“O! here
Will I set up my everlasting rest,
And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars
From this world-wearied flesh.”
Romeo in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet [V.iii.109-11]
Know the source of the quote in the Sag Scope? Send me the source of that quote, maybe in its original language, just to make this worthwhile, and we’ll see about getting you a custom (abbreviated) Fishing Guide to the Stars natal (el-cheapo) report, offer valid only through email.
Aries : I was looking for a different quote, something that I knew was from Mark Twain, but I never did find a real source for it. And despite having numerous reference books (along with many astrology texts), I couldn’t find a real location for this quote. You’re faced with a similar problem this week, you can’t quite get to where it is that you’re trying to get to. The answer to the question for the week, at least one of the answers, does come from Mr. Twain, in one of his various rumblings, “The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.” Pausing is not an Aries characteristic (that’s just one of the many things we like about you), but a correctly timed pause this week would have a beneficial result. And I’m not the first one to suggest this for you, either. Mr. Twain said it first — that much we both know. I don’t have a source, other than my online database. So you might not have a source for your pause, either, but it doesn’t mean that a good pause at the right time won’t help you immensely.
Taurus : We have to look at a few facts about Romeo here. You wonder why I’m writing about Romeo? Must be something about inauspicious love this week, right? I was more interested in Romeo’s facts. He was just a kid. In the play, he’s probably only about 15 years old, but in Padua (same place that St. Anthony comes from) 15 was an adult, at the time of the play. Literary detectives are interesting, and this fact about Romeo has something to do with your week. You’re going to be faced with the same type of troubles he’s faced with. A passionate embrace, a scenario that leads to what feels like true love, and a world that feels like it’s out to prevent you from achieving your goals. It’s not really the world out to get you, though, but it is a lunar phase which seems to stand in your way, every time you turn around. Doesn’t much matter what you try, you feel like you can’t get ahead this week. Now look: Romeo met a tragic end. There’s no reason for you to have a tragic end to this week, too, just ride it out and realize that it’s passionate problem instead of a real (and difficult) situation.
Gemini : There’s just the weirdest little bit of good luck which happens into your life this week. Now, if you are a good Gemini (you’re reading FGS, you must be a good Gemini), you might be districted and miss this bit of fun. This little dose of good luck takes a degree of effort on your part in order to capitalize on it — you’ve got to do something in order to make this good luck work. And there’s one other problem with good luck and Gemini this week, you have so many things crying for your attention that you might just miss this one. That wouldn’t work. That just wouldn’t do at all. It’s dangerous proposition to suggest that a Gemini pay attention to the details, but this is a week when there is at least one detail you don’t want to miss. Romeo kicks off this week, so it’s like that Romeo thing, remember? If he had just figured out that his girlfriend was asleep — not dead — they could have all lived happily ever after. Don’t miss your cue.
Cancer : I’ll be you’re feeling a little restless right now, a little bit like, “There’s someplace I’m supposed to be — but no one told me where!” It’s the missing things this week which you feel like are the most important. I worked at a used books bookstore for a little while. (It was losing proposition at best, invariably outspending my paycheck.) Folks would cart in box load after box load of books — “Tells a lot about a person by what you buy back, huh?” asked one customer. But this week is like working in that used books bookstore, it’s not what they’re selling back that’s important, not this week, it’s what they left on the bookshelf at home that’s important. It’s like the sub text in most communications, it’s not what you see, it’s what you DON’T hear that is so important. Being aware that there’s this inaudible message which leaves you a little restless. For that, there’s no answer. However, if you can figure out how to put this restlessness to work, you might get to the real meat of the message for now. Remember, it’s written between the lines, all week long.
Leo : In astrology, each of the signs are divided into little, ten degree slices. That makes each sign really three signs, e.g., early Leo, middle Leo and late Leo. Each slice of the Leo sky has a profound influence on it this week. The problem with each slice is that there is markedly different affect from each of these influences. One suggests you go fishing and eschew any kind of work this week. One suggests that you roll up your sleeves and tackle a big project which you have been putting off for some time. And one suggests that it’s a good time for a road trip. If there was some way to combine all of these disparate influences this week, then you will have the week all rolled up into one, neat package. Unfortunately, if you’re not a highly trained professional Astrology Fishing Guide, then it might be hard to say that a fishing trip to a far away destination, which is really a working trip and a big project, and a road trip, all wrapped up in one. Confused? I am. I would take this week and try to turn that one big deal into an amusing “game” of some kind. In other words, tackle work and turn it into play this week. You’ll be amazed at how much you can get down, if you get right down to it.
Virgo : I have a couple of portable computing devices. One of them can plug into the digital phone thing, and I can log onto the web and work from any destination which has cellular and digital access. Pretty cool, right? The problem with this arrangement is that there are hills and valleys — to this day — which ain’t got such access. One of the most picturesque spots on the planet is just north of the Big Bend area, in West Texas, and yes, it’s just remote enough so that a the thoroughly modern method of communication, the cell phone, the digital thing, all of that — just doesn’t work. What happens? I get out a very analog device called a “pen” and I write on something called “paper.” I realize it’s not exactly a linear way of approaching business at the beginning of the age of information, but it works surprisingly well. Mars is in Leo, not for very much longer, but certainly for the time being, and as long as he’s there, an analog approach to a digital problem will benefit you best.
Libra : I am hardly one who can find fault with searching for solace in the feed bag. It’s not me who can suggest that something which is “chicken fried” should not be considered a “comfort food.” I would never want to place an idea in a Libra’s brain that some dish with cream gravy, perhaps chili cheese fries, or the dessert that invariably follows is a form of getting through the week. It’s just not a healthy concept in a time and place where bean sprouts and macrobiotic restaurant are all the rage. But simpler cuisine choices are important this week. See, it’s Venus and then little Mercury, too, and they both conspire to aggravate your appetite and emotions, and when both those things get riled up, there seems to be only one solution: comfort food. There’s a place here, where the tacos are labeled “soft” but the whole mess is just dripping in grease. You bite in and the stuff squirts out, and runs down your arm to the elbow, and then drips back onto the plate. It is so good, you don’t mind the fact that there’s a cardiac care unit waiting on you. So be careful with how you deal with this Venus influence this week. You’re tempted to excess, and I’m not sure it’s the best way to go.
Scorpio : It’s hard to cover all seven days, and be reasonably accurate for a good sign like Scorpio. But there is a certain gleam in your eye this week, and I’d like to think that this gleam will be there all week long. If it’s not there all seven days, then I still figure, based on the relative position of the Moon and such, that this gleam will be with you for at least five out of those seven days. Makes for some interesting times. What are you going to do? Of course, being a slightly secretive Scorpio (“I’m not secretive, just cautious,” you say), some of the rest of us are going to wonder just what the heck you’re up to. The trick, this week — right now, is to act like you’ve got a great secret. I know you’re holding back, and you look like you might be ready to laugh at any moment, or unleash one of those typical Scorpio comments that cuts right to the core. Let’s just pretend that this is a good thing, that “prepared to devastate” state you seem to be in. Keep with the merry glint in your steely Scorpio eye. Just don’t tip your hand, not right away. If you’re about to make a cutting remark, hold on to it for a little while, let’s wait and see.
Sagittarius : I was going to suggest that this is the week that you finally make that big step, your mind expands, and you can see the whole picture rather clearly now. I was going to suggest that this is the week when old issues resolve themselves, and like so much that has been promised as the herald of the next millennium, it all finally gets here. But what’s really happening is a little more pedestrian and pedantic and little less prosaic. All that high flown talk about “consciousness expansion” is really interesting banter. But what happens in the real world needs your attention right now. So much for the “higher mind” and worrying about your soul’s destination right now. Get back to some basics. Clean house, and I’m suggesting this in a spirit of reality instead of a metaphorical or allegorical way of looking at the week. That doesn’t mean take the whole week off and spend all your time cleaning, but you’ve got some nitty gritty stuff which needs looking after, so eschew some of the philosophical banter and, “chop wood, carry water.”
Capricorn : “Work this” and “career that.” These are taunts winging in from the Capricorn Camp, at this time of the year. You guys are ready to talk about anything else but the stuff that money is made of. Yet, if you would indulge me for just a moment, you’re going to find that the smallest effort directed in an unusual fashion towards work, like having a pen and paper handy when that one moment of inspiration strikes, that’s what makes all the difference in this week. It was like this “creative financing” problem I was wrestling with. When I finally arrived at a solution, a somewhat convoluted but nevertheless useful solution, I was in the middle of the lake, and I didn’t remember to pack pencil and paper, I wasn’t properly prepared for sudden inspiration. The off shore cash haven, the blind trust, the corporate shuffle, the circuitous route the cash took from a numbered Swiss bank account into my hands, all was lost. But if you are prepared this week, you’ll find that you can retrace that route when the inspiration hits you. Remember, this flash of insight hits at the least convenient time, like the guy I was fishing with was pretty sure I was asleep.
Aquarius : I’ve never really been comfortable with the term “up hill battle” and this might be due to the fact that everything in my own life always feel like it’s a struggle. Yet, this does seem like the best way to describe the way the week is going to go for you. I wouldn’t make such a dire prognostication without a few bits of hopeful news, and I was using the term “up hill battle” with a slightly different spin attached to it. It’s like a slow and gradual incline as the week progresses. This slope takes you up and up, ascending each day, getting to a new level. And with all this wonderful feeling stuff happening right now, you’re going to wonder why I was calling it a battle. There are a few — relatively minor — points which will cause you to struggle, but in many cases, this week, you can side step the problem and keep climbing. And as each step takes you closer to the top of the week, the top of your climb, to the best moment in the week, you’re going to discover that you’re not there yet. It only continues to improve.
Pisces : Most of the Pisces I’ve polled have very little trouble with relationships. That’s not exactly correct, but Pisces do seem to have fewer troubles with accepting their mate or partner as he (or she or it, in some cases) might be. This is a strength, usually, a benign gift for being Pisces. The problem is that this week, you’ve got a little difficulty accepting your mate, lover, pet (animal companion), whatever, for what they might be. Or what you might want to suppose they might be. This is one of those times when little things in life, minor annoyances come creeping to the top. It’s like this really nasty looking stuff which is on the very top of a boiling pot full of crawfish. It’s this really thick, textured stuff, spices, grease, more spices, peppers, garlic and so on. While it has a delightful aroma, the actual appearance can be a little off putting. This stuff floating on the top of the week is just like that mixture of Cajun spices: you just have to trust that the process will work out with an extremely rewarding return for your invested time. It’s just that the process itself might not look too good. And crawdads aren’t really in season, either, but it was such a delicious imagine, I couldn’t resist.
