Forecast: Tuesday 31 December 2013 and Wednesday 1 January 2014

Tuesday 31 December 2013

Sun in Capricorn, Discrimination; Moon in Capricorn, Reverence; Foci in 12, Confinement and 1, Identity

/moon void-of-course until it 

enters Capricorn at 10:02a PT | 1:02p ET | 6:02p UT

\Old Truth for Fresh Year/

Love conquers all! This is coming to me as the final message of Cosmic Piper. I do not mean that I shall write no more forecasts or poetic oracular pronouncements. I expect to continue. There are from 100 to 200 people reading them daily, maybe more because people tell me they send them elsewhere to other sites. They are offered freely to the world. But as I contemplate life during this sacred season (as I write it is the 6th Day of Christmas) I sense that far more important than the astrological aspects is our attitude toward dealing with them. And the best attitude by far is Love. 

Perhaps the whole purpose of these daily struggles to understand the motions of the planets in old Sol's system--ours--and say something intelligent about them is just an attempt to show how Love is possible under all circumstances. May that faith guide us now and in 2014!

The "pressures" I have commented upon in connection with the Grand Square in cardinal signs continue. I myself feel them (on Monday) as a real nuisance, trying to ruin my spiritual appreciation of and enjoyment of this holiday (holy day) season. I have to do business and other things which I have delayed. You know what your own "pressures" are. All we can do is press on, yet give ourselves time to bask in the higher values of the time (as well as taking care of business).

We join with others for a task, party

Or adventure. Our dogged efforts to

Survive and struggle on are what

We give to all of them. There is escape

From all the worst into the best. Ornaments

And beauties, multisexual delights, abound

And grow within our souls toward perfection.

We keep our secrets. We know some things

We could not share; authority supernal

Rests on them. Yet outwardly the soil,

The toil, the rustic strength of earth remain

The lot of all who need to eat. 

                                                  A new year?

It suffuses us with deepened understanding,

Richer beauty, soulful contemplation of 

Resources and hopes. To: love and Love!

{Tuesday} /Old Truth, Fresh Year\

Cosmic Piper

Wednesday 1 January 2013

Sun in Capricorn, Discrimination; Moon in Capricorn, Reverence; Foci in 1, Identity and 12, Confinement

Moon on course

New Moon of Capricorn at 3:15a PT | 6:15a ET | 11:15a UT

\Stairway/

The year starts with a bang. There is intensity on every level, with the Grand Square plus seven planets at critical degrees, and a New Moon early this morning. It is true for sure that most of us will be wanting to get our acts together, straighten things out, meet difficulties with a stalwart conquering spirit. And we can, partly because we remain in the Bright Hermetic Epoch, in fact near the center of it. (It winds down by January 22). The next three weeks could set the tone for 2014 in a very positive way. By "positive" I do not mean easy. I mean definite, sharp, clear; rising to challenges gladly and competently.

Communications about career, and financial negotiations, are two areas of concentration. 

There are enchantments, childlike games or pleasures, 

Ease of communion with Spirit. There is worship, 

for those who know how It works. If God didn't work,

It couldn't. The staircase we ascend requires 

Us to clean or rebuild each step. It takes a while

But when we reach the top we see that the spiral

Led to good luck. Irresistibly our highest destiny

Unfolds. If we rely too much on others' work, 

We are foxes in our craftiness. The tiller

Of the soil is honest, 'round the world, 

Expecting what he only earns, ready 

For whatever grace the new year brings.

{Wednesday} /Stairway\

Cosmic Piper

Forecast: Sunday 29 and Monday 30 December 2013

Sunday 29 December 2013

Sun in Capricorn, Discrimination; Moon in Sagittarius, Sagacity; Foci in 11, Friendship and 2, Possession

|Karmically difficult or sobering third| of this week continues until 9:27p PT | 12:27a(M) ET | 5:27a(M) UT

/moon goes void-of-course at 5:55a PT | 8:55a ET | 1:55p UT

until it enters Sagittarius at 9:38a PT | 12:38p ET | 5:38p UT

*Privileged Awareness*

While the |difficult third| drags on to its end (it still afflicts the weekends but will be moving slowly to earlier in the week), it is good to recognize what lessons have been learned during that period, with its center on Saturday. What did you learn, somewhat painfully?

The squares of the sun and Mercury with Uranus, exact now, warn against precipitate action. Please be sure you are not throwing over anything you have worked on--whether a project, relationship, loyalty, any consistency which holds your life together. You could find later that you were unconsciously arrogant and presumptuous in "trashing" something. Patience has to be recommended. 

With Mars also opposing Uranus, there is danger of being too blunt, abrupt, or irritable with people. Wanting your own way at any cost is a danger. "Your own way" may indeed materialize, but you will have to wait and cultivate the traits of character which will make it materialize eventually. 

You may feel someone does not understand you or even has insulted your honor. It is not an easy time for people to tolerate one another's eccentricities. Slander is possible; you may do it yourself without intending to, or you may feel someone has slandered you. People will be more understanding after this aspect has passed; maybe even tomorrow after the |karmically difficult third|. True, one of the Foci above is Friendship, but friendship may be at focus yet critical or presenting issues.

Checks and delays are a natural part of life. We need to face them calmly rather than let them upset our applecart.  

(Thanks to C. E. O. Carter, one of the most able classic writers on astrology, for help in composing the above.)

What is my immutable distinctiveness,

And why should anyone care? I measure life

And estimate its course; I am precise.

Someone likes even my eccentricity,

Yet compliments I wish for may not come.

I cherish honor, but travel recklessly;

I know my worth and know that I could teach

What I know best. I am careful and build,

Assemble what's needed and put

A flowering tree atop it. A steep hill

For others to climb--yet the angels assist.

I pioneer; I clear and illumine a path. 

Friends and partners are away, yet near,

Children learning to walk. I tolerate their

Feeble rehearsals of strength. I too am a child.

Yet I know some things, have mapped out a path,

Have seen what no one has seen.  Specialized truth

Guides the world when the world is unknowing. 

We could be content with what is.

{Sunday} *Privileged Awareness*

Cosmic Piper

Monday 30 December 2013

/Moon goes void-of-course at 3:37a PT | 6:37a ET | 11:37a UT

It's a void-of-course day, so we may be in the midst-of-the-holidays doldrums. What to do? Necessary routines is the easy answer, with a little fun around the edges.

*Groping Preparation*

I reported here several times that Venus and Mars would be in the trine (helpful, lucky) relation from November 11 through December 24. I wonder how many of you paid attention to that or marked it on you calendar? It was extremely accurate for me. Interesting, in fact beautiful, relationships, and one in particular--call them friendships or relationships, the difference in this case was minimal--were going on, and have seemed to vanish with Christmas. Not that they are dead, just not as evidently alive and flourishing as they were. I would guess the same has happened for most of us. We just don't want to acknowledge that something which is going on for everyone is as applicable to us as to everyone else. But it is. 

As for when this will happen again, I shall be discussing it as we go along. Meanwhile, you may wonder where the magic has gone.

When the aspects between these two are missing or negative, it is even more important to pay attention to the daily aspects of the moon and other planets, including the |difficult third| of each week. Planning dates or parties for those latter times is not likely to work out well. The next one will be Friday and Saturday, January 3 and 4, with a touch of it late Thursday. Tuesday, New Year's Eve, looks tolerable but not thrilling--we will discuss it soon.

We grow, we learn, our personalities

Unfold. We use the skills we've learned to

Navigate. We'd rather coast and view the

Scenery than face noise and confusion.

Hard work is quite unwelcome, yet its

Harshness builds the soul's ideals in ways

We could not have foreseen. At last escape

Into a better world is ours, thanks to 

Our toil's continuous drone. A man at the

Gates of our lives offers knightly assistance.

Our energy overturns the foolishness of

Dull complacency. We want to move beyond

The borders of the boring known into

A frontier grasped through soaring intuition. 

There we will learn, define ourselves, succeed.

{Monday} *Groping Preparation*

Cosmic Piper

Forecast: Friday 27 and Saturday 28 December 2013

Friday 27 December 2013

Sun in Capricorn, Discrimination; Moon in Scorpio, Justice; Foci in 10, Honor-->11, Friendship and 3, Communication-->2, Possession

Luna in the Via Combusta (watch out for loss of morale or defeatism)

/moon goes void-of-course at 3:01a PT | 6:01a ET | 11:01a UT 

until it enters Scorpio at 5:59a PT | 8:59a ET | 1:59p UT

|Karmically difficult or sobering third| of this week begins at 11:16a PT | 2:16p ET | 7:16p UT

~Inner Wistful Adventure~

I'm not about to give up on the Holiday spirit, even though in my view it has been a tough period. There might be a resurgence of cheer today, though mixed with the doubts of the Via Combusta and the |sobering third|. Things seem mysterious yet beautiful. The pressures of the T square, gradually becoming an X square as Jupiter enters the picture, work out in job, finance and career as necessary activities. These ought not to be resented but faced, because doing them is the path to restored confidence and peace. There may be a tide of good will as Luna sextiles the sun and Mercury while trine Neptune. That which is hidden in people comes to the surface, often graciously. Yet they are worried or troubled within and need support or at least kindly deference.

The hidden in the friend is slowly revealed,

To himself as well as me. A dark calm scene

Is languid and mildly comforting. Who would

Slander this attempt of love to be? Who would

Attack this secret surge of deep affinity?

A monster truly. The risk of defying such a lie

Is worth the worry over trivia doomed to pass,

Leaving behind a wealth of comprehension.

There are selfish attachment, jealousy and 

Feuding chagrin, the shame of one who cannot

Rise above. Then a flash of light. Could this reform

Be real? Then a rush toward gold, a surge of

High ambition, daring competence, a goal

Instilling power. What safety in a world of constant

Quest? The comfort of shared friendly musing

In a place of winter cool with favored progeny.

{Friday} ~Inner Wistful Adventure~

Cosmic Piper

Saturday 28 December 2013

Sun in Capricorn, Discrimination; Moon in Scorpio, Justice; Foci in 11, Friendship and 2, Possession

|Karmically difficult or sobering third| of this week continues (through Sunday)

Moon leaves the Via Combusta at 8:17a PT | 11:17a ET | 4:17p UT

~The Hands-Off Quest~

Friends at a distance are a theme, and perhaps a partner close at hand; with an emphasis on their worries or problems, I am sorry to say. We have to bear one another's burdens. This is not hard when we care; and it deepens affection beyond the ordinary. The giving-spasm of the holiday has perhaps taught us something about more subtle forms of giving, forgiving, healing. 

The moon with Saturn in Scorpio suggests stern command of one's propensities, the ones which have gotten one in trouble before. This is exact near 5p PT | 8p ET | 1p(Su) UT. It is the center of the |sobering third| of this week and if you note what happens then, you will get clues as to how to handle your most pressing issues. There will be hope mixed with resignation. Prayer is always good.

Your self is self to yourself and not to me.

How could I be your self or you be mine?

Yet Self is self in some deep mystery. 

We measure ourselves and others by something

Invisible which trues ourselves to Source. 

A friend is one who can spar without any hurt.

He is not you and so he has to spar. "Touch not

That part of me you cannot know."  Yet somehow

We are specialists who share, if grudgingly,

What we have found with those who choose

To submit themselves to our sharp elocution.

Lofty, we presume to be the one above 

All else. "Come to me, and I shall carry you

Where you choose not to go."  A lightning flash

Dissuades such arrogance and  both are back

Upon the path that each hath found. Yet one

Doth dare to tempt the other, beckon, seduce,

So that once more their paths shall intersect.

Ah, this is interesting. No one's superior

Here; the arched brow falls, glasses come off.

A compass needle points to something missed.

{Saturday} ~The Hands-Off Quest~

Forecast: Wednesday 25 and Thursday 26 December 2013

Wednesday 25 December 2013

Sun in Capricorn, Discrimination; Moon in Libra, Beauty; Foci in 10, Career and 3, Communication

Moon on course

}Essence Forced Outward{

It's a harsh day, with the moon joined to Mars, both opposing Uranus and all three square Pluto as well as the sun. We are finding our way through our personal necessities and the pressures of life into a bit of holiday celebration. We might do well to celebrate Christ Mas, that is the Mass of Christ, rather than the pagan rites of over-buying, over-eating and over-celebrating. Celebrating what? Without G*d, the festivity is hollow and pointless, leading to ennui and loss.

Some might take sober breaks from the festivities to focus on their careers, that is, their real service to G*d and humanity. That is paramount at this time and something in the solar system, G*d's appointed home for us who dwell on Terra, is forcing us to confront it honestly.

The Nativity is inseparable from the Crucifixion. That becomes apparent to me every year when I see people crucifying the Lord all over again by ignoring Him in favor of trinkets, favors to friends and relatives, enforced cheer coming from Nowhere and going Nowhere (the North Pole?!), rather than focusing on His message and His reality. That is what they need, and seemingly do their best to avoid at Christmas. The Nativity is also inseparable from the Resurrection, but it takes some doing to get there. This year, that doing includes organization in the home, office, work-space--yes, on Christmas. It includes facing the seeming harshness and selfishness of business and government. It's the world we have and so it is the world we have created. God is trying to give us something better, at Christmas and every day, but to receive that we have to face and perform the duties we have taken on. A lot of that seems required of us now. If we ignore it, there will be a rage burning within us, an incipient quarrel with G*d and humanity.

Something intelligent could unfold in the dark and the gloom.

It tries, every year. Flowers, decorations and holly 

Try to be it. Paintings on the wall try to be it. 

A man at a rostrum wearing laurels tries to be it.

A woman hiding in a room in a tower tries to

Be it. A boy telling his parents their faults 

Tries to be it. At the exodus all gather in a canoe

And travel through dangerous waters. A girl

Protects precious paintings from moisture. 

They stop for the evening and contemplate

Nature's dark secrets. The land of the free.

The land of those forced to be what they had 

Thought they could be. And so shall they be.

{Wednesday} {Essence Forced Outward}

Cosmic Piper

Thursday 26 December 2013

Sun in Capricorn, Discrimination; Moon in Libra, Beauty; Foci in 10, Honor and 3, Communication

Moon enters the Via Combusta or Burning Way at 2:37a PT | 5:37a ET | 10:37a UT

(until Saturday morning): Possible loss of morale or direction

\Adventure Beckoning/

The intensity of the Grand Square in cardinal signs keeps us busy. It is good not to resent what you have to do. It strengthens you to do it. The Via Combusta means you have doubts.

Social elements are not missing from the pattern but require hardihood, a refusal to be spooked by people's reactions or seeming indifference. They have their own seemingly very difficult problems to face and are not spurning you intentionally.

Growth continues no matter how dreary the landscape.

By a pond in the winter the depths of the soul are revealed.

The sky, covered with stars, seems almost blue, indigo.

We want to go somewhere. The stars will be there after all.

Whether through ice or in desert, by canoe, raft or aircraft,

We build our ambitions in every direction and ambiance. 

Some friend is so real that we marvel at kindness, at stalwart

Devotion. How could it be true? He clears doubts, takes charge,

Lights a path. Yet we doubt. Where the soul's charging fervor,

How can we sing the song we feel deep inside? 

The journey continues through dangers. Without them

Adventure is pallid. They touch us but still we survive,

And camp 'neath the stars by a lake in the landscape

Of nowhere but here. A new year casts blue shadows.

{Thursday} /Beckoning Adventure\

Cosmic Piper

Forecast: Monday 23 and Tuesday 24 December 2013

Monday 23 December 2013

Sun in Capricorn, Discrimination; Moon in Virgo, Purity; Foci in 9, Comprehension and 4, Foundations

Moon on course

\From Turmoil into Calm/

Normal industry provides what is needed for

A holiday or any day; bustle and self-torture

Make things worse. The quiet times please

Some children, many elders, openings into

Sublime comprehension through a sacred season.

Others are quick observers, executants of the

World-scheme unknowing what they do precisely

Yet loyal to their inner guidance.Things stay 

The same when set in motion; a fire of truth

Burns in the fireplace of a home believed in.

A man who knows his sources, trusts his Book

Stands ready to declare what he has come to

Know. A serpent of wisdom coils around

A beacon searching the sky and sea and earth

For someone ready to see. Far easier to find

Smart life on other planets! Luxuries and 

Easy pleasures absorb the energies of the 

Ordinary man-child, woman-child. Yet charm

And graciousness please even Deity. It is the

Season. Some old homes are cold, abandoned,

Not only in effete Detroit. Some hold a living

Fire with no one to be warmed by it. 

We turn to a dank and lonely pool surrounded

By the dark green trees of Christmas and 

Another year. When warm we crave the cold,

When cold the warmth. It is the Season.

{Monday} /From Turmoil into Calm\

Cosmic Piper

Tuesday  24 December 2013

Sun in Capricorn, Reverence; Moon in Virgo, Purity; Foci in 9, Comprehension and 4, Foundations

/moon goes void-of-course at 7:56p PT | 10:56p ET | 3:56a UT

until it enters Libra at 10:18p PT | 1:18a(W) ET | 6:18a(W) UT

\Artistry Supernal/

This looks like a lovely Christmas Eve because of Luna's increasing trine with Venus in the evening. The opposition of Mars and Uranus, however, is a harsh one to deal with: Pressures, hurry, annoyances which could erupt in anger. We all need to be spiritually on top of this to make this sacred day peaceful and uplifting rather than petty, peevish and upsetting.Bouncing off from people with good humor when they are annoying to you is one mode of dealing with it.

Providing for the world, for friends, for family

Is not a burden when felt as self-creation.

In solitude and welcome dark the inner light

Appears. Traditions then bring all at once

Into accord, as mistletoe evokes a mood 

Of love. Even the sky suggests that winter's

Passed her crest. Small tasks build up a mound

Of gifts; a tree presiding at its peak. 

Some retreat from the festive scene to elevated

Thought and chambered seeking. Luxuries and

Stimulants have done their work; evoked a deeper

Longing. Social aplomb is well and good. 

Artistry has made the season beautiful. 

On top of that a pinnacle of lonely hopes

And woodside contemplation offers the would-be

Initiate of truth a tapestry of revelation.

{Tuesday} /Artistry Supernal\

Cosmic Piper

Forecast: Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 December 2013

Saturday 21 December 2013

Sun in Capricorn, Discrimination; Moon in Leo, Glory; Foci in 8, Regeneration and 5, Pleasure

Sun enters Capricorn (Winter Solstice) at 9:12a PT | 12:12p ET | 5:12p UT

|Karmically difficult third| of this week continues (until very late Sunday)

*Self-Possessed Assurance*

Apology: I failed to mention the beginning of the |difficult third| in Friday's report. Holiday turmoil plus extra necessary doings truncated the time available for writing and I overlooked it. It began Friday in the forenoon in the West and early afternoon in the East.

Despite possibly gloomy feelings related to delays and difficulties, we remain in the Bright Hermetic Epoch and are nearing the center of it (December 28 when Mercury joins the sun). You are happy about some of the ways you are organizing your world--social activities, finances, business, friendships. It all is fitting together in a way that makes sense. Voila!

But the opposition of Mars to Uranus, both square Pluto, is with us as pressures to get things done. It can feel hectic. We need the peace of the sun's sextile with Neptune. So when you take time to meditate or pray and relax, you are able to handle the rapidity of the pressures to action calmly and efficiently. 

In silence and solitude they contemplate the providence

With which they have been blessed. Protection from

The world's mischances seems their privilege. 

Gloomy weather cannot threaten that. 

A mountain plateau at sunrise is the site of

A daily ceremony linking man with God.

In colder climes a fireplace blazes the warmth

Of old Sol indirectly. Complacence

And good fortune go together. The one who

Stands high on a rock with folded arms

Is self-possessed and does not need the 

Sickly sweet effusions toward which he hankered

In his immaturity. He sees his peers 

Intoxicated by weeds and potions and 

Tolerates their trendy drug-dependence.

He remembers his home where a fire burns.

It wants his presence and some tending. 

He will sit before it contemplating the dark

Beyond the light and the light beyond 

The dark. The solstice shows a new plateau.

{Saturday} *Self-Possessed Assurance*

Cosmic Piper

Sunday 22 December 2013

Sun in Capricorn, Discrimination; Moon in Leo, Glory-->Virgo, Purity; Foci in 9, Travel and 4, Home

/moon goes void-of-course at 5:27a PT | 8:27a ET | 1:27p UT

until it enters Virgo at 11:20a PT | 2:20p ET | 7:20p UT

|Karmically difficult or sobering third| of this week ends at 8:20p PT | 11:20p ET | 4:20a(M) UT

\Unconvention Stalks Convention/

I changed the keywords for 9 and 4 (9th and 4th houses of the horoscope containing the Parts of Fortune and Spirit respectively) because Travel and Home are more likely emphases perhaps at this season than Comprehension and Foundations, although those meanings are also in the air. I could always list multiple shades of meaning for these points but do not want to be unnecessarily complex or confusing.

The pressure of the T square which is intensifying was pointed out yesterday, which see to refresh your memory. The help of the sun's healing sextile with Neptune likewise remains with us.

Giving is easy when not self-conscious. There is

Providence in intention. Darkness fosters 

Internal vision. The pressure of activity

Dissipates loneliness. Cool courage retreats

When there is nothing to do but hope and

Wait. Guarding the fireplace in an empty home

Breeds utter loneliness, though there's plenty

To eat and drink. To go here or there seems

An insoluble riddle, for every action appears

Inept. The odor of the Christmas greens 

Is heavenly. Why not become a fir? 

Angels, it is said, are flying all around

At times like this. Just stoke the fire,

And wonder at the friends and relatives

Whose absence flies at you from out the

Flames. Nothing remains but the dark

And the sky, at last; and memories;

And a Yuletide fire in an empty house.

{Sunday} /Unconvention Stalks Convention\

Cosmic Piper