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Horoscope for Friday, July 18th, 2025

Horoscope for Friday, July 18th, 2025

A slow and steady approach is what will help us win today as the Mercury retrograde officially begins. Rather than jumping ahead from one thing to the next on our to-do lists, the cosmic weather encourages us to pace ourselves instead. The timing is useful for revisiting people and projects from the past, as well as making revisions to current plans — specifically those that are creative, original or bold. For those of us travelling, an added measure of preparation and planning can be helpful for avoiding problems.
ARIES
(March 21 to April 19)
You may have an old idea that's worth revisiting. It could be profitable or, at the very least, enjoyable for you.
TAURUS
(April 20 to May 20)
It's a good time to work on home improvements. It's also an opportune time to reconnect with family.
GEMINI
(May 21 to June 20)
Communication issues or tech-related problems could throw a wrench into your plans. Try going with the flow or rescheduling for another day.
CANCER
(June 21 to July 22)
You'll find the day useful for reviewing your budget or handling financial affairs. Check for accounting errors so that they can be corrected.
LEO
(July 23 to Aug. 22)
Try to hold off on making important decisions because you may not have the clarity or information you need.
VIRGO
(Aug. 23 to Sept. 22)
Your brain may be tired and in need of a break. Whatever you set out to do today, make sure it doesn't require much mental energy.
LIBRA
(Sept. 23 to Oct. 22)
You may be moved to reconnect with an old friend. It can be good to catch up or make amends if needed.
SCORPIO
(Oct. 23 to Nov. 21)
Consider ways that you can make a current plan better. Maybe it's time to go back to the drawing board.
SAGITTARIUS
(Nov. 22 to Dec. 21)
If you want to avoid having your words misconstrued, think before you speak or share your opinions.
CAPRICORN
(Dec. 22 to Jan. 19)
Your mind may be heavier than usual. Be careful of ruminating on things you can't control.
AQUARIUS
(Jan. 20 to Feb. 18)
Don't be so quick to enter into an agreement. If you do, give yourself room to make changes as necessary. Watch out for misunderstandings.
PISCES
(Feb. 19 to March 20)
Today is helpful for catching up on work or chores that need your attention.
FOR TODAY'S BIRTHDAY
You unselfishly give to others. However, it's important for you to know your boundaries so that you don't end up always being the giver in your relationships. You may feel like your best self when you're engaged in artistic work or hobbies. You have the kind of imagination that can turn good ideas into something great. You have a charming personality that makes it easy for you to win people's affection or adoration. This year may bring new people into your life who will support your personal and professional goals.
BIRTHDATE OF:
Priyanka Chopra Jonas, actress/producer; Elsa Pataky, actress/model; Vin Diesel, actor/producer.
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My Mother, the Artist, Discovered at 90
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In the past month, I have been selling and giving away paintings. They are not the work of a famous artist or even my own output. No, they are the 400-painting oeuvre of my 90-year-old mother. A literature scholar by profession, she retired long ago from teaching and had painted nearly every day for 30 years due to a fiendish work ethic. But four months ago, she was diagnosed with cancer. I have been helping her with her chemotherapy appointments, among other only-child caretaker duties. For me, there has been a parallel quest, though: to sell or give away some of her oil paintings, many of which are still stored in her apartment. Finding homes for the paintings while she is still with me has taken on a strange urgency — I want her to know where they will dwell. I ask the new owner of each painting to send me a photograph to show her where it hangs. Yet there is more to it than that. As a result of cataloging and handling her work, I understand better what it is that she was doing, painting away, often alone, with only a few people — her fellow amateur artist retiree friends and the like — ever seeing most of what she made. Paintings can be seen as commemorating time or capturing individual subjectivity. While decades of art criticism have put these truisms in question, for my mother painting did give shape to her way of seeing. Why hadn't I paid more attention to her paintings before? Looking anew, I found out things about her that I had never bothered to think about — children, of course, don't tend to dwell on their parents' ambitions or reveries. My guess is that painting made her feel free, outside of time, age, self-criticism, self-doubt and even social class. My mother painted when she was young, and her abstract oils hung in our living room. I didn't think about them very much when I was a kid, although their very '60s color schemes might explain why my favorite color is orange. Then she took a long break, a career to attend to, a child to raise, teaching, with its small pleasures mixed with blue-book-grading drudgery. But after her early retirement from the City University of New York system — the buyouts of the 1990s — she suddenly had time for art classes. She describes it as 'a whole second life.' Some days, she'd paint all day long, sometimes just in the mornings. She painted in the Berkshires with painting friends and in a studio in an old-time artists' building in Union Square, a relic of an art scene in Manhattan that barely exists. All of this — being able to retire early, obtaining a reasonably priced studio to paint in (with excellent light, praise be), even an accessibly priced summer home — was, admittedly, part of an entire system of affordability that has basically vanished from many of our major cities. My mother was generationally lucky in this way. Over the years, my mom was in group exhibitions but never sought out a gallery show. To this day, she has a mixture of self-effacement and pride about her work. Her paintings may not be 'worth' a gallery show, in her mind, but they certainly shouldn't be cast out on the streets. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

How Your Device Can Help You Make It Through Mercury Retrograde
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Sure, astrology isn't for everyone. But there's no doubt that Mercury retrograde is widely blamed for creating confusion when it's in full effect. Better safe than sorry, here we double tap into some tips from an astrology expert to navigate this cosmic event without the communications errors. BELLEVUE, Wash., July 21, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--No matter what your particular astrological beliefs, if any, there's no denying when things seem to go a little crazy in our lives and the world at large, a lot of us run to Google to look up whether Mercury retrograde is in effect. Well, if things are feeling a little funky right now, let us be your search engine: Mercury is indeed in retrograde, from July 17 until Aug. 11. In astrology, Mercury is the planet that rules communication among people and in technology. 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Plus, if you do it right, your device — especially when it's powered by America's Best Mobile Network and comes with Magenta Status — can be an essential tool to combat the craziness the universe might send your way. (We helped you navigate the solar eclipse safely, didn't we?) No need to pull out your star chart — we spoke with Miller to bring you the expert advice you need to make it through with confidence and clarity. Can you explain Mercury retrograde to us? If you were in a car and another car passed you, you could tell it was going faster than you. But if it slowed down and you then passed it, it would appear that car was going backward. Then when the other car speeds up and passes you again, it kicks up all the dust in the road. Mercury retrograde happens when the other car speeds up and lifts the dust, causing turbulence and disruption to what we feel on Earth in our everyday lives. 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Try not to jump to conclusions and keep striving for clarity. Be even more vigilant and double-check your text conversations to root out flaws or incorrect assumptions. Always go the extra mile to find errors during retrograde. These periods demand a slow and deliberate approach. Keep summarizing what you think the other person has just told you. I know we are in the "just text me" era, but I recommend following up texts with a phone call if you can stomach it. Putting in a little extra attention to the emails you are sending can also go a long way to alleviate any larger problems. How can we prepare our devices — and ourselves — ahead of this astrological event? Mercury retrograde periods are notorious for causing computers to crash and for other electronic devices to show signs of wear, requiring urgent repair. I suggest people back up their devices or at least check when you installed the latest necessary software updates to keep yourself safe from cybersecurity issues. 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