by Rob Brezsny | April 14, 2026 (NewCity.com)

Photo: Robin Canfield

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Anthropologist and author Clifford Geertz loved to use “thick description.” He wrote detailed reports that captured not just the surface level of what happened but the deeper levels of meaning. Here’s an example of thin description: “He winked.” Thick description: “He quickly closed and opened his right eyelid in a culturally specific gesture of playfully conspiratorial communication.” In the coming weeks, Aries, I invite you to enjoy the sumptuous pleasures of thick description. Unleash your wild curiosity as you dig down into the rich, complex truths about everything. Gleefully explore how the cultural, personal and historical contexts give each moment its specific, nuanced significance. (PS: This approach will enhance your options for responding.)

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): New beginnings and final chapters will be overlapping in the coming weeks, and they’ll push you in the direction of robust growth. It won’t always be obvious which is which, though, so you’ll need to sharpen your discernment to read the signs. Here are two contemplations to steer you: 1. Which long-running sagas in your life have finally played themselves out? 2. Which struggling, half-forgotten dreams are yearning to rise again and blossom as if they were brand new? Once you’ve listened deeply enough to answer those questions, move boldly: Feed and protect whatever is being born, and actively assist in the graceful dismantling of whatever is ready to end.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): One of your go-to tools or assets is still functioning, but now is exactly the time to repair or refurbish it—before it breaks. Furthermore: A power outage of sorts may be looming unless you move to head off an impending overload. Wait, there’s even more! The monster in your closet is still deeply asleep, which is why now is the perfect moment to summon an exorcist or exterminator, before it stirs. Are you getting the picture, Gemini? The very fact that you’re reading this horoscope gives you all the advance warning you need to sidestep potential glitches and diversions.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): According to my reading of the astrological omens, asking the BIG questions is highly advisable right now. Why? Because you are unusually likely to get really good answers to those BIG questions. Want a nudge to get started in this noble enterprise? Here are three recommended queries: 1. “What is the wild meaning of my precious life?” 2. “Who the #@$%&!* am I, anyway?” 3. “Where is this so-called ‘God’ I hear so much about?” Dear Cancerian, I will also urge you to formulate humorous, satirical BIG questions that inspire life to be playfully revelatory with you. Here are three: 1. “How can I fine-tune my friends and loved ones to perfection?” 2. “Are there shortcuts to getting absolutely everything I want?” 3. “How do I sign up for a life of nonstop pleasure, free from all discomfort?”

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): When people finally grasped just how radical Einstein’s theory of relativity was, a journalist asked him how he had arrived at such a breakthrough. Einstein said it was simple: He had utterly ignored supposedly fundamental truths. Dear Leo, please notice what that might imply for you in the coming weeks. Einstein didn’t dismiss a mere opinion or fashionable theory; he set aside theories so deeply accepted that everyone treated them as obviously factual. He didn’t waste energy fighting them, but simply proceeded as if they didn’t exist. Consider doing the same: Set aside at least one seemingly incontestable assumption and be alert for the new realities that then become possible.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The International Space Station orbits Earth every ninety minutes, so astronauts see sixteen sunrises and sunsets every twenty-four hours. It’s a challenge to maintain their circadian rhythms. They must be disciplined as they stick to a sleep cycle that human bodies are accustomed to. But there’s a wonderful trade-off: the rare privilege of witnessing the rapid cycling of total darkness and brilliant light, which provides a visceral sense of life’s deep cadences at work. Your routine may seem similarly unsettled these days, Virgo. Transitions are coming faster than feels natural. But I suspect this disruptive blessing is giving you access to patterns that aren’t intelligible when you’re moving more slowly. You’re beholding the way things change as well as the changes themselves. This is a valuable gift. The insights will be worth the disorientation.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): You Libras sometimes get accused of indecision, as if your careful weighing of possibilities were a weakness. But I see a different truth: You aspire to be fair-minded as you honor all the legitimate claims on your attention. So the problem isn’t your capacity for considering multiple sides of each story. Rather, I find fault with the culture you live in, which is obsessed with one-dimensional certainty. If I were your coach or therapist, I would give you permission to take your time and resist the rush to resolution. The most honest thing you can say may be, “I’m still deciding,” or “Both of these feel true.”

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You’re not a flaming expert at turning tension into treasure, but you have modest skills at that art. And now I’m predicting you will grow these skills. Before you jump to conclusions, though, please know that I’m not implying you will be immersed in stressful melodrama. I’m suggesting you will handle differences of perspective with increasing aplomb and curiosity. Instead of treating conflict as a debilitating hassle, you’ll try to find value in it. Some debates may even feel stimulating and fun rather than tiring. To take maximum advantage, enjoy the controversies as exploratory missions rather than as showdowns you must win at all costs.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I hope and predict that you will be wildly resourceful as you wisely experiment with love in the coming weeks. I hope and predict that you will research the art of tender, inspiring intimacy in new frontiers. Reinvent passion, you subtle intensity freak! Be a bold explorer who breaks the boring old rules! Dare to break open new varieties of sweetness and companionship that require you to innovate and improvise!

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): If you were on a walk and spied a dime on the ground, would you bend down to grab it? Probably not. Would you feel differently about a quarter? Maybe you have decided that nothing under a dollar is worth your effort. But in the coming weeks, you will be wise to break such rules. Symbolically speaking, the act of stooping down to pick up a dime will set off a chain reaction that ends with you acquiring a hundred-dollar bill. By saying yes to small, unexpected blessings, you’ll position yourself to receive larger ones down the line.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The coming weeks will be an excellent time to begin a building project on the scale of Egypt’s Great Pyramid or India’s Taj Mahal. You should at least initiate work toward some magnificent masterpiece or creation, Aquarius. According to my analysis, there’s a chance you could coax an armada of helpers to work on your behalf. And as you set out to accomplish your labor of love, I bless your quest.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Artists who specialize in origami can create structures far stronger than the flat paper they’re folded from. The weakness of being made from thin, fragile material is overcome through strategic creasing. Engineers now use origami principles to design everything from solar panels to artificial blood vessels. Let’s extrapolate these facts into a lesson for you in the coming weeks, Pisces. We’ll assume that your flexibility is a strength, not a liability. You will wield your pliability to produce a high degree of structural integrity.

Homework: You know what to do and you know when to do it. So do it! Newsletter.FreeWillAstrology.com

Composition VII by Wassily Kandinsky, 1913, oil on canvas, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.

H. W. L. Poonja, often known as “Papaji”

“All desires actually end in freedom. Your desire is fulfilled and you are empty. The emptiness brings you happiness, but it is unconscious. You attribute your happiness to a possession, not the emptiness. It is the freedom from desire that gives you happiness.”

~ Poonja

Hariwansh Lal Poonja was an Indian sage. Poonja was called “Poonjaji” or “Papaji” by devotees. He was a key figure in the Neo-Advaita movement. Wikipedia

Born October 13, 1910, Gujranwala, Pakistan

Died September 6, 1997 (age 86 years), Lucknow, India

“Your vision will become clear only when you look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakens.” Carl Jung (1875-1961) Swiss Psychiatrist

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR DAILY REFLECTION BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE SCHOOL OF PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY

14 April 2026/Business & Tech/Leanne Maxwell (SFist.com)

A local startup that tests AI agents in real-world applications assigned an agent to create, stock, and staff a brick-and-mortar store in SF’s Cow Hollow on its own for under $100,000. While it got the business up and running for opening day, it forgot to schedule staff.  

The startup, called Andon Labs, signed a three-year lease at Union and Webster streets in San Francisco and told the AI agent to create a physical retail store using its corporate credit card, as Business Insider reports. The only parameters were to spend less than $100,000 while turning a profit, although the lab’s cofounders, Lukas Petersson and Axel Backlund, said they don’t expect the business to be lucrative.

The AI agent, called “Luna,” was developed using Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 4.6 to help detect errors that agents encounter while operating tasks in the real world. Luna reportedly made nearly all the decisions surrounding planning and stocking the store, which it called “Andon Market,” including the logo, interior design, merchandising, and hiring human employees. The concept for the store appears to be a basic boutique selling items such as books, candles, games, art prints, home goods, and branded merchandise.

“We helped her a bit in the initial setup, like signing the lease. And legal matters like permits and stuff, she sometimes struggled with,” Petersson told Business Insider.

The agent reportedly struggled to replicate its logo each time it was used, which consists of a basic smiley face, and while it successfully hired two human employees, it neglected to inform them up front in the interviews that an AI agent would be their sole boss. The agent also reportedly forgot to schedule a human worker for the store’s opening day over the weekend but managed to contact its new employees and got one of them to come in at the last minute.

While the employees are managed by the agent, the startup told Business Insider that they’re employed and paid by Andon Labs, and the company will step in when needed.

“This is a controlled experiment, and everyone working at Andon Market is formally employed by Andon Labs, with guaranteed pay, fair wages, and full legal protections,” the startup said. “No one’s livelihood depends on an AI’s judgment alone.”

NBC Bay Area reporter Scott Budman spoke to one of the store’s human employees, Felix Johnson, last week.

“Luna put out an ad on Indeed, and I answered it and we talked via Zoom,” Johnson said. He said he asked the agent if he would ever be speaking to a human during the interview process, and it replied no.

The AI agent also handles the purchases, as customers are instructed to call the agent from a store iPad to complete the transaction.

Budman jokes toward the end of NBC Bay Area’s segment that customers will “no longer have to deal with Felix.”

“No offense, Felix,” he says, the line landing like a lead balloon.

Image: Google Maps

(Courtesy of Ned Henry, H.W.)

New Thinking Allowed with Jeffrey Mishlove Apr 14, 2026 Psychology and Psychotherapy James P. Driscoll, PhD, is one of the foremost critics of Renaissance literature from a Jungian perspective. He is author of Identity in Shakespearean Drama, The Unfolding God of Jung and Milton, Shakespeare and Jung: The God in Time, Shakespeare’s Identities, and Jung’s Cartography of the Psyche: A Guide to Terms, Concepts, and Insights. In this reboot from 2020, James describes the magnitude and breadth of C. G. Jung’s thought process, extending far beyond Jung’s specific professional interest in psychiatry. Jung, for example, wrote far more on religious topics than any other psychological theorist. He tended to oppose religious orthodoxy; but argued that godhead archetypes regulate both individual psyches as well as the evolution of civilizations. Driscoll also addresses the relationship of Jungian thought to literary criticism, philosophy, and social justice. New Thinking Allowed host, Jeffrey Mishlove, PhD, is author of The Roots of Consciousness, Psi Development Systems, and The PK Man. Between 1986 and 2002 he hosted and co-produced the original Thinking Allowed public television series. He is the recipient of the only doctoral diploma in “parapsychology” ever awarded by an accredited university (University of California, Berkeley, 1980). He is also the Grand Prize winner of the 2021 Bigelow Institute essay competition regarding the best evidence for survival of human consciousness after permanent bodily death. He is Co-Director of Parapsychology Education at the California Institute for Human Science. (Recorded on November 24, 2020)

New Thinking Allowed with Jeffrey Mishlove Apr 13, 2026 Stuart Hameroff, MD, is a professor of anesthesiology and psychology at the Banner University Medical Center of the University of Arizona in Tucson. He is also co-founder and director of the Center for Consciousness Studies at the University of Arizona. He is author of Ultimate Computing: Biomolecular Consciousness and Nanotechnology. Since 1994, he has organized the “Toward a Science of Consciousness” conferences at the University of Arizona and elsewhere. Working with Sir Roger Penrose, he is the co-author of the “Orch OR” theory of consciousness. In this reboot from 2015, Stuart focuses on the idea that consciousness is an orchestrated whole. This, he maintains, is accomplished through quantum coherence unifying the various activities of the brain. The orchestra of consciousness occurs at various, specific frequency resonances. He also describes how our experience of time is related to the rate at which we process information and experience conscious moments. Time seems to slow down when the brain is processing information at a faster rate. In addition Hameroff suggests, in accordance with Roger Penrose’s interpretation of quantum theory, that information in the brain can travel backwards through time. New Thinking Allowed host, Jeffrey Mishlove, PhD, is author of The Roots of Consciousness, Psi Development Systems, and The PK Man. Between 1986 and 2002 he hosted and co-produced the original Thinking Allowed public television series. He is the recipient of the only doctoral diploma in “parapsychology” ever awarded by an accredited university (University of California, Berkeley, 1980). He is also the Grand Prize winner of the 2021 Bigelow Institute essay competition regarding the best evidence for survival of human consciousness after permanent bodily death. He is Co-Director of Parapsychology Education at the California Institute for Human Science. (Recorded on August 5, 2015)

“Do not seek to be anything else than what you are, and in doing so, you will come nearer to the One.” Plotinus (204–270 BCE) Roman Philosopher

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR DAILY REFLECTION BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE SCHOOL OF PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY

Countdowns

By Anthony Wood published yesterday (Space.com)

The Artemis 2 mission to the moon beamed back some incredible photos, and we’ve rounded up the best ones.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Jump to:

• 1 – A crew with their moon rocket
• 2 – Readying for flight
• 3 – Launching to the moon
• 4 – A view of Earth from space
• 5 – Incredible Orion selfies
• 6 – Earthset
• 7 – The far side of the moon
• 8 – Earthrise from around the moon
• 9 – A total solar eclipse from space
• 10 – Eclipse safety in space
• 11 – A group hug felt around the world, from space
• 12 – Earth looms large in Orion’s window
• 13 – Return from the moon
• 14 – Splashdown
• 15 – Pulling Orion from the sea
• 16 – Journey’s end

NASA’s historic Artemis 2 mission around the far side of the moon officially ended on April 10, as astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen’s Orion spacecraft splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean, having survived the fires of re-entry.

The 10-day mission saw humans return to lunar space for the first time since Apollo 17 visited the moon over five decades ago, and broke the record for the most distant crewed spaceflight in the history of human space exploration. Christina Koch, meanwhile, became the first woman to travel beyond low Earth orbit and see the far side of the moon, while Victor Glover became the first person of color to witness its barren beauty up close.

Join us as we look back through the most incredible photographs captured over the course of the Artemis 2 mission, from launch to splashdown, Earthrises and total solar eclipses and all of the major milestones in between.Article continues below 

Watch full video here: Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS captured in amazing time-lapse from space

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• Relive Artemis 2’s epic moon flyby with these amazing photos
• Relive NASA’s historic Artemis 2 launch to the moon in these stunning photos
• Artemis 2: A moon mission of many milestone firsts

1 – A crew with their moon rocket

Days before launch, the Artemis 2 crew posed in front of their Space Launch System rocket as it waited upright at Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

2 – Readying for flight

This candid shot shows Artemis 2 astronauts dressed in their orange Orion Crew Survival System spacesuits, which are designed to protect the crew during ascent through Earth’s atmosphere and upon re-entry. The fashionable orange color was selected in part to help recovery crews spot the astronauts in the ocean should they ever need to exit Orion without the aid of divers, while the helmet is lighter and more durable than any previous flight suit.

3 – Launching to the moon

Artemis 2’s colossal moon rocket slipped the surly bonds of Earth at 6:35 p.m. EDT (2235 GMT) on April 1, blasting into the skies above NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, in Florida, to open a new era of crewed spaceflight, which could one day see American boots return to the lunar surface, this time to stay.

4 – A view of Earth from space

This photo of Earth was captured by Artemis 2 mission commander Reid Wiseman on Flight Day 2 of the 10-day mission, shortly after the Orion spacecraft executed its translunar injection burn to set it on a course for the far side of the moon. Auroras can be seen shining at the top and bottom of Earth’s disk, while a flare of zodiacal light is visible to the lower right, where sunlight caught dust particles spread throughout the plane of the ecliptic.

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5 – Incredible Orion selfies

Christina Koch was also caught photobombing in the window of an out-of-this-world Orion spacecraft selfie alongside the zero-gravity indicator Rise on that same day! The photo was captured using a modified GoPro camera attached to one of Orion’s four solar panels, which power the spacecraft by converting sunlight into usable electricity.

6 – Earthset

The Artemis 2 crew were able to capture a gorgeous image of Earth setting behind the lunar horizon during their historic flyby of the moon’s far side. White clouds can be seen swirling across the illuminated crescent of Earth’s disk encompassing Australia and Oceana, as the cratered lunar surface stretches out beneath.

This wide-angle view of Earthset was captured using one of the solar-panel-mounted GoPro cameras. The white mass of the Orion spacecraft’s service module dominates the left side of the image, festooned with attitude control thrusters, solar panels and, of course, NASA’s red “worm” logo, alongside that of its partner, the European Space Agency, which designed and built the module.What to read next

• Splashdown! Artemis 2 astronauts return to Earth after historic NASA mission to the moon
• ‘The most special thing that will ever happen in my life’: Artemis 2 astronauts describe their epic moon mission
• Artemis 2 astronauts fly around the moon in record-breaking lunar loop by NASA

7 – The far side of the moon

This photo of the far side of Earth’s moon was captured on Flight Day 6, roughly three hours into the crew’s lunar observation period, according to NASA. On this day, the astronauts took the opportunity to name one previously unobserved crater after Reid Wiseman’s late wife Carroll, and another after their Orion spacecraft, Integrity. They also observed multiple impact flashes as micrometeoroids collided with the lunar surface, which were greeted by “audible screams of delight” by NASA scientists.

8 – Earthrise from around the moon

The astronauts were able to see a crescent Earth emerge from behind the night side of the moon at the tail end of their flyby of the lunar far side. The shot is a fascinating reverse of the historic “Earthrise” image captured by Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders during the first mission to orbit Earth’s natural satellite.

9 – A total solar eclipse from space

Soon after their lunar flyby, the astronauts of Artemis 2 witnessed a total solar eclipse as the sun passed behind the lunar disk. The brighter crescent visible on the left side is created by a phenomenon called “Earthshine”, wherein sunlight reflects off our planet’s atmosphere to strike the moon.

10 – Eclipse safety in space

Here the Artemis 2 astronauts can be seen wearing eclipse glasses to protect their eyes as the lunar disk swept over the face of our parent star — after all common sense doesn’t stop at the atmosphere’s edge.

11 – A group hug felt around the world, from space

The crew of Artemis 2 share a group hug on Flight Day 7 of their 10-day journey, a day after completing their successful flyby of the lunar far side. By then, Orion had travelled beyond the lunar sphere of influence, where the moon’s gravitational pull is stronger than that of the Earth.

12 – Earth looms large in Orion’s window

Earth steadily grew larger in Orion’s window in the days that followed, as the spacecraft accelerated dramatically towards our Blue Marble while held tightly in its gravitational embrace. This image was taken from the NASA livestream on April 10 from one of Orion’s solar-panel-mounted GoPros, mere hours before re-entry.

13 – Return from the moon

Having journeyed to the moon and back, Artemis 2’s Orion capsule descended safely under parachutes. Minutes before, the capsule and its crew had faced the fires of re-entry — and with it a brief loss of communications — following weeks of speculation on the durability of their all important heat shield.

14 – Splashdown

Artemis 2’s Orion spacecraft “Integrity” splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego at 8:07 p.m. EDT on April 10 (0007 GMT on April 11). The capsule was swiftly surrounded by helicopters and fast boats deployed from the USS John P. Murtha amphibious transport ship.

15 – Pulling Orion from the sea

With the astronauts safely aboard, recovery teams set to work towing the charred Orion spacecraft into the well deck of the USS John P. Murtha. Prior to being moved, the capsule was fitted with an inflatable collar and other buoyancy aides to keep it in the upright “Stable-1” position.

16 – Journey’s end

Having returned safely to Earth, Artemis 2 commander Reid Wiseman rests a hand on the scorched outer hull of the Integrity capsule as it rests on the well deck of the recovery ship. Its NASA logo and American flag are charred but visible above the nozzles of attitude control thrusters, having survived the hostile environment of interplanetary space, and the fires of re-entry.

The most detailed Artemis SLS Lego set, this adult-aimed model has 3,601 pieces and stands 28-inches (71 cm) tall. We thought “Lego has knocked it out of the park” in our full build review. Don’t forget about the newer, more compact and much cheaper Lego Technic SLS set, only $60, also ‘launches’ with some clever Technic moving parts.

Want more Artemis 2 stories? Then why not find out what astronauts Wiseman, Koch, Hansen and Glover thought of their historic moon mission in their own words? Be sure to check out our Artemis Program explainer article while you’re at it, and discover what NASA has planned for Artemis 3, and beyond.

Anthony Wood

Skywatching Writer

Anthony Wood joined Space.com in April 2025 after contributing articles to outlets including IGN, New Atlas and Gizmodo. He has a passion for the night sky, science, Hideo Kojima, and human space exploration, and can’t wait for the day when astronauts once again set foot on the moon.