Fishing Guide to the Stars For the week 9.22.2011

“Come what sorrow can,
It cannot countervail the exchange of joy
That one short minute gives me in her sight.”
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet [II.vi.5-7]

Libra: The perfect (happy birthday) way to face the world. It’s an old trick, but with the Fall Equinox, the onset of Libra, and by the end of this scope, Saturn, Venus, Mercury and the Sun all lined up in Libra? Got to do something. Here’s the trick. It’s still a little warm in part of Texas. Not quite as hot as it’s been, but still very warm. The trick is how to mix and match clothing to make it acceptable, and Libra perfect-presentation. It’s all about the pitch, right? How you put it out there? The first suggestion, what with Saturn still weighing heavy on your soul? Back. Black jeans, black slacks, some kind of black pants. Then, a black T-shirt. I’d go full-formal, for me that means a black t-shirt with a factory hem and collar. Maybe a black wife-beater, but the idea is clear? Good so far. Finally, top this outfit with a bright shirt or jacket. Best I’ve seen was a like a bright pink hoodie, but whatever works. The basic black is for cover, the color is splashed on over the foundation. Dark, solid, basic foundation, then add the color.

Scorpio: Always something, isn’t it? Always something comes along and yanks that Scorpio chain. Once upon a time, I owned a number of websites. Domain names. Registered in bulk, got deal on the price. astrofish.net, astrofish.net/xenon/astrofishcouk/, astrofish.us, astrofish.net, &c. There was, probably still is, a company that makes money farming people who are listed as domain owners. With an official-looking letter and name, the company’s note says, “Your domain is about to expire, renew NOW.” The rest of the letter is direction on renewal.

With some companies offering renewals for under ten bucks, it’s clear to see at $30 a year, the advertising was working, and working well. Otherwise, they wouldn’t do it. Official sounding name. Officious looking letter. Great marketing. Almost a lie, but not quite. But almost. The first time I got one of those letters, I was rightly pissed off. Second time, I simmered. This last one? I had to find the humor. I couldn’t believe that someone would dare to send out flagrantly false information. Pissed me right off the first time, made me simmer the second time, and by the third notice? I have to find the humor that some people will $7.95 for domain name then re-up at three times the price. Now, that would piss me off if I did that. When I suggested it was always something, read the fine print. Then do like I do, and find the humor there.

Sagittarius: As I spun around the astrology charts to figure a decent direction for Sagittarius, I kept hitting blank walls. Not bad, not good, not anything. It’s like an empty car parts warehouse, you know? The most fun, and this would be for the November Sagittarius, but the flavor pervades the rest of the sign, is this weekend’s Mars trine Uranus. Sort of cosmic shot with a cattle prod. While marked at 50,000 volts, it is such a low wattage that the cattle prod does what its name implies, it prods without permanent damage. Which is what Mars and Uranus do, prod us towards greater, loftier goals. As one girlfriend once noted, “Maybe it will prod your lazy butt out of my bed this morning. I got to go to work.” Always something, isn’t it? One in every crowd. We do need a shove in the correct direction, and while I’m in all in favor of this being a ‘get up and get out’ kind of jolt, there’s another angle to work, as well, the work angle. Yeah, one extra effort at work, stay late, just 15 minutes or so, or, like me, skip lunch one day to work. Get ahead and get beyond that little kick from Mars and Uranus.

Capricorn: “Never get a garage door opener. They are too slow and zombies will get in.” It’s a favorite warning, I’d use it in my fine print, but not many people would get that the two sentences were connected. I’d break it up, like this, “Never get a garage door opener; they are too slow and zombies will get in,” but that disturbs the flow, and it’s not how I heard it. Read it. Not my perception, and perception drives reality, am I right, or what? So the deal is, that a garage door opener, in a real emergency situation, like if zombies were attacking, that method, that line of defense? Useless. Too slow. As a Capricorn with the influences of the waning but still present astrological pressure from Aries (Uranus) to Pluto (Capricorn) to the Sun/Moon/Mercury/Venus/Saturn (Libra), that pressure makes you move faster. The garage door opener isn’t quick enough, not if the zombies are after you. And they might well be, real, or imagined. Or just metaphorical.

Aquarius: Mars is in Leo. Leo is opposite from Aquarius. Mars is, will, or has been, opposite your gentle Aquarius self. As an Aquarius, you can rant, rave, struggle and otherwise rent your hair asunder, or whatever else for throwing a fit of pique, or, you can follow some sage advice (not Sagittarius advice, sage advice. There’s a difference.) I was conversing with a friend. He looked at me, as we were talking about an ongoing argument with his spouse. He shrugged his Aquarius shoulders, “You’re married,” he said to no one in particular, maybe just to hear himself say it, “you know how the water runs.” The argument itself, it was brutal and bitter, with name-calling and frequent references to familial lineage. Here’s his solution, and one I would suggest for all Aquarius, “You’re married. You know how the water runs.” You’re (something, probably fixed issue) and you know how the water runs. The direction and path of the water doesn’t change much. It follows the path of the least resistance while seeking its own level. Water runs downhill. Always has, always will and you can put up a fight with Mars, but ultimately, the water still runs downhill. Me? I’m not Aquarius. I just nodded and agreed.

Pisces: I’m pretty much a fair-weather dipper when it comes to swimming in local creeks and rivers. Means I wimp out if the water’s too cold. The question being, as this week gets underway, and the weekend rolls over us, is it too cold for a Pisces, for that one, last dip in the creek? Nominally, that would be Barton Creek, and one year, my last seasonal dip wasn’t until early November, which, I might add that same November, we had a dusting of snow two weeks later. It happens. Texas is weather is a fickle mistress, at best. However, I’m not talking about those extremes, I’m talking about a personal, Pisces extreme. What works. What doesn’t work. It’s, as far as I’m concerned, in the shade, on the afternoons like this, it’s just not really warm enough to warrant a dip in the creek. I’ll walk by the old swimming hole and think about it, but then, I’d be wet and shivering when I crawled out. Some days, hot summer days, it’s worth it. This isn’t a hot, summer’s day. As the fall cools off, I’ll promise other areas in the Pisces life are heating up. Pick and choose. Cold shower? Cold dip in the creek? Be a fair weather freak like me.

Aries: Last week, I left this very horoscope with a question, dangling. It was about what really motivates your Aries self. I don’t mean little stuff, like, “I go to work to provide for my family…” that’s too simplistic. No, what I want to know is what grabs your internal organs and makes your palms sweat, what makes your heart race, brings a glisten and glow to your Aries eyes. What is it? One poet supremely longed for something that could never be attained. An impossible goal. That poet died heartbroken in relative obscurity, penniless and hopeless. Dream that was clearly out reach. Flip that around and look at my original question, what motivates your Aries self? What I wanted to do was use that motivation to drive you towards your goal. Connect the two. Motivation (arrow goes here) Goal. Maybe like this? Motivation –> Goal. Clear focus, clear destination in mind, clear path and most important, clear about the Aries motivation.

Taurus: Why does the stuff that’s good for you have to taste so bad? Or, maybe it doesn’t taste bad but doesn’t have any flavor at all? Sometimes, I swear, the bran muffins that are marked as healthy and really are healthy? No refined sugar, no artificial color, not much of anything, especially, no flavor? Looks like sawdust, and for that matter, really does taste like sawdust? That’s the stuff I’m talking about. Awful stuff. Healthy, I know, it’s good for me. But if it’s good for me, can’t a little flavor of some kind be included? I guess not. This isn’t, wasn’t, suppose to be rant about healthy foods with no flavor. In the battle with my desire to get back “optimum weight,” I have made some small sacrifices along the way. Apparently anything that might taste good was one of the first victims. I’d suggest you consider a similar, small sacrifice, but then, maybe not taste.

Gemini: I quit being an early adopter of technology. I stopped. No more bleeding edge devices, software, hacks, or technological toys that may, or may not, help. I’ve found that it’s better to let the product cycle develop, and pick it up after the bugs have been ironed out. Piece of web software I use extensively, there was a major update. I held off on upgrading because I knew there would be an almost immediate revision, version .01, then version .1, and I figured, why double and triple my work load? Normally, a Gemini carries twice the workload of a normal worker. And typically, this isn’t much a challenge. It’s just, right now, upgrading for the sake of upgrading, only to have to go through the whole routine again in a few days, maybe a few hours, given some of the software development cycles I’ve witnessed…. Maybe this is a time to wait and see. Hard as that might sound for a Gemini, with all the planets that are now in Libra, stop, pause, think. Is it worth it to upgrade when you’ll just have to repeat the process tomorrow?

Cancer: Rave culture itself is not an element I’m strong with. I don’t know a lot about the definitions, moires, or stylings. I understand some of the music, as I have some. I’ve been to a “rave-like” event, twice, in fact. But true Raver Culture? I got nothing. So, it was at breakfast, a couple of weeks back, and my date nudges me. Elbow to the ribs, “Did you see here?” I asked who. Whom. “Little Bo Beep. I mean, did you see her?” I casually glanced back, no big deal, not to me, full-on Little Bo Beep outfit, bonnet, pink sundress, pink shoes, lace, white ruffles, and her “date,” if you will, a very ambiguous android goth. Goth, I guess. Hair dyed black, eye-liner, and so forth. Couldn’t tell for sure, not that it mattered. None of this is upsetting or unsettling to me. I halfway expected someone with a big baby pacifier to join the pair. To my pleasant surprise, it was another girl, all black, and I mean all black outfit, dress, black lace, a tiny teacup hat pinned to her hair, and the shoes. I’m guessing, without measuring, 7 or 8 inch platform heels with two or three inches of platform under the soul. Just very cool. Not something I would ever wear, but I can admire. The question is, how do you say, “Really cool outfits, and decent set of stones to even wear these outfits in daylight hours…” The question stands. What I did? As we passed the table, on our way out? I nodded and pointed to the shoes. “Really great shoes.” Why thank you, I believe was the reply. It’s just, now that Mars is gone, how do you saw something like that without sounding snarky, smarmy, or sarcastic? Sincerity is required from Cancer, this week.

Leo: I ran into a dear Leo friend. The Leo. 30 seconds into the conversation, I realized that Mars, is in Leo, and Mars, is making the July Leo folks, well, for lack of better word, cranky. I tried to figure a way to work around this, and I couldn’t seem to address the issue. “Well, aren’t we Miss Crank-Pants these days,” I muttered. “Yeah, so?” The problem is Mars, and the solution, come on, admitting you have a problem is the first step to getting better, and I’m committed to a path of holistic healing and wellness for Leo, so the first part of this is understanding. Mars is frying the July section of Leo. So it’s not really about Leo being cranky as it’s about the rest of us, the lesser 11, we’re just not up to what you are. Mars gives you energy. Mars gets you going. Mars gets you moving twice as fast as the rest of us. You’re moving quickly, and we’re not. We can’t keep up. Hence, the cranky Leo. Solution? Like I said, understand it’s Mars. We are doing the best we can do. We can’t keep up, your royal visage. Please spare us. Or spar us. Although, I’d prefer you realize you’re moving faster than we can hope to, and that’s the problem.

Virgo: I have a routine. When I return “home,” wherever that is at the time, when I come in from a road trip, there’s a routine. Used to include making peace with the cat, but that’s a long-dead issue. Still, the memory lingers. Anyway, when I return, get dropped off from the airport, take a cab, cage a ride, walk home from the train station, anyone of those routes, when I finally get home, there’s a routine. I drop the portable computer in its spot and it charges and files transfer. I empty out my clothing, if I’d taken any, and put the dirty clothes in the laundry basket, careful not to sort by color. Bothers some Virgo’s, but that’s not my problem, it’s about the routine. Charge the battery on the phone. Empty out the pack, the luggage, unload everything. Dirty clothes go in the dirty clothes pile. Fishing gear gets tucked under the shelf. Poles are stripped of fishing line, and fishing reels are oiled. No mail, no phone calls, not until the routine is complete. Everything has to be put away, in ts proper place before I can say I’m home. I can think of two trips, in the last decade, when I’ve missed that routine. Both were long, overseas flights, and I fell into bed. Then, the next morning, I did all that. It’s the next morning, now. Routine. Stick to the Virgo routine. Some people don’t understand. I do. Stick to routine.