Fishing Guide to the Stars
By Kramer Wetzel
(c) 2008-2009 Kramer Wetzel for astrofish.net
For the week starting: 3.26.09
"Tempt not too much the hatred of my spirit,
For I am sick when I do look on thee."
Demetrius in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (II.i.211-2)
One of the hotly debated sources for Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest, the most obvious source? Inspired by Sir George Somers voyage to America in 1609.
Aries: We were supposed to go fishing a few weeks back. Didn’t make it. Weather turned sour, and while any day fishing is better than a day not fishing, I’ve gotten a little older and — I’d hope — wiser. Cold north winds whipping in at 40 knots? Not really fishing weather to me. I’m tough, but not that tough.
We just scheduled a time when it was a little more hospitable. Which, around here? Won’t be more than another week or so. In Aries land, it’s matter of understanding what is going on, what you can do, what you can’t do, and what makes for a more pleasurable experience. Sometimes, just putting off a trip — or just an experience — for a few days? That buys all the time in the world. What happened? Cold weather let up, it was nice out, and the fish were just coming off their beds. Made for hungry fish and good, clean fun.
ASTRFOISH.NET: Aged to Perfection.
Taurus: Regular as can be, just as the sun will rise again tomorrow morning, and the first crescent moon begins to poke through? Regular as the celestial clockwork, my little Taurus friends are going to be frantic. This is due to a combination of influences.
First off, Venus, the planet oftentimes associated with Taurus? Venus is backwards. In Aries. The sign that comes before you. Then too, the Sun is in Aries, the sign that precedes you. So sure as can be, my Taurus friends are freaking out. There’s a tension, a sense that "something’s about to happen!" And what will it be? This is actually the normal tension that comes, the accepted free-floating anxiety that hits right before some astrology event occurs. There’s a very palpable sense that something is about to happen.
What?
Taurus birthdays are around the corner, but they don’t begin for another few weeks. Herein is our problem. The planets go a long way in explaining the source of the trouble, now, as to a solution? Understanding the point of origin for this anxiety, this pressure? That’s the start. There’s an emphasis on something you can’t put your hand on. The intangible is what’s the problem. Comprehend that sometimes you can’t put your hand on it, sometimes, there isn’t anything to reach out and touch? Exactly. The discomfort is a fleeting influence.
Gemini: There’s a good time to push your point across, a good time to reiterate the points you’re trying to convey, and then, there are times when you should just pause. I didn’t say stop. I didn’t say "Whoa, hold up there, big feller." That’s not it. What I’m suggesting is a simple pause. Certain fishing techniques call for a pause in the process.
With Venus in apparent retrograde motion where she is? Relative to Gemini? A pause is what’s important. I was watching a fishing video, and the (big name Gemini bass fishing champion) explained that he lets the fishing line go slack while he lets the (certain type of lure) bait sink to the bottom. Watch the fishing line, though, and pay close attention. A simple twitch can mean a strike, fish and photo-op.
The point though, the way he was describing it, being Gemini and all, is how one must maddeningly just let this drift to the bottom. Pause. Pause and watch, but don’t do anything until all movement ceases. Which, if you think about it, is a pretty difficult task for a Gemini. But pause, a well-timed pause will net bigger fish.
Cancer: Where I live, there’s a clash of cultures. The different backgrounds and ethnic striations blend and breakdown. Then, too, there’s the bizarre. Just plain freaking bizarre. Saw this the other evening. It was Cadillac, maybe 20, 25 years old? The kind that was sort of boxy, in a silky Cadillac way, and that wasn’t so weird. The car had a lift kit. Not a small lift kit, but the wheels and axles were separated from the frame by a good two feet. So it was a, I’m guessing, I never paid too much attention to the various makes and models, but I’d peg it as a mid-1980’s Caddy. With a good 24-inch left kit.
To say it was odd? Understatement. However, go back to the idea that my home is in a place where more than several cultural mores happily co-exist. Consider, too, that vehicles can still be an art form, rather than just a way to get from one place to another. While it’s not a style I’m exactly conversant with, the idea of two-foot lift kit, on an old-school Caddy? Sort of intriguing, in a weird way. Just plain strange, items that probably don’t belong together. Which means, of course, someone will stick those disparate items together. How you react to what you see? I just chased the car down, took a few pictures and admitted I was envious. As it was a cool mechanical project.
Leo: It’s a fishing T-shirt: I make my own stink-bait. As a novelty item, I’m sure that sold one or two t-shirts. As a chick magnet? Not so much. I know exactly one person, one of my friends, his name isn’t "bubba," and he would willingly, even with pride, wear just a such a t-shirt. Only person I can think of.
In fact, if he weren’t a married man, he’d think the shirt was a chick magnet. He does make his own stink-bait, and I think that was the secret he kept from the woman who eventually consented to be his wife. I’m unsure of the details, but if I have my facts more or less right, he does the stink-bait in the backyard, in the fall, and then, he keeps his stuff in a special refrigerator, just for stinky stuff, in the garage. It is a good catfish bait, and it’s been known to work as a surf bait, as well. But that’s not the point, the deal was that t-shirt.
Like I said, I know exactly one person who could get away with wearing one of those. But that’s about it. As you come up with a funny tag-line, a t-shirt idea, or even a recipe for stink-bait? Think about application, and think about alienating friends, family members and neighbors — consider that before you put it into production.
Virgo: I managed a bar, well, several, but I’m thinking about one that was properly a nightclub. For a while, every week, regular as clockwork, I would have to call a carpenter repair the plaster over the men’s urinal. Patch it up, throw a coat of paint on it, and the next week? Same thing.
What we did, me and that carpenter, eventually? Instead of sheet rock, we pulled out part of the wall one Monday morning, and replaced it with three-quarter inch plywood. Then texture and paint, and it looked just like the sheet rock. Stopped the problem with manly men punching holes in the bathroom wall.
Okay, normally, I’d think that Virgo folks would be smart, like us, and replace the weaker material with something besides sheet rock. Only, not now, I’m worried that you’ve been punching holes in the sheet rock. All I’m warning you about? People just like me who eventually get just smart enough to replace that sheet rock with plywood.
Libra: I sat down, over some espresso at a coffee shop, to chat about a Libra and her chart. I asked if she’d been argumentative lately. She assured me hadn’t. I asked if she was combative. She assured me she wasn’t and that launched into a fifteen minute discussion about how she wasn’t wrong, and how she hadn’t been arguing with anyone. Especially not me about how she wasn’t arguing.
I tried to end-run the problem, but my efforts were in vain. The point is, the Aries opposition, not to mention Venus and the assorted lunar phases? Just makes you more prone to argue. Like that "reading," which was less of a reading and more of one-sided conversation about how she wasn’t arguing. "Hey baby, it’s your nickel."
Before you even consider sending me a note explaining how you haven’t been taking anyone task, before you dispute my claim, before you antagonize a situation, consider that the planets are stacked against you. You might feel wronged and you might want to right an injustice. Stop. I’m not saying you shouldn’t, but I am suggesting we all wait until the planets are nicer and you can get your way — without arguing.
Scorpio: One of the books I wrote, I had to wonder, I thought it was just a crime/thriller novel. Turns out, going back to look at the text, later, with a critical eye, I could see that the book was about an unresolved father/son issue, played out against a backdrop of murder, mayhem and death. With a little sex heaped on top. Have to have that for a thriller. Or tension, anyway.
The book is headed towards print, so I won’t give away the ending. Which will drive most Scorpio people crazy since there’s one thing you want to know, "How does it turn out?" I’m not saying. What was good, when an editor wanted me to re-write a few passages? I had a chance to get in and dig around in the text, and I wondered if I knew what I was writing about when I wrote it.
Some of the sub-plot, sort of the story within the story, I didn’t intentionally put that there, but it was there, plan as day. I’m not saying that you have to trust your instincts, but I’d be more cognizant of the process. The Scorpio process. Don’t argue with what works. Like that novel with elements I clearly never intended in there? Somebody finds it? Don’t worry.
Sagittarius: I kept thinking to myself, "There’s got to be a nice way to show this stuff off." I’ve got an arcane collection of coffee (and tea) making apparatuses. Since shelf space is limited, like, bookshelf space is reserved for books, I don’t know what to do with all the coffee paraphernalia I’ve collected.
Started with a simple French Press, which I used for years. Then I got another, slightly fancier model, then a smaller one, just perfect for a single cup in the afternoon, and finally, a larger glass one, then, a larger metal one, all of the same sort of mechanical devices. Then, I’ve got couple of very nice tea pots, and a couple of real espresso makers, the stove-top variety. The little silver-colored espresso makers are cute, but I doubt I’ll ever use them again. Still, as a collection goes, it is my collection, and I do enjoy it.
Most of the various pots and coffee makers have intrinsic value. Sentimental value, of sorts. So I’ve been toying with ideas on how to put this all out and on display. But then, there’s a problem The first issue would be a visitor would assume that I could make coffee for a guest. Not likely. The second problem is dusting, that much stuff on display would require some dusting, regularly. Not one of my strengths. So again, what I finally decided to do? Nothing. Not always a strong Sagittarius action, but there are times when considering a problem, and addressing the problem? Sometimes, do nothing is wise course of action.
ASTROFISH.NET: All Bills Paid!
Capricorn: This is not going to be your "summer of love," unless, of course, there are bigger factors at work in the Capricorn chart. I mean, larger factors than what I’m looking at. Not all bad, just less than wonderful, and that means, on a purely interpersonal level, there’s going to be some Capricorn mistakes. That’s where I earn my keep, as the astrology guy.
The mistakes are due, right now, to the Sun and wayward Venus in Aries. In a couple of weeks, Venus will no longer be wayward and the Sun will be in Taurus. By then, Mars will be in Aries, and we’re back to the problems. The real trick, the cheater’s way around this kind of an astrological problem, the way to make this work for you?
Do nothing. Avoid conflict.
None of this works out to your favor, and what’s worse, it’s really easy to get bent out of shape about an issue that really isn’t an issue. The problem is, it won’t be until later that you see how it was an issue not worth making a big deal out of, like I’ve suggested, later. And later in the Capricorn game plan doesn’t work. Since you’re liable to get all worked up about some perception of a problem? I’m not saying bury the problem for forever, but for the this next few days? Maybe sit and stew about it, quietly, to yourself.
Aquarius: I learned something about food photography the other afternoon. There are no ends of macaroni in pictures. Same for spaghetti. I’m sure that this kind of food photo styling can extend beyond simple pasta photographs, but think about it. How hard is it to arrange all the noodles in the plate so that no ends, no butts, are showing? Something I’d rather not puzzle out.
I got off about the food photo issue because this week is like a puzzle, only, it’s on a more important level that just ends of macaroni not being visible. Or maybe it’s not really more important than that. Next time you see a magazine ad or a TV commercial and there’s a steaming heap of noodles? See if there is an end visible. As I understand, I don’t know, I haven’t tried myself, but as I grasp the concept, it’s a lot harder, a lot more difficult than it seems. All right, what does this have to do with Aquarius? Everything. At some point, in the coming days, there’s a puzzle. Like making it so no ends of the macaroni are visible. Something like that. Are you up to the task? I think so. Besides, how hard can it be?
Pisces: It’s an old NASCAR tradition, but peanuts — in the shell — are considered bad luck. Not just bad luck, but there’s a whole superstition that relates to peanut shells and how they make engines break, cause crashes on the track, and the list just goes on and on. Urban mythology, and I would guess, relatively modern mythology would find the root source and the connections.
Stock car racing, in its various forms, isn’t really that old as a sport. It’s not like golf or soccer, as far as duration goes. The idea of bad luck, especially bad luck stemming from a simple peanut shell? Eludes normal thinking. But car racers, particularly stock car racers, that’s a strange combination of folk wisdom, low-tech and high-tech. Can’t argue with success, and if keeping peanut shells out of the pits is all it takes? Good for them.
In Pisces land, there’s something as simple as avoiding peanut shells, not a big deal, and yet, while some people will laugh at you for your apparent backwoods superstition? You know that whatever it is, you understand that it works. It’s okay to be laughed at, as long as it brings you a little luck in the coming days. I figure you’re going to get a lucky break anyway, doesn’t hurt to go rub the lucky charm — or avoid the nuts — whatever it takes.
