ASTROLOGY for July, August, September
--- Astrology for the Outdoorsperson
----for the walkers-of-the-earth
by Wind-on-Water
Links are provided to books mentioned below.
They are for sale through
Idaho fish ・n・ hunt in association with Amazon.com Books
ARIES (March 21-April 19)
Been steelhead fishing? Tell us about it! Send us a photo! You should have had a really wild spring! There are too many people and not enough fish and game, right?! I・m wondering what you were thinking when you tried to teach your pet pot-bellied pig to fish, though -- in front of all those people. You could have gone during the week when maybe no one was on the lake. The straight jacket was a tad uncomfortable, wasn・t it? Among the things you need to watch out for this season are: Fishing rod-eating pigs; missed birthday parties; the light-years between you and old friends (and generally between your ears); those buttons on your shirt (the top button always goes with the top button hole); an RV campground named, "Grizzly・s Meals On Wheels;" wasps in your favorite summer drink; and pigs that want to shoot Clay Birds.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
Didja have a wild-spring-turkey feast?
I hope you・ve never even considered
training a pig, but if you・re interested in
dog training techniques, take a look at
Best Way to Train Your Gun Dog:
The Delmar Smith Method by Bill Tarrant
& Jack Samson.Training yourself in NOT
being attracted to bad luck might be worth
thinking about, also. Good Luck is just as
adventurous. Be especially careful about:
Speaking up while monkey-mind is in gear;
cheap rods and reels for the kids. You can・t
imagine the trouble you・ll create for yourself.
Nothing hath resentment like a kid
short-changed. Don・t practice your elk
bugling in the bathroom. Practicing your
fencing skills in the living room is not smart
either. Also watch out for secrets (a secret
isn・t a secret unless only two people know
it, and one of ・em is dead).
GEMINI (May 21-June 20)
Allakazam! Your dreams will all come true -- but only IF you: take each day as it comes; are grateful for now, this minute; act as necessary, but without malice; waste not your gifts; eat better; exercise; let others be who they are with your encouragement and good will; listen, more than you talk, give...... YOU CANT!?? Sorry, then, the deal is off. Nothing easy for you, I guess. You・ll have to struggle like the rest of us monkeys with car keys. You・ll need some advice, now, so watch out this season for: Ventures that require you essentially to part with your wallet or your blue jeans; lengthy hours in air-conditioned buildings; trees that have legs; trips that go nowhere; narrow definitions of sanity; rivers without fish; trains with no whistles. Unexpected events will always happen to you. And, even some of your dreams will come true when you・re not watching. One more thing: You need the mountain, but you also need the cheap thrills of whitewater. Go rafting.
CANCER (June 21-July 22)
You・re at your best on lazy days of summer. Except when you・re fighting the battles of principle. Your hard exterior makes it difficult to get to know the truth about you. It is a great service you do when you show yourself as the essential thoughtful, caring person you are. The very young around you need to see more of that, however. They are not as adept as adults in seeing the "signs." You relax well and fight well, and sometimes do both TOO well, too seriously, or are too far gone into lethargy. Seek balance. Let the bobber dictate the strike. Cultivate timing. Bring up the rear sometimes. As regards your finances, Joe・s Hot Dog Vendor needs someone to buy his cart and take over the business, but you shouldn・t answer the ad. And don・t sell fishing tackle door to door, perfumes neither. Sportspeople are in fact often lonely and want companionship "out there" along the creek banks and in the piney woods, but an escort or "rent-a-buddy" service for outdoorsfolks is not a good start-up business idea -- original, though.
LEO (July 23-August 22)
"There are those who can live without wild things, and those who cannot," said Aldo Leopold. You cannot. And there is no fear of you forgetting it. You・ve always known who you were/are/will be/have been/want to be. Not that you don・t have your weaknesses, but this is the strong aspect of your character. Saying that, we can afford now to offend you. Your blindness is in matters of love (whose isn・t?), you are polite to a grievous fault, your motivations often fall into the pit of dirty lucre (but it・s shifting), you learn slow, your skills with a shotgun are beyond excellent, they are disgustingly egotistically, smugly, and on top of that arrogantly, without error (do I detect envy within myself? - naaaaaaaa). And, one more thing: Just why should you have all the luck in matters of love, money, social graces, and skills of speed and accuracy?? Huh? Huh?!
VIRGO (August 23-September 22)
You are a person of many "Eureka!s" and not enough "follow-throughs." Your creative juices flow toward humor. Your great gift to the human condition is laughter. Your feet odors are NOT a gift, though, and should be attended to for the sake of all concerned. Give your loyal intimate fans a break! True to your historical nature, you wrote in your diary recently about finding a half of an ancient Indian ulu-looking broken shape of "worked" obsidian, and of how you found it on a knoll where you imagined this man of the past paused for long hours observing his world. You called him a "watcher." He watched for game while he built his weapons. You clearly identify with him. It isn・t just rocks and fossils, though, that fascinate you. Everything fascinates you. Next week it will be
The Hunting Falcon (book author is one of Idaho・s own), or theories about the governed and those who govern, medical findings about the human brain, mysterious UFO sightings, the autobiography of an economist, identifying local wild flowers, birds, and insects, or learning tai chi. Boredom is something you will never understand.
LIBRA (September 23-October 22)
Important revelations come to you! You are hanging onto a dream to keep from facing a mundane reality -- a reality that, if accepted, will save you. That reality is: You are an everyday example of a struggling, insightful, confused, questioning, gifted, normal, yet still remarkable and unique, fearful, progressing on schedule, beautiful human being -- like the rest of us. Take this knowledge forth -- and prosper. Swim in the waters of acceptance this summer. Fish in the depths of "not-knowing" with joy. Follow the birds with the bead of your gun in the fall with confidence and the power of choice. Hike through the mountain storm without fear. Remember your history without doubts. Look forward to BEING and moving forward with it. Put a rubber mat in your tub, so you won・t fall and hit your head again.
SCORPIO (October 23-November 21)
Life is not a straight line, up or down, or straight into another dimension. It is not a circle even. It isn・t a winding road, or a bumpy one, but never smooth neither. It・s not all right-angle turns, or a square, not ladder-shaped, nor a triangle. It・s a spiral upwards, downturning temporarily, then upwards once again. Primary direction is upwards. Don・t fall off the spiral staircase. Work and play and revenge. Time for all of it. Do them well. Rules for the Avenger should include: Be sweet to thine enemy; take him/her crappie fishing; Catch lots, and give them to thine enemy to clean as a friendly gesture. Abide one・s time; wait at least six months before striking so no one will suspect you. Keep your plans to yourself. The minute you tell anyone anything, you can no longer be an Avenger. Tell your enemy something nice about him/her. Apologize for being a snit. Agree with your enemy. Then throw up. Hug him or her. Thine enemy will die of shock. Plan nothing. Let thine enemy・s own nature take its course within enemy・s life-circle (spiral, excuse me). Learn something of value from your enemy・s viewpoint. Thine enemy has then thus served his/her purpose in your life-spiral. Keep an eye on one・s enemy. When your teeth grinding stops, let thine enemy go. The greatest revenge is total indifference. Your greatest freedom from your enemy is unattached anger.
SAGITTARIUS (November 23-December 21)
Sagittarians are natural hunters, teachers, horsemen/women, analysts, artists, self-healers. Steven Spielberg is a Saggitarian. Spielberg was a Boy Scout and worked on a merit badge in photography and made a 3-minute movie called "Gunsmog" (a play on "Gunsmoke."). It is uncertain whether he actually earned that badge. His family designated him the family visual historian and his father would wait for him to say, "ACTION," before he would begin filleting the fish they caught. Who is Spielberg・s role model? Richard Dreyfuss. You could benefit from Spielberg・s words: "I・m a true believer. When I see it for myself." Believe what you see. The truth is out there. Did it ever occur to you that your friends and relatives could be right? Pay attention when more than two people tell you the same thing. Healing the body, you are good at. A wizard in the area of love, you are not. It has recently been discovered that good and bad luck DO indeed run in clusters. So, hang in there.
CAPRICORN (December 22-January 20)
Row your boat into new territory! Time to change the scenery. Think a new thought, sing a new tune. Fish a new lake. Stalk a different kind of prey. Camp in greener pastures. Begin a simpler, more sensible diet, but turn on to a more daring goal. Beware of gifts without return addresses, reels without bails, lures that sing, from-the-back-of-a-truck ground squirrel road-hunters, and modern-day velociraptors (emus and ostriches). Pay attention to circadian rhythms, what your mate tells you, what your cat is trying to tell you, and what your child doesn・t want you to discover. Keep practicing your
Fundamentals of Bowhunting (by Idaho author), waterproof your boots, spend weekends in the outback, hiking, camping, fishing until fall, then quit your job. Hunting season and financial obligations don・t seem to mix too well.
AQUARIUS (January 21-February 19)
Never take astrological advice too literally. The patterns in the sky denote patterns in one・s life, but they are only patterns, not destiny. Tendencies only are indicated -- how you deal with the tendencies of your sign has a lot to do with willful choices. You are not determined, damned, or automatically blessed. The tendencies are not fixed. The stars are not responsible for people quitting their jobs or becoming movie directors, for not being wise wizards, not the cause of revengeful behavior, of joyful fishing, boredom or the lack thereof. The stars do not dictate green-with-envy, Hot Dog Stand Businesses, bugling on the commode, pig-training, needing cheap thrills, or even bad luck, or even good luck, for that matter. The moving configurations and relationships of far-away lights in the sky may favor a trend, activity, behavior, a particular stupidity, but the ultimate outcome still comes directly from each of us and how we deal with the influence. So - Aquarians, you are expert in feeling the vibes, now make your choices.
PISCES (February 20-March 20)
Take the family on a back-country road trip. *Here・s one:
LOCATION: Starts at Orofino in northern Idaho・s Clearwater County. It ends in Superior, Montana, on Interstate 90, about 50 miles west of Missoula.
HIGHLIGHTS: Excellent cutthroat trout fishing on Kelly Creek and the North Fork of the Clearwater River; historic town of Pierce, site of the first gold strike in Idaho in 1860; logging museum in Pierce; wildlife viewing.
THE DRIVE: This route winds through the densely forested Clearwater Mountains along sparkling, clear streams. Serious anglers should plan to camp for at least one night and enjoy the excellent fly fishing on Kelly Creek. From Pierce, take Forest Road 250 toward the North Fork of the Clearwater River; it・s about 25 miles to the river. Cross the river, turn right and follow FR 250 about 20 miles to Kelly Forks. Here, split off onto FR 255 and enjoy the drive along the crystal clear stream. In 10 miles, the road bends sharply to the north, leaving Kelly Creek. Ambitious anglers could park and hike the foot trail up the creek for even better fishing in the backcountry. Follow FR 255 another 10 miles to the junction with FR 250 and the north fork. It・s about 15 miles to Hoodoo Pass, and another 25 miles to Superior, Montana. A good trip mid-June to early October.
TIME & DISTANCE: Six to eight hours; more than 102 miles of dirt road.
DIFFICULTY: Long, twisting, bumpy drive. High clearance four-wheel drive is necessary. One major pass, several smaller ones. Elevation ranges from 1,020 feet at Orofino to 6,605 feet at Hoodoo Pass, to 3,300 feet at Superior.
GETTING THERE: From Lewiston, drive 45 miles east to Orofino. Take Idaho 11 to Pierce. The drive starts here.
REST STOPS: Check out Weippe Pizza in Weippe, or the Timber Inn in Pierce, a bar and cafe with good food and ambiance; numerous campsites along the drive.
GETTING HOME: Take Interstate 90 to points east or west.
MAP: Clearwater National Forest.
FOR INFORMATION: North Fork District Office, (208) 476-3775.
*Taken from Idaho Off-road: Backcountry drives for the whole family; A Post Co. Guidebook; by Tony Huegel; Copyright, ©1993 by Post Co.
This book is currently out of print. Email the Post Company for information as to when it might be reprinted: predit@idahonews.com
Copyright 1998 Spring Creek Communications