Horoscopes by the Fishing Guide to the Stars starting 9.5

“I’ll never
Be such a gosling to obey instinct, but stand
As if a man were author of himself
And knew no other kin.”

Coriolanus in Shakespeare’s Coriolanus (V.iii.31-7)

Virgo: I really like the way this is unfolding. Virgo: “Well, I don’t.” The pace has been a bit choppy, but there’s a good sense of direction, now. Virgo: “No, there’s not.” I can see that this is opening up some new horizons and by the end of this scope, there is huge change, for the better. Virgo: “I think you’re full of ….”

And that’s how my day started. I should know better than to argue with that one Virgo, but I’m seeing this a good birthday, with a certain lilt to the tone, and a lift around the corner. Uplifting birthday times. I’m thinking, it’s good. I’m thinking, there’s a sudden change in direction, and here, in South Texas, it is suddenly cooler out. Not by much, a mere two or three degrees cooler, but still, enough to notice. I still stick with my suggestion that there’s a change in Virgo direction and this change is for the better. Happy birthday.

Libra: Im unsure of the source for this idiosyncrasy, but I have an affection for paper with a grid on it. Graph paper? Vertical and horizontal lines that make for perfect order? Frequently the paper is harsh white and the lines are blue. Might be a genetic memory, or a leftover school obsession with making everything line up precisely. Have one notebook filled with such paper, and the pages are half-filled with various sketches.

Further, I experimented with pens, inks and pencils, finally settling, at least most recently, on a “sharpie” type of pen. A quick, definitive stroke seems to have the best results — this week. Depends on what we’re looking for, too, I suppose. The quick strokes lay down a fat line, but without too much ink, and for some reason, the fat “sharpie” type of pens produce the most entertaining patterns.

I suspect that the combination of ruled paper, and free-form pen (ink) is what engages me. This week. As a Libra, there’s some part of the process that needs adjustment. Some pieces don’t fit well. In some cases, like me, it’s as simple as changing from pencil to pen, to marker. Some people, like me, use the ruled paper. Maybe a blank sheet is a little better idea for Libra, but you get the gist of this? Change the tools and look forward to better results.

Scorpio: Saturn, especially played out against the backdrop of the night sky? Saturn is about tending to your garden. “I don’t have a garden,” one Scorpio remarked. Sometimes, then, it isn’t about a real garden, but metaphorical garden. Exchange names and meanings, as need be, to fit your situation. Since the last move, I don’t have any kind of garden, either. However, I still have a digital garden that must be tended to. I have old photos, digital images, that I might never use again. I have other images that are more current and do get some exposure. In either case, though, I also have a huge catalog of almost meaningless digital archives, mostly images and scraps of written work, and that needs to be curated. So when I “tend my garden,” as I’m not above giving advice without taking it myself, I think about my hard drives overstuffed with old digital prints. Pruning. Shuffle some of the material the duplicates and triplicates? Put that on a drive, put it on a shelf and forget about it. Pruning. I didn’t say — or suggest — wholesale slaughter, I suggested weeding and loving care. Tend your garden.

Sagittarius: One of my regular clients answered an ad for a free astrology reading. After the free astrology reading, the client wanted my opinion on the other practitioner. I declined to comment. “But he’s got a legitimate website! He seems real!” Sure, and I’ve been doing this for quite some time, and I draw from a reasonably diverse background, utilizing at least three rather different modalities in astrology schools. I recognize another practitioner who is well-versed, possibly better than me, in one school. The problem is getting stuck in doing something just one way. As a Sagittarius, this isn’t usually a problem. As a Sagittarius, getting stuck in a rut isn’t normally an issue.

It is right now. To get out of the rut, make sure we’ve considered more than one source as “The Truth.” In my own experience, there is only one truth, unless, of course, new facts are brought to light, then “The Truth” must be changed to the “New and Improved Truth.”

This week? Absolutely no “absolutes.”

Capricorn: One of my Capricorn buddies is a salesman. Marketing genius, at times. “Look, even if I don’t know how, I’ll teach you tie your own shoes.” That comment is rendered more amusing when I think about my own shoes. I have a couple of pairs of cowboy boots and sandals. Nothing else.

I had a pair of some kind of cheap tennis shoe, but those got washed out with the tide. Only wore them once or twice for winter fishing days.

The analogy about tying my shoes is lost on me. Unlike my sales buddy, I can’t sell something that I don’t fervently believe in. I can’t peddle just anything. I can promote products that I have used and I do believe in, and that’s the message for my Capricorn clients. Right now, what is the belief? What are you being asked to promote and and is it right for you to do so? Is it something that really believe in?

Aquarius: Big obstacles and little obstacles, that’s the question. Or, in my own terms, big fish or little fish? One fishing buddy, an Aquarius if you must know, he’ll sit in the back of the boat for an hour or more, and catch little, tiny fish with an almost toy fishing pole. I’ll be in the bow seat, working my lure along a shoreline, whipping the water and thrashing my way through bait and big fish. He’ll be quietly working in the back, catching little fish. Little fish attract big fish, and therein is the secret. Big (Aquarius) obstacles are daunting and insurmountable, whereas little obstacles are easy to overcome. When I was last fishing with that buddy, check the images on the website someplace, you’ll see he has trophy-sized Redfish. Caught it on one of those little fish he was was catching, at the start.

Pisces: From the moment this horoscope goes live, it’s a New Moon in Virgo, and for the next couple of days, it’s a transit of Mercury, there’s growing awareness in Pisces. For Pisces. With Pisces. Clarity. You get a clear picture. Some project, issue, task, onerous and much-avoided stinky situation? You gain a much more clear image of the correct answer. You get a moment of clarity. If you’re not seeing this more clearly? Let’s adjust how you’re looking at the problem. If you’re too close? Step back. If you’re too far? Step closer. There are some days when just the simplest of adjustments will help. This isn’t such a big deal, not in the overall scheme of things.

Look, Pisces: observed, characters of a certain age, as they read their phones, they all hold their phones down at waist level. Makes it so that folks of certain age all hold their phones at an arm’s length in order to read what the fine print says.

Pisces: adjust. You have clarity; adjust the focal length as need be.

Aries: I frequently pass a downtown studio. In the window, when the shades are open I can see the bare room of a photographer’s work space, and usually, there’s food out. Some kind of artistic table, and spray bottles of water and preservatives. Shooting food images for tabloids, catalogs and probably the Sunday supplement, be my guess.

It’s an arduous task. In my own way, I’ve attempted food photography. From a raw, journalistic way of seeing it, I’ve done OK. However, from technical presentation way of looking at this subject? I suck. It’s not skill set I intend to develop. Most of my food images are done under the harsh light of a grocery store aisle — cf., BexarCountyLine.com’s Pepper Porn.

My version is a Sagittarius view, quick, in passing, no sense of timing, rhythm or lighting. I know this, as it is a function of the limits of my hardware, and limits of what I’m willing to do. As an Aries, you’re going to be confronted with some limits in the next two, three days. I realize no one should ever limit an Aries, but stop and think about it, what are your limits?

Taurus: When I was in school in Arizona, I lived next to a railroad crossing, cheap student housing. In Austin, Shady Acres was close to a rail line. I’m used to trains. As a pedestrian, both in Austin and now in San Antonio, I’ve used the rail right-of-way as a convenient shortcut, a ‘path of of a resistance’ for me to follow.

Mars in Leo isn’t a big deal, by himself. Saturn in Scorpio isn’t a big deal, by himself. A tension angle between the two, though, that is a big deal and it’s going to push one — or more — of your Taurus buttons. This Mars Hotel with Saturn as a permanent resident is made more frustrating by the Moon, and then, eventually, Venus. None of this is a big deal, by itself. Together? It’s almost guaranteed frustration. I’ve explained it. That’s the source. Now, when this material pops up? It’s like that train, it parked, it was a long set of rail cars, parked, on a road crossing, right in front of me. Seemed like a long delay. I watched as a car pulled out of line and tried to go around the train.

Patience, more than clever driving skills, patience, my Taurus friend.

Gemini: One of the worst gigs in the world for a Gemini is a “Stay At Home” business. It’s a great idea. Looks good on paper. Seems like a fine concept, something that might work? Problem: a Gemini, all alone, day in and day out, with no one else there? No one to talk to? Confined by the four walls of the “home office?” No travel, no outside stimulation, the commute from the bedroom to the office, in my example, it’s about three steps, no that doesn’t work for a Gemini. Looks really good, as a concept. Doesn’t work, for real.

There is, however, a gem of an idea buried in here. This weeks starts the Gemini mind thinking, “I should do something else to make some extra money.” What sort of idea comes to mind? A home-based business? Maybe. How about an internet-based thing? Sure, that’s possible, too.

Best business yet, and I’m sorry, this is an already trademarked company’s namesake, the “Idea Factory.”

You’d do a good job with that. I mean, on the side, as a home-baed business. Get back to me next week when you have a business plan.

Cancer: Good relationships, from what I’ve observed, are built on communication. There are times when this communication is about important matters, life, death, BBQ. Which bait to use, this weekend. Other times, there are more mundane matters of communication. Look: it’s about everyday stuff, the crap that occurs from day-to-day. To me, this isn’t a big deal, but I’m a voluble Sagittarius, always willing to stick my foot in my mouth, and I rarely shut up, even when I should. I can talk about stuff. I can talk about stuff that sometimes, I have no clue about. As a Cancer, sensitive Moon-Child, what we have here is a lack of communication.

To make this week work, you’re going to want to open the Cancer mouth and ask questions. This doesn’t have to be about big deals, like the best BBQ in this area, it could be more gentle and mundane material. But start. Start someplace. Open the mouth and start communicating. It’s required to make this week easier for yourself.

The (mighty) Leo: The July Leo friends have Mars conjunct their mighty Leo Sun this week. Shut up and work out. More physical effort, less mental stress. If you think about it too long, you’ll have a brain fart. Not pretty, and then, you have brain constipation. Again, not pretty.

Stop thinking.

Stop talking.

Start doing.

(Mars. Mars in Leo. Mantra for the foreseeable Leo future.)

Stop thinking. Stop talking. Start doing.