Horoscopes

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2020 Solar Conjunction with Mercury

The sun and the messenger planet merge in Scorpio to set the stage for the week’s spooky happenings. We’re headed toward a Halloween night governed by a moon that is not only full but also rare. Even if you are not planning to dress up, it’s the perfect time to set an intention for this auspicious omen. So... who do you want to be?

ARIES (March 21-April 19). You’re so qualified to contribute to the group, if not to lead it, and yet you tend to be quietly respectful, listening to all. If you hold back too much, then you’ll be depriving the group of one of its finest contributors.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). A fierce urge to procrastinate will set in, but productivity can still win out if you’re ruthless enough. Do the dreaded thing first. Don’t give yourself choices or time to think about it. Just do it.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Who gives your life meaning? You do. Some events just happen and some you create deliberately. Either way, the one who decides what they mean is always you.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). “One size fits all,” says the tag. Even so, sometimes one size fits none. In today’s case, a healthy dose of skepticism will keep you from believing generic advice which is wrong -for not just for you but for everyone.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). A situation has drifted into the realm of dysfunction and delusion, but it’s not too late to steer it back to the land of usefulness and facts. Start by sharing your honest observations about what’s going on right now.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Though you’re standing side by side with someone, you both took very different paths to get to that place. Learning another person’s path will be a highlight of your day.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You find deep gratification in paying it forward and will especially enjoy seeing your efforts have done a true service to others while knowing there will also be benefits you will never see.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Everything and anything worth having take time, effort and training. Your superstar move today will be to let admired ones know that you appreciate the amount of work that went into what they built.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). The product is important but so is the presentation. If you don’t show it to the world in a way that lets it be seen in the right light, then you’re not making good on your work investment.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Though you often know what you want, today you’ll be surprised to learn that you have aims you’ve kept a secret from yourself. You had your reasons, but now things have changed.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You have a tight, focused lens on your work and will see the details that matter and the flaws, too. Healthy criticism keeps you turning out a good product, but don’t cross the line into meanness. Be nice to yourself.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). The spotlight is also a target. The price of being in the center of attention is courage. Because no matter who you are, you’ll be vulnerable to a lot of different kinds of attention. It’s worth it if your purpose is strong enough.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Oct. 25). You know what you want, and this is no small statement. The clarity and confidence you bring to endeavors has everything to do with your being certain of your heart’s desire. The seas will part to herald your crossing. Relationships will fall into alignment as you create momentum toward your aim. You are unstoppable. Taurus and Capricorn adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 8, 31, 5, 41 and 17.

FORECAST FOR THE WEEK AHEAD: It last happened in 1944 -- the year of Mahatma Gandhi’s release from prison for protesting the British colonial government in India; the year of Icelandic Independence; the year of the D-Day invasion in Normandy, which was the largest seaborne invasion in history -- the year that a blue moon rose over Halloween night.

And here we are again, an unusual moon in an unusual year. Given the milieu of the moment, it’s not the year to celebrate with a crowd or even with a few friends, nonetheless, celebrate you should. A little planning is called for. You can get ready for Saturday’s truly remarkable lunar phenomenon by grabbing a lawn chair and finding a low horizon to the east from which to watch the blue moon lifting over Halloween. A quick Google search will give you the exact time of moonrise. Next, consider what this moon, also called the “harvest moon” means to you so you can hold that thought when our glowing marble makes her entrance. What do you want to fully bloom in your life? How do you want to feel? And most significantly, Halloween is an opportunity to decide who you want to be. The beautiful part is, unlike most of life’s casting calls, in which other people hand you roles, Halloween is a self-casting opportunity. All you have to do is claim the role and it’s yours.

CELEBRITY PROFILES: Katy Perry has bigger news than a new album called “Smile” and many reasons to follow the directive of her album title, as she and Orlando Bloom recently welcomed their daughter to the world. Under five psychic Scorpio luminaries, Perry shows her Scorpio edge with thought-provoking artistic decisions that graze the taboo. Venus, Uranus and Neptune are housed in adventurous Sagittarius.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2020 Mercury Eschews Mysticism

The individual mushrooms growing in a circle is a symmetrical coincidence historically attributed to fairies -- that is until the botanists pointed out how the mushrooms are the fruit body of a central mycelium deep underground. The mysticism melts away, but the wonder continues. And so it goes with many ideas as Mercury leaves Scorpio.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). Your work will be elevated not by doing more of it, nor by doing it better, but by giving it better packaging and positioning it in the world so as to help people understand why what you do is important.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You have that mysterious quality that is difficult to describe, but people know it when they see it. They are attracted. It’s about confidence but also vulnerability. It takes a lot of confidence to be vulnerable.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You’re in a position to state the facts. That’s what’s being asked of you. Some facts are more comfortable to state than others, but don’t let that get in the way of saying the truth.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). You’re never completely in charge of who’s in your world or what they do there. You’ll give of yourself and the gift gets redistributed to the ones who need you most.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Your intuition will come in the form of a wish. There’s something that seems just right for you, and as you send your wish out to the universe you are also attracting it with your powerful heart magnet.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You process and appreciate life with the heart of an artist, and you’ll turn your experiences into something tangible so that others can be delighted as well.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). A distraction-free block of time seems like a real luxury these days, though it’s a luxury that you could, with a little planning, have more often. This is the first in a string of ultra-productive days.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Instead of judging things as wrong or right, try thinking more in terms of “for me” and “not for me.” This frees up energy, as it requires much less thought, as you sense immediately which category things fall into.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You will not be dealing with psychics today, and this may explain why people won’t know what you want or how to treat you until you tell them. Your clear, verbal communication will open doors.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). You decide what counts as an accomplishment. It’s not for other people to tell you. If you did something small and strange that you’re none-the-less proud of, that counts. Scale doesn’t always match significance.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Institutions that support collectivist values survive on the sacrifice of individuality for the good of the group. Individual deviance from the group-focus will be suppressed. It’s nothing personal; it’s just how these things work.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). You are connected to others in ways beyond comprehension. You don’t mean for people to be overly influenced by your actions but, nonetheless, what you do today will cause a chain reaction.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Oct. 26). Like a ship making its way out of the fog, you are constantly moving toward greater clarity. Throughout this solar orbit, you will see those bright horizons and have success on distant shores. A financial boon provides the seed money for a daring venture. Networking and new relationships flourish in 2021. Aries and Taurus adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 8, 40, 44, 1 and 16.

COSMIC QUESTION: “I see geometry when I close my eyes, and I also see it sometimes when my eyes are open. It’s like I’m hallucinating, but I have never taken any sort of drug that would induce that. Is this tied to a spiritual calling? Am I seeing actual beings? It doesn’t bother me. It is a noninvasive experience, and I hardly ever tell anyone about it. Also, these visions (or whatever) come with absolutely no message, meaning or feeling. They just are! What do you make of it?”

I’m so happy you asked because I also see such things and, like you, have no experience with hallucinogens. I have heard from various gurus (Stuart Wilde comes to mind) of sightings of “sacred geometry,” though the plant Ayahuasca was also mentioned. It was not until very recently when I came across a study of the hallucinatory effects of strobe lights (which can cause fractal hallucinations as well as epileptic seizures) that I had ever heard of such visions being attributed to something other than drugs or spirituality. Perhaps an eye doctor would have a better explanation as to this strange phenomenon of perception. The important thing is that, like any other sensation, impression and experience you have in life, you get to say what it means or doesn’t mean to you.

CELEBRITY PROFILES: In her first 100 days of being secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton reportedly traveled more than 70,000 miles to listen to the comments and concerns of leaders all over the world. Clinton has natal sun, Mercury and Venus in intuitive Scorpio, and a highly empathetic Pisces moon. Her Jupiter, the planet of luck, is nestled in the sign of travel and foreign culture -- Sagittarius.

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