as I did here), but to show yourself how many of your needs are actually being met right now.  This might help relieve any anxieties you have about the future.
(XIV Temperance/ Penelope- Lizzy Mercier Descloux)

LIBRA

“Yesterday I killed a pigeon.  I ran over her with my car.  Maybe it was a him.  They* were very big.  I buried them by Dodger Stadium, pigeon heaven.  I think they will rest in peace there.  I got a little plant to plant on top and (Name) put a passion flower on the grave.  It was very peaceful.  I feel so guilty about it still.”  
Libra, if you reduce the story detailed above to symbols you may see how it relates to your week this week.  You may be struggling with a difficult situation, trying to make it right, but even after all is “said and done” after the “pigeon” is buried, the feelings surrounding the situation will likely remain.  For feelings there may be no grave, but time and acknowledgment can help to dilute them.  
*Plural form used here as gender neutral pronoun
(5 of Wands/ Dance to the Beat of Moody- ESG)

SCORPIO

“I think I am still tired.  There is something to be said about writing before you are awake enough to think, but it does make for a lot of misspelled words and words with mistaken identities.  I never wanted to be boxed in anywhere.”
One thing about free writing is that it allows you to see the way your mind jumps from one idea to the next and also allows you to see the flexibility of the mind before you give it a chance to set.  Even pausing with your pen can give you time to decide you are not using a word correctly, but sometimes using the wrong word, shows you its versatility.  
Scorpio, this week you may be judging yourself harshly, worrying you are doing the “wrong” thing, or using the wrong word.  Don’t box yourself in anywhere.  Trust what you feel compelled by and drawn to, even if it comes in a stream of consciousness, before your mind has a chance to set.  
(XX Judgement Rev/ Nice- Kleenex)

SAGITTARIUS

“Once I stole a rubber grape from a bad restaurant in Wisconsin.  All the adults had ordered the fish, thinking it was fresh, thinking it was from the Great Lakes.  But while my cousins and I were poking around in the parking lot we discovered a dumpster full of empty boxes of frozen fish, the kind you get at a supermarket anywhere in the entire country.  I was in a bad mood because I was sick of eating fried food.”
Sagittarius, seeker of truth, this story and passage seemed appropriate for your sign as well as in synch with the astrological indications for the week.  You may once again find yourself at a crossroads where what you want and desire differs from the collective, from what you are “supposed” to want.  As a kid it made perfect sense to get mad and then get even for having to eat fried fish by stealing a rubber grape or announcing to all the adults that their fish wasn’t fresh, but this may not be the best tactic for you anymore, Sagittarius.  There are options open to you now that may not have been available to you as kid.  Try standing at the crossroads and turning yourself in circles until you find where the sun is shining.
(V Hierophant L/ No Stranger Am I- Norma Tanega)

CAPRICORN

“I’m working for (Name) at 9:30 am which isn’t that early, but I could have used a few more winks.  I’m not sure if I’m using these pages correctly.  I feel like I’m using them as a diary and I think maybe they are supposed to be more of an exercise in writing.  Yawn!  So sleepy still.  So are the cats.  Leaves of grass. Blades of trees.  Our lives are here for waking up and I am trying, I am trying my best.”
Capricorn, though famed for being extremely hard on yourself, it seems that this week you have found a place of peace in your struggle up whichever mountain you’ve set out to climb.  You might find yourself saying things like, “Well, it is what it is.”  There is perhaps an acknowledgment, or a surrender to the understanding that you are doing your best.  
(XII Hanged One/ I Didn’t Know What Time It Was- The Crampton Sisters)

AQUARIUS

“It is that time of day when all the kids are getting out of school.  I remember it like a smell.  It was a time of day when I was on my own almost all alone except for the other kids walking home from school or the crossing guards.”  
Aquarius, it may not only be that time of day, but that sort of week for you too.  You may encounter the same sense of freedom, that kids often feel when the final bell rings after school.  With Mercury Retrograde in your sign, you might experience the effects more acutely than other signs, but not as much in the way of hang ups and delays, as perhaps just a feeling of freedom from restrictive schedules or plans.  
(Daughter of Wands/ Soda- Azealia Banks)

PISCES

“The vine keeps growing and I wonder if my mind is expanding at the same rate or if my brain is running on a loop and there is a part of the loop that feels fresh, but it is still my comfort zone.”
Pisces, I could actually use this weeks entire theme as an example of what you might experience this week.  Sharing writing that I normally don’t even re-read myself definitely had me stepping outside my “comfort zone,”  which is where you may find yourself this week.  As a very intuitive and sensitive water sign, you may feel that most situations require a certain amount of vulnerability from you.  But it is possible that those situations are still part of your comfort zone.  You will likely feel the difference this week in some form or another, but know that this is also an indication that you are expanding and exploring new territory, which is also how bravery is often defined.  
(Son of Swords Rev/ Show Me Love- Robin S)

TAROTSCOPES for the week of 01/15/15

ARIES

WAITING FOR THE CHURCH SERVICE TO START
My family was not consistent church goers, but we must have gone often enough because I can still remember, quite vividly, the feel of the church pew beneath my fingers.  It was a heavy dark wood made smooth by all the times the minister had asked the congregation to rise or be seated.  It was in those few minutes, feeling the weight of the wood under my hand and waiting for the service to start, that I had to decide if I was going to go with the rest of the kids to Sunday school or stay with the adults and listen to the sermon.  The adults would encourage me to go with my peers, “Its boring to sit here with the grown ups” they’d say, or “You are going to have to sit here for a whole hour.  Wouldn’t you rather go to Sunday school?”  Most of the time the answer was no.  I preferred to listen to the sermon.
Aries, this week, despite a stampede of people, perhaps of your peers, moving in one direction, you will likely feel compelled to go your own way.  This decision is significant.  Uranus, the innovator, inventor, eccentric, has been hovering within a few degrees of an exact square with Pluto, encouraging and supporting you going against the grain.  For this reason and many more, whatever you find going your own way will likely be important to more than just yourself.  
(V Hierophant Rev/ I Shall Not Be Moved- Mississippi John Hurt )

TAURUS

THE RIDE TO SCHOOL
From second grade through sixth grade I lived in the same house and went to the same school.  Whether it was my mom or my dad driving me I remember one part of the drive distinctly.  It was the part that skirted a field.  Most of the route snaked through residential areas so this field was the only visual vacancy.  It became a metaphor for my day ahead.  It was the same field where the university’s marching band practiced in the afternoon and early evening in the warmer months.  Their rehearsal was the soundtrack to my golden hour after school and before dinner when I would cocoon myself in a hammock on our back porch.  But on the way to school the field was a ghost town, haunted by the activity that I knew would later take place there.  “So did you have a good day?” My mom would ask me on the ride home as we passed the marching band.  Would it be a good day?  It hadn’t happened yet, but the question still hung in the air over the field every morning.
Taurus, what is ahead hasn’t happened yet, but your senses may still be tuned to the future this week.  It may not be the same time, place or even routine, but what does your golden hour feel like?  The warmth of this feeling may be your best navigational tool.   
(Daughter of Discs/ Give Us Our Land- Harry Belafonte & Miriam Makeba)

GEMINI

THE MINUTES BEFORE SOLVING A MATH PROBLEM
In high school I was the worst student in an advanced math class.  My teacher urged me to switch to the regular class, but I refused because more important to me than comprehending the material at the same pace as everyone else was the class itself, the people which populated it.  This is a feeling you may relate to, Gemini.  It is likely the people you populate your life with that matter most.  In high school algebra most of the work was done alone.  You might later compare results with a “neighbor,” but the work itself was a quiet meditative process.  The teacher would usually ask whoever finished first to put their work and answer on the chalkboard.  Which meant if I waited long enough the problem would be solved and I wouldn’t have to humiliate myself by defending a wrong answer to the class.  Instead of rushing to finish first, I would eat time by reading and re-reading the question, focusing mostly on the words and the way they sounded: parabola, polynomial, quadratic equation, integer.  Even math class was ultimately a study of my favorite things, people and words.
Gemini, this week you may come to some deeper understanding of the things you love and want to understand in greater depth.  Your passion may actually become more glaringly apparent when you are doing something which seems to be the opposite of those things.  
(IX Crone/ Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around- Jurnee Smollett )

CANCER

THE MOMENTS BEFORE A HOT BATH FEELS GOOD
It is difficult to isolate the few seconds after you put yourself in hot water and before the bath begins to work its magic.  Even as you are experiencing the discomfort in that moment, your mind is typically preoccupied with either side of the experience.  Either the moments prior, when your body was naked and cold, anxiously anticipating warmth or the moments after, when all your muscles finally relax.  If your only memory of a bath consisted of those isolated few seconds of discomfort, you would probably never take one.
Cancer this week you may be caught in the passage way between anticipation and relaxation.  You may feel that you are past the naked discomfort, but that you have not yet reached the point where your muscles melt.  It may be helpful to remember that this short passage way is a very important piece of the whole bath experience and is actually almost impossible to isolate from the joy and anticipation on either side of it.    
(10 of Wands R/ We Shall Over Come- Mahalia Jackson )

LEO

WHEN YOU CAN SEE YOUR LIFE GOING SOMEWHERE
I’ve refrained from quoting “My So Called Life” in Tarotscopes for a while now, but this week, for you Leo, I make an exception.  I won’t preface this with an explanation because the quote stands alone, “What’s amazing is when you can feel your life going somewhere, like your life just figured out how to get good.”  Seeing your life going somewhere good, it would seem, is different than actually having arrived there, but, in fact, the two are not as far apart in either time or space as words would suggest.  Which brings more joy a wrapped present waiting to be opened or what is inside?   
Leo, Jupiter, “the Cosmic Santa Claus,” giver of gifts and luck, continues to travel through your sign for the next six months.  However the planet is retrograde until April and while it is retrograde it may be that much of the joy you experience is due to the window it provides, you can see your life getting good, which, as I said, is not all that different from actually having arrived.       
(X Wheel of Fortune R/ People Get Ready- Al Green)

VIRGO

WAITING FOR A PARTY TO START
No one who knows me would describe me as a party animal.  I’m not asocial, quite the contrary.  I like a good conversation which is why my favorite part of a party is usually the hour before it starts.  You can still hear the music and the person talking in front of you, but there is also the excitement of what is to come, which in my opinion is usually better than what actually comes.  I like watching a party build.  By the time it has reached its peak I’m usually ready to hit the taco truck.  This might make me sound like a Scrooge, but I know what I like.  In the movie version of “Harriet the Spy” Harriet’s mother asks her if she doesn’t want to take something else in her lunch besides tomato sandwiches.  Harriet replies, “I can’t help it if I know what I like and I know that I like tomato.”
Virgo, this week you may feel pressured to modify your tastes to suit someone else’s vision.  Ultimately, you know what you like, whether your opinion is validated or not.  Be true to yourself.  
(3 of Cups Rev/ Oh Freedom- Shirley Verrett)

LIBRA

WAITING FOR AN EMAIL TO SEND
When I send an email on my computer a blue dot appears next to my outbox and then there is a whooshing noise, which, I assume, is supposed to be the sound a paper airplane makes since the icon next to my sent box is an image of one.  Whenever I send an email I sit there staring at the screen until I hear the whooshing sound.  I actually didn’t realize I did this until I started writing this Tarotscope.  Of course normally this takes less than half a second, but if I’m sending a mass email it may take several more.  When this happens the blue dot next to the outbox turns into a little swirling pinwheel (this is different then the spinning beach ball you know and love) to let you know that something is happening, that your message is being delivered.  
Libra this week expect to hear the satisfying whoosh or perhaps a symphony of satisfying whooshes, signaling that your message or messages have been delivered.   
(8 of Wands/ Lift Every Voice and Sing- Ray Charles)

SCORPIO

THE LANGUAGE OF LEAVING FROM A DOGS PERSPECTIVE
Sometimes I watch my dog watching me and realize I have created a certain set of patterned movements, a language of actions for her to follow.  Not all of these movements are obvious indications of where I’m headed or what I will do and yet she has me figured out.  I can tell because I have also observed in her a certain set of actions that come in response to my movements.  
Scorpio, you are frequently privy to conversations of this sort because yours is a highly intuitive sign.  You understand unspoken languages better than most.  So when you miss something it is likely not because you didn’t notice the action, but because you brushed it off or set it aside.  This week you may be tempted to ignore certain key pieces of nonverbal information.  This could be because what it reveals is a truth to which there may be no easy or verbal answer.        
(II High Priestess Rev/ Alabama- John Coltrane)

SAGITTARIUS

WAITING FOR THE WALK LIGHT
There is a busy street corner in Los Angeles (actually I’m sure there is more than one) where waiting for the walk light feels like an eternity, mostly because it is so exposed.  I won’t tell you which one so as to protect those people who may be vulnerably standing on that corner the next time you pass by after having read this.  When I was younger I had a sort of super power, I could liberate myself with a thought.  All I had to do was think the right thought and I was no longer prisoner to the concept or idea I had previously been entrapped by.  I can’t remember who, but someone once told me, in a sort of offhanded but reassuring way, following some sort of embarrassing incident, that most people don’t notice other people because they are too preoccupied with themselves.  This was the thought that liberated me, the idea that no one was paying attention.  Standing on that street corner however it is difficult to feel quite so free.  Picking your nose or a wedgie, for example, doesn’t often happen on this corner.
Sagittarius, I don’t mean to make you feel vulnerable or exposed, but people do notice you and they probably always will.  You are a fire sign and it is human nature to be hypnotized by a flame.  Instead of assuming nothing you do matters consider the following:  Knowing that people are watching, what do you want to do?  Knowing that people are listening, what do you want to say?    
(8 of Discs Rev/ I’ll Take You There- The Staple Singers)

CAPRICORN

WAITING FOR LIFE TO START
Thankfully a person can’t actually be “waiting for their life to start.”  You are alive and your life has already begun if you are reading this. (If you are reading this and you are not alive, then please send me an email, I’d love to hear from you.)  While you may not technically be waiting for life to start, the feeling that you are waiting for something to change or happen, or move is real.  For a Capricorn, seeing evidence of life progressing towards your goals can be extremely important.  But part of the difficulty in having a goal is that it can distract you from seeing the small and subtle changes right in front of you.  On a bad day you may only see how the things in front of you fall short of your goal.  This is where Capricorns get a reputation for being hard on themselves.  
Capricorn, you are worthy of your goal, whatever it is, but now may be the time to listen to what you really feel called to do.  Perhaps the goal you’ve been aiming for isn’t really worthy of you or doesn’t support all you are truly capable of.   
(XX Judgement Rev/ A Change Is Gonna Come- Otis Redding)

AQUARIUS

WAITING FOR AN IDEA
There are all sorts of tips creative people give about how to find “the flow” or get in “the zone.”  In my experience the route to this magical, sometimes seemingly mythical place is never the same.  It might be more about catching the right weather conditions, or creating the right weather conditions if they don’t present themselves in the time a lotted.
Aquarius, this week you seem to have found “the zone” or “the flow.”  You have cosmic support with Venus as well as Mercury still moving (slowly) forward through your sign.  Next week on the 21st Mercury goes retrograde and though your ideas may not be thwarted but your actions might.  Take advantage of the flow you feel this week.  
(Son of Discs/ Freedom Highway- The Staple Singers)

PISCES

WAITING FOR THE SHIP TO COME IN
A long time ago at a family reunion, my grandfather’s cousin’s wife or some other distant senior relation asked if I had boyfriend.  “Here we go,” I thought, already exhausted by the idea of having to come out to everyone at the reunion.  Instead I just said,  “No I don’t have a BOYfriend.”  She winked at me, “Don’t worry, some day your ship will come in!”  I had never heard this expression before and I remember being sent into a spiral thinking about the ship.  What would my ship even look like?  What would I want a ship to bring me?  Later I heard the proverb, “Don’t wait for your ship to come in, swim out to it.”  Of course the thing about swimming out to your ship is that it still has to come close enough to shore for you to reach it without drowning.
Pisces, this week your ship is close to shore, but you may have to do some swimming.  It may look slightly farther away than you can swim, but you are a Pisces.  You are the sign which represents the ocean and so in some ways you are the ocean itself.  
(I Magician L/ Eye On The Prize- Sweet Honey In The Rock)