Fishing Guide to the Stars for the week 12.2.2010

“And this our life exempt from public haunt,
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in everything.”
Shakespeare’s As You Like It [II.i.17-9]

Sagittarius: Ground Zero. It was a signature. First though, my little Birthday Sagittarius friend, what does that term mean? What kind of image does it invoke? It usually refers to the place where it all started, the point of impact, and in one example, there was a bar I knew with that name. More a music venue, but — as the name might imply — it was heavy metal/thrash/neo-punk. Not exactly my kind of material, not always. But no, that’s not what I was thinking of.

“Ground Zero.” It was label on a Low Rider. Very low lowrider. The license plate — vanity tag — said, “I DRAG.” At first, me liking go-fast stuff, I thought it was dragster, street rod. No, it was a mobile piece of artwork. Probably did drag when rolling. Stationary? It sat. Eloquently, too.

Brought a whole new level of meaning to the term “Ground Zero.” Zero Ground Clearance? Whatever you want. The point, though, is about what you were thinking when I suggested the term, “Ground Zero,” and what the Sagittarius Birthday topic really was about. Mars slips out of Sagittarius by the end of this scope. The term, I’m not saying what the expression is, but as Mars slips away? Watch about jumping on a meaning for the term. Sweet ride, that dragster.

Xmas special, book a half-hour reading this week, online only, and get a full hour for the reduced price. Some restrictions may apply.

Capricorn: A friend of mine was addressing issues arising from a High School Reunion. Turns out that, out of the class of hundreds, only about three of the “stoners” are still stoners. I haven’t been to a high school reunion.

Came close, one summer, but couldn’t make it — business obligations. However, as I got thinking about my buddy’s comment, I wondered how I would appear? Stoner then, stoner now. Only I’m not a stoner. Don’t partake. Got nothing against it, just don’t imbibe — haven’t in many long years. That doesn’t mean that I don’t get the offers, “Dude, 420.” I’m sorry, regretfully, I don’t partake in the least. Just not my thing.

I think it should be widely legalized. But that’s me. Even if it was legal? I still wouldn’t partake. The reason should be obvious. I have tenuous grip on my thin shards of reality as it is. Even less these days. I can’t afford to lose touch with those fine threads as it is.

No chemical enhancements, natural or otherwise, not for me. Can’t afford it. However, I’d like to point out, that’s just me. For the sake of illustration, have you thought about how you might appear? I seem to appear as a stoner. Couldn’t be further from the truth, but I’ve labored under this “Austin” appellation almost too long. Plus the concomitant labels. What are the Capricorn labels? Do you want to change those labels? Personally, I kind of, you know, dude, like, you know, I like mine.

Aquarius: “Ever heard of a ketchup sandwich?” Conversational question from a client who works in a big office. One of the new hires was in the kitchen area, every day at noon, eating ketchup sandwiches. Which is weird, if you ask me.

No one did.

While I’m familiar with the concept of the ketchup sandwich, my personal favorite is the mustard sandwich — especially if it’s just one piece of bread and some really hot mustard.

Hotter is better.

I found this one item, a “Tabasco Mayo,” and that made a decent open-face sandwich, too. The next question, given where the planet are, why would an Aquarius be contemplating an open-faced (mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup) sandwich? Part of the reason is pecuniary outlook, but in part, there’s also the minimalist approach — just bread and condiment.

You might be like me, and you might wish there was something meatier there. I’d suggest, though, given with what the planets are doing now? That strictly minimalist sandwich is really the way to go.

Pisces: Young couple I know, the wife is very pregnant. She’ll be a good mom, and the baby should be healthy, either an Aquarius or a Pisces. Not an issue, the problem?

The way the husband, the soon to be proud daddy, the way he deals with his “mamacita” and her elevated hormone-thing. Moods. Emotions.

“I’m writing a book, a guy’s guide to pregnancy. Chapter 1, ‘Nothing fits,’ and chapter 2, ‘I’m hungry.'” The chapter list and titles go on. It was funny, except that, as he was describing the various issues, his wife — the expectant mom — was getting increasingly angry.

Fortunately, that’s one of those solid relationships. She might get pissed off, but it was part of the fun. “Chapter Nine, ‘Everything you say is wrong.'” There’s a hint, about how to deal with certain situations. Humor is good. Sarcasm? Might not get as far as you think.

Aries: Research in the inter-web is dangerous, at best. Very distracting, too.

I was looking up a movie sound track, which I was cross-checking with a museum display, and then, to balance it out, I was trying to figure in some “proto-punk” music from back in the day. Started with iTunes, actually. Safest place to start, look through the online store, copy down the name of the lead singer in a band and then look elsewhere for that guy’s name.

Turns out he had quite a story, and that first band was only a beginning to a long an storied career. Three different names, The Plugz, Tito and the Tarantulas and (other).

Started looking for some seminal punk influences that wound up with me looking at soft latin sounds. Which is why this kind of “research” is difficult.

The holidays are here. Mars (along with Pluto and so forth) are all getting together at the early degrees of Capricorn. That puts a distracting influence on poor Aries. Holiday time. Make an effort to stick to what’s most important. What other band was part of that lineage? Movies? No, stay focused.

Taurus: As Venus slowly pokes her way through Scorpio? Consider this: forbidden fruit turns rancid faster than regular fruit. Important consideration, under the current influences.

Means there’s a good chance that there will be some forbidden fruit offered to you. That’s good news, or can be good news, depends on where you are with the temptations and whether it’s a bad temptation or good temptation. However, there’s still that point, the forbidden stuff? Sours and rots faster. Real fruit or candied fruit for the holidays? Real fruit or some kind of symbolism? Can be either.

Temptations abound with the season. Usually, for me, it’s certain brand of egg-nog mix and espresso, the original “egg-nog latte.” The problem is, I can’t just take one of those and sip on it all afternoon. There about twenty hundred calories in a single serving.

Fresh dairy (heavy cream), uncooked eggs, and sugar. Oh so much sugar. Then some coffee, too, the original purpose, but one of those drinks won’t last all afternoon, which is what I need it to do. That’s a single example of my forbidden fruit, and how I have to avoid it. Most of the time Maybe once, just one? See the problem?

Gemini: Presumably, the oldest Christian Church in North America is the San Miguel Cathedral in Santa Fe, NM. Just a few blocks shy of the downtown square, as I recall. More an oddity and less of church, as I recall. I didn’t get the “cool, old place to pray,” vibe I like in some of those old places.

More like a “good place to prey” — on tourists. Cost a buck to get in the door. Cost a dollar to go to church. I’m sure that the dollar was to defray the cost of all the tourists, like me, traipsing back and forth across the threshold.

When I enter a catholic church, I tend to cross myself. Not out of belief or habit, just because it’s the thing to do. If I’m in a house of worship that requires my head be covered, I’d cover my head. Why I tend to cross myself. Fit in, go with the flow. However, after paying admission, I was thrilled about crossing myself. This isn’t about charging admission to a relic of a church — as opposed to church relic — this isn’t about me crossing myself to fit in — it’s about traditions. Whatever the Gemini tradition, observe well.

Cancer: Xmas Tamales — hey, I’m late to this party. I’m not late the holiday party, I’m late to the South Texas tradition of Xmas Tamales. I didn’t get it, not at first. Not something that’s practiced in Austin, Dallas, or even Houston.

However, in the part of Texas that sticks way down? The seat of independence and history? The “Christmas Tamale” is a rich cultural and historical event. The trick is, to find the places that make the really delicious ones, and get the tamale, a couple of dozen, ahead of time, like a week or two before the actual holiday.

Like now. This week. I have several favorite places. Want recommendations? I’d probably point you to a good place, not the best one, just a good place because the best places are local secrets. Can’t have too many tourists flooding the place and ruining the quality of the hand-made, packed with beef, or pork, or just bean and cheese tamales.

As I would travel to either California (Sister) or Dallas (cousins), the requests would always come in, “Bring some of those good tamales, maybe a dozen.” The way the wording was, it was “maybe a dozen, or three dozen, or a whole truck load.”

Sure. The tamales are made by little Latin women, moms and grandma types, patting masa flour together with pork and peppers, or whatever, and baking them all in corn husks.

Really is an indigenous food type. Local flavor. Buy now. This week. Buy ahead of time. They freeze well, can keep until Xmas day or thereabouts. Travel well frozen. I know. Do it now, even though the real holiday is a few weeks away. Get it out of the way because, “Supplies might be limited.”

Leo: Christmas is coming a little early. So is New Year’s. Happens, for Leo, in the next three to seven days. You have one or two days to get ready, from the point of this scope being launched to the end of end of the holiday season.

What really happens is that the rest of the 11 signs, the lesser 11, as the good Leo refers to them, the lesser 11 will stay on their regular schedule.

It’s just that Leo? You enjoy the misfortune of being a little more sensitive and, as such, you feel the “spiritual” culmination of the holiday spirit this week. That’s it.

Now, what you can do, your immanence? Acknowledge the rest of us, and allow us our holiday. We’re moving at a slower pace than your royal self, so the point to be careful? Don’t be a royal pain in the — you get the idea. The rest of the signs are going to miss this about you being ahead of us.

Virgo: I was watching one of my clients make a certain mistake. Repeatedly. Not quite the same mistake, but the error was close enough to the original, that — from my elevated perspective — it was easy to see how it was really the same error, over and over.

Much younger than me, too, I should add. I thought about it. I thought about offering corrective advice. Then I thought about myself. Exact same mistakes I made when I was that age. Doesn’t matter if an older or wiser person came along, I wouldn’t have listened then. Probably won’t listen, now, either. That’s me. This applies to Virgo, though.

Wasn’t thinking about me, or that young client, I was thinking about Virgo. When it’s a good time to tell someone something. Sometimes, though, it’s a good time to not tell a person something. Consider that some people don’t want your advice, no matter how well-intentioned that advice is.

No matter how right you might be? No matter how correct, useful or insightful your wonderful Virgo self might be? Doesn’t matter. Planets, and more important, the phase of the moon? Against the season? Instead of offering up that sage, wonderful, poignant and pointed words of Virgo wisdom?

Shut up. Some folks have to get hurt before they’ll listen.

Libra: There’s a metaphorical and metaphysical term that refers to be two places at the same time. “Bi-locational,” I think, is how it goes. There’s the theory that a person can detach his or her soul and go freely floating along, do a little remote viewing, maybe have a journey or adventure? The roots are deep and some of this is seated in a very Christian framework, part and parcel of the holy catholic beliefs.

I’ll be the first to admit, though, I haven’t figured out how to be in two places at once. Even when I’m all here, I’m not all here, which is why I am here, but never mind that.

This isn’t about my ability to stay in the present. This is about Libra. There’s a good chance that you’ve mastered some of the qualities of the saints. Tested, tempted, slain satanic forces, I’m sure you’d agree with that. However, that other saintly skill set?

Like Bi-location? Haven’t managed that one yet, have you? I do adore my little Libra friends, but there’s a chance that you can’t be in two places at once. While I’d like to suggest you have many fine qualities, saint-like, even, I mean, I just don’t see an easy way around this material. Until you can balance three or four things, all at once, or split yourself in two and being more than one place? I’d suggest we look at our Libra limitations and make an effort to stay within the limits of what we know we can accomplish.

Scorpio: Chile as a spice, condiment, adornment, and necessary food element? Has been, in my world ever since I can’t remember. All my life. The problem with foreign travel, in the past? Once I leave the Texas country-side, I have a difficult time finding real “Mexican” food.

For proper taxonomy, it’s really TexMex, but the problem is the same, elsewhere, it’s just not as good. Except for New Mexico. The biggest culinary question in that state is “Red or Green?” Even got a book named after that question, and not surprisingly, the book is all about chile.

I got thinking about this since there’s an oblique Xmas theme with “Red or Green?” Food that resembles the season’s colors. There’s something very un-Xmas-Season appropriate about red and green chile sauce. That being duly noted, there’s way to dress up the holiday season with an inexpensive nod to local lore and traditions.

In Texas? TexMex Salsa. In NM? Red and Green (chile sauce). Elsewhere? I’m unsure of the local customs — and instead of just making stuff up? I’d leave that to the Scorpio in you to adjust the local material to suit your needs. But it is the season to be jolly, and somehow, I’m sure you can work in some local color. Venus (in Scorpio) will help you.