Fishing Guide to the Stars starting 1.26.2012

“Silence is the perfect herald of joy.”
Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing [II.i.303]

(source image)
Aquarius: Happy Birthday to that one Aquarius! For the rest of us, we’ve got a good, if somewhat lopsided week ahead. Good, as there’s a sweet spot approaching , a time when the illusions will be gradually dissolve, and the typical Aquarius clarity will return.

This, in effect, has started, but it’s an on-going process, too. This doesn’t mean you have license to do what you want, based upon your first impressions. I was watching a kid in the mall, as he was switching from song to song, on his phone/mp3 player. I wasn’t sure what the device was because I wasn’t interested in his hardware. What intrigued me the way he would nod his head, once or twice, maybe bob to the perceived beat, then hit the “next” arrow. Listen to an album’s 45-minute compilation in under 10 minutes. He was sampling something.

I tried that. Done it a few times, with varying degrees of success. Less is not always the best. When I lined up your chart, looked at the various positions, I figured, what looked best to me, it’s a good time to skate along. Like that kid sampling music.

Pisces: Winter fishing is cold. I realize that my South Texas temperament might not line up with what you’re looking for in “cold,” so it’s a relative expression. Here’s the way I see it, between Mercury and Venus, Moon, and two other planet influences (Neptune & Uranus), I see it is like my last coast trip. I was prepared for warm weather. Typical “winter” weather, to me, cool nights, warm days.

Figure I would be fine in shorts, maybe with a pair of sweat pants over them for the first cold boat ride. I guessed way wrong. “Blue Norther,” as we call it, blew in. Dropped arctic air right one top of us. The good news, in the late afternoons, or early afternoon, depends, in the afternoon, the shallow bay water would warm up, and the fish would feed. I’m sure there’s a picture on the website. However, the bitter north wind? I didn’t allow for that in my first attempt at packing. I didn’t really bring adequate or proper cold weather gear. I didn’t gear up correctly.

I can save you my painfully cold fingers, a fishing trick that passed onto me, was the use of “high school receivers” gloves. Just enough cover with that sticky, tactile feedback, perfect for fishing. Alas, I forgot mine. As the weekend approaches, have you prepared everything?

Aries: Last week was all about making a list of what skill sets you have. It’s about work. It’s about employment. At least one crank, maybe more, have predicted the end times. Will that really happen? Doubtful. One word: doubtful. So if there are no real “end times,” if this isn’t the end of the world, what are you planning on for the next few years? Something fun, I would hope. What I was looking for was a list of over 100 items. Assets. Personality traits, behaviors, the combined total of which make up your Aries self. It’s a matter of getting that list and looking at it. That’s what this Mars in Retrograde time is about. Very simple exercise. Look at the list. You have over 100 items listed, correct? No? Get back to working on it. This exercise has a;ready yielded one awakening, simply put, it went like this, “I’m an accountant, but I prefer the talking to people part of the job. I should be a counsellor.” The flip side, I won’t tell which one is true, “I’m counsellor, but I hate talking to people, I should’ve been an accountant, I like the numbers. Numbers don’t lie.” This next few weeks is about discovering the true inner-Aries-self.

Taurus: I was “pre-spawn” Bass Fishing. Cold winter’s day. Very cold. Hint: you don’t have to be a fisherman to understand this technique. It’s about a well-timed pause. See what Mark Twain, fellow Sagittarius, had to say about a well-timed pause (cf., Pink Cake). Plastic compound worm, the plastic is infused with salt and scent, to make it more attractive to the fish. The trick, the way, say in the spring, summer or fall? The way I would use that bait is fling it out there, let it break the water, wait for a single pause and start reeling it back to the boat. However, in that winter? Like under this astrological influence? Flip that bait out there. Wait for a three-count. Usually, just pitch and reel. Now? Pitch, and count, “1 – 2 – 3,” preferably in your Taurus head. Silent. Silently. What usually works, a decent pause? What usually works, between Mars and Jupiter exerting push and pull? What usually works is three-count pause, only, in Taurus, your three count pause is more like 123. Looks like a single second. Need about three, or, better yet, five, maybe even seven seconds. Pause. I didn’t say stop, just allow a little bit longer than you normally would. Catch more fish, or more of whatever it is you want, catch more that way. I blame the cold, but it’s really the planets that require your time.

Gemini: My e-mail address, I’m subscribed to a certain sales list. I get notices of stuff that is deeply discounted, mostly computer hardware, periodically. One item came through on the list, a flexible keyboard. Was on sale for, like, $9. With shipping? Less than $11. Not a bad deal, but I’m sure, I think, I’m pretty sure, I’ve seen those before, like in the office supply warehouse store, or the warehouse store, some place. Maybe the parts place. Somewhere, I’m not sure where. I thought about it, looked online, Amazon had the same item for less than $20, and Apple had one for about $50. Probably all the same and it has to do with supply lines, shipping, and vertical integration.

I spent more than an hour of my time agonizing over that keyboard. Would I use it? Would it be useful? As an investment, would it pay for itself? Utilitarian? Who knows. I never bought the thing. Ten bucks, maybe more, maybe less, but all that time searching my soul, worrying about the deal, should I try one, should I not? What started the search was the advertising on one list. What I ended up with was more than an hour wasted, well, a lot more as I had to make a call to a super-center electronics discount palace, just to be sure, and they did have the keyboard, but in person, it wasn’t what I wanted. Not really. I can save you this amount of frustration. Do. Do not. No middle ground. Quit over-analyzing.

Cancer: It is tax season in Texas. Federal Income Tax. Big deal to some. Some of us, I keep anticipating that I’ll make more money, a lot more money, so I prepare like a wise man. My accountant and tax preparer is grateful I could have my tax info already submitted, but the way the system works, the odd, incidental forms have yet to catch up with me. Mailing address hasn’t changed, still goes to the post office down south. Still, the forms aren’t there, and while I know where every penny is, while I have a good bookkeeping system, just because I’m ready doesn’t mean the rest of the system is ready.

I’ve mailed my stuff out before, early only to have to pay extra as the spurious forms arrive, like a 1099 for — I’m not kidding — less than ten bucks. Royalty payment on a book. Yeah, book sales aren’t what they are supposed to be. The caution is being too ready, too quick to send, too quick to “pull the trigger,” when, as a decent Cancer, Moon-Child, let’s just wait. Give it a moment. Going to happen. You’re like me, ready. Doesn’t mean everyone is quite up to where we’re at.

Leo: Every place I’ve lived for the past two decades has had those big, aluminum-box mail boxes. All the units in one location. I’m used to it. East Side apartment, North Side apartment, the south side trailer park, all about the same. The current place has one as well. I was headed out to meet a client, and the postman was just arriving. He swung his long chain with a keyring on the end, then, as I was passing, I heard him say, “Shit!” He looked at me, the mild epithet perhaps too strong when a member of the public was within ear shot, and then I got a long, sad story about how the post office failed to give him the right keys for the mailboxes on this route. He had to pack up his little mail truck put the long trays of letters back into his the little right-hand drive delivery van, and motor back to the office. I was motoring out to my office, a meeting in a coffee shop. That oiled, practised move, swinging the keyring up, the sudden realization that other people failed to fulfill their obligations? That is what interrupts your Leo day. Solution? Check, before you leave, to make sure you have everything that is required. That will save you a trip back.

Virgo: I found a perfect Virgo bumper sticker: No Bad Days. Beach, it was obviously a beach-themed sticker, possibly a tag line for a surf music group or some kind of coastal and western music. Maybe even a Jimmy Buffett (Capricorn) theme. Wasn’t sure, caught it out of the corner of my eye, and never got to explore the meaning. Surf shop, saltwater fishing guide, some kind Southern California thing, be a good guess, too. As a Virgo, there’s “beach attitude” that you need to adopt. Now. This week. This minute. “No Bad Days.” You’re on a beach, you’re in a (tropical) paradise, you’re some place you want to be. “No, Mr. ‘Fishing Guide to the Stars,’ I’m at work and the boss is a …” Stop. Imagine that you’re at a beach, beach attitude. Island time. Boat drinks. No Bad Days. Steel drums, gentle waves, sand between your toes. I can’t fix what’s broken in the Virgo world. I can, however, offer a way around. Think, this is bumper sticker wisdom for the day, but think, “No Bad Days.”

Libra: Neptune is at 29 degrees of Aquarius, a compatible Air Sign. Saturn is at 29 degrees of Libra, another air sign, hopefully, your sign. There is a quiet strength and ultimately, a truth that must be revealed. Either you’re strong enough now, to make this happen or you fold.

If it were me? I’m a sloppy, slightly worn-out Sagittarius with a little too many miles on me. I’d fold. Like a wet paper bag. No resilience.

I would mutter whatever it was that they wanted to hear, truth, fiction, sell out my comrades, whatever was required. Not a problem. I have a backbone, but under the withering odds here? No one way I could withstand the heat. However, I’m not a Libra, and I’m not subject to the pressures. As a mighty Libra, now, more so than ever, this is a time to speak up. Don’t wait. Speak your mind; have your say. Evasive clarity is no longer the problem.

Scorpio: There is a scene, from classical movies, a single scene that is stuck in my head. Catches and explains, in a Scorpio way, how this week works. In the final moments of “The Wizard of Oz,” part of the denouement, as the curtain gets pulled aside and the Wizard is revealed as the guy behind the curtain, that’s what happens.

Smoke and mirrors do not work for Scorpio. You’re going to feel like you’re being revealed, being “outed,” as the puppet master. What good Scorpio doesn’t make a good puppet master? Or want to be the master of ceremonies, the one who pulls all the strings? Of course you do! Since you’re an above average Scorpio, I’d prepare for the great “reveal.” I’d prepare for that uncomfortable moment when the trick is revealed, the curtain pulled back, the secret is out of the bag. My best suggestion is to borrow a page from my playbook, act like you meant to be discovered.

Sagittarius: According to the Texas Drivers’ Handbook, in Texas, a pedestrian in the crosswalk has the right of way. In fact, I think it reads that a pedestrian always has the right of way. In Austin, where I grew up, pedestrians always have the right of way. It’s a sidewalk-friendly kind of town, even when downtown, and even during rush hours.

Yield to the pedestrian, yield to the bicyclist or risk the advocacy and enforcement of the laws, right?

A similar city? London, UK. Get close to a “zebra crossing,” and the vehicular traffic yields. Here’s the Sagittarius problem: unless you’re in a place where the laws are clear and clearly understood, then you absolutely cannot count on anyone following the law. I’d consider this under the heading of “rules of the road,” but it could be any kind of common, agreed upon, rule/law/guide. Here’s what happens, no one does as he/she is supposed to do. As this week unfolds, as you step into the crosswalk of life, you’re going to feel like you’ve stepped into the crosshairs, instead. I’ve warned you, never mind, me, like you, we’re Sagittarius, never mind we’re right. Law and legal code versus a 4,000 pound car? Do the approximations; car wins. The trick is to be circumspect. Or look both ways.

Capricorn: Renoir’s “Nymph by a Stream,” for some reason, look at Capricorn now, that stuck in my mind. Perhaps it had something to do with the old side-project of dubious note. I was thinking, though, the symbolism, when I looked at the painting itself, the symbolism, the way the colors, the figure of the reclining nude, the way it all worked together triggered an emotion.

Renoir himself was an Impressionist and a Pisces, near as I could put together. That image, though, between Pluto, still heating up the Capricorn soul, and Mercury, making a fast, hasty exit to the right? Reclining nude, by the river, not titillating, but suggestive without being suggestive. Sure, it’s an Impressionist, and sure, she’s naked, but this is high art, so it’s okay. Part of the story behind the painting was some of what I was looking at, when I lined up your planets. Then again, as Mr. Mercury leaves, you’ll notice a degree of quiet and time to reflect. Reclining nude by the river. Nymph.