"Unnatural deeds
Do breed unnatural troubles."
Shakespeare’s MacBeth (V.i.75)
Pluto in Capricorn, Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and a not-so-final note.
Aquarius: A little pizza place, not far from here, there’s a sign on the wall, "We make the pizza in the world." The addendum to the sign? (And we’re the judges.) How perfect, set yourself up as your own jury and judge to gauge whatever Aquarius endeavor there is that needs a judgment. Too bad that’s an easy way out. Worked, and worked well at that one pizza place, a little spot that is famous for eccentric help, weird patrons, where Texas-brag and Texas-fact could easily get confused.
Not that I would let that get in the way of the of good grub, either. Food’s pretty good, although, at that one place, I’m a little unsure of how fresh the majority of the ingredients are — the stuff that’s lying out — on the salad bar. But then, I don’t go to a sleazy, vainglorious pizza joint expecting healthy fare. I’m looking for pizza, arguably, some of the best in the world. And I’ll let them be a judge of that, too. It’s easier, sometimes, to make your own judgments and then let everyone else figure out for themselves.
Pisces: "You keep that up and I’ll have to spank you," I was telling a Pisces client. She was interrupting and second-guessing — in the wrong direction — my every word. "Spank me? Then you’ll have to do me." She smiled and got quiet. I blushed, too.
Couldn’t help it. It was a fitting set of comments to the situation at hand, and what I was trying to describe what was going to be happening in her chart, a very Pisces chart. There’s a hint that you’re second-guessing, trying to fill out the other person’s sentences, jumping and concluding, and usually that’s okay. Usually. Usually your timing is okay in this area. But it’s not right now.
The intuition is still good, the Pisces ability to see into the future is still running just fine. It’s the disconnect between the mouth and the brain, the way that intuition gets delivered, therein is the problem. It’s not so much Mercury, as it’s a different shift. There is a chance that you can land a good one in the melee, and that will suddenly bring down the house. Or, in my case, shut up the astrologer. But other than the one comment? Your timing is off. Be better if you did get spanked, one way or another.
Aries: "Dude, get your redneck on." Straight up advice. It was intended for a buddy of mine and he was facing a situation that really, in truly, had only one method of resolution. Yeah, he had to tough it out, he had to get tough, and he had to appear menacing.
Wouldn’t hurt if he looked like fisherman, a hunter, or some other similar swarthy out-of-doors man, maybe a NASCAR fan, some clue that suggested a rough and tumble attitude.
Ready to roll. I’d like to suggest, applied as you see fit, to your scenario this week. The way it looks, a little unconventional, common sense will go a long way to getting you through. Perhaps, even, triumph.
Taurus: The place I’m thinking of, they have this great salsa. It’s smoky, with a satisfying heat index, and yet, the heat doesn’t over-power the flavor. And that’s only the salsa, free with chips. The chips themselves are fried in the kitchen, and kept in the warmer, and now I’m starting to get hungry. I haven’t even touched on the tacos, enchiladas "y mas." But that’s not the point, they have a special dessert menu.
Top item? Homemade crepes, topped with homemade caramel sauce, Mexican vanilla ice cream, and sprinkled with nuts. Pecans, I’m sure. The problem was, despite the excellent fare, the way that dessert came out? It was under whelming pancakes, with caramel sauce straight out of the jar, and plain vanilla (generic bulk) ice cream.
Entree and appetizers that are the best, only to lose it on the dessert? I was, to say the least, sorely disappointed. Doesn’t mean I won’t go back, but for my money, I’ll stay away from that place’s "much regarded" dessert menu. As the week unfolds and as Mars (and Pluto) do their respective things, let them. As far as repeating a mistake, like the dessert? Don’t. Not worth it.
Gemini: If you have to know, I was really just killing a little time, but my Gemini side kicked up into a higher gear. I cruised along the internet’s tubes until I found a free adult site. I didn’t look for the more graphic and prurient of pictures, what I was looking for was head shots. Not what you think, either. One website requested that I have an "avatar," and while I’m interested in being obliging, I’m also interested in having fun while protecting some shreds of my own human dignity.
I clipped a couple of the faces of the "adult entertainment stars" from the web pictures. Perhaps what I did was, strictly speaking, illegal. Immoral? Depends, the pictures offered up on the web had no copyright notice, being of that ilk and all, and besides, I was using the faces. That’s the part no one would recognize. I’m guessing here, not my thing.
So when you search for my name on a website, and there’s a comment, and the little software avatar doesn’t look the least like me? That’s where, and why, I did it. The point is that it’s possible to completely lie about certain interesting points on the internet. I swapped places with a young starlet, at least, in my mind. Kept my visage firmly anchored here. There was actually a real reason, on that one site’s forum, why I changed my picture, but its message goes a long way to serve as a warning to my fine little Gemini friends.
Cancer: I’m not much of a true coffee geek. Some of my practices at home, some of the way I treat the coffee beans, before, during and after the process of making coffee? That would offend a true coffee geek. However, I do know what I like, and I do enjoy the interaction with various coffee experts. One was promoting a new "nozzle – less" basket, or bail, or spigot, the little thing that the espresso is tamped down into? The usual espresso bail has either a single nozzle or, more common in my view, the double spout.
So my coffee geek friend was expounding on the virtues of a basket with no nozzle. The coffee, espresso, really, would have less contact with metal. Make for a more flavorful coffee, and less heavy metal, one would suppose. If I have to tell the truth, and I will, I couldn’t tell much difference, that one guy can probably tweak delicious coffee out of a simple Mr. Coffee. He’s an expert like that. And the subtle variances? I’ll trust his judgment on the matter. So I can’t officially proclaim that the high-dollar, high-tech coffee-basket (with no nozzle) is the best way to make espresso.
However, I did observe that, in a single shot of espresso, that bail with no spout caused a tiny bit more cream (foam, head, call it what you want). Better flavor? Of that I’m unsure. Better presentation? Definitely. Does the presentation affect the flavor? Yes. From my way of seeing the problem, and its solution, the new device is useful. Will many people, other than Cancer understand that you needed to purchase the new device in order to make better coffee with better presentation? Probably not. That doesn’t matter. Like that true coffee geek, I’m sure Cancer folks need to make some adjustments, and I’m sure the rest of us (non-Cancer) people won’t understand the true implications. Doesn’t stop it from making life better. Or making better coffee.
Leo: I was wondering about the first term I came up with, and I didn’t like it. Not at all. But it did give me an idea. I played around on a musical website, and I found a piece of software that works like a pair of DJ turntables. It’s a software version of two turntables and microphone.
While I’m not musically inclined, I’m sure that the artist inside your Leo self is struggling to get out. What this software did was let anyone do a fairly respectable mash-up of two (or more) songs. Match and mix the starting points, the beats, the way the songs interact, and since it was, like a virtual turntable, you could also vary the speed of the music. All done electronically, and all in good fun. I’m sure, just to be perfectly clear, that the results probably break a number of laws. I’m not an expert, but I’d hazard guess that it’s not exactly legal. But after listening to a well-done version of mash-up, wherein several different audio tracks are layered and laid together, this was a chance to try it myself.
Search for a similar tool. You’ve got a bunch of stuff that’s coming together, and it’s going to look like a mash-up, audio, or otherwise. Techno-conjunto, country-disco, it all works, although, like my private label reserve mix? I’d suggest you keep the results to yourself. You’ll also discover that mixing and match music isn’t nearly as easy at it seems. With everything stacked up in Aquarius, that’s opposite from Leo? This is a good time to work on making smooth transactions, work on making the point where you dip from one song to the next? Make it as seamless as possible. Either that, or just let your inner Leo roar for a little while. Ever wonder what happens when cross Dance Trance with a Mariachi groove?
(Personally, I’m still waiting on a Mariachi version of "Freebird.")
Virgo: Some years ago, I was on the "do not contact" list. Supposedly, it was master list of all the numbers the unsolicited mail, e-mail and phone calls, as I understood it, that was all supposed to stop. The national "opt-out" list did work, sort of. Two or three groups have succeeded in finding my number, my Austin landline. Irritates me to no end.
I almost feel sorry for the person who’s on the other end. But when you dial a number clearly marked, "do not call," and then, me, on the other end, asking the operator to repeat my instructions back. I got one call, claimed to be survey center. Jerks. "We’re not selling anything, so we don’t have to abide by that list," and I asked the moron on the other end to repeat back what I said. Don’t call means don’t call. Especially if it’s my nap time, and I forget to turn off the ringer. Jerks.
There’s going to be an interruption, or two, in the Virgo lifestyle. If you work in a call center? I’m sorry. But shouldn’t have called me in the first place. Otherwise, follow my lead on this idea, make the person you’re talking to, the person (non-Virgo), make that person repeat back what your Virgo self said. Make sure the point gets across.
Libra: It was a cold winter morning, and I was fixing some oatmeal. Nothing fancy, at least, not really that fancy. Yes, the grains are an effort to curb my cholesterol levels. I added some "natural" granola, more for flavor than anything else. Texture, maybe, but once I added hot water, it was all a soggy mess.
Some of the granola nuggets stayed crunchy, and that was a welcome flavor. Although, with soggy granola and oatmeal, there’s not a lot there. Sometimes, it just tastes like paste. Kind of bland. I thought about reaching into the cupboard to add elements that would enhance the natural flavor. But that’s way too much like cooking, and I’m not a cook. Nor, for that matter, do I intend to get proficient enough to be considered a cook.
This about knowing what a person’s limits are. What I’m good at, what I’m not so good at, and what I don’t plan to ever be good at. Like cooking. I understand enough about myself to know that I can expend a lot of energy in trying to be a decent cook, or I can just accept the fact that anything more than coffee, or adding boiling water, or nuking something in the nuker? Follow me: stick to what you’re good at.
Scorpio: "Don’t feed my delusions, please." I was listening to a client and that was her plaintive wail. It wasn’t so much a matter of me adding fuel to an already raging inferno of self-deception, it was just matter of me, not adding any more combustible material.
I was amused. I tend to be amused by what I see from my clients, too. To be sure, I did feel a pang of sympathy, perhaps empathy, and I certainly did experience the pain, in a similar fashion. I live with one foot firmly in reality, and the other two feet? I leave them in place that looks like reality, but it’s not.
I still believe in the fantasy that people, as whole can get better. I still believe that there is hope for the human race, and I still care. I’m also not very realistic with these hopes. Odds aren’t too good on my hopeful outlook.
Sagittarius: "Eat Beef," the bumper sticker read, "The West wasn’t won on salad." It was on the back of a large pick-up, not that this would be unusual. Unusual? Either that large truck or its bumper sticker.
This is, at least nominally, cattle country. I’m not interested in the debate about what food is better for you, or why I shouldn’t eat meat, or why I shouldn’t eat salads, I’m not going into that discussion. What works for me, and this might just be me, but what works, for a little grounding, a little way around inherent Martian influences? A nice chunk of red meat. I prefer mine on the rare side, but again, that’s a matter of choice.
And I’m not even sure that this is about what you eat, or that the west wasn’t won by a bunch of tree-hugging "wilted baby lettuce" diners, I’m just suggesting that a hearty dose of whatever it is that you use to ground yourself? That’s where the solution is. That’s how to work with this kind of energy. That’s what you’ve got to do to ground yourself. Besides, be realistic, the west wasn’t won on salad.
Capricorn: I was downtown, and I was, so it seemed, trailing a little tourist girl. I’d guess in her twenties, although, maybe older or younger, I’m unsure. She paused at an intersection, looked at me, then started addressing the thin air, or me, out of the side of her mouth, "Where’s the mall? The shopping? The Post Office?" All I could do was indicate a general direction. Jeans, sandals, could be a tourist, could be a homeless, I wasn’t sure.
While I’m a nice guy and all, with the recent advent and introduction of Pluto unto thy sign, there’s a hint that you’re wandering around, kind of lost. Terrifying energies are unleashed. There’s a bewildering array of decisions. Trusting some tall guy who looks little worse for the wear? Ponytail and gray hair, and all? Is that the person you really want to ask for directions? Then again, instead of plaintive, out of the side of your mouth kind of comment, how about asking directly? I think a direct question would get an answer. Although, I’m not sure you’ll like what you hear. But do ask directly, an indirect question will get an indirect answer, like, "Over yonder."
