"The sight of lovers feedeth those in love."
Shakespeare’s As You Like It [III.iv.36]
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Libra: Basically, where I live? Weather doesn’t demonstrably cool off until after Halloween. Just a point and arbitrary indication on the calendar. However, as I was looking at your birthday chart, yes, it’s your birthday time, Libra dear, I was thinking about the weather and so forth.
Because of where I live, I can only describe a local weather pattern. But follow this trend a little, the talk and promise of cooler weather, shorter days, longer nights. It goes with the fall weather, and the coming seasonal shift, that’s all about things cooling off. When I talk of cooling off, though, I’m talking in a good way, like I won’t sweat as much as I would September. Or the bugs aren’t a bad as they were last month, and suddenly, it feels a little less summer. In a good way. That’s what this about, the natural progression and how it’s getting a little cooler out, at least around here it.
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Scorpio: I was listening to a song on the radio. "It hit me like a ton of bricks," the signer sang. Which, in the empty corridors of my mind, I examined the term, "Ton of bricks." As opposed to, say, a ton of "organic male bovine by-product?" While the smell might be different, I’d guess that the metric tonnage, the actual weight? A ton delineated a single weight amount. So a ton of bricks doesn’t weigh any more than a ton of rocks, or sand, or a ton of organic male bovine by-product.
Does it really matter whether you’re hit with a ton of bricks or a ton of something else? Not really. While I doubt it’s ton of bricks that hits your Scorpio self, I don’t doubt that you get a sudden realization in the coming few days. Whether it hits like a ton of bricks, or a ton of something else? I’m not sure how the measurement differs. But I warned you.
Sagittarius: Reflections. That’s what this is all about. I took a picture one time, I was supposed to be shooting "water" as a thematic element. It was a puddle, near where I live. I didn’t even notice it at the time of the picture, but the puddle’s surface reflected something else, like clouds or street lamp, something. It was not an intentional process on my part.
I have a reputation of being interested in fishing even in puddles, if I think they might hold fish. Which is what this was about, at the start, just puddles that might — or might not — have fish in them. But it’s matter of looking back at one piece of work and realizing that there’s another image reflected in its surface.
The accidental nature of art can’t be diminished. Which is what this is really about. Allow for the accidents to happen. That’s the whole point. There might be a reflection or an image reflected in the surface of something as simple as a puddle. Don’t look too hard, either, allow for the serendipitous, inadvertent nature to work its magic.
Capricorn: It’s really weird how distractions can present themselves. Work tasks that seem to be labor-intensive, fun events that seems to take more time than they should? While it’s always pleasant to waste time like this, it was one afternoon, I had an appointment for a reading with a client, and I was fishing.
I thought I’d allowed enough time to get from the lake back to the house and hook up the phone line and recorder and all. I didn’t. What really happened? I was late from fishing because, there was this one, he wanted to be caught, but he didn’t, and he would nibble the bait, just a little, and then stop. So I spent too much time having too much fun chasing a fish that didn’t really want to get his picture taken, which is why, in all honesty, I was late for that reading.
Which is why I’m warning about just such distractions.
Aquarius: Jupiter turns and starts its forward motion in the next week or so. While it isn’t much, it is, in a way. Jupiter is all about luck. Luck is one of those elements that can never be quantified. Therein is the problem, as your luck is improving. Try taking that luck to the bank. I’ve yet to find a teller who will let me deposit luck.
However, there’s a good shot at something that will fall your way, your fine Aquarius way. In order to make this happen, though, whatever it is? You can help this along with a gentle nudge. Just a nudge. Don’t get all pushy and stuff. Let this flow, just consider giving it a little, gentle, direction. Like, in your favor. Just a simple bump, sort of poking it with a toe or something. Nudge it your way.
Pisces: I was talking to a guy from Houston. We were talking about past hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters, just odd weather patterns, that Houston falls prey to. Just the usual weird stuff, and odd stories. His best one, related from a (highly reliable narrative) friend of a friend? "I knew I was in trouble when I woke up and the bed was floating in the bedroom."
It happens. Not like there wasn’t adequate warning that a storm was approaching, or that it was going to flood, as it rained steady for three days. Nope, none of this was that unusual, either, not given the time and place. Houston is close enough to the Gulf of Mexico, and Houston is used to rain of torrential proportions, so none of this was that odd. I’m like a weatherman, and I’m warning you that there’s a band of low pressure or high pressure, or something. After looking at the Pisces chart, though, I just figured you won’t mind my warning until the bed is floating. Then you can say it. ("Houston, we have a problem.")
Aries: I stepped out in the fall afternoon, and after a cursory glance out the window, I figured I would need a flannel shirt to go with shorts and sandals, as it looked cool out. I opened the door, stepped outside, and I reversed my decision immediately. I opened the door again, tossed the flannel shirt inside, locked, turned, left. That simple. It looked cold. It wasn’t. Wasn’t even slightly chilly. Wasn’t even close.
October, after the fall equinox? Should be chilly, right? Not here. Not on a day like last week. Not even cool. This is about expectation, and I expected cold. Or cool. I do believe it dropped below 70 degrees, yeah, right. Like about 1 (one) degree below. As I suggested, not enough to make a noticeable difference, not really. I was basing my expectations on what I saw, looking out the window.
Reasonable enough, but there are times when an Aries empirical decision must be based solely on observed phenomena. Whether it’s the weather or something else, test for yourself, first. Then make a decision. Unless, like me, you don’t mind turning back after you found out the first assumption was wrong.
Taurus: I was fishing at one lake, kind of close to me. Sort of favorite spot, on certain days, like most of the days in October. There’s a dock, administered by the park department, the nominative rulers of the park. Overlords. Trusted servants, something. Anyway, the dock was closed. There was a sign up, and there was chain link fence in front of the dock’s entrance, the ramp at the trail’s end.
The dock was going to be repaired, and until further notice, no one was allowed on the dock, order of the park’s administration and violation was considered trespass. I watched as a couple of guys swung out around the chain link fence, crawled onto the dock and ambled out towards the end, fishing poles in hand. A few minutes later, a park ranger came by and just parked. He waited until he was noticed, then the guys came back, and crawled back around the fence.
I’m not exactly sure, as I wasn’t going to risk the ranger’s ire, but it looked like he checked the boys’ fishing licenses and then seemed to write a ticket. Probably for trespass. I’m not a Taurus, but if I played one, like on TV? I’d handled that differently. The fence? The sign that says, "Don’t go there?" I wouldn’t go there. Pay attention to the signs or suffer the consequences.
Gemini: As Jupiter moves from a retrograde pattern to a more forward and direct pattern, in a compatible air sign, I just figure life gets a little smoother for the Gemini. It’s not like this is without a problem or two, and it’s not like this going to be smooth and better right away. Over the course of the next week, though, it gets a little easier.
I used to fish one place in particular. For one, it was close and convenient, and for two, I know the structure and terrain. I knew what to expect. No big surprises there. Which is what this is about. While it might seem that I’ve caught all the fish at that one spot, I’m pleasantly surprised that there are still more fish to catch. Same technique, same place, sometimes, the same fish. Other times, it seems like there are new fish, but who am I to talk about this?
There are days when repetition is the bane of the Gemini existence. Then, too, there will be days, like in the next week, when that repetition is just the opposite, it almost feels refreshing. It might be refreshing. I’m thinking that me and my Gemini self will head out to the old familiar place this week, just as Jupiter turns around, just to see if there any new fish, or old friends.
Cancer: Mars was just a prelude. At the end of this week, Mars will be at the very end of Cancer. He, Mr. Mars, made his way all the way through your sign. As a student of the stars, I’m inclined to suggest that this is a pretty big hint about what’s up ahead for the next couple of years.
Mars is just like "meat tenderizer," that dubious product that was popular at one point. The last time I read the ingredients, that "meat tenderizer" was nothing more MSG and salt. I think the secret was applying the tenderizer with a kitchen mallet. I’m sure any number of hammer and mallet corollaries will come up, too. I think it was less about what was in the substance, and I figure it was a lot more about how it was applied, with a hammer, or hammer-like tool. That would soften up just about any kind of meat. Feels like you’ve been through the same process, too. Tenderized. Salted and then beaten? Maybe left in the oven to roast?
Leo: Subtle doesn’t work particularly well with any Leo, and as the Leo? Certainly not. Subtlety is best left to folks who don’t want to be Leo. And you’re a Leo, The Leo, and as such, you want to be a Leo. The Leo. Which is the problem because this is a time that is all about subtle indications.
There’s a whole world of innuendo, delicate little observation, nuances, and other subtle indications about what’s happening. It’s a matter of working with the tiny, delicate indications rather than the usual broad, generous strokes. As the Leo, you’re used to big statements in bold print. Think about another way of approaching this energy, though, small statements in fine print. Or lots of small statements, each with slight color gradient, affecting a gorgeous hue.
Get the image? It’s not about big, it’s about small. It’s not about loud, it’s about quiet. It’s not about directing attention at yourself by banging a loud gong, it’s about catching their eyes with a gentle saturation of a variety of images. Small: it’s the new Leo large.
Virgo: We were just emerging from a fine meal in a little downtown diner, and as we emerged, me and a date, the crowds pressed against us. Lots of fall traffic, nominally, the fall, but in South Texas? On a weekend? Felt like a festive and restive weekend crowd, like late summer.
The damp air pressed against us. We were moving with the crowds, and we got in behind, I’ll assume, a tourist. She was wearing, or she smelled like, I’m not sure which, something that was either high-powered bug spray or perfume. Not sure which it was. Could be a problem, too. Vermin repellent or male attractant? Which was it supposed to be? I’m unsure, but the appearance and rolling gait would suggest attractant.
And who in their right minds would find that particular odor attractive? There are some bug sprays that have a kind of perfume in them, so as to be aesthetically pleasing and still functional as an insect repellent. Might’ve been one of those. My date offered, she was sure it was bug spray. Since I’ve used most kinds of bug spray, I’m thinking perfume. Either way, it did, or maybe didn’t, work. Bug spray or perfume this week?
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