posted August 18, 2004 11:22 AM              

Pisces nor Taurus aren't necessarily lazy (self-indulgent, yes, but not lazy), but both are easily discouraged and will wallow in inactivity, self-loathing and insecurity when unhappy. When they are happy, both Pisces and Taurus can be very productive. Having both Pisces and Taurus strong in one's chart usually indicates an extremely sensitive, creative and introverted individual that is highly receptive of his or her environment. Artistic pursuits would be ideal for such a person as they provide a non-direct means of communication for them - but they need to be in a supportive environment to make to the most of their talents. Hence, if you or other family members have been henpecking him to live out to ideals for which he's not tempermentally suited for could easily lead him to depression, which if those around him are too judgemental and not compassionate (or educated enough about things like depression) will deem mistakeningly as simple laziness, only compounding the problem.

posted August 18, 2004 09:56 PM              

Plus sometimes we have money,

This is what having a husband is like if you are not lucky.

I don't know why he is acting this way, but at least his moods will change as he gets older, to take of your moods keep him from hanging out with you, do your own thing.

Otherwise he will want to watch what you are doing. Burger King may not be very motivating, how about a movie theater? My little brother went for that. Movie theaters are a lot of fun, that or a video/music store.

Be patient, but yes Mars in Taurus can be very stick in the mud about making decisions, basically this placement resists change. If a movie theater is where everyone is hanging out stress that, stress what's popular and dont' make him feel uncool. He already feels uncool and and he wants to fit in.

Take Care,
Natasha
Taurus

posted August 19, 2004 07:48 AM              

!!!!

posted August 19, 2004 08:04 AM              

Posting issues, not astro.com problem I suppose. The link virgo posted has probably expired by now and you just get 'your own cookies'.

posted August 19, 2004 01:19 PM              

My mother is an overly critical, constantly fault-finding Virgo and all my life I've found her "suggestions" crushing to my self-esteem. I still get anxious about things because I've internalized this constant criticism and now I have my own inner critic who won't let up. Reading your post I could totally see my teenage self as your brother and I found my mother's voice and criticisms echoing through almost word for word.

Don't do this to your little brother.

He sounds like a wonderfully creative, intelligent person and I think if you let him find his own outlets for his various pursuits, he will come into his own by himself. BTW, I think it was great how you went to your dad and got him signed up for the animation class

You sound like you care about him a lot and I know your heart is in the right place, but you have to remember he isn't you and maybe he's more introverted and content doing what he does. He isn't you. Maybe he is not a people person and maybe he doesn't like being social except for his own inner circle. His friends moved away and if they were very close, it'll take time for him to build up such meangingful friendships again. That's life.

posted August 19, 2004 05:13 PM            

Aquarian Girl already said much of what I wanted to say. Like her, I too had/have a very critical, faultfinding Virgo of a mother. And its probably not presumptuous to suppose that, if anybody here can relate to your exasperatingly unworldly brother, its probably Yours Truly.

First, let me say that ambition, like everything else, can be dangerous in the extreme. A person who seems to neglect their potential, may in fact be all-too aware of it… if only on a subconscious level. Such people may suspect themselves powerful beyond measure, and this may lead them to abdicate responsibility until they are positively assured of the absolute purity of their motives, ends and means.

Also, creative people may often appear to mature more slowly than most, simply because their maturation tends to be a far more personal, intimate, internalized, and philosophical process. They mature from the inside out, and generally end up surprising everybody when they “suddenly” begin to bear fruit.

No matter how many road signs you post or point out to him, you will always see his eyes wander off. It is not that he is indifferent to the direction in which he is headed – but he may presently be more concerned with discovering first where he now stands. The signs he reads must necessarily pass unnoticed by others, as they are not located in the common world, but in secret, within himself. You cannot give him directions, for you cannot possibly know the way. For anyone determined to be original, the way that is pointed out will always be the wrong way. You see him wandering off the beaten path and, naturally, you fear for him…. But what if he was never meant to follow at all, but rather, to blaze trails of his own? (And if indeed he does ultimately come to follow a path, it will only be because he has discovered it for himself and, in essence, made it his own.) All you can hope to do is provide the proper encouragement, and be ready to give assistance when (if ever) it is requested. And that means being patient with him, above all else.

There is a famous book by the great German poet, Rainer Maria Rilke, called Letters to a Young Poet, in which he states (practically on the first page) that criticism is utterly opposed to the free expression of the creative spirit. This is true. Nothing smothers the artistic aspirations of a child more than the constant reminder that skies are not green, grass is not blue, and horses do not have wings, or horns protruding from their foreheads.

I attended a Unitarian Universalist Church one Sunday, not long ago, where I heard a story that touched me deeply. It was the story of a small village, and a young musician, who cared only for playing music morning noon and night. All the villagers taunted him, resented him, and considered him a good-for-nothing bum. While they slaved in the fields and cursed their lot, he strummed his guitar without a care in the world. So, one day, this big ole’ giant, who has been hibernating for a hundred years or so, wakes up. Understandably, he’s cranky (giants tends to be rather cranky folk). So, what does he do? He goes on a rampage (giants tend to go on rampages when they’re cranky), and starts trampling the fields and houses; laying nearly a whole year’s harvest to waste, and threatening to wipe out next year’s as well. All the villagers run screaming for their lives in the opposite direction. All but one. With the village deserted, but for the giant and himself, the lowly musician sets out across the fields, guitar in hand. Had there been anybody left to see him, they would most definitely have thought him mad. Nonetheless, when he reached the great feet of the cranky giant, the musician began to play. And the music so soothed the giant’s giant soul, that he promptly fell back asleep for another hundred or so years. Of course, the musician was celebrated by the returning villagers as a hero. For decades, children were taught to play music, until, at length, the giant was forgotten, and so was the value of a song. Once more, only those truly sensitive and independent souls, who didn’t mind being thought worthless for the sake of the music they so loved, - only they continued to play in obscurity, for yet another hundred years; until, one day…..

I told my Virgo of a mother this story – because, naturally, I was desperate to secure her approval, and prove to her that there is indeed a place, and a place of honor, for me in this world.

Her response:
“Where’s your guitar?”

Typical Virgo response. My heart, which had just then been floating on a cushion of (hot?) air, sank at once into the heavy mud of my guts. Okay, so I don’t play the guitar. My music is not the kind you can hear with the ears, or see with the eyes of the body. But, even if the whole world is deaf and blind, and I alone march to the offbeat beat of this brilliant drum (my heart), - I know that the gorgeous feelings it inspires within me can only find expression without; as rivers flow ever down into the sea.

There is a Christian saying, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you.” Your brother is seeking, but not in the world:

“And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”

And that’s all I have to say about that.

With Love and Squalor,
Heart-Shaped Cross