To: Astrofish.net From:
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News of the World 1/2000

"I hold the world but as the world, Gratiano;
A stage where every man must play a part"
Antonio in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venus (I.i.77-8)
Over view of conditions. The new year starts with Saturn in a retrograde motion, but he switches gears around the 12th, and then all the planets are lined up and moving in a forward motion. There's also an eclipse, at a very early degree of Aquarius. In fact, it's so early, it might even feel like the adjacent sign, Capricorn, is also being tagged. "Not too worried, though," that's the expression.

The astrological momentum is good this month. Time for some changes. There's a series of quotes which fit a pattern, one from the character of Macbeth, some from other sources, that espouse the point of view that the world is nothing more than a stage, and that we are merely actors following a script. The millennium madness which seems to have taken a strong hold on every waking minute of life is going to have strong argument against the idea that there is no free will. What part are you going to be picked to play this month?

Aries: I wonder about what is going on with you. There are numerous beneficial planets doing abundant nice things to you right now. Saturn, though, is fooling around, almost dawdling, compared to the way he usually moves. Between his resistant dawdling, the sun in Capricorn, and the tiny fact that is often over looked about the association between Mr. Mars and Aries, there's just a hint that you are a little too wound up this month. New Year's Eve, there's always a party on 6th Street, a three block section of town that is cordoned off, and 20 or 30 thousand revelers get together to watch a Lone Star being hoisted at Midnight. But that New year's Eve party is lot like your month. Midnight. Party's over. Time to go home. Unlike some of the more rational revelers, though, you're going to want to keep on playing. You're going to want to be the first one still going at the wee hours of the morning, you're going to want to greet this New Year, maybe even a New Century, thing full on. There's a minor setback with this all out frontal assault that you're trying for, and we're back to the idea that Mars is not completely embracing this behavior. There are still a few a characters predicting the end of the world as we know it, and these thoughts are going to be lurking right along underneath your zealous attitude. More than any other sign, this month, the Aries influence in your chart must guard against feeling like you are merely a player, and merely acting out some preordained script. Free choice is great, but my recommendation, given Mars and Saturn, is to exercise a little caution with that "free will thang." You might want to be careful that you don't try to spend the whole month attempting to see just how far you can ride this party barge.

Taurus: By now, I'm sure that you've had an opportunity to discover that Saturn really does act as if there is a cosmic ray channeled through the planet and this ray imparts a subtle influence in your life. It's the lasting effect of the Saturn stuff, and it's even more interesting because at one point, around the middle of the month, this ray is just like one of those beams which comes down from a flying saucer, and it transports you off in a new direction. If I didn't have kin folk in Deep East Texas with sworn testimony about Alien Abductions, I'm not sure I would believe myself. Unlike my kin folks, though, I'm sure that this ray is going to impart something a little different than deep space probes on your body. It's more like a shackle and chain, and it looks like it's work that needs your attention. As soon the big party is over, maybe even before the bowl games get into gear, it's time to consider sitting down and grinding out some work. Schedules, travel arrangements, motel bookings, and all that sort of mundane details need to be checked, rechecked, and verified one more time. You've got a busy work schedule for this next month. And as much as there aren't suppose to really be any big Why Two Kay deals going on, there will be one or two which hits. There's also a driving beat, much like the tribal dance beat found in the modern dance clubs, and this beat is going to start a drumming in your head, and this noise will motivate you, after the middle of the month to get your work act in gear.

Gemini: I had a talk with one of the Ladies of Fate the other night, not one of the grizzled old hags that spin the web of fate, but a younger and certainly more attractive version. It might have been a dream, too, but I was curious about what the single Fate had to say for Gemini, and what this month looks like because there is the fine hand of Fate playing a game with Gemini this month. It's not a stretch to see that the planets have dealt you an uneven hand of cards, especially this month. What are you going to do with such a weird combination of cards? The "fated feeling" has a lot to do with a certain planet, like the last piece of a puzzle, and this planet is beginning to fall into place. At one point, this month, shortly after the first, but most assuredly before the 12th Night of January, you are going to get a crystal clear vision of what this is all about. Two completely different sets of desire are running through your brain all month long. On the one side of the coin, you just want to be left alone. You want to sulk all by yourself. On the other side of the coin, you want to be surrendered by a your usual myriad of friends. As the month unfolds, a little bit of both is a good thing. I wouldn't spend too much time working with either scenario, though. Too much of your good friends can surely drive you to a distracted state while too much time alone in the Gemini Neighborhood of your brain, especially after dark, isn't a good idea, either. Instead of picking just one option for the month, why not try both?

Cancer: This is a month to think about who your friends are. In fact, this is a month to make sure that you know who your friends really are. There's a guy who fishes a special spot close to me. He's not very friendly, at first. He's pretty much a loner. He's an old man with an apparently bad attitude. But you know, over the last few years, I've befriended him in my own way, we exchange grunts as a form of a jovial greeting. And bit by bit he's warmed up to me, offering sage fishing tips in the form of one line greeting. "Worms." Or, "Lure." He's not right all the time, and sometimes I have to wonder if he's giving me a red herring instead of a viable tip. But as of late, this gruff old guy has been far more accurate than the latest copy of "Texas Fishing" magazine and the fishing editor for the local paper. So this is a month to find out who really is a friend, and who is just an adversary. The important distinction between the two is a fine line, and it might have a nebulous boundary. The trick to figure out what's what. Like my "friend," you've got a hidden ally in the most unlikely of places. In fact, it might be a sworn enemy who comes to be by your side. And it might be nothing more than a tidbit of advice this month. But that advice can make all the difference, on certain days. This month has that feeling to it, and it's Saturn who is doing this.

Leo: This month is like one of the saws that has two people working on it, a giant handsaw with a person on each end. However, before we get to the end of the month, this month is going to feel more like some one with a chainsaw -- and you might just feel like that person is coming after you, too. Before we delve into really tasteless chainsaw metaphors and bad B movies, consider that you get a chance to use this saw to cut out some deadwood in your life. There's a chance for a new beginning, a chance to get things off to a good start, a fresh start. You've just got to use the beginning of the month to do a little pruning in your one, personal tree of life. There are some people who no longer worship you for the magnificent Leo that you are. This sort behavior does not bode well with. If it ain't working, then consider getting rid of it. I've got a neighbor who absolutely refuses to throw anything way. "Never can tell when I might need that for parts," he says. While stockpiling a lot of material is sometimes a good idea, as soon as your front yard begins to look like a dead used car lot, it is time to see about getting some this material hauled out of there. As long as we're all on this fresh start kick, consider doing some judicious pruning of your own tree of life. You'll be surprised what kind of new growth might just begin to fill in the spaces you clear.

Virgo: This month gets off to a rousing good start, but like most New Years' Resolutions, this strong kick which begins the early part of the month quickly fades into a series of tough, little obstacles which seem bound and determined to block every new resolution. You're going to spend a large part of this month feeling like your good Virgo sense is being tested. You're going to feel like someone wants to make you fall off whatever wagon you've hopped on. It's not really you, it's Mars, you see, and he's traipsing through Pisces, which, being the ever vigilant Virgo that you are, you will note that Pisces is opposite you. What Mars is going to do is spend the month creating minor obstacles for you to overcome. Now look, the rest of the year isn't like this, and there's a certain degree of character enhancement that comes from having Mars oppose you at one point or another. Frankly, though, I see precious little good in it myself. But these character building exercises are going to test your skill and determination. Being a voracious Virgo, however, you will be able to surmount this minor obstacles. There's a little lift, and it's like a growing sense of excitement, one that begins when the curtain at the theatre is lifted. In most of the theatre I've been in, there's this "safety curtain" which actually precedes the ornate curtain, and this month is like that safety curtain being parted. You know that the big Virgo show is about to begin, but we have to get through the theatre's trailers, first.

Libra: This month just doesn't kick off quite the way you would like it. It's looks like you're getting geared up for some wonderful stuff, but it also looks like there are a few little problems at the beginning of the month, minor setbacks, one right after the other. None of this is a major big deal to worry about, but the little irritants all seem to conspire to make you wonder if it really is such a big thing, going into this new year. At one point this month, you're going to look at the parties, the fluctuations in various markets, and the general upheaval going on around you and just wonder what the big deal is. "It's the new year, so what's the big deal?" you ask yourself. Fortunately, you're in good company, and this good companionship will offer insight as to what the general uproar is all about. That's important, too, because there's a degree of focus which can help you this month. Two things to consider, one of them is vacations plans. It's a good time to start planning for a break, far away from the maddening crowd. Pick an island destination like Tobago. The other consideration is how you hope to pay for this trip. With the usual jovial Libra attitude, you will know that something is going to fall out of the sky, land in your lap, and make things better. Soon. So this month's uncertain attitude is going to give way to good things coming up.

Scorpio: High up in the Rocky Mountains, stretching from New Mexico all the way up to Canada, there's an imaginary line called the "Continental Divide," and this line is all about water. Rain that falls on the eastern portion of this line is ultimately headed into the Atlantic ocean, probably via the Gulf of Mexico, and the ran which falls on the Western side of the line drains into the Pacific ocean, sometimes washing parts of the California Coast with it. Fly fishing, up in the mountains is delicate sport which requires a fine hand and a sensitive touch. And the closer one gets to the line, the smaller the fish get. And the tastier, too. Tasty trout come out of the Rockies. This month, though, has nothing to do with the flavor of the fish. This month is more like that imaginary line which runs down the cordillera of the Rockies, and you get to pick which side you want to be on. Do you want to get washed in a westward fashion? Or do you want to head east? This is a month when you get to make just such a decision. I never like to see a Scorpio coerced into a decision making process, and this month, with Mars starting out at a late degree of Aquarius, and with the push from the planets in other fixed signs, you're going to feel a need to render a decision in hasty fashion. All I can suggest is that you weigh the decision making process and prolong what ever it is that have to decide for as long as possible. A little Scorpio discretion goes a long way this month. Ask yourself which side of the imaginary line you want to be on.

Sagittarius: This month starts out with Venus at about one degree of Sagittarius. Venus then continues right on through the rest of Sagittarius for the rest of the month. As much as you would like to be spending the cool and dark winter month holed up in your cabin someplace, it looks like that's just not going to be the case. It looks like there is the ever present demand of the universal Sagittarius need to travel being foisted upon you this month. In traditional astrology, as long as the Sun is in Capricorn, most of this month, you don't want to leave the trailer park of life. With Venus hanging in for this same period of time, you feel good at home, all hunkered down over the computer, pouring through the tax stuff for last year, and looking forward to something coming up. Alas, would it be so simple. You're going to get called away, probably for "business" reasons, and this is going to interrupt your month long degree of peace at home which you were so looking forward to. And as long as Venus is in our sign, a word of caution is suggested: be very careful about extravagances. Venus lends herself to excess rather well, and this is a time when you need to be worried about that, and a time when you need to watch that excess. But feel good under the Venus influence, and enjoy ass much as you can, with some limitations.

Capricorn: Venus moves from Sagittarius into your sign late this month, and Mars spends a great deal of this month in Pisces. Both are good indications that there's "something up." Except for a troubling few of my finer Capricorn friends, this is a good beginning and it bodes well for the future. It even bodes well for this month. Doesn't much matter what part of your life you want to look at, give me a buzz, and I'll explain how it's going to be a good month. One way or another. Now, there's a little upset rolling in from late degree Jupiter in a late degree of Aries at this time, and he's going to make a few people a little uncomfortable. It's matter of delaying with this relatively minor degree of discomfort which might feel a little discomfiting. But bare up under mighty Jupiter's weight, and get prepared for what the rest of the year will bring. There are some long overdue awards and you finally get a chance to cash in on some of this. It's not going to be without a pitfall or two, but this month is a good time to stat paving the way for you to get some good stuff underway. It's an all new time, and you need to be working on getting something going. I'll suggest, and by the looks the planets they are inclined to deliver, good messages all month long.

Aquarius: This is a month that should be approached by thirds. The first third of the month is full of nothing too important other than the year end stuff, and of course, the concomitant parties that go with the year end stuff. To be sure, there's going to be a little extra work heaped up on you at this time, but it's nothing that you can't deal with. The second third, or the middle third, is sort of a dark time. It's like hangover from the big party, and you groan a little as you need to get to work, and complain some about the way things are. The final third is good, but there is one little catch: Venus. As long as Venus is kicking around in Capricorn, my dear Aquarius friend, you're going to find that you are leaning towards decisions about romantic entanglements which aren't always in your best interest. Fun? Sure. Engaging? That too, at first. A good idea for a long time? That's the problem. So you're going to get off to a good start, run into a little too much work related stuff in the middle, and then, by the end of the month, you might be seeking solace from a source that isn't always a good idea. However, I will suggest that the over all view for the month is good with a decent amount of optimism sprinkled in, just for goodness sakes. It's mostly a Mars thing, and that's going to bode well.

Pisces: Shortly after the big celebrations die down some, not long after the big parties are winding down, and after the general tone of the times begins to resume a normal course of events, in other words, after the big weekend, then everything in Pisces land heats up. Mars comes careening into your sign, and thus, he comes careening into your life. It means he's going to take your gentle and delicate Pisces nature and add a degree of heat to the equation. I normally address weather concerns from a rather Texas-centric point of view because, in fact, that is where I live. So it's going to be like the long, cold winter months in Texas, only, in the Pisces version of this scenario, it's starting to heat up a lot. Mars is like slow burning orb in the evening sky, visible in the twilight hours of the evening. And Mars is also like a BBQ Pit, filled up with a load of mesquite logs, ready to grill. The question that seems to be most important this month, especially to a Pisces and especially at the beginning of the year, (century decade whatever) is what are you going to throw on that pit? Is it going to be a special someone? Or is it an idea that needs to be slow roasted, like a big old piece of brisket, and you know that a slow roast really enhances the flavor? Is this a flash fry idea? Or is this something that needs to be smoked for a while before it's ready? Important questions, and with the disposition of the planets at the beginning of the year, I would suggest you eschew the quick cooking plan and try to go for the long term smoking idea.

© Kramer Wetzel, 1999, 2000

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