Friday 1 January 2010
~Lazing into a New Year~
We have escaped the |difficult third of the week|, but the moon is void of course until it enters Leo at 6:42p PT | 9:42p ET | 2:42a(Sa) UT. (It goes void of course at 7:44a PT | 10:44a ET | 3:44p UT.) Well that is okay for a holiday; laid back and Lebowski-ish (too many White Russians last night?). You might get a better grasp of your coming year after that evening time (or, if in the Eastern Hemisphere, earlier in the day while recovering from the hangover).
No, I do not assume all of you are lushes! Probably quite the contrary, a lot of teetotalers.
For some strange reason I watched Race to Witch Mountain Wednesday evening, a Disney concoction with too many silly special effects, including a terrible driving lesson for children, a cabdriver who miraculously can do everything a 16-year-old driver would be tempted to do, and gets away with it. Is the Disney team trying to kill our teenagers? I'm kidding but it almost looks that way. (But if that statement would give any credibility to film censorship, I take it back.) The notion of benign extra-terrestrials, or malign ones (there are both in this flick), strikes me as sillier and sillier the longer I live without meeting any. But who knows, there may be influences, probably telepathic, "on the inner planes" in occult or Theosophical lingo, from distant stars, and that may be why the populace gets all starry-eyed about space aliens. There are hints that we may be under some such benign influence right now, to counteract our human tendency to commit racial suicide. Let us hope. Actually I believe that the Avatars, Jesus and Sri Aurobindo, are the ones who continue to save us despite ourselves, but if they got help from extraterrestrial civilizations, I guess they would not turn it down.
Obviously we need something to counteract the decadent mindlessness of the Lebowski cult, but also something to counteract the fanatical militarism of Dr. Strangelove. (How come no anti-war movies from Hollywood lately? I have said before and shall say again, I hope you will get and watch Why We Fight.) Lock Lebowski and Strangelove in the same room, observe them carefully, and you might come up with a diagnosis of American cultural psychosis.
What exactly are you hiding? That sounds like a nasty accusation. I don't mean it that way; just, what is it about yourself or your habitual activities you do not like, and therefore tend to conceal from others, or cover over? It could be illumining, though not fun, to follow up that line of investigation. Something like what a Catholic parishioner is asked to do before Confession, but with a more psychological slant rather than merely looking for cut-and-dried "sins" as defined by a rulebook.
There are a lot of things outside you which you would like to investigate, also, such as nature, maybe chemistry, biology, astronomy, whatever catches your interest. Explanations on the scientific or mental level have their limits but prepare our minds for deeper insights.
Traditions can be pleasant and reassuring. We cling to past rituals or usages, quite rightly, upon entering a year of the unknown, in order to maintain our bearing and sanity. So the new mixes with the old.
You want to investigate (that word again) what you could use to nurture people or help them, or perhaps animals. Wise giving does not seem easy except for those who have a talent for it. I myself tend to pull back when it comes to charities until I feel really good about them. Ideally I would be able to visit them or their field work, observe it in process, and know in my bones what they are doing with the donations they get. So far I have not been able to do that much, which means perhaps I ought to look toward local charities such as those who deal with the homeless. Then I could get involved, or at least observe, more closely.
Making the pursuit of ideals adventurous might be what we need.
{Friday} ~Lazing into a New Year~
Cosmic Piper
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Forecast for Thursday 31 December 2009
Thursday 31 December 2009
~Invoking Wisdom~
Much as I despise the studied and craven bitchiness of Maureen Dowd, once in a while she says something intelligent, as today (New York Times): If we can’t catch a Nigerian with a powerful explosive powder in his oddly feminine-looking underpants and a syringe full of acid, a man whose own father had alerted the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, a traveler whose ticket was paid for in cash and who didn’t check bags, whose visa renewal had been denied by the British, who had studied Arabic in Al Qaeda sanctuary Yemen, whose name was on a counterterrorism watch list, who can we catch?
As I have said many times, but no one seems to be listening, intelligent airport security would have prevented 9/11/01, hands down. It is so simple! The Republicans who now rant about airport security (but don't do anything about it) prevented our congress from passing proposed legislation, 'way back in the '90s, to tighten airport security. "Oh, it would cost too much! It would burden the poor, poor, suffering airline industry! Let us weep for the rich and exploitative, and ignore the plight of the vulnerable, in venerable Republican style!" If we had had such security, the very obviously suspicious men responsible for that attack could easily have been detected and prevented from getting on that flight. The responsibility for the success of the attack lies on Congress and the airline industry, who lobbied Congress to prevent intelligent legislation to protect its customers. Who is pointing that out except Cosmic Piper? Am I the only one who has a glimmer of common sense? We are chasing our tails, killing people indiscriminately, and our own men, in a primitive mountainous region on the other side of the world, poorest country on earth, to "protect" us, but meanwhile the attacks we have suffered on our own territory could have been prevented easily with heightened and tightened security to protect our borders--and obviously that includes airport security.
But no, we have to go to Iraq and Afghanistan with no clear plan and stir up endless hatred of us, as counter-productive a plan as could be imagined. Instead of just locking our doors. Afghanistan has been called "the graveyard of empires" and it seems Americans collectively have a longing for that graveyard.
I am wondering if Cosmic Piper is the only American with common sense? Or is common sense really very uncommon?
As for New Year's Eve, it looks pretty dismal. I would say, Stay home. Your soul needs its inward reflection, recollection, and musing upon whatever seems real and important at this difficult turning point. Profane and noisy entertainment could just make things worse.
Or, if something in you wants to celebrate the new year in the conventional style and you go to a party or club, you can carry your soul's longing for something better with you and meditate within the superficial chaos (perhaps even while chatting or dancing, like the Sufis).
Don't be surprised if you find others and yourself mysterious, hard to fathom, seemingly even crazy. Who is totally sane? Who can see everything from the Supramental levels pointed out by Sri Aurobindo as our salvation from Ignorance? Just about no one. Realizing that, today or tonight, could help you on your quest, for unless one knows one is lost in the woods one cannot find a way out.
Faith, of course, is important, if it is faith which looks for the truth rather than faith which trusts in a lie.
Caution and secrecy go with positions of authority. Not all those celebrating in a public place or private party will be open about what they are thinking.
Surveying the crowd, you may note amazing things about the differences among human beings. It might be said that our differences are our reality, for if we were exactly the same there would be no consciousness of individuality. Estimating the value of individuals in distinction from one another is not arrogant if one sees that each has a different sort of value.
Someone prosperous and idealistic could invite you to his or her place, or you could be that one inviting someone else. We admire those whose success has not spoiled them, but rather fostered their ability to uphold high standards.
Whether you are lonely while surrounded by people, and then go home to a vigil of your own during which despondency could change to lofty wisdom; or stay secluded while reaching for something beyond misanthropy and dread; you can do this latter, that is, pass through a test of your endurance, with revived hope in what is more substantial and less evanescent.
Happy New Year!
{Thursday} ~Invoking Wisdom~
Cosmic Piper
~Invoking Wisdom~
Much as I despise the studied and craven bitchiness of Maureen Dowd, once in a while she says something intelligent, as today (New York Times): If we can’t catch a Nigerian with a powerful explosive powder in his oddly feminine-looking underpants and a syringe full of acid, a man whose own father had alerted the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, a traveler whose ticket was paid for in cash and who didn’t check bags, whose visa renewal had been denied by the British, who had studied Arabic in Al Qaeda sanctuary Yemen, whose name was on a counterterrorism watch list, who can we catch?
As I have said many times, but no one seems to be listening, intelligent airport security would have prevented 9/11/01, hands down. It is so simple! The Republicans who now rant about airport security (but don't do anything about it) prevented our congress from passing proposed legislation, 'way back in the '90s, to tighten airport security. "Oh, it would cost too much! It would burden the poor, poor, suffering airline industry! Let us weep for the rich and exploitative, and ignore the plight of the vulnerable, in venerable Republican style!" If we had had such security, the very obviously suspicious men responsible for that attack could easily have been detected and prevented from getting on that flight. The responsibility for the success of the attack lies on Congress and the airline industry, who lobbied Congress to prevent intelligent legislation to protect its customers. Who is pointing that out except Cosmic Piper? Am I the only one who has a glimmer of common sense? We are chasing our tails, killing people indiscriminately, and our own men, in a primitive mountainous region on the other side of the world, poorest country on earth, to "protect" us, but meanwhile the attacks we have suffered on our own territory could have been prevented easily with heightened and tightened security to protect our borders--and obviously that includes airport security.
But no, we have to go to Iraq and Afghanistan with no clear plan and stir up endless hatred of us, as counter-productive a plan as could be imagined. Instead of just locking our doors. Afghanistan has been called "the graveyard of empires" and it seems Americans collectively have a longing for that graveyard.
I am wondering if Cosmic Piper is the only American with common sense? Or is common sense really very uncommon?
As for New Year's Eve, it looks pretty dismal. I would say, Stay home. Your soul needs its inward reflection, recollection, and musing upon whatever seems real and important at this difficult turning point. Profane and noisy entertainment could just make things worse.
Or, if something in you wants to celebrate the new year in the conventional style and you go to a party or club, you can carry your soul's longing for something better with you and meditate within the superficial chaos (perhaps even while chatting or dancing, like the Sufis).
Don't be surprised if you find others and yourself mysterious, hard to fathom, seemingly even crazy. Who is totally sane? Who can see everything from the Supramental levels pointed out by Sri Aurobindo as our salvation from Ignorance? Just about no one. Realizing that, today or tonight, could help you on your quest, for unless one knows one is lost in the woods one cannot find a way out.
Faith, of course, is important, if it is faith which looks for the truth rather than faith which trusts in a lie.
Caution and secrecy go with positions of authority. Not all those celebrating in a public place or private party will be open about what they are thinking.
Surveying the crowd, you may note amazing things about the differences among human beings. It might be said that our differences are our reality, for if we were exactly the same there would be no consciousness of individuality. Estimating the value of individuals in distinction from one another is not arrogant if one sees that each has a different sort of value.
Someone prosperous and idealistic could invite you to his or her place, or you could be that one inviting someone else. We admire those whose success has not spoiled them, but rather fostered their ability to uphold high standards.
Whether you are lonely while surrounded by people, and then go home to a vigil of your own during which despondency could change to lofty wisdom; or stay secluded while reaching for something beyond misanthropy and dread; you can do this latter, that is, pass through a test of your endurance, with revived hope in what is more substantial and less evanescent.
Happy New Year!
{Thursday} ~Invoking Wisdom~
Cosmic Piper
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Forecast for Wednesday 30 December 2009
Wednesday 30 December 2009
}Developing Nobly Patient Group Spirit{
Today and Thursday are the |difficult third of the week|, so New Year's celebrations will be muted. People will be pretending hard to have fun when they aren't. To save yourself from that, you could stay at home, or if that seems too dull, go where you will be with solid friends or family, or a place you in which you are thoroughly comfortable.
Many spiritual seekers believe that New Year's Eve (tomorrow) is an important night to have a Watch Night service or meditation, to get the new year started right, in adjustment with one's higher self and G*d. Or, if the secular ideal of world peace and global security is more important to you than the G*d of the philosophers and mystics (every significant philosopher in the history of the world has known that G*d is real), then that sort of meditation based on humanism may be what will help you get the year started right.
I thought of a way to have my cake and eat it too: Since the New Year begins in Europe five to eight hours earlier than in North America, I could do my watchnight meditation during the midnight hour in England or France, and then have several hours left until the celebration here, when I might do something less spiritual and more Bacchic.
But I am getting ahead; this report is for Wednesday, the eve of the Eve.
The |difficult third| during Mercury's retrogression requires patience with all communications and with your work. You can only do so much, and it would be well to realize that, so you do not feel totally incompetent. This is a natural time for letting some things go. I am not encouraging laziness, but selective benign neglect. Don't be too hard on yourself. Choose what is most important and get it done and you will not feel bad about the rest left undone. This is even more pertinent during the moon's void-of-course period, from 12:31p-6:46p PT | 3-31p-9:46p ET | 8:31p-2:46a(Th) UT. There is nothing wrong with taking a nap.
The perpetrator of the intended terrorist incident on Christmas day is a good symbol (or bad one) of Mars's current position and aspects. At worst this is utter foolishness, trying for things not intended by nature or humanity and ruining one's prospects and those of others. Let us hope that not many of us are likely to go that far wrong. Mars opposed to two planets in Aquarius, the sign of air travel, is self-explanatory. A young male (Mars in Leo) upset the airline industry. Mars's close quincunx with Mercury in Capricorn brings the government into the picture as negligent: Mercury retrograde. Mercury's sextile with Uranus, to be completed later in February, suggests that this incident will fructify improved technology to detect threats from passengers.
Tonight is the Full Moon night. You could be an owl of wisdom brooding on the moon and the New Year. You are thinking of those who are older or more fragile, or struggling to survive, facing difficulties. Some may be at home and some institutionalized. But you can make them feel as welcome in the world as anyone. The New Year has hope for them.
Someone noble, aristocratic and humane, who loves his home as a community center, could be important to you even if being together has its difficulties. He or she leads the pack, a clan or group, by his or her example and high ideals. Being linked with this person requires some sacrifice but is well worth it. The hours before the void-of-course (given above) would be best for contacting him or her.
Selfishness may be natural in human beings, yet it is one of the primitive demons to overcome when we try to fulfill our deeper and happier destiny. Opening up to be generous-spirited will help you, even if it seems that to do it you have to negotiate a complex maze of enigmatic attempts. You will see false paths as well as true, but can get an overview. Then you will know how to treat someone as an equal, rather than subordinate him or her to feared chagrin or resentment. This could be before or after the void-of-course period (paragraph 5).
{Wednesday} {Developing Nobly Patient Group Spirit}
Cosmic Piper
}Developing Nobly Patient Group Spirit{
Today and Thursday are the |difficult third of the week|, so New Year's celebrations will be muted. People will be pretending hard to have fun when they aren't. To save yourself from that, you could stay at home, or if that seems too dull, go where you will be with solid friends or family, or a place you in which you are thoroughly comfortable.
Many spiritual seekers believe that New Year's Eve (tomorrow) is an important night to have a Watch Night service or meditation, to get the new year started right, in adjustment with one's higher self and G*d. Or, if the secular ideal of world peace and global security is more important to you than the G*d of the philosophers and mystics (every significant philosopher in the history of the world has known that G*d is real), then that sort of meditation based on humanism may be what will help you get the year started right.
I thought of a way to have my cake and eat it too: Since the New Year begins in Europe five to eight hours earlier than in North America, I could do my watchnight meditation during the midnight hour in England or France, and then have several hours left until the celebration here, when I might do something less spiritual and more Bacchic.
But I am getting ahead; this report is for Wednesday, the eve of the Eve.
The |difficult third| during Mercury's retrogression requires patience with all communications and with your work. You can only do so much, and it would be well to realize that, so you do not feel totally incompetent. This is a natural time for letting some things go. I am not encouraging laziness, but selective benign neglect. Don't be too hard on yourself. Choose what is most important and get it done and you will not feel bad about the rest left undone. This is even more pertinent during the moon's void-of-course period, from 12:31p-6:46p PT | 3-31p-9:46p ET | 8:31p-2:46a(Th) UT. There is nothing wrong with taking a nap.
The perpetrator of the intended terrorist incident on Christmas day is a good symbol (or bad one) of Mars's current position and aspects. At worst this is utter foolishness, trying for things not intended by nature or humanity and ruining one's prospects and those of others. Let us hope that not many of us are likely to go that far wrong. Mars opposed to two planets in Aquarius, the sign of air travel, is self-explanatory. A young male (Mars in Leo) upset the airline industry. Mars's close quincunx with Mercury in Capricorn brings the government into the picture as negligent: Mercury retrograde. Mercury's sextile with Uranus, to be completed later in February, suggests that this incident will fructify improved technology to detect threats from passengers.
Tonight is the Full Moon night. You could be an owl of wisdom brooding on the moon and the New Year. You are thinking of those who are older or more fragile, or struggling to survive, facing difficulties. Some may be at home and some institutionalized. But you can make them feel as welcome in the world as anyone. The New Year has hope for them.
Someone noble, aristocratic and humane, who loves his home as a community center, could be important to you even if being together has its difficulties. He or she leads the pack, a clan or group, by his or her example and high ideals. Being linked with this person requires some sacrifice but is well worth it. The hours before the void-of-course (given above) would be best for contacting him or her.
Selfishness may be natural in human beings, yet it is one of the primitive demons to overcome when we try to fulfill our deeper and happier destiny. Opening up to be generous-spirited will help you, even if it seems that to do it you have to negotiate a complex maze of enigmatic attempts. You will see false paths as well as true, but can get an overview. Then you will know how to treat someone as an equal, rather than subordinate him or her to feared chagrin or resentment. This could be before or after the void-of-course period (paragraph 5).
{Wednesday} {Developing Nobly Patient Group Spirit}
Cosmic Piper
Monday, December 28, 2009
Forecast for Tuesday 29 December 2009
Tuesday 29 December 2009
}Unexplainable Devotion{
My succinct Tweet on Twitter: "Does anyone really believe that U. S. intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan has made terrorist incidents on planes less likely?" The answer seems all too obvious to me. Something to ponder.
Apart from the politics involved, the incident on Christmas day occurred when (a) we are in a Dark Hermetic Epoch (as we were on 9/11/01) and (b) we were in the |difficult third of the week| as was reported here. I myself would not board a plane, especially a long or trans-oceanic flight, during such a time if I could possibly re-schedule.
Fortunately, various weirdnesses of the Retrograde Mercury season canceled one another out so that the passengers were saved. First, the decision of Umar Abdulmutallab to blow up the plane and himself with a device hidden in his underwear was bizzarre, retrograde, and nutty. Second, the airline or airport failed dismally to investigate a suspicious passenger or detect the explosive which "would have been easily detected with the right airport equipment" according to the Associated Press. Third, the device itself failed. Fortunately this last "Mercury retrograde" phenomenon was beneficent, canceling out the first two, as a manifestation of divine grace--most certainly not of human sanity or competence! And people doubt God's providence.
Tuesday seems fairly progressive and well-designed for ordinary achievement, and satisfaction with successful endeavors.
Mysterious factors beckon to your understanding, perhaps matters you have investigated before, repeatedly, and want to study again in order to get at the bottom of the problem.
Mars retrograde in Leo at the center of a yod while opposed to Jupiter and Neptune could indicate just the type of male-gone-bonkers as Mr. Abdulmutallab, and there are millions more, though most not as violent, thank the stars. At their best these individuals (and females also) are being challenged to bring out their skills in a way which will get recognition from important somebodies. When they face the requirements of that situation honestly, they will be inspired to proceed, but partly by repeating prior attempts which may have been mostly failures, so they need patience and fortitude.
The patience, indeed, of Capricorn is upon us, with four planets in that sign, three of them squared to its ruler Saturn. I have said, for example, that the coldest weather this winter would last up until January 14. After that, my prediction is that it shall be warmer. Meanwhile the astral weather is also cold, but that calls forth bodily heat to counter the cold, namely, activity toward your goals. As said perhaps too often, while Mercury is retrograde these should be old goals you understand well rather than new ones which could go awry before you realize you are wasting your time.
So it is indeed a good time to review the past, as is a venerable custom before and after the New Year.
If you are alert and responsive to your environment, and also humble, you will avoid seeking things which would hurt you either before or after you get to them. It is not pleasant to stumble into an unseen trap. Your sixth sense, aligned to the fourth dimension, can prevent that from happening. Sometimes that sixth sense requires ritualistic effort to pump it into action.
Venus's square with Saturn stimulates you to find true devotion. That comes by realizing who is most important to you, or probably, who are. Even your mate, if you have one, is mysterious in some ways, and though in some sense you "possess" each other, in another way you never can and perhaps don't want to. Whole-hearted devotion tries to protect the loved one from danger. This need not be overweening intervention, which could have unfortunate consequences, as could needless worry, but prayerful awareness of what he or she is going through, with willingness either to intervene or support when that is truly helpful.
{Tuesday} {Unexplainable Devotion}
Cosmic Piper
}Unexplainable Devotion{
My succinct Tweet on Twitter: "Does anyone really believe that U. S. intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan has made terrorist incidents on planes less likely?" The answer seems all too obvious to me. Something to ponder.
Apart from the politics involved, the incident on Christmas day occurred when (a) we are in a Dark Hermetic Epoch (as we were on 9/11/01) and (b) we were in the |difficult third of the week| as was reported here. I myself would not board a plane, especially a long or trans-oceanic flight, during such a time if I could possibly re-schedule.
Fortunately, various weirdnesses of the Retrograde Mercury season canceled one another out so that the passengers were saved. First, the decision of Umar Abdulmutallab to blow up the plane and himself with a device hidden in his underwear was bizzarre, retrograde, and nutty. Second, the airline or airport failed dismally to investigate a suspicious passenger or detect the explosive which "would have been easily detected with the right airport equipment" according to the Associated Press. Third, the device itself failed. Fortunately this last "Mercury retrograde" phenomenon was beneficent, canceling out the first two, as a manifestation of divine grace--most certainly not of human sanity or competence! And people doubt God's providence.
Tuesday seems fairly progressive and well-designed for ordinary achievement, and satisfaction with successful endeavors.
Mysterious factors beckon to your understanding, perhaps matters you have investigated before, repeatedly, and want to study again in order to get at the bottom of the problem.
Mars retrograde in Leo at the center of a yod while opposed to Jupiter and Neptune could indicate just the type of male-gone-bonkers as Mr. Abdulmutallab, and there are millions more, though most not as violent, thank the stars. At their best these individuals (and females also) are being challenged to bring out their skills in a way which will get recognition from important somebodies. When they face the requirements of that situation honestly, they will be inspired to proceed, but partly by repeating prior attempts which may have been mostly failures, so they need patience and fortitude.
The patience, indeed, of Capricorn is upon us, with four planets in that sign, three of them squared to its ruler Saturn. I have said, for example, that the coldest weather this winter would last up until January 14. After that, my prediction is that it shall be warmer. Meanwhile the astral weather is also cold, but that calls forth bodily heat to counter the cold, namely, activity toward your goals. As said perhaps too often, while Mercury is retrograde these should be old goals you understand well rather than new ones which could go awry before you realize you are wasting your time.
So it is indeed a good time to review the past, as is a venerable custom before and after the New Year.
If you are alert and responsive to your environment, and also humble, you will avoid seeking things which would hurt you either before or after you get to them. It is not pleasant to stumble into an unseen trap. Your sixth sense, aligned to the fourth dimension, can prevent that from happening. Sometimes that sixth sense requires ritualistic effort to pump it into action.
Venus's square with Saturn stimulates you to find true devotion. That comes by realizing who is most important to you, or probably, who are. Even your mate, if you have one, is mysterious in some ways, and though in some sense you "possess" each other, in another way you never can and perhaps don't want to. Whole-hearted devotion tries to protect the loved one from danger. This need not be overweening intervention, which could have unfortunate consequences, as could needless worry, but prayerful awareness of what he or she is going through, with willingness either to intervene or support when that is truly helpful.
{Tuesday} {Unexplainable Devotion}
Cosmic Piper
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Forecast for Monday 28 December 2009
Monday 28 December 2009
\Self-Entertainment, Shared when Possible/
The moon in Taurus goes void of course after its square with Jupiter at 9:55a PT | 12:55p ET | 5:55p UT, until it enters Gemini at 5:14p PT | 8:14p ET | 1:14a(Tu) UT. During those seven hours ordinary routines are best, most likely. It's a no-nonsense day, except for an emphasis on personal pleasures you keep to yourself.
With Mars and Mercury both retrograde, you are aware of critical matters which require patience. These involve health, costs, taxes, payments, or communications with important people which seem baulked or strangely confused. Things which need to be done over and over repeatedly can be wearing on morale, but fidelity to major life purposes will keep you going.
A tendency toward melancholy could impel you to find your happiness in more subtle pleasures of the intellect or soul, pondering the peculiarities of life, human beings, and yourself from a higher level which yields privileged access to insight.
When it seems that expenses should be curtailed, you are willing to do that, knowing that your appreciation of things is what gives you joy more than things themselves.
Chaos in relationships could stem from failing to be alert to clues around you telling you what to avoid and what to embrace. You have been granted deep insight, penetrating beyond the three dimensions. When it warns you about something, you can heed the warning rather than venture too far into dangerous experiment. What you say bears watching.
Your creative gifts may seem challenged to keep on producing when there is no visible return, reward or recognition. Somehow you find satisfaction in your own perceptions and creations. You want to share these, and can do so, but when the sharing fails, either through lack of contact or of appreciation, you remain contented and willing to share again when possible. This is something like resigned hospitality.
{Monday} /Self-Entertainment, Shared when Possible\
Cosmic Piper
\Self-Entertainment, Shared when Possible/
The moon in Taurus goes void of course after its square with Jupiter at 9:55a PT | 12:55p ET | 5:55p UT, until it enters Gemini at 5:14p PT | 8:14p ET | 1:14a(Tu) UT. During those seven hours ordinary routines are best, most likely. It's a no-nonsense day, except for an emphasis on personal pleasures you keep to yourself.
With Mars and Mercury both retrograde, you are aware of critical matters which require patience. These involve health, costs, taxes, payments, or communications with important people which seem baulked or strangely confused. Things which need to be done over and over repeatedly can be wearing on morale, but fidelity to major life purposes will keep you going.
A tendency toward melancholy could impel you to find your happiness in more subtle pleasures of the intellect or soul, pondering the peculiarities of life, human beings, and yourself from a higher level which yields privileged access to insight.
When it seems that expenses should be curtailed, you are willing to do that, knowing that your appreciation of things is what gives you joy more than things themselves.
Chaos in relationships could stem from failing to be alert to clues around you telling you what to avoid and what to embrace. You have been granted deep insight, penetrating beyond the three dimensions. When it warns you about something, you can heed the warning rather than venture too far into dangerous experiment. What you say bears watching.
Your creative gifts may seem challenged to keep on producing when there is no visible return, reward or recognition. Somehow you find satisfaction in your own perceptions and creations. You want to share these, and can do so, but when the sharing fails, either through lack of contact or of appreciation, you remain contented and willing to share again when possible. This is something like resigned hospitality.
{Monday} /Self-Entertainment, Shared when Possible\
Cosmic Piper
Friday, December 25, 2009
Forecast for Saturday 26 December 2009
Saturday 26 December 2009
\Wholehearted Devotion and Fulfillment through Vicissitudes/
Things look good, especially after 12:27p PT | 3:27p ET | 8:27p UT, when the moon enters Taurus. Before that it will be void of course at the end of Aries, so it could be good for relaxed recovery from the holiday.
Loyalties seem important. Some individuals are almost like possessions (but don't say that to them, please!) because they "stick to you" and sometimes it is hard to know why. Your rational mind would not have chosen the friends or associates who "stick," yet stick they do. It is good to make the best and most of this rather than to lament that these people are not the ideals you might have chosen. They shine by reflected light from you, and you by the same from them.
Whole-heartedness and devotion are wonderful qualities, but require some sacrifice, or willingness to face and deal with the sufferings and problems of those close to you. This involves help, and sometimes advice, yet as we all know it is wise to be chary with advice, even if merited. Hinting at what could help someone recover from a problem would probably be better than the direct approach. You take care of your own health and appearance by being utterly thorough in following through with what you know will get you in better shape.
Complexities can be handled with efficiency because you do spontaneous detective work about what will remove troubling obstacles. That means estimating what needs to be done when things go other than expected, and thereby getting to the bottom of things. In personal relations it means being alert to chaotic and confused states of mind in anyone, and directing this individual with a guiding hand. That is not pretentious or officious when it is obviously needed.
Procrastination and vacillation may be faults of your own or of someone you are with. The result (Mercury turns retrograde today at 6:39a PT | 9:39a ET | 2:39p UT) could be backtracking, missed appointments, or apparently wasted time waiting for someone or something. So it is well to keep your mind on higher hopes and aspirations, and the Highest Himself, when such eventualities test you.
It is important to consider these warnings, yet I must say that the moon's trines with Venus, Pluto and the sun, increasing into the evening, should make events and connections quite pleasing even when they are unpredictable. When people get in the right spirit, minor troubles become adventures.
{Saturday} /Wholehearted Devotion and Fulfillment through Vicissitudes\
{Cosmic Piper}
\Wholehearted Devotion and Fulfillment through Vicissitudes/
Things look good, especially after 12:27p PT | 3:27p ET | 8:27p UT, when the moon enters Taurus. Before that it will be void of course at the end of Aries, so it could be good for relaxed recovery from the holiday.
Loyalties seem important. Some individuals are almost like possessions (but don't say that to them, please!) because they "stick to you" and sometimes it is hard to know why. Your rational mind would not have chosen the friends or associates who "stick," yet stick they do. It is good to make the best and most of this rather than to lament that these people are not the ideals you might have chosen. They shine by reflected light from you, and you by the same from them.
Whole-heartedness and devotion are wonderful qualities, but require some sacrifice, or willingness to face and deal with the sufferings and problems of those close to you. This involves help, and sometimes advice, yet as we all know it is wise to be chary with advice, even if merited. Hinting at what could help someone recover from a problem would probably be better than the direct approach. You take care of your own health and appearance by being utterly thorough in following through with what you know will get you in better shape.
Complexities can be handled with efficiency because you do spontaneous detective work about what will remove troubling obstacles. That means estimating what needs to be done when things go other than expected, and thereby getting to the bottom of things. In personal relations it means being alert to chaotic and confused states of mind in anyone, and directing this individual with a guiding hand. That is not pretentious or officious when it is obviously needed.
Procrastination and vacillation may be faults of your own or of someone you are with. The result (Mercury turns retrograde today at 6:39a PT | 9:39a ET | 2:39p UT) could be backtracking, missed appointments, or apparently wasted time waiting for someone or something. So it is well to keep your mind on higher hopes and aspirations, and the Highest Himself, when such eventualities test you.
It is important to consider these warnings, yet I must say that the moon's trines with Venus, Pluto and the sun, increasing into the evening, should make events and connections quite pleasing even when they are unpredictable. When people get in the right spirit, minor troubles become adventures.
{Saturday} /Wholehearted Devotion and Fulfillment through Vicissitudes\
{Cosmic Piper}
Special Christmas Message, 2009
\Christmas Message, 2009/
[The forecast for Christmas Day is below this. Obviously, in the Christmas Eve message, I was in error when I said the Russians celebrate Christmas on December 7 and Twelfth Night is December 5! I meant January 7 and January 5, and apologize for the confusion. I hope that mistake in the first paragraph did not hinder you from reading the rest of my Christmas Eve message. The feast of the Epiphany is between those two, January 6. My mistake perhaps had "Final Cause" behind it, for now I will suggest that during the Twelve Days of Christmas, December 25 through January 5, and also Epiphany and the Eastern Christmas, we spend some time each day praying for peace in the world and especially Afghanistan, and also, to make our prayers more potent, learning more about the situation there. More of that in what follows. This fourteen-day special attention to practical, as well as spiritual, paths toward peace could have far-ranging impact.]
I got up early on Christmas morning and, after my usual Bible reading, pondered what I would write. It was not pleasant. What I was getting from "on high" was not "peace on earth, good will to men" but a very sober commandment to WARN my fellow Americans of the dangers they have assumed and the responsibilities they have gotten themselves into.
This is not unconnected with the movements of the planets (as nothing is). The intense squares of Venus, Pluto and the sun in Capricorn with Saturn in Libra are not letting us rest in inertia and ethical mindlessness.
Libra is the sign of justice. Saturn is the planet of the very slow working-out of the laws of karma. "The mills of the gods grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine." That is what we are facing, like it or not; and why this is a very sober Christmas.
Whether you personally like it or not, you are involved in Afghanistan and in the Muslim world. You may care not a fig for Mohammed or his followers but you have contracted to be yoked with them in ways you do not like. You contracted for that by being an American citizen. 57 cents of every dollar you will be paying to the federal government by April 15 will be going to warfare. Do you want to kill wedding parties in Afghanistan and Pakistan? No, but you did. Your money did it and you paid that money willingly.
Yes, you are guilty and you cannot escape the fact. This is not my opinion, it is the way things are, and no matter what you do you will have to pay the price of your guilt. And if you think I am "laying a guilt trip on you," no. The guilt is there and it is my sad responsibility to point that out. Otherwise I would be an utter failure as a Cosmic Piper.
Did you vote for President Obama? He said, in no uncertain terms, that he would pursue a war in Afghanistan and even said, in one of the debates before the election, that he would kill Osama bin Laden. So you knew what you were voting for.
I voted for him because he was, in my view, the lesser of two evils, and I still believe that. I did not believe I had the option of voting for a third party candidate such as Ralph Nader because I felt that the obvious alternative to Obama was much more likely to precipitate disaster than Obama.
Nevertheless, I share in the evil karma which our country has generated and could continue to generate, and most likely is generating on this Christmas day. (Richard Nixon bombed and killed thousands of the civilians citizens of Hanoi on a Christmas day.) If you did not write a letter to the President or your Senators or Congressman opposing the funding of the war, you are more guilty than I, because I did that twice. It is an important thing to do. I am not so naive as to believe that the President read my letter, but his staff did and tallied my opinion before sending me the expected form letter the President had written to send to all who opposed the war.
It is important to find out about this war, understand it as well as you can, and take a position one way or another. I am afraid it is not as simple as supporting or opposing the war. It is much more complex than that. I am not as informed about this war as I should be. We and our President have imposed on us an enormous burden. It is your responsibility to do your homework about this war. You are paying for it, and you need to know why. Or, if you do not want to pay for it, you need to know what is going on and exactly why you don't want to pay for it, and state that opinion boldly to your government. That is your responsibility.
It is also mine, and I have a lot of homework to do. I need to find and read good books about Afghanistan, and read more carefully the press accounts of what "we" are doing there. I realize that millions of Americans believe that this is a just war and a well-planned one, even a necessary one. I would say to them, Be sure about that! And the only way you can be sure is to inform yourself very carefully, including reading and hearing the opinions of those who disagree with you, for they may have important information you are lacking and will continue to lack if you do not listen. I intend to do that also, reading and trying to understand the viewpoints of those who support the war. I have already done a lot of that, indeed, it is hard to escape it since a current government's position is usually the predominant one expressed in the media. That is why it is important also to understand what those who oppose the war are saying and why they are saying it.
Did you not vote for President Obama? Many who did not, nevertheless support this war. In fact it may have more support among Republicans than Democrats. If you support the war in your thoughts and words, you also are responsible, whether or not you voted for the current President. Then you also need to do your homework, and it will take you many hours. If the citizens of a great country do not know what their government is doing or why, especially when that government is at war, which means killing and doing other very intense things which coerce other peoples in one way or another (while prating of "freedom"), then they are doomed to let that government do very odious or evil things. That is what happened to the citizens, for example, of Nazi Germany and of Soviet Russia. (The latter did not know the horror of what Stalin was doing to his own countrymen, or looked the other way.)
Again, I am not saying that you must oppose the war, after your study, if in fact you find that you can support it when you have assimilated a huge number of facts not now known to you about (a) Afghanistan, (b) Islam, (c) the tribes of Afghanistan, of which ther are many, (d) the Taliban, painted usually as just plain evil but supported by thousands of Afghans who trust them more than Americans, (e) al Qaida and its true place in the situation, (f) exactly what your troops are doing in Afghanistan, (g) what the police of Afghanistan are doing under American guidance or without it, (h) whom the government of Afghanistan really represents, since it took office through fraud (this is not disputed by anyone who knows the situation), (i) what the lives of ordinary Afghans are like and what they think about Americans and the war, (g) what non-governmental organizations are trying to do in Afghanistan to help the people, (h) who the legitimate opposers of the current government of Karzai are and what they propose, (i) who precisely are being targeted by American missiles and bombs, and why, (j) how much "collateral damage," in other words, killing of innocent people and destruction of property, is going on, paid for by your tax dollars, and . . . I do not have time to complete the alphabet. Your homework is cut out for you.
How did we get ourselves into this mess, we ask, again and again. Well, you will need to study the history of the U.S. involvement in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. If and as I find good books about all this I shall recommend them. I invite you to do the same.
And, a very important question, what are the real motives of "our involvement" in Afghanistan? Oil? No? What then? And to what degree is the military-industrial complex warned against by General and President Dwight David Eisenhower behind all of this, not for "us" but for themselves? Please watch the film Why We Fight, available on DVD. It might change your "take" on the U.S. military forever.
As you have guessed, I tend to be anti-war and very skeptical of the Afghanistan "adventure" (not exactly an adventure for those Afghans who suffer it, or for the thousands of American servicemen with Post-Traumatic Distress Disorder many of whom have committed suicide). But if someone thoroughly understands all of the above points I have outlined as essential to an understanding of this war, and still supports it, then I would say, I would be glad to have a discussion with him or her and perhaps learn something.
Meanwhile I cannot support 90 per cent, or perhaps 80 per cent, of what I read "we" are "doing" "over there." It is all so remote and unreal to us. That is why it is our responsibility to know what "we" are doing if we are to be honest men and women. Just assuming that the government knows what it is doing, and offering a little prayer now and then, will not cut it. It did not cut it for the citizens of Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union. They went on for decades letting their governments pursue utterly evil and hideous policies, torturing and murdering millions of innocent human beings. If we think we are above that, we need to prove it.
{Christmas 2009}
Cosmic Piper
[The forecast for Christmas Day is below this. Obviously, in the Christmas Eve message, I was in error when I said the Russians celebrate Christmas on December 7 and Twelfth Night is December 5! I meant January 7 and January 5, and apologize for the confusion. I hope that mistake in the first paragraph did not hinder you from reading the rest of my Christmas Eve message. The feast of the Epiphany is between those two, January 6. My mistake perhaps had "Final Cause" behind it, for now I will suggest that during the Twelve Days of Christmas, December 25 through January 5, and also Epiphany and the Eastern Christmas, we spend some time each day praying for peace in the world and especially Afghanistan, and also, to make our prayers more potent, learning more about the situation there. More of that in what follows. This fourteen-day special attention to practical, as well as spiritual, paths toward peace could have far-ranging impact.]
I got up early on Christmas morning and, after my usual Bible reading, pondered what I would write. It was not pleasant. What I was getting from "on high" was not "peace on earth, good will to men" but a very sober commandment to WARN my fellow Americans of the dangers they have assumed and the responsibilities they have gotten themselves into.
This is not unconnected with the movements of the planets (as nothing is). The intense squares of Venus, Pluto and the sun in Capricorn with Saturn in Libra are not letting us rest in inertia and ethical mindlessness.
Libra is the sign of justice. Saturn is the planet of the very slow working-out of the laws of karma. "The mills of the gods grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine." That is what we are facing, like it or not; and why this is a very sober Christmas.
Whether you personally like it or not, you are involved in Afghanistan and in the Muslim world. You may care not a fig for Mohammed or his followers but you have contracted to be yoked with them in ways you do not like. You contracted for that by being an American citizen. 57 cents of every dollar you will be paying to the federal government by April 15 will be going to warfare. Do you want to kill wedding parties in Afghanistan and Pakistan? No, but you did. Your money did it and you paid that money willingly.
Yes, you are guilty and you cannot escape the fact. This is not my opinion, it is the way things are, and no matter what you do you will have to pay the price of your guilt. And if you think I am "laying a guilt trip on you," no. The guilt is there and it is my sad responsibility to point that out. Otherwise I would be an utter failure as a Cosmic Piper.
Did you vote for President Obama? He said, in no uncertain terms, that he would pursue a war in Afghanistan and even said, in one of the debates before the election, that he would kill Osama bin Laden. So you knew what you were voting for.
I voted for him because he was, in my view, the lesser of two evils, and I still believe that. I did not believe I had the option of voting for a third party candidate such as Ralph Nader because I felt that the obvious alternative to Obama was much more likely to precipitate disaster than Obama.
Nevertheless, I share in the evil karma which our country has generated and could continue to generate, and most likely is generating on this Christmas day. (Richard Nixon bombed and killed thousands of the civilians citizens of Hanoi on a Christmas day.) If you did not write a letter to the President or your Senators or Congressman opposing the funding of the war, you are more guilty than I, because I did that twice. It is an important thing to do. I am not so naive as to believe that the President read my letter, but his staff did and tallied my opinion before sending me the expected form letter the President had written to send to all who opposed the war.
It is important to find out about this war, understand it as well as you can, and take a position one way or another. I am afraid it is not as simple as supporting or opposing the war. It is much more complex than that. I am not as informed about this war as I should be. We and our President have imposed on us an enormous burden. It is your responsibility to do your homework about this war. You are paying for it, and you need to know why. Or, if you do not want to pay for it, you need to know what is going on and exactly why you don't want to pay for it, and state that opinion boldly to your government. That is your responsibility.
It is also mine, and I have a lot of homework to do. I need to find and read good books about Afghanistan, and read more carefully the press accounts of what "we" are doing there. I realize that millions of Americans believe that this is a just war and a well-planned one, even a necessary one. I would say to them, Be sure about that! And the only way you can be sure is to inform yourself very carefully, including reading and hearing the opinions of those who disagree with you, for they may have important information you are lacking and will continue to lack if you do not listen. I intend to do that also, reading and trying to understand the viewpoints of those who support the war. I have already done a lot of that, indeed, it is hard to escape it since a current government's position is usually the predominant one expressed in the media. That is why it is important also to understand what those who oppose the war are saying and why they are saying it.
Did you not vote for President Obama? Many who did not, nevertheless support this war. In fact it may have more support among Republicans than Democrats. If you support the war in your thoughts and words, you also are responsible, whether or not you voted for the current President. Then you also need to do your homework, and it will take you many hours. If the citizens of a great country do not know what their government is doing or why, especially when that government is at war, which means killing and doing other very intense things which coerce other peoples in one way or another (while prating of "freedom"), then they are doomed to let that government do very odious or evil things. That is what happened to the citizens, for example, of Nazi Germany and of Soviet Russia. (The latter did not know the horror of what Stalin was doing to his own countrymen, or looked the other way.)
Again, I am not saying that you must oppose the war, after your study, if in fact you find that you can support it when you have assimilated a huge number of facts not now known to you about (a) Afghanistan, (b) Islam, (c) the tribes of Afghanistan, of which ther are many, (d) the Taliban, painted usually as just plain evil but supported by thousands of Afghans who trust them more than Americans, (e) al Qaida and its true place in the situation, (f) exactly what your troops are doing in Afghanistan, (g) what the police of Afghanistan are doing under American guidance or without it, (h) whom the government of Afghanistan really represents, since it took office through fraud (this is not disputed by anyone who knows the situation), (i) what the lives of ordinary Afghans are like and what they think about Americans and the war, (g) what non-governmental organizations are trying to do in Afghanistan to help the people, (h) who the legitimate opposers of the current government of Karzai are and what they propose, (i) who precisely are being targeted by American missiles and bombs, and why, (j) how much "collateral damage," in other words, killing of innocent people and destruction of property, is going on, paid for by your tax dollars, and . . . I do not have time to complete the alphabet. Your homework is cut out for you.
How did we get ourselves into this mess, we ask, again and again. Well, you will need to study the history of the U.S. involvement in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. If and as I find good books about all this I shall recommend them. I invite you to do the same.
And, a very important question, what are the real motives of "our involvement" in Afghanistan? Oil? No? What then? And to what degree is the military-industrial complex warned against by General and President Dwight David Eisenhower behind all of this, not for "us" but for themselves? Please watch the film Why We Fight, available on DVD. It might change your "take" on the U.S. military forever.
As you have guessed, I tend to be anti-war and very skeptical of the Afghanistan "adventure" (not exactly an adventure for those Afghans who suffer it, or for the thousands of American servicemen with Post-Traumatic Distress Disorder many of whom have committed suicide). But if someone thoroughly understands all of the above points I have outlined as essential to an understanding of this war, and still supports it, then I would say, I would be glad to have a discussion with him or her and perhaps learn something.
Meanwhile I cannot support 90 per cent, or perhaps 80 per cent, of what I read "we" are "doing" "over there." It is all so remote and unreal to us. That is why it is our responsibility to know what "we" are doing if we are to be honest men and women. Just assuming that the government knows what it is doing, and offering a little prayer now and then, will not cut it. It did not cut it for the citizens of Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union. They went on for decades letting their governments pursue utterly evil and hideous policies, torturing and murdering millions of innocent human beings. If we think we are above that, we need to prove it.
{Christmas 2009}
Cosmic Piper
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Forecast for Friday 25 December 2009
Friday 25 December 2009
*Strength Developing Through Interaction*
I had said that this day is in the tail end of the |difficult third of the week| and that is true. So I warned of "bratty kids, disappointing presents and crabby relatives." Ouch. Well there could be some of that in the morning but the day gets progressively better and by evening all should be in a renewed party mood. People won't go home early but stay late (the more at home they feel). You'll need more eggnog and fruitcake.
People are rather proud of their jobs, accomplishments, or careers, and want you to know how close they are to important big-wigs. All shine by reflected light. People will chat about the economy and hard times but actually feel that their fidelity to their own vision has put them in pretty good shape. "It's tough, but I'm doing just fine."
There can be aggressive leadership, by some, in relation to health issues or well-being. Aunt Claudia will insist on her favorite remedies for this or that; you will be given unwanted but perhaps useful medical advice, or someone will try to reform your decadent habits. Before you know it you'll be doing the same for (or to) someone else. People are trying to mobilize their better selves and get themselves in shape. (Trying to avoid the eggnog and fruitcake, fruitlessly.)
The hospitality of Christmas shows how people can be rigid in their own demeanor and action in order to provide for the happiness of others--archetypically, that is parents being Santa for their children sacrificially, but it works out in adult-on-adult situations also. It is part of the tradition of Christmas. Rather than relax and enjoy her meal, she is serving. Rather than play with the kids, he is shoveling snow or fixing something that went wrong. But the satisfaction is deep.
If there is danger, it has to do with |not being careful or efficient enough to prevent people from falling into something which hurts them|. I felt it was important to say this.
That said, there is much versatility and finesse so it should not be hard to keep everything flowing happily into the evening hours when people will feel more at ease. All will feel they are defining themselves. The interaction, no matter how difficult at times, is developing strength and determination within everyone to be his or her real self.
Merry Christmas!
{Friday} *Strength Developing Through Interaction*
Cosmic Piper
*Strength Developing Through Interaction*
I had said that this day is in the tail end of the |difficult third of the week| and that is true. So I warned of "bratty kids, disappointing presents and crabby relatives." Ouch. Well there could be some of that in the morning but the day gets progressively better and by evening all should be in a renewed party mood. People won't go home early but stay late (the more at home they feel). You'll need more eggnog and fruitcake.
People are rather proud of their jobs, accomplishments, or careers, and want you to know how close they are to important big-wigs. All shine by reflected light. People will chat about the economy and hard times but actually feel that their fidelity to their own vision has put them in pretty good shape. "It's tough, but I'm doing just fine."
There can be aggressive leadership, by some, in relation to health issues or well-being. Aunt Claudia will insist on her favorite remedies for this or that; you will be given unwanted but perhaps useful medical advice, or someone will try to reform your decadent habits. Before you know it you'll be doing the same for (or to) someone else. People are trying to mobilize their better selves and get themselves in shape. (Trying to avoid the eggnog and fruitcake, fruitlessly.)
The hospitality of Christmas shows how people can be rigid in their own demeanor and action in order to provide for the happiness of others--archetypically, that is parents being Santa for their children sacrificially, but it works out in adult-on-adult situations also. It is part of the tradition of Christmas. Rather than relax and enjoy her meal, she is serving. Rather than play with the kids, he is shoveling snow or fixing something that went wrong. But the satisfaction is deep.
If there is danger, it has to do with |not being careful or efficient enough to prevent people from falling into something which hurts them|. I felt it was important to say this.
That said, there is much versatility and finesse so it should not be hard to keep everything flowing happily into the evening hours when people will feel more at ease. All will feel they are defining themselves. The interaction, no matter how difficult at times, is developing strength and determination within everyone to be his or her real self.
Merry Christmas!
{Friday} *Strength Developing Through Interaction*
Cosmic Piper
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Forecast for Thursday 24 December 2009
Thursday 24 December 2009
*Angels and Men*
The moon in Aries brings out the red side of Christmas. The berry not the leaf. With a little testosterone.
Oh well, it is indeed the |difficult third of the week| and the heart of it today, with less of it tomorrow, which suggests of course that Christmas eve may feel like a race to "get things done" in time for the big day. Sorry about that. I sit serenely watching all you guys rush around because I just don't care what people think when I give them nothing.
Disappointments and annoyances might stimulate some to look for the deeper meaning of the holiday. "Man's extremity is G*d's opportunity." Sitting and meditating on the Christmas star on a tree, or a manger scene, might be better than fretting.
Associations with those who have stamina and oomph may bring success. It rubs off on you. Social and business climbing could be on your mind, for the smell of money can be entrancing. This may seem unseemly on Christmas eve when we are supposed to be thinking of the shepherds and wise men. Instead we think of the wise guys. Frustrated ambition is in the air.
But since there is no end to the longing after success and gain, but it dangles like the carrot before the ass, you try again to get where the smart, stylish, successful, beautiful people are. And again. And it always seems that they are still somewhere else.
Yet it is Christmas Eve, and my experiences of that day convince me that there are indeed Christmas Angels. Dora Kunz, whom I knew in the Theosophical Lodge of New York City years ago, was a clairvoyant who could perceive such beings and although she was a Buddhist more than a Christian she testified to the existence of angelic beings who "swoop down" metaphorically on humanity on Christmas Eve. I feel that happening every year and I think you will today and tonight. Let us welcome these Visitors with open hearts. Their blessing is ineffable; it grants Initiation to those prepared.
"There is no peace on earth, I said." This line from perhaps my favorite carol, "I heard the bells on Christmas Day," is poignant every time I hear it. The man who wrote the carol had lost friends and relatives to humanity's insane warfare and the carol he wrote was an outcry from his soul. Although the group Casting Crowns, a Christian ensemble, changed the melody in a way I do not like, the visuals in the following musical video are overwhelming and I hope you can watch it: youtube.com/watch?v=-150Y6Hf8ds . This is my Christmas card to all of you. (If you don't like the new melody, I suggest watching it twice; the second time for me, a day later, was overpowering.)
Let us not forget, in our Christmas giving, the groups which might prevent war in accord with the wishes of our Prince of Peace, among them Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Rescue Committee, and the Carter Center. If we gave to such groups half as much as we give to warfare (57 per cent of every tax dollar) there might be hope. (If you know of other groups devoted to peace, and worthy, please let us know.)
Especially this year, this day could be momentous in terms of personal self-discovery and spiritual awakening. Why that should be is a Mystery, as are our very lives.
He who seeks shall find.
{Thursday} *Angels and Men*
Cosmic Piper
*Angels and Men*
The moon in Aries brings out the red side of Christmas. The berry not the leaf. With a little testosterone.
Oh well, it is indeed the |difficult third of the week| and the heart of it today, with less of it tomorrow, which suggests of course that Christmas eve may feel like a race to "get things done" in time for the big day. Sorry about that. I sit serenely watching all you guys rush around because I just don't care what people think when I give them nothing.
Disappointments and annoyances might stimulate some to look for the deeper meaning of the holiday. "Man's extremity is G*d's opportunity." Sitting and meditating on the Christmas star on a tree, or a manger scene, might be better than fretting.
Associations with those who have stamina and oomph may bring success. It rubs off on you. Social and business climbing could be on your mind, for the smell of money can be entrancing. This may seem unseemly on Christmas eve when we are supposed to be thinking of the shepherds and wise men. Instead we think of the wise guys. Frustrated ambition is in the air.
But since there is no end to the longing after success and gain, but it dangles like the carrot before the ass, you try again to get where the smart, stylish, successful, beautiful people are. And again. And it always seems that they are still somewhere else.
Yet it is Christmas Eve, and my experiences of that day convince me that there are indeed Christmas Angels. Dora Kunz, whom I knew in the Theosophical Lodge of New York City years ago, was a clairvoyant who could perceive such beings and although she was a Buddhist more than a Christian she testified to the existence of angelic beings who "swoop down" metaphorically on humanity on Christmas Eve. I feel that happening every year and I think you will today and tonight. Let us welcome these Visitors with open hearts. Their blessing is ineffable; it grants Initiation to those prepared.
"There is no peace on earth, I said." This line from perhaps my favorite carol, "I heard the bells on Christmas Day," is poignant every time I hear it. The man who wrote the carol had lost friends and relatives to humanity's insane warfare and the carol he wrote was an outcry from his soul. Although the group Casting Crowns, a Christian ensemble, changed the melody in a way I do not like, the visuals in the following musical video are overwhelming and I hope you can watch it: youtube.com/watch?v=-150Y6Hf8ds . This is my Christmas card to all of you. (If you don't like the new melody, I suggest watching it twice; the second time for me, a day later, was overpowering.)
Let us not forget, in our Christmas giving, the groups which might prevent war in accord with the wishes of our Prince of Peace, among them Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Rescue Committee, and the Carter Center. If we gave to such groups half as much as we give to warfare (57 per cent of every tax dollar) there might be hope. (If you know of other groups devoted to peace, and worthy, please let us know.)
Especially this year, this day could be momentous in terms of personal self-discovery and spiritual awakening. Why that should be is a Mystery, as are our very lives.
He who seeks shall find.
{Thursday} *Angels and Men*
Cosmic Piper
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Forecast for Wednesday 23 December 2009
Wednesday 23 December 2009
~The Tortoise is Winning~
It's a rather intense day so I would warn against losing your balance. If there seems too much to handle, think of a dancer who balances her or his movements by carrying a pole or other prop. In other words, doing more may make you more graceful and balanced than doing less.
We remain in the Dark Hermetic Epoch until February 5. And Mercury is slower every day; stationary turning retrograde the day after Christmas. So you should not berate yourself or anyone or G*d if things seem to get bollixed up. You are not the only one who feels frustrated by things not working as they ought, or odd accidents slowing you down, and so on. This is a signal to look inward more than outward, that is, take outer things as signals of our inner spiritual and emotional (even ethical) status. We don't have to blame ourselves either, but maybe just slow down, with the increased patience and perspective that implies. You can make a distinction in your mind between the things you need to keep doing, even if they produce no result, because they are wise things to do, and the things you should drop because they are futile. Christmas is not about things but about the Spirit. "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." --Jesus, John 4:24.
Add to the Dark Epoch the sun's approaching square with Saturn, and we may well feel retrospective, with subtle profundity. Mysteries you have investigated, whether esoteric or in your field of work, can be shared, and you use them directly or indirectly in administering public duties. Some of them you keep secret because you know it would merely disturb people if you tried to unearth them. The germ or seed needs the darkness of the soil. Your vital powers, even bodily ones, are nurtured in your soul's recesses. They are shared not intentionally but unintentionally when you meet people honestly, as you sometimes must do.
International charity beckons. Jesus said to invite the homeless to the feast.
There could be anger about household rights, squatter's rights as it were; your privacy and seclusion in your own home or room. Everyone needs a space to unwind and lay down burdens which otherwise could explode in vengeance or troubles and vexations.
Saintly patience is not easy to come by, which may be why Roman Catholics call on their saints! If that is not your path you might think of someone who has passed from this world who could help you, not in a spooky way but from the higher level known in Theosophy as Devachan or the heaven-world in which souls repose between physical lifetimes. There is no death, and it is only because we fail to awaken our higher perceptions that we believe in the grim reaper.
Poise is a gift of the Spirit, when we "worship in spirit and in truth."
{Wednesday} ~The Tortoise is Winning~
Cosmic Piper
~The Tortoise is Winning~
It's a rather intense day so I would warn against losing your balance. If there seems too much to handle, think of a dancer who balances her or his movements by carrying a pole or other prop. In other words, doing more may make you more graceful and balanced than doing less.
We remain in the Dark Hermetic Epoch until February 5. And Mercury is slower every day; stationary turning retrograde the day after Christmas. So you should not berate yourself or anyone or G*d if things seem to get bollixed up. You are not the only one who feels frustrated by things not working as they ought, or odd accidents slowing you down, and so on. This is a signal to look inward more than outward, that is, take outer things as signals of our inner spiritual and emotional (even ethical) status. We don't have to blame ourselves either, but maybe just slow down, with the increased patience and perspective that implies. You can make a distinction in your mind between the things you need to keep doing, even if they produce no result, because they are wise things to do, and the things you should drop because they are futile. Christmas is not about things but about the Spirit. "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." --Jesus, John 4:24.
Add to the Dark Epoch the sun's approaching square with Saturn, and we may well feel retrospective, with subtle profundity. Mysteries you have investigated, whether esoteric or in your field of work, can be shared, and you use them directly or indirectly in administering public duties. Some of them you keep secret because you know it would merely disturb people if you tried to unearth them. The germ or seed needs the darkness of the soil. Your vital powers, even bodily ones, are nurtured in your soul's recesses. They are shared not intentionally but unintentionally when you meet people honestly, as you sometimes must do.
International charity beckons. Jesus said to invite the homeless to the feast.
There could be anger about household rights, squatter's rights as it were; your privacy and seclusion in your own home or room. Everyone needs a space to unwind and lay down burdens which otherwise could explode in vengeance or troubles and vexations.
Saintly patience is not easy to come by, which may be why Roman Catholics call on their saints! If that is not your path you might think of someone who has passed from this world who could help you, not in a spooky way but from the higher level known in Theosophy as Devachan or the heaven-world in which souls repose between physical lifetimes. There is no death, and it is only because we fail to awaken our higher perceptions that we believe in the grim reaper.
Poise is a gift of the Spirit, when we "worship in spirit and in truth."
{Wednesday} ~The Tortoise is Winning~
Cosmic Piper
Monday, December 21, 2009
Forecast for Tuesday 22 December 2009
Tuesday 22 December 2009
~Commemorating True Alliances~
It looks like a quite cozy day, regardless of your particular weather. I venture to say, those who have postponed shopping or other holiday preparation are in for luck because today things could go swimmingly, or should I say ski-ingly. Wednesday and Christmas day are the |difficult third of the week| but there are mitigating factors so it need not be a blue Christmas, just a somewhat serious one. Brawling and bratty kids rather than angelic cherubs. Disappointing presents. Crabby relatives. But the moon forming good aspects later on Christmas should redeem the time.
Finding out who and what is important to you is one value of the last few weeks of the year and first of the next. To whom do you feel fidelity? Whom and what do you revere, trust, honor? You gain strength and status by choosing the god you adore, the angel who guides, the people and organizations deemed trustworthy. They will not always please you. Often they will challenge. But you need them as much as they need you.
If doing last-minute shopping, I would go for the lesser and safer gift, the one which commemorates your friendship or relationship with the receiver in a simple way rather than the one designed to impress. That makes sense anyway, but today there is the possibility of dithering too much and too long. Keeping it simple would help. Relationships and friendships have survived some dire times and circumstances, so can be treasured on that account, without too much fuss.
International relations, annoying and tricky, forbidding and unpredictable, are a symbol of something you are going through which makes you disconcerted about home, family, travel plans, and income. You may feel cheated and angry about some circumstances which have held you back. People's abnormalities are something you have to live with; everybody has one or another, it seems. Vindictive passions may lurk under the surface, ready to run amok unless you sit on them. All this need not destroy holiday cheer. It is an incentive for pumping that up as best you can.
Stability in your desires, relationships and alliances will help you avoid offending others in ways which set you back. In other words, if you are sure what you are about you run less risk of doing things which seem pretentious or disturbing to those with whom you must work or connect. If you view your life as an art object, a painting or sculpture you are working on, you get an objective vision which helps you make your way of proceeding as pleasing, beautiful and valuable as possible.
{Tuesday} ~Commemorating True Alliances~
Cosmic Piper
~Commemorating True Alliances~
It looks like a quite cozy day, regardless of your particular weather. I venture to say, those who have postponed shopping or other holiday preparation are in for luck because today things could go swimmingly, or should I say ski-ingly. Wednesday and Christmas day are the |difficult third of the week| but there are mitigating factors so it need not be a blue Christmas, just a somewhat serious one. Brawling and bratty kids rather than angelic cherubs. Disappointing presents. Crabby relatives. But the moon forming good aspects later on Christmas should redeem the time.
Finding out who and what is important to you is one value of the last few weeks of the year and first of the next. To whom do you feel fidelity? Whom and what do you revere, trust, honor? You gain strength and status by choosing the god you adore, the angel who guides, the people and organizations deemed trustworthy. They will not always please you. Often they will challenge. But you need them as much as they need you.
If doing last-minute shopping, I would go for the lesser and safer gift, the one which commemorates your friendship or relationship with the receiver in a simple way rather than the one designed to impress. That makes sense anyway, but today there is the possibility of dithering too much and too long. Keeping it simple would help. Relationships and friendships have survived some dire times and circumstances, so can be treasured on that account, without too much fuss.
International relations, annoying and tricky, forbidding and unpredictable, are a symbol of something you are going through which makes you disconcerted about home, family, travel plans, and income. You may feel cheated and angry about some circumstances which have held you back. People's abnormalities are something you have to live with; everybody has one or another, it seems. Vindictive passions may lurk under the surface, ready to run amok unless you sit on them. All this need not destroy holiday cheer. It is an incentive for pumping that up as best you can.
Stability in your desires, relationships and alliances will help you avoid offending others in ways which set you back. In other words, if you are sure what you are about you run less risk of doing things which seem pretentious or disturbing to those with whom you must work or connect. If you view your life as an art object, a painting or sculpture you are working on, you get an objective vision which helps you make your way of proceeding as pleasing, beautiful and valuable as possible.
{Tuesday} ~Commemorating True Alliances~
Cosmic Piper
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Forecast for Monday 21 December 2009
Monday 21 December 2009
~I'm Dreaming of a Late Christmas!~
I am wary of being too optimistic, as perhaps I was for Saturday. It seemed a dismal day to me; I don't know about you. I re-studied the chart and thought I saw where I went wrong, although I had sprinkled warnings through the forecast.
So I am wary about saying "Today is a nice holiday time to enjoy yourself" etc. and yet I think the chart warrants that, with the provisos I shall outline (yuck!).
First proviso: The moon will be void-of-course about 11 hours, from 4:55a-3:43p PT | 7:55a-6:43p ET | 12:55p-11:43p UT. Important or touchy holiday preparations or shopping maybe should be avoided during that time if possible, or if not, take it all with a grain of salt and trust to intuition. People return 40-50 per cent of holiday gifts anyway, or toss them or whatnot. It is a wasteful holiday as we now celebrate it, and I don't care if you call me a Grinch!
Some rural people in Nepal sacrificed thousands of animals to a goddess in November to avoid the goddess's curse. It seems that the rest of the world sacrifices billions of dollars in December on useless gifts in order to ward off the wrath of their relatives and friends. Not I! Call me Scrooge, I remain content.
However, today's lunar aspects are not bad and so I would say, in the later hours you might have a very happy holiday evening. Even during the void-of-course period, so long as you aren't trying for anything too grand. Void-of-course times are usually good for clean-up, throwing things out, etc, and also for sheer mind-wandering rest.
Loyalty to your spiritual traditions is helpful. It requires some sacrifice but that is a good thing when it links you more firmly with all who are important to you. You cannot know what is going on in everyone's mind so it is good to trust that people are maintaining their fidelity to you. If they're too busy to show that, so what?
Weather varies around the world, of course, but the snow-storms in the Eastern U.S. fit in with the sun's and Venus's squares with Saturn. I said on Twitter that this winter's coldest weather would occur from a week or two ago up until January 14. After that, a warmer winter. Mark my words and see if it holds true. (Of course, there will be warmer and colder days within that general period.)
People could be playful and adaptable today, feeling prosperous enough to let go of worries about spending. There could be a surprising romantic element springing up at unexpected times; a mistletoe mood.
The other side of things is a kind of vengeful, malicious streak in connection with Mars's aspects. People will protect their own. This applies in international situations, tribal conflicts, and personal strife. If someone seems hostile, consider that he or she may be perceiving you in a light you don't understand, based on some wrong fact or else a difficulty in understanding your own take on the world. Sometimes there is little to do about that but be patient. You don't need to kill to protect your rights, but sometimes you may need to affirm or stand up for them.
Contravening the nice things I have said is a tendency to question your attractiveness to people, your personality-allure or value as a friend. This goes along with the sun and Venus squaring Saturn. It could help if you realize others are going through the same thing, and that is why they may seem to be mean to you. They feel someone else has been mean to them, and take it out on you without realizing what they are doing.
I warned about "provisos" and it may seem there are too many! Well. after all. we have some responsibility for our own state of mind; the planets do not entirely control it. It is well to cultivate a sense of humor. The end of the world does not come if you don't get a present or card or greeting to someone by the 25th. Remember that Christmas in the Christian calendar lasts through January 5; Epiphany is January 6, when gifts are exchanged in some countries. December 25 is merely the first day of Christmas. Some eastern national churches, including those of Russia, Georgia, Egypt, Armenia, the Ukraine and Serbia celebrate Christmas on January 7 (Wikipedia).
So there is no reason to get hot and bothered!
I am drinking some delicious Russian coffee. You could buy some for a friend and give it to them on January 7 when the Russians celebrate Christmas! 17 more shopping days!
Today you may find people friendly, adaptable, and willing to play various roles just to satisfy their desire to be more or other than they usually are. At the same time they want to be noble and fair, so they need some encouragement, or reassurance from you, that they are okay as is.
{Monday} ~I'm Dreaming of a Late Christmas!~
Cosmic Piper
~I'm Dreaming of a Late Christmas!~
I am wary of being too optimistic, as perhaps I was for Saturday. It seemed a dismal day to me; I don't know about you. I re-studied the chart and thought I saw where I went wrong, although I had sprinkled warnings through the forecast.
So I am wary about saying "Today is a nice holiday time to enjoy yourself" etc. and yet I think the chart warrants that, with the provisos I shall outline (yuck!).
First proviso: The moon will be void-of-course about 11 hours, from 4:55a-3:43p PT | 7:55a-6:43p ET | 12:55p-11:43p UT. Important or touchy holiday preparations or shopping maybe should be avoided during that time if possible, or if not, take it all with a grain of salt and trust to intuition. People return 40-50 per cent of holiday gifts anyway, or toss them or whatnot. It is a wasteful holiday as we now celebrate it, and I don't care if you call me a Grinch!
Some rural people in Nepal sacrificed thousands of animals to a goddess in November to avoid the goddess's curse. It seems that the rest of the world sacrifices billions of dollars in December on useless gifts in order to ward off the wrath of their relatives and friends. Not I! Call me Scrooge, I remain content.
However, today's lunar aspects are not bad and so I would say, in the later hours you might have a very happy holiday evening. Even during the void-of-course period, so long as you aren't trying for anything too grand. Void-of-course times are usually good for clean-up, throwing things out, etc, and also for sheer mind-wandering rest.
Loyalty to your spiritual traditions is helpful. It requires some sacrifice but that is a good thing when it links you more firmly with all who are important to you. You cannot know what is going on in everyone's mind so it is good to trust that people are maintaining their fidelity to you. If they're too busy to show that, so what?
Weather varies around the world, of course, but the snow-storms in the Eastern U.S. fit in with the sun's and Venus's squares with Saturn. I said on Twitter that this winter's coldest weather would occur from a week or two ago up until January 14. After that, a warmer winter. Mark my words and see if it holds true. (Of course, there will be warmer and colder days within that general period.)
People could be playful and adaptable today, feeling prosperous enough to let go of worries about spending. There could be a surprising romantic element springing up at unexpected times; a mistletoe mood.
The other side of things is a kind of vengeful, malicious streak in connection with Mars's aspects. People will protect their own. This applies in international situations, tribal conflicts, and personal strife. If someone seems hostile, consider that he or she may be perceiving you in a light you don't understand, based on some wrong fact or else a difficulty in understanding your own take on the world. Sometimes there is little to do about that but be patient. You don't need to kill to protect your rights, but sometimes you may need to affirm or stand up for them.
Contravening the nice things I have said is a tendency to question your attractiveness to people, your personality-allure or value as a friend. This goes along with the sun and Venus squaring Saturn. It could help if you realize others are going through the same thing, and that is why they may seem to be mean to you. They feel someone else has been mean to them, and take it out on you without realizing what they are doing.
I warned about "provisos" and it may seem there are too many! Well. after all. we have some responsibility for our own state of mind; the planets do not entirely control it. It is well to cultivate a sense of humor. The end of the world does not come if you don't get a present or card or greeting to someone by the 25th. Remember that Christmas in the Christian calendar lasts through January 5; Epiphany is January 6, when gifts are exchanged in some countries. December 25 is merely the first day of Christmas. Some eastern national churches, including those of Russia, Georgia, Egypt, Armenia, the Ukraine and Serbia celebrate Christmas on January 7 (Wikipedia).
So there is no reason to get hot and bothered!
I am drinking some delicious Russian coffee. You could buy some for a friend and give it to them on January 7 when the Russians celebrate Christmas! 17 more shopping days!
Today you may find people friendly, adaptable, and willing to play various roles just to satisfy their desire to be more or other than they usually are. At the same time they want to be noble and fair, so they need some encouragement, or reassurance from you, that they are okay as is.
{Monday} ~I'm Dreaming of a Late Christmas!~
Cosmic Piper
Friday, December 18, 2009
Forecast for Saturday 19 December 2009
Saturday 19 December 2009
}Sharing by Accepting Differences{
Today is the Queen of Hearts day, Sunday the Jack (or youthful androgyne).
See if a male is important in your life Friday, a female Saturday, a young person Sunday. (I care not if some regard this as superstition.) At a deeper level, the King is administrative, the Queen supportive, the Jack experimental, no matter which sex.
Astrologically, it looks like a good day for holiday activity, household decoration, or the like, with an emphasis on sharing in family, community, or group of friends. Reorganization in the home is likely, whether holiday-oriented or not.
Leo individuals are important while Mars is at its rare station in Leo. Funny that I was introduced to a musician named Ted Leo yesterday! (He is a Virgo but I haven't studied his complete chart.) I am also thinking of Sri Aurobindo and Charles Fillmore, two Leos who were true kings, true spiritual guides, as Aslan in the C. S. Lewis fables. (Lewis was a Sagittarian, sign of religion in a broad sense, born when Mars was in Leo, sign of the lion, his beloved Aslan.)
The moon in Aquarius, wherein Jupiter and Neptune also domicile, could bring Aquarians into prominence also.
President Obama is Leo by sun-sign, and Mars's station in Leo corresponds with his decision on Afghanistan, which pleases neither the right nor left nor Afghans nor Americans but seems to have been fated because one wonders if American presidents even have free will when it comes to military affairs, or are prisoners of the Pentagon and the military-industrial complex against which Dwight David Eisenhower warned in his final speech to the American people. Mars the planet of the military in Leo, Obama's sign, might suggest that he has limited control at present, or the illusion of it more likely.
At any rate, your fidelity to a parent-like figure, a ruler you gladly set above you, is strong and destiny-laden. Naturally for American servicemen that is Obama, a Leo; for me it is Sri Aurobindo, another Leo, or Moses and Jesus whose signs we do not know. Also, lesser teachers. "All can be done if the God-touch is there." -- Sri Aurobindo
There is an emphasis on sharing at a deeper level than we normally reach. Naturally Christmas is a "sharing" holiday. You want to participate in everything at a deep level of involvement in the feelings and hopes of others. This can be done whether or not you are on the gift-giving or gift-receiving bandwagon (I am not, because in agreement with the Jehovah's Witnesses who shun gift-giving at this season). It is good to be strong and not too timid when it comes to family involvements.
With Mars at point focus in a Yod configuration, some could feel vindictive. That can be dangerous. If you harbor anger against someone, why not read some of the Psalms? They draw out our anger by recognizing it and objectifying it, asking G*d to avenge us against our enemies. Some, whether Christian or non-Christian, find this offensive, but oddly enough when you read some of those somewhat vengeful Psalms while thinking of someone who has wronged you, the suffering and anger tend to be dissipated. Then you can complete the process by reading some of the teachings of Jesus in the four Gospels (89 chapters). 'Tis the season to be holy (and then jolly).
It is a good time to dissipate jealousy and resentment. None of us probably feels completely loved or as loved as we would wish, or perhaps some do and then realize they still have something to learn about loving. Males learn that it is a masculine as well as feminine skill and learn to do it in their own less effusive manner. Being out and about or entering into the lives of those seemingly very different from yourself, even alien, could be an approach to ending hidden emotional worries today.
{Saturday} {Sharing by Accepting Differences}
Cosmic Piper
}Sharing by Accepting Differences{
Today is the Queen of Hearts day, Sunday the Jack (or youthful androgyne).
See if a male is important in your life Friday, a female Saturday, a young person Sunday. (I care not if some regard this as superstition.) At a deeper level, the King is administrative, the Queen supportive, the Jack experimental, no matter which sex.
Astrologically, it looks like a good day for holiday activity, household decoration, or the like, with an emphasis on sharing in family, community, or group of friends. Reorganization in the home is likely, whether holiday-oriented or not.
Leo individuals are important while Mars is at its rare station in Leo. Funny that I was introduced to a musician named Ted Leo yesterday! (He is a Virgo but I haven't studied his complete chart.) I am also thinking of Sri Aurobindo and Charles Fillmore, two Leos who were true kings, true spiritual guides, as Aslan in the C. S. Lewis fables. (Lewis was a Sagittarian, sign of religion in a broad sense, born when Mars was in Leo, sign of the lion, his beloved Aslan.)
The moon in Aquarius, wherein Jupiter and Neptune also domicile, could bring Aquarians into prominence also.
President Obama is Leo by sun-sign, and Mars's station in Leo corresponds with his decision on Afghanistan, which pleases neither the right nor left nor Afghans nor Americans but seems to have been fated because one wonders if American presidents even have free will when it comes to military affairs, or are prisoners of the Pentagon and the military-industrial complex against which Dwight David Eisenhower warned in his final speech to the American people. Mars the planet of the military in Leo, Obama's sign, might suggest that he has limited control at present, or the illusion of it more likely.
At any rate, your fidelity to a parent-like figure, a ruler you gladly set above you, is strong and destiny-laden. Naturally for American servicemen that is Obama, a Leo; for me it is Sri Aurobindo, another Leo, or Moses and Jesus whose signs we do not know. Also, lesser teachers. "All can be done if the God-touch is there." -- Sri Aurobindo
There is an emphasis on sharing at a deeper level than we normally reach. Naturally Christmas is a "sharing" holiday. You want to participate in everything at a deep level of involvement in the feelings and hopes of others. This can be done whether or not you are on the gift-giving or gift-receiving bandwagon (I am not, because in agreement with the Jehovah's Witnesses who shun gift-giving at this season). It is good to be strong and not too timid when it comes to family involvements.
With Mars at point focus in a Yod configuration, some could feel vindictive. That can be dangerous. If you harbor anger against someone, why not read some of the Psalms? They draw out our anger by recognizing it and objectifying it, asking G*d to avenge us against our enemies. Some, whether Christian or non-Christian, find this offensive, but oddly enough when you read some of those somewhat vengeful Psalms while thinking of someone who has wronged you, the suffering and anger tend to be dissipated. Then you can complete the process by reading some of the teachings of Jesus in the four Gospels (89 chapters). 'Tis the season to be holy (and then jolly).
It is a good time to dissipate jealousy and resentment. None of us probably feels completely loved or as loved as we would wish, or perhaps some do and then realize they still have something to learn about loving. Males learn that it is a masculine as well as feminine skill and learn to do it in their own less effusive manner. Being out and about or entering into the lives of those seemingly very different from yourself, even alien, could be an approach to ending hidden emotional worries today.
{Saturday} {Sharing by Accepting Differences}
Cosmic Piper
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Forecast for Friday 18 December 2009
Friday 18 December 2009
\Earned Serenity/
Red for the King of Hearts, whose day this is according to the Mystic Test Book and books based upon it.
We are rising out of the ashes of the |hard third of the week|, finished early this morning.
There is fairly smooth sailing at least until the moon goes void of course at 12:09p PT | 3:09p ET | 8:09p UT. After that, perhaps a relaxed holiday-type evening.
Anyone with holiday travel plans is probably revamping them now. You would like to be with people who give you reflected glory. Your fidelity to roots, family, and community is bringing blessings. Travel can be indirect through communication as well as direct through transporting the body. Parents could be on your mind in a happy way.
For a while you might study business or financial matters at home.
Steadfast labor and endurance will hold things together, especially before the time given above. You are conserving what matters to you, from the past and family traditions. The beauties of the season are sentimental, heartening, and uplifting.
People feel they have to give out what they know. We are all teachers. What you have learned through adversity and struggle you want to pass on to those who can use it. This is a positive human instinct, built into our genes as a race-survival mechanism.
At spiritual levels this can be a teaching of serenity, by being yourself serene. You are thinking more of what people will think of you than of what will give momentary pleasure yet sully you. So you let passions evolve into higher versions of themselves, which are not dull but thrilling at a deeper level than mere sensuality. They use and enjoy the senses while irradiating them with spiritual sensibility.
There are potentials of strife within the family or community, only because people insist on being different from one another. Holiday cheer and charity can mitigate such cross-purposes. They are also reduced through seclusion, letting yourself do some things in private rather than under the gaze of others, even if family.
Venus is trine Mars, so there is a longing for deep sharing, either Platonic or romantic; but square Uranus, so clashing tastes and styles can be aggravating. It works out because Venus is sextile Jupiter, so that a semblance of luxury, plus good cheer, contain and triumph over moods.
{Friday} /Earned Serenity\
Cosmic Piper
\Earned Serenity/
Red for the King of Hearts, whose day this is according to the Mystic Test Book and books based upon it.
We are rising out of the ashes of the |hard third of the week|, finished early this morning.
There is fairly smooth sailing at least until the moon goes void of course at 12:09p PT | 3:09p ET | 8:09p UT. After that, perhaps a relaxed holiday-type evening.
Anyone with holiday travel plans is probably revamping them now. You would like to be with people who give you reflected glory. Your fidelity to roots, family, and community is bringing blessings. Travel can be indirect through communication as well as direct through transporting the body. Parents could be on your mind in a happy way.
For a while you might study business or financial matters at home.
Steadfast labor and endurance will hold things together, especially before the time given above. You are conserving what matters to you, from the past and family traditions. The beauties of the season are sentimental, heartening, and uplifting.
People feel they have to give out what they know. We are all teachers. What you have learned through adversity and struggle you want to pass on to those who can use it. This is a positive human instinct, built into our genes as a race-survival mechanism.
At spiritual levels this can be a teaching of serenity, by being yourself serene. You are thinking more of what people will think of you than of what will give momentary pleasure yet sully you. So you let passions evolve into higher versions of themselves, which are not dull but thrilling at a deeper level than mere sensuality. They use and enjoy the senses while irradiating them with spiritual sensibility.
There are potentials of strife within the family or community, only because people insist on being different from one another. Holiday cheer and charity can mitigate such cross-purposes. They are also reduced through seclusion, letting yourself do some things in private rather than under the gaze of others, even if family.
Venus is trine Mars, so there is a longing for deep sharing, either Platonic or romantic; but square Uranus, so clashing tastes and styles can be aggravating. It works out because Venus is sextile Jupiter, so that a semblance of luxury, plus good cheer, contain and triumph over moods.
{Friday} /Earned Serenity\
Cosmic Piper
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Forecast for Thursday 17 December 2009
Thursday 17 December 2009
\Thrilling Quest for Mastery/
There's a somewhat hard-nosed attitude toward things, wanting to get to the (pardon my anachronistic slang) nitty-gritty. This will be easier today than yesterday (although we're in the |difficult third of the week| until Friday).
It is somehow entertaining to hob-nob with the great or famous. Maybe on the Internet, Twitter, TV, a movie, or pondering the lives of politicos or businesspeople or whomever you respect. Those in show business will find themselves gaining acclaim through their association with someone else who has already made it.
Whoever outranks you in your field could be an ally, not a competitor. To take advantage of that link you need to keep on with tedious or repetitive tasks which have a thrilling purpose.
Giving in to an artistic impulse could fortify you when you feel impotent. Venus, the sun and Pluto clustering together are a creative combination. This might be something as ordinary as Christmas decorations, or more. You appreciate genius and talent displayed around you.
Someone you appreciate as a friend, or else as a spiritual leader or guide, has been bending under adversities and still keeping on with good work benefiting others. You may have a desire to uphold this somewhat saintly individual and protect him or her from unfair attacks. Such chivalry will benefit you also in more ways than one.
Doubting those who have been good to you is a mistake. Of course you do not see eye to eye on everything, but trusting is better than fretting, for serious cooperation will turn out to be a blessing. Bearing with others' faults, lacks, or frailties is a part of charity, otherwise known as love. Who said it was always easy? (Well, Jesus said, "My yoke is easy," but perhaps getting to the point where one can assume that yoke willingly is not so easy. Or if you know an easy way, let me know.)
Mastery of difficulties in the realm of international relations, as well as spiritual seeking, religion, research, and artistry is possible when the abstract and concrete (or general and specific) are blended or balanced by you in your quest for masterful answers and methods.
{Thursday} /Thrilling Quest for Mastery\
Cosmic Piper
\Thrilling Quest for Mastery/
There's a somewhat hard-nosed attitude toward things, wanting to get to the (pardon my anachronistic slang) nitty-gritty. This will be easier today than yesterday (although we're in the |difficult third of the week| until Friday).
It is somehow entertaining to hob-nob with the great or famous. Maybe on the Internet, Twitter, TV, a movie, or pondering the lives of politicos or businesspeople or whomever you respect. Those in show business will find themselves gaining acclaim through their association with someone else who has already made it.
Whoever outranks you in your field could be an ally, not a competitor. To take advantage of that link you need to keep on with tedious or repetitive tasks which have a thrilling purpose.
Giving in to an artistic impulse could fortify you when you feel impotent. Venus, the sun and Pluto clustering together are a creative combination. This might be something as ordinary as Christmas decorations, or more. You appreciate genius and talent displayed around you.
Someone you appreciate as a friend, or else as a spiritual leader or guide, has been bending under adversities and still keeping on with good work benefiting others. You may have a desire to uphold this somewhat saintly individual and protect him or her from unfair attacks. Such chivalry will benefit you also in more ways than one.
Doubting those who have been good to you is a mistake. Of course you do not see eye to eye on everything, but trusting is better than fretting, for serious cooperation will turn out to be a blessing. Bearing with others' faults, lacks, or frailties is a part of charity, otherwise known as love. Who said it was always easy? (Well, Jesus said, "My yoke is easy," but perhaps getting to the point where one can assume that yoke willingly is not so easy. Or if you know an easy way, let me know.)
Mastery of difficulties in the realm of international relations, as well as spiritual seeking, religion, research, and artistry is possible when the abstract and concrete (or general and specific) are blended or balanced by you in your quest for masterful answers and methods.
{Thursday} /Thrilling Quest for Mastery\
Cosmic Piper
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Forecast for Wednesday 16 December 2009
Wednesday 16 December 2009
\Routine, Plus Spontaneous Escapement/
If Tuesday was not as "exhilarating" for you as I suggested, it might be because I did not put enough weight on its being the last day of an Old Moon, usually somewhat wearing or wearisome, and also on the fact that the sun is now squaring Saturn by ten degrees as of Tuesday. This however need not be an affliction; we will deal with it as we go along; but makes moods more serious.
Today is the first of two days of the |difficult third of the week|, lifting by Friday. Further, the moon is void of course, on this first day of a New Moon, until it enters Capricorn at 2:33p PT | 5:33p ET | 10:33p UT. So if things seem dismal or hard to navigate, it would not be surprising. The tried and true, and necessary routines, are best.
Impatience could be an enemy. You want to accomplish more than you can. So be happy with small gains through low-key persistence.
You may need to do something for someone who is specially distinctive in your world, someone you admire who is widely admired by others. This may be something you have done before, over and over, but it needs to be done again and then you will share in the merits and blessings of the one you serve. (This could be anyone from a child to one who has already passed from this world.)
You may note people who are striking in appearance. You sense a greatness about them. You might try to imitate them in some way, because it expands your sensibilities and maybe even abilities. Someone who is a student of deep things, perhaps philosophy, religion, mysticism or foreign affairs, is influential.
A friend who values you for what you are is sticking with you through thick and thin--thick troubles and thin rewards today, probably--and wants to protect you from those who would slander or attack. Some animosities are hard to figure out, as if causeless. True souls keep on with quiet work no matter who detracts.
You may hear of those who are captives in foreign lands, prisoners of war or conscience. You share their suffering indirectly (and could perhaps help through groups such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International Rescue Committee or others). At a more playful level, such as kids' "cowboys and Indians," you may feel someone is your captive in a gamelike manner, or that you are his or her captive depending on your predilections.
We manage to escape from our troubles in surprising ways.
{Wednesday} /Routine, Plus Spontaneous Escapement\
Cosmic Piper
\Routine, Plus Spontaneous Escapement/
If Tuesday was not as "exhilarating" for you as I suggested, it might be because I did not put enough weight on its being the last day of an Old Moon, usually somewhat wearing or wearisome, and also on the fact that the sun is now squaring Saturn by ten degrees as of Tuesday. This however need not be an affliction; we will deal with it as we go along; but makes moods more serious.
Today is the first of two days of the |difficult third of the week|, lifting by Friday. Further, the moon is void of course, on this first day of a New Moon, until it enters Capricorn at 2:33p PT | 5:33p ET | 10:33p UT. So if things seem dismal or hard to navigate, it would not be surprising. The tried and true, and necessary routines, are best.
Impatience could be an enemy. You want to accomplish more than you can. So be happy with small gains through low-key persistence.
You may need to do something for someone who is specially distinctive in your world, someone you admire who is widely admired by others. This may be something you have done before, over and over, but it needs to be done again and then you will share in the merits and blessings of the one you serve. (This could be anyone from a child to one who has already passed from this world.)
You may note people who are striking in appearance. You sense a greatness about them. You might try to imitate them in some way, because it expands your sensibilities and maybe even abilities. Someone who is a student of deep things, perhaps philosophy, religion, mysticism or foreign affairs, is influential.
A friend who values you for what you are is sticking with you through thick and thin--thick troubles and thin rewards today, probably--and wants to protect you from those who would slander or attack. Some animosities are hard to figure out, as if causeless. True souls keep on with quiet work no matter who detracts.
You may hear of those who are captives in foreign lands, prisoners of war or conscience. You share their suffering indirectly (and could perhaps help through groups such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International Rescue Committee or others). At a more playful level, such as kids' "cowboys and Indians," you may feel someone is your captive in a gamelike manner, or that you are his or her captive depending on your predilections.
We manage to escape from our troubles in surprising ways.
{Wednesday} /Routine, Plus Spontaneous Escapement\
Cosmic Piper
Monday, December 14, 2009
Forecast for Tuesday 15 December 2009
Tuesday 15 December 2009
*Exhilaration*
Note to any who have written to me and not received a reply: It's just a hard time of the year for extra things. It is about all I can do to get this report written and posted every day, while taking care of other business, much less take up extra correspondence. I am not snubbing anyone. Please understand. But if you want to post something to the whole group, fine.
This could be a quite lovely day in many ways. There is an emphasis on investigation, solving mysteries. This could be exhilarating. You stick your nose into other people's business--well, isn't that what "the news" is, as well as psychology, sociology, economics, etc.--and enjoy seeing what you can see. "The bear climbed over the mountain . . . "
Imagination and intuition carry you toward contacts with important people, who could further your ambitions or give you distinction in the eyes of others. (So you can become a name-dropper . . . ) You want to get your talents out in front of the public and can do so, but it's better to do it as a game, spontaneously, rather than trying for big results in a calculated way. It will happen best in ways you hadn't precisely anticipated.
Things might become even more cheery as the day moves on into afternoon and evening, with friendship ascending. And that is good because tomorrow (Wednesday) is likely to be less friendly and more serious. Party night! (if that works for you).
It is intoxicating to be recognized as someone important, worthy, or interesting. All is a process of friendly experiment toward euphoria. Each bows to the significance and worthiness of the other.
And yet, the "secret enemies" theme mentioned yesterday continues, but less ominously; it is more that you feel that some, even your well-wishers, just don't get what you are about and think poorly of you in one way or another. Maybe animosity could be worked off through a game or sparring contest. Being willing to be misunderstood, nobly, is better than whining.
Seeing into the secrets of others could give an advantage, but you are wise to keep this to yourself.
Friends at a distance could take on importance. Some are eccentric and colorful, others of a more plodding disposition. Those who are disorderly in habits might be geniuses in one way or another. And near at hand, the human festival can be pleasing no matter who turns up to lend individual savor to the savory proceedings.
{Tuesday} *Exhilaration*
Cosmic Piper
*Exhilaration*
Note to any who have written to me and not received a reply: It's just a hard time of the year for extra things. It is about all I can do to get this report written and posted every day, while taking care of other business, much less take up extra correspondence. I am not snubbing anyone. Please understand. But if you want to post something to the whole group, fine.
This could be a quite lovely day in many ways. There is an emphasis on investigation, solving mysteries. This could be exhilarating. You stick your nose into other people's business--well, isn't that what "the news" is, as well as psychology, sociology, economics, etc.--and enjoy seeing what you can see. "The bear climbed over the mountain . . . "
Imagination and intuition carry you toward contacts with important people, who could further your ambitions or give you distinction in the eyes of others. (So you can become a name-dropper . . . ) You want to get your talents out in front of the public and can do so, but it's better to do it as a game, spontaneously, rather than trying for big results in a calculated way. It will happen best in ways you hadn't precisely anticipated.
Things might become even more cheery as the day moves on into afternoon and evening, with friendship ascending. And that is good because tomorrow (Wednesday) is likely to be less friendly and more serious. Party night! (if that works for you).
It is intoxicating to be recognized as someone important, worthy, or interesting. All is a process of friendly experiment toward euphoria. Each bows to the significance and worthiness of the other.
And yet, the "secret enemies" theme mentioned yesterday continues, but less ominously; it is more that you feel that some, even your well-wishers, just don't get what you are about and think poorly of you in one way or another. Maybe animosity could be worked off through a game or sparring contest. Being willing to be misunderstood, nobly, is better than whining.
Seeing into the secrets of others could give an advantage, but you are wise to keep this to yourself.
Friends at a distance could take on importance. Some are eccentric and colorful, others of a more plodding disposition. Those who are disorderly in habits might be geniuses in one way or another. And near at hand, the human festival can be pleasing no matter who turns up to lend individual savor to the savory proceedings.
{Tuesday} *Exhilaration*
Cosmic Piper
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Historic Forecast from March, 2003
Here is what I wrote and posted here just before the start of the Iraq war, on March 19, 2003:
Wednesday 19 March 2003 }Springboard{
[This first paragraph will contain the political and war-related material and I will try to avoid that topic in the rest of the report. I am usually pretty careful in my political predictions, and for that reason have a high accuracy rate. If common sense says one thing and my reading of charts the opposite, I will say nothing. If they agree, I will venture a prediction. Last March in a conversation with my mother I said that I did not see a war with Iraq in the coming year, that is, through March 20, 2003. I was right. But because what I said did not accord with common sense (my mother groaned in disbelief), I did not go public with the prediction. The new astrological year begins when the sun enters Aries tomorrow, Thursday, at 8:01 p.m. Washington (Eastern) time. About that year I would not venture a prediction. I refuse to predict killing, for the human race does have free will. Of course, most think war (unjustifiable slaughter in my view, for I do not blame teen-age Iraqi conscripts, who will be killed in the thousands, for Saddam Hussein) is inevitable. That may be so, but let us hope and pray for a miracle. Or at least for a minimum of casualties. Another strangely ominous signal is the following: A month ago I wrote a sort of prophecy (published here) based on the burning of the nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island. I said that this occurred while the moon was Via Combusta, or in the Burning Way, from 15 degrees of Libra to 15 degrees of Scorpio. I said that this was a warning from G*d that the War Wick was burning low. Today, Wednesday, tomorrow, Thursday, and in the early hours of Friday the moon is again Via Combusta, in the Burning Way. My warning that we had better avoid war was unheeded by the Bush Administration and now, a month later, the Burning Way will have its way in accord with whatever national, international and individual karma may dictate. Let us pray in union with others throughout the world, through the modus of whatever tradition to which our souls adhere. The barbarism of bombs and killing will end sooner or later. Let us pray that it be sooner.]
As a matter of fact, the war did begin during the three days the moon was in the Burning Way, and the oil wells of Iraq were set ablaze.
To find out why, please watch the very important film, Why We Fight. You need to know this about your country.
And now concerning Afghanistan, let us pray.
Cosmic Piper
Wednesday 19 March 2003 }Springboard{
[This first paragraph will contain the political and war-related material and I will try to avoid that topic in the rest of the report. I am usually pretty careful in my political predictions, and for that reason have a high accuracy rate. If common sense says one thing and my reading of charts the opposite, I will say nothing. If they agree, I will venture a prediction. Last March in a conversation with my mother I said that I did not see a war with Iraq in the coming year, that is, through March 20, 2003. I was right. But because what I said did not accord with common sense (my mother groaned in disbelief), I did not go public with the prediction. The new astrological year begins when the sun enters Aries tomorrow, Thursday, at 8:01 p.m. Washington (Eastern) time. About that year I would not venture a prediction. I refuse to predict killing, for the human race does have free will. Of course, most think war (unjustifiable slaughter in my view, for I do not blame teen-age Iraqi conscripts, who will be killed in the thousands, for Saddam Hussein) is inevitable. That may be so, but let us hope and pray for a miracle. Or at least for a minimum of casualties. Another strangely ominous signal is the following: A month ago I wrote a sort of prophecy (published here) based on the burning of the nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island. I said that this occurred while the moon was Via Combusta, or in the Burning Way, from 15 degrees of Libra to 15 degrees of Scorpio. I said that this was a warning from G*d that the War Wick was burning low. Today, Wednesday, tomorrow, Thursday, and in the early hours of Friday the moon is again Via Combusta, in the Burning Way. My warning that we had better avoid war was unheeded by the Bush Administration and now, a month later, the Burning Way will have its way in accord with whatever national, international and individual karma may dictate. Let us pray in union with others throughout the world, through the modus of whatever tradition to which our souls adhere. The barbarism of bombs and killing will end sooner or later. Let us pray that it be sooner.]
As a matter of fact, the war did begin during the three days the moon was in the Burning Way, and the oil wells of Iraq were set ablaze.
To find out why, please watch the very important film, Why We Fight. You need to know this about your country.
And now concerning Afghanistan, let us pray.
Cosmic Piper
Forecast for Monday 14 December 2009
Monday 14 December 2009
*The Prison of Mutual Service*
The Old Moon is declining, the New will begin on Wednesday, and the Part of Fortune is in the 12th sector. Both Sunday and today you may feel locked down, or locked up, wanting to separate from some associates who seem "secret enemies," an ancient designation of the 12th House. Let's face it, most people are pretty messed up. We are together in society to supply or rectify one another's deficiencies, but sometimes it seems that some of us are ruining things for the rest of us.
It is to your work that you should look for satisfaction now. You are proud of some of the things you do and rightly so. Then you can continue on that salutary course and win acclaim from some who see that your service is invaluable. At times it seems that you are repeating the same tasks over and over without visible result or benefit to yourself. Trust that your unique contribution is gaining strength and will triumph; there are hints of that today if you are alert to them. Hidden factors such as your individual horoscope need to be understood.
Items or gains which come to you from afar, even from across the ocean, can help you recover poise. When change seems your foe, realize that when one thing is taken from you another is made available.
If you seem to lack courage, that is a signal to bend to circumstances as they are rather than chafe against them, and before long your strength and courage will revive. You may feel that some who are in power positions are against you and could hurt you. There is certain to be a way of handling this so that you get out unscathed, and so it is well to be self-gathered, maintaining integrity.
When bold, you may feel deserted, because you are not understood. Yet your natural innocence, almost childlike, can protect you. If you bide your time, even in the midst of what seem silly happenings in your job or place of exertion, mutual self-giving will flower eventually and you will no longer feel abandoned.
{Monday} *The Prison of Mutual Service*
Cosmic Piper
*The Prison of Mutual Service*
The Old Moon is declining, the New will begin on Wednesday, and the Part of Fortune is in the 12th sector. Both Sunday and today you may feel locked down, or locked up, wanting to separate from some associates who seem "secret enemies," an ancient designation of the 12th House. Let's face it, most people are pretty messed up. We are together in society to supply or rectify one another's deficiencies, but sometimes it seems that some of us are ruining things for the rest of us.
It is to your work that you should look for satisfaction now. You are proud of some of the things you do and rightly so. Then you can continue on that salutary course and win acclaim from some who see that your service is invaluable. At times it seems that you are repeating the same tasks over and over without visible result or benefit to yourself. Trust that your unique contribution is gaining strength and will triumph; there are hints of that today if you are alert to them. Hidden factors such as your individual horoscope need to be understood.
Items or gains which come to you from afar, even from across the ocean, can help you recover poise. When change seems your foe, realize that when one thing is taken from you another is made available.
If you seem to lack courage, that is a signal to bend to circumstances as they are rather than chafe against them, and before long your strength and courage will revive. You may feel that some who are in power positions are against you and could hurt you. There is certain to be a way of handling this so that you get out unscathed, and so it is well to be self-gathered, maintaining integrity.
When bold, you may feel deserted, because you are not understood. Yet your natural innocence, almost childlike, can protect you. If you bide your time, even in the midst of what seem silly happenings in your job or place of exertion, mutual self-giving will flower eventually and you will no longer feel abandoned.
{Monday} *The Prison of Mutual Service*
Cosmic Piper
Friday, December 11, 2009
Forecast for Saturday 12 December 2009
Saturday 12 December 2009
It seems a day of friendship. This could be highly welcome during a holiday season. People are curious about one another and perhaps evaluating on another, but in a friendly and forgiving rather than harsh manner, for the most part. The moon's forming squares with Mars and Jupiter, in the evening, could lend a note of questioning or controversy.
The moon in the Via Combusta all day (it will not be there Sunday) means, if you lose faith in certain hopes or plans, take it as a period of adjustment or readjustment, "a cosmic reshuffling" in Marc Jones's terms. Not the end of the world but a change of phases which need not be extremely disturbing but does awaken conscience. If you feel out of sorts it could be because something in you is telling you to be more faithful to yourself, your better nature and its intentions.
I hate to say this, but on Thursday, the second day of the Dark Hermetic Epoch lasting until February 5, I started having peculiar computer and Internet problems, and also today, with odd things happening in my loaded pages which have never happened before. It is well to be up for such things and take them smoothly, sorting them out patiently when they happen. And, in general, be very skeptical about new programs or Internet gimmicks or computer add-ons etc. You could waste precious hours with them and then decide they have no place in your life. (If possible I would repeat these last two sentences in every forecast up to February 5. I am trusting you to be alert to long-range forecasts here and remember them if they help you.) The number of Christmas gifts which are tossed out, given away, or returned to the store could be phenomenal.
You derive strength from a male companion, while Mars and the sun are in trine. "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another" says the book of Proverbs. An international flavor could prevail through this, as for example what is going on in Copenhagen. This can apply also to sports and games. You gain distinction by taking pointers from someone else who is trying for similar goals. A ceremonial feature of human life is not useless, helping us to be together in ways which encourage fidelity to common hopes. Those involved in technology of any kind are also learning from one another in a big way, even if their approaches differ widely. To learn from an "enemy" is an ancient secret.
Eccentricity and strife are dangers while the sun is square Uranus. Some will retreat to seclusion rather than engage in fruitless combat, and that could be a wise course in many cases. You still want to make your impression on the world and be strong and independent, but are willing to prepare for that privately when that course is more prudent.
An industrious, constructive trend is fortifying to interaction with your world. You are putting things in place and enjoying it. By demonstrating your aptitude for life's requirements, you gain favorable attention.
Intellectual interests are . . . This forecast ends here because peremptorily, beyond my control, my time to write it was snatched from me by evil.
There may be a forecast for Monday posted late Sunday afternoon
Hugh Howard Higgins
Cosmic Piper
It seems a day of friendship. This could be highly welcome during a holiday season. People are curious about one another and perhaps evaluating on another, but in a friendly and forgiving rather than harsh manner, for the most part. The moon's forming squares with Mars and Jupiter, in the evening, could lend a note of questioning or controversy.
The moon in the Via Combusta all day (it will not be there Sunday) means, if you lose faith in certain hopes or plans, take it as a period of adjustment or readjustment, "a cosmic reshuffling" in Marc Jones's terms. Not the end of the world but a change of phases which need not be extremely disturbing but does awaken conscience. If you feel out of sorts it could be because something in you is telling you to be more faithful to yourself, your better nature and its intentions.
I hate to say this, but on Thursday, the second day of the Dark Hermetic Epoch lasting until February 5, I started having peculiar computer and Internet problems, and also today, with odd things happening in my loaded pages which have never happened before. It is well to be up for such things and take them smoothly, sorting them out patiently when they happen. And, in general, be very skeptical about new programs or Internet gimmicks or computer add-ons etc. You could waste precious hours with them and then decide they have no place in your life. (If possible I would repeat these last two sentences in every forecast up to February 5. I am trusting you to be alert to long-range forecasts here and remember them if they help you.) The number of Christmas gifts which are tossed out, given away, or returned to the store could be phenomenal.
You derive strength from a male companion, while Mars and the sun are in trine. "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another" says the book of Proverbs. An international flavor could prevail through this, as for example what is going on in Copenhagen. This can apply also to sports and games. You gain distinction by taking pointers from someone else who is trying for similar goals. A ceremonial feature of human life is not useless, helping us to be together in ways which encourage fidelity to common hopes. Those involved in technology of any kind are also learning from one another in a big way, even if their approaches differ widely. To learn from an "enemy" is an ancient secret.
Eccentricity and strife are dangers while the sun is square Uranus. Some will retreat to seclusion rather than engage in fruitless combat, and that could be a wise course in many cases. You still want to make your impression on the world and be strong and independent, but are willing to prepare for that privately when that course is more prudent.
An industrious, constructive trend is fortifying to interaction with your world. You are putting things in place and enjoying it. By demonstrating your aptitude for life's requirements, you gain favorable attention.
Intellectual interests are . . . This forecast ends here because peremptorily, beyond my control, my time to write it was snatched from me by evil.
There may be a forecast for Monday posted late Sunday afternoon
Hugh Howard Higgins
Cosmic Piper
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Forecast for Friday 11 December 2009
Friday 11 December 2009
Thursday was a good day for me except that some things were delayed. I spent an hour thawing out my car and getting the snow off it and making it fit to drive. (No garage for me.) Then I spent another unexpected hour with Internet connectivity problems. This was the |difficult third| of the week as it manifested in my particular life, usually involving delays. Other than the delays there were a lot of good moments and an upbeat feeling. As I had anticipated in the forecast for the day, it was a good day to get things done even if there were slowdowns.
Friday we are out of the |difficult| period but the moon in the Via Combusta could make you feel depressed or defeated, confused or uncertain of things. This is especially true after 9:46a PT | 12:46p ET | 5:46p UT when the moon will also be void of course. I would say, don't worry about holiday preparation, sit down and kick off your socks before a real or figurative fireplace (maybe it should be figurative during the Burning Way!). You do not have to complete everything now. Sometimes life lets us take our time. While delays Thursday were meant to be surmounted, delays today (Friday) could be times for relaxation, recovery and internal spiritual regeneration. Listen to your conscience and what it is whispering. It won't shout because then it knows you would rebel.
Because of the delays I experienced Thursday it is late and I don't have time to focus on a longer forecast for Friday. I hope to do that for Saturday.
Cosmic Piper
Thursday was a good day for me except that some things were delayed. I spent an hour thawing out my car and getting the snow off it and making it fit to drive. (No garage for me.) Then I spent another unexpected hour with Internet connectivity problems. This was the |difficult third| of the week as it manifested in my particular life, usually involving delays. Other than the delays there were a lot of good moments and an upbeat feeling. As I had anticipated in the forecast for the day, it was a good day to get things done even if there were slowdowns.
Friday we are out of the |difficult| period but the moon in the Via Combusta could make you feel depressed or defeated, confused or uncertain of things. This is especially true after 9:46a PT | 12:46p ET | 5:46p UT when the moon will also be void of course. I would say, don't worry about holiday preparation, sit down and kick off your socks before a real or figurative fireplace (maybe it should be figurative during the Burning Way!). You do not have to complete everything now. Sometimes life lets us take our time. While delays Thursday were meant to be surmounted, delays today (Friday) could be times for relaxation, recovery and internal spiritual regeneration. Listen to your conscience and what it is whispering. It won't shout because then it knows you would rebel.
Because of the delays I experienced Thursday it is late and I don't have time to focus on a longer forecast for Friday. I hope to do that for Saturday.
Cosmic Piper
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Forecast for Thursday 10 December 2009
Thursday 10 December 2009
}Mistletoe{
The moon is in Libra and I am watching a superb movie about Jimmy Carter entitled The Man From Plains. His sun-sign is Libra, as was that of Dwight Eisenhower--two who, in the afterview of history, will be regarded as great men, regardless of whatever mistakes they might have made while in office. It is reassuring to me that once in a while the American people can elect a great and good man as President. The Carter Center, Jimmy and Rosalynn's foundation, is doing superb work, and his warning to his fellow citizens about the mistakes we are making in regard to Israel and Palestine is extremely important and needs to be heeded. The movie shows him responding to the reaction resulting from his excellent and important book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. It also shows him speaking during a religious service as a sincere Christian and offering prayers at a barbecue. The man's sincerity cannot be doubted for an instant. He is the sort of Christian we need, not the right-wing fanatics who, in the name of their Saviour, propound the most ignorant and violent offenses, knowing not what they do.
Today looks better than yesterday. Although still technically the |difficult third| all day, other lunar aspects are excellent so we might well forget that designation. For practical purposes, today is better than Friday when the moon will be in the Via Combusta all day and void of course in the afternoon. If you have contacts to make, plans to settle, or shopping, today could be the time.
Mars's slowing down and moving to a station in Leo, the sun-sign of our President, coincides remarkably with his slowing down and considering what to do in Afghanistan and arriving at a consensus with his military advisers. It is almost amusing that one important part of the plan is a timetable for the beginning of the removal of the troops, that is, Mars will turn retrograde on the 20th of this month and military matters now are sold to the public and Congress by assuring everyone that they are only temporary! Mars will turn around and come home starting in July 2011! Hmm. None of us really believe it. The more plausible aspects of this campaign are related to the sun's trine with Mars from Sagittarius, sign of international relations in general. Lurking in Capricorn, the sign of mountainous regions, we have Mercury and Pluto (Pluto rules big business) square Saturn in Libra. The aim is to bring wild mountainous regions and their warring tribes under the rule of law (Saturn is exalted in Libra). Good luck. Afghanistan has been called the graveyard of empires. Many would be glad to see the demise of the U. S. empire as a welcome reprise of the demise of the British, French, and Russian.
Uncle Sam, would you like British, French or Russian dressing on your Empire-coffin?
Rolling a stone up a hill in Afghanistan only to see it come rolling down, the figure of Sisyphus, could resemble some aspects of your life, but you are fit to keep pushing that boulder to its proper place while the sun trines Mars. You benefit through cooperation with someone who is either from another country or region, or who is a teacher or spiritual guide. His or her distinction brings you distinction.
Finding beauty and concord is not hard while the moon is sextile Venus all day.
Something you feel you must do involves distributing information to people. It could be by mail, email, phone, Twitter, or whatnot, but it establishes you more firmly in either a career direction or position of trust.
People perceive the best way of organizing home differently. So some will prefer that you do this, some that, in terms of industrious organization of possessions. Ultimately you have to decide yourself, although you can take account of differing opinions in order to arrive at a design harmonious for all.
It is basically a fortunate day. You may find that you know how to connect with people, both granting and receiving favors. Venus's growing trine with Mars brings romance. Love is in the air, in surprising ways; mistletoe omnipresent, visibly or invisibly.
{Thursday} {Mistletoe}
Cosmic Piper
}Mistletoe{
The moon is in Libra and I am watching a superb movie about Jimmy Carter entitled The Man From Plains. His sun-sign is Libra, as was that of Dwight Eisenhower--two who, in the afterview of history, will be regarded as great men, regardless of whatever mistakes they might have made while in office. It is reassuring to me that once in a while the American people can elect a great and good man as President. The Carter Center, Jimmy and Rosalynn's foundation, is doing superb work, and his warning to his fellow citizens about the mistakes we are making in regard to Israel and Palestine is extremely important and needs to be heeded. The movie shows him responding to the reaction resulting from his excellent and important book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. It also shows him speaking during a religious service as a sincere Christian and offering prayers at a barbecue. The man's sincerity cannot be doubted for an instant. He is the sort of Christian we need, not the right-wing fanatics who, in the name of their Saviour, propound the most ignorant and violent offenses, knowing not what they do.
Today looks better than yesterday. Although still technically the |difficult third| all day, other lunar aspects are excellent so we might well forget that designation. For practical purposes, today is better than Friday when the moon will be in the Via Combusta all day and void of course in the afternoon. If you have contacts to make, plans to settle, or shopping, today could be the time.
Mars's slowing down and moving to a station in Leo, the sun-sign of our President, coincides remarkably with his slowing down and considering what to do in Afghanistan and arriving at a consensus with his military advisers. It is almost amusing that one important part of the plan is a timetable for the beginning of the removal of the troops, that is, Mars will turn retrograde on the 20th of this month and military matters now are sold to the public and Congress by assuring everyone that they are only temporary! Mars will turn around and come home starting in July 2011! Hmm. None of us really believe it. The more plausible aspects of this campaign are related to the sun's trine with Mars from Sagittarius, sign of international relations in general. Lurking in Capricorn, the sign of mountainous regions, we have Mercury and Pluto (Pluto rules big business) square Saturn in Libra. The aim is to bring wild mountainous regions and their warring tribes under the rule of law (Saturn is exalted in Libra). Good luck. Afghanistan has been called the graveyard of empires. Many would be glad to see the demise of the U. S. empire as a welcome reprise of the demise of the British, French, and Russian.
Uncle Sam, would you like British, French or Russian dressing on your Empire-coffin?
Rolling a stone up a hill in Afghanistan only to see it come rolling down, the figure of Sisyphus, could resemble some aspects of your life, but you are fit to keep pushing that boulder to its proper place while the sun trines Mars. You benefit through cooperation with someone who is either from another country or region, or who is a teacher or spiritual guide. His or her distinction brings you distinction.
Finding beauty and concord is not hard while the moon is sextile Venus all day.
Something you feel you must do involves distributing information to people. It could be by mail, email, phone, Twitter, or whatnot, but it establishes you more firmly in either a career direction or position of trust.
People perceive the best way of organizing home differently. So some will prefer that you do this, some that, in terms of industrious organization of possessions. Ultimately you have to decide yourself, although you can take account of differing opinions in order to arrive at a design harmonious for all.
It is basically a fortunate day. You may find that you know how to connect with people, both granting and receiving favors. Venus's growing trine with Mars brings romance. Love is in the air, in surprising ways; mistletoe omnipresent, visibly or invisibly.
{Thursday} {Mistletoe}
Cosmic Piper
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Forecast for Wednesday 9 December 2009
Wednesday 9 December 2009
}Conquering Demons{
I had thought I would drop mentioning the |hard| third of the week all the time, and just let my words for the day reflect it. But I will say that today we are definitely in the |difficult| third of the week according to the formula, until Friday. But on Friday we will be in the Via Combusta. No rest for the wicked, my Aunt Bernice used to say.
Further, today the moon is void of course until 2:48p PT | 5:48p ET | 10:48p UT, so that major part of the day could be quite trying for anyone attempting to put things together, as if the demons were out in full force tampering with everything. I do not want to project such mischief upon you, but if it happens you will know why, that is, the formal cause at least. It is a time to pray "Lead us not into temptation," which has also been translated "Do not bring us to the test."
Further, it's the first day of the Dark Hermetic Epoch lasting until February 5. Do things seem a little eerie?
You may, however, feel that you are on the way to victory in your career field or ordinary work. Not that it is easy or does not have its pitfalls, but you are able to see beyond the problems by raising your head high.
Obstinacy can be a vice or a virtue. In the cases of Gandhi and Nelson Mandela it was a virtue. In other cases it can be a refusal to face the facts and adapt to them. This could be happening in connection with costs of projected travel or other spending issues.
The Christmas spirit would suggest giving part of your gift-budget to important charities really helping those in need. Then you will feel better-supported by the cosmos.
You may feel yourself a captive in certain ways, having to perform duties you would not have chosen. Then comes beautiful release when you have finished some of them, and you welcome gaily your particular brand of relaxation-entertainment.
Some plans are on hold, while Mars dithers toward his station (stationary point in the zodiac before moving backward) and Mercury slows. It could be a relief to postpone certain things you feel important but not timely.
Whether you get a real Christmas tree, an artificial one, or other holiday decorations, you may feel unease over the varying tastes of those who will view them. This need not be a problem, of course. Gifts could seem confusing when you consider whether someone will feel you have given more to someone else . . . well, that kind of jealousy over Christmas gifts is rather adolescent, after all. (I myself, away from family, do not plan on trivial giving; I prefer holiday cheer shared in festive surroundings to material gifts.)
You can be reserved yet firm, courageous in not giving in to minor problems but figuring out how to surmount them as best you can at each moment. Perhaps we all feel we have some enemies. It might be part of the human condition, yet ideally it should not be. If turning an enemy into a friend seems impossible, meeting the fight as if it were a play or sport could be the next best thing. Somebody wins and somebody loses, in appearance, but nobody is hurt; and the loser may be the better man. Then his internal win surmounts external defeat.
{Wednesday} {Conquering Demons}
Cosmic Piper
}Conquering Demons{
I had thought I would drop mentioning the |hard| third of the week all the time, and just let my words for the day reflect it. But I will say that today we are definitely in the |difficult| third of the week according to the formula, until Friday. But on Friday we will be in the Via Combusta. No rest for the wicked, my Aunt Bernice used to say.
Further, today the moon is void of course until 2:48p PT | 5:48p ET | 10:48p UT, so that major part of the day could be quite trying for anyone attempting to put things together, as if the demons were out in full force tampering with everything. I do not want to project such mischief upon you, but if it happens you will know why, that is, the formal cause at least. It is a time to pray "Lead us not into temptation," which has also been translated "Do not bring us to the test."
Further, it's the first day of the Dark Hermetic Epoch lasting until February 5. Do things seem a little eerie?
You may, however, feel that you are on the way to victory in your career field or ordinary work. Not that it is easy or does not have its pitfalls, but you are able to see beyond the problems by raising your head high.
Obstinacy can be a vice or a virtue. In the cases of Gandhi and Nelson Mandela it was a virtue. In other cases it can be a refusal to face the facts and adapt to them. This could be happening in connection with costs of projected travel or other spending issues.
The Christmas spirit would suggest giving part of your gift-budget to important charities really helping those in need. Then you will feel better-supported by the cosmos.
You may feel yourself a captive in certain ways, having to perform duties you would not have chosen. Then comes beautiful release when you have finished some of them, and you welcome gaily your particular brand of relaxation-entertainment.
Some plans are on hold, while Mars dithers toward his station (stationary point in the zodiac before moving backward) and Mercury slows. It could be a relief to postpone certain things you feel important but not timely.
Whether you get a real Christmas tree, an artificial one, or other holiday decorations, you may feel unease over the varying tastes of those who will view them. This need not be a problem, of course. Gifts could seem confusing when you consider whether someone will feel you have given more to someone else . . . well, that kind of jealousy over Christmas gifts is rather adolescent, after all. (I myself, away from family, do not plan on trivial giving; I prefer holiday cheer shared in festive surroundings to material gifts.)
You can be reserved yet firm, courageous in not giving in to minor problems but figuring out how to surmount them as best you can at each moment. Perhaps we all feel we have some enemies. It might be part of the human condition, yet ideally it should not be. If turning an enemy into a friend seems impossible, meeting the fight as if it were a play or sport could be the next best thing. Somebody wins and somebody loses, in appearance, but nobody is hurt; and the loser may be the better man. Then his internal win surmounts external defeat.
{Wednesday} {Conquering Demons}
Cosmic Piper
Monday, December 7, 2009
Forecast for Tuesday 8 December 2009
Tuesday 8 December 2009
\Working Things Out Patiently/
Last week after reading more about the horrendous Amanda Knox trial in Perugia, Italy, I was so aghast at the terrible way in which the trial was conducted that I felt sympathy for Amanda and a kind of American patriotism. "Those damn Italians!" I said to myself. I resolved to boycott all Italian products and restaurants. (The Italian seasoning I used in my lunch today doesn't count because it was produced in the U.S.) Whether Amanda was guilty or not, the trial could not possibly have proved her guilt because it was so shamefully conducted, and just about everyone who studies it agrees on that. She deserves, at the least, a new trial.
The very afternoon the verdict was delivered, before I knew what it would be, I found myself walking into an Italian restaurant! I don't know why, but I guess I thought, "If I am going to have to boycott everything Italian this will be my one last fling." I sat at the bar and talked with the non-Italian bartender about the case. He knew nothing about it. The owner of the restaurant is definitely Italian and welcomed me graciously as I entered. Later that evening I learned that the jury had found Amanda guilty. I had told the bartender about my intention to boycott everything Italian if that happened. He was amused. If the Italian owner overheard our conversation, I doubt that he was.
And I am not.
I just studied Amanda Knox's birth-chart, though I do not have the exact hour of birth (July 9, 1987 according to Wikipedia). A horoscope cannot be used, ever, to determine anyone's guilt or innocence. However, it is certain that her chart does reveal a great deal of the peculiar circumstances in her life, very sad at this point. Her Mars in Leo is at point focus because of squares to Pluto in Scorpio on one side and Jupiter in Aries on the other. That in itself shows the danger of strange accidents or possibly violent ones, love or sex-related because of Leo. Planets in Cancer (sign of the home, in her case Seattle, and of parents) are exactly quincunx planets, especially Saturn, in Sagittarius (sign of international travel). She is imprisoned in a foreign land and her parents are planning to move there to support her appeal.
Astrology is truly amazing. But not fatalistic. One can only think, "If only some astrologer had warned Amanda about the dangerous possibilities in her chart, she might have been more careful than to get mixed up in all this." Or not, we don't know.
Tuesday is a day of Prime Time and is the last day before the Dark Hermetic Epoch begins on Wednesday.
You might think over the past two months and what you have decided about your life during that period. It is likely to be correct, or more correct than what you might feel you want to change beginning tomorrow until early February. This latter is not a "bad time" any more than evening and night are bad times, but it is not so good for big changes in plans, which are likely to be based on errors of perception or conception. So "stand pat" is pretty good advice in most cases. In rare cases, major changes need to be made, but then one ought to be specially circumspect about all factors involved.
If you ponder the past two months today (Monday or Tuesday), and the conclusions you have arrived at, you may be set up nicely to fend off errors of judgment in the next two months. It might even be good to write down some of your major plans and intentions for December and January, or make a list of them.
You may be thinking about people or places at a distance and wondering what place they have in your life. Educational plans or plans for study may be worked out.
You may feel befuddled about some financial or business plans, and yet you feel that you are protected. You are. Only injudicious actions on your part could upset the apple cart. One clue: Consider that the usual, ordinary, conventional approach to some things which bother you could be more correct than your unusual independent approach. That could protect you.
A plodding attitude to what you know you need to do will also protect you. Flamboyance or garishness in your approach could make you offensive or 86d. There is room for individuality, but it needs to be discreet.
You are able to get supplies you need. These could be wood or other material, or---maybe a Christmas tree. There is always some disagreement about Christmas decorating or celebrating, but in the spirit of the season such differences can be overlooked or overcome cheerfully.
Since today is the first day of Venus's trine with Mars, by ten degrees (it lasts through the 24th), holiday cheer may start percolating more than it has so far.
Zealous or visionary tendencies can be good so long as they do not get out of hand to the point of interfering with practical realities which need to be faced. You may want to convince someone of something nicely and patiently, rather than assert your rights ferociously, which could cause a backlash you do not want to deal with.
{Tuesday} /Working Things Out Patiently\
Cosmic Piper
\Working Things Out Patiently/
Last week after reading more about the horrendous Amanda Knox trial in Perugia, Italy, I was so aghast at the terrible way in which the trial was conducted that I felt sympathy for Amanda and a kind of American patriotism. "Those damn Italians!" I said to myself. I resolved to boycott all Italian products and restaurants. (The Italian seasoning I used in my lunch today doesn't count because it was produced in the U.S.) Whether Amanda was guilty or not, the trial could not possibly have proved her guilt because it was so shamefully conducted, and just about everyone who studies it agrees on that. She deserves, at the least, a new trial.
The very afternoon the verdict was delivered, before I knew what it would be, I found myself walking into an Italian restaurant! I don't know why, but I guess I thought, "If I am going to have to boycott everything Italian this will be my one last fling." I sat at the bar and talked with the non-Italian bartender about the case. He knew nothing about it. The owner of the restaurant is definitely Italian and welcomed me graciously as I entered. Later that evening I learned that the jury had found Amanda guilty. I had told the bartender about my intention to boycott everything Italian if that happened. He was amused. If the Italian owner overheard our conversation, I doubt that he was.
And I am not.
I just studied Amanda Knox's birth-chart, though I do not have the exact hour of birth (July 9, 1987 according to Wikipedia). A horoscope cannot be used, ever, to determine anyone's guilt or innocence. However, it is certain that her chart does reveal a great deal of the peculiar circumstances in her life, very sad at this point. Her Mars in Leo is at point focus because of squares to Pluto in Scorpio on one side and Jupiter in Aries on the other. That in itself shows the danger of strange accidents or possibly violent ones, love or sex-related because of Leo. Planets in Cancer (sign of the home, in her case Seattle, and of parents) are exactly quincunx planets, especially Saturn, in Sagittarius (sign of international travel). She is imprisoned in a foreign land and her parents are planning to move there to support her appeal.
Astrology is truly amazing. But not fatalistic. One can only think, "If only some astrologer had warned Amanda about the dangerous possibilities in her chart, she might have been more careful than to get mixed up in all this." Or not, we don't know.
Tuesday is a day of Prime Time and is the last day before the Dark Hermetic Epoch begins on Wednesday.
You might think over the past two months and what you have decided about your life during that period. It is likely to be correct, or more correct than what you might feel you want to change beginning tomorrow until early February. This latter is not a "bad time" any more than evening and night are bad times, but it is not so good for big changes in plans, which are likely to be based on errors of perception or conception. So "stand pat" is pretty good advice in most cases. In rare cases, major changes need to be made, but then one ought to be specially circumspect about all factors involved.
If you ponder the past two months today (Monday or Tuesday), and the conclusions you have arrived at, you may be set up nicely to fend off errors of judgment in the next two months. It might even be good to write down some of your major plans and intentions for December and January, or make a list of them.
You may be thinking about people or places at a distance and wondering what place they have in your life. Educational plans or plans for study may be worked out.
You may feel befuddled about some financial or business plans, and yet you feel that you are protected. You are. Only injudicious actions on your part could upset the apple cart. One clue: Consider that the usual, ordinary, conventional approach to some things which bother you could be more correct than your unusual independent approach. That could protect you.
A plodding attitude to what you know you need to do will also protect you. Flamboyance or garishness in your approach could make you offensive or 86d. There is room for individuality, but it needs to be discreet.
You are able to get supplies you need. These could be wood or other material, or---maybe a Christmas tree. There is always some disagreement about Christmas decorating or celebrating, but in the spirit of the season such differences can be overlooked or overcome cheerfully.
Since today is the first day of Venus's trine with Mars, by ten degrees (it lasts through the 24th), holiday cheer may start percolating more than it has so far.
Zealous or visionary tendencies can be good so long as they do not get out of hand to the point of interfering with practical realities which need to be faced. You may want to convince someone of something nicely and patiently, rather than assert your rights ferociously, which could cause a backlash you do not want to deal with.
{Tuesday} /Working Things Out Patiently\
Cosmic Piper
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Monday 7 December 2009
Monday 7 December 2009
Hello everyone, all of you who have been faithful in reading these reports over the years:
I want you to know how much your faith in me has meant. I know you do not believe I am omniscient---neither do I. I know you do not place implicit faith in every word I write---neither do I. I know you have been tolerant of my errors, or otherwise you would not still be reading these reports. Such tolerance of human weakness is something we all need desperately or otherwise we would all be despising one another all the time. Thank you for that wonderful fortitude. Your confidence in me is your confidence in yourself, that is, in your ability to discern the True in what I write and reject the false.
I regard you as wonderful human beings, because you have been willing to try to discern the truth in what I write while rejecting whatever does not help you. Thank you for that!
I intend to continue with these daily forecasts. However, today, Sunday December 6, 2009, I failed to write a forecast for Monday. I could say "Because of certain difficult situations in my life" but that would be an excuse and I am not disposed to accept excuses for myself at this stage of my life. I want to be tough on myself in order to be a real mensch, a real human being. So I apologize for failing to write a report for Monday. I hope that I will be able to post one for Tuesday.
Blessing to you during this Advent season!
Cosmic Piper
Hello everyone, all of you who have been faithful in reading these reports over the years:
I want you to know how much your faith in me has meant. I know you do not believe I am omniscient---neither do I. I know you do not place implicit faith in every word I write---neither do I. I know you have been tolerant of my errors, or otherwise you would not still be reading these reports. Such tolerance of human weakness is something we all need desperately or otherwise we would all be despising one another all the time. Thank you for that wonderful fortitude. Your confidence in me is your confidence in yourself, that is, in your ability to discern the True in what I write and reject the false.
I regard you as wonderful human beings, because you have been willing to try to discern the truth in what I write while rejecting whatever does not help you. Thank you for that!
I intend to continue with these daily forecasts. However, today, Sunday December 6, 2009, I failed to write a forecast for Monday. I could say "Because of certain difficult situations in my life" but that would be an excuse and I am not disposed to accept excuses for myself at this stage of my life. I want to be tough on myself in order to be a real mensch, a real human being. So I apologize for failing to write a report for Monday. I hope that I will be able to post one for Tuesday.
Blessing to you during this Advent season!
Cosmic Piper
Friday, December 4, 2009
Saturday 5 December 2009
Saturday 5 December 2009
*Relishing the Season's Friendly Potentials*
Orange or gold is for the sun, ruler of Leo wherein the moon coasts today.
Lunar aspects at least are good, so you may enjoy friends, visiting, and connections with those at a distance or relatives.
Some of these may seem to have persistent ideas or plans you regard as foolish or ill-considered, as if they were determined to go against the current, pursuing what could be loss instead of gain. You can be amiable and tolerant anyway and enjoy what is better in them rather than fret over the worse.
We are moving toward a transition point since the Hermetic Epoch changes to Dark on the 9th, and concurrently Mars approaches a station and then retrogradation, a fairly rare one-in-three-years event. What this means we will try to elucidate as we go along. I would say, don't try to go it alone; and realize which friendly people, groups or institutions are helping you to true your course, so that it does not boomerang.
Someone you like who is interested in a lot of subjects and likes to read or discover things may be in touch with you in a way which pleases. You fortify each other's strength and indirectly aid each other to keep on a course of learning through literature or other studies. Imagination as well as history make you feel certifiably connected with the larger universe.
Ardor concerning your home is wonderful because it strengthens you. You could be enthusiastic about Christmas decorations or other refinements, including what goes on the floor. Cures for international tensions could be found by those who are mapping the U. S. strategy in Afghanistan, for example; partly it is to care about families and children.
You may feel better about tasks which you had started to feel (Wednesday through Friday) were too much for you. You sense that although you get less credit or reward than you deserve, something in you has to keep on keeping on with service to someone or other in the world at large. This can start to feel like a game. Football or any other sport could be specially fulfilling today, perhaps an ideal holiday-season football Saturday.
{Saturday} *Relishing the Season's Friendly Potentials*
Cosmic Piper
*Relishing the Season's Friendly Potentials*
Orange or gold is for the sun, ruler of Leo wherein the moon coasts today.
Lunar aspects at least are good, so you may enjoy friends, visiting, and connections with those at a distance or relatives.
Some of these may seem to have persistent ideas or plans you regard as foolish or ill-considered, as if they were determined to go against the current, pursuing what could be loss instead of gain. You can be amiable and tolerant anyway and enjoy what is better in them rather than fret over the worse.
We are moving toward a transition point since the Hermetic Epoch changes to Dark on the 9th, and concurrently Mars approaches a station and then retrogradation, a fairly rare one-in-three-years event. What this means we will try to elucidate as we go along. I would say, don't try to go it alone; and realize which friendly people, groups or institutions are helping you to true your course, so that it does not boomerang.
Someone you like who is interested in a lot of subjects and likes to read or discover things may be in touch with you in a way which pleases. You fortify each other's strength and indirectly aid each other to keep on a course of learning through literature or other studies. Imagination as well as history make you feel certifiably connected with the larger universe.
Ardor concerning your home is wonderful because it strengthens you. You could be enthusiastic about Christmas decorations or other refinements, including what goes on the floor. Cures for international tensions could be found by those who are mapping the U. S. strategy in Afghanistan, for example; partly it is to care about families and children.
You may feel better about tasks which you had started to feel (Wednesday through Friday) were too much for you. You sense that although you get less credit or reward than you deserve, something in you has to keep on keeping on with service to someone or other in the world at large. This can start to feel like a game. Football or any other sport could be specially fulfilling today, perhaps an ideal holiday-season football Saturday.
{Saturday} *Relishing the Season's Friendly Potentials*
Cosmic Piper
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Friday 4 December 2009: Afghanistan
The following is the finest expose of our stupid, hideous, immoral, ridiculous and evil Afghan policy I have read so far. There will be more as this tragedy drags on.
Johnson, Gorbachev, Obama
Imagine you’re a villager living in southern Afghanistan.
You’re barely educated, proud of your region’s history of stopping invaders and suspicious of outsiders. Like most of your fellow Pashtuns, you generally dislike the Taliban because many are overzealous, truculent nutcases.
Yet you are even more suspicious of the infidel American troops. You know of some villages where the Americans have helped build roads and been respectful of local elders and customs. On the other hand, you know of other villages where the infidel troops have invaded homes, shamed families by ogling women, or bombed wedding parties.
You’re angry that your people, the Pashtuns, traditionally the dominant tribe of Afghanistan, seem to have been pushed aside in recent years, with American help. Moreover, the Afghan government has never been more corrupt. The Taliban may be incompetent, but at least they are pious Muslim Pashtuns and reasonably honest.
You were always uncomfortable with foreign troops in your land, but it wasn’t so bad the first few years when there were only about 10,000 American soldiers in the entire country. Now, after President Obama’s speech on Tuesday, there soon will be 100,000. That’s three times as many as when the president took office, and 10 times as many as in 2003.
Hmmm. You still distrust the Taliban, but maybe they’re right to warn about infidels occupying your land. Perhaps you’ll give a goat to support your clansman who joined the local Taliban.
That’s why so many people working in Afghanistan at the grass roots are watching the Obama escalation with a sinking feeling. President Lyndon Johnson doubled down on the Vietnam bet soon after he inherited the presidency, and Mikhail Gorbachev escalated the Soviet deployment that he inherited in Afghanistan soon after he took over the leadership of his country. They both inherited a mess — and made it worse and costlier.
As with the Americans in Vietnam, and Soviets in Afghanistan, we understate the risk of a nationalist backlash; somehow Mr. Obama has emerged as more enthusiastic about additional troops than even the corrupt Afghan government we are buttressing.
Gen. Stanley McChrystal warned in his report on the situation in Afghanistan that “new resources are not the crux” of the problem. Rather, he said, the key is a new approach that emphasizes winning hearts and minds: “Our strategy cannot be focused on seizing terrain or destroying insurgent troops; our objective must be the population.”
So why wasn’t the Afghan population more directly consulted?
“To me, what was most concerning is that there was never any consultation with the Afghan shura, the tribal elders,” said Greg Mortenson, whose extraordinary work building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan was chronicled in “Three Cups of Tea” and his new book, “From Stones to Schools.” “It was all decided on the basis of congressmen and generals speaking up, with nobody consulting Afghan elders. One of the elders’ messages is we don’t need firepower, we need brainpower. They want schools, health facilities, but not necessarily more physical troops.”
For the cost of deploying one soldier for one year, it is possible to build about 20 schools.
Another program that is enjoying great success in undermining the Taliban is the National Solidarity Program, or N.S.P., which helps villages build projects that they choose — typically schools, clinics, irrigation projects, bridges. This is widely regarded as one of the most successful and least corrupt initiatives in Afghanistan.
“It’s a terrific program,” said George Rupp, the president of the International Rescue Committee. “But it’s underfunded. And it takes very little: for the cost of one U.S. soldier for a year, you could have the N.S.P. in 20 more villages.”
These kinds of projects — including girls’ schools — are often possible even in Taliban areas. One aid group says that the Taliban allowed it to build a girls’ school as long as the teachers were women and as long as the textbooks did not include photos of President Hamid Karzai. And the Taliban usually don’t mess with projects that have strong local support. (That’s why they haven’t burned any of Mr. Mortenson’s schools.)
America’s military spending in Afghanistan alone next year will now exceed the entire official military budget of every other country in the world.
Over time, education has been the single greatest force to stabilize societies. It’s no magic bullet, but it reduces birth rates, raises living standards and subdues civil conflict and terrorism. That’s why as a candidate Mr. Obama proposed a $2 billion global education fund — a promise he seems to have forgot.
My hunch is that if Mr. Obama wants success in Afghanistan, he would be far better off with 30,000 more schools than 30,000 more troops. Instead, he’s embarking on a buildup that may become an albatross on his presidency.
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