For the Week starting: 9.6.2007
“If I lose mine honour
I lose myself.”
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Shakespeare’s Antony & Cleopatra (II.iv.26-7)
Venus starts to go un-retrograde.
Aries: Face to face with certain questions, sometimes there is no one, clear answer. Sometimes, there’s more like two possibilities rather than a clear-cut answer. That’s what it looks like from my position, at this moment. More than one way to get a tak done. More than one way to handle a certain situation that might require a little more inventive and creative solution than you really want. Consider coming up with a primary plan and then, as back-up for yourself, an secondary plan. Perhaps there’s even room for a tertiary plan, too. Never hurts to have an alternative to the alternative. Mars is floating along in Gemini, and as such, it sometimes takes more than one concerted effort to reach a goal. That’s the point. A buddy of mine is salesman. “Man, when they say ‘no,’ that’s when the selling starts,” is his explanation. I would just consider having more than one route to get to the destination.
Taurus: I was reading a novel by a junior novelist and while the characters and settings were certainly engaging, there were a few holes in the plot. It was, as if, there was point where an editor — god-like in presence — had deemed that certain material had to be inserted to make the plot follow a somewhat logical line. That was a little bit of jolt. It was, as if, some material had to be inserted to tie up disparate loose ends. Made the tale slightly jarring to read, although, the momentum built up by settings and characterizations pulled the tale along well enough. AS a sophomore effort, I would applaud the novel. As a finished product on its own? I’m less than thrilled. But I don’t have any novels in print, myself, so it’s more like I’m critical of something I can’t do. Which doesn’t mean that the book’s not enjoyable, only, it didn’t quite flow the way I was hoping it would flow. Some of the literary devices were too transparent. I’d watch out for this kind of editing in Taurus, too. Going back and dropping in background material, late in the game? It can having a slightly jarring effect. “No wait, I meant to tell you about….”
Gemini: I was taking a hint from both Mars and the Moon, and I’m sure you’re tired of me trying to wax eloquent about an inelegant deal. It’s a matter of working with what works. There’s a hint that this can the beginning of something new, and rather than launch you into a whole, brand new project, I’d look back over the Venus message from the last couple of weeks. Mars and Venus have been setting you up. What you do with this arrangement, that’s up to you. But you’re in now in a position, or you will be shortly, wherein you can address some of the problems in a more constructive manner. The only caution is not to get carried away with a launching a new project. Rather, this is about more constructive clean-up of an exiting deal. Going back over old material is tiresome, at best, and rarely encountered, at worst, by a Gemini such as yourself. But that’s the idea, going back over something and straightening out a few kinks that could be addressed. In the back of your Gemini mind, there’s going to be a haunting quote, “I thought we went over this before,” and yes, actually, you did go over it before. But for the non-Gemini people involved? They need some review before moving forward.
Cancer: You did renew your fishing license, didn’t you? Appropriate question at this point. In Texas, the fishing license runs from August to August, each year. Which means it’s time to renew. Odds favor the local version of game wardens, and the odds favor them in way that suggests some folks out fishing might not have a current license. The license costs, like $20, and the fine is like, $50. All prices are approximate. But it’s safe bet that this is the time when the enforcement division is most likely to be out in force, enforcing. Something as simple as a fishing license is easily overlooked. Necessary, but not always, like critical. Except right now. “I’ll get one next week,” that doesn’t cut it. Good wishes and well-formed intent usually doesn’t work with uniformed officials. Now, whether it’s a fishing permit for Texas, or if it’s some other minor detail that involves licensing and permits? Just making sure the paperwork is all in order and more important, up-to-date? That’s the question. And that’s the point. It’s reminder, and the odds are good you’ll have to show your current documentation.
Leo: Change is in the air. The other afternoon, it felt perceptibly cooler. Not so much that it wasn’t hot out, but for just a moment or two, it felt like there wasn’t quite the searing heart in the local atmosphere. That’s good news to some. To me, it’s even better news because, as it cools just a little, the fish get more active as they forage in preparation for their wintertime. Means they’re biting and life is good again. The gradual shifting of the local seasons is much like what is happening, a gradual, gentle shift in Leo, which spells out cooler weather, better fishing, and most important, warmer temperaments. Which is important. But also like the shift in the local seasons, this is a more gradual change — our dear, Leo selves aren’t going to wake up one morning and have everything be all better, right away, over night. A local band “burst” onto the national scene and became a big hit. Overnight success? Hardly. Those guys toiled away, back and forth across the countryside, relentlessly touring until they suddenly became an overnight sensation. It did not happen overnight. The gradual shift in the seasons didn’t occur just one evening. The gradual beginning of a better brand of Leo life is occurring. But it’s not going to happen in just one evening. Although, early next week, you’ll definitely notice a difference.
Virgo: “Do I need to be worried about this?” It was a Virgo client, and yes, that client needed to be worried about that particular issue. It’s a recurrent problem that’s not going away. In fact, it’s getting worse, not better. Of course, a lot of this depends on what you’ve done, in the past, in order to be properly prepared for what’s coming up. And oh yes, happy birthday, too. Now, back to being properly prepared. It’s all about Saturn and what he’s stirring up. The planets are starting to align is a slightly more cohesive manner, but this is going so spell out trouble for my fine August Virgo folks. The rest of the Virgo folks, you guys get a little heads-up about what could be happening. You can track what’s going on with the August Virgo folks you know, and you can take that as a sign about what you need to do to be properly prepared. What this usually spells out is a period of time with long hours, low pay, negligible immediate benefits, and tremendous, long-term potential. That’s good. It’s also tough. Start looking at a plan that will minimize your expenses, and also look at a plan that will make the most of the return you’re getting on what you’re doing. The short-term, get-rich-quick, pie-in-the-sky dreams? Those are not a safe bet. The long term, work hard now, get paid (much) later deals? Those are coming together well. But start some preparations now.
Libra: It was early morning fishing. Finally! A cool morning! Certainly cooler than it has been, and that’s what I was looking forward to, and that’s just like this Venus thing going on, too, the weather, it seems to cool off. For brief moment, anyway, early one morning, it felt downright nippy outside. I could, possibly, attribute the cooler feeling to a fast little bass boat, the lake being in a large gully (canyon, waterway, whatever), and maybe the sun didn’t get to us as fast as it reached the flatter geographical locations. That’s the promise of Venus, September, and football season, all wrapped up into a single package. And fishing, too, as that’s more in line with what I enjoy. But there’s a cooling trend that is like welcome relief, like that morning on the lake, when it suddenly, actually, really, like, it feels like fall. Later in the day, it warmed up to a low broil, not much different from a typical summer’s day, but for a single, temperate moment, early in the morning, it was almost cold. Whether it’s weather or something else, the cooling trend is welcome relief. Thank Venus.
Scorpio: Some of the sweetest music ever, for a darling little Scorpio? “Hey, what do you know, you were right!” I’m not promising that you’ll hear that exact phrase, but if you’ve followed some of the recent advice I’ve doled out, you’ll find that you get hear a similar sentiment, echoed back to you. It’s matter of keeping your own, Scorpio cool for a little longer. This is a function of Venus versus the interplay between the sun and the moon. It’s a matter of not popping off at the wrong time, and it’s matter of keeping your Scorpio mouth firmly shut when you’d rather point out an egregious error by another (non-Scorpio) person. So take it easy. Relax. Keep it to yourself a little longer, and then like me, you can appear to be wonderful precognitive when someone points out that your Scorpio self was, indeed, right. Venus isn’t really out of her pattern yet, so it’s a good time to bide your time. Just a little longer.
Sagittarius: There are occasions when the search itself can often feel more rewarding than actually getting what you were looking for. It was an August night in Austin, and then after work, dinner, and so forth, the goal was simple: Amy’s Ice Cream has a rare flavor that is just the best, it’s a Cocoanut Ice. Since it’s an “ice” rather than “ice cream,” it’s non-dairy and supposedly, no fat or sugar. Right. I believe that part. Tastes too good. But that was the goal, that one flavor. Austin hosts a half-dozen locations, and rather than just accept mango-flavor, or lemon-lime, or a more traditional real ice cream, something light, flavorful and hard to find became an obsession. Just for a night. Started at one end of town and wound up cruising around to almost all the Amy’s stores before we hit one that had the right flavor. Was it worth it? I think so. Plus the cool evening, driving around with the windows down, the gentle, almost-Fall air, cooling off nicely? It was an epic ordeal that involved local navigation, stopping at one store where the line was out of the door, only to discover that the ice wasn’t on the board, then, on to another location, where, plainly visible from the street, the menu-chalkboard indicated that there wasn’t any Cocoanut Ice on hand. And so on, into the night, meandering, covering a lot of ground, and finally, with only one or two stores, left, one of the southernmost locations had the desired flavor.
Capricorn: “Table Shrimp $4 lbs.” It was a good deal, near as I could tell. The place was really a bait stand, sold live bait like live shrimp, mud minnows and finger mullet, plus, as always “fresh dead,” too. Decent prices. I thought about the cooler, and the idea of some of the jumbo shrimp, and I figured a pound or two of table shrimp would be a good deal to pack home. I asked about the price, and it turned out, this is one of those unregulated industries and marginally policed commercial operations, the table shrimp was four bucks a pound, if I bought two pounds, otherwise, it would be five bucks a pound. A sliding fee scale, something I’m familiar with, to be sure. So I did succumb to the marketing, and I did get two pounds of table shrimp. Big shrimp, too. Huge, in fact. It’s the late summer, maybe fall in some parts of the country, and those shrimp will make good frozen forage, for a winter’s night. Now, as Venus un-spools and corrects her errant path, you’re going to run into some deal. Good deal, bad deal? Perhaps a little shady with the advertising? Or is just a vendor who is assessing that you really do need, like me, at least two pounds of table shrimp?
Aquarius: “Whoa baby, better not get too close,” I was telling the counter help at one particular coffee place, “I’ve got my ‘homeless aroma’ on today.” It had been a rather muggy day in the city. Hot, even by my standards. And, there was a ton of moisture in the air so it was humid, as only a Central Texas day can be. I had been out in the sun, hustling from one place to another, and I was, like, this was my second day without a shower. Just an odd set of conditions, but I was smelly, and not in an attractive, “male pheromone” way. I didn’t realize how bad it was until the last part of the trip along the sidewalk. Over the stench of automobile exhaust and the city’s grime, there was my own stink. But this isn’t really about personal hygiene, it’s about timing. In my situation, the way my time got compressed, I didn’t have, or I didn’t allow, adequate time to take care of certain personal matters. The result was a smell for the afternoon. No clients to meet face-to-face, so it wasn’t much of an issue. The problem comes from a couple of planets, and what the issue becomes is matter of how to work in everything that needs to be attended to, like bathing. Doesn’t bother me. Too much. But it could be an issue if your Aquarius self doesn’t allow for enough time in the schedule to accomplish all the little tasks. Like bathing.
Pisces: I was reading the instructions — scratch that — I was glancing at the online help tutorial that came with a new piece of office equipment. There was a sealed instruction booklet, and it’s still sealed. All I wanted to know was what to plug into where, and I was good to go. There was simple set of one-page, quick-start instruction, or, what I would consider, “instructions for people who don’t read instructions.” I think there were three or four simple steps, but one of the first steps was, “Ascertain what you have on hand and what you need,” and I think there was a picture of some cables and a power supply, maybe a phone line or something. Paper and ink, if it was printer. This has exactly what to do with Pisces? Everything. It was that first step, that “ascertain what you have on hand” part of the procedure that was so important. While any serious Alpha-Geek would be disturbed by such a set of instructions, it was a little reminder to check everything before moving forward and getting some stuff plugged in only to have the whole thing not work because of a missing piece of connecting equipment. As Saturn begins to transit through Virgo? Before we go ANY further? Think about those instructions, and think about what you have on hand, and what you’re going to need, in order to get the task at hand accomplished.
