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)