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from: KramerW@aol.com
subject: August AstroFish.net news

These late eclipses in the sun and moon portend no good to us: though the wisdom of nature can reason it thus and thus, yet nature finds itself scourged by the sequent effects. Love cools, friendship falls off, brothers divide: in cities, mutinies; in countries, discord; in palaces, treason; and the bond cracked 'twixt son and father.
Gloucester in Shakespeare's King Lear, Act 1, scene ii, lines 117-21

Monthly Overview of Astrological conditions: There's a solar eclipse around about the morning of the 11th of this month. What's that mean to you? All sort of depends on where it falls in your chart. But I do need to remind you that Gloucester was a bit of a pessimist, and I don't really feel like it portends bad stuff. Of course, it could. You never can tell.

Pluto moves direct this month, too, and Mars is picking up speed again, gathering momentum as he heads for the sign of the rolling stone, Sagittarius. Venus is going to change her tactics this month, too. In the warm summer months in Texas, the water heats up pretty good at the area lakes. A good fishing guide makes an effort to teach the the folks we guide about how to set a hook in the middle of the summer.

When the air is about 97 degrees and the lake is about 97 degrees, too, (at 7 AM) there's a curious condition. The uninitiated masses are still trying their sporting best to set the hook in that sports fish's mouth by giving the rod a distinct tug, a hard pull so the hook will adequately pierce the fish's lip. It's a hot summer so that doesn't exactly work. There's a gentle sweeping motion which is required.

Imagine yourself sitting on boat, feeling that first fighting strike, and then giving the rod a decent jerk to set the hook. What comes out of the water is a fish head attached to a fish skeleton. The problem is simple enough, it's a trick of the hot Texas summer weather. The fish are poached. Not like being illegally taken poached, I mean, like cooked poached. So when the planets are in disarray, learn to use a sweeping motion to set the hook, otherwise you're just going to wind up with a lake full of fish filets, and stringer full of trophy sized skeletons.

Aries: The big deal this month is this little eclipse thing. And it's going to cause a fair degree of consternation and brow furrowing for a few days this month. But it's also a flicker on the radar screen of the month as opposed to a real incoming problem. In fact, you're going to be able to step right over some of the troubles, some of the astrological debris kicked up by the eclipse. Even better, it looks like it's going to jar something loose in your mind. A new idea, a new concept, a new break. One of those things gets knocked loose this month. Seize that little item and get ready to run with it. It does indeed look good. Sure, there are few strange twists an turn to this month but you look fine in the big picture.

Taurus: I know we've had that little discussion about you know what. And I'm glad you remembered to take notes about it. In fact, you might want to refer back to those notes, perhaps a little later this month. It's the benevolent affectation of Jupiter, in a mild pattern, versus a less than really good Saturn thing going on. To top this off, there's a little thing like the eclipse which is determined to set you on edge, if only a little. I know that you're considering a move of some kind, but somehow, perhaps it's the prevailing astrological conditions, but somehow, this just doesn't just show up quite yet. I would sit tight, as the old expression goes, this month. It's a not such a bad time, not if you put it all in perspective. Of course, perspective is hard thing to come by this month, but I'm sure you'll be able to get it all in focus before too long.

Gemini: Ever play the "desert island" game? It's a mental exercise where you narrow down your option, like which ten albums would you take if you were stuck on a desert island for the rest of your life? Which ten books would you take? Which ten whatever would you take? I can see a Gemini working on this problem right now, "Only ten? Why not eleven? I need internet access, too..." And a phone. Maybe it would be "What ten phone numbers would you take?" This is a real question because you're going to feel like the eclipse strands you on a desert island. Not for long, just for a little while. It's not going to last all month, but you need to figure out what's important this month. It's like that game, the desert island game. And just what would you take? There are a lot options open, and you need to narrow it down to just the ten most important this month. Most important what? That's a decision best left to your multi-faceted Gemini mind.

Cancer: There's always a little period AFTER a Mercury retrograde that is, at best, a little unsettled. And guess what? You get to feel this one more so than other signs. Not that it has a lot to do with you, but it does. I was in El Paso once, having a cigar after a fine meal of barely charred dead cow parts, and I got this little glint in my eye. Slightly offbeat, slightly mischievous, slightly off center. It was the cigar, I'm sure. You're just like I was that night, only, your buzz from the cigar is going to feel like it lasts all month long. An extra cup of coffee, a mild soporific substance, a little up, a little down, and your head bursting with ideas. Try and pull all this together. I did what I do best in a situation like that, I went back to the motel and watched Xena on the cable TV. It's about all that was on. But there's more than reruns on your cable TV -- you can do a lot more with strange ideas floating through cranium.

Leo: To say that this is a weird time is a gross understatement. It is, indeed, a really bizarre time for you. It's not necessarily bad, but you are going to feel like you are being buffeted about by the winds of a capricious and malicious Fate. In fact, you're really going to wonder just what the heck this old Fate person is up to, because nothing is going to make sense. That's the down side. Now, there is good news in here because you might experience some pretty amazing emotional "highs" (without the benefit of medication -- a definite plus). This emotional seesaw is going to have an effect on your stability. Or perhaps your stability has an effect of the emotional condition for the month. Either way, you're going to feel it. The best solution is to enjoy the ride and realize that it's nothing more than a ride, like at a carnival. By the end of the month, you'll be able to step off the ride, and although you still feel like your stomach is lurching and spinning along, you'll be on solid ground again. And happy birthday, too!

Virgo: We've got this thing in Virgo, a Venus thing. To be sure, Venus backs down into Leo for a goodly portion of the month. And then spins around and heads back towards Virgo. For the select few of you who celebrate early Virgo birthdays, congratulations, you've made it. And for just about any Virgo, this is a strange time. There's a knocking at the back of conscious brain, deep and forbidden thoughts are bubbling to the surface. It reminds me about watching certain "drum-like" fish here at the lake, and I have observed them "cavorting" in the shallow parts along the shore, I believe they were mating, but it looked a little rough to me. All that thrashing, and I'm not sure the fish got exactly what they wanted. But Nature takes care of her own, and this is a month that Nature will, eventually, take care of you. And fish cavorting in shallow water might be the best way to describe your month. You want to make sure you don't get involved with something (or someone) that isn't good for you. With the Venus influence, though, that's a tough call.

Libra: There's certainly one thing to be glad of this month, and that's got a lot to do with the Libra concept of balance. You've got a lot of opposing forces in your life which require a degree of balance that you might not find so easily this month. You can blame the Moon, but she's just really clearing a little bit of a path for you. If you're like me, though, this pathway isn't too clear right now, and you're not sure it's such a good idea to begin with. I feel your fear, my Libra friend. I feel your fear. Now, this good stuff is about to happen because you can look around and figure that this whole Eclipse and other stuff is happening to other signs, and the fall out from this, as well as some other astrological events are going to miss you directly. Your fine Libra mind wonders about collateral damage. That's your call, my fine Libra friend.

Scorpio: Nothing so much reminds me of the way this month is going to go for you as a particular trout I once hooked. It wasn't, by modern trout standards, much of a fish, hardly a foot long. But I was working on antique fly equipment, and the gear was a little light for the critter. It felt like a monster fish. It felt like a whale. It felt like it was going to pull my frail body into the icy murk of the pool. I did, of course, win, but it was quite the struggle. A valiant effort was exerted by the fish. A noble effort. At the end of the month, after Mars, the eclipse and everything else hits you, you can enjoy the satisfaction with a tired but triumphant gleam in your eyes, the taste of that sucker fried up and ready to be eaten. Get the idea? You will, eventually, dine on your opponent. But it's going to take a degree of patience.

Sagittarius: This month reminds me a raucous yet disciplined ZZ Top song. Not familiar with the music? It's, more or less, blues which started out as a three chord band, down in the Texas swamp land. Over the years they grew, changed, mutated then got back to the basic blues. Nothing quite catches that basic Texas feeling better than a little bit of pop music. Pluto is going to blast the Archer some this month, and as much as you like to listen to the music at a deafening volume, I would heartily suggest that you exercise a little more control this month. Turn it down before your neighbors appear at the door. When the neighbors do show up, just inviting them in for the party doesn't always work. I realize you feel like everyone should enjoy the good time, and you love that music blasting, but not everyone is going to enjoy your appreciation of the finer points of Texas blues. Or raucous rock and roll. If you can show a degree of restraint this month, a lot more people will be happy.

Capricorn: It's hard to come up with refreshing allusions and strange metaphors that combine astrology, life and Texas, and maybe some Elizabethan playwright. Some months, it's easy to tease some meaning from the nuance of the very fabric of reality and create a good illusion. Or create a good allusion. Other times, it's just not such a simple task. Have you ever been cruising along in an old Ford truck, windows down on a hot summer day, perhaps sitting at a light in mid-afternoon traffic, and there's nothing on the radio? A low rider pulls up next to you, and there's a strong beatbox hip-hop melody pounding out of the stereo. Normally, getting your windows rattled is annoying, but this time, you relax, with the free music -- and this month is like that. What's usually comfortable isn't that great, but what's not usually comfortable is strangely comforting. And before you start mimicking Shakespeare's Richard the Third (motto: "My Kingdom for a horse"), you'd better realize that the car with the loud beat box stereo is a Mustang.

Aquarius: All my favorite Aquarius friends are a bit put out with me right now. Except one. But we're not talking about that one. The rest of you are upset because I don't seem to say enough about the eclipse pattern, and its ultimately good effect on you. Notice the careful choice of words here: ultimately. Unfortunately, getting to the end of the month might feel like a bit of a chore. In fact, it looks like you've got a lot of chores around the ranch which need tending right now. More than you wanted. If you only had enough Sagittarius in you, you could do like I do, and just put it off until later. "Later" can be next week, next month, or like I keep trying with certain state officials here, I keep hoping that later is sometime next year. After the big crash of all systems on January 1, 1900. But this is all a way of avoiding the central problem that's facing you guys this month. Too much to do, and it seems like there might not be enough time. Try to get some priorities set. What's most important, and what has to be done? I suggest planning the vacations first. It's like the local motto goes, "Life is short, eat dessert first."

Pisces: Things remain in the realm that you can deal with best: everything, this month, is theoretical. Got that? None of this is real. Everything is a chance. It's like, you know, the shadows in the cave, or, better yet, it's like living in a television show right now. Doesn't much matter what you do, you're going to feel like there is a better script this month, and no one seems to be on the same page that you're on. Okay, Pisces, don't worry. These eclipses are going to play havoc with your emotional side; however, they are not supposed to be reflected into your day to day living stuff. Notice the suggested wording is that "they are not supposed to be...." In the real world, I sort of wonder about that part, myself.

Feel free to forward this missive on to you friends, or enemies, we don't much care, but remember to include everything done to the signature to make sure the lawyer is happy.

AOL users only: free readings and much talk about astrology, bait and Austin cuisine on Wednesday nights, 9:00 PM CDT in the AstroNet Conference location. It's a weekly online chat sponsored by AOL's AstroNet.

1999
Aug. 7-8, El Paso, TX
Aug. 22, Whole Life Books, 1006 S. Lamar, Austin, TX
Sep. 18, Whole Life Books, 1006 S. Lamar, Austin, TX
Sep. 25-26, Arlington Convention Center, Arlington, TX
Oct. 2-3, Austin South
Oct. 8-9-10, Whole Life (Austin Palmer Auditorium)
Oct. 16-17, El Paso, TX
Oct. 24, Whole Life Books, 1006 S. Lamar, Austin, TX
Nov. 6, Whole Life Books, 1006 S. Lamar, Austin, TX
Dec 18, Whole Life Books, 1006 S. Lamar, Austin, TX
Y2K
Jan. 1, Dallas, TX
Jan. 7-8-9, El Paso Millennium Extravaganza (El Paso, TX)

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