Forecast: Friday and Saturday, June 1-2, 2012

Sun in Gemini and Moon in Scorpio, 2012

Beginning Friday 1 June at 5:32a PT | 8:32a ET | 12:32p UT
through Saturday 2 June
/moon goes void-of-course Sunday 3 at 2:31a PT|5:31a ET|9:31a UT
until Luna enters Sagittarius Sunday at 5:33a PT|8:33a ET|12:33p UT

~Chosen Targets~

Moon-in-Scorpio periods are not always critical in a painful way but beneath them is the question, "What is everlasting? What is eternal? In what have I invested my immortality, or in what can I invest myself to be immortal?" One may not think of such things consciously but the soul is considering them.

It would be well to consider one's fixed purposes. Scorpio is a fixed sign and the sign of death. It is perhaps uncomfortable to consider, "What will people think of me when I am gone?" but the question is a good one to help prevent pointless or frivolous pursuits which "go nowhere" and are not worthy of you.

Your mind is alert, even brilliant along the lines of your special ability, and you have high aspirations. You are not lazy, for the squares between Mars and the three "inner planets" (from Earth to and including our Sol) activate the mind and possibly the body. A question is whether this energy gets lost in the mind and fails to get things moving on the physical level. Another is, "What do you want to move or be moved?" and an answer to that will help you get in motion.

What do you judge to be of real value? What do you choose to read? Putting these questions together could help you get beyond mental time-wasting so that you can arrive at conclusions.

A rash or impetuous tendency could get you in trouble when it comes to discussing work or finances. It is not always well to mention some things which seem harmless to you but push buttons in other individuals. Then, when they "go off" one could make things worse by "going off" oneself to combat their misunderstanding, and on and on. It is well to avoid that.

People want to "go higher." But the spiritual higher might appear the material lower. For example, someone who decides to cheat or lie to gain more money might succeed for a time but is going lower rather than higher spiritually. Someone else who resists the temptation and is content with menial service may be lower on the economic ladder but is higher spiritually. To go higher on both ladders is of course possible, but seems a rare attainment.  Putting the material before the spiritual does not cut it.

At present, travel plans could be on the level of the frivolous or foolish unless they have a solid reasonable purpose. Connecting with old or new friends could be good--if, again, there is a long-term purpose.

You can be dextrous in handling issues which come up, not sacrificing your dignity but not pressing your case to the point of serious conflict. People will respect a solid stand, and back away.

Some can be voracious, greedy and selfish to a point which might shock you. They are not all in prison. Nor are you called upon, most likely, to corral them unless you are a law officer. So minding your own business and aiming at your chosen targets is best. One shot in basketball, one bat in baseball is just part of the game.

{Friday and Saturday} ~Chosen Targets~

Cosmic Piper

Forecast: Wednesday and Thursday 30-31 May 2012

Sun in Gemini and Moon in Libra, 2012

Beginning Wednesday 30 May at 3:47a PT | 6:47p ET | 10:47p UT
through Thursday 31 May
/moon goes void-of-course Thursday at 6:32p PT|9:32p ET|1:32a(F) UT
until Luna enters Scorpio Friday at 5:32a PT | 8:32a ET | 12:32p UT

}Liberty Within Limits of Regulation{

There is a clear distinction between these two days: Wednesday is better for most purposes. I would put venturesome, bold things on the agenda for Wednesday and ordinary, dull, routine things for Thursday. Wednesday has the advantage of the moon's trines (from Libra to Gemini) with the sun, Mercury, and Venus, this last in effect mostly later at night, the others earlier. Also, the moon goes into the Via Combusta during sleep-time between Wednesday and Thursday, and moves much closer to Saturn on Thursday. Thursday is a time to be circumspect, careful and deliberate, avoiding stumbles.

The square between Mars and Mercury, both in Mercurial signs, is good for mental sharpness and alertness. It is well to prevent unexpected or unsuspected harshness in what you say or the way you interact. If you need to correct someone he or she will get the clue if you are gentle but could rebel if you are too frank. Diplomacy is essential.

You will be suspicious, and perhaps that is best in many cases, so that you do not get lost in someone else's pointless schemes. People may be jumping to conclusions carelessly and you do not need to do that or get mixed up in anyone else's mistakes.

Wednesday evening and Thursday morning are best socially, although Thursday has other problems as pointed out.

A new biquintile between Jupiter and Saturn could help many recover somewhat financially. A quintile between Venus and Uranus grants exotic love-interest or attraction, perhaps with someone you would not suspect, especially Wednesday, crashing or subsiding on Thursday--or if it picks up it could be somewhat dangerous.

You could organize home or attend to its needs Wednesday. Thursday's choices of entertainment may be thoughtful yet disturbing. With help, younger people are learning self-control.

{Wednesday, Thursday} {Liberty Within Limits of Regulation}

Cosmic Piper

Forecast: Monday and Tuesday, 28-29 May, 2012

Sun in Gemini and Moon in Virgo, 2012

Beginning Monday 28 May at 11:07p(Su) PT | 2:07a ET | 6:07a UT
through Tuesday 29 May
/moon goes void-of-course late Tuesday, early Wednesday
at 10:51p(Tu) PT | 1:51a(W) ET | 5:51a(W) UT
until Luna enters Libra Wednesday 30 at 3:47a PT|6:47a ET|10:47a UT

\Opposite Methods Coalesce/

It has been interesting to see the number of Virgo-Gemini relationships, friendships, and close-relative connections over the years. Today with the luminaries in those two signs, if you are one of them (by sun-sign) you might notice a connection with the other one becoming renewedly significant. The squared signs often have karma with one another, and these two are both ruled by Mercury. They often fight, but keep coming back to connect with each other.

The combination today (for everyone) suggests that you might be jumping around quickly from one thing to another and finding it hard to concentrate on anything long enough to finish it thoroughly. If you overcome that tendency you could get a lot done either in your job or just in your questing, alert mind.

I have mentioned the "I'll show them" tendency of the sun and Mars in a square. This is a good trend toward intelligent competition, unless misused, when it could become pointless and destructive rivalry. What you want to shine at is something you can do, no matter how misunderstood it might be at first.

Mercury and Venus join that square with Mars, while the moon is with Mars during this period. Calm down! I think we could all do a great deal these two days  and feel glad about it provided we keep ourselves grounded in whatever is most important, holding our minds back from running in circles to nowhere.

As for the Venus-Mars square, I would like to say something good about it, but it tends toward inter-sexual anger. He won't do this and is wrong about that, while she won't do that and is wrong about this. Some astrologers say it can be hot eroticism, and no doubt it could be if your idea of a hot time is somebody pricking you with needles. Well, it doesn't have to be that bad. People I have known with this aspect in their birth-charts have not had harmonious love-lives. However, all aspects have their use. This one lasts technically from May 25 through June 13. You might see what has gone wrong with past relationships (Venus is retrograde). As for new friendships or relationships, they might be good, but you should watch out for whatever went wrong in the past raising its ugly head again. How can you end any cycle of self-defeat in love? I can't answer but hope the question will be helpful.

A clue: One partner has flip, clever, creative, changeable methods (Gemini); the other has serious, careful, well-developed, cautious methods (Virgo). This could be true in a lot of relationships at present whether or not the two parties actually have planets in either of those signs in their horoscopes. A failure to understand each other's ways of thinking and doing could be part of the problem. The "Gemini"-symbolized partner has to slow down to placate "Virgo," to be more cautious and reasonable, which might seem like a drag; the "Virgo"-symbolized partner has to adjust, often unwillingly and with annoyance, to "Gemini"s changeable experimentalism. Or, they could just go separate ways for a while, but it seems that something won't let them.

The attempt to solve mysteries and gain knowledge is strong. If you hold on patiently to the path to what you are seeking, no matter how labyrinthine, you will get there. This could be specially true late Tuesday. Wise judgment comes to you.

There are those who help defend you, your home, your position and income. They go mostly unsung and act silently while you benefit from their devotion to their assignments.

Thrift and patience hold things together for you if you don't rock the boat. Routes to gain are often hidden from the casual eye.
Someone strong on your mother's or father's side of the family has given you a genetic and probably a personal heritage, through what you learned from her or him. You as a child or youngster could be re-met by you-now in reverie so you can pick up on what he or she found out but partly forgot. Your inner child has something to teach you about relating to people socially or in business.

One side of you aspires to dignity and dominion and wants to be conscientious while controlling your world successfully. Another side of you is lax, easy-going, playful, taking a break from what "mostpeople" think is necessary drudgery. If these two cooperate you could stumble upon a secret formula for effortless effort.

{Monday and Tuesday} /Opposite Methods Coalesce\

Cosmic Piper

Forecast: Late Friday, Saturday, Sunday, May 25-27, 2012

Sun in Gemini and Moon in Leo, 2012

Beginning Friday 25 May at 3:12p
through Saturday 26 May
moon goes void-of-course Sunday 27 at 4:55p PT|7:55p ET|11:55p UT
until Luna enters Virgo Sun-Mon at 11:27p PT|2:27a(M)ET|6:27a(M)UT

*Settling Plans Bring Peace*

It is nice that the |harsh third of the week| has earlied-up to before the weekend so we are free of it except for Friday this time.

Mercury is moving ever-closer to the sun at this center of a Bright Hermetic Epoch and this is a good time to get as many of your definite plans on track as you can. What are your priorities for the next two to four months, or through the summer? You might want to make a list as a way of focusing your intentions.

Fussy stuff having to do with job, career, and money is on your mind even through the weekend. It looks as if it is settling out fairly well although you might feel a sense of responsibility about it which weighs you down at times.

Well-intentioned, nice people who are confused, and who by not trusting the right people make trouble for those who are trustworthy, are a problem which leaders of organizations, or others within them, have to face. I wish I had an easy answer. You have to go with your conscience as well as you can.

Still it can be a happy, pleasant weekend. You may notice a lot of people with their pets. Or other animals may come to your attention. You feel the goodness and beauty of nature and want to share it but feel also an inner sense that some of your hopes are not being fulfilled in a way which would benefit everyone the most. Perhaps you are more sensitive than the world and the world's insensitivity is painful to you. Still there is much you can do, and you should not minimize your contribution or the higher rewards it is sure to bring. Laboring along as if one were a machine, or part of one, seems wearisome ("Old Man River"), but Gandhi willingly submitted himself to the discipline of his daily spinning.

A rash or impetuous tendency has been around for a couple weeks, with Mars tri-septile Uranus and Uranus square Pluto, which makes it hard for people to relax in one spot so they have to keep moving and sometimes feel they are sparring with those around them. It appears however that you are domesticating some of this impulse and turning it toward your business or financial dealings, to profit by a fresh, inventive impetus. This is restless, but does not have to be disturbingly so.

Living simply (speaking of Gandhi) is possible even to those who have found amazing techniques of gaining prosperity. Perhaps they realize that financial security is a way to realize the deeper hopes of humanity rather than to consume conspicuously.

Those in power positions, if they are highly motivated, have to use their strength and position to quell some dissatisfactions below them when those dissatisfactions are based on a misapprehension of what is possible. (Witness for example what is happening in France, Greece, and elsewhere.) I am not saying the people are always wrong, far from it, but Plato made it clear that democracy has its limits when the "demos" or population thinks or acts unwisely. I am not siding with Angela Merkel against Francois Hollande of France. Nor for or against the socialists in Greece. We all must know that there are no simple answers to these things and that a "mixed economy" is the way things are going everywhere. It's a matter of balance, so that democracy does not become demonocracy. This can be perhaps as bad as plutocracy on the other end of the seesaw.

At a much more relaxed level, there are prospects for hospitality and good will, respite, natural beauty, human charm, and pleasant pastimes. This could be specially true Saturday into early Sunday. There is peace, contentment, courtesy, and calm thoughtfulness. Artistry and generous responsiveness prevail.

{Late Friday, Saturday, Sunday} *Settling Plans Bring Peace*

Cosmic Piper

Wednesday, Thursday, early Friday, May 23-25, 2012

Sun in Gemini and Moon in Cancer, 2012

Beginning Wednesday 23 May at 4:32a PT | 7:32a ET | 11:32a UT
through Thursday 24 May
/moon goes void-of-course Friday 25 at 7:35a PT|10:35a ET|2:35p UT
until Luna enters Leo Friday at 3:12p PT | 6:12p ET | 10:12p UT

~Fulfilling Yet Transcending Needs~

It's moody and intense, with people holding on to what they have for dear life. There may be another spiritual world, is the attitude, but this one is the one I know and I'm fastened to it like a leech. (People hate bed bugs and mosquitoes, but are we really any different in the way we exploit other animate beings, causing them more suffering than those insects cause us?) (Couldn't help the mini-lecture, and you may find others in a similar mood.) Bain Capital! You will be hearing more about them than you want over coming months. Are human beings parasites on one another? I am sorry to bring up such unpleasant thoughts but they seem to be in the nature of current astrological aspects, that is, we find out where, how, and to what extent we are hard-nosed bastards who want what we think is our due no matter what anybody else thinks about it. Some such as Ayn Rand and Nietzsche (in some of his moods) think this is admirable.

Another potential is hard-nosed social connections, based on "Love me or else," that is, you better love me because if you don't you are a piece of .....  Pop singers, especially the females it seems, get away with expressing this attitude in their songs, which might explain why their love lives are so hideous.

Well, at its best this is refreshing up-front boldness with a pumped-up humor kick. And if you can't laugh, you will be crying.

Organizing things at home for the sake of friendship, love, or freedom of motion is one potential or necessity.

People see into one another sharply and pungently, so there is little sentiment except the raunchy and humorous, or an implicit detective-like judgment. However this can have its own kind of charm. Seeing into someone else's peccadilloes is the glory of the gossip or of the closed-mouthed but ever-ready sleuth.

For this to be a happy time you will have to depend on everybody's sense of humor. If somebody consequential doesn't have one, heaven help you.

Serving is something we all either have to do or pretend to do. So when you get no recognition or applause, you may as well chortle.

There is pride in people beyond what you might surmise. Therefore there is hurt in them when their pride has been injured, and you can't expect them to point this out to you, so you need to be perceptive enough to sense it and coddle their poor hurt feelings a little. For your own sake, of course.

A woman with a child comes to your attention and you envy her enjoyment of her motherhood (I say this as one who has fortunately never been a mother). Well, there are things she does enjoy about it, such as seeing her child learn, backtrack, and learn again through all the inevitable brattishness and gradually-more-mature prudence.

A boy, or a man in a power position, is feeling his oats and either being cutely male or chauvinistically arrogant. You are there to appreciate this or modify it, whether you are female or male. There is a factor of invitation, or each wanting to let the other in a little closer, and finding some way to do this whether event, communication, meal, or other togetherness. The moon's square with Saturn, especially Thursday and Friday, can make this more sensitive and difficult. Probably Wednesday is better for being with someone, but you do not have to hide on the other two days.

Those may be days for dignity, although you do not have to lose your sense of humor. There are times to keep it to yourself (but not with observably stifled laughter). Life is a theater but not a tragedy, or at least we do our best to prevent that, which is why I suggest comedy. But when you get weary of that, you might succumb to the blues, and learn a lot by just giving in to your anxieties and worries for a while, lying down or sitting down with closed eyes to think of someone you admire who has been through terrible sufferings. Then you can rise above yours with the spirit of that blessedly redeemed individual supporting you.

{Wednesday, Thursday, early Friday} ~Fulfilling Yet Transcending Needs~

Cosmic Piper

Forecast: Late Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, May 20-22, 2012

Sun in Gemini and Moon in Gemini, 2012

Beginning Sunday 20 May at 4:06p PT | 7:06p ET | 11:06p UT
through Monday 21 May
/moon goes void-of-course Tuesday 22 at 3:52p PT|6:52p ET|10:52p UT
until Luna enters Cancer Wednesday 23 at 4:32a PT|7:32a ET|11:32a UT

}Connections Forming{

We have the New Moon with us 42 minutes after this period begins. This is a slow mild breeze behind our backs for the beginning of the coming month. You will be able to see or sense what is the best course for you and pursue it.

It involves people, because the sun and moon are in Gemini with a preponderance of planets in common or mutable signs. Networking, linking, communicating are highly favored and so you can be bold in such areas. You can take the initiative instead of waiting for someone to do so. Then you will find people join hands around you.

Action at home is favored, such as organizing things there for happier efficiency.

The sun beginning to square Mars is a quivering intensity (with us for three more weeks). It is the "I'll show them" aspect. You are very personal in your desire to "show them" that you have succeeded and are doing something worthy of admiration. You will think of specific people you would like to better in competition, or others (living or dead) you would like to impress. Of course you can do it.

Anything connected with computers, smartphones, iPads, or television can be handled with good results. The technical side of such things is easier to handle than in recent weeks. There is also a zero-cost iPad in the mind and astral body which comes alive in dreams or reveries.

Someone you like who has fine perceptions, like a deer or sensitive animal, is on your mind and the prospects are good for linking with her or him. Let us see what the bi-nonagen (two-ninths of the circle) between Venus and Mars brings. Perhaps not much except in imagination, unless you are "bold" as previously suggested. Other-sex or same-sex romantic links are favored. With the sun square Neptune, this could also be subtle and non-physical. Mysterious characters around you crave for some kind of approval or affection.

Those who do not get sufficient credit, respect, or pay may be on your mind, or you may be one of them. Subconsciously everybody seems to realize that there are laws of karma, that we get what we need, but when one feels left behind it is hard to see that one really does have what one needs in order to better one's situation. Yet this is true.

Those who defend others from harm are heroes. Sometimes they offer actual defense, as in advocates overcoming injustice; others offer refuge or salvaging comfort. Someone of this nature will become visible to you. It is well to realize this person's basic goodness.

Someone tolerant and agreeable will serve you almost as a mother. She or he has also needs which become evident, and when you rise to the occasion there is harmony and happiness in flowered paths. Still, there is a somewhat hard edge, because people are trying to accomplish things and wanting very much to succeed.

Some whom you would not choose immediately as friends may still be so. They may be older, or not colorful until you get to know them. One of these, or someone from the past who has come into your life, could be "the one" for the moment. You are invited and are inviting.

It is good to be daring and courageous, and to say what you mean with conviction. Your sympathetic certainty will sway or persuade some toward your hopes.

{Late Sunday, Monday, Tuesday} {Connections Forming}

Cosmic Piper

Friday, Saturday, most of Sunday, May 18-20, 2012

Sun in Taurus and Moon in Taurus (reprise), 2012

\Shifting or Rearranging Peaceably/

Beginning Friday 18 May at 3:04a PT | 6:04a ET | 10:04a UT
through Saturday 19 May
/moon goes void-of-course Sunday 20 at 5:36a PT | 8:36a ET | 12:36p UT
until Luna enters Gemini Sunday at 4:06p PT | 7:06p ET | 11:06p UT

Readjustments are a key. Nobody wants to hear that probably, I certainly don't, yet it seems from the chart that most of us will be shifting things around this weekend, either bags and baggage, or household items or furnishings, or whatever we need to shift in order to be comfortable and efficient in our environments.

The Part of Fortune is in the 12th sector, that is, the moon is dying before the New Moon which occurs right after this period ends, at 4:48p PT | 7:48p ET | 11:48p UT on Sunday. The 12th house is "prison," but usually only psychologically, that is, you feel locked in or locked off from the world. Sometimes that is welcome privacy.

What is "the world," as opposed to human beings themselves, but "things and things and more things," and it might seem that things are in the saddle and human beings are the saddled. You want your home to be nice and are willing to pay the price of making it so. On the other hand, you may wonder why you have acquired so much bric-a-brac, some of which you might dispense with for greater freedom of motion.

You want also to be free to travel or be on the move when you wish, so are hoping to be free of any ball-and-chain which holds you firmly to one place all the time.

It's possible you think of ways of helping or saving people who are not happy with where they are or need to be elsewhere temporarily or permanently. Can you take them where they need to go, or guide them? There would be rewards of interesting friendship along the way.

Your interest in a science or teaching might be strong, although you may be able to share it with only a few.

You may have noticed people being rash or impetuous while Mars has been quincunx Uranus, and now those two have moved to a tri-septile, which suggests that any argument which has been brewing may come to fateful fruition--this could be a good resolution, at best, so you could set your mind toward that and try to make it happen, rather than a continuation of friction.

Hidden differences of opinion are possible even with those you value highly. For example, you may resent a friend's not understanding the hard work you do, and he or she may feel the same about your non-appreciation of his or her efforts. Yet people need time to be themselves, sometimes alone without interference of either praise or blame. Still, mentioning to someone how much his or her efforts are appreciated can be a game-changer.

Frustration with certain difficulties could lead to arrogant pride when one tries to assert one's superiority to the difficulties before one has earned one's way past them.

You want to live up to ideals inculcated in you by your past hopes. The attempt to do it, not a huge strain, can be rather an elixir. A small attempt leads to more progress than one would have thought.

Honest, sympathetic individuals may be near, at least part of the time, and you can enjoy luxuries together, even if merely pausing in the midst of changeable activities and locations. A rich, beautiful venue or place to visit (as well as your home itself) is reassuring, either Friday, Saturday, Sunday or all three days.

{Friday, Saturday, Sunday, May 18-20} /Shifting or Rearranging Peaceably\

Cosmic Piper

Next Forecast for this Weekend

The next forecast will be posted Thursday, covering the sun and moon in Taurus, Friday through most of Sunday.

Cosmic Piper

Wednesday 16 May 2012

*Reaching High and Low for Willed Collaboration*

There are potentials of smoother communication than in recent days. This could be with neighbors or co-workers. Friends will be more accessible and reasonable, your minds clicking together rather than chafing against each other.

It's hard to believe that any of you readers would be inclined toward deliberately hurting anyone, but such tendencies could be "out there" with the positions of the sun and Mars in a septile aspect while Mars remains octile Saturn. This could have an erotic side as in sexual sadism. The constructive use of the aspect would be more for self-examination, and therefore also for probing examination of others as to their psychological tendencies. Resulting insights could be cathartic and beneficial. (Subconsciously, this could be why people are drawn to horror or murder novels and films, to hone their probing awareness of crazy or evil tendencies in others and themselves, and therefore exorcise them.)

Scientific awareness is intensified in any field to which you are drawn. (For example, astrology has remarkable potentials for ameliorating the most intense human problems, such as mental or emotional illness and criminality. I can envision the day when astrologers will regularly meet with prisoners, for example, to help them understand how better to fulfill their destinies. Astrology is an angel of light, obscured by demons of darkness who claim to be "scientists.")

Your mind is unusually inventive, even if you are denied recognition for your discoveries. If you try to use them for the benefit of others, they will increase.

You could be impetuous, with the moon in Aries close to Uranus. You could make a splash, hopefully without hurting or seriously inconveniencing anyone. Sometimes it seems the "brats" of the world are given a chance to shake things up. Of course, there must be limits.

Whether those whom you serve appreciate and reward your service or not, it develops your capacities. You have both mechanical or scientific and more generalizing philosophic abilities. You can use them practically, and could benefit financially through what you see as workable possibilities. Intelligence is the ability to do, but first must be the willingness to try.

Patience and thrift are strong values, under the aegis of the grand trine in earth signs plus the quincunx of Jupiter and Saturn. While holding back from loss, you develop ways of gain which are eccentric or unusual. So you could come out with a success no one had foreseen.

People are basically good-willed and cooperative. This includes some who please or attract you, "apples of your eye," whose influence is uplifting whether you work together concretely or merely inspire each other.

{Wednesday} *Reaching High and Low for Willed Collaboration*

Cosmic Piper

Forecast: Tuesday 15 May 2012

Tuesday 15 May 2012

*Toward Renewed Hopes*

The banking industry is of course ruled by Taurus, the natural second house of the zodiac. "Pecuniary" is derived from the Latin "pecus" meaning cattle, the medium of exchange in ancient agricultural societies. We now have Mercury, the sun and Jupiter in Taurus and we have the brouhaha about J. P. Morgan Chase and its CEO Jamie Dimon. (In his birth-chart he has Venus in Taurus trine Mars exalted in Capricorn, very fortunate.) Fascinatingly, all this broke just as the sun and Jupiter in the pecuniary sign were exactly (by two degrees) quincunx Saturn in Libra the sign of balance and justice. And so of course the Libran "regulators" in Congress as well as the S.E.C. are looking askance at J. P. Morgan and the whole banking industry and considering what to do about further regulations. The quincunx has to do with the unexpected, with a "thorn in the flesh" as I said last time, or with a "monkey wrench." This latter implement has been thrown into the banking industry by the several-billion-dollar trading loss of J. Dimon & co. There is something oddly fateful about the quincunx. It comes out of the blue and forces change.

Whatever you are doing to balance (Libra) your own accounts, your income and outgo, is undergoing change as well, and it could be progressive and happy change because of the grand trine in earth signs among Mercury, Pluto, and Mars. In other words, you are smart enough to figure it out. (As is Jamie Dimon, I would guess.)

You may want to hold back a little, however, because through most of the Western Hemisphere working day, from 5a-2:47p PT | 8a-5:47p ET | 12p-9:47p UT, the moon is void-of-course in Pisces. Routine things are good, as well as wool-gathering while looking out the window. Or, to make that more respectable and edifying, turn it into profound spiritual meditation. At the end of that period the moon enters Aries and fresh possibilities may occur to you which perk you up.

You may be secretive, confident in your internal strength. You pick up on clues from everywhere even if there seems little you can do about them at present (unless after the time given). You serve by doing what you have to do, and this is satisfaction in itself.

It is true that you would like to be the first in many things, to get ahead of the crowd and be yourself passionately. Why not? These are your private obsessions which you cherish. As you realize what they mean to you, ways open up for implementing them in the broader social context.

There come times when we wonder how much we can trust people. I would say, trust those who have been trustworthy in the past, but be careful of any new links or commitments, especially during the void-of-course period. You are looking out carefully on both sides of you and using your intelligence to estimate what can be done. This may involve fateful changes in your living situation, your approach to income, and your way of cooperating with a male who is sharp and clever while finding, increasingly, his true path. He cares about his work and income in ways which you probably don't understand, because it seems everyone's economy is different, and experienced differently.

Some situations involving children and your home are improving. These young people have been wanting to find a way to play and be themselves in a secure environment. The problems of a parent have not helped. Fresh elements in the situation can bring peace and concord. Younger people need someone older as a subtle guiding influence.

Friends have their own issues and may be off in their own worlds. Fate is leading them to do what they need to do. Meanwhile good feelings are not absent, although they seem subordinate to practical matters. Still you can think about and maybe link with friends. After the moon enters Aries (time above) you may sense what the next step is likely to be.

{Tuesday} *Toward Renewed Hopes*

Cosmic Piper

Monday 14 May 2012

~Career as Service~

A focus on career is natural while the Part of Fortune is in the 10th sector, so that you are willing to spend more time at perfecting your approach to your particular skill (whether used directly for profit or not) than usual. It's a matter of pride and honor.

The missing pieces of the puzzle may cause some agony. The quincunx is the "thorn in the flesh" aspect, or can be, presenting unresolved issues in unexpected form. We have one between Mars and Uranus, Virgo to Aries, which can be technical problems as well as issues about your health regimen. There is also one between Saturn and the Jupiter-sun conjunction. Today this could affect questions of travel, such as local errands, having to go places you didn't expect to go, as well as peculiar personal relationships which seem to go nowhere yet require attention. What you need may seem oddly unattainable until you go around obstacles seemingly put perversely in your path.

At times you may be willing to do your work unseen, unheralded, unacknowledged. You can be the mystery man or woman who is not even realized as indispensable. You sense remarkable things about methods of getting things done. You are also alert to human relationships held under a cloud because people are shy as well as focused on their own duties.

Some of the things you have developed methods for doing, though getting little or no applause or reward, are of great value to more than one individual. So you keep on no matter what the frustrations, and earn "a reward in heaven" or in your karmic bank account.

Some of the depression to which you might be subject could be relieved by remembering teaching which has been given you by someone who has your best interests at heart, albeit may be hard to follow that instruction.

The moon is in Pisces. Those who need a social safety net may turn up on your doorstep. How do we treat those who beg or ask for help? Jesus said "Give to those who ask you," without qualification. Jesus did not say, "First consider whether this person deserves what he asks for and then give only if you think he will use it wisely." That is a distinctly unChristian way to think. Am I able to follow that advice of the Master? I have failed over and over again. I usually pull back from those who ask for money on the street. But recently a young woman who looked sad and helpless asked, and I shook my head and walked on, and afterward have had many sad thoughts about her, feeling that I had been a lout to reject her request for a dollar, and remembering the look of pain in her face as she turned away.

Visions of the future evoke your talents. What you sense as a desirable community of the human spirit impresses itself upon you again and again so that you desire to do something, some little bit at least, to bring it nearer. Technology can help, and technology can be an obstacle; we are learning discrimination in such matters after overeager false starts.

You may be aware of those who are proud and tyrannical, or would be tyrannical if they had the power. Rare is the one who can combine pride in his standing and achievement with humble service for those over whom he stands in some hierarchical relation. These are the true priest-kings of the ages, whom we need desperately. At his best perhaps your boss, or someone who stands above you in a hierarchy, senses the ideal and becomes for a time noble, at least in his own mind. That is a beginning.

Meanwhile friendly co-workers carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. It is amazing how hard many minimum-wage workers labor. Unselfishness is good for the heart, soul, and health.

{Monday} ~Career as Service~

Cosmic Piper

Saturday 12 May 2012

}Happy Company{

At a superficial but perhaps correct level, I have to say that this looks like one of the best Saturdays in weeks. People will want to be out and about and are likely to enjoy themselves. Maybe that is all you need to hear.

Many seem large-hearted, understanding, and gregarious. Human beauty and the beauty of the arts are apparent.

Some of what you do seems to be used by others although they do not think of repaying you. Your willingness to continue to perform these functions, which you think of as duties, is nobility. You give much through your work and even, on a day like this, enjoy it hugely.

You are thinking of your future in a big, optimistic way. Your mind has wings to appreciate and grasp what you expect the world to be for you. So your plans are likely to be correct. (This could be the case throughout the Bright Hermetic Epoch, which ends on June 27, and in a big way right now.) Although, as mentioned, you are "used" by others, this is not a problem, and could be true nobility, except in those exceptional cases when it is just wrong to let yourself be imposed upon. It is possible to disentangle yourself from such undeserving "users" without strife or upset.

Experimental attempts at this and that are likely to be good for you, especially if you maintain an approach based on your most trusted insights and spiritual aspirations.

The more ominous side of the day has to do with the motto "pride goeth before a fall." (Sun quincunx Saturn.) If you attempt something out of line with your real destiny, or ambitious in a wrong direction, you could "fall." Look at what happened to Jamie Dimon, CEO of one of the world's largest and most successful banks, in the past few days. The astrologer Sepharial, interpreting Signor Borelli's symbol of the degree occupied by the sun today, says, "Ambition will lead him into dangerous positions, and at a weak moment he will fall. Let this be taken as equally affecting his physical, moral, and social welfare." But today's aspects are mostly excellent, so let this be a warning to keep in the back of your mind rather than anything to worry about. You should not over-extend yourself after the moon goes void-of-course (in Aquarius) at 5:54p PT | 8:54p ET | 12:54a(Su) UT.

There is friendliness and good cheer, joviality, luxury, and conviviality, both before and after the time given (Luna forming a grand trine with Venus and Saturn in air signs). Even Jamie Dimon, pride wounded, will have a happy time in one of his luxurious condos. If you want to persuade someone about something, or just have a good time, it would be smart to do it before the v-of-c hiatus, and after that just let the smooth vibrations settle down into a restful evening.

{Saturday} {Happy Company}

Cosmic Piper

Friday 11 May 2012

}Expansiveness{

This is the first Friday in weeks which is not challenged by the |difficult third-of-the-week| square of the moon and Saturn. It appears to get progressively better through the day and evening.

You are peace-loving and self-controlled. This makes it easy for you to adapt to people.

You can use your hands and fingers successfully in a skill or art form.

You can be good at a handicraft. You sense how to economize. You'll drop a pleasure in order to keep up with what must be done.

Scientific, technical, or artistic sensibilities are intact and you can use them effectively.

Professional duties call to you and you do not mind them. You realize the value of being respectably reliable.

A forceful approach to things is good so long as you do not antagonize people unnecessarily. Opinions and methods differ. You cannot eliminate the difference, in connection with one or another individual, but can adapt to it and also be independent insofar as that is possible.  Even friends, bosses, and co-workers do not understand one another's styles or ways of doing.

There is more personality-glow and generosity than in recent days, for the opposition of Mercury and Saturn has gone and the conjunction of the sun with Jupiter is nearly exact. You might think of a time when you and your father were together on a trip, and sense what that meant to you, your personality, your heritage, talents and abilities. Maybe your dad could not fulfill all his hopes, but he was an example for you in some ways. He assisted you as you can assist others, regardless of failures.

Being industrious and thrifty has its value. The one who is so is appreciated  by others even when he may feel less than thrilled with his demanding role, and that is lasting repayment.

Diligence is appreciated by friends. They could share ideas or resources in a way which puts you at ease.

{Friday} {Expansiveness}

Cosmic Piper

Forecast: Thursday 10 May 2012

Thursday 10 May 2012

\Critical Matters Well-Met/

There can be mental strain and anxiety. Yet the mind can be sharp, with Mercury opposed to Saturn (fading but still strong). It is sharp in handling matters of study, research, and learning, but can meet with delays and setbacks. People with whom you have to deal in regard to paperwork or bureaucratic detail (sometimes e-paperwork) may be slow or you may have to double back and try again to satisfy them. Further, you should beware of anything tricky or questionable in dealings concerning money, home, travel, and friends.

Anyone you have to deal with, perhaps a woman, may be cold and impassive, yet just and fair-minded; she is not liked but is honest.

Someone rustic, a little rough-edged, a country person unpolished, may annoy you yet have a valid role to play in business or a transaction or purchase. This could also be someone at a distance you think about and feel you should connect with.

You are self-controlled and peace-loving, perhaps more conventional than you think, so that you are good  at estimating what is fortunate in a material way. You may find many people somewhat boring (and maybe they feel the same about you). Being matter-of-fact and non-judgmental gives you peace.

Someone you would like to think of as a friend or partner is mysterious or only partly known. You see that he or she has fallen from a higher position and this could be a lesson for you. Perhaps you would like to revive his or her career or fortunes; if this is someone who has passed away that could be through a sort of obituary or praiseful appreciation.

The rhythms of the dance of life keep you moving from, around, or within your home. You can't be in more than one place at once but seem to be trying. That is all right when it helps you meet unusual requirements of your situation, even if it seems to squelch pleasure at certain times.

The moon in Capricorn square Saturn in Libra gives a dour or moody feeling to the day but does not have to be depressing if you stay calm and matter-of-fact. Clearing necessary things away will prepare you for a happier Friday. If possible this should be done before the moon goes void-of-course at 12:12p PT | 3:12p ET | 7:12p UT.

Trying to anticipate things which could go wrong is useful, so long as you maintain your optimism and know that you can meet them with success. There is something fateful about social connections and friendships, as if you could not control them or plan for them, but can meet each as it comes up with your best approach and enjoy the resulting camaraderie.

{Thursday} /Critical Matters Well-Met\

Cosmic Piper

Wednesday 9 May 2012

\Authoring Friendship/

Career matters are facilitated greatly. A "softening" of them is happening under the aegis of Neptune in Pisces, now positioned to influence happily both governments around the world and your personal "government," that is, yourself, those for whom you work and the relation between them. Sometimes "they" are the boss and sometimes you are the boss. Perhaps they are the legislative and you the executive and you are learning to work together more smoothly. Or perhaps you are both legislative and executive, framing better laws to implement in your work.

You know what you are doing when it comes to study, science, and the arts; you comprehend finer things as they affect friendship and your area of expertise as administered comfortably. You sense how you could rise to eminence through talents.

Fame does not always bring popularity, but you might have both at present. Your purest aspirations are being refined. The material or financial wherewithal to carry out high plans will flow to you from various sources if you keep adventuring toward the best.

Someone you know or know of, a mysterious figure, rose at one time to a position of power and then was sabotaged in various ways. We need to learn whatever lessons we can from such vicarious experiences so we do not have to repeat them in our own lives.

You might be assisted by a friend as to your living situation, or you might assist him or her. It's a matter of learning to "dance" through one's dwelling, whatever it be, with grace and efficiency, holding to lessons learned and ready for new ones. Love can happen in a special place, even if veiled and incomprehensible.

When encountering some who seem false friends, or friendly enemies, you might realize they are playing an ego-game because secretly feeling bad about themselves while envious of others, maybe including you. So you do not have to take them seriously except perhaps to counteract any lies they might spread. Sometimes deep psychic injuries received in childhood afflict people unnecessarily much later in their lives. They are to be pitied, and any true friend will not take their attacks seriously.

Happily there are many more uplifting influences. The planet Venus has excellent aspects (including minor ones not usually noticed). Your cup of friendship brims over. You sense how to be unselfish with people and then they are unselfish with you; and all can flow with honesty plus sympathetic persuasion toward happiness.

{Wednesday} /Authoring Friendship\

Cosmic Piper

Sun in Taurus and Moon in Sagittarius, 2012

Beginning Sunday 6 May at 6:40p PT | 9:40p ET | 1:40a(M) UT
through Monday 7 May
/moon goes void-of-course Tuesday 8 at 6:35p PT|9:35p ET|1:35a(W)UT
until Luna enters Capricorn Tuesday at 7:01p PT|10:01p ET|2:01a(W)UT

*Resolutions and Progress*

There is always a temptation to divide times into "good" and "bad," which is a too-simplistic tendency of the human mind, and I have to resist it--with the result that these forecasts may seem confusing, because I have to say a particular period is good for this but not for that. Nor is it possible to say exactly what the "this" is rather than the "that" or to define it precisely, although I believe I am getting better at it. So we press forward and hope that whatever "comes through" my intensive study of the aspects and positions may be of some help to you.

This time my tendency is to say "Good, good!" but I am resisting it because overoptimism seems to be one of my failings as an astrologer. I just re-read the story of Balaam and Balak in the Book of Numbers (chapters 22-24) and this time it seemed to me a parable of the prophet or astrologer being pleaded with by a client to say what the client wants to hear. That is always a danger in astrological counseling. Balaam's ass knew better than he to resist the temptation and listen to the Highest. Had the prophet listened to the ass, he would have saved himself a lot of time and trouble, but we would have been deprived of an amazing and inspiring story.

Yes, this looks like a good time. It could be well to look to your business affairs and settle as much as you can on Monday and Tuesday. We are gifted with two almost-complete days of the moon not being void-of-course during a Bright Hermetic Epoch. True, there is some impatience and irritability, with Mars quincunx Uranus, as if you had to prod a lazy mule to get something done, but we have the phenomenon of two grand trines (by Ptolemaic orb), the second a new one, Venus beginning her trines with Saturn on one side and Neptune on the other. Business dealings and decisions are favored. With Venus involved, so are relationships, but they are probably more on the sideline, giving you confidence and inspiration for the work you need to do.

You can focus the spotlight of your genius on whatever is of practical import, and get answers. If sometimes you still have to wait for the final solution of a given issue, you can trust that it will be something good as long as you have done all you can. Destiny chooses her times.

A danger of grand trines is resting on one's laurels too much. Things seem so promising that one just waits for good things to happen. It would be wise to resist that tendency.

Martian aspects are good except for the quincunx with Uranus. With whom do you have an issue which might require a fight or a determination not to give in? That can be met with success. If you run into someone who is just determined to be "right" or to win regardless of the truth or merit of the case, you will find the right words or responses if you are quiet within and pray silently for an answer. Such individuals, whose "cause" is causeless, will yield to the truth more often when unopposed or opposed gently.

With precision you can snip away at little details which have hindered you and get pleasing results. Finally that has been taken care of!

What has been restraining you? A location, or lack of the best location? You may feel you want to escape one place for another, and this could be possible, if you are completely sure of your choice. Or you may simply make an unusual trip within your local situation for some purpose, and feel freer as a result. There are ways of being free wherever one truly has to be.

Times of rest are feasible, but you will probably want to keep them brief, absorbing from Nature, the air, or your ideals (if not from the Supreme) energy for renewed endeavors. While the rest lasts, however, you can put the worries and struggles completely aside--or offer them up for transformation.

Mysteries and miseries surrounding friends and partners can be dealt with through faith. Have you ever been completely abandoned? And yet there are times when any of us can feel we have been. Let's say a little prayer for our Chinese dissident friend who has been in the throes of dislocation or no-location and who as of this writing appears headed for the U. S. and NYU. He was never really abandoned by friends and well-wishers but had to be separated from them (through imprisonment) because of his principled stand. Let us hope for and expect similar good conclusions to our personal stories.

{Late Sunday, Monday, Tuesday} *Resolutions and Progress*

Cosmic Piper

Forecast: Late Friday, Saturday, Sunday, May 4-6, 2012

Sun in Taurus and Moon in Scorpio, 2012

Beginning Friday 4 May at 7:21p PT | 10:21p ET | 2:21a(Sa) UT
through Saturday 5 May
/moon goes void-of-course Sunday 6 at 5:15a PT | 8:15a ET | 12:15p UT
until Luna enters Sagittarius Sunday at 6:40p PT | 9:40p ET | 1:40a(M) UT

~Choice of Liberation~

This is the period, the Full Moon of Taurus, in which the Wesak festival in Tibet is celebrated, or always was at any rate unless the Chinese in accord with their horrid karma are adding to the record of their crimes circumvention of a venerable and powerful ancient Mystery ceremony.

Let us pray for the people of Tibet, and for the Chinese invaders to be converted or otherwise changed so that Tibet may have freedom to be a pocket of liberation from the "modern world" and its robot tyranny of ruthless economic exploitation.

The Taurus-Scorpio axis of the zodiac is charged with powerful energies, the energies of desire as well as those of the stymying or conquest of desire. Are you not feeling something of this? As if you had to get to a deeper level beyond superficiality? At times I think "What am I to do?" and everything which comes to my mind seems pointless. That is the verge of Buddhist enlightenment, perhaps, or of the road leading to it. Although I am a Christian and not a Buddhist, it is obvious to those who study the teachings of Jesus that He taught liberation from "sin" or wrong desire. Some friends of my parents, non-Christian, said when I was a child, "The preachers say everything is a sin, so what is left?" I sympathize with their comment. Opponents of Buddhism might make similar statements. What is left when "desire" vanishes? Or are there appropriate and approved desires, or can our desires be transformed into aspirations of a higher, deeper and more spiritually exalting nature? (Sri Aurobindo's answer, expressed inadequately.) Can Buddhists or Christians have fun? Some of all this might be in your consciousness. You are participating, somehow, in the Wesak ceremony.

Would that the Chinese communist-capitalist greed-tyrant-monsters might participate also, somehow.

Of course, spiritual mediation is good at this time, as also the study of truly sacred writings.

Whether or not we are entering the summer doldrums of the stock market, as last year at this time, it is likely that most will be feeling they need to be stricter in their economy. (That aids the Buddhist program of liberation from desire.) This need not be pointless worry but could profitably be a careful scrutinization of where your money is going (and where it is coming from). This could make you unpopular if it made you so intent on it that you failed to relax and be friendly. (Freedom from worry has been promised by both the Buddha and Christ Jesus to those who follow their teachings.)

Is it better to struggle on, or to sometimes give up for a while and just let things be? I leave the answer to you. Obviously we all need our moments of complete rest. This is true rest when anxiety dissipates. Often for that to happen, one needs first to finish some essential task or other so that one's conscience is clear. Or else postpone some of it to a definite time and place (when the moon is not void-of-course as it is most of Sunday, making that, appropriately, a day of rest).

When worrying about one's own finances, it is good to care about those who have even less, and aid in some way which makes sense to you. The sincere attempt is good no matter the outcome. Sometimes a struggling penniless person will refuse a gift if it hurts his or her pride. That does not mean it was not noble and right to offer it.

There is guidance, along both the material and spiritual paths, if you are open to it. Even those who do not "believe in" the Invisible are often guided by It in ways of which they are unconscious. Such is Grace. "He is kind even to the unthankful and the wicked," said Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.

When we feel restrained by life, held as slaves, it is well to recall that, as Hebrew prophets and Christian apostles have said, to think of our "masters" as representatives of G*d aids in the quickest real resolution of the issue, rather than to rebel. A hard teaching, at times, but one which protects those who attempt to follow it. (This does not in any way refute my position that the Chinese occupation of Tibet, for example, is thoroughly wrong. We have to struggle with such matters as best we can; the Dalai Lama is a superb example. He did not give up the struggle for freedom, but did not let it become violent.)

No one is really abandoned. It is well always to have faith in the future; or in Him or That which assures a happy future to those who remain faithful.

{Late Friday, Saturday, Sunday} ~Choice of Liberation~

Cosmic Piper

Sun in Taurus and Moon in Libra, 2012

Beginning Wednesday 2 May at 7:05p PT | 10:05p ET | 2:05a(Th) UT\
through Thursday 3 May
/moon goes void-of-course Friday 4 at 11:03a PT | 2:03p ET | 6:03p UT
until Luna enters Scorpio Friday at 7:21p PT | 10:21p ET | 2:21a(Sa) UT

}Lonesome Yet Shared Feelings{

Thursday is better than Friday for most matters, including fun, friendship, and relationship.

If some things seem off-center and you feel depressed, there is nothing wrong with being alone, seeking hidden knowledge in the privacy of your retreat from the world. Memory and hope, mixed with the world's wisdom, form an alchemical stone of wizardry.

Generosity and sensitivity are good things, even if the world seems not to know what to do with them, so you do not have to despair when feeling unappreciated. Peace within your soul is a deep reward.

Caution and prudence once put in place, you need not worry overmuch about details, although you have a tendency to do so. Even if feeling anxious about people and money, absent friends or absent resources, you could make attempts to be out and about where there is entertainment, whether music, games, dancing, or whatever seems cheerful. Contrived cheer is better than none and can lead to the real thing.

Deep thought is yours, silent and watchful, able to be cautious when appropriate, alert to what is wrong or questionable around you but not fazed or upset by it. That is a rare talent but one you could develop. It doesn't mean ignoring what is wrong, but your stand against it can be based on solid faith, prayer, understanding, rather than on suddenly appearing righteous anger. It is good to be righteous but not self-righteous. It is good to protect oneself but not with morbid paranoia.

Yes, many diversions seem questionable, a trap for the unwary or foolish. Observing how that works out around you, wherever you go, or else in fantasies such as movies or stories, gives you shrewd perspective if nothing else. The observing detective or shrink may seem an unsympathetic character but may be a boon when he or she is needed.

Sometimes I think builders, carpenters, construction workers, and the like are the salt of the earth. What are you resting on, what is sheltering you, who raised the roof over you, braced the walls around you? It is not for nothing that the "craft" or wisdom guild of highest  fame is the Masons. House-building was considered a magical art, thaumaturgy akin to the erection of Solomon's Temple. Sometimes you might give thanks for the builders, whoever they may be or might have been.

Although Friday may not feel like a TGIF day, it has its charms, perhaps lonely or subdued. If with someone, be gentle with his or her worries and need to vent. The arts, poetry, music, and sharing of any kind make things more genial. People need to feel supported more than they are willing to let on.

Things might start to get smoother after the moon enters Scorpio, but that is for the next report.

{Late Wednesday, Thursday, Friday} {Lonesome Yet Shared Feelings}

Cosmic Piper