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Week of 5/15-21
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet."
Shakespeare's Romeo and Gillette (II.ii.43-4)

I was looking for a Shakespeare quote to properly evoke the Mercury transitions all happening this week, but I couldn't find one that properly caught the timber of the moment. And seeing as how it's mostly a Taurus time, the musical notation of "timber" is very important. That's why I turned to the venerable "Romeo and Gillette" for cutting remarks, although it might be a bit prickly.

Aries : Let's look at the "rose" analogy for a minute, perhaps deconstruct the true meaning of the phrase which is used as the introduction this week. If it's a rose, then it looks really nice. There's a delicate fragrance which is associated with its aroma. And you reach for that rose, and the stem leaves little teeth marks in your hands from the thorns. So if it really is a rose, then perhaps this a week to enjoy it at a little bit of a distance. Some honey bees recently made a home here in the trailer park. It wasn't a pretty sight as the management decided to exterminate the hive. The trick to this week is to enjoy the rose for what it is, but don't try to pick it. You might also want to learn to co-exist with the honey bees, too. The final outcome of the week is sweet, it's just making sure that you don't get stung on the way, that's the problem. Saturn and Jupiter are responsible.

Taurus : Saturn frequently restricts movement, especially upward movement. Jupiter tends to push us up and out. The two are next to each other for a lot of this week, and like a blue highlighter pen, these planets have even more attention drawn to them by Venus and the Full Moon. It's going to be a wild time. There's one problem with this, and it has to do with expectations. So whatever your expectations are for the outcome of this astrological phenomenon, lower them. I didn't suggest you lower your standards, just your expectations.

Gemini : The week hold a momentous event for you as the Sun finally crawls into Gemini. I would suggest that the Sun usually moves at the same pace, but for an impatient Gemini like yourself, this seems like a crawl until everything begins to line up. You still have Venus, Saturn and Jupiter in the sign which comes before you which means all the mess isn't straightened out yet, but to a large degree, it's gotten a lot better. And you are certainly full of energy now that Mars is firmly in your sign, tagging Mercury as they all move around a bit. This is like an octane booster for your sign. Fuel additives are necessary these days, especially if you like classic vehicles with antique motors. And these motors thrive on octane booster. Mars is your octane booster. Just be careful about which direction you go accelerating in because there is still the slightest bit of hesitancy which should be required. I know one special Gemini who will have a good birthday before this week is up, and the rest of you ought to be getting geared up for similar celebration. Pedal to the metal, as they say.

Cancer : I was attempting to come up a with a really good metaphor for my dear Cancer friend, and I was leaning towards birds of prey. But looking out over the South Austin highways, a better example flew in sight: the ubiquitous Turkey Buzzard. It's actually a class of vulture, and they dot the skies, especially at rush hour, and they can seem to be quite gracefully, oftentimes mistaken for a real bird of prey like an Eagle or Hawk. The problem with this week is it's equally easy for you to look up in the sky and see what you think is a hawk only to have it waggle its wings and you're really looking at a vulture of some sort. I see them frequently over the freeway at rush hour, I wonder if it's a coincidence? Some of the planets want you to soar to new heights, while others are just fooling around with your head. Make sure you grab the binoculars and carefully identify what it is that your seeing before you get too excited. Mars is kicking in Gemini, and that's bringing you down some. Make sure you can make the distinction between what you think you're seeing and what's really there. Keep thinking like the majestic bird of prey, and there will be another lesson in ornithology next week.

Leo : After all the nasty stuff you've been through, it's about time that everything got a little better. And this is a week where everything is going to get a little better. I wish I could deliver this on a larger scale, perhaps a grand scale as befits this majestic sign, but the planets are not in complete harmony with me. Nor, for that matter, are they in complete harmony with you, either. But there is a degree, a small degree, but a degree nonetheless of happiness which can find it's way into your life this week. Tone down the the majestic, grand standing side of your Leo self and consult your humble origins (ever Leo has humble origins — that's why you're so great). This small degree of happiness caused by two planets, one would Mars and the other would Venus. Venus is unsettling, and Mars is invigorating. Pay attention to the small details, and your Leo big picture works out this week.

Virgo : It was in a recent exchange of e-mails that I was forced to consult an old astrology text in order to clarify a situation. I may not always be right, but I'm not often that far off. And the old text proved that I was correct in my assumption, and it further proved that I was correct in the direction that planets were leading this situation. Read between the lines a little, and you get an idea of what was going on. I should know better than to pick a fight with a Virgo, so even though I was correct in the letter of the situation, my correspondent assured me how wrong I was in the spirit of the occasion. There are numerous good things happening right now to the sign of the Virgin. Don't let petty squabbles get in the way of the good things, because you don't want to be like me, maybe correct in the eyes of the law, but not in the given situation.

Libra : I only want to hear one expression from the Libra quadrant of the sky. I guess it's a little smaller slice than a quadrant, but you get the idea, from that one corner of the sky which is assigned to Libra, this is the week that I will accept nothing less than a two words: "Done deal." Got that? I sure hope that was a clear message. In one form or anther, you're either wrapping it, closing on it, or finishing it off. Something along those lines. I realize that I'm probably not the only person suggesting this, but as long I am suggesting it, just concentrate on those two words, "done deal." It should make this week go easier, and with all that new stuff in Gemini, but the weekend, looks like you'll have fun, too. Perhaps we can all celebrate?

Scorpio : As long as Venus spends the better part of this week in direct opposition to the fine Sign of Scorpio, and as long as you have a running feud with me, then we'll get along just fine. It's the Venus thing that I'm looking at, more than anything else in your chart, and it's a good influence. I've double checked my work here, because I can never be too careful with a Scorpio, and I'm sure about this Venus thing. It's a good week to sit back a little, be extra careful not to consume too much BBQ, or too much TexMex, and enjoy life. Over that fine meal, you might find yourself patching up some old quarrels, and this is a good time to finally push away from the table with a degree of satisfaction, and not just because the food was great, either.

Sagittarius : As long as Mars is in Gemini, and to make this worse, it approaches a degree where it's directly opposite Pluto over here in Sagittarius, and as long we all have this infernal little line up of planets, there's going to be a tendency towards ruthless behavior. "Not her again," you moan, "not Ruth." That's the problem with the planets and this week, you're going to be tempted to hop in your truck and deal with an annoying problem, once and for all. It reminds me of the time a neighbor in the trailer park got rather upset with another occupant, and just hitched the offending person's trailer up, and parked their trailer outside of the park. Great idea. It was applauded by many. Wonderful action, and certainly one that was well deserved. However, the owner of the trailer that got moved merely made one little phone call, and the police were summoned, and you can figure the rest out. Being right doesn't allow you to operate above the law, especially this week.

Capricorn : Just take it easy. Not that I would ever borrow lyrics from a tired old song, but you've got a world of trouble on your mind, and you know what? For no reason. There is nothing but good times this week. I'm sure you like hearing that. It's as if you have something that you planted a long time ago, and it's back to be useful to [or for] you. This isn't like some sort of "quick growing" crop, either, it's more like one of those bulbs which only blooms about once a year. It's spring time around here, and the wildflowers have pretty much succumbed to the heat, but the stuff folks plant, that's just now looking good. So tend to your garden, as the case may be, and enjoy the blooms this week.

Aquarius : I want to be clever, bright and witty. I want to impart a brilliant message to you. You, too, want to be clever, bright and witty. In fact, you are many of these things, just on your average day. But this week has some unusual little aspects to it, and you need to be a little more careful when you're being clever, bright and witty. There are days when this delivery just doesn't get the point across. There's a degree of logic which just doesn't fall into place, and it only gets more illogical as the week goes by. What you are so sure about, and that message you are intent on delivering, whatever it is, you just don't seem to get the point across to your intended target audience. You can try a little parable, an analogy, an allegory, any metaphor, but still, the receiving end keeps looking at you like you're from outer space. Given the basic Aquarius makeup, this might be true. But that doesn't help when you are trying to communicate in plain language. Go easy on the rest of us this week.

Pisces : Spring rains being may flowers, and what do mayflowers bring? Pilgrims? How about pollen? It's something like that. So the joke was a little lame, but that's so unusual for me to try to attempt a degree of levity because I like the sign of the Twins. But you're not going to be so fond of them this week, and it only gets more frustrating as the weekend gets closer. This is caused by the planets which were formerly in Taurus, mostly Mars and Mercury, and then, later this week, the Sun, too, as we gear up for the annual rites of spring associated with Gemini. The problem is that there is a degree of movement in every "astrological" house this week except Pisces. And there's no movement in the Pisces house. In this case, I'm not even talking about the astrology version of the house, either, just your homestead. Or trailer, in my case. But you're catching on to the idea because this is a week when you can do something really exciting to rearrange you life a little bit. Consult with a Fang Sway guy, figure out if the you have the proper CHEE in your house. You're looking for balance, and rearranging things is one of the fastest ways to get where you want to go.