Fishing Guide to the Stars
By Kramer Wetzel
(c) 2008-2009 Kramer Wetzel for astrofish.net
For the week starting: 10/15/2009
"Moderate lamentation is the right of the dead,
Excessive grief is the enemy of the living."
Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well [I.i.59 ]
Mercury direct. The e-mail line is always on, "31" (24 and 7).
Upcoming: Lecture/workshop, one-stop astrology class: in El Paso.
Libra: Still plenty of Libra birthdays left to celebrate and still plenty of good times in Libra. The catch, if there were one, would be the relative position of the moon especially when that’s balanced against the Libra Sun. It’s not that you’re unhappy, it’s just that a number of people seem to be intent on ruining a perfectly good week.
There’s a small window that opens up at the end of the week, at the beginning of the weekend. That’s good. There’s also a suggestion I have, as the fall starts to finally arrive in full force: rest. This is a time, I know, birthday weekend and all, but this is a time to rest and recuperate. Get ready for what’s up ahead. Maybe get a chore or two out of the way.
Odd as it may sound, you’re better off without the crushing hordes around you. That Libra "entourage" you’re used to having follow you around? Perhaps, I won’t say for sure, as it varies from person to person, Libra to individual Libra, but getting away from crowds? If only for a little while? Like this weekend, or maybe, next week? Call it a birthday getaway? You’ll be much happier and more recharged, fresh and able to handle all the new challenges, once we get this behind us.
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Scorpio: "Treat kids to a steady diet of eggs, worms and wooly buggers." That was a (western state) Department of the Interior, or exterior, really, or fish and game, one of those — some government agency. State, federal, something. It was an image of young child holding up a fishing pole with a trick worm on the end. The rest of the ad wasn’t nearly as clever, "Take a kid fishing."
There are two guides, real fishing guides, that I know, and those two guys are good with kids. Other than that? I’m not sure. After about half an hour of a kid being fidget-prone, irascible, irritable and ADD? I get ready to use the kid itself as cut bait. Who would know? One of the guides is an older man, and he has that infinite grandfather type patience.
The other is a young guy, and he was explaining that it’s easy, just have to have the kids doing things at all time. Kids need activities, at all times. Hard to imagine how that would work in a fishing boat. He had some tricks, I’m sure. Maybe there’s a surcharge for kids. Now, imagine that you’re a Scorpio, not hard, and imagine that you’ve got a boat full of kids, maybe more difficult to get a clear image of, and now, finally, imagine that you’ve got activities for them. Figure a way to keep the kids in the Scorpio boat happy for the next few hours. All it takes.
Sagittarius: Retrofitted farm house with its AC and water heater next to each other? I was walking in my neighborhood, and one of the homes is much older, possibly historic, a farm house. Just shotgun-style, be my guess, turn of the last century, wood on pier-and-beam support. Looks like it was lovingly redone a number of times. Included Central Air and Heat, I’d guess. The hot water heater itself, that was a clear addition some years ago, as there was some effort made to conceal the appendage — although — the water heater’s storage shed looked like it was attached to the house some years later.
I realize it’s mid-October, but here in South Texas, we’re still kicking in AC. Which was running and it was early in the morning, and I thought about a hot shower which brings me to the whole point, wondering why the AC and the water heater were so close to each other. Seems like they would work in opposite direction, one for hot water, one for cool air.
The intricacies of household engineering might not be a strong suit with me, especially when this is applied to an older building. Not that it matters much. Or maybe it does. Both units were at the rear of the house. I was just thinking, though, wouldn’t it be easier to put each unit at opposite sides of the rear of the house? Keep the hot side hot and the cool side cool? Is there a step in the Sagittarius land where we can take similar action? Separate hot from cold?
Capricorn: I was talking to a neighbor, originally, from Houston. I’d asked how he dealt with Houston weather, in its excess. "It wasn’t ever that bad, until, about two, maybe three hurricanes ago?" I nodded, not really remembering which one, "I woke up and the bed was floating. Time to move, what I thought."
I’d have to agree with that — pretty clear indication that it’s time –high time– to move. I’m not saying that your bed will be floating in the aftermath of a tropical storm. I’m not saying that you’re moving, either. I’d be attendant, though, in a perspicacious manner, waiting and ready for a clear sign. This is one that’s not too subtle. A clear indication that you should go one way or another, or particular issue.
That issue, I doubt it’s about Houston weather, but I’m suggesting that there is a pretty clear message from the Universe about which way to go. Maybe you and your bed frame get washed out the door, again, that’s just one example, but I’d take that a clear indication of which way you should be going.
Aquarius: We’d been looking at boats, me and fishing buddy. More idle speculation rather than really shopping. Eventually, we decided that none of the boat dealers had what we were looking for, not all the parts we wanted and needed. Right size, wrong console arrangement, right console, wrong motor and hull, and so forth.
What’s boats got to do with Aquarius? Hello, Aquarius, it’s the sign of the Water-Bearer.
Boats bear us on water? Might be a stretch, but I’m going some place with this. It’s about looking at disparate parts an realizing that no off-the-shelf, no pre-manufactured product is going to work. Sometimes, it might be easier — better — just to buy the parts and build your own. This could be a car, a house, a fishing boat, a pleasure boat that doubles as a fishing platform, or any other kind of a large item-purchase. Instead of tire-kicking, complaining and bemoaning the lack of original thought in the design process, why not just buy the right parts and build yourself a keeper?
Pisces: I stop and talk to cops, as often as I can. The setting for this question and answer game was San Antonio’s Riverwalk. I asked the SA PD what was the weirdest question, not "Where’s the Alamo," but weirdest question from tourists? "There was this bunch of little old ladies, asked where Dirty Dick was."
There is a place called Dirty Nelly’s, an Irish-themed bar. And there is a place called Dick’s Last Resort, a dive themed diner. "It was just this image of little old ladies, you know?" The cop asked. Depends on how weirdness falls on your "weird-o-meter." Mine is set pretty high, but that’s too much time in Austin itself, nothing is ever going to be too strange. Which is why I tend to ask the guys in uniforms for help on this one.
That wasn’t the best, response I’ve gotten, but it’s probably one of the better ones. Then, too, it was a pair of officers I’m not used to seeing. Some cops know me, I’m — apparently — a memorable character. You can be like me, a memorable character, you could be the cop on the spot, being quizzed about the most memorable questions, but most of all, I suspect, you’re going to be like the gaggle of little old ladies, looking for a misnamed restaurant. Or bar. The real question, was that an intentional misnomer, or did they do that on accident?
Aries: I was out-of-town, on business, of course, and I was watching a seriously road-weary road warrior. Business suite. No tie, but the collar looked like it had been recently tied up tight. The guy was frazzled. As he settled down to a meal in the coffee shop, he asked if he could get a steak and salad, nothing more. No bread. No veggies, nothing. Steak and salad. Then he unlimbered two smart phones.
He picked one up, scrolled through the list of messages. Said something to himself, and set the phone down. He then picked up the second phone, typed a text message, said something to himself again, and looked at the first phone. He said something to himself again. I checked, no earpiece. He wasn’t on some kind of hands-free ear-thing. He was talking to himself.
I know how it is, around 11 at night, dog tired from work and yet, there’s still one more thing. The question is, do you want to be the one talking to yourself? The work is good, but there’s a frantic push that you don’t have to make so frantic.
Taurus: I watched a young man, just headed out to the lake to fish. He was dressed in fresh khaki cargo shorts and a light colored, long-sleeved "fishing" shirt. I was amused. I have a similar, if not identical, shirt. The difference is, when mine has the sleeves rolled up, there’s a mess. I try to be neat and tidy, but the sleeves — the little epaulette-like appendage for holding the sleeves rolled in place? Yeah, I never get the sleeves right, but that little strap works fine to keep the long sleeves short.
I spend lot of time fishing and consequently, I don’t spend a lot of time worrying about what I wear when I fish. I tend towards loud print shirts that are actually kind of cheap and cheesy, but that’s my style — or lack of a style.
I was thinking about my lack of style because of the relative position of Mars — going into Leo — and Jupiter — in Aquarius — and you. The way it looks to me, you can spend a lot of time, folding and primping those sleeves so that they match up and look right. Or you can be a little more like a me, a little more slovenly, but by the time that kid got to the lake, I’d been fishing for over an hour. Tightly wrapped and correct in appearance? Almost to the point of having starch in your shorts? Or loose and unkempt, but just as fluid as needs be? You get to make the call, one way or another.
Gemini: "Chinese dragon or English dragon?" The guy asking the question was a tattoo artist and the question was, I suppose, valid. In a way. The person was about to get inked, a permanent kind of deal, and all that was for sure was a dragon. Year of the dragon? Maybe. "Chinese or English, the English ones have wings, Chinese looks like a snake." Now I know the difference, and after a snippet of conversation, that was about all I wanted to know. Wasn’t me getting inked, either.
As the weekend marches closer? There’s a sense that you’ve got this great idea, only, like the person getting the tattoo, you might not have thought the whole idea all the way through to its logical and eventual conclusion. Dragon is good, tattoo is good, the two combined is good, as well. But maybe do a little research, or sketch out an idea to sketch out before you just wander into the tattoo parlor and start asking for a ink. As a side note about timing? Next week? I mean, if you were going to do something permanent, next week? After this scope is up? Be a good time to get that work done.
Cancer: It was advertising on a taxi, for a certain brand of restaurant. However, I liked the advertising even if I’m not fond of that chain’s food. "Taxi crab." Which, just as a name, in and of itself? Be perfect. A cab I could call when I wanted someone to gripe all the way to the airport. A cab I could call when I had relatives arriving in town, or some friends, and I had to arrange for a ride from the airport. Not that I would deliberately take such action, but I’m sure you can see where just such a service would be a good idea.
How about you get called upon to give someone a ride? And you don’t want to, it takes too much time, it’s inconvenient, something? "Oh, you need a lift in my Taxi-Crab?" Think about it, just one way to make it all better. Or make it worse by making it better. I tend to get crabby if I don’t get enough sleep. That’s why I was thinking about the Taxi Crab. And I’m loathe to get up at odd hours of the night to help out friends — I could just call the Crabby Taxi. Or the Taxi Crab. It’s an idea. As we hit the last quarter moon and as we see Mars exit Cancer? Think about that idea, you can use, just give me a little credit for applying it to your sign. Perfect, no?
Leo: One B-movie ruined the whole effect. I was thinking about a chainsaw sound, as the powerful (and noisy) two-stroke motor starts up. But I wasn’t thinking about that, compared with the movie franchise of a similar name. I was thinking more along the lines of getting right to it, and then, as I thought about that and Leo, the Leo, I was thinking about the sound of a two-stroke motor. Less and less these are these seen on chainsaws and more and more on leaf-blowers.
The local yard maintenance guys? They all have standing orders to halt the leaf blowing when a pedestrian passes. That’s the rule. Often broken or abused, but I can’t say I complain since I know what hard work like that is all about.
Mars is churning its way into Leo. While I liked the imagery of the sound of a chainsaw, starting up? I’m not sure that it conveys the right scenario, not anymore. Just one movie, then the franchise, ruined it all. Way it goes. However, with the advent and introduction of Mars into your quadrant of the sky? Imagine that it sounds like that chainsaw, starting up.
Virgo: One of my favorite flavors of tea is Lapsang-Souchong. It’s a smoky flavored tea, and I don’t know the details of its source, treatment, or why it tastes like it does. I was in a resort and I got a "to go" cup of the tea. The little tea bag tag was snapped under the lid, looked like any of the usual solo-serve coffee cups that, at one point, were quite ubiquitous. I sipped at my tea and something tasted wrong. Eventually, after it steeped and cooled, I pulled the plastic lid off the cup.
The tea tested like it was supposed to. It’s woody and wood-smoked, with hint of roasted rice, and the image of the Oriental-wood cut art with a sparse mountains described in a single pen stroke? Yeah, all that from a simple sip of tea. The important part, though was the lid. For some reason, under the coffee cup’s top, that tea didn’t taste right.
Could be an emotional factor, a physical property, my own imagination, or any other number of causes.
Does it matter? Yes and no. Maybe. Sort of. All I did was discard a simple restraint, and that changed the flavor, the taste, perceptions, and most important, my enjoyment. Simple change yet made a whole world of difference. "So I’m supposed to take the top off my coffee cup?" Yeah, if that’s what it takes, it could be that easy. Or something else. Some minor restraint. Some minor impediment to you getting all the Virgo pleasure you want and deserve.
