Over the Rainbow, Infinite Love; Wednesday's Forecast

Probably you are feeling you want to focus and concentrate on your business, your work, your reason for being. If unemployed or retired, this can be a personal project, hobby or volunteer activity. There does not have to be a sense of burden about this, but gladness that you feel you are on the right track.
The time given below for improvements in two categories is when the moon enters Gemini; before that it is only void-of-course a short time, but its last aspect before that is a square with Neptune, good for spiritual contemplation or realization but not usually for business or social affairs.
The hard aspect now is Venus opposing Mars. The ten-degree orb of this is January 25-February 8. It has multiple meanings, all of which I shall not attempt to elucidate, but may give you a clue to the whole schlemiel. It is, yes, disagreement or tension between the sexes, at a basic level, but more than that. Venus is comfort; Mars is challenge. So one person (of either sex) challenges another's comfort, by words, acts or attitudes.
The creative side of it is serious restructuring in order to overcome tensions within oneself. Mars is part of yourself, Venus another. Your Mars wants to be bold, courageous, strong. Your Venus wants to relax and enjoy the "good life." Mars says that life is not good if not manful, challenging, achieving. Venus says, Okay, but don't push me too hard. Life is for fun and pleasure too. And so it goes. Through all this you can arrive at a more understanding reconciliation of these two parts of your nature. For some it will be, for example, a struggle to change diet or other habits.
That may be an oversimplification but it gives a clue. And, by the way, I don't mean to imply that women are lazy; quite the contrary; and in India for millennia the active aspect of Deity has been called the feminine one, Prakriti, Maya, or at higher levels the divine Shakti. This is not exactly Venus, except under her aspect of Mahalakshmi, and so Venus may be called the more passive side of the female gender, the one devoted to beauty, clothing, jewelry, and the like, rather than the active feminine which takes care of children and the household and a job like the Indian goddess with six arms. That aspect of female skill may be, astrologically, both the moon and Saturn. And, beyond all this, females have Mars in their charts and males have Venus.
With the Venus-Mars opposition there can be harshness and unkindness (Mars) plus an extreme sensitiveness to that unkindness (Venus), and so unhappiness and touchiness. What usually would appear a harmless comment or act might seem a mortal insult. The prevailing dissatisfaction can make one highly critical of people, expecting more than they can deliver.
Another facet of this aspect is separation, so that even if there is no obvious argument or disharmony, people drift apart or are forced apart by circumstances. Of course, since the aspect is temporary, the separation may be also.
Back to paragraph 1 for a positive attitude about what can be done today. The rest may help you pass through, and minimize, the emotional stress while forwarding real purposes.
Wednesday
Social life, friendship, enjoyment, personal relationships: C, B*
Work, projects, opportunity, concentration on achievement: A
Negotiations, agreements, business, transactions, purchases: D, B*
Cooperation of circumstances, weather, traffic, conveniences: C
Sheer relaxation and liberating self-exploration: C
Spiritual seeking, worship, prayer, meditation, positive thinking: A
*Beginning at 11:16aPT12:16pMT1:16pCT2:16p ET7:16p UT
E is effete; D is desperate; C is cool; B is bold; A is awesome
Cosmic Piper


Over the Rainbow, Infinite Love

A letter from a reader:
I have been subscribing to your forecasts for several years now, and I find I do not resonate with your new format or your alter ego "sir real". I was raised as a "Christian" and later in my adulthood discovered my own truth about God! Christianity puts a lot of human attributes on God that aren't God at all! Pure and simple God is Love! So, if God is Love then why should I fear God/Love? I appreciate that religion got me to where I AM today, but I AM grateful for a different perception of this Higher Power! I can also understand that this is your path and can accept your need to add some religion and guilt to the Cosmic Piper......I just skip over the alter ego parts. Sir Real......Reality is dependent on Awareness! These are the times to be moving out of 3D and truly experiencing our higher realities and consciousness.
Blessings to you Hugh Howard Higgins! I love and appreciate you!
Y
Thanks for writing, Y. I won't argue with you, except to say that I feel the "New Age" movement is missing the boat by not realizing G*d is larger than themselves. Maybe that does not apply to you. I find that they lack all real humility, all ability to bow down to something greater than themselves, and finally believe there is nothing greater. Which is just egoism, the opposite of spirituality. The Bible is tremendous, enormous, amazing. It is very well worth studying and re-studying no matter what one's beliefs, to aid and refine one's beliefs. And I have to say that no one has transcended the message of Jesus. I understand your statement of a more loving G*d, and that has been around a long time in Christian Science, which I also study, and in cognate movements which were actually the basis of the New Age stuff, which I am afraid has gotten pretty sappy lately. Thus my return to the Bible. Jesus taught an infinitely loving God, for those who have "ears to hear." And I do not apologize for studying the Bible! and shall continue to write about it. The one who humbles himself is the one who is raised up. It has taken me a long time to learn that and I am still learning it . . .
An infinitely loving God loves us enough to make us aware of when we are causing others, or animals, suffering (as all meat-eaters do, considering the horrible tortuous conditions in which "farm," or meat-industry, animals are kept) and so He makes us aware of our "sins" in traditional terminology, our mistakes, the things we are unconsciously doing which make others or animals or the planet suffer. If we are ignoring those messages from conscience, we need to feel more "guilt," not less, in order to correct the situation.
As I have stated often, I am also a student of Sri Aurobindo's teachings, which might accord more smoothly with your own views.
Best,
Hugh
P. S. You might like the writings of Emma Curtis Hopkins, an old-timer who was also, with Mary Baker Eddy, at the base of the New Age teachings but still held on to enough of the message of the Bible to be more profound than the later stuff. Also Charles Fillmore, founder of the Unity movement, who wrote a compendious Metaphysical Bible Dictionary (and was a vegetarian and advocated such a diet). "Reality is dependent on Awareness," yes, I agree, but facing the suffering of others, which is what Christ Jesus is trying to teach me, is also part of awareness . . . in order to heal their suffering, yes, but we need Avatars such as Jesus to enable us to do that. If it weren't for Jesus I would not be writing the forecasts, nor would I even be here physically.
Sir Real

G*d is for the Weak; Tuesday Forecast

Tuesday Forecast, 31 January 2012

I believe you are making progress in your career and your most basic plans for economic well-being. As we approach the center of the Bright Hermetic Epoch it is well to consider what one has learned in the past month or two and "seal it in" before one forgets it. Or, if there is still more to learn (as always), one can continue to refine or perfect the quest. (That center is technically February 6-7 when Mercury is closest to the sun, a week from now.)

This might be the best "social" day of the week, although I couldn't give it an A rating because of the Venus-Mars opposition. You might want to be in touch with someone special, or get together if possible, or have fun somehow.

Tuesday

Social life, friendship, enjoyment, personal relationships: B

Work, projects, opportunity, concentration on achievement: A

Negotiations, agreements, business, transactions, purchases: B

Cooperation of circumstances, weather, traffic, conveniences: C

Sheer relaxation and liberating self-exploration: C

Spiritual seeking, worship, prayer, meditation, positive thinking: A

E is effete; D is desperate; C is cool; B is bold; A is awesome

Cosmic Piper

G*d is for the Weak

I find that no one has written expressing the slightest interest, agreement or disagreement with my writings on the Bible and on the nature of the spiritual search according to individual horoscopes. (Oh yes, one individual.) I guess none of you are interested. I guess all you care for is Cosmic Piper's highly doubtful predictions. Maybe you are strong, but I am weak, and try to slip some grain of Biblical insight into your awareness:

"Where is your wise man now, your man of learning, or your subtle debater--limited, all of them, to this passing age? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. As God in his wisdom ordained, the world failed to find him by its wisdom, and he chose to save those who have faith by the folly of the Gospel." --Paul, I Corinthians 1:20-22

"Divine folly is wiser than the wisdom of man, and divine weakness stronger than man's strength. My brothers, think what sort of people you are, whom God has called. Few of you are men of wisdom, by any human standard; few are powerful or highly born. Yet, to shame the wise, God has chosen what the world counts folly, and to shame what is strong, God has chosen what the world counts weakness. He has chosen things low and contemptible, mere nothings, to overthrow the existing order. And so there is no place for human pride in the presence of God." --Paul, I Corinthians 1:25-29

And, from centuries earlier:

"Prosperity and ease look down on misofortune,

on the blow that fells the man who is already reeling [unemployed],

while the marauders' tents [Romney, Gingrich] are left undisturbed

and those who provoke God live safe and sound.

Go and ask the cattle, ask the birds of the air to inform you,

or tell the creatures that crawl to teach you, and the fishes of the sea to give you instruction.

Who cannot learn from all these that the Lord's own hand has done this?

In God's hand are the souls of all that live, the spirits of all human kind.

Wisdom and might are his, with him are firmness and uinderstanding.

If he pulls down, there is no rebuilding; if he imprisons, there is no release.

If he holds up the waters, there is drought; if he lets them go, they turn the land upside down.

Strength and success belong to him, deceived and deceiver are his to use.

He makes counsellors behave like idiots and drives judges mad;

he looses the bonds imposed by kings and removes the girdle of office from their waists;

he makes priests behave like idiots and overthrows men long in office;

those who are trusted he strikes dumb, he takes away the judgment of old men;

he heaps scorn on princes and abates the arrogance of nobles.

He leads people astray and destroys them, he lays them low, and there they lie.

He takes away their wisdom from the rulers of the nations

and leaves them wandering in a pathless wilderness;

they grope in the darkness without light and are left to wander like a drunkard.

He uncovers mysteries deep in obscurity and into thick darkness he brings light."

--Job 12: 5-9, 10-22

Sir Real

Monday Forecast 30 January 2012

Monday Forecast, 30 January 2012

There's a focus on money, resources, finances, and ways of gaining them or making them more secure. This involves conflicts between various methods or options. However, you are well prepared to estimate correctly which options are likely to be more successful, if you take your time and trust your calm judgment.

Another focus is study, research, learning, in ways whcih are fascinating and mind-expanding. You are determined to hold on to a particular course of study (as in a school or on your own) until you have gained all it has to offer at the current time. You don't mind restricting or limiting yourself, in other ways, in order to do this because the quest for knowledge and understanding is absorbing.

Even your times of entertainment have learning wrapped in or around them.

Saturn in the last degree of Libra trining Neptune in the last degree of Aquarius (where it has been for twelve years) suggests the culmination of some kind of spiritual research or quest for wisdom. You might be able to identify this as something paying off for you at the present time in your inner realizations. "Things are good; the world is good; the Divine is present," is part of what this aspect means, with all the inner content of those brief statements opening up more widely to your comprehension.

The time given below for improvement in the social scene is when things start to loosen up a bit so you can move gradually into an evening mode of fulfillment.

Monday

Social life, friendship, enjoyment, personal relationships: D, C*

Work, projects, opportunity, concentration on achievement: C

Negotiations, agreements, business, transactions, purchases: C

Cooperation of circumstances, weather, traffic, conveniences: C

Sheer relaxation and liberating self-exploration: B

Spiritual seeking, worship, prayer, meditation, positive thinking: A

*Beginning at 1:55p PT|2:55pMT|3:55pCT|4:55pET|9:55pUT

E is effete; D is desperate; C is cool; B is bold; A is awesome

Cosmic Piper

Weekend Forecast, 28-29 January 2012

It looks like people are wanting real rest and recuperation this weekend. Things have been good for forward progress, as I have been pointing out, but maybe you feel "Enough is enough for now" and need that relaxation into your subconscious longings known as sleep-and-dream-time, or if you can attain it, the higher ascent into Spirit.

The low ratings for social life do not mean you have to be alone, of course, although some aloneness might be just what you need. If with someone, the clue is to make that time as happy as possible by avoiding the harsh and painful topics you know the other wants to avoid. This is not timidity so much as wise caution, and respect for the Other's predilections. Something within most of us is a repressed prison warden or tyrant or master in a reformatory, wanting to get people to do what we think is for their own good (and ours and G*d's). Believe it or not, the ones you want to reform also have this feeling, and want to reform you. To avoid a pointless tug of war, or fist fight, nobility, generosity, and even magnanimity are called for.

Of course it's not all bleak, but by pointing out these trends I hope to help you find a less stressful middle course. Your hopes and aspirations are strong, and you can continue to develop plans and strategies, but with deeper trust in the Divine to work things out for and with you, so that you do not get yourself or others into a "tizzy" (I am not sure what the technical definition of that word is, which my mother used to use, but I think we all get it).

"In the light of omnipresent intelligence, is there not One who knows all things, all roads, all combinations, and what will be the outcome of every one?" --Charles Fillmore

Saturday
Social life, friendship, enjoyment, personal relationships: C, D*
Work, projects, opportunity, concentration on achievement: C
Negotiations, agreements, business, transactions, purchases: C, E*
Cooperation of circumstances, weather, traffic, conveniences: C, D*
Sheer relaxation and liberating self-exploration: B
Spiritual seeking, worship, prayer, meditation, positive thinking: A always
*Begins at 11:04a PT|12:04p MT|1:04p CT|2:04p ET |7:04p UT

Sunday
Social life, friendship, enjoyment, personal relationships: D
Work, projects, opportunity, concentration on achievement: D
Negotiations, agreements, business, transactions, purchases: E
Cooperation of circumstances, weather, traffic, conveniences: D
Sheer relaxation and liberating self-exploration: B
Spiritual seeking, worship, prayer, meditation, positive thinking: A always
E is effete; D is desperate; C is cool; B is bold; A is awesome

Cosmic Piper

Friday Forecast, 27 January 2012

The division-time in the ratings is because of the moon being void-of-course at the end of Pisces before it enters Aries. It may be harder to get things under control or in shape before that time.

Generally it seems a bright day full of clarity and promise, so that, at least in the second part, you can track along with plans successfully. Business is on track. What seems right or to be an opportunity probably is a right opportunity.

It is not wise to stir up a hornets' nest, ever, but the human hornet also is prevalent while Venus opposes Mars and the moon joins Uranus. If the matter is touchy, you probably should avoid it, or else be ready for the sting.

"I know what I'm doing; leave me alone" is the general mood. And probably he or she does; and so do you; so it is a matter of individual projects and hopeful schemes each proceeding in its own way and not necessarily conflicting with those of others.

Friday
Social life, friendship, enjoyment, personal relationships: C
Work, projects, opportunity, concentration on achievement: D, B*
Negotiations, agreements, business, transactions, purchases: D, B*
Cooperation of circumstances, weather, traffic, conveniences: C, B*
Sheer relaxation and liberating self-exploration: B
Spiritual seeking, worship, prayer, meditation, positive thinking: A always

*Begins at 10:29a PT|11:29a MT|12:29p CT|1:29p ET |6:29p UT
E is effete; D is desperate; C is cool; B is bold; A is awesome

Cosmic Piper

Thursday Forecast, 26 January 2012

I hope you are developing your work methods, plans, and initiatives smoothly and successfully. There is no astrological reason why you could not be doing that. I give a lot of excuses for confusions, backward tracking, and temporary failure during a Dark Hermetic Epoch, but we are in a Bright one now until February 27. Please do not tell me things are hard. If so, you must soften them, because you can.

We are in the heart of the Bright Hermetic Epoch especially through February 6, or another eleven days, so I recommend surveying your life, figuring out where you stand and what you can do, solidifying your current plans (for the next three months at least) as well as you can. Your judgment is probably as good as it is going to be for a long time. Circumstances always require patience, but they will cooperate with you better now than later, and further, you can "seal in" what you gain in terms of knowledge, wisdom, and planning during this time so that you do not lose it when the Dark (slower, more subjective and confusing) period begins. You will also sense, now, what to leave out or avoid, what matters in your life deserve "benign neglect" for now, while you focus on the important ones. There will be time for the more peculiar, subjective, frivolous or experimental stuff in the next Dark Epoch (February 27-April 22).

All this may be specially true right now while Mercury remains in good aspect with Mars and at point focus between Jupiter and Saturn. Other factors also give the day an A rating for work and projects, including detailed planning in financial, career, job, and household matters. The other C ratings are not bad, just normal.

Social life, friendship, enjoyment, personal relationships: C
Work, projects, opportunity, concentration on achievement: A
Negotiations, agreements, business, transactions, purchases: C
Cooperation of circumstances, weather, traffic, conveniences: C
Sheer relaxation and liberating self-exploration: C
Spiritual seeking, worship, prayer, meditation, positive thinking: A always
E is effete; D is desperate; C is cool; B is bold; A is awesome

Cosmic Piper

Wednesday Forecast, 25 January 2012

Wednesday 25 January 2012

As for the solar flares, yes, I have been feeling them, although I don't know how to put in words what they mean. According to Theosophists the sun is our Solar Logos, a conscious being whose awareness is beyond anything we can imagine, existing also on other than the physical plane. I have felt an impulsion of deep concern about my life and its ultimate meaning and this may be linked to this outward solar phenomenon, indicating a possible spiritual message directed to us by the source of our physical energy and sustenance, ancient venerable Sol. (He was incarnate, I believe, in Sri Aurobindo, if you can hear that kind of esoteric information.)

Perhaps the toughest aspect we face is Mercury squared both Saturn and Jupiter. At worst this could be too much credulity on one side plus too much carefulness about trivial matters on the other, the individual who tries so hard to scheme his way through life that he loses all common sense and would be more successful following a simpler more straightforward path. Yet at best these two combined could be a focus on brilliant plans which exalt your career, your study and understanding of how to proceed with the most important matters in your life. That is, if you balance contradictory factors wisely.

Socially, I had to give the day a C because Venus is beginning to oppose Mars, a rather nasty aspect showing people, whether of the opposite or same sex, interfering with one another: the nagging wife or abusive husband. (Oh, are there nagging husbands and abusive wives too?) You will encounter those who are totally convinced they know better than you do about all kinds of things, who want to reform you. If you have that same tendency, fine, but be careful how you direct it and try to remain respectful of the other's position. However, a C is not a D or E: You could enjoy people and life in a subtle psychic-spiritual-kindly manner (moon with Venus in Pisces, possibly a budding B grade).

Social life, friendship, enjoyment, personal relationships: C
Work, projects, concentration on achievement: A
Negotiations, agreements, business, transactions, purchases: B
Cooperation of circumstances, weather, traffic, conveniences: B
Sheer relaxation and liberating self-exploration: B
Spiritual seeking, worship, prayer, meditation, positive thinking: A always
E is effete; D is desperate; C is cool; B is bold; A is awesome

Cosmic Piper

Tuesday Forecast,, 24 January 2012

Tuesday 24 January 2012

This seems a calm, straightforward day, mostly fortunate. It is good for career, work, and projects. You are able to be peaceful and at ease even with those who seem to be out of line in some ways. They are not a threat but a fly in the ointment. It is satisfying to know you can keep working on your goals without serious interruption; with sustainable momentum. Solving job, career, or financial issues is very possible with Mercury prominent in a practical sector of the chart. People sense psychically what can bring them together peaceably, and are glad of that because strife is wearisome.

Social life, friendship, enjoyment, personal relationships: C
Work, projects, concentration on achievement: A
Negotiations, agreements, business, transactions, purchases: B
Cooperation of circumstances, weather, traffic, conveniences: C
Sheer relaxation and liberating self-exploration: C
Spiritual seeking, worship, prayer, meditation, positive thinking: A always
E is effete; D is desperate; C is cool; B is bold; A is awesome

Cosmic Piper

Monday Forecast, 23 January 2012

Monday 23 January 2012

A sense of impending change (New Moon late Sunday and early today) is refreshing and strengthening, because the change seems in a positive direction. This could be a time for entrepreneurs. Moods are somewhat subdued, allowing one to focus on thinking, strategy, and practical potentials, now in process of actualization. Nobody wants to be idle. The friends you choose are spiritually alive and solid, trustworthy and feet-on-the-ground. What you accomplish has resale value, as it were. The higher side of things is not missing, with New Age visions dancing in many heads, and perhaps New Age businesses aborning. Those who don't like business may find their skills and talents usable by those who do, in a fair way which repays. The decline of predatory entrepreneurship means the rise of group-conscious ventures.

Social life, friendship, enjoyment, personal relationships: D
Work, projects, concentration on achievement: B
Negotiations, agreements, business, transactions, purchases: D
Cooperation of circumstances, weather, traffic, conveniences: D
Sheer relaxation and liberating self-exploration: C
Spiritual seeking, worship, prayer, meditation, positive thinking: A always

E is effete; D is desperate; C is cool; B is bold; A is awesome
{Monday}

Cosmic Piper

Weekend Forecast for 21-22 January 2012

Saturday and Sunday, 21-22 January 2012

The moon, approaching the sun from our earth perspective, is getting apparently smaller before the New Moon, which will be Monday. These final days are often less animated, or devoted more to internal processes than to outward ambitious projects. However, there appears to be a good deal of curiosity and intelligent activity, with Mercury trine Mars, an ability to find answers to puzzles or inquiries.

Saturday 21 January
Social life, friendship, enjoyment, personal relationships: C
Work, projects, concentration on achievement: A
Negotiations, agreements, business, transactions, purchases: B
Cooperation of circumstances, weather, traffic, conveniences: C, D*
Sheer relaxation and liberating self-exploration: B
Spiritual seeking, worship, prayer, meditation, positive thinking: A always

*this D rating begins at 3:18p PT|4:18pMT|5:18pCT|6:18pET|11:18pUT

Sunday 22 January
Social life, friendship, enjoyment, personal relationships: E
Work, projects, concentration on achievement: C
Negotiations, agreements, business, transactions, purchases: D
Cooperation of circumstances, weather, traffic, conveniences: D
Sheer relaxation and liberating self-exploration: C
Spiritual seeking, worship, prayer, meditation, positive thinking: A always

E is effete; D is desperate; C is cool; B is bold; A is awesome

Cosmic Piper

Party Day? Friday 20 January 2012

Friday 20 January 2012

I cannot speak for weather conditions in the world or the nation because I have not been following them on the Weather Channel or anywhere else. But the exact squares of the sun with both Saturn and Jupiter (the former exact on Thursday and close to exact earlier in the week) coincided here in the Pacific Northwest with an unusually severe snowstorm and accompanying cold. This could not have been more in accord with traditional astrological lore handed down for thousands of years, and with what I myself have observed for decades.

I therefore gave the rating-domain called "Cooperation of circumstances, weather, traffic, conveniences" a C rating. It would have been D or E except for mitigating factors. As a matter of fact, C was right even here because the school kids in the Seattle area were delighted to get some days off, as well as some employees of firms which shut down. Circumstances (weather) "cooperated with them" to give them a holiday. The ratings do not necessarily indicate physical circumstances per se so much as human reactions to them, which is what astrology is all about. I did not hear of major accidents or loss of life, for example, because of the weather. I aim to make the D and E days in this category warnings of possibly hazardous, or inconvenient and time-wasting, traffic conditions whether on the road, at airports or elsewhere.

Wherever I have lived, New York, Florida, Colorado, Washington, the weather has tended to follow astrological indications to a surprising degree. This is the reason the Old Farmers' Almanac (the old one written by astrologers who knew what they were doing) was so successful in predicting weather patterns. Meteorologists may have the jump on astrologers when it comes to short-term predictions, but astrologers (good weather astrologers, if there are any these days, of whom I do not claim to be one) have the jump when it comes to long-term projections.

I am guessing that the two squares already mentioned will manifest not as tragedy but as inconvenience, therefore the C ratings for Friday; however . . .

Friday gets the first A rating I have given for social life (since beginning these ratings 8 days ago) so it is a truly TGIF day. Venus's good aspects are reinforced by mostly excellent lunar aspects. Luna's square with Uranus could show irruptions of individuality in annoying ways but hardly enough to mar the good times. No matter the weather, let's have a party.

{Friday}
Social life, friendship, enjoyment, personal relationships: A
Work, projects, concentration on achievement: C
Negotiations, agreements, business, transactions, purchases: A
Cooperation of circumstances, weather, traffic, conveniences: C
Sheer relaxation and liberating self-exploration: C
Spiritual seeking, worship, prayer, meditation, positive thinking: A always

E is effete; D is desperate; C is cool; B is bold; A is awesome

Cosmic Piper

Thursday 19 January 2012

Thursday 19 January 2012

The sun's square with Saturn is exact today. This has been evident in wintry weather in a lot of places. Otherwise, it shows a need to balance one's hopeful self-expression with the reality of things, being neither too morose to get moving nor foolishly optimistic along unrealistic lines. So it means estimating one's prospects wisely and proceeding cautiously, but not so cautiously that one is immobilized. People who are older or in ill health may get one's attention or one may have responsibilities toward them. The day has sufficient energy behind it so that that none of these things need be depressing.

Socially, Venus's aspects remain excellent and I wanted to give the day an A rating but held back out of caution (previous paragraph). The moon's square with Mars suggests games might be a good social outlet, or indoor or winter sports (with appropriate caution). People can be feisty in an easygoing way. Working out tricky or difficult matters with a friend is favored.

The day may be more active than Wednesday, but things are on an even keel and ratings remain the same:

{Thursday}
Social life, friendship, enjoyment, personal relationships: B
Work, projects, concentration on achievement: B
Negotiations, agreements, business, transactions, purchases: C
Cooperation of circumstances, weather, traffic, conveniences: C
Sheer relaxation and liberating self-exploration: D
Spiritual seeking, worship, prayer, meditation, positive thinking: A always

E is effete; D is desperate; C is cool; B is bold; A is awesome

Cosmic Piper

The Iron or the Golden Rule? Wednesday 18 January Forecast

The Iron or the Golden Rule?

Last night I watched the Republican debates. It is interesting that on Fox News, where watchers could Tweet their approval or disapproval of answers, Ron Paul won! By a huge margin. And Romney came in last! But Fox tried to dissemble and pretend that Paul didn't exist, with one of their "talking heads" showing a big chart which showed the results for Romney, Santorum and Gingrich only. He said, at the beginning, "Ron Paul maintained a constant lead above these three," and then proceeded to ignore the winner!

The lady anchor for Fox was getting hundreds of Tweeted protests from Paul supporters. Because of her (and their) intervention, finally Fox and the "talking head" presented another chart showing Paul as the clear, huge winner and Romney as the flunk-out! It was obvious they hated to do it.

But today that chart is no longer on the Fox website, and the other media have completely ignored those results. Paul is very consciously and deliberately ignored by the media, given fourth or fifth place in coverage even when he comes in second in the voting as in New Hampshire.

The things I really like about Paul are (a) his libertarianism about social and life-style issues and (b) most importantly, his foreign policy. His financial and tax ideas and opposition to "the welfare state" are silly and insupportable. There is a "welfare state" everywhere in the world, to some degree, and nobody is going to change that. It is merely a collective manifestation of basic human decency, a recognition that people need to be supported when they are unable to support themselves completely in economies which have very few jobs left. It may need modification, as I would admit, but not elimination. (For example, I would try to find some way of reducing excessive births {but not through abortion}, for it is ridiculous to expect the middle class to support endless production of children by those who cannot support them, especially when jobs are being replaced by machines everywhere.)

What inspired me to write this was the loud booing the Republicans attending the debate gave Ron Paul when he mentioned the Golden Rule. These Republicans booed the Golden Rule! That shows what they really are. Paul said that if we are constantly bombing other nations, how can we expect them not to bomb us? And then mentioned the Golden Rule. Loud boos! I suppose that if anyone had mentioned Jesus there would have been even louder boos. On Martin Luther King day, no less, the man whose career was based on Jesus's and Gandhi's non-violence, which is a particular application of the Golden Rule. Those who booed the Golden Rule have earned the vengeance of G*d. Fortunately for them, He has commanded us to be merciful and to pray for those who misunderstand and persecute. He himself is merciful, so my only prayer in this case must be that these mockers of God's teachings be converted and turned from their hideous effrontery, before they suffer the educative punishment they otherwise have earned.

Sir Real

P. S. I do not consider myself a total pacifist, although the teachings of Jesus lead in that direction. Sri Aurobindo taught that self-defense and national defense might include violence when inescapable; but we ought to be doing all we can to slow down and finally stop that vicious circle of attack and counter-attack.


Wednesday 18 January 2012

I gave Tuesday a D and then a C for weather, in the forecast, with the change at 11:55a PT. I am now in that zone in the Northwest and although it was still snowing at 11:55, by 12:25 it had stopped completely, although it had been snowing all morning. Score a point for Cosmic Piper. I am not claiming I can forecast the weather for every place in the world, for obviously China has different weather from Brazil, and both from the American Northwest, but I think you will find these indications interesting and, I hope, helpful, if combined with the usual weather forecasts and your own observation and intuition. I am giving that part of the forecast a C for today, even though the meteorologists are predicting more snow where I am. They may be right, but my rating suggests it won't be terribly disruptive (maybe the snow plowers will get it right) and I hope not where you are either. If there is cold or snow, that is to be expected while the sun is square Saturn, exact on Wednesday and Thursday.

Wednesday might be specially good for something connected with publicity; communication with bosses, superiors or clients; and friendly overtures in any direction which catches your fancy. The moon's square with Neptune, besides often increasing precipitation, puts a small cloud of doubt over many factors but there is sunshine within and around it, so you should not lose faith.

Social life, friendship, enjoyment, personal relationships: B
Work, projects, concentration on achievement: B
Negotiations, agreements, business, transactions, purchases: C
Cooperation of circumstances, weather, traffic, conveniences: C
Sheer relaxation and liberating self-exploration: D
Spiritual seeking, worship, prayer, meditation, positive thinking: A always

E is effete; D is desperate; C is cool; B is bold; A is awesome

Cosmic Piper

Tuesday 17January 2012

Tuesday 17 January 2012

I heard that some people in Europe call the third Monday in January "blue Monday" because it is about the most desolate or depressing in the year. This year I would agree, because of the lunar situation Monday, but let us hope today will be somewhat less bleak. It looks like a "get it done" day on several levels, which could be refreshing after the three-day break. The ability to stay with plans and actualize them is strong, with Mars trine both the sun and (increasingly) Mercury in earth signs. There are also feelings of internal peaceful satisfaction, with a mildly erotic streak (Venus well-aspected in Pisces).

Social life, friendship, enjoyment, personal relationships: C, B*
Work, projects, concentration on achievement: C, B*
Negotiations, agreements, business, transactions, purchases: D, C*
Cooperation of circumstances, weather, traffic, conveniences: D, C*
Sheer relaxation and liberating self-exploration: C
Spiritual seeking, worship, prayer, meditation, positive thinking: A always

*After 10:01a PT|11:01aMT|12:01pCT|1:01pET|6:01pUT
and even slightly better after
11:55aPT|12:55pMT|1:55pCT|2:55pET|7:55pUT

E is effete; D is desperate; C is cool; B is better; A is awesome

{Tuesday}

Cosmic Piper

Monday 16 January 2012

Monday 16 January 2012

The moon in the Via Combusta conjunct Saturn, square the sun and opposed to Jupiter does not make things easy, whether you are working today or not. Maybe it is time to consider the suffering of Martin Luther King Jr., after all, and those with whom he struggled for human rights. One's own suffering makes one sympathetic to the suffering of others and increases compassion.

Venus's good aspects lighten this load, when you can tune in to them, perhaps in the company of someone interesting.

Social life, friendship, enjoyment, personal relationships: C
Work, projects, concentration on achievement: C
Negotiations, agreements, business, transactions, purchases: D
Cooperation of circumstances, weather, traffic, conveniences: D
Sheer relaxation and liberating self-exploration: C
Spiritual seeking, worship, prayer, meditation, positive thinking: A always

E is effete, D is desperate, C is cool, B is better, A is awesome

Cosmic Piper

Weekend of January 14-15 2012

Weekend of 14-15 January 2012

Since the first of the year we have had a good period for practical matters, planning, developing hopes into workable schemes. I think you can see what that means in your case and hope things are progressing for you.

It is interesting that since November 22, there have been no planets in water signs--except the moon one-fourth of the time on certain days. The emotional, responsive, feeling element has been present only with paucity and the head has ruled. That changes today, with Venus's entrance into Pisces. Neptune will join it in that sign on February 3. More about that later. It could be an interesting transit for the next thirteen years, until March 2025. Today and Sunday you might observe carefully how you repond to people and they to you, to sense what the addition of a planet in a water sign means. Pisces is Venus's exalted position. It is not always as good for romantic erotic love (though it can be) as for universal kindly love, which the ancient astrologers considered more exalted.

However, I could not deign to give the day better than a C social rating, because of other factors. Sunday could be an important day for a relationship, in some sense, even if disappointing.

Saturday 14 January 2012
Social life, friendship, enjoyment, personal relationships: C
Work, projects, concentration on achievement: A
Negotiations, agreements, business, transactions, purchases: C
Sheer relaxation, liberating self-exploration: C
Spiritual seeking and study, prayer, meditation, idealistic edification, positive thinking: A always

Sunday 15 January 2012
Social life, friendship, enjoyment, personal relationships: C
Work, projects, concentration on achievement: C
Negotiations, agreements, business, transactions, purchases: D
Sheer relaxation, liberating self-exploration: C
Spiritual seeking and study, prayer, meditation, idealistic edification, positive thinking: A always

E is effete, D is desperate, C is cool, B is better, A is awesome.

Cosmic Piper

The Magi: Friday 13 January 2012

The Magi

The "wise men" or Magi who visited the hotel and manger where the Saviour was born (I accept this as fact rather than myth) were astrologers. So it is said in the best English translation ever of the Bible, the New English Bible (Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, 1970): "Jesus was born at Bethlehem in Judaea during the reign of Herod. After his birth astrologers from the east arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 'Where is the child who is born to be king of the Jews? We observed the rising of his star, and we have come to pay him homage.'" (Matthew 2: 1-3) The wise men, Magi, astrologers, set out toward Bethlehem. "Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and bowed to the ground in homage to him; then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh."

Cosmic Piper can offer the Christ child, and any who read these reports, no more than what he has: a slim understanding of some aspects of astrology.

I would guess that this week you have done some concentrated and successful work along the lines of your major ambitions and hopes. That is all to the good, and whatever you have achieved, no matter how small, is a foundation for the future and can be developed in a way which is convincing to you from now through at least February 26.

Friday's ratings so far as I can discern them:

Social life, friendship, enjoyment, personal relationships: C
Work, projects, concentration on achievement: A
Negotiations, agreements, business, transactions, purchases: B
Sheer relaxation, liberating self-exploration: E
Spiritual seeking, prayer, idealistic edification, meditation, positive thinking: A always

E is effete, D is desperate, C is cool, B is better, A is awesome.

Cosmic Piper

Thursday 12 January 2012

Thursday 12 January 2012

Experimental Estimations

There comes a point at which astrology has to be completely intertwined with philosophy, psychology, and spirituality. I am at that point in my observation and study. Therefore it is hard for me to write a forecast for the day unless I link it with those subjects. What the aspects mean to you will be different depending, of course, on your individual horoscope but also on your goals, life style, and position on or off a spiritual path.

I have been writing primarily for those who I assume to be on some spiritual path or other, but not necessarily. It is unlikely anyone who merely wants to use astrology to gamble, or enhance his or her sex life, is reading this.

I do point out "good days," based mostly on the daily-changing lunar aspects, and of course those could be used to choose the best day to go to a casino or race track, or seek a romantic or erotic partner . The results would vary depending again on the individual horoscope and aspects to it as well as progressions.

When I say it is a good social or party day, you may depend on the fact that I have been trying to pick them (part of me is a social creature) for decades and have learned a lot in the process. Further, I believe strongly that choosing the best generally good day of the week, based mostly but not only on lunar aspects, is more effective for going out and meeting people or having a good social or party time or seeking a partner than looking at the aspects to one's personal chart. Why? Because the general aspects are much stronger than most people and most astrologers realize. Decades ago when I studied my personal chart and aspects to it, I was puzzled by many things happening which did not fit those aspects well. I had to look at the general lunar aspects (for example the weekly hard aspect of the moon with Saturn) to understand why things were happening when they did. And so it is possible for me to convey that information to you.

After all, if you want to be with people, or a special someone, and have a good time it is not just your personal chart which is involved but that of all participants. The best way to choose such a time is with the general transits, which I use in these forecasts.

That said, it is still difficult because there are so many intertwining aspects and positions each day. Further, a day good for social events or dates and meeting people is not necessarily the same as a day good for getting a lot accomplished in your work or a project. So I try to make these fine discriminations. It is possible I should try to make them more definite, graded on a scale. I tried that in the past and gave up on it, but perhaps with the years of experience since then I could try again and do better. Let's try it for today, Thursday:

Social life, friendship, enjoyment, personal relationships: C+
Work, projects, concentration on achievement: B+
Negotiations, agreements, business, transactions, purchases: B
Sheer relaxation and liberating self-exploration: D

These are not bad ratings. This seems to be a time of opportunity. But I will be chary in giving out A's. You can turn these into A's by the way you handle things. Spiritual seeking, prayer, positive thinking and meditation always get an A.

What I am trying here is similar, probably, to something you are trying in some facet of your life, because we are having still a square between Uranus and Mercury while Mercury remains trined with Jupiter. You have been trying something clever, have you not? connected with adjusting things, finding opportunities, using your skills more fruitfully, improving techniques for income, health, a project, whatever seems crucial. It's an experimental time, but not frivolous. The experiment is designed to have solid practical success (current Saturn aspects with the trine of Mars and the sun).

{Thursday} Experimental Estimations

Cosmic Piper

Foundations and the Horoscope (Wednesday 11 January)

Wednesday 11 January 2012

"Reality" is a word which scares us sometimes because we think of it as always challenging. So it is, in the sense that the child being weaned from constant parental support and supervision has to face difficulties and learn from them.

Some of that is going on now, but as a theist I believe in the overshadowing and protecting presence of the Supreme One no matter what happens. Of course that is more effective and substantial the more one has faith in Him.

Yesterday and today, as reported before, are the two days of the closest (though not exact this time) approach of Jupiter and Saturn to their opposition. Whatever you have been going through--both crises and opportunities--since April 2010 is at a point where you can comprehend what it means and get a handle on it, perhaps for the next decade or two. Some things you have realized, or are realizing even this week, are solid supports you can rest upon or develop into even better supports over the coming years.

There is some emotional touchiness, or perhaps separations from people, with the opposition of Luna to Venus and Neptune into late evening and early morning of Thursday. A male-female relationship seems to be at a fateful turning point. This is not bad, even if troubling, but probably cannot be understood till later.

Yet abundant pleasures and satisfacitons are available. Some aspect of your work which is unique, which only you can do, is getting your deep attention. Job or career matters seem to be shaping up in ways you comprehend. Someone with a realistic view of health, technique, and friendship irritates you part of the time even though you learn from him grudgingly.

Communication, however fraught with tensions, becomes necessary, and you can do it as best you can rather than worry too much or postpone it.

Cosmic Piper


Foundations and the Horoscope

In writing about religion and people's religious or spiritual approaches to life, as I have been for several days, I sense that one factor is missing glaringly. It is the matter of individual approaches to these things.

It probably does not need to be said that everyone approaches G*d; or the universe, if he or she does not believe in God; or life, if he or she does not believe in the universe, in a unique fashion. Not all atheists are alike, nor all Muslims nor all Christians, and so on. And now with the "new age," however that be interpreted, there are even more diverse spiritual approaches, and people mix them up in endless variety. The "spiritual smorgasbord" turns around in the "spiritual cafeteria."

That is as it should be. And so my current insistence on reading the Bible (for myself) may seem odd, because if anything the Bible, whether Tenach or New Testament, presents not a spiritual smorgasbord but definite rules everyone must follow, a la Moses and the Law. (By the Law I do not mean just the ten commandments, most of which are relatively non-controversial, but all the complex laws in Leviticus, requiring that countless people be stoned to death, most of which are ignored by contemporary Jews and Christians.)

There is a progression in the Bible from the rigid adherence to the laws required by Moses on to the looser but still highly moral pronouncements of the Prophets to the much more gracious but still strict teachings of Jesus.

And now the progression has gone further, in the general consciousness of let's say Europe and America anyway, to the "anything goes," "choose your own path" notion.

I am in deep waters here, because to try to say something intelligent and helpful about all that in a few paragraphs may be impossible. Let's put it this way: The reason I am reading the Bible is that when there are no foundations, it is very good to look to foundations which have worked for people in the past: Not to adopt them blindly but to learn from them, choose those which work, or modify them if needed. And this is not mostly an intellectual process. Intellectual people generally are very impatient with the Bible. It is a process of sensing, feeling, absorbing, what past generations (in the case of the Bible Semitic generations, for the most important early Christians including Paul were of course Jews) have found essential to their survival and success.

One might, with tongue partly in cheek, say that it is an attempt to steal the fire of the group of people which might be the most materially and professionally successful in the history of the world, the Jews. And, following them, the European Christians did in fact seem to "steal their fire" through studying their Scriptures along with those of the early Christians which we call the New Testament. The British Empire may have been, outwardly at least, the pinnacle of the Judaeo-Christian tradition, in terms of worldly power, and the next pinnacle the American Empire. Yes, Manifest Destiny.

It would not be absurd to say that the traditions and teachings encoded in the Bible were the source of that enormous worldly success. Okay then, if you want to be successful, study the Bible! I am sorry if that sounds bourgeois, selfish and stolid.

But of course, there are other great works to study, and other Scriptures and other literatures, one of which, the Bhagavad Gita of India, has my special affection.

And much more for which I do not have time today.

Now to the title of this section: It is obvious to me as an astrologer (and to Cosmic Piper) that individuals' orientations to life, including their religious-spiritual orientations, are very much linked to their birth horoscopes. I could show this in scores of ways in a large book which I may write some day. But assuming for a moment that it is true, one sees at once that everyone has a somewhat different spiritual path, which brings us back to the first two paragraphs of this section. I am not ready to say that "everyone is his own God" because I do not believe that. I am ready to say, however, that everyone has his or her own special relation to the one G*d and that it is partly discernible or better understandable through studying that individual's horoscope. Even the greatest spiritual teachers or Avatars can be understood better by studying their horoscopes. This is an amazing fact. It leads me to make another astounding claim: We will never understand spiritual paths, teachings, and practices, and how they help people, and why some people need some paths and others others, until we begin to understand astrology and individual horoscopes much more deeply and fully.

Sir Real

The Media's Spiritual Blackout (Tuesday 10 January)

Tuesday 10 January 2012

This is the final day of the |stressful third of this week| according to the formula, but the moon's presence in Leo helps make things more cheerful. The reconstruction of your life continues, with supportive strength (Saturn and Jupiter well-aspected, and a trine between Mars and the sun). Questions of income are being resolved. Your mind is sharp to understand finances and practical matters, and so your choices in that realm are likely to be correct, for the rest of this week at least, so if you are working out something of that nature, now is the time.

Household matters go well, as if you are enjoying your home and prosperity within it. Gifts may be given or received.

The quite rare (twice in 29 years) trine between Saturn and Neptune is almost exact, and so is worth pondering. It is a happy collusion between materiality (Saturn) and spirituality (Neptune). Meditation, prayer, and spiritual study or awareness are favored deeply. Which brings up matters Sir Real has been concerned with . . .

Cosmic Piper


The Media's Spiritual Blackout

Spiritual seekers have been portrayed as escapists. One feels, for example, that the editors of the New York Times have decided, point blank, though never mentioning it to their readers, to publish no good or helpful articles about spirituality or spiritual seekers. They publish very frequently articles by agnostics or atheists, or scientistic thinkers debunking what they consider superstitious beliefs in the mysterious or paranormal. One might think that "the world's greatest newspaper," in the interest of comprehensiveness, might report on the actual beliefs and spiritual practices of the world's people. No dice. Not unless, of course, some religious person or group does something silly or nasty. Then one will find long, detailed, accusatory articles in the New York Times and in the other media (which mimic it when not actually stealing from it). "Look how silly, wrong, unethical or ridiculous these religious people are!" is the very clear message. One might call it a "subtext" although it is usually more blatant than that.

For example, I saw yesterday that the Times had published an article titled "Yoga can Wreck your Body" with a comic-strip drawing of people's bodies knocked out of shape or distorted by hatha yoga exercises. In other words, "We were right all the time, the best way of life is the materialistic agnostic or atheistic New York way of life: work, get rich, have sex, be a real mensch. Yoga is for idiots." It's not hard at all to read that subtext. The editors of the Times also believe, no doubt, that "Christianity (Islam, Hinduism) will wreck your mind and your life," although since they might have a few Christian or Muslim or Hindu paying subscribers they are rather timid about making obvious what they really think.

I have been doing hatha yoga for thirty years, almost every day, and my body is in excellent shape. I chose the best possible exercise to do, the Surya Namaskar or Salutation to the Sun, which I recommend to one and all.

When have you seen in "the world's greatest newspaper" a Christian sermon? Or a Jewish rabbi's sermon? (Although the Times is, of course, pro-Jewish, when it comes to secular Jewish culture, it draws the line at the core of the religion itself.) Or a Hindu guru's instructions to his followers? A Muslim sheik's sermon? Or a commentary by a Buddhist teacher? In my view they might easily, at least once a week, devote a page not to the scandals which ripple across the field of religion as across every field, but to presenting the actual views of religious people. They publish the views of atheists, but not the views of Christians, Muslims, or Hindus. (I won't even mention Theosophists, occultists, and astrologers.)

"The world's greatest newspaper" has a lot of catching up, and growing up, to do.

Sir Real

Why the Bible? (Monday January 9)

Why the Bible?

I said yesterday that I was reading the Bible and predicted that many would be joining me in coming years. That is not the kind of prediction you see in a New Age blog or astrology column.

Why the Bible? Just because it is something which needs to be faced, it seems to me, by those who are at a crisis point, and many believe our civilization is at such a point.

I do acknowledge, however, the objections of those who say the Bible is outmoded, is primitive, and so on, as for example the late Christopher Hitchens the atheist who loved to point out the ugliest and most contradictory and seemingly unethical or brutal passages in that compilation.

That is absolutely nothing new! The French intellectuals of the 18th century did it long ago, as did the rationalistic scientistic thinkers of the late years of the 19th century. These people did not eliminate the faith of Jews and Christians, nor shall Christopher Hitchens and his like.

Obviously one must use discretion in reading the Bible. For many years I decided to read nothing but the Psalms and the Gospels. That was a wise choice. For someone who does not know the Bible and does not care to delve into it, I wholeheartedly recommend just that. The Psalms and the Gospels. A Psalm in the morning, read at least twice, with perhaps a line or two memorized, the lines that speak to one directly on that day. And one of the 89 chapters of the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. No matter how many scholars in the past and future debate the life of Jesus, or the validity of any account of it, these four books as they have come down are the canonical and only reliable source of what Jesus did and taught. It does not matter if there are apparent contradictions in them. Read any account of any recent prominent figure, for example John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and you will find discrepancies. That does not mean the JFK did not exist or that his character did not have a strong impact on American and world history. It means that different observers, scribes, and historians see things differently, as is well known in courts of law where, for example, innocent men have been condemned to prison or death by wrong identification.

Of course the Bible, even the Psalms and Gospels, need to be read with discretion, for example: In the Gospels, one needs to beware of taking a lot of things literally which are parables or parabolic. Millions of Christians believe in a literal eternal Hell where people who reject Jesus and his message are tormented forever. However, they do not believe that Jesus meant literally that if one's hand sinned, one ought to cut it off! Which is something he said. A lot of Christians would be walking around with one hand or no hands if that were true. I decided as a child to reject the idea of a literal Hell. Where Jesus appears to support such a belief, he is talking in the hyperbolic language the prophets always used. Hyperbole means you exaggerate. Some of the ethical offenses Jesus saw in the decadent Roman empire and the parallel decadence of many of the Jewish Scribes and Pharisees were so appalling to him that his language had to be strong to warn people against falling into them. Certainly, at the least, he meant that there is bound to be suffering for sin or for anti-ethical acts of oppression and cruelty. That goes along with the Hindu and Buddhist teachings of the laws of karma. But nobody with a fair mind believes that such suffering is eternal, once the lesson has been learned. I say, give Jesus a break and realize he was using strong language, strong parallels in a hyperbolic prophetic sense, to warn people against suffering for their sins which might seem eternal in some cases.

As for the Psalms, there are large numbers of passages in them which I do not accept into my heart, namely, those condemning one's enemies to torment, death, destruction, oblivion. This is more or less the earlier Semitic harshness which came into Christianity as the Hell doctrine. I gloss over those passages because I understand them to be desperate, exhausted, despairing pleas for escape from intolerably cruel situations into which the Jewish people were forced at various times in their history. It is normal for people to feel, when treated unfairly, that those who so treat them ought to be destroyed. It is supernormal to attempt to understand and forgive them, and I do not hold the authors of the Psalms to such a high saintly standard--although they did reach it at times. What is superb in the Psalms is the constant sense of the presence of the Lord, Yahweh, G*d as the savior, the One who can lift one out of one's misery, the merciful One who can work miracles in one's life. It is this which has made them the model for virtually all prayer in the Western world.

When I run across one of the harsh condemning passages in the Psalms, I usually stop and substitute a silent prayer of my own, not that enemies be destroyed but that they be converted, saved from their errors, guided into the right path. Of course, that might sometimes involve suffering as well as Grace, but not suffering as irrevocable endless punishment.

The strengthening, guiding effect of the practice I just recommended has been proved to me. I believe the same would be the case for any human being no matter what his or her beliefs or presuppositions. A basic (though not sole) prescription for all human ills: the Psalms and the Gospels.

Sir Real


Monday 9 January 2012

We can distinguish between the emotional tone of the day, which could be gloomy frequently, and the likelihood of getting things done, which is excellent. You can work through moods, fears, anxieties, doubts, and get a lot accomplished, which will of course tend to remove those anxieties and doubts. (They stem partly from this being part of the |difficult or emotionally stressful third| of this week, based on the moon-Saturn cycle, from Sunday evening through Tuesday.)

Financial matters get a go-ahead from more than one direction. Some of your hopes are cooking along toward a flavorful dish of fulfillment. There could be enjoyable entertainment at home, and links with people at a distance. There can be reliable business contacts and developments. Sunday evening's Full Moon continues to give us expanded consciousness, fullness of realization.

From a longer-term perspective, the opposition of Jupiter and Saturn commented on often is near its closest point, this week, until it dissipates gradually by April. Again, you might look over the past couple of years since April 2010. Where are you now that is different from then? How have your plans and intentions changed? You are at a point where you can get a firm grip on those changes and dispatch yourself in a solid direction, especially from now through February 26.

{Monday 9 January 2012}

Cosmic Piper

In the Beginning, Fear . . .

In the Beginning, Fear . . .

the fear of God.

As in, "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs 9:10), "and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."

I believe that someone who does not have a fear of God, that is, a deep respect for Him, is lost. If one believes there is no being greater than oneself, or other human beings, one is lost. That is my firm conviction. (I care not a fig that atheism is the current "hip" belief, or non-theistic [that is, technically atheistic] Buddhism the rage, as it has been for decades in some circles.)

Children know this. A child "bawling," that is, terrified and extremely upset, is praying. And if his parents are the immediate cause of the upset, he is not praying to them, most surely!

He has no word for that to which he is praying, but he knows It, or He or She, is there. G*d heard the "bawling" of Ishmael in the wilderness and sent an angel to his mother Hagar to rescue him (Genesis 21).

As a Christian, but not a "doctrinal" Christian because usually when I read statements of doctrine or dogma I find that they are not in the four Gospels, I feel deeply that "the fear of G*d" reaches its peak in the Crucifixion. A friend reminded me that thousands of other victims were crucified by the Romans. Jesus, according to Christian conviction, embodied the suffering of all those thousands. As it is put crudely and too briefly but correctly, He died for sinners. Beyond sin himself, He suffered the tortured death of a criminal.

And so, the fear of G*d . . . If Jesus Himself, the Son of Man as he called himself (only once or twice did he use the phrase "son of God"), had to suffer a tortured death, what about me? I am no better, in fact much worse, so what of me? Fear. The Crucifixion embodies all the fear that goes on between God and man. As a child feels utterly abandoned by its parents, Jesus faced that in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross.

It seems such a simple thing to understand that I don't "get" why non-Christians don't get it. The answer to that, apparently, is that only spiritual experience reveals what the Crucifixion meant and means. The "enlightened" intellect can never get it. Only grief like that of Jesus can comprehend His grief. Which means that "good grief" is a gift from G*d to humanity, perhaps. If the fear of G*d is the beginning of wisdom, its continuation may be the ability to feel grief over others' suffering as much as one's own. It must be said to their credit that thousands of agnostics or atheists do appear to feel such grief (Noam Chomsky for example). In the eyes of the G*d they do not accept they may be better human beings than many superficial nominal Christians.

Have I said anything new here? I don't think so. These are my gropings toward understanding what others have already understood. But somehow, I (and probably you) have to figure it all out on my own. With the help of (I have to say it) the Scriptures.

Yes, I am becoming a dedicated Bible-reader. And I believe--this is a prediction--that thousands of others will join me in coming years. The Bible is going to enjoy a revival. (If being studied by dim-witted human beings is anything to enjoy.)

The conventional "faith" of the 21st century is doomed. Here are its tenets: 1. There is nothing but human beings and their technology--oh, and the planet, the world of nature (almost forgot). 2. Human beings and their technology are the only saviors. 3. There are no miracles but material technology. 4. You are a bundle of flesh and nerves which lives until it dies, and its life may be prolonged by--you guessed it--the only savior, technology. 5. So eat, live, be happy, use technology and its human creators to prolong your life as best you can, and when you die you're finished, might as well be gracious about it.

Okay, if that is your faith, you probably don't want to read any farther.

As for my "faith," I cannot encapsulate it in so many tenets or doctrines. It goes way beyond that. It is the faith of the Bible (Tenach and New Testament) as a whole, it is the faith and gnosis of Sai Baba and of Sri Aurobindo. I am a Hebrew Christian Hindu and a Hindu Hebrew Christian. I arrived at that point after decades of assiduous spiritual research and experiment. G*d is real, the G*d of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, the G*d of my lord Jesus Christ, the G*d of Rama and Krishna and Sai Baba and Sri Aurobindo. He (or She if you wish) is real, conscious, and personal, that is, superpersonal, "beyond imagination and conception" as Meher Baba put it, and yet present as loving Father, Mother, Friend to those who can see "with eyes Divine."

Sir Real


If you read this Friday, I must say Friday afternoon and evening, up to very late, have the benefit of a trine from the moon to Venus, good for social occasions and having a good time. However, it is in positions which suggest concern about work, income, production, career, so you might be discussing or developing such matters with someone you like.

There is a sense of hurry both Friday and Saturday, with the moon square Mars. This could be overeagerness, or else an ability to clinch solutions quickly in anything you want to do with celerity. Saturday should bring munificent awareness and insight, with the moon opposite Mercury while trine both Saturn and Neptune. Answers are coming.

Cosmic Piper

Friday 6 January 2012: New Directions

Friday 6 January 2012

}New Directions{

In this holy season, the Twelve Days of Christmas, ending Thursday as I write (although Friday January 6 is the wonderful day of Epiphany), I am reconsidering this daily forecast and its place in my life---and yours. I hope it has been somewhat interesting and helpful to you. I believe that at this point it is time to reconsider the way I do it, as in fact I do every day---but more fully.

It has been an experiment from the beginning, which was in the summer of 1999. I have studied, observed, researched, and re-studied, re-observed, and re-researched, day after day, hundreds, thousands of days, not only as they occurred but important days in the past in my own life and others'. The project has taught me an enormous lot about astrology and about human beings.

That the forecasts would be imperfect was a foregone conclusion. Trying to perfect them, however, was a wonderful experience. The methods I have ended up with seem the best methods anyone could use for such a daily forecast, that is, a daily attempt to understand the astrological aspects of our solar system as they correspond with the experiences of human beings on the planet. Other methods there undoubtedly are, but these held up over trial and test better than any others known or hypothesized by me.

The question is not whether astrology works. It does. It is an amazing gift to the human race. The question is whether a report, filtered through one human mind, attempting to reflect the total experiences of beings on planet Terra, can be consistently illuminating and helpful to all the individuals reading it. Perhaps it can. And perhaps mine cannot, that is, perhaps I am not capable of that. There has never been any doubt but that other matters, in terms of astrology especially the natal (birth) horoscope of each individual, are also important in the daily mix of experience. Obviously I cannot look at those in a report meant for everyone. The question has been whether or not each individual can automatically adjust the meaning of each report, while reading it, to reflect his own horoscope and what is going on in his own life so that it will be helpful as a guide along his path.

There is no doubt that the aspects do apply to everyone. All you have to do is go to a public place while the moon is square Saturn, on one day, and then to the same place while it is sextile Venus, on another day, to see the difference. There is no doubt that |the difficult third of each week| is in fact, in most cases, |the difficult third of the week| as discovered by me many years ago and reconfirmed every week. I myself find this very helpful in my weekly planning. Others perhaps do not. Perhaps some are meant to ignore all such signs or signals and learn how to live without them.

One problem is that every astrological aspect and position has a multitude of meanings, within a given circle of meanings. Another is that there are so many aspects and positions each day. Knowing which are most prominent at a given time is difficult. Finding the right words to convey what they might mean is usually even more difficult.

Some day, probably, the statisticians will wake up to astrology, and they will discover amazing things. I am an informal statistician, as is every astrologer who ever lived (if he was worth his salt). And informal observers often have the edge on the formal ones with their peer reviews, because less hampered by clumsy and endless conventional research apparatus. My peers, from whom I learn, are the great writers on astrology, including Marc Edmund Jones, C. E. O. Carter, Grant Lewi, Isabel Hickey, Alan Leo, Robert DeLuce, Robert Pelletier, and others; and my personal teachers Eleanor Bach and Al Morrison. I salute them as bold adventurers into the mysteries of astrology, studying and working with very little pay for the sheer joy of understanding, who have given me an enormous gift.

For example, here is what Grant Lewi wrote about me before I was born: That is, about anyone who has the sun in Aries and moon in Pisces (one in 144 individuals if chance were to rule birth-times): "You express readily, having a facile flow of language, and you have a conviction that you know the truth of many matters which for some reason or other you cannot get across to your associates. This is a Cassandra-like position--a prophet who is very likely to be right but can't make anyone believe him." Yes, Grant Lewi, departed yet present brother in the brotherhood of astrologers, you explained something about me there which has been extremely helpful over the years.

The structures in individual horoscopes are as significant, and perhaps even more significant, than the structures in the sky every day. Both need to be taken into account, although I am convinced that someone who does not know the date of his birth can by studying astrology also learn how to navigate his way more successfully, from current aspects and other indications.

The reports take a great deal of my time and energy. And since the results are mixed, perhaps that energy is, at this point in my life, being misapplied. There are other things I need to do, both in astrology and in philosophic and spiritual research.

If this daily report continues, it may take an entirely different shape. Some of you may not be interested in the way it goes. It might be more personal, more philosophic and religious, more free-form. I may mention current astrological aspects now and then, but not in the systematic way I have been attempting. It might become essays rather than reports.

Or so it seems to me today. Thank you for being a faithful reader and thanks to those of you who have commented because all such comments have helped me.

We shall see what we shall see.

Happy Twelfth Night, and happy Epiphany tomorrow.

Hugh Higgins
Cosmic Piper

Forecast for Thursday 5 January 2012

Thursday 5 January 2012

}Gaining through Providence and Patience{

So many things are humming along smoothly. At least, with a little elbow grease you can sort them out and put them in a workable agenda. I have noted over the years that the good aspects between Mercury and Jupiter are good for business, jobs, transactions, agreements. That aspect (the trine) is with us now through at least the twelfth, or a week from now. Job-hunters, for example, should take note. This could be a very good time to apply for a job, perhaps even one which you thought had been denied to you before. The same might apply to apartment-hunting or house-hunting. It could be a good time to invest or sort out investments, household finances, or handle anything requiring financial planning. It is an opportunity aspect.

Today it is relatively easy to be in the favor of those in high positions.

Music or the arts could be prominent, or else a facilitating background.

Some who are focused on their own ends are somewhat careless of the well-being of others whom they want to use. This does not rule out cooperating with them when that is essential. Perhaps negotiation is possible.

Someone with unique talent at the genius level may get your attention, or his or her works. They are yours to appreciate.

Who has the prerogative to rule, or to administer (in a democracy)? The electoral process is supposed to determine that, rather than privilege or heredity. Yet the populace wants someone it believes in to glory at the top.

What you have labored at long you are willing to labor at more, because you know its value, and so are patient. Therefore good things and people will grace your camp and headquarters.

{Thursday} {Gaining through Providence and Patience}

Cosmic Piper

Forecast for Wednesday 4 January 2012

Wednesday 4 January 2012

\To Each His/Her Role/

At the risk of repeating myself, it's essential to point out that the once-in-20-years opposition of Jupiter and Saturn will be as close to exact as it's going to get a week from today, and you may be feeling what that means subconsciously. Basically, is is a turning point in your life which you have been going through since April 2010. If you ponder what has happened since then you will get clues as to what you need to do next. From now through February 26 is the perfect time to get the momentum going.

If there is a painful part of the process, it is seeing into mistakes you have made, but that of course is only so you may correct them and not make them in the future. You will see others' mistakes also and may need to correct them with as little harshness as possible.

Accounts and finances may be handled well, especially in early morning. Later also, though perhaps with less certainty. You can hold on to what has proved itself, what you know in your gut to be best for you, so that you don't falter amid doubts later in the day.

You could be resourceful about household matters, including changes or improvements.

Someone with prodigious abilities along some line may become closer to you, more intimate or inclined to share in a satisfying manner.

Division of labor means that you have your particular work to do which specially rewards or satisfies you, while you would not want to do what someone else does. You may be sensing, "Yes, this is my work, my part in providing what people need."

When you feel you have been incompetent or unable to save yourself, there is always faith in the Supreme, and in whatever human person or agency the Supreme provides for you. So you can recover and resume a happier voyage.

{Wednesday} /To Each His/Her Role\

Cosmic Piper

Forecast for Tuesday 3 January 2012

Tuesday 3 January 2012

\Basic Ongoing Support Better Determined/

Although technically this is the last day of the |difficult third of this week|, our moon's position in Taurus forming trines with Pluto, the sun, and finally Mars suggests solid practical orientation on the third day of a Bright Hermetic Epoch. You could get material, business, transactional affairs in order to a satisfying degree.

Research is significant, finding secrets which only you know or, if others already know them, they mean something to you other than anyone else has ever grasped.

Amazing things are shaping up in your inner life. The spiritual world, limited only by a horizon of aspiration, dazzles you, casts you upon yourself: upon that in you which wrestles with and embraces the Infinite. We cannot use It, and neither does It use us.

Venus is favorably positioned, yet suggests friendly relations with someone who is crippled, ill, injured or otherwise partly disabled.

An irrepressible part of you faces limitations of location or information with a pure sense of illimitable possibilities and so keeps you on a track of success. You do not have to go far from home, or your ordinary job location, to travel in the spirit and learn what you need to know.

Mental quest and search never ends, but with the Bright Epoch you feel more secure in the quest, as if there were a sure compass needle in your mind. What is career, what is job, what is knowledge or expertise? You are "getting" all that even if you could not define it in so many words.

It seems everyone's goals are separate, yet in teamwork some goals are common. A question might be, what teams are you on and what can you do to keep them winning. Giving up feelings of isolation is essential in the process. Yes, in some ways you are unique and alone. But it is important to avoid bitterness, keeping the door open to cooperation no matter how often that may have failed in the past.

{Tuesday} /Basic Ongoing Support Better Determined\

Cosmic Piper

Forecast for Monday 2 January 2012

Monday 2 January 2012

*Inspiration Dissolving Worry*

The "Bright Hermetic Epoch" (which began yesterday and lasts through February 26) may not seem "bright" because it starts off with the moon's weekly hard aspect with Saturn, making Sunday (the 1st) through Tuesday the|difficult or probably most emotionally stressful| third of this week. (A little more than a third this time.) That's just the way it is, as I have observed for decades. In other words, the "issues" you face seem more harsh than they probably will the rest of the week. Hopefully my saying this will help you gain perspective or be calmer, whatever you are going through.

You may be aware of a crafty or predatory quality in some. Yet in yourself, if ethical, it can be a gift for seeing into your self-interest perspicaciously.

There is likely to be surprising erotic or sexual arousal coming from seemingly nowhere, which can be enlisted to give you energy, sublimated, or allowed to pull you into questionable self-indulgence. It can be a gift of enjoying people and the games they play, their bids for applause or popularity.

Disputation, in self-defense or defense of one's opinions, is likely. You are not going to budge on principles you feel to be unquestionable.

You might look for or find something you had lost, or recover something for a friend. Unexpected treasure could turn up, but not of an extravagant sort. People are curious about the natural world and what lies about them. Such curiostiy could extend to the spiritual world, with Neptune playing a strong beneficent role. What to one seems imagination to another is solid superphysical reality.

Cooperating and adapting yourself to what others are doing can be satisfying even if you do it grudgingly at first. Once the momentum starts it can be helpful to all, releasing self-expression.

When there is doubt and delay concerning material affairs, spiritual interests flourish, so turning to inspirational materials could be one of the best things to do. Faith is often born of despair. You might fan a flame of it in someone else also.

{Monday} *Inspiration Dissolving Worry*

Cosmic Piper