Horoscopes for 3-11-2021

“It is the very emblem of a maid;
For when the west wind courts her gently,
How modestly she blows, and paints the sun
With her chaste blushes!

• Emilia in Shakespeare’s Two Noble Kinsmen 2.2.137-40

Venus (19) Neptune (20) Moon (20) Sun (22) — Midnight local time March 13, 2021. That means?

Pisces

I was listening to a presenter, like a lecture? I was listening to the guy present, well-groomed, seems knowledgable, had some some kind of degree or something, so yeah, and in the presentation, he was presenting a “fact” as if it was a forgone conclusion. “Studies have shown, no kidding, they did this as a scientific study, but studies have shown…” then the material was presented with no real corroborating evidence.

Just the comment, “Studies have shown.”

Yeah, well, my studies show that half of that crap is either outright fabrication or some part of the current milieu of popular culture, which, in itself doesn’t make anything “true.” If one is to cite studies, then I want, at the very least a link, a citation, some way I can reference the material myself, not a bland, generalized nugget that might be a fact, or it might be made up.

Look: I make up stuff. I freely admit it. When me, or one of my buddies makes up a fact and presents it as etched in stone fact? We tend to preface the conjecture with “True story,” or “I knew a guy whose cousin’s sister knew a guy…” Both statements are tantamount to an admission that the fact is without substantiation.

The more you know? The better you are to able to discern fact from fiction. Would I lie to you? Cite examples.

Aries

Some things a person can’t just “unsee.” He was a grandfather-type, age, whatever. Kind of judgement all on my part as that’s a role I play from time to time. Anyway, bald pate, more wit than hair, as Shakespeare might say, and the guy was cruising along in a grocery store in Austin. I was stopped for a few items myself, and when I looked up from my phone’s grocery list, I saw this guy. I didn’t really trail him around the store, but I did observe. One, because I am a nosy person, and two, I was worried that’s what I might look like a few years.

He had on a loud, Hawaiian shirt, mostly unbuttoned with grey hair spouting from the exposed chest. Then, it was cut-off jeans. Shorts. Short shorts. To many of us? Daisy Dukes. Finally, he was shod in a pair of cowboy boots, with colorful piping up the sides. I applaud the nerve to wear that to the grocery store. I fear I might do that, myself, one day. Could be sooner rather than later, too. There could be several explanations. He could be an actor, and this was a suit for a gig. He might be all made up to look older than he really was. He could also be expressing himself. He could be high, or otherwise under the influence. There was a previous generation who used grocery stores as “meet markets,” so I’ve been assured. Lots of possible iterations. I mean, he did have the legs for the short shorts, so there was that. This, being in the capital of Texas, boots are always appropriate footwear. Again, all of this lines up, but then, it doesn’t. I applaud the lack of a filter, but this next few days? For Aries? Maybe more of a filter would be better.

Taurus

“Inscrutable.” While that has been used as a pejorative way to describe me, I tend to take it as compliment. To some, though, it might be a complaint. All depends on how you see it. Looking at the planets in various locations, what it means, to me, as compared with the usual Taurus placements?

The term “inscrutable” came to mind. Might be a term you’ll have to look up, might be term you’re already familiar with, and, as mentioned, might be term you hurl at me, some days. This is not one of the times to be throwing terms like that at me because, outside of you and me? The term is liable to be applied to your Taurus self. The challenge arises from you, and me, understanding that there is a bigger goal, a bigger picture, a more important issue at stake underneath all the trappings, and that’s why to some other signs, you might seem a tad difficult to understand. If you understand that you’re not coming across clearly? First course of action? Another way to look at this?

“Inscrutable.”

(Works for me.)

Gemini

One buddy has this annoying habit of calling at the worst possible time. I’ll juggle a phone, and try to land it in a place when I can speak. He won’t call when I’m in a car with a carphone-thing-hookup. He won’t call when I’m idly at my desk, with moments to spare. He waits until the worst possible time to try and reach me, and then he’ll ask an almost nonsensical question, like, “Are you in Austin today?” Would I be cursing a blue streak and hollering at him if I was in Austin? If it’s not on the schedule, so the answer is “Probably not.”

What this means, for Gemini? Let that call, or other seemingly pressing engagement roll to voice mail, or whatever it is. One buddy has a phone message, perfect example, “Hi, this is Bubba, and if you leave a message, please explain why you couldn’t do this in a more modern form like a text message.” Interesting take. Think I’ve mentioned this before. I employed a similar message, but my medium, this is a function of age and experience, I prefer e-mail. That’s me. He prefers texts. it’s generational. But he does wait until the worst time to call. Don’t be like him, not this week. “Is this a good time, or should I call back?” That is a great opening line — especially for Gemini.

Cancer

Time to take stock. List what we’ve got going, list what we want to have going, and list what has been going. It’s a simple form of inventory control. For most of us Moon Children (Cancer), this might be more an emotional look at what’s been going on, what could be going on, and what we need to to do to get what we want happening to start happening.

Simple enough, right?

I prefer the idea of a list, but in my example, the lists are simple enough, just one item, each. What is happening, what we want t happen, and what we either can, or will, do in order to get from what’s happening to what we want to happen. Simple, in some eyes, and maybe more complex. There will always be one who complains, then comes up with excuse after excuse, conditions, obstacles, preventative measures to keep from achieving whatever that goal might be. Interesting. Let’s go back the simplified list format I was suggesting, what we got, what we want, and how we get there. Look at this like a list. Makes it much easier.

The Leo

Running around in the backyard the other afternoon, I slipped on some gravel and went down on a knee. I wasn’t running with scissors, but I did have garden clippers for trimming back dead plants killed by the recent deep freeze. Only a flesh wound, and I was ever so glad it was the backyard so no one saw my little stumble. The scraped skin on my knee, though, showed plenty. “OMG, what happened? Are you all right?” Yes, worst damage was my pride, but no one saw me be clumsy, so no harm, right? I’m perspicacious enough to know that a scraped knee would require some kind of sterilization — clean out the dirt and pea gravel.

That was what hurt.

More than the fall, more than the damage to my pride and ego? Maybe worse because I didn’t do it right away. Should’ve got right to it when I could. But I didn’t. I finally sat on the edge of the tub, and poured some alcohol over the wound. That was a seriously bad idea. Hurt worst; still, I needed to do that. I doubt I was going to die from an infection, it was only a flesh wound, but it would heal much quicker if I just ran some water then flushed out the dirt, then hit it with some sterilizing agent. Didn’t have any peroxide, so I grabbed the rubbing alcohol I use to prevent swimmer’s ear. Old Austin trick, from too much time in the creek (Barton Creek). Burned, hurt, and two days later, was almost all healed up. This is a time that The Leo should think about my process, real or imagined, and think about going ahead and washing out the wound — real or imagined — with some kind of agent that might hurt — at first. Promotes quicker healing, less pain later.

Virgo

According to one source, the act of putting pen to paper is a courageous act. While I’m not much for using real ink and pen to paper, as a metaphor, it works well enough. The act of putting pen to paper, though, the act of writing down one’s thoughts, recoding a deed, or reporting on a situation, that is a courageous act, in and of itself. It adds value and meaning to an otherwise drab Virgo scenario. So let’s write about it. If the notion of writing about is too hard? Think in terms of an e-mail or text message, perhaps, I tried this with a fishing buddy once, I sent him a series of pictures to illustrate what I was trying to convey. Didn’t work. Didn’t work at all, but he called, and we’re fishing next week. weather permitting. My attempt at a strictly photographic, image-based narrative seriously didn’t work. But I tried. So I’ll do what I do best, and I’ll stick with a keyboard and screen, and Virgo, however this shows up, the best way forward is by putting pen to paper, either for real, or in a more figurative sense.

Libra

Old trailer park memories creep up, it was the last pass from Mercury that brought this up — elder neighbor from the “good old days” in Austin. He was — probably still is — a handsome specimen of a man, tall, then, slight athletic tone his frame, and he was flaming gay. Not in any kind of a closet and quite comfortable with that. He was also gentle, sweet, a kind neighbor, and into leather. I caught him leaving one night, a warm going towards cool March evening in Old Austin, his trailer door smacked shut, and I turned. He gave a little wave, stepping down the two steps, and something about “wish me luck.” Head to toe, black leather. Black leather boots with stirrup chains. Black leather pants, skin tight, and I’m guessing, no underwear. Black mesh shirt of some kind, I did not know, until then, he had pierced nipples, and then a black motorcycle jacket — again, I didn’t know he owned such a nice jacket. Black leather, short-billed cap to top it off. The look? Totally bad-ass. Like a sausage in a skin, only this was tough-looking black leather. Scary, to some. To me? I knew the guy. Sweet, kind, forgiving, and funny. The singular memory was the way his appearance that evening, as he was heading out, how that differed from what I knew of the guy nominally jovial and gay, and not in that sense of being “gay,” like just a nice guy, perfect neighbor. Libra, you know where this going, right?

Scorpio

Some of the very best of the material I’ve seen presented, especially lately? Think, like a PowerPoint slide, only, think in terms of it being hand-drawn. Years back, when I spent a lot more time with graphic software, I would twiddle the controls so I had an image that looked like it was hand-drawn. Turns out, that makes a bigger impact than a straight-edged graphic display. The hand-lettered touch, the way the data is displayed, there’s no end of famous examples, now, all over the web. But think, “hand-drawn.” My own, personal handwriting is abysmal. It’s some place between hieroglyphic and toddler’s finger paint. The best one I saw, recently? It was slide with three bars, all hand-drawn, all made to look like they were hand-drawn, never can tell, and it was a short bar, (item 1) then longer bar (item 2), then an impossibly long bar that clearly stretched further than the paper, and the graph indicated it was exponentially longer than either of the other two, with a snark commentary (item 3). Three comparisons, the final one being that kind of snarky Scorpio spot-on. Made the point, and the hand-drawn look left it as an obvious cartoon rather than a real fact. Other than it was a real fact, but snarky in its own right. My suggestion, Scorpio? Hand-drawn, or hand-drawn looking. Works better to convey the data set you’re trying to illustrate if you make it look like you just sketched it up, drafted it on a cocktail napkin.

Sagittarius

I am at a Sagittarius happy place when I have a metaphor that fits a week, neatly, succinctly, and with no need of instruction, explanation, or introduction. Like that as a position I make an effort to stay in, a place I want to be. The challenge is that — sometimes — the allegory I’m driving towards gets away from me, and then I ramble, dissemble and meander about.

Some mornings, those meanderings are as much fun as a pointed destination, and the magic still happens.

Other times, not so much.

I like to do this in one hundred words, or less, but I’ve found that’s almost an impossible target to hit. Still, I try. As a Sagittarius, the goal, our goal, is to be succinct as possible in the coming days. Fewer words, more on point, more direct. As the putative author of my own work? I understand that sometimes the stated goal, the definite direction, the real target? The way I think this ought to work, and how I wind up wandering about a bit? That’s as much a part of our delivery, this week. We might dawdle, wander, stray off course, only to eventually find our way back to where we started. Aim for concise. Don’t be afraid if it stretches a little outside of our supposed boundaries, they were just “guidelines.” (I hope.)

Capricorn

There was an image, I used to live in old downtown San Antonio, and I found this wandering around my own neighborhood. It was a “Low Rider” (ish) truck that had lettering across its back glass, “Move you switches, not your mouth.” I had a picture of the truck’s message, and not much else. However, I would safely argue that it refers to hydraulic switches so common on the rolling pieces of art, Low Riders.

“Don’t talk, show me,” is the message, at least that’s my take-away. My irreverent and often obtuse set of images is gradually suffered greatly with bit-rot, the gradual degradation of digital media, so I’m unsure of the image itself, but that message? “Move your switches, not your mouth?” That message applies to this week’s Capricorn energy, and what is the best way to move forward? Our most expedient Capricorn action, method, madness? Show us what you can do. Don’t bother trying to tell us.

Aquarius

In the intervening years, I’ve worked with a handful of promoters. Each is a producer of various strengths, and each is an individual, although, largely, just an observation, most of the folks I’ve worked with — and for — have been female. A just an observation — don’t read anything into that observation. I was thinking about this, giving it some consideration when I was looking at the current deployment of planets, as compared with where our Aquarius psyche might currently be, how that stacks up, and what it looks like, to me. The ebb and flow, then the position of the Sun and the Moon suggest there’s a chance to alter the course of your personal history, right now, if you so decide. Take a step, take steps, make a motion towards some fundamental change in appearance, in mannerisms, adjust a personal trajectory so it more closely aligns with what it is that Aquarius is seeking. Doesn’t have to be a big adjustment, not a huge shift, not a major turn around, just a shift. Shift happens. Use it wisely.

astrofish.net/travel for appearances

“Nothing runs on automatic.” – L.W. “Bud” Shipley, Jr.