“That determines your sun sign. To get a more accurate reading, I need to know your rising sign. It’s the ascendant at the time and location of your birth.”
“Wow, uh…” After a few moments of contemplation, Shannon spat out a time and a location deep in the SoCal wastes.
Even so, Jess continued to pretend she didn’t already know Shannon’s ascendant sign.
“Taurus,” she announced. “Congrats. You’re an Aquarius sun with Taurus ascendant.”
“What does that mean?”
To her credit, that was genuine curiosity on her face. A face Jess had to be careful around, otherwise she would go blind from the timeless beauty alone. “Hang on a sec, and I’ll tell you some more. I wanna look something up really fast.”
Shannon nibbled on one of the macarons while checking to see if the barista was bringing her the tea she ordered.
“There’s more to your astrological personality than your sun sign,” Jess said while flipping pages and punching something into her phone. “Your rising sign is also as important when it comes to painting a good picture of who you are as a human being. We could also really get into some numerology if we consider the number 10 associated with your birthday.”
Shannon cupped her hands around her face, elbows digging into the table. “That’s kinda fascinating. I never realized it was so complicated. Then again, I suppose that explains why those birth chart things are so extravagant.”
Jess wrote some keywords down. As soon as she had a general picture of what the signs meant and a feel for the person sitting with her, she was more likely to construct a narrative that the layman could understand. And, oh boy, was Shannon a novice when it came to understanding things likeascendant.
“What I’m getting the most from you is that you are the type of person who does not see failure as an option. Aquarius is noted for being stubborn and contrary to a fault, and Taurus is, well, Taurus is a bull, you know? Bullheaded. Together, that’s a powerful motivator. When you see something you really want, you give it your all and thrust yourself headfirst into whatever you deem important. You’re as driven by financial gain as you are by humanitarian efforts.”
Shannon glanced at Jess’s notes. “You got all that from a few moments of research?”
You have no idea how much I’ve gleamed from you.“Oh, there’s a lot more.”
“There… is?”
“Do you want to hear about relationships or health, first?”
“Health, I guess.”
Jess didn’t miss a beat. The gears had clicked in her head. Sometimes all it took was looking up the characteristics for ascendant signs to know how they meshed with sun signs. Taurus and Aquarius were both popular signs.
“Your trouble organs are the kidneys and liver, although your throat will usually be the first indicator that you’re falling ill. Yet you’re rarely ill, right?”
Shannon gasped. “I’ve only been sick three times since high school.”
“You have a naturally strong physique and a body that desires to live a long time. If you take particular care of your health, you can expect to live a long, long time. But the diabetes that runs in your family needs to be monitored.”
“How did you know about my mother’s diabetes?”
“You’re still young enough that kicking any unhealthy habitsnowwill behoove you greatly in both the short and long term.” Jess couldn’t help but smirk. “Did you ever stop smoking?”
Shannon lowered her eyes. “No. I’ve tried, okay? Shit’s hard when you’re stressed.”
The barista brought Shannon her drink. She happened to glance at Shannon’s chart and said, “Hey! I’m an Aquarius, too! High five, girl.”
Shannon reluctantly high fived the barista. “Thanks. Apparently, we need to stop smoking.”
“Oh, I don’t smoke.”
The barista walked away. Shannon leveled her gaze on Jess and said, “Tell me about my love life.”
Jess gulped. Yup. There was the no-bullshit Shannon she knew. That was the same gaze she received eight years ago, when this same woman said,“You’re creeping me out.”
“Relationships, huh?” Jess fingered the edge of one of her books. That was an easy enough question to answer. She knew so much about Aquarians in love that she had literally written articles on the subject.I know more about you guys than I do my own sign.That’s what happened when a woman fell in love with Aquarians. She studied everything she could about their approaches to love, so she could fruitlessly anticipate what they might do – and how to woo them. “Well, you eschew your familial relationships, so that’s something you might want to work on…”
“I don’t care about my family.” Exactly! That’s what Jess said! “I want to know about the good stuff. My love life.”
