"The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together."
Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well [V.iii.29]
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Aries: In a general way, you’re sitting in a pretty good place. Towards the end of March, after South By So What — a local event with some national acclaim, there’s an internationally famous carp fishing tournament. Last year, I was talking to one out-of-state participant, last year’s winner, as it turned out. Maybe a winner this, year, too? One can hope.
Aries is full of hope and promise these days. Unlike some of us who are full of something else. So you’ve got hope and promise, and you sling your Aries fishing line out in the river and hope for the best. Is that a nibble? Is there a telltale fluctuation in the fishing line, indicating that something’s on the business end of the fishing line? Or is just errant spring zephyrs, stirring the tip of the rod, tugging on the line? There’s always hope, and there’s also some promise that begins to fill the next couple of days. Simple as that. Might not happen right way, but it’s bound to hit, before the end of the week. And happy Aries birthday.
Taurus: Much as I detest settling into old tropes and familiar conceits about horoscopes, after looking over your chart for the next week, what I came up with was a romantic question — and answer — for the Martian influence. Supposedly, this is a good time to render a decision about a certain situation.
The wildflowers are popping up, the highway verge is full of bluebonnets in places, and there’s that incipient "spring and love are in the air" feeling. So according to one tome that I tend to respect, the idea is to decide what’s best for Taurus. Move forward or find another? Good question. However, as this is not just a Mars influence, but an Aquarius Mars stimuli, I’d also recommend a little bit of extra breathing room, as I like to call it.
More space. More time to make a decision. More space and time to gather facts, analyze that data, run it through the data-mining operation in the Taurus head, and then, analyze the results. Sounds like a lot of thinking. It is. But on certain occasions, it’s better to make sure you’ve got a firm grip on the concepts as well as good command of the facts before moving forward. A Taurus buddy usually recommends we "break bread together" before reaching a momentous decision. That’s a good idea. Catch a meal with an objective observer to verify what your conclusions are before you act.
Gemini: I was reeling in a bobber, really, a saltwater set-up that I was just "testing" on the river. Instead of shrimp, I’d put a live worm, just to test, more than anything else. I was getting ready for a coastal trip, I guess, or thinking about going coastal, or hoping, or whatever. It’s all about expectations, too, and what I can — and won’t — expect. Then again, with my test arrangement, I did use a bit of live bait, but in my mind, I was merely doing that for effect, a little verisimilitude. Literally.
So I did catch a fish, actually, a nice-sized old girl, and it was a surprise experience. But every time I make cast, I have to expect that I might actually hook something. The simple message was that I wasn’t expecting to catch anything, but then again, I was fishing, and instead of a bare hook, I’d added a little bit of bait from Kramer’s Worm Farm (some live bait sold here). Popping corks, silver spoons and treble hooks are really for the coastal flats, and live worms are for lakes. Make the distinction. But don’t be surprised if a popping cook really does catch a lake fish. I know it’s odd, but you’re a Gemini, and even a test run can have unexpected (good) results.
Cancer: Castroville, Texas. It’s a little town, not far from here, and I’ve passed through it a time or two, on my way hither and yonder. I’ll admit, I fell for the simple ruse of the name, too, assuming that it was of Latin or Hispanic origins, I mean, it looks like it should have a Spanish heritage, doesn’t it?
In fact, Castroville was named for a founding father, Henri Castro of Paris, France. He was actually a Germanic-French dude, and the rest is history, and I’m sure it’s available some place. The note for the Cancer slice of the sky, though, that has a lot to do with appearances, and how jumping to a conclusion can sometimes lead a person astray. Not that I mind being lead astray, not me, I tend to enjoy it. Also, I’ve never been too concerned with making sure my data is all factual. Look up Mr. Henri Castro and his little burg some day.
Fascinating slice of Texas history. But that’s not the real clincher, it’s that he was French, not Spanish. Frankly, I don’t care about the lineage and heritage, what I’m concerned with the hasty conclusion, the assumptions I erroneously suffered under for lo, these many years. Got it? Check the facts before you say something that doesn’t hold water.
Leo: Might seem a little odd, but there’s a creek close by that offers decent (and affordable) swimming. Water’s clear, and on a very warm afternoon, I wandered that way, intent on submerging myself in Barton Springs, if only for a minute. I picked a spot between two sets of young, urban males. Teenager to twenties, be my guess. But that’s just a guess. A third group approached, shirtless and damp, and they had a youngster in tow, I’m guessing, maybe four feet tall, and swaggering with youthful abandon.
I just stayed mute, observing. I got wet, and then, standing knee-deep in the cold, clear water, I watched as the youngest ascended a willow, precariously perched on the bank. From the banter, he was being goaded into jumping into the creek, but all of that group were unsure of the depth of water. Eventually, I’ll hazard a guess, his older brother waded in and they all determined that the water was not deep enough for the kid to jump. So, there he was, out on a limb, and he was faced with the prospect of having to shimmy back down.
As youngster, that really wasn’t a problem, except that he was planning on jumping, and he hadn’t consider the other possibilities. What with the planets, especially Mars, where they are? Careful about going out on a limb, only to then discover there’s no way back, and going forward might not be a good idea. I wandered off before he ever reached a decision, and since I didn’t read about accidents in the paper, I’ll assume he’s safe. I’ll also assume that you take this as a warning and make sure your fine Leo self has an escape, if the water isn’t deep enough to jump.
Virgo: Nominally, it’s springtime. The little birds are chirping. South By So What is over with, and most of the spring break holidays are done with. It’s a long haul from here until school’s out and summertime. Least, that’s what it feels like, especially in Virgo land. And as such, I’m just warning you about the long haul from here to there.
As the daylight savings time shifts the evening’s hours around, you’ll notice that the days feel perceptibly longer, and that means there’re good changes on your horizon. I’m thinking springtime fishing. I’m thinking cold mornings on the water, followed by warm afternoons, and the post-spawn bass patterns. It’s nice out. It may seem like a long haul from here — spring break land — to there — the summer vacation land. However, there are some bright spots along the way, a couple of points that should be amusing, at least, amusing for the Virgo. As you look how far away summer vacation is? Don’t despair. No, really, it’s just around the corner.
Libra: I was behind one of the government office buildings, in the parking lot, and I noticed a nice truck with large fishing boat behind it. The apparent owner, or minder, or both, had taken a moment off from the office job to check on the boat. We chatted briefly about fishing, destinations and all, and I kept wondering, he was talking about taking a large boat to a small lake. Good fishing lake, one I’ve ben known to frequent, but the boat itself looked like a big rig, and that size of water craft might have a hard time fitting into the small spots on that one lake.
The boat, to me, looked more like a "bay boat," or a coastal craft than little critter for the small ponds we’ve got. Didn’t much matter, as the moon phase was going to be good, and I’m sure that the one lad will enjoy some luck with his fishing endeavor. I think he was headed to a Thursday night tournament, an evening affair. But I’m not sure. Just a guess. I’m in favor of fitting the right tool the job at hand. Whether it’s fishing — or some other task? Make sure you’ve got the right tool — the right water craft — for whatever the job dictate.
Scorpio: At one point, I discovered that I could walk places and return client phone calls at the same time. Timing’s kind of important, as I prefer to be on less populated section of the trail, not on a busy downtown street, but I can work with just about any place, these days.
Then too, walking can sometimes be immensely enhanced with an audio accompaniment, from, like, one of my iPods. Or something. I was rattling on with a client about times, planets, and so forth, as I exited my tiny trailer in South Austin, bound for the trail. I’d thoughtfully included an iPod in case I wanted music later. Wallet and keys, set to go, correct? After I rang off the phone, I fished around in a pocket for earbuds. Then, ambling along, I patted myself down, to find which pocket I had stuck the earphones in. Which I hadn’t. So I had music, if I wanted it, or the phone, if I wanted it, but no earpiece for either. This little fact didn’t bother me too much; however, I’m funny like that. I can enjoy a leisurely stroll sans music. Don’t confuse what’s a luxury with what’s a necessity.
Sagittarius: I was making a list of items I plan on picking up this weekend, or next, or whenever I get out to a store. Really, there were only two items that are of critical importance, cat food and catfish bait. However, once I started wheeling the cart around in the super store, I discovered there were a number of other items I’d wanted, too.
More than bait and cat food. Or along with bait and cat food, more dietary staple kind of items. Food. But it wasn’t on the list so I didn’t deem it "mission critical," since I was trying to stick to the list. That’s the idea, too, as this weekend arrives: stick to the list. For a Sagittarius like myself, I consider "the list" as a set of guidelines, not necessarily a hard and fast set of rules. But I’ve found that a little shopping discipline helps. It’s all about the little items that you think — I think — is needed. Need or just wanton desire?
Capricorn: I was crossing the west Texas plains, and there, high on a hilltop, there was a wind farm. The turbines were slowly turning in the spring breezes, gentle zephyrs slowly generating some electricity — bound for Austin, no doubt. A little later, a semi pulled onto the highway, and its load was a single propeller for one of those turbines.
The wind farm, it was on a distant hill top, and I was guessing that the turbines weren’t really that big. When confronted with the fact, though, that single blade was an oversized load, nearly a third longer than the usual tractor-trailer. I knew they were big, but I had no idea. The sheer size of the single turbine bladed propeller was immense. Huge. Long. Big. Monstrous. Seeing that single blade after seeing the wind farm put an extra dose of perspective on what I saw.
Weird how that works. I never thought that those things were so big. I always figured they were more like the usual windmill seen working a cattle water pump. So much for my lack of concept. That’s also part of the question — and answer — for Capricorn. It’s about seeing one item, a place, a position, and then gathering corroborating evidence. It’s also about not being too hasty with decisions, too. Wait until you’ve gathered all the facts before leaping out there and suggesting that the wind turbines on that electricity farm aren’t really that big. They are.
Aquarius: I was sitting behind — apparently — a dad and his very young son, destination unknown. "Dad, dad, I want some apple juice," the tiny tot was saying, just as the flight crew went through the safety instructions. "Yeah, son, I want a Crown and Water, ain’t going to happen," the dad responded. That’s what the last of the Aquarius-Mars interaction is looking like. Could be the adult side, longing for a special beverage, it could be a child-like desire for apple juice, it could be my mind wondering about Crown and apple juice, what’s that called? Or, it could be about understanding that there are certain delays.
In this case, it was simple, three to five minute delay while the plane taxied out and took off. Although, it was a morning flight, and while hard liquor might be a good way to deal with certain parent situations, I can’t say that I recommend it. I think the dad had water without the Crown and the kid did have his apple juice. Eventually. Mars makes us a little quick — relax and enjoy the preflight show.
Pisces: I came in from fishing one morning. I felt something crawling on my leg, and I looked down, it was a little green worm. I think they are bag worms, but I’m not sure. Inch worms? Trout fisher-people pay close attention to what insects are hatching, and that is a clue. For them. Bass guys like me, we’re less cognizant of the minute insect life, preferring something a little more robust since our target is a little more ferocious.
I picked the worm up, carefully, and I set it back outside. No big deal. Preserve nature, move in harmony and so forth. But I got to thinking, a dangerous place alone and unarmed, like I was, and I wondered if a little green worm-looking bait might be more effective. I rooted around in a tackle box to see if I had something that resembled the worm — no luck — nothing that tiny. Something that green, and something that moves like the worm, but nearly as small. So I gave up and tended to regular business. But that worm idea has some kind of merit, only, I haven’t had time or energy to figure it out.
Unlike me, you’ve got a little bit of extra time, and while I seriously doubt you’re trying to match hatch to fish for bait, I’m thinking that you can figure something out — some little trick that will work. Maybe cut a regular plastic worm in half? Maybe something else? The tiniest of details hold your clues.
