2. “Let no act be done without a purpose, nor otherwise than according to the perfect principles of art.”

Excerpt From: Emperor of Rome Marcus Aurelius. “Thoughts of Marcus Aurelius.” Book IV.

(Fall) Equinox in El Paso, TX — see astrofish.net/travel for details.

Horoscopes by the Fishing Guide to the Stars starting 9.17.2015

Virgo:

One of the deep and abiding loves in my life is language, and no place like Austin brings that out better. “Manners” are behavior, or behavior oriented. As an example, “Depends on how well-mannered he is,” way I heard her speak. I can be quite well-mannered, if I’m so motivated. Pronounced the same way as “Manor,” which refers to house and possible feudal settings, like, “To the manor borne,” if you will, and I wasn’t. Finally, there’s a town, just a few miles east of Austin, “Manor.” That’s how it is spelled, “Manor.” Like, “Manor, TX.”

This is where my love of local dialect kicks into high gear, local Austin and central Texas natives pronounce it “MAYn-er.” “May” with a small, almost French “n” tacked on, then “er,” not emphasized. Helps to really hear it, to understand the differences. Non-natives spend a period of time learning to adjust to the localized pronunciation. As a Virgo? It’s like you’re visiting Central Texas for the first time, trying to find an address in Manor.

Libra:

For me, cooking is a more recent lifestyle choice. I spent many years too busy to cook for myself, unwilling, unable, or too concerned with work and time to learn. Besides, a trailer in a South Austin Trailer park ill-affords a space to cook. Coffee, always got hot coffee going, but that was about it. As we approach the Fall Equinox, and the beginning of Libra? What cooking lesson do I want to impart?

Poke a hole in the cherry tomatoes. I tend to wrangle up a meal in a sort of “zen” fashion, start with what’s available and toss that in a frying pan. Lately, there have been these really good cherry tomatoes, and I’m pretty sure I know the exact farm, not more than a few miles north of me. Pretty little orange tomatoes, a little undersized, and kind of almost too ripe, and perfect, just perfect for cooking.

As those tomatoes begin to fry up? I’ll poke each one with a fork, spilling orange tomato juice into the mix, rendering the skin more pliable and makes for a better texture.

Some days, I’ll slice the little tomatoes, and one of the secrets in my old chili recipe is to skin them. However, in this week’s example? Those little orange cherry tomatoes from New Braunsfels (TX)? Just poke them, relieve the pressure. All you need to do to relieve that Libra pressure, poke it with a fork.

Scorpio:

I’d like to make this a smooth transition for Scorpio. So let’s concentrate on smoothing out the rough edges here. Been a long one, so far, and very few of my real Scorpio clients don’t have something stray, planet-wise, in Sagittarius.

The trick is to figure out what that is, because that part of the lesson is just going to be carried forward. There was one client, refused to learn Saturn’s lessons, only yo have them repeated, over again and again, long after Saturn had departed.

So this week’s message is about two parts, the lesson learned, and integrated, in Scorpio, and the message, up and coming, with Sagittarius. The Scorpio Sagittarius parts. Integration, what this is all about. While at least one Scorpio will be ready to tell-all to those who will listen, I’m suggesting, maybe now is a time to start on the screenplay about the last three years, but maybe, maybe, we’re not ready to show the video clips. Yet. Just not quite yet.

Sagittarius:

Got us a little over two years with this. Until December 2017. Not that I’m counting the days, not me. Here’s the deal: Saturn is a flavor. Like a smoky, woodsy essence in a good BBQ? Only, this is just the barest hint, as this gets stronger and weaker as the influence waxes and wanes. Right now is the ascendency. Saturn’s rising, even now. Means we have some tough Sagittarius work ahead of us. Good thing, nice that we’re wired like this. There’s a big rock, we need to push it up that Sagittarius hill. It’s that simple. The single, most onerous task we’ve been avoiding thus far? Best time to stop putting it off is now.

Of course, there’s always my own methodology that follows a strict Sagittarius guideline, “I’ll, let’s do this tomorrow, okay? Maybe next week?”

Alas, for the next two years? Procrastination is not our friend.

Capricorn:

Go and buy a single lottery ticket. Simplest of suggestions. You win big? I want 1% of that. Not ten percent, not half, nothing like that. The first time I won big in Vegas, the girlfriend I was with looked at me, and claimed half the prize money as hers. In reality, I gave her a little less than a third, with half going to the IRS, still a good chunk of change.

Now, that lottery ticket I’m suggesting for Capricorn? There’s a hint in that action, as money transfers from your hand to the ticket taker, and then, as this week unfolds as more money winds its way into your hands. I won’t promise you’ll win the lottery, not the big one. But a single, perhaps symbolic, gesture towards more financially rewarding situation for Capricorn? That’s what this is about. I’m not Capricorn, so it’s not a big deal, a lottery ticket is a Sagittarius financial plan for the future. As a Capricorn, this week starts a long and strange saga, and you get to fill in the blanks on your own story line, However, a symbolic gesture, soon, is needed.

Aquarius:

Secret key to this week’s continued Aquarius success?

“Do nothing and avoid conflict.”

Simple enough, almost a bumper sticker kind of wisdom. Simple enough, right? That might be my source, who knows? Do nothing and avoid Aquarius conflict. As Mars and Venus make their way through Leo, on the opposite side of the solar wheel from your gentle, kind Aquarius self, Mars and Venus push you into a confrontation.

Back to my suggestion, might’ve been a slogan some place, I don’t know, but “Do nothing and avoid Aquarius conflict” seems as a good way as any. The challenge, as an Aquarius, is there’s a very real “issue,” it’s the principle of the matter, it’s a very real issue to Aquarius. Some other signs might not see it as such. You have to make a stand. There’s a confrontation, and you have to fight back! It’s the RIGHT thing to do! We must all fight this evil scourge!

I’m thinking, we wait until Mars passes, and we wait until Saturn gets good and comfortable in Sagittarius. In the mean time? “Do nothing and avoid conflict.”

Pisces:

This is not the time to tell us all about it. I like email, astrofish.net/contact, as it is relatively private. The horrendous fact, though, in transmission, between the client and my email inbox? Until that message reaches my gateway, it’s probably subject to being read by other folks. My stuff is private, not worried about the protection there, but getting from your outbox to my gateway? Subject to any number of filters, viewers, and related prying eyes. Text, cell phone, none of that is any better. Why am I concerned with privacy? Really, I’m not. However, as a Pisces, this is an issue, as you’re sorely tempted to take a stand on a certain unipolar issue, and you want to be vocal, public with your opinion. Maybe this isn’t such a good time to make your — possibly unpopular — opinion known. With Jupiter and Neptune in exact opposition, there’s a chance that this goes horribly awry. I’m not saying don’t email it, don’t write it down and commit it to electronic ink, just maybe, this isn’t the time to publish. Even if it’s a simple website posting, or a social media link? Some times, pause, stop, think. Maybe get the rough draft done and see if someone will look at it. It would be safe to email, just maybe not to the place that will publicly mock you.

Aries:

BBQ, as practiced in Central Texas, South Texas, it’s an art form. It’s not a science, as much as it’s cook’s ability to tender the fire properly for the low and slow smoked flavor, as enhanced by some near-mystical combination of herbs and spices for that flavor that means so much. Usually, the rub is simply salt, pepper, maybe garlic, maybe brown sugar, maybe a lot of different ingredients, but even the most basic list is often quite good. The secret is in the magic. I’ve sampled various cuts and what’s become a strange occurrence, locally, couple of places do “pig” exceptionally well. Brisket? Brisket is an “also ran,” as in, not that great. Not bad, just not outstanding. But pig? Port Ribs, Pork Loin, Pork Butt, all of that? Excellent. Above excellent, stellar. This is about Aries and BBQ, and in some cases, it’s matter of knowing what to order. My default, go-to, for judging BBQ? Two-meat platter, pork ribs and brisket. However, in this example? I had to deviate. It’s small change in my plans, and as an Aries, it’s a small change in your plans. “But I always have brisket and pork ribs!”

These places? Try the pulled pork. You’ll thank me at the end of the meal. It’s not a big change, but it is a deviation from what you normally do. Pays off, or, in my example, you get rewarded with some of the most succulent examples of the smoker’s art.

Taurus:

The tension caused by the shift of the planets’ locations? That can be properly harnessed by Taurus, if the guidelines are adhered to to. It’s about making choices and decisions. While I’m essentially a lazy, procrastinating Sagittarius, I have some experience with this kind of energy. Stop, right now. Stop. Pause. Look. One of my buddies is a tactical defense trainer, “Stop, drop, roll.” I’m too lazy for some that activity, rolling around int he dirt and mud, getting dusty, but as a defensive technique, it is certainly worth looking at, pause, look, then, according to my buddy, fire. I’m less about pulling the trigger but I’m more about pausing. The tension caused by the planets, the most effective way for Taurus to deal with this? Pause. Stop. Assess the situation; plan the next move, then take action. Take action only after taking time to assess the situation.

“Stop, drop and roll?” Really, is that necessary? Probably not, but a decent moment to assess is ever so helpful. As I’m prone to say?

“Can I get back to you on that?”

Gemini:

Is there such a thing as “Too many gadgets?” Valid question, especially for me. I was attempting to trim the number of gadgets that I carry, that I use, that I need for day-in and day-out work as an astrologer and writer.

Gemini: you’ll like this: communication, it’s very, very important. So how many gadgets do I need? Palm-top, lap-top, phone/tablet? What is too many? What’s “Just enough?” As a Gemini, just coming on the tail-end of the Mercury Tales? You have to decide what’s enough, what’s too much and just how much you need. I use to think I could always use another gadget if that new “insert gadget description here” was going to make my life easier. Then, after I spent a certain amount of time of hacking, arranging, downloading, uploading, setting up accounts and passwords? I eventually got tired of it. Not worth the effort. At what point, when, what, how do you know when you’ve had too much. Some years ago, I abdicated from the “smart-phone” set and went back to a basic candy-bar phone. Only useful for one thing: verbal communications. Which, to a Gemini, is important.

So what’s too much? Before you sign up for that next gadget, does it increase or decrease your frustration?

Cancer:

I’m unsure if my “pop-culture” references make it across the various lines to help folks. The image I was stuck with, and this is rather dated, there’s a set of ruby-red slippers on a witch’s feet, and some house has just landed on the witch.

“Any day a house doesn’t land on you is a good day,” is the way I heard it.

Hat tip to a certain Cancer girl, thanks for the pointer.

It’s about how you look at what’s going on. I have one friend in California, and anytime a house doesn’t land on you, with ominous earthquake allusion, yes, that has totally different meaning. however, looking at the stars and how they splay out for my Moon Children?

“Any day a house doesn’t land on you is a good day.”

Right?

The (mighty) Leo:

At one grocery store, there was an aisle for the perfect Leo snacks. The label, looked like a machine-manufactured lettering that was supposed to look hand-lettered, the label read, “Sweet/salty snacks.” Perfect. Just what we all need at a time like this. The sweet/salty snacks, crackers and peanut butter come to my mind, are perfect. Doesn’t have to be much, but there needs to be something. A little bit of something. To some of my food-purist clients, this is a sacrilege. To at least one of my hunting buddies, this is perfect. All depends. As the majestic Leo, you need a break, you need a treat, you need a little something.

Sweet/Salty Snacks. On the grocery aisle close to you. Just a little something as a reward.

And for my one friend? There were these “rice-flour-like” crackers, lightly dusted with sea-salt. Perfect. Gluten-free, etc.