My bladder woke me up at four this morning, which is pretty typical these days.  I waddled through the dark into the bathroom and sat down with my eyes still closed.  Suddenly a tickling sensation on my right foot caused me to shriek out in terror.  It was a baby chameleon.  He quickly surmised from my wails and animated gestures that he might not be in the safest location and scurried behind the toilet.  Upon realizing the true identity of my assailant I calmed down considerably and went back to my business.  About five minutes later as I’m leaning against the mirror armed with but a meager pair of tweezers battling the encroachment of my grandmother’s chin hairs, I hear my man trying to communicate with me from behind a thick curtain of unconsciousness

“wha… wha… wha happon?”

“Nothing dearest, just being murdered, go back to sleep.”

“Ok.”

Bud, the chameleon then peeped out from behind the toilet.  I could care less at that point.  He made a mad dash for a crack in the wall and disappeared.  Great story, I know, I’m the Lore Master but I promise, I have a point.  (“and if you wear a hat, no one will notice.”  Sorry, don’t mean to get off track, but every time I say “I have a point” the voice of my father automatically plays one of his favorite quips. Its an idiosyncrasy.)

Anyway, my point is… Even though my initial response was that of fear, when the situation was properly analyzed, I didn’t feel threatened.  So, I chose Tenuki.

I don’t know how many of you are familiar with the ancient Chinese game of Go.  It is a game of boundaries and territory.  It is widely popular in Japan and Korea and many of the technical terms used in American go circles are borrowed from Japanese. Tenuki is a strategy term. It means if your opponent’s attack is small, ignore it and play elsewhere. In doing so, you gain the upper hand.  A popular saying is “If it’s worth only 15 points, Tenuki”

With Pluto eating away at Saturn’s boundaries these days people feel attacked, and when attacked the temptation to answer is high.  The important thing to ask is “How significant is the attack that I am feeling?” or “How threatened am I really?” I have never known Pluto to tear down something vital.  Pluto tends to clear away the old and decrepit; those old political boarders embedded in your psyche by a now defunct thought administration.  Do you really need to spend resources fortifying those old lines on the basis of it’s what you’ve always done…Especially when your energy could be used more efficiently elsewhere.

While Mars and Saturn are still retrograde, consider the whole board before you get sucked into responding to a local attack.  You have bigger moves to make.  Fighting now puts you at a disadvantage… especially if it’s only Bud, the chameleon.