Fishing Guide to the Stars for the week 4.7.2011

“Our loves and comforts should increase
Even as our days do grow!”
Shakespeare’s Othello, The Moor of Venice [II.i.195-6]

Mars squares Pluto. Mercury in retrograde.

Aries: I got so tired of the misrepresented facts of Mercury Retrograde I wrote a book to dispel the myths. Looking for trouble? It will find you, doesn’t matter what the planets say. What I’d like are some solutions to problems. Why I wrote the book. The book can be found at astrofish.net/books, for starters, or from your favorite retailer. Why am I pushing a copy of my book on you? As an Aries, you’ll find the book short and to the point, unlike many of my horoscopes. It will also suggest that you push ahead with whatever you’re working on, just be aware of the usual pitfalls that can accompany a backwards Mercury. It’s also about, like my book, going over something we’ve covered before. That simple. Previously covered work.

Taurus: I rode a regular Amtrak train for a while, as a commuter special. Worked well for me as I lived close enough to the station in Austin, it was, for me, walking distance. Perfect. That train ride got me used to the idea of train music and there’s a long history of music that features trains. Lonesome cowboys riding the rails, old blues numbers, all that railroad music. As one more modern (Austin) musician noted though, “The sounds of trains only remain in the memories of the ones like me…” (Steve Fromholz – Gemini) I kept thinking about a train image for Taurus. The usual metaphor is that there’s a train coming, get out of the way.

There is a train coming, only, I want to tweak the image that usually goes here. There’s a train, it’s twilight and you can see the three headlights of a freight train’s engine. Huge headlights they’ve got. I also got stranded on one train, in South Austin, stuck for almost an hour, while a freight train was unhooked, then hooked back up and moved to a different destination. Stuck. Sitting. I made noise about just getting off the train, but I was politely informed to do so would cause me more trouble later. I was thinking about that train, stuck there on a siding, idling, the big engines not doing a thing but keeping the AC on (it was summer). That big headlight, looming in the distance, seeming to move close to Taurus, but actually? Not moving.

Gemini: A Gemini buddy, she’s a young mother. She’s also used to the corporate grind, and she’s used to being tightly leashed to a smart phone. She’s used to being held tightly. Some would say, “Tightly wrapped,” but I wouldn’t go that far. Just typical Gemini. In the last week, she’s been through two phones. One went in the toilet, kids, you know. The other went in the pool, the kids again. At least one Gemini I know would hold onto the phone and let the kid’s head slip underwater first. Difference of opinion and I’m not weighing in on that one. I just suggested, after this lament, with Mercury backwards like it is? Get a cheap phone for now, and worry about a smart replacement later. I’m not one to predict disaster, but two phones in a week? What are the odds, Mercury the Gemini planet is backwards, all that Aries stuff, what are the odds the phone is water-logged before the weekend is up? Part of that Aries influence, too, the way I see it? That smart phone had all the contacts. “Man, I had to go to your website to get a phone number and e-mail, how whack is that?”

Cancer: Stuck in a motel, I was watching some show on the limited cable TV. Fifteen channels, one in an Asian language, ten in Spanish, one in German… Not much for English speakers. Gives away my location, as well. It was a crime show, that flashes back and shows hints about how and who did the crime, and then flashes forward to the investigators, and it’s kind of lame as there’s telegraphed and choreographed data in each scene. What didn’t make sense, to me, was the crime itself — TV-style murder. If it had been me, I’d put up a better struggle. Fighting for my life, I would’ve made it out of there alive. I wouldn’t let the killer catch me like that. Then, if I hadn’t been murdered, then there wouldn’t be a case for the investigators to solve, with dramatic overtones and backdrop of scenery, and the careful interpersonal dynamics layered in. Nighttime TV isn’t really any better than daytime TV. The premise for the whole episode was lost on me since, if I had been the victim, I would’ve made a clean escape. Or fought back, or fought back then made a clean escape. Mercury, along with other influences, but let’s just hang this one on Mercury for now, it’s a lot like that episode. Have to go with the premise, lame as it is, or the rest of the action in Cancer doesn’t make any sense.

Leo: Certain stocks, in this case stock market stocks, dipped. Thoroughly irritated one of my Leo friends. Pissed her right off. Her portfolio, against my advice, was heavy in one sector, and when that took a hit, the value tanked. This stuff is cyclical. It’ll be back. That’s the least of our troubles in Leo. “What troubles,” really, should be the question. Less about problems and more about recognizing cycles. Sun is in Aries, compatible Fire Sign, although, not as great a fire sign as Leo. Neptune and Venus are in Pisces, a watery sign if there ever was one, but that doesn’t matter, either. It’s not a direct conflict with mighty Leo. What this spells out is some good times. Despite what naysayers are saying, despite whatever portents and auguries suggest, despite the ‘End of the World’ cults, despite all of this? I’d like to suggest there’s some good stuff kicking and shaking in Leo. Settle back. You don’t have a horse in this race. That means, in case you can’t figure it out, you’re not intimately interested. You can watch, and be, unusual for a Leo? Dispassionate. Detached. Perfect.

Virgo: Kittens are cute. Kittens turn into cats. Some house cats are just cruel, mean and vindictive. Others are quite pleasant as companions. Temperament varies. After my last house cat passed over, she’s buried in a special place in Austin, but after she moved on, I thought I’d rush right out and get a new pet. Fill the void left in my heart. Fat house cats are perfect companions. Once she got to “middle-age” for a cat, she was great. Eat, sleep, fill the litter box, and when I was gone, weekend to weekend, the only difference was her position on the couch might change a little. Not too much. Instead of kittens, though, I’d think about adopting an older, possibly abandoned pet. Might still do that, as the pet superstore has an adoption agency. Kids and young parents all want kittens. I’m not interested in a kitten, too much energy. But an older, mature female? Eat, sleep, share books with me, not whine too much? Not bitch too much when I’m gone for more than a day at a time? It’s time for a new relationship in Virgo. What kind? I wasn’t thinking romance, I was thinking more like a new pet. Like adopting a mature pet. One that’s already halfway grown up, which, in turn, makes for a better relationship. What this is all about.

Libra: I always figure that, for an accountant, tax season is very much like my buddy who runs a fireworks stand. Once, maybe twice a year, there’s big business. I needed some tax advice on a small matter, and what I’ve discovered, it’s best to wait until after the last-minute filings, the emergency extensions, and so forth, wait until all that settles before I bother my guy. Just easier. Easier for him and easier for me. He can chat, we might discuss his astrology chart, and it’s all a more relaxed interaction. It’s about picking a time to do this. Wait until the crush is over. Is there an issue that has to be addressed at this very minute? That’s kind of the question, as a Libra, that we’re faced with. When is the best time to discuss this issue? Does it have to be right now? The answer to most of the questions is a simple, single word: wait. I realize, with Mars opposite you, there’s an urgency, but once again, like my buddy and his fireworks stand, the rush only happens so often, and trying to get his attention at this moment? Probably not going to happen. Unless you want to buy a huge amount of somewhat pricey fireworks.

Scorpio: Ever find something you like too much? There’s an abandoned gas station, a former Humble Oils station, tucked into a corner in the shadow of the freeway, not far from the office PO box. Weird as can be, as it’s just at that corner of disuse and public right-of-way, next to the giant North-South juggernaut of the interstate. The station made the final cut, but didn’t make it, onto the National Historic Register of forgotten places. Greatest places that are never seen. I see it because it’s one of the pedestrian routes to the post office. I took a number of digital images. Morning, evening, low-light, high-light, Sky Friday, everything but rain. Electronic cameras, been my experience, don’t fare well in wet weather. Might be an old-wives’ tale, but I’ll listen to some old wives. This is borderline obsessive on my part, obsessive-compulsive, and likewise, for Scorpio, this is borderline obsessive. Three letters, OCD, mean anything? If not, then we don’t have much to worry about. However, I just love this, one Scorpio will get hung up on and obsess about being OCD. Personally, I’ve found obsession to be part of the Scorpio make-up and really, it’s an endearing quality. Gets the job done. With all that Aries stuff going on, though, that obsession? The trick is to not let it get too carried away in the next couple of days. Like my pictures of the old Humbles Oils station.

Sagittarius: Some days it’s the little things in Texas that makes me feel right. As a Sagittarius, it’s the little things, just like this, that we can get away with. She was a young lady, woman, girl, whatever is the appropriate term, between fifteen and twenty-five years of age, be my best guess. Another nice spring day, sun was out, she had an appropriate summer frock, little sundress. Short but not so short it was revealing. Sheer but not so sheer that the sunlit-backlight revealed her under garments. Not particularly form fitting, either. She had longish, blondish hair. Chattering up a storm on a phone, from where I was seated. I’d guess brown eyes, but I’m unsure. Not in my notes or sketch. She wasn’t too sunburned as the full roast of summer is still a distant target. Her footwear was “manly footwear,” probably custom, handmade cowboy boots. I never had a chance to ascertain, but there were initials on the front of the boots uppers, hence the “custom” designation. I like living in a part of the country where cowboy boots, maybe even custom boots, are considered normal footwear, even with a little sundress. Stop. Just put a big, old pause in your day. It could be a scene as simple as mine, or could some other image. Look at the details. The initials on those boots, what were they? Hers? Someone else? Ostrich, as I recall, and those can last a long time.

In time for Mercury Retrograde, a new three-minute track.
astrofish.net/MRX2011.mp3
Binaural -scientific- Beats Engineering, play three times, a day, three times in a row, guaranteed to ameliorate the effects of Mercury Retrograde.

Capricorn: I was having dinner with a client. Nominally a steak house, one of those restaurants that treads a narrow line between tacky and elegant, erring on the side of tack. Good food, though. I can suggest avoiding the “jalapeno poppers,” although it should be a favorite, the rattlesnake bites are more grease than anything else, less cheese and pepper and more fried. However, as the main course was served, my companion was making a healthy point. With a steak knife in her hand. She was stabbing at the air as the little server came up. Tentative approach. Scared, eyes wide, wondering if she should ask, “Is there a problem here?” No, not a problem, the client was stabbing at an individual who wasn’t present and the client’s animated delivery was about the passion of the topic, hardly going to be stabbing anyone with a dull steak knife. One of those blunt, serrated-edge things. Good thing despite the decor, the food was good and that steak was tender. Poor, little server, that waitress was terrified of us. We were a strange enough table, to begin with, but that added passionate display of steak-knife wielding, the apparent shenanigans made us questionable at best. “Oh, look, she’s scared of us, now.” Sure enough, our dinner was cautiously delivered. As a Capricorn, I hope you glean two messages from my little tale: 1) stay way away from fried food appetizers, and 2) careful with the histrionics. That fateful Friday evening, not such a big deal, not for me, but I’m probably not going back to that restaurant ever again. I have to wonder if the little waitress was really scared, or just playing with us. I could never tell. Avoid that fried food.

Aquarius: I wrapped up an intense afternoon of doing back-to-back readings. I tend to get a little loopy after working like that, being “on” for six or eight hours straight, living off a power bar, vitamins and black coffee, I had dinner with friends. Part way through the meal, I think it was steak and fries, one of my redneck friends looks at me, listened to a half-hearted joke, then announced, “Kramer, you’re like a dog hit by a truck, not dead yet, but we ought to just leave you lie by the side of the road where we found you.” He drawled a little, part southern influence leaking through. Gentle thought, too, just let me be, where they found me, let me die in peace. Or pieces, I wasn’t sure how the rest of it went.

While that’s not a pretty picture, the image my buddy conjured up, it effectively captures a sentiment appropriate for Aquarius. I can just imagine, as an Aquarius, you’re listening to somebody drone on, perhaps it’s a person who, as my buddy suggested, should be just be left by the side of the road. Comes a time in the life of the Aquarius, you can just let it be. Let it go, or better yet, don’t pick it up in the first place. By the end of the dinner, I was only partly revived and not exactly coherent. Expecting cogent thought at the time? Not going to happen. Imagine you’re an Aquarius, and the dinner companion isn’t making a lot of sense. Let it lie. Right there, where you found it. Not your problem? Don’t pick it up.

Pisces: When La Salle explored portions of what is now known as Texas, he lost crew members to the local population. Several of his crew defected from the ships to Caddo Indians because the local, indigenous population was friendlier. Incidentally, the word “Tejas,” derives from the Caddo’s word for “friend.” So far, I’ve crossed French, Spanish, the indigenous language, and English. That’s just setting the scene for the scope, four languages, and there’s a lot of supposition in there, too. What’s fact, what’s fiction, what’s pleasant myth? I tend to favor the myth aspect more than any linguistic and historical precedent. I tend to favor my Pisces friends following the French explorers, that crew? I’d abandon ship for friendlier natives. Just sounds like a better idea. Food is better, you’re treated like royalty, I’m guessing, but plenty of women, or whatever, to serve your Pisces purposes… Find yourself on an unfriendly ship with a tyrannical and despotic boss? Jump ship, assuming the natives have invited you.