Blogoscopes Week of October 29th to November 5th, 2007

Aries - Home office, home school, home made, home life; there's a lot of satisfaction to be gained from running your own business, teaching your own children, making your own stuff, creating your own life - plus, you can avoid the daily commute and stay in your pyjamas all day. However, it's a lifestyle that is not with out drawbacks - work and play can seriously overlap. Does home office party sound like fun?

Taurus - There's a right way and a wrong way to take a sauna - oh wait, that's not a sauna, you're just letting off steam in a small place. Same deal really, whether you're relaxing in the heat or creating it, periodic cooling off will get you your best results. You have incredible stamina but you're beginning to resemble a prune. Don't take this the wrong way, but you should go jump in the lake.

Gemini - An important part of any performance is costume, whether it's a Torero's suit of lights, an Olympian's skating dress, a ballerina's tutu, or the geisha's kimono. It's not enough to be the best at what you do, you need to look different from the rest in order to really stand out. Stand out in a good way; you don't want to be the one who gets remembered for a wardrobe malfunction. Make sure your sequins are secure.

Cancer - On the surface, speed dating would seem to be an odd way to meet a potential romantic partner, but the truth is that we make snap decisions about people anyway, and the few minutes you get on a speed date are ample time for you to know whether you ever want to see this person again; black or white, yes or no - simple. It does not, however, work in all areas of life - slow down and ask more questions.

Leo - This week, while visiting your safe deposit box, you accidentally get locked inside the bank vault. Fortunately, you discover a long forgotten business plan you produced through automatic writing during that occult phase you had back in college. Hey guess what? Not only is that plan still viable, but you now have the time, the skills and the capital to pull it off. Of course you can't do anything until they open the vault in the morning.

Virgo - If you were to contemplate going over Niagara Falls in a barrel, would you be encouraged by the fact that 9 of the 13 who did it survived, or discouraged at the thought of the four who died? And let's not forget the six who were prevented from making the attempt; do you call that a narrow escape or a missed opportunity? Doesn't matter; you get passed a certain point and gravity just takes over.

Libra - Not all American travellers are obnoxious, but I've bumped into quite a few on vacation who never stop talking. They have opinions - often based on mis-information - about everything, and appear to feel a burning need to share those opinions with everybody in earshot. Frequently finding fault with places that aren't America, they miss all the reasons why a person travels in the first place. Don't be an American tourist.

Scorpio - You're like a magical iceberg - the most interesting parts of your life are hidden from view, and the little bit that does show is like a dazzling sleight of hand distracting people from looking below the water line, so to speak. This week, a skeptical deep sea diver crosses your path and refuses to be sidetracked by your hocus pocus. You might want to re-think your "publish and be damned" policy.

Sagittarius - As a rule, I don't like to recycle links, but this one was too perfect not to use. Now, if you feel that you true best path to enlightenment and finding your higher self, involves digging a tunnel through the centre of the planet, then go for it. I'll drop new shovels down to you as needed. If, however, you're digging a hole to escape into or to hide, forget it. You'll find more than shovels landing on your head.

Capricorn - You know how annoying it is when you're waiting for the streetcar and it's cold and wet and dark, and you're hungry and running late and you lean out and look to see if there's one coming and the idiot beside you leans out as well. Now you can't see anything, and we all know that unless you look about every 30 seconds, a streetcar will never show up. Just so you know, the guy behind you thinks you're the idiot.

Aquarius - So one day, you're travelling by bus, or train, or airplane; you're comfortably settled in and whether it's the air temperature, the dark outside the window, or the drone of the engine, you fall into a trance and dream the answer to all the world's problems. You awake to the realization that your triumphant "Eureka!" was actually shouted out loud and now your fellow passengers are staring at you.

Pisces - Do you know where the candles are? The power is going to be flickering for a bit - on/off/on/off - really annoying; you might as well just turn everything off and fire up some wax. Everybody and everything looks prettier by candle light. Faces glow, rooms look warmer, and it's really hard to see dirt. Plus, with no TV, no computer, no electric hum the voices might shut up long enough to let you get some sleep.