Fishing Guide to the Stars
By Kramer Wetzel
(c) 2008-2009 Kramer Wetzel for astrofish.net
For the week starting: 9/3/2009
"He’ll be as full of quarrel and offense/As my young mistress’ dog."
Shakespeare’s Othello [II.iii.46-7]
Iago — plotting to get him drunk. Perfect for Mercury turning retrograde.
Virgo: Happy birthday! You’re the one who was looking at me, the other day. I was in warehouse store, you know, the place the size of a warehouse with no marketing, just cheap stuff, usually by the pallet? "I was looking at you, not many guys have long hair, I thought you were my neighbor…."
Might’ve been a pickup line, but judging by the delivery and appearance, I’d guess it was more likely just a kindly comment, and maybe, just maybe, she thought I was her neighbor. Although, to be honest, the part about "not many guys have long hair," that sort of bothered me. But not too much. Plenty of guys have long hair, although, in a town filled with suburban mansions and mini-mansions, not a lot. Apparently.
I suppose, too, it depends on where one keeps circles. Guys with long hair, or bald, or, in my case, someplace in between? Lots of us. Depends on where you look. Depends on what you’re looking for, too. It’s the Virgo birthday time. I was shopping for a few groceries by the pallet. Buy the pallet. All depends on what you’re looking for, too.
ASTROFISH.NET: Back to School Special!
Libra: I watched — or saw it again in rerun — the movie "Giant." Famous, possibly, as James Dean’s last movie. Or some other trivia. The movie really is great, although, it’s hard to sit through several hours of it, all at once.
One of the trivia bits? Filmed in Marfa, not part of the Texas oil patch. However, when I was last flying over the oil patch, I could see row after row of wells, holes punched in the ground to extract mineral goodness. Or heinous fossil fuel, one of those. But this is about one of the first post-modern movies, and how it was set one place without oil but that didn’t stop the myth from exploding.
Giant is (to me) a great film. Myth-making, too. But like man-made modern myths, there’s also a problem. Mercury is starting his backwards pattern in Libra. What’s myth, what’s myth-making, and what’s actual fact? And now, for the foreseeable future, are these points getting confused?
Scorpio: The "Brush Land" of South Texas is really part of the northern reaches of a Mexican desert. As such, it’s arid land subject to occasional torrential floods. And the vegetation has adapted to this environment. It’s tough cactus, mesquite, and ranch grasses. Plant life that can go for weeks, months, even years without water, and then, suddenly, a hurricane blows ashore, and the place is inundated. Then it’s green.
All right, here’s the deal: it’s like that South Texas vegetation, now, in Scorpio. Nominally a water sign, there’s a little problem with Mercury. And since this is a problem? It’s like that adaptable plant life. Be a little more willing to bend to exigencies of the current conditions, because, I’ll promise this: in three weeks, or less, it will change.
Maybe it will rain soon. Water signs like that.
Sagittarius: "Here, let me anoint you with Blueberry Oil," a friend was saying, "it’ll bring money to you." I was referring to a work situation, and what my friend was doing, she was referring to Bayberry Oil, an essential oil from the Aromatherapy tool box. I guess. I’m not entirely sure, I’m not conversant with that arena. I asked for clarification, about Blueberry Oil, which evoked a hasty chuckle, had something to do with pancakes for breakfast, I’m not sure.
However, according to lore and myth, Bayberry is used to attract clean money. Does it really work? I’m too broke to say that it really works, but that won’t stop me from trying a little nudge. As a Sagittarius, we’re used to broad, sweeping strokes. We’d also be willing to try Blueberry Oil. However, just as a way to see the coming few days? Try something less than huge. A gentle nudge. Maybe some Bayberry Oil, just a little dab.
Capricorn: I’m — depends on the area and arena — usually a catch and release fishing kind of guy. Towards that end, when I lived on the lake in Austin, I once caught the same fish six times in less than two weeks. Same fish, same bait, same location. What that fish didn’t have in brains, she sure made up in attitude. And attitude is everything?
I think it was dumb fish with lots of fight, or maybe, to a fish, getting a ride up into the sky is, like, a rush. I always guess the fish is trying to figure out why food is pulling so stoutly. I was thinking about that experience as I was wrapping up some thoughts about your week. Which one are you going to be? Are you going to be the same fish in the same place biting the same plastic worm? Or are you like me, fishing in the same place and catching — and releasing — the same fish, time and time again. Which is why I’m catch and release as as it makes catching again a fun sport. But which one are you?
Aquarius: This didn’t really happen, but I can imagine it happening. Follow along, you’ll see what I mean. Imagine my Aquarius buddy, calling me up, "Dude, no, dude, I just met a chick, is it good? Do I have a chance?" Actually, no, because the rest of the conversation is, "What’s her name?" "I don’t know," says the Aquarius. "And her birthday?" Which is what I would normally ask. "Don’t know," the Aquarius buddy replies.
No name, no connection, no birth data, first off, my services are next to useless, although, I could look at a chart for the moment of meeting, but that’s not what this is about. It’s about pertinent details. Hope spun up out of the airy figments of imagination and the barest threads of a perceived connection that might — or probably won’t — amount to anything. Might never even see that woman again. The chick. Whatever. It’s about not trying to make something out of nothing. While I might, on certain occasions, be able to spin something out of nothing? As an Aquarius? With Mercury in Libra? No, this isn’t a time to take that flight of fantasy too far.
Pisces: Just kind of, "Watch you back," that’s the easy version of what’s going on, since, it’s, in part, Mercury’s fault. The longer version is more of a balance between divergent energies, but mostly, it’s because these days are Virgo days. Virgo Sun Sign means that the Sun itself is opposite where your Pisces self is. Creates tension, causes minor irritations, makes things seem a little more difficult.
This is compounded with Saturn’s presence, again, in Virgo, and exacerbated by Mercury starting a retrograde pattern. Therein is the problem. The solution, as I see it? Watch your back. I’m not saying that someone will necessarily come after you, or that there is a real threat, no, that’s not it.
It’s about, this is Mercury stuff, little mistakes that get blown into big mistakes. Easiest way to avoid this? Watch your back.
Aries: I’m not going to tell you again, you’ve got to be careful. Mercury is backwards, in an opposing Cardinal sign. That’s problematic. Mars is in another Cardinal sign, that’s problematic, too. Pluto is opposite that Mars, sort of loosely and fading away, but also in a Cardinal sign, which would be, I hope you guessed it, problematic. The odds are against you. Maybe not so much against you, more like you have one or more areas that are, at best, problematic.
I’ve found, over the years that’s easiest to repeat the answer to an Aries question, to reinforce the answer? I need to repeat the answer at least three times. That gets it across. Makes the message strong enough to pierce the Aries hearing, and finally, sink into the Aries mind. Three times to make a point. The planets are trying to make a point. The planets are trying to get something across. Review the Mercury notes I’ve got, review, revise, rethink, rework, review (again), retrench, rebuild, and finally, review (yet again).
These aren’t big obstacles, at least none that look insurmountable, not to me, I don’t see any huge problems, what I do detect is problematic. Patience, time, a willingness to review the process, and a willingness to review the work itself, could make that less of a problem. Blame Mercury; however, it could be a host of other planets, too.
Taurus: Yeah, I don’t know why school starts now, or, for that matter, why we call this the end of summer (vacation) since it’s hardly cool out at all. Things just kind of roasting along, like normal. But that’s hardly how a good Taurus will face the extreme problem. The extreme problem, this could be like one of those extreme sports, too, like extreme skateboarding or a rerun from last winter, extreme snowboarding, or better yet, from last spring, extreme bass fishing, although, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that one. It could happen. However, that’s not what this is about.
It’s about excess and over-abundance, too much exuberance in the face of a difficulties. That’s kind of a problem, it’s almost like you’re too eager to tackle the problem. Stop. Mercury, Saturn, and so forth? There’s that cool, icy edge to the Taurus personality. I’d suggest that we all embrace that cool, icy edge. Might take more than one mention to make the point, too. But use that cool, icy edge to the Taurus personality. Face the upcoming adversity, it would seem to be extreme, face that with the cool, calm exterior. That cool an icy edge. The opposite of panic and end-your-face enthusiasm. No, be cool, almost to the point of ice cold. Even though it’s still nominally an extreme summer here.
Gemini: Mercury is backwards in an air sign. While it’s not backwards in your sign, you are an air sign. As such, there’s a little bit of pressure from weird places doing strange things to the Gemini psyche. Along with comical outcomes, as long as you don’t mind being the butt of the joke. Which you are. Regrettably. Or not, as long a you like being the funny one.
This is like an extended, long-winded, running-gag joke that you’re the object of attention. It’s funny at first, you can laugh it off. But as this progresses? It gets a lot less funny. Your Gemini patience is wearing thin. When you realize what’s going on, though, make sure that you’re prepared for the running gag, over and over again. You know, once was funny, three times, a chuckle, but returning every day for the next week? Not nearly as funny as that first time. Or even the second time.
Cancer: I like myths and lore. And while this is a tale I’ve never researched, verisimilitude counts. The city of Las Cruces, in southern New Mexico, named for the site of an ancient battle. After the battle, a number of graves were erected, and the turn in the road became known by that marker, "Turn at the crosses." Hence the name Las Cruces. The Crosses. Personally, I think its name is derived from the interstate system because the north-south I-25 crosses that great southern route, the east-west I-10. Hence the name, Las Cruces.
I’m also a minority with some of my myths. I’m not a minority when I point out that Mars is setting up and frying through your delicate water sign self. And I’m not minority when I warn you about taking on burdens that might be too large for you to bear. There’s another joke, too, but I’ll leave that to your own imagination.
Leo: I was sitting on a restaurant’s patio. Afternoon, not too hot, not in the shade as the clouds scudded by. Not really rain clouds, but enough cover to make outside, on the patio, bearable in the late summer afternoon. I propped my feet up on chair and sipped a beverage, toyed with a phone, something. Suddenly the sun burned through the clouds, or the light breeze shifted cover, something occurred, weather-wise. I was sitting in hot sun.
Know what that feels like, my dear Leo friend? I could sit there, sweat, cuss, and bemoan my fate, or, what I did? I moved. I just swapped positions with my feet. I was under the shade of a small trestle or something, dappled sunlight still warming me, but at least I wasn’t in the hot seat any more. Just sort of scooted around. Beat the heat. All I’m saying, to avoid the hot spot this next few days, what with Mercury and all? Move. Maybe not move, maybe just sort of slide over a little. Scoot around, adjust your fine Leo self so you are more comfortable, and certainly, this is important, out of the way.
