Dear Madame,

Recently a vibrant, fun, Sagittarius woman I’ve been seeing since last winter decided she needed some time away from me. This, I assume (or I hope!) is part of the Venus retrograde thing right now.

I know this seems like a really basic question, but does this mean she’s not going to return? She’s asked that I not contact her at all, and I’m respecting that even though it really hurts not to hear her beautiful voice. I’m a Piscean dude. Have I got too much fire on my hands? Will Venus burn me with her hot coals this summer?

— Fried Fish

Dear Fish Fry,

What’s curious to me, dear finned one, is what you’ve left out of your letter — WHY. Why is your centaurish friend cantering off, leaving your ears wanting for her dulcet intonations over the speakerphone? Hm?

I’m curious because you Fish Folk usually adopt a ‘swim and let swim’ philosophy about intentional coupling. Fantasizing Fish? Yes. Fretful Fish? Not so much. What gives? What’s actually happening? I can’t speak to that.

But you asked about Venus. Yes, indeed, this could be a Venusian dodge calculated to cut you out. However, that’s not a given because I see another piece to this puzzle that definitely deserves examining.

Let’s give Saturn a squiz, too. He’s had his cold and heavy hand in here as well.

You say you began seeing one another this past winter. At that time Saturn was just beginning his new adventures in the sign of Sagittarius, giving all our Saggos a new opportunity for focus and gravitas. This past spring, though, Saturn sat in the same spot for about five weeks, preparing to turn retrograde and revisit his old Scorpio stomping grounds.

It was at that time your Saggo darling may have felt decidedly hemmed in with multiple responsibilities and demands. As a fundamentally freedom loving sign yourself, you can appreciate that you may have chafed your Lady Friend.

As Saturn moved back into the sign of Scorpio this summer, the story shifted into an even deeper and possibly darker mood. For Saggos, the theme was fundamental: these were the last days of a season that began in 2012, and one that challenged them to wrestle with their own mortality.

You see, the typical carefree persona we all adore in Sagittarians has been tempered the last couple of years with Saturn in their solar 12th house. Call it a perpetual haunting. They’ve been doing it tougher than a bail-bonded Hollywood starlet sporting a semi-perpetual ankle monitor. Carefree? As if. When you’re hounded and held back under perpetual observation by the stern eye of Karma in the shape of Sheriff Saturn for nearly three years, memories of Good Time Sally could seem, in retrospect, just silly.

This Monday Saturn turned direct again, preparing himself to begin tracking across those last degrees of Scorpio. Whether she’s aware of it or not, Saturn could be the true source of your Saggo’s reluctance to mix ’n’ mingle. The Old Man won’t return to this land for another 30 years. That’s kind of a big deal, you know. So consider that. It’s quite possible your dearest needs these days to reconsider all that’s passed these last three years. Venus retrograde just gives it that extra anti-social spin.

Will she return? I have no clue. But if she does, it would help if you consider the influence of Saturn’s final lessons this summer. While you may have caught her on the upswing last winter, seemingly free from the dark shadows of the 12th house experience, Time demanded that she revisit that territory this summer to finish old business. It’s sort of non-negotiable. And tough.

When Saturn finally reaches Sagittarius’s green pastures Sept. 17, you’ll begin to recover the early degrees of Sag, echoing those first days of your acquaintance. If there were ever a time to meet for the first time again, mid-September’s your go-to zone. Until then, find a different focus for your sizzling Saggo fantasies.

Swim loose, FishMan.

— Madame Z