Stardust Motel
"Abide the change of time,
Quake in the present winter’s state and wish
That warmer days would come."
Shakespeare’s Cymbeline [II.iv.7-9]
Sagittarius: I’ve got another birthday coming up. That’s no big deal. One of the (many) schools I’ve attended sent me a birthday card. Nice thought. Computer generated, mailing label and postage all just standard, it wasn’t such a big deal. Made me think, though, that would be a cool marketing trick, which, in fact, was what that card was about. It’s called, "farming," and they were hitting up alumnae for dollars. While I, regrettably, can’t send any spare change this year, it was clever.
Made me think that it would be a good idea to have my address book and my astrology chart program linked. I could tell when a client, past or present, would be about to win the lottery, and I could easily predict that. Faster, easier, more to the point. A little marketing tip. Only, I’ve got maintain scruples, and that would sort of violate my client confidentiality thing I follow. And besides that, it would be just rude to be hitting up people on their birthdays. Or when something dire was occurring.
To be honest, it’s less about scruples and more about inherent Sagittarius laziness. We might as well just call it what it is. I’m really too lazy to dig through the address book and send out cards to various folks on important astrological dates. I like the idea, probably not going to happen. It’s all about limitations. Know what yours are. Sure helps us call it the way it is, instead of the way other people would like us to see it.
Capricorn: Last week, I mentioned a little about quitting three things, end of this week, beginning of next week? It’s a good to make it stick, just one, though. Drastic lifestyle changes, like, "I’m giving up all coffee for forever," sweeping, monumental changes are difficult. I was once, the doctor asked what my daily diet consisted of. "Got a 12-cup coffee maker, run through at least one pot in the morning. Mexican food for lunch and then, a 120 oz. Diet Coke for dinner, why?"
Doctor suggested sweeping lifestyle changes. Which I did. Sort of. I did stop coffee for a few days, but I was miserable. Likewise, when you get a suggestion for a sweeping change? Go easy. Maybe slow down instead of cold-turkey stopping. Maybe reduce some factors instead of eliminating them all, maybe, just look for a little moderation. The biggest trouble is that Venus is joining you, along with Jupiter, and that just pushes the pleasure principal to the front. The foremost. The biggest. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t enjoy yourself, as this can be a remarkably fun time. I’m just saying, like me, maybe just cutting back a little would help.
Give up coffee cold? What, are you crazy?
Aquarius: All we need right now is a little padding. I’ve used tough, old office chairs as my primary sitting arrangement for longer than I care to recall. I’ve had fancy padded chairs, but those don’t last in the rigorous environment where I tend to work. My "office" which oftentimes nothing more than a desk in a spare bedroom, or living room of a trailer, as it was for years, but I spend an inordinate amount of time at the desk, sitting.
One of the best way to help preserve my sanity and internal peace is, the best thing to do? Add padding. Tough old office chairs, get one at a discount place, chair lasts for a few days, weeks, months, one lasted a few years, but after a while, they all breakdown. Still, the one addition to the tough office chairs? Padding. When I work, where I work, I don’t want to be too comfortable. Not the way it works best. Can’t have anyone getting cozy here. It’s not about being cozy, though, this is about what an Aquarius needs to make it through the next week.
It’s simple: padding. This isn’t an elaborate arrangement like the combat gear worn by Football Professionals, that’s not the kind of padding I’m talking about. Nor is it the kind of padding folks used to do to their taxes, no not that. It’s a simple cushion, costs about two dollars, and that’s what you need to survive the next week. Just a little padding under the fundament.
Pisces: "Dammit, I’m not happy, and I’m not going to be happy, and that’s just the way it is!" I can then imagine such a violent proclamation punctuated with a wee little Pisces girl-child stomping her wee little Pisces girl-child feet. Not really something that is going to bother the rest of us. But a Pisces scorned, that’s not a good thing. I’m not ignoring you. I’m sure you feel like you’re being ignored, but you’re not.
It’s just that the holiday madness has set in, and the rest of us, the none-Pisces people you know? We’re all rushing around. It’s not like we’re ignoring you. I have to retract that statement, it is like we’re ignoring you. We’re not but, in reality, sure seems like we are. Part of that is the T-day thing. Part of that is the last weekend before the holidays start in earnest. And part of it is that you’re important to us, the non-Pisces people, we love you, but we’ve got more distractions than we can effectively deal with. Someone is getting cut out of the mix.
You can get your feelings hurt, your pride, your precious ego, or you can understand that there are a lot projectiles hurtling through the air, and maybe you’re Pisces self doesn’t want to be noticed because that could make you a suitable target. Sometimes being missed isn’t a bad deal.
Aries: There’s the sad state of tackle boxes. While I was thinking of this in relation to my own gear, it could apply to Aries and Aries thinking. I’ve got one friend, has one little sad tackle box, in it, not much more than one or two hooks, a single bobber, two lures, and a small spool of mono line. The line is really light test, suitable for a leader in highly speculative positions, but that’s about it. There’s dirt, maybe a fall leaf or two in the bottom of the little tackle box, it’s not even a proper cantilevered drawers set up, just a little removable tray. Sort of a sad statement about fishing tackle.
I don’t know why I was thinking of my buddy’s gear, other than, it’s a sad way to live. But he doesn’t fish that often; maybe gear isn’t a priority in his life. Although, I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t be. As the many holidays start to draw closer, it’s time to think about how you manage your resources. Is it time to sort through the old Aries tackle and toss out material you’re not using? Time to cut loose with stuff you don’t want (and unload stuff you don’t need)? Stock up on other items? Maybe, in the interest of filling it up later, buy a larger tackle box so you an fill it with proper equipment? Or is that spending money needlessly? It’s all about how you manage your resources.
Taurus: Careful when you play with fire, I don’t want you to get burned. Simple advice. I teased the planets and especially a Taurus chart, to develop a simple piece of advice to see you through to Thanksgiving. It’s all about being careful about what you do with the fire that you create. I’m not saying it’s bad, I’m not saying you shouldn’t, I’m just advising a little caution. I was tasked with moving some rocks. Not really a big deal, friend-of-friend kind of deal, should take about half an hour. I’m not much on landscape, so I figured it would be some good exercise. Out-of-doors, exercise, sounded good to me. Everyone benefits, a couple of us showed up at the appointed time, and we did the job.
I came prepared, though, I was ready. I brought a pair of cheap leather work gloves. When I say cheap, I think the gloves cost a dollar. Maybe two dollars, but I doubt it. In the half hour of handling the rough rocks, my delicate hands were neither sullied with grime from the task, nor, were my hands roughened from the handling of the rocks. I wasn’t playing with fire, but I was prepared to handle what I had to handle — in a cautious manner. So when I make a reference to not getting burned? In my case, my example? Easiest way to handle with caution was the buy a cheap set of work gloves. Saved my (delicate) skin. Literally.
Gemini: It’s sort of a joke, sort of not, that a good Gemini is classically Attention Deficit Disorder material. All the time. All the way. Every minute of every day. Short attention span, or, as I prefer to see it, multitask oriented.
Masterful jugglers, be another way to see it. While I’m not a clinical person, I still doubt my analysis will stand up under serious scrutiny. But this isn’t about serious scrutiny, besides, who has time for that? Not Gemini! Not Now! No Way!
With Mars and Mercury, both moving into Sagittarius, that’s going to take the early part of the Gemini sign and add fuel to the Apparent Attention Deficit Disorder that you might, or might not, suffer from. But it sure will seem like you’re suffering from it. Holiday madness compounded by the relative position of the sun, the movement of Mars and Mercury, and compounded by the Moon’s movement, and you’re all over the place, all the time. A little mad, a little sad, a little distracted, and what were we talking about?
Focus. That’s a problem at this moment. Since it’s a problem? Why worry about it, go ahead and try to get all 43 things done at once. If anyone can, it’s a Gemini. I’m just suggesting that a pause in there, to collect your scattered wits, that pause might refresh. Oh, never mind. Rush along, nothing to see here.
Cancer: This next couple of days is all about getting ready. I’ve got at least three friends, Cancer women, who will be spending the next couple of days preparing food. Mass quantities of various concoctions will be prepared. Turkey, ham, fruit things, vegetable things, sweet things, not-so-sweet things, and the list goes on and on. I’m thinking of these three individuals because I’m hoping to receive a small amount of their excess. Leftovers, left behind, a little extra on the side, or maybe, I can just help clean up and lick the bowl clean? There’s a lot of stuff that’s possible, for me, as a non-Cancer observer.
Just because three of my friends are preparing to feed whole families, and just because three of my friends are wholesale preparing for the holiday, that doesn’t mean that every Cancer should be baking goodies this weekend. However, I’d just suggest, as a possibility, that something like cooking, if not cooking itself, would be the activity. It’s all about preparation. A little preparation is going to go a long way in easing the next few days, the next few weeks, the next few months, even the next few years, a little advance work, ground rules, guidelines, ethical and moral considerations, or just something as simple as a recipe to follow? A little preparedness goes a long way.
Leo: Waning Moon, Waning Pluto. Waning Scorpio. That’s three. Once the Sun shifts into Sagittarius, there’s a small hint that life in Leo will be a degree better. The trick is to not get too caught up in the hectic pace. Holidays infuse a certain frantic sense of kinetic energy, almost like an unstoppable perpetual motion machine. Instead of trying to staunch the flow of holiday cheer, but without engaging in it yourself? There’s a conundrum, and, at the same time, a goal.
How can a decent Leo like yourself float along in the holiday stream without getting caught up? I kind of imagine that this would be like tubing, a popular southwestern sport, in the warmer months. Which makes it a little hard to envision how tubing and the holiday mess before T-Day is similar. The trick is to float close to the tube with the cooler, keep your head above water so you can check out the girls in their swimsuits and short shorts, and catch some rays while not getting too sunburned or waterlogged. Think about last summer, think about tubing opportunities, and think about how you’re just like that, now. Riding in a tube, only, it’s floating in the morass of holiday crap that erupts. Just ride this one out. Doesn’t affect you, not directly. Just imagine, it’s like a ride on that inner tube. Floating, blissfully along, not a care in the Leo world.
Virgo: Next week, Tuesday & Wednesday. The days right before Thanksgiving? While everyone else is worried about turkey, dressing, giblets and gravy? Get out and fish. I don’t care what the weather’s like, just get out some. One day, or the other, both would be good for fishing. I’ve got at least one fishing buddy who doubts this whole "astrology" thing, but he does follow the moon phase for fishing. Which is why I was suggesting, for Virgo, the day before Thanksgiving as a good day to fish.
I’m not so sure that it’s the absolute best day, but there’s method to my suggestion: get out. Get away. Let go. Just get away from the TV, the radio, the cell phone, pager, browser, email, snail postal, get away from it all? A few hours? You’ll be ever so much happier, and any of the problems that arose during your absence? Any of those problems can be dealt with after you arrive back from fishing. You might have a stringer of fish, destined for the freezer, you might have nothing more than pictures and images, but a quick escape like that? It brings peace of mind, and that’s what you need the most. A clear brain, right before the holidays? As the old advertising tag line used to suggest? Priceless.
Libra: If we just ease on into this? That might work out better. Instead of falling into the same trap that everyone else seems to go for? Stop and think about easing into the next week. The weeks, the holidays, the crush is on. I’m all about not getting too worked up for the holidays. I’m all about not letting this kind of madness take over. I’m all about letting someone else do all the hard work.
For several years running, I’ve managed to spend a portion of my holiday — Thanksgiving — way from the crush of the holiday. The madness, take one giant Libra step back from the insanity. Take one (small) step towards imposing some kind of rational choices — and limits — on the upcoming holiday season.
Like this, I know this one Libra, and her family depends on her for a plethora of desserts. Weeks of cooking ensue, apple pie, pecan pie, Chex-Mex mix, handmade tamales, Xmas tamales, dessert tamales, pink cake, pink cookies, sugar cookies, oatmeal cookies, family heirloom Honey cookies, and the list goes on and on. Cake. Pie. Cookies by the truckload. Instead of doing this all at once? Instead of doing it all? It’s easy to farm out some of the food to other people. Or, at the very least? Just pick up a cake on the way, from the grocery store. That’s what I mean by ease on into this holiday crush.
Scorpio: Tail-end Scorpio birthdays then relax. Two days, then relax. Once Sagittarius gets started? Once we get the Scorpio stuff finished? There’s a sense of relief that floods you. I can’t predict the actual weather, but I can predict the astrological weather.
What that shows is that there’s a long-awaited cooling front that’s going to hit. It was like a cold front that pushed through a little while back. The weather guy called it a cold front, then he looked at the map and temperatures, and he said it was a "not as warm as it’s been front." Which, to some, might be a form of relief.
The little fish in the lakes? Weather change like this? Means those little fish get hungry. Hungry fish, one last feeding frenzy before the true onset of winter? Works for me. Works for my fine Scorpio friends, too. That’s what it’s all about, that last feeding frenzy, or, better yet, taking advantage of that last feeding frenzy, and then, there’s the "not as cold as it’s been" front. Enjoy that shift, as well. Not big shifts, little changes that might mark larger changes looming on your (event) horizon.
