Fishing Guide to the Stars for the week 12.9.2010

Lear: dost thou call me a fool, boy?
Fool: all thy other titles thou hast given away; that thou wast born with.
Shakespeare’s King Lear [I.iv.9607]

Sagittarius: It was an early roll out in the cold winter morning. I don’t recall. Should’ve been a fishing trip, but it wasn’t. I know I was up way before the sun. I stopped at a familiar coffee shop. The little Sagittarius working, she was half-asleep. Cute lass, heart-shaped face, pale skin, almond eyes, a mass of dark curls to frame her face.

Sagittarius — but some other rising sign — she was half-asleep. Did I mention that? She looked at me, started pulling a couple of shots of espresso, made some comment out the side of her mouth about me being up early.

I asked why she was up. “I’m at work, silly boy.” I then asked why she was so sleepy. “I stay up most nights, I don’t want to miss anything. I’m afraid if I go to sleep, I’ll miss something.”

I am a Sagittarius, and I didn’t miss too much. Sleep is good. Trying to get in everything at the expense of good, much needed, rest? Doesn’t work.

Solution? Go to bed earlier or sleep later.

There is enough time, we just have to be better with our “allotted time” or how we budget ourselves. This is less about money and more about another, similar resource. Staying awake at night? Just to not miss anything in the daytime? I’m back to my original solution, either go to bed earlier or wake up later, whatever works.

Capricorn: Excited yet? You should be. The Sun crawls closer and closer to that point where it’s at the darkest point in the cycle. More dark than light. The further north one goes, the worse it gets. I understand that the sun never rises in parts of Canada and Alaska.

I do recall a winter in England, seemed like the Sun rose around 10 in the morning, and set around 3 in the afternoon. Not much daylight. This pervasive darkness is what Capricorn and the time before, that’s what this is all about. Will it recover?

Ancient rites and rituals marked the turning point, fast approaching. I’m not a big fan of animal sacrifice, or human sacrifice, although I know a few people — never mind. I’m unsure if what your tradition calls for, Sacrifice, Saturnalia, Solstice. Perhaps it involves candles and wreaths, or Xmas trees. Doesn’t matter to me.

What matters is that there is some form of ritual celebration. That’s the first important point. The second — maybe more important point — it getting ready. The way the good Capricorn celebrates requires some preparation. I’m all for that. I’m not hung up on one type of celebration — this is about embracing whatever your personal tradition is.

Observe. I’m just suggesting, there’s a need for a little planning and preparation. Like, just as an example, someone has to get a frozen turkey carcass, then someone else has to get enough peanut oil to fill a five-gallon can, and someone has to get the propane to heat the oil, and all of this so we can have a deep-fried turkey.

Aquarius: I’ve mentioned this before, but all the Moons of Uranus are named for characters from Shakespeare’s plays. Or Alexander Pope. Kind of a good touch, a literary planet. What would one expect from Aquarius.

Jupiter and Uranus are playing a loose game of cosmic tag, and this game tightens up towards the end of this year. Both planets are moving into another sign, soon enough (Aries). But it’s not happening yet. I’d look at this as a last time to finish cleaning up one last item you wanted cleaned up. Failure to do that? Might cause some trouble. Winter time, heater’s on; my lips get chapped pretty easily at this time of the year, when it gets cold for a few days.

The other item I’ve got floating around, here, see? It’s a tube of glue. A glue stick. Actually, I think this one is too dried out to use, but that doesn’t matter. I was being absent-minded, and I reached for the lip balm, only I grabbed the glue tube instead. Before applying, though, I checked.

Glad I did. I’d hate to think about me having my lips glued together. So as the big gas giants, Uranus and Jupiter, move forward and towards another sign, think about looking at the material before blindly applying. However, more than one person has suggested that my lips glued together wouldn’t be a bad idea. However, this isn’t about me, this is about my fine Aquarius friends. Look — examine. With Jupiter and Uranus close? Don’t confuse a glue stick with lip balm.

Pisces: Winter really doesn’t amount to much, not around here. However, there are a few days when it gets downright cold. Definitions may vary, but I was bundled against a cold north wind one morning, almost too cold for me to be out. I had a bit of early morning business I was attending to, and that’s why I was out, bundled up against the cold. Passing one place, I was on foot, I could smell the hot grease on the griddle, I could sense the flour tortillas getting warmed up. I could almost feel them, it was that strong of a sensation. All of this from passing local taco joint, in the (cold) pre-dawn twilight.

There was some kind of sensation, associated with the smell of flour and corn tortillas, the kitchen’s vent and the way the wind was blowing, and instead of rising, that hot smell seemed to sink to about my nose level. There’s a faint hint concrete, the suggestion of pork products of some kind, maybe bacon, maybe sausage. There’s a just a certain scent, it’s the corn meal in the tortilla, the flour and lard, hot on the Comal, the way it smells, almost like it was reaching out to tickle me.

Tease and tickle. That scent, the idea of heavy tortillas with bacon and eggs on them, all wrapped up together, there’s a teasing sensation that goes with the senses. That’s what the planets are dong right now, in Pisces. Tease and tickle.

Aries: With all the cardinal energy that’s hitting? Do you know how much of this is about “presentation”? That term, “presentation,” to me, I think about fishing and how I’d like to present the lure — or bait — to the fish. I don’t want to just fling it out there and hope the fish likes it. No, the right way is to gently land that bait just passed where the target is, hope (and aim) for a gentle splash-landing.

Then jiggle it so, and move in such a way as to not spook the fish. Except, well, there are certain times, certain baits, I was in a canyon — pitching a heavy jig against a sharp bank. The splash, the bait looked like a crawdad that just fell into the water.

The fish (Bass) would scoop that up, almost on impact, and the splash was part of the “presentation.” Sort of depends on if you want to make a big splash or not. I can’t decide, not without consulting with you, whether or not the “big splash” is the proper presentation. However, either big, noisy entrance, or stealth-like? Either way, it’s important to concentrate on your presentation. Doesn’t matter what the illusive game is, fish, or otherwise.

Taurus: Buddy came up with this idea, probably swiped it from another location, but I don’t care, my buddy gets the credit. Everyone, that means everyone, can be at least one Shakespeare character.

There’s at least one character that fits each and every person. In my own life, I’d like to think I could be Lear’s Fool. The conversation that night, when I was first introduced to this idea, I drifted towards Polonius. The two main ways to play Polonius are doddering and conniving. I was going to go for the simpleton. I thought about it later, though, and I decided, if I had to pick a character myself?

I like Thersites in Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida, a brilliant wit who is constantly being beaten by morally ambiguous “superiors.” My life. Doesn’t call for much acting.

This is about roles we play. What roles we’d like to play compared to what roles we really play and are we stuck in a particular Tragedy, Comedy or History play?

Xmas time, you get to pick, maybe think about it. Which Shakespeare character should you play? There’s one role that you’re perfect for. Which one? Suggestions, looking at your planets? I’m thinking about Falstaff.

Gemini: I’ve been on TV and movie sets. Never really got to act in one, just been featured as guest a couple of times.

What a scene looks like on TV? What a movie set looks like, in real life? It’s all very, very different.

Same thing applies to actors and actresses. Meet a superstar in the real world? Her nose is too big, her lips look like they’ve been recently filled at the air pump. On screen? Beautiful. In person? Not so much. I mean, it’s her, but still. While some attribute look perfectly proportioned on screen? When she’ next to you? Her ass looks like it’s about three times as big. Either it’s the camera and camera angles. Or maybe, it’s something they do in the studio. Or maybe it’s the makeup. Or maybe, there’s some kind of magic that happens when that little red light starts flashing.

Gemini: now is a good time to shut up, and let the magic happen. This week? Observe.

Cancer: I reached across my desk and unfolded my wallet.

I opened up the bill fold and started to take a whiff.

I was looking for something that smelled like money. Wrong choice, on my part, as the money in my wallet has been there for while. Kind of stagnant, my money flow. So I can’t accurately portray what “money” smells like.

Much as I would, it’s just not there. My extra fine Cancer friend? The smell of new money just isn’t here, not this week, but hold that thought.

Leo: I’ve flogged the Shakespeare Canon for Xmas quotes. I’m out of them at this moment. Tired of using the old ones, and you’re tired of that, too.

The holiday season is upon us. Let us celebrate with glee. One of my favorites was a giant, inflatable snowman in front of a bar in Austin.

Snowmen have what to do with Xmas? Nothing, other than both are sort of winter activities (Northern Hemisphere, for that one fan in Australia, adjust as need be). Then, further south, along the highway towards the coast? A giant snow-globe with a Santa Claus in it. It was close to 80 that afternoon, the snow-globe looked pretty silly.

Don’t get me wrong, it can get cold: all the way down to freezing, some nights. But that’s not a regular occurrence, so the fake snow, the fake snow-men, all of that looks out of place. For some, it’s symbolic of the merriment of the season. Roll your tired Leo eyes. With a huge concentration in Capricorn? Stick to items that might be more geographically correct. Around here? A huge prickly pear cactus would be best, maybe festooned with Xmas lights. Adjust as you need, for the holiday spirit. Think local, think Leo.

Virgo: There are three high-class, or, at least, marginally famous TexMex joints close to me. Each one has a different spin on how to make Picante Sauce. Salsa. Hot Sauce. Pico de Gallo. Within three blocks, there’s sun-dried tomatoes that are roasted, with smoked peppers; there’s another place with tomato-base, hot peppers and loaded with cilantro; and there’s fresh, tomato and lime with onions, peppers and a hint of orange. Each flavor is distinct, and yet, there’s also a similarity. Because of proximity, the three places strive to be similar and yet, each one is definitely different.

Subtle and yet, obvious, at the same time. Hard to imagine that there would be three places that advertise as “authentic Mexican cuisine” around here? To differentiate requires Virgo-like precision. The sauces all look the same, at first, but there are grades and textures that enhance the flavors while setting each sauce apart from its neighbors.

Xmas is all about food. Xmas Tamales was why I was thinking about these places. Subtle gradations, and variations on themes. To make it through the next couple of days? You’re going to need to make sure your Virgo-like senses can differentiate between each salsa. Or some kind of locally similar taste sensation.

Libra: I picked up a recent astronomy magazine. Turns out there’s a great deal of “new” information about a comet that might’ve crashed into our planet, tens of thousands, millions, some big number, a long time ago. That’s the second or third scholarly, academic article — peer reviewed — material that I’ve been exposed to that suggests, not proves, just suggests, that a comet, asteroid, heavenly body, chunk of ice, something big, slammed, intercepted and/or impacted Planet Earth.

I’m a fan of astronomy. I like those guys, the astrophysicists. They don’t like astrologers, but we were all on the same team, back about 500 years ago.

This is about being willing to go outside our established realm for information. Me? I’ll read the odd astronomy magazine. Not always helpful, but there are moments when there’s more than a nugget of information I can effectively use.

I kept thinking about a number of recent theories about deep-space objects and its impact on our little blue orb. I like the science theories as they are way more amusing than the astrology guys. The science guys talk it over, write it up, submit the material, it gets reviewed, and even then, it’s only supposition. Which is what I was aiming for, here with my Libra friends. Saturn makes lasting impact on your life. How you act then react to Saturn’s influence? That’s what’s important.

Scorpio: I dreamed of a skinny tie the other night. Not just any skinny tie, I mean a suede-textured, inch-wide, olive-green tie. I know why I was dreaming about that tie, because I had one, went with — horrible admission — parachute pants. Made the outfits, so to speak.

The reason the skinny tie came swimming back in my dreams was because I was sifting through online video footage from decades old music. Made me think about what I wore, how I would suffer for fashion, what was “cool” and “tray sheik” at the time. Period pieces, now.

Those cool fashions became the unwanted styling of history. I understand that some history can be traced by what is currently in vogue, fashionable, at a particular point along the time-space continuum. I’m comfortable with the fact I’m no longer a slave to fashion. I couldn’t fit in those pants, even if I did have them. My girth has long since gone past the era of good taste. No doubt because I had good taste. This is a brief moment of reverie, brought to you by my memory, and the stars.

Stop. Where were you, your Scorpio self, ten — twenty — thirty years ago? Fashion that’s changed? Fashion that hasn’t changed? Me? I only wear bolo ties now. And I only wear those for state occasions, too. Using that as a way to judge, consider where you’re at, now. Progress?

• Aperture: ƒ/1.8
• Camera: iPad Pro (11-inch)
• Taken: 29 November, 2022
• Flash fired: no
• Focal length: 3mm
• ISO: 64
• Shutter speed: 1/60s