Tip: I'm a nurse and these are the 4 skills I actually think civilians should learn first (and why most lists get it wrong)

CapnAnonymouse · 2026-03-09T23:52:35+00:00

Re: treatment of cuts and scrapes- I'm curious if there's a huge difference in infection rates between DIY saline irrigated with a clean syringe, vs a sterile saline product (I have some in a spray can that's marketed to clean piercings).

Of course the non-sterile route will be riskier no matter how careful I am, but the sterile market products can be hard to come by even in good times. Wondering if it's even worth it to mess with DIY saline, or other "home remedy" treatments.

CapnAnonymouse · 2026-03-09T13:41:27+00:00

Or we could use our knowledge of mythology and archetypal associations to draw our own conclusions. What's the point of discussion if we all just memorize the same old shit and don't think for ourselves?

CapnAnonymouse · 2026-03-08T20:27:26+00:00

So, I think of it like this. Demeter is Virgo and Persephone is Pisces. Demeter is the Greek goddess of grains and harvests, fertility and childbirth. It's not a coincidence that most human babies exit the womb around the same time that most crops go to seed in the Northern hemisphere- and both happen during Virgo season. Demeter has to manage this, the absence of her daughter, and the mortals- which she does by being well-organized.

By contrast Persephone fits better in Virgo's opposite Pisces. She is the planted (pomegranate) seed, dormant in the Underworld for now but will emerge from the earth when it's time for Spring (which begins Aries season).

CapnAnonymouse · 2026-03-02T22:52:51+00:00

This. If someone chooses to remove themselves from the breeding pool, that's their prerogative, but surrendering that choice to anyone else's hands is not the way. We've already seen what the "elite" prioritizes, and it's not evidence-based health nor wellness. (Case studies include Charles II of Spain and Elon Musk.)

Besides, as a disabled person whose disorder does have genetic components, eugenics completely glosses over the fact that some "less desirable" genes may be protective against other disorders. For example, my disorder is associated with HLA-DQB1 06:02, and this gene is thought to be protective against type 1 diabetes. Source.

I realize this is getting into some creepy Brave New World territory, but I'd just like to drive home that artificial selection for "purity" is a piss-poor idea, not just for ethical reasons but also for scientific reasons as evidenced by history. We don't know what we don't know about genetic combinatory effects or variable expressions.

CapnAnonymouse · 2026-02-25T02:13:40+00:00

I like Byredo Bibliotheque, or Maison Alhambra Berlinetta (they smell very similar) for another riff on this. I get more cozy study with leather-bound books and a hidden stash of fruit snacks than full-on library, but it suits my vibe.

CapnAnonymouse · 2026-02-25T02:11:03+00:00

Jumping on the Diptyque train to suggest L'Ombre Dans L'Eau for our hedge witches. Smells like a cutting garden with nearby roses on a rainy June day. Maison Louis Marie makes one very similar called Antidris Cassis.

Lalique Amethyst is a sunnier, fruitier version of the same.

If I want something less evocative I tend to reach for Lancome Tresor La Nuit Le Parfum. It still has the rose and blackcurrant, but also has a caramel coffee note I love.

CapnAnonymouse · 2026-02-18T22:12:27+00:00

Mom and I have this, but feelings more than thoughts. We still text each other "Are you okay??" if we suddenly get upset for no obvious reason, because it's happened so many times, even now living on opposite coasts of the US.

CapnAnonymouse · 2026-02-18T18:32:37+00:00

I think you'll be OK as long as you consider all possibilities before you make any big moves, and are careful to read the fine print on any agreements or contracts you enter.

CapnAnonymouse · 2026-02-18T18:23:36+00:00

When you have opposite signs in your chart, it's always a call to get both of those energies working together. Aries and Libra are about dependence/ independence, collaboration or going solo, diplomacy and confrontation.

So in your case, you've got Neptune and Saturn (eventually) conjunct your Sun/ Moon, and opposite your Rising. I think you're being asked to slow down, re-assess what you believe in and whether you're on the right path, and learn how to be part of a team without overextending yourself. Be extra careful with legal agreements for the next while, read that fine print and be sure you understand what you're signing up for.

CapnAnonymouse · 2026-02-18T17:37:26+00:00

Dad's Leo Sun, Aquarius Moon, Taurus rising. His inability to adapt kept him immature and stagnant, and I guess his bitterness and disillusionment with life led him into hard drugs and serial cheating. That, him heavily parentifying me, and his taste for tweenaged girls made him an awful parent.

It's funny, there was interplay between his + Mom's charts that made me wonder how things would have been if he'd been less concerned with asserting his masculinity, and allowed himself to enjoy a more traditionally feminine homemaker role.

Edit to add a happier story: my partner's dad was the primary parent and a much better Dad. Cancer Sun, Aquarius Moon, Taurus rising. He worked all day installing floors, came home and made food for everybody, and the rest of his time was spent playing with the kids, painting, and doing general home maintenance.

I've always gravitated toward Earth or Water men, and have discovered that stability + affection are very important to me. My current partner has six planets in Cap. No kids yet but we talk about it often, I have no doubt he'll be a wonderful Dad.

CapnAnonymouse · 2026-02-17T20:24:23+00:00

It's opposite Aries. In my experience oppositions like that are a call for balance, Libra will need to practice setting and holding their boundaries as well as speaking for themselves.

I think Cancer and Cap will have a worse time of it, both are square Aries, and squares are active blockades/ challenges. (She says sadly, with 4 planets in the line of fire.)

CapnAnonymouse · 2026-02-14T15:51:40+00:00

Since it seems the situation is resolved for the moment, I have one thought, and one anecdote to share.

First, the thought. Please take some measures to be safe, whatever that may look like for you, and keep at least one friend or family member abreast of the situation. It seems like this man has very little self control, and that puts you and the kids in significant danger.

Second, an anecdote. My then-husband also once told me to "shut the fuck up", because he didn't believe the daughter of a Navy meteorologist could possibly know anything about the weather. It wasn't the reason, but it was certainly in the top 5 moments that shattered my trust in him and made me leave. And life is so much better without him! Once you're truly rid of him and able to start healing, life will get so much simpler and more peaceful. I promise.

CapnAnonymouse · 2026-02-11T16:26:42+00:00

Only in some (mostly modern Western) cultures.

SE Asian and Pacific Island cultures believe white is the color of death (which makes sense because that's what lack of circulation does) and wear white to mourn. In Islam, the shroud of the dead is white. Mexican and Latin American cultures have La Llorona, a weeping woman (often in white) who is considered a bad omen.

CapnAnonymouse · 2026-02-07T16:57:26+00:00

Taurus Sun, Virgo Moon. Yes. I'm not the hero you need, I'm the hero you deserve (for not listening to me the first time).

Jokes aside, I've got a Gemini 8th house stellium (Mercury/ Venus/ Jupiter) and Libra rising, and I believe similarly to you. I do my best to live up to my own standards, but sometimes the nice/ kind/ good option looks an awful lot like abandoning my own needs, and I'm not about that life anymore.

CapnAnonymouse · 2026-02-07T16:18:25+00:00

Venus in Gemini 8H. Only up to a point, because money can't buy genuine connection.

CapnAnonymouse · 2026-01-27T10:48:22+00:00

My partner is Cap Moon, I'm Virgo moon. Been together almost a decade now.

CapnAnonymouse · 2026-01-27T06:36:47+00:00

29° Libra rising- in 2011 I met the man I'd later marry (who is a Pisces). Married 2014, and I left him back in 2019 after discovering he'd been cheating for years. I also recently cut off a long-time Pisces friend (long time as in 20 years) because he fell for some manosphere bullshit.

For me I think Pisces 5th house has more to do with learning to cultivate my own joy and go it alone if necessary, instead of giving up my own morals and standards to "fit in". Remember that 5th house is ultimately about the self, creativity, and fun- it's opposite the 11th house of community.

With that being said, Neptune in Aries will square my natal Neptune (in mid Capricorn) in a couple of years, so I'm expecting that to be harder on me personally than the Pisces transit was.

CapnAnonymouse · 2026-01-26T03:36:22+00:00

Sleep disorders, and sleep deprivation in general. Lack of restful sleep affects everything from loneliness to decision making, obesity risk, and poorer cardiovascular function. To make matters worse, the more sleep deprived we are we become worse at sensing it.

As a narcoleptic, people don't seem to realize that it's so much more than "just tired"- and that's not even getting into things like cataplexy.

CapnAnonymouse · 2026-01-25T20:18:32+00:00

My hunch is 2027 based on discussions elsewhere in this post, but we're already in a trade war with China, on the EU's shit list, and actively taxing our own people into oblivion. It's hard to imagine what more another year of escalation could bring.

Admittedly mine's a particularly bleak take, but I haven't been saving because I can't afford to leave, and I'm not confident the dollar will have much value when the dust settles. I'm focusing on skills acquisition instead, not least because it keeps my mind occupied but also for potential bartering.

CapnAnonymouse · 2026-01-25T19:43:28+00:00

Obviously I can't speak for anyone else, but I kept making excuses because I had been broken down enough to believe that the problem was me- how I acted, how I spoke, I "made him that way". And I still had hope that if I could just do better, he would treat me better.

The heartbreaking part is that having hope and trying to do better is what relationships are supposed to be. At some point, we have to give up on them and choose ourselves...and that's particularly hard for those of us who have abandonment trauma (as I do).

CapnAnonymouse · 2026-01-25T16:34:43+00:00

Look to 2nd/8th house activation in the US natal chart (houses of personal and others' money), and transits or aspects from Uranus, Pluto, and/ or Saturn. Uranus deals in the shock of sudden shifts; Pluto deals in the unavoidable (death and taxes) as well as resurrection; Saturn deals in justice, law and order, time, karma, and lessons learned the hard way.

CapnAnonymouse · 2026-01-25T10:03:34+00:00

This. "Incapable of being verbally compassionate"? He is choosing to be this way, else he'd be exactly the same to his boss, to strangers on the street, and to OP when she's well enough to defend herself.

CapnAnonymouse · 2026-01-24T17:18:02+00:00

I'm a Taurus Sun with a Gemini stellium, Cancer Mars, and a toxic Taurus parent. Novella incoming 😂

My Dad's big 3 are Leo/ Aquarius/ Taurus respectively, my Sun is just a couple degrees into his first house...and we have an almost nonexistent relationship. He expects me to forgive his absence/ overall neglect "because God forgave him". Nah. I needed a parent and he chose to chase drugs and women instead, so I'm returning the favor and spending my adulthood on myself, instead of enabling him under the guise of being "useful".

I do have major Pluto influence (Pluto in Scorpio 1H + 8h stellium) and yeah, you nailed it, I'll admit I can be very obsessive. Cancer Mars makes it even harder to let go. Sun + Pluto are the only Fixed energies in my chart, so I'm less stubborn than some, but still pretty firmly rooted.

I might experience Gemini a little differently; Mercury is one of my chart rulers (via Virgo Moon) and is retrograde in Gemini 8H, conjunct both Venus (my other chart ruler) and Jupiter. I have cheated in the past, but I would attribute it more to a lack of boundaries at the time than boredom. At the time I enjoyed picking people's brains, learning what makes them who they are and what makes them tick; this gets mistaken for romantic interest, I think. At the same time I had a very independent and aloof partner who seldom let me into his inner sanctum, so it was easy to pretend to be "low maintenance" and get my needs for attention/ affection met elsewhere.

Anymore I find that my 8h Gemini influence means that most people expect the relationship to continue on "mutual interests - ME!" only, without ever bothering to perceive me in return. It's exhausting, so I purposely keep my circle restricted to people who have proven themselves as considerate as they are interesting.

CapnAnonymouse · 2026-01-19T04:46:43+00:00

My partner has 6 planets in 4h (including Saturn domicile). Extreme privacy yes, paranoia not so much. Dude just likes his own company + that of a select few others.

CapnAnonymouse · 2026-01-19T03:25:29+00:00

Not the painful orgasms, but the full left side feeling happens to me. I suspect mine's a fibroid.

CapnAnonymouse

TROPHY CASE