Advice for the day

From Tarot.com:

It’s tough to balance your checkbook with your desire to have things these days. Everywhere you turn, there’s another temptation, but you just cannot afford to feed your material needs if they are a bottomless pit and not based on basic survival. Changing your relationship with your possessions may be in order. It’s really not about having more; it’s about teaching yourself to want less.

Good words to live by, and definitely something I need to learn. Of course, it’s helping me right now that I don’t have any money to throw around to buy things, but when I do start getting a regular income coming in again, I need to watch the impulse buying. I have books I haven’t read, more than enough toys to play with — other than food, shelter, and the necessities, I don’t *need* to be in the buying mindset that I usually am.

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Today’s horoscopes

Haven’t looked at them in awhile so thought I’d take a couple of minutes to look at my favourite horoscope site.

Tarot.com

Your mind is filled with transformative ideas now, but you must narrow the field before undertaking anything important. Wasting energy is surely not a good idea these days and you cannot afford to exhaust yourself. There is a gem in the mixture; your current assignment is to find it and then cut it into a precious stone.

cainer.com

Today (April 21)
In this tense, turbulent climate, it’s all but impossible for you to put your concerns to one side and relax. That’s why you suspect that you have no option other than to swing into action with the best plan you can think up. Action of almost any kind has to be better than doing nothing. Is there a risk that you will make a mistake? Yes, but even so, provided your intentions are sincere and honourable, your ‘mistakes’ will prove to have been guided by a very purposeful, positive force.

Week ahead (April 19 – April 25)
‘To err is human.’ So that’s all right then. Your membership of the race is not in question. Nor, quite clearly, is another person’s. The two of you are subject to the same physical laws, the same psychological challenges and the same emotional pressures as all other people on this earth. Naturally enough, then, mistakes have been made, and probably will always be made. Mercury is in your sign. And the Moon is Full in your opposite sign. Remember please this week that, while ‘to forgive is divine’, to expect perfection from anyone, is just downright daft. Do your best; it’s more than good enough.

Month ahead (April)
Sometimes, the last thing we want is to see is the future. We want to know about it only if it matches our idea about what ought to be in store. When we are told about something that we do not like the sound of, we feel inclined to believe we have a suspect seer. You want to know that a tense drama will resolve itself swiftly. I, though, think it will take the whole month. Disbelieve me if you want. But, just to be on the safe side, plan for a longer struggle than you were expecting – and prepare, too, for an outcome that makes all the effort and inconvenience seem well worthwhile.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!

I’ve been watching the second season of Biggest Loser Australia and it’s reminded me of how much I’ve wanted to visit Australia for the last 18 years or so. I’d forgotten. Oh, I’ve remembered superficially but I haven’t felt it in ages. But I could never go there in the state I’m in now. One more reason to get stuck in and just tackle this thing.

Jonathan Cainer’s horoscopes for Saturday, 5th January 2008:

Your Weekend: Why have you turned to this forecast? Because you seek an insight into the future? Do you really want to know what it has in store for you? What if you don’t like the prediction? Or what if you are better off not knowing? Sometimes, we can waste a lot of energy preparing for an event which is best dealt with spontaneously. That’s one good reason not to think too far ahead. Here’s another. The key to tomorrow lies in your hands today. Deal properly with ‘what is’ and ‘what will be’ will be all that you need it to be.

Your January Forecast: ‘… and then, the handsome prince knelt low beside the bed of Sleeping Beauty and tenderly planted a kiss on her forehead…’ Well, hey, it’s pantomime season – and it is rather as if you have been asleep – not for a hundred years – but for a good few weeks. You have been turning a blind eye to an unsatisfactory situation or you have been feeling unable to fix a problem. So you have been opting to ignore it in the hope that it might go away. You have also been waiting for an opportunity – a difficulty to diminish, or both! Anyway, as we prepare to enter 2008, the prince of fresh hope plants the kiss of inspiration on the forehead of your future. 

Another year, another grab at the ring

Got very little accomplished physically during my Christmas holidays but did a lot of thinking and planning. So, not a complete waste of time. Spent way too much money on things I really didn’t need, something I need to stop doing.

As similar as things are to this time last year, there are suprising differences. I’m a lot less angry in general than I was last year. I’m chaotic and frazzled and vibrating still but it seems to be in a somewhat more constructive form. Time will tell if that’s actually the case of course.

One thing that’s kind of funny is that I have a persistent sharp pain in my upper left back, shades of New Year 1999/2000 when I had a pulmonary embolism. The pain comes and goes (unlike the pain of a PE, which doesn’t go away) so it is obviously a muscular problem, maybe a result of all the clapping I did at the musical I saw on Sunday, but it’s still funny in a cosmic way. Well, *I* think it’s funny, anyway.

Jonathan Cainer horoscope for Monday, 31st December 2007:

Imagine the word ‘subtle’ in bright neon letters, a hundred feet high! Imagine whispering quietly into a microphone, which is in turn attached to the amplification system at a rock concert. Imagine feeling very sure that you are achieving a particular ambition whilst, actually, you are achieving the opposite. You can listen to a ‘convincing explanation’, or you can end 2007 as you will need to enter 2008; by recognising what’s really happening and using this information to make positive progress. You haven’t got a ‘problem’. You have an incredible opportunity.

Tuesday, 1st January 2008

We don’t want something unless it’s still in the box, wrapped in cellophane, fresh from the factory. We feel there’s a stigma attached to ‘second-hand’ or ‘recycled’. Who cares how badly we pollute the planet as long as the stores can be full of shiny new stuff? Yet wouldn’t you rather have something of quality, even if it had some history? As with possessions, so with years. What’s really important about 2008 is not what’s new about it, it’s what you can rely on NOT to change. 

Hello. My name is Louise

and I have an online shopping addiction. (I have mentioned before that I have an addictive and, yes, bingeing personality in general, right? Why eat one chocolate when you can eat the whole box? Why buy one item when you can empty your bank account?)

Made the mistake of hitting eBay tonight. Whew! Bought some nifty things but really, really, REALLY need to put the Paypal account to bed. For the next several months at least. If you ever learn anything from me, it is to shop around BEFORE you buy anything ‘cos you gotta hate when you make an “all sales final” kind of purchase only to find it on sale somewhere else for less. I’m a bad bargain shopper. Hit a couple of those over the last several weeks, although in fairness, once you figured in taxes, duties, etc., for the cheaper items, most of them turned out to be OK in the end. But there were still a couple…ah, well, you live and learn. Hopefully.

Feels like Sunday (that’s what happens when you take a couple of days off) so imagine my surprise to see Saturday horoscopes on Jonathan Cainer‘s site tonight:

Saturday, 29th December 2007

Your Weekend: ‘Plus ca change, plus c’est le meme chose.’ The more things change, the more they stay the same. Or so they say in France. Here in the rest of the world, things move on! We can’t make them stay the same no matter what we do. This is both a blessing and a curse. You are now keenly conscious of something you would like to change if only you could. But it is changing! It is just not changing in the way you think it ought to change. If you are going to resolve to do anything for New Year, resolve to let more time pass. 

Your Week Ahead: H G Wells remains one of the greatest writers of all time. In his day, though, he was derided for suggesting that one day, people would visit the Moon. With a great combination of irony and poetic justice, his famous fiction became the inspiration for millions of twentieth century schoolchildren. Some of these boys and girls grew up to be scientists. They took his dream and made it their dream. Then they helped to make it come true. That’s what the power of imagination can achieve. As you prepare to enter 2008, you have a special vision. It is not invalid or irrelevant. It’s just slightly ahead of its time But that time is coming. Soon. 

Caffeine high…

…without the caffeine. That’s how I’m feeling right now. Awake, jittery — if you’ve ever drunk or eaten more caffeine than your body can handle, you know the feeling. A sort of manic, teetering feeling. Not manic in a bipolar sense, you understand. Manic in a drunk, low blood sugar, extra-caffeinated sense.

Seem to have puked up a few feelings yesterday. That feeling persists. Perhaps this is why this is the season of new resolutions. There is something about passing the shortest day of the year that lends itself well to thought of growth and rebirth. If only we could keep up the impetus.

Jonathan Cainer forecasts for Saturday, 22nd December 2007

Your Week Ahead: What do you want for Christmas? No, not that. What do you really want? What would make a lasting difference? What would inspire a magical change? Now. Mind if I ask you a question? I know. I have asked several already. These though, have been non confrontational. This next one is trickier. Why can’t you have what you want? Why dare you not ask for it, reach for it or at least tell yourself that you deserve it? Why are you even half inclined to act as if you aren’t even interested. Maybe you should ask a few tough questions yourself this week, even if it IS Christmas. Heaven has a gift for you. But you have to be ready to accept it. 

Your Weekend by Kathryn Cassidy: Just recently your life has been like one of those snow globes. Someone seems to have picked it up and shaken it about. This has impaired your visibility. It has especially affected agreements and arrangements. Either you have been notably absent or you have been hard pressed to see a way forward. There may be a little more agitation to contend with this weekend. By Monday, however, the final snowflakes will all have fallen into place. Everything will be clear and settled – and almost magical.

Interesting that the word “magical” appears in both when I was only yesterday remarking about being cut off from the magic of the universe. At the risk of sounding trite, the universe likes an open door.

Winds of change

are swirling around me. So much like last year, coming back around for another pass.  I can only hope to accomplish more with them than I did last year. I have put things in motion but am afraid to write about them here, for fear of robbing them of their power. But I see physical, spiritual, and mental change — changes for the better — on those winds.

Jonathan Cainer forecast for Thursday, 20th December 2007

Kathryn Cassidy writes: Celestial lines-ups like the one we face today won’t happen again for 248 years! Decisions you take today could change your life in coming months. So finalise a transfer of power; pledge to let go of an old way of life. Discard any self-defeating patterns. Opportunities abound to discover new vistas, freedoms and philosophies in 2008. You’ll only be able to capitalise on these if you eradicate anything that holds you back. That includes your propensity to cling far too tightly to the past.

Jonathan Cainer forecast for Friday, 21st December 2007

Kathryn Cassidy writes: What’s the best chess move of all time? There is no answer. Every game is different. Each requires clever tactics and careful analysis in order to make a path to the King. Somewhere in your world, you have had to make the occasional strategic sacrifice in order to stay in a game. You’ve also had to exhibit incredible patience and tenacity along the way. Today you get to make a final, well-considered decisive move. What’s more it may go down in history as your best one yet.

Jonathan Cainer Horoscopes

[Added July 31, 2008]

It’s funny to me that this post gets more traffic than any other post in this blog. Well, not so much funny as kind of sad. Especially since it really didn’t contain anything really interesting to anyone who isn’t the same sign as me and wasn’t viewing the post on the relevant dates.

So, I felt I needed to add some useful information to the post, since you’re here anyway. Sound like a plan?

Jonathan Cainer is a UK astrologer. A friend of mine passed his URL on to me in late 2006. I don’t normally pay attention to horoscopes, though I do like Astrocenter’s when I bother reading it — usually I just never open the e-mail because I’m not usually interested in what the Universe apparently has planned for me. Most daily horoscopes are so vague as to be useless. Jonathan Cainer’s, though, I read most days. His horoscopes are surprisingly pertinent. To me, anyway. Your mileage may vary. I frequently read the ‘scopes for friends and family members, and they’re usually pertinent to them as well. They’re more like Astrocenter’s horoscopes in the sense that they are not vague.

If you’re on Facebook, so is he. You can add him as a friend (not that he’s going to become your best bud or anything, you understand) and you can even add his horoscopes application to your profile there. He’s also on Myspace but I’m not a Myspace fan so I’m not going to help you out there — go to his Web site if you want more information about that.

His Web site offers additional astrological tidbits, including his really marvelous Astro Love Computer and daily thoughts. You should really check it all out.

(Original post)

September 13:

Being alone is not the same as loneliness. You can be alone in a room full of people; it is a state of choice. You’re not lonely at this time, although you might feel alone. It is your choice who you associate with, but you may be attracting a few strange looks at the moment if you’re doing your Greta Garbo thing. Far better to say to people, ‘Look, I’m just taking some personal space, OK?’ It’s a good day to gather your thoughts as well as getting your act together in a personal way – just don’t let others befuddle you. Be aware that you’re acutely sensitive at the moment.

September 14:

Your Weekend: There’s an element of personal creativity around you at the moment, and where better to express it than in your one-to-one relationships, whether that be with partner/spouse or close friend? Don’t let yourself get into a rut. I’m not suggesting you suddenly light lots of firecrackers, but it is a good weekend for socialising and reminding yourself how important good quality company is to you. And it wouldn’t hurt to remind others of how important you are to them either, even though this may have to be done in a somewhat subtle way. Stay in the centre of things, and then you won’t feel left out.

September 15:

Your Week Ahead Forecast: Things always get a bit intense around this time of year. It is something to do with the approaching equinox. Your mood begins to alter and your mind gets made up. Suddenly you feel ready to fix whatever you have been previously putting up with patiently. You are no longer willing to be backed into a corner or trapped by awkward circumstances. You may not make much of a fuss, but in your own sweet way you start to move the goalposts and rewrite the rulebooks. Some years you make a few small adjustments. Other years you reach life-changing choices. This year, you are being brave. You will not regret this.

September 17:

Sometimes, we do all the things we are supposed to, but they just don’t work. We end up starting to suspect that somewhere in the cosmos there’s a mischievous imp with a wrecking agenda. Its aim is to create chaos wherever we go and whatever we do. Why bother, we say to ourselves, attempting anything? Sooner or later, surely, it will all go horribly wrong. Maybe, sooner or later, it will. But the fact remains that, right now, no imp can stop your current plans from working well.

More lost time

Been AWOL for a bit. Losing time faster. Feeling anger starting to build like I was feeling late last year. Need to get a grip on myself.

Cainer’s forecase for yesterday:

There’s definitely a stick. It clearly has two ends. There’s no question that you have hold of one of these ends. But which is the right end, and which is the wrong end. Understandably enough, you want to feel that you’ve aligned yourself correctly. Someone else, though, sees the same situation from the opposite viewpoint. You can’t both be right, can you? As the recent influence between Venus and Neptune now begins to fade, you are seeing a familiar situation in a different light. There’s no shame in changing your mind.

And today:

Minds were made for changing. The only people who form an opinion and then maintain it for the rest of their lives without ever questioning it again, are bigots or idiots. Strangely, though, we often feel a little ashamed about confessing that we have come to see a situation differently. We should, though, feel proud that we have developed enough wisdom to outgrow a previous position. Although, if we are truly wise, we will not be proud, just quietly humble! Embrace a new perspective this weekend.

Dammit!

Lots of lightning out there tonight. No thunder yet, which is weird. Must be really far away.

Today’s horoscope

From cainer.com:

If you can’t stand the heat, you don’t have to get out of the kitchen. You can simply take fried food off the menu and prepare a plate of freshly chopped salad instead. That’s probably a healthier option. We don’t have to live in a state of constant pressure. We have options and choices – even if they do not seem especially easy to take or make. Take charge of your destiny today. It may kick up an initial fuss, but if you are persistent, yet adaptable, it will soon bend to your will.